Training Camp Report Day 11

Tom and Labs talk about Family Day and Sunday's practice at camp. Hear from Coach Tomlin, Elandon Roberts, and Markus Golden. Will Allen joins the show.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:05):
This SE's the Training Camp Report with Tom Opperman and
Bob Labriola on Steelers Nation Radio.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
We are certainly getting into the dog days of training
camp twenty twenty four for the Pittsburgh Steelers, but a
preseason game is finally on the horizon, and Labs Tomlin
knows how to push these players buttons through this camp period.
He's a master at it now. And one of those
buttons that he likes to push is family Day. And
that's a pretty good vehicle to get a little extra

(00:33):
juice out of the guys. And that translated on Sunday's practice,
which was family got Family Day for the players.

Speaker 3 (00:40):
Yeah, you know, it was okay. First we had you know,
rock them sock them robots Friday night lights, and then
Saturday was bounce back Day. They were just in shells
and helmets. But then the pads were back on on
Sunday and you know, there were a couple of drills.
It wasn't like, it wasn't as intense as Friday night lights.

(01:04):
And I'm here to tell you, I don't remember lately
a practice that was like that, So, you know, expecting
anything to be close to that, I think it's just
you know, it's it's naive to think that that kind
of intensity, that level of physicality is going to be

(01:24):
part you know, of a training camp practice on any
kind of regular basis. So but anyway, yeah, family night,
Family Day. It actually is more than a day than
a night, even though the most of the you know,
interaction with the families is after practice and then instead

(01:46):
of there's no there's no curfew that night either or
it's very late curfew. A lot of guys went home
with their families because then Monday was the day off,
and then I think they had to be back last
night on those six ish uh. And then now today
is another regular day. We got the pads on again today.

(02:09):
But going back to Family Day night, there were a
couple of competitive periods. There was a goal line drill
and seven shots, and yeah, Mike Tomland likes to have
those kinds of things with the families in attendance. Uh,
even though you know, in all in all seriousness, I

(02:32):
don't know that a lot of players' families are watching practice,
you know and charting it necessarily as some medium members
would do like I have to do. But they are
in attendance, you know, and it's not only wives. Sometimes
it's parents, because you know, a lot of these guys
are pretty young, and uh, you know, his Mike Tomlan's

(02:55):
belief is that players don't want to look bad in
front their families, and so you can usually count on
a little extra something in the tank from them in
that situation, and so he gauges the practice script based
on that. And you know, like I said, it wasn't
it wasn't like Friday Night Lights in terms of the

(03:20):
you know, the sounds of the hitting echoing off the
hills here like it was seriously at La Trope Stadium.
I don't want to overstate this, but hey, why not.
First of all, I think it was the biggest attendance
I can ever remember there for that and it was

(03:43):
every bit as physical and intense as any practice there
I've ever seen. So anyway, but while the offense lit
it up Friday Night Lights, the defense kind of had
a bounce back on Family Night, and defense won the

(04:04):
uh seven shots and the defense, you know, I don't
know if they graded in the same way as they
do seven shots, but goal line, you know, I thought
the defense did a pretty good job in the metro
as well.

Speaker 2 (04:19):
Yeah, and we'll hear from Alandon Roberts a little bit
later on today, but he noted talking to Missy, you
know Tomlin finished goal line down at the family end
of the of the field. Uh, get the front row
seat and get those juices flowing. But you know, back
to seven shots. I think it's important to note that
the defense got to win yesterday because that was their
first win in training camp with the pads on. The

(04:40):
offense has ratcheted up the physicality naturally with pads on.
They've run the ball a lot in this drill with
pads on, and they've had a lot of success to it,
but not on Sunday's practice with the four to three
win to the defense.

Speaker 3 (04:52):
Yeah, and the and the defense, you know, the pads
were on. Arthur Smith, as we know, is not afraid
to run the ball down there. He wants to establish
that mindset and he wants to establish you know that
he wants to rep those plays and you know, make

(05:13):
them efficient down there. And when you look at the
plays that that the defense won, the four that they won,
Age Harris got stopped on a running play by Peyton Wilson.
Jalen Warren got stopped on a It was a it

(05:34):
was a kind of a play up the middle. Montrevious
Adams was in there, kind of messing it up, clogged
the original hole, I think. Uh, And then there were
some other some of his friends came and you know,
cleaned it up, stopped him there. And then on uh,
the sixth play, Jonathan Ward tried to bounce outside and

(05:57):
Tyler Medikevitch shot through and kind of tripped him up
but not to the ground, you know, and he was
kind of stumbling trying to regain his balance. But then
Tyler Murray, another linebacker, came in and cleaned it up,
tackled him behind the line of scrimmage. So, you know,
as you have said that the offense had been winning

(06:18):
these drills with pads on, the defense won this drill
and they stopped the run. They did it by stopping
the run.

Speaker 2 (06:27):
Yeah, and that's exactly what Arthur Smith and the offense
have been kind of telling them they need to do
in order to get success when the pads come on.
And you know, the physicality that we've seen in these
practices labs that can only translate over into the actual
games against other teams. You hopefully even more so than

(06:47):
it has presented itself against their own teams, are their
own teammates in this training camp session. And you know,
you noted that you camp can be divided into phases
in your training camp report, and Sunday was like the
end to phase two, and now that we transition into
phase three, this is kind of more like that. Okay,
let's have a dry run of what it's like to
prepare for a game week with the Texans on the horizon.

Speaker 3 (07:10):
Yeah, there is a preseason game here as you mentioned,
on the horizon, and you know, the hard hitting training camp,
the intense training camp for physical training camp we've seen
so far, I think, you know, it was kind of necessary.
Not that other Mike Tomman training camps have been soft,
but you know, I think that there was definitely something

(07:32):
this summer that needed to be established. You know, the
Steelers are traditionally u you know, or a tough, physical defense,
but I think they kind of got away from that
on offense a little bit. And you know, the Matt
Canada years were not they it just wasn't a physical

(07:53):
style of offense. I mean, they did run the ball,
but it seemed it was jet sweeps and you know,
those kind of plays misdirection things that kind of stuff
as opposed to what we're seeing a lot more this summer.
You know, lining up with a fullback in the eye formation,
here we come, you know, pull the tight ends in
tight and you know we're running. See if you can

(08:16):
stop us. And you know, I think that not only
is that an Arthur Smith characteristic in terms of the
kind of offenses that he likes to run, but I
also think that that's something that's necessary for this particular
Steelers team. You know, when you look at the offensive
side of the ball, I don't think that this is

(08:37):
a high wire act kind of offense. You know, I
don't think you're going to see this team, you know,
throw the ball fifty times a game, unless the score
might dictate that. I think that the preferences, you know,
are going to be to run the ball, control the clock,
you know, shorten the game, don't hurt your defense, and

(09:00):
you know, try and take advantages of your scoring opportunities.
I don't think the wide receivers are kind of group that,
you know, you want to get into high flying contests
against opponents with. You know, Russell Wilson has yet to
really play much at all in eleven on eleven. I
think he's going to be fine, but just haven't seen

(09:23):
it yet. And if he does what he did last
year in terms of you know, twenty twenty eight touchdowns,
No twenty six touchdowns passes in eight interceptions, you know,
if he puts that up, those will be the best
numbers in those categories from the Steelers quarterbacks since Ben
Roethlisberger was out here on these fields of Latrobe. So,

(09:45):
but I do think that running the ball, establishing a
physical tone with the opponent maybe shortening the game a
little bit, especially some of those division games. Keep the
ball away from Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow and Deshaun Watson.
You know, that's a strategy as well in order in

(10:07):
addition to trying to stop them just with your defense.
So I think that what we've seen here at training
camp is trying to work on the things that they
hope are going to be their assets, especially on offense
come the regular season.

Speaker 2 (10:28):
Now, before we get to coach Tomlin's session with the
media following practice on Sunday, I think we have to
hit our congrat contractually obligated Russell Wilson update on the show,
and you kind of did touch on it a little bit.
There's it's still in a holding pattern with him. We'll
see after the day off yesterday what today looks like
with a padded practice, if maybe he gets more involved
in team drills and team activities. You've noted on practice

(10:50):
reports before though, you know the arm is still there.
You can see the talent still there when he does
individual stuff seven on seven, some eleven eleven on eleven drill,
but labs kind of to expand on something that you
were saying there. With Russ and his numbers from last year,
a really attractive number for me is his red zone
efficiency twenty touchdowns to one interception.

Speaker 4 (11:12):
That has been.

Speaker 2 (11:13):
So sought after for the Steelers offense for the past
couple of years under Matt Canada is being efficient in
the red zone and getting seven instead of three. And
Russ was really really good at that last year. I mean,
twenty to one is one of the best ratios in
the league in the red zone.

Speaker 3 (11:30):
Yeah, and you know that's one of the reasons that
I would be leary you know about a justin fields
package at that, you know, in that good area of
the field. I mean, why you know, I don't know
that I'm a big, you know, package guy for not
the starting quarterback. You know, maybe, hey, if it works,

(11:52):
I'm motiposed to it. And it worked with Cordell Stewart.
I just don't know, if you know, I just don't
know this year, I'm they're gonna have to show me.
But again, I don't know that you want to take
out a guy who is so efficient in the red zone,
you know, for what kind of might be a gimmick.

(12:14):
So we're gonna have to see how that works out.
I do believe if Russell Wilson is going to play
in the preseason opener on Friday, I think he needs
to pretty much start some eleven on eleven today. Now, again,
maybe the plan is, let's let's see a lot of

(12:34):
justin fields in this game coming up. You know, I
don't know that. Maybe Mike Tomlin will have some information
along that front during his Wednesday news conference or you know,
if you're at you're gonna ask me whether he's going
to commit to that or not. I'm going to say no,
even if he might know in his own mind, you know,
what his plan is going to be in terms of

(12:57):
amount of time and how he's going to division divide
up to playing time among the quarterbacks. So you know,
stay tuned, keeps everybody interested, then keeps people tuning in
every morning at nine o'clock, right, keeps our ratings.

Speaker 2 (13:12):
Eh, that's all that really matters. And I'll keep knocking
on wood here. But you know, other than Russell Wilson
in his calf, other than some people that you know
started on the pup list at the beginning of camp,
Cordell Patterson on football related injury, and of course Roman
Wilson is the big one, all quiet on the injury
front for the most part, for the most part at

(13:32):
training camp so far. And again I'm knocking on wood
in the studio right now, so I can say this
without jinxing it. But that's a good start for a
week and a half of practices in the book books.

Speaker 3 (13:40):
Yeah, and that's another one of the things that you know,
I think Mike Tomlin does very thoughtfully. He does run
physical practices. I mean he has tackling to the ground
in every training camp practice in pads and has for
quite a few years. You know, Judy Batista from NFL
Network was here on Sunday, yes Sunday, and she was

(14:07):
watching practice up here with me, And you know, I
asked her because she goes to a lot of training camps.
You see anything like this anywhere else, And it was
an unequivocal note. But then you know Mike Tomlin takes
care of some of those, some of his veteran guys.
You will see Isaac Ciamalu and Craig excuse me, almost

(14:28):
said Craig Hayward, cam Heyward. You know, Landon Roberts will
get some I won't say full days, but occasionally, you know,
sits out some drills. T J. Watt, Alex Heismith, you
know a lot of these guys who will see them
not suited up for a practice. And you know, I
would imagine if fans, if it's their loan trip out here,

(14:50):
you know, they want to see all the players and
maybe they're disappointed, but you know, this is how you
maintain bodies. Because again it's still August sixth, you know
it's it's gonna be almost six months of this, you know,
before it's over. So the NFL season is a long grind,

(15:11):
a lot of banging, and you know, I think Mike
Tomlin is a good, thoughtful plan and so far it's working.

Speaker 2 (15:18):
Well, let's hear from coach Tomlin. He always talks to
the media following practice. This is Sunday's coach Tomlin media
session following that day of practice.

Speaker 5 (15:26):
Man, really good day to day, situational ball, emphasis on
short yardage and goal line h in particular. Really a
day that features our bigs, defensive line, offensive line, uh,
the way the game is played in there. We're not
trying to trick anybody on a day like today. We
want to see who can come off the ball, play
with good pad level, defeat blocks, maintain blocks. Just a

(15:49):
really good day in terms of getting to know one another.
We tackle it on days like today, so we're not speculating.
It's just providing a better platform for guys to develop skill,
show their skills, and so very necessary day. I'n glad
we got to it, got through it relatively clean from
an injury perspective, no news there to talk about. All

(16:10):
the other ones can be characterized as status quo. We
got us an off day coming up, and so it's
gonna be really a big opportunity for people to get
right in a short period of time. We stepping into
a stadium next week, and so you know, all this
work is important, but you know, obviously some of it
has waited more than others, and so it would behoove
guys to get into that stadium on Friday night or

(16:32):
whatever day it is that we play pausing open it
up for questions.

Speaker 3 (16:35):
Like anything to jump out individually or collectively from the
goal line period.

Speaker 5 (16:40):
Man, I just you know, I thought we had some
young defenders really stand up. You know, I had some
guys out of the drill like Larry Ogan, Jobie and Benton,
and so we had guys like you know, louder Milk
and others Logan Lee stepping up in class and getting
an opportunity to pick their skills against you know, more

(17:02):
established guys. And so it's always good when guys get
an opportunity to do that and and to have some success.
I thought some of those defensive linemen up front really
represented themselves well.

Speaker 3 (17:14):
Similar in the Severn shots is kind of goal line light.

Speaker 6 (17:17):
Were a lot of running in.

Speaker 3 (17:18):
That as well.

Speaker 5 (17:18):
Yes, yeah, again, as I mentioned, it was about the
bigs today, Mike, I'm curious, now.

Speaker 2 (17:24):
That you've had some time of work more culosely to
versus Smith, what sends out to you just about his
leadership and coach and style.

Speaker 5 (17:30):
You know, we haven't faced any real adversity yet, and
so you know, Arthur and I both have been around
long enough to realize that you really get to know
yourselves and each other through real adversity.

Speaker 6 (17:40):
This is kind of a control environment.

Speaker 5 (17:42):
Obviously, he's doing a great job, man, But you know
we're not wearing our hands out patting ourselves on the back.

Speaker 6 (17:47):
Man.

Speaker 5 (17:47):
We know the things that lie ahead are really going
to define that component.

Speaker 6 (17:52):
Anything to stick.

Speaker 7 (17:52):
Out to you about the connection King Fields and George
today seemed like he.

Speaker 4 (17:56):
Was targeting finding them across the middle.

Speaker 6 (17:58):
You know.

Speaker 5 (17:58):
I throw the ball to George too. George is pretty good.

Speaker 8 (18:02):
Might rush through one pass in a live eleven and eleven.
You're how much do you expect him to be able
to ramp up the.

Speaker 4 (18:08):
Participation after the off day?

Speaker 6 (18:09):
See you next week?

Speaker 1 (18:12):
Anyone else do.

Speaker 6 (18:13):
You call an audible? There no.

Speaker 2 (18:17):
Solid ending as always for coach Tomlins Presser and I
would throw the ball to George too. Coach, I agree
with you, he is pretty damn good. A lot more
to get to for Labs and myself when we come back.
We'll take a look at the inside linebacker unit and
Landon Roberts had a fun chat with Missy Matthews on
Sunday as well, so we'll play that back for you.
It's all on the way on the Training camp Report
on Steelers Nation Radio.

Speaker 9 (18:43):
Of course, you've got extra heavy delays on fifty one
heading towards the Liberty Tunnels. Also West Liberty Avenue jammed
up for you too. Fifty one shut down between Woodruff
and Crane for the next three weeks. Parkway West your
slow Top of the Hill Park with EASA Slow from
Greensburg Pike a Bonnie Diver total traffic.

Speaker 1 (19:05):
He sees the training camp Report with Tom Opferman and
Bob Labriola on Steelers Nation Radio Labs.

Speaker 2 (19:13):
Inside linebacker is such an important position on defense and
having a guy that can be out there for all
three downs, can stop the run, can play in coverage,
It goes a long way. Steelers have been searching for
that guy for a while since the Shazier tragic injury,
and on paper, you know, we've talked about this before
on our training camp reports. This does feel like the

(19:33):
group that might be able to push them over the top.
In that category of guys that can stay on the
field for three downs, guys that can cover well, stop
the run thumpers, but also you know, has the agility
to keep up with a tight end like a Kelsey
or even a slot receiver if they end up in
that mismatch. And the addition to Patrick Queen Landon Roberts
carrying over Peyton Wilson being a pretty i'd say, a

(19:57):
rookie that people have a pretty high not expectations, but
I don't want to give him that yet. I don't
want to say, like, you know, we're expecting him to
be that great, but they like the ceiling that they
see from him. He could be a really good player.
So you know, on paper, you got to be excited
about this unit.

Speaker 3 (20:15):
Yeah, and you know, as we learned last year, you've
got to have more than two even you know, because
normally you line up with two in the base defense anyway.
And you know, what we saw happen at that position
in terms of injuries, I mean, to me was kind
of unprecedented. You know, we've talked a lot about this too,
literally having to sign guys off their couch and you know,

(20:38):
off off practice squads, off the street, off the waiver wire,
I mean, and just signing guys in the middle of
the season on a I don't know, a Monday or
a Tuesday, after an injury on a Sunday, and trying
to think about that, we have to have him ready
to play for the following game. But you know what

(21:01):
they have with with the three players you mentioned, I
think it's a very nice trio. I think these guys
compliment each other and they can't compliment each other moving forward.
You know, land and Roberts. I'm gonna be honest. You know,
at the start of last season, when you looked at
the linebackers, you know, you mentioned him as a thumper,
and that's kind of how I saw him too, you know,

(21:22):
primarily a run stuffing guy, uh, somebody who made you know,
come off the field in passing situations. And maybe that's
the way the season started out. But once those injuries
came through, you know, Landon Roberts was a guy who
saved things in a lot of ways. I mean, playing hurt,

(21:44):
you know, playing all the time. I mean, this guy
really came through for the team in a big way
down the stretch there that when the Steelers put together
that winning streak and you know, got into the playoffs.
So you know, I'm not he is a thumper against
the run, but he has convinced me now that he
can do more than that, and I think this could

(22:05):
be a big year for him.

Speaker 2 (22:07):
Yeah, he definitely showed he can do more than that.
But he doesn't have to do more than that all
the time because the guy that's going to be his
running mate, if healthy, has a talent level that you
haven't seen since you had the pedigree of Ryan Says
year or maybe what we thought we'd see out of
Devin Bush when you move up in the draft to
pick him from the top ten.

Speaker 3 (22:26):
Yeah, Patrick Queen is the real deal, you know.

Speaker 2 (22:29):
And you see that already in practices. You can just
see those flashes.

Speaker 3 (22:33):
Well, yeah, and he is I mean he fits right in.
I mean he is not a shrinking violet, let's put
it that way. He is there whenever there are any
there's any trash talking going on about this play or
that play, the offense win, the defense win. You know,

(22:54):
Patrick Queen has an opinion and he lets the other
guys on the field know. And you know it's you
need you need attitude to play defense. You just do.
And Patrick Queen brings that attitude and you like that
from a from a guy in the middle of the
defense like that, I think that he will start as

(23:14):
the green dot guy probably, and that's also an important
role because the other guys in the huddle have to
be listening to him, paying attention to him, and I
just think he has that kind of presence where you know,
just him being there when he speaks, you listen, and

(23:36):
so you know that's a good thing as well.

Speaker 2 (23:39):
We're gonna hear from a Landon Roberts and just a
little bit here. But one other thing I wanted to
touch on with the inside linebackers before we get to that.
You know, Cole Holcomb was a guy last year that
at the beginning of the year really looked like he
was going to stick in and be that guy that
could be on the field all three downs and be
that kind of lead dog in that room. Then he
suffers the injury, opens up camp on the pub list.

(24:01):
No one really expects him, at least I don't expect him.
I don't want to put words in your mouth to
be back for Week one against the Falcons. I think
at this point with him, you're kind of keeping an
eye on it. And if he can work himself back
to playing shape come week six, seven to eight at
some point in the season. That can just be another
huge boost in the arm for that for that unit.

Speaker 3 (24:21):
Yeah, I mean, I'm I'm not a doctor and I
hate to play one.

Speaker 4 (24:25):
On you just play on our show the radio just
to me.

Speaker 3 (24:30):
Yes, I will do the meteorology thing, especially, you know,
from my vantage point here, I can. I can have
a pretty nice three sixty of the sky. But yeah,
I wouldn't expect Cole Hulcom to be on the fifty
three man roster when it's originally assembled on August twenty seventh.
I would expect him to open on the physically unable

(24:53):
to perform list only because that list will allow him
then to be brought off physically and able to perform
if there comes a time after six weeks that you know,
he shows that he is ready to play. Because if
the Steelers would put him on IR, if he's good,
if he goes on IR without spending twenty four hours

(25:14):
on the fifty three man roster, then he's out for
the year. But if he if you know, I don't
think I'm not predicting this is going to happen. I'm
just explaining the rules. If you keep a player as
part of your original fifty three man roster and then
put him on IR after the waiver period ends, which

(25:34):
is twenty four hours, then he's on I guess what
you call short term. I ar he could be back
after four weeks. I don't think Cole Holcomb is is
at that spot yet. I mean, he hasn't made an
appearance on this field at all, not even to do
any of his rehab and stuff. Sometimes you would see,
you know, players working on an adjacent field, so he's

(25:59):
I think I believe he's back in Pittsburgh working on
his rehab. So because he is still at that place
in his process, I imagine he's going to start on
physically unable to perform, and you know, then we'll just
have to see. I mean, it wouldn't surprise me or
really disappoint me if he was unable to play this year,

(26:21):
because that was a significant knee injury, and you know
he sustained it in I think it's late October early November.
You know a lot of times those are twelve month injuries.
That's twelve months you know, to rehabit, and then you
have to get back into football. Maybe you you know,
the knee might be strong enough for football kinds of things,

(26:44):
but then you have to get the rest of your
body back into football shape.

Speaker 4 (26:47):
So it takes a while to trust it again.

Speaker 3 (26:49):
You know, the mentality, Yeah right, And so you know,
I'm not holding out a lot of expectation for Cole
Holcom to be a big part of this defense this year.
But you know, good guy, hope he rehabbed it successfully
and able to resume his career. Maybe. In twenty twenty five.

Speaker 2 (27:10):
A Landon Roberts caught up with Missy Matthews following practice
on Sunday. Let's listen into their conversation.

Speaker 8 (27:16):
Let's go down to.

Speaker 7 (27:16):
The field where a Landon Roberts is standing by in
a Landon family day.

Speaker 8 (27:21):
Coach Tomlin said he wanted that last goal.

Speaker 7 (27:24):
I drilled to go towards the families, and I believe
I heard defense one five to two.

Speaker 8 (27:28):
Am I correct?

Speaker 10 (27:30):
Oh? Yeah, yeah, yeah, we took that five too.

Speaker 8 (27:34):
Take me through what this practice has been like.

Speaker 7 (27:36):
Getting a chance to put the pads on yesterday there
were no pads after Friday night lights and knowing you
guys get a day off and you're getting closer and
closer to a real game.

Speaker 10 (27:45):
Oh yeah, it's been. It's been real good being able
to have a pass all, you know, coming to get
as a team. You know, obviously you know with the
pass on, it's been you know, tempest flair, you know,
but that just brings the best out of all of us.
You know, I think we've been jailing real good as
a team or all three units of offense, defensive, special teams,

(28:05):
and we just got to keep grinding, man, keep digging
our feet in the ground, taking it one day at
a time.

Speaker 7 (28:11):
What's the biggest thing you've seen in terms of this
defense coming together and starting to take that next step
during training.

Speaker 10 (28:17):
Camp, everybody mentally, you know, the mentality of the team.
You know, it's a lot of grit, it's a lot
of fight, you know, whatever it takes, you know, you know,
I know we're not out here to you know, be
an MMA team or nothing like that. But it just
shows the grid of you know, a guys like you know,

(28:40):
a running back like you know, you got me, but
let's see if you could do it twice and you know,
and vice versa. And you know, the offense from a
standpoint when they running the ball. You know, they they
want to have identity, you know what I'm saying, and
stuff like that. Defensively, you know, we want our identity going,
you know, and stuff like that. And and and when
you're getting that type of competition at a high level,

(29:00):
you know, a temperatures flare. But it just shows you
the care from the guys out there and the expectation
in the standard of what we're trying to build to us.

Speaker 7 (29:10):
In terms of the chirping, it really feels like you
and Patrick Queen on defense and then Naje and Jalen
on offense.

Speaker 8 (29:16):
Are you guys the loudest? Is that fair to say
say one more tompsonry the chirping.

Speaker 7 (29:21):
In terms of you know, maybe getting the best of
each other in that friendly competition, that being that you're
on the same team, is it fair to say that
you and Patrick Queen and Jalen Warren and Najee Harris
are the biggest trash talkers right now?

Speaker 6 (29:33):
Yeah?

Speaker 10 (29:34):
We going at it every day, you know, even when
you know what I'm saying, we were going at it,
know and stop. You know, if they get us in
the drill and then we come back and get them,
and then they get us, we come back and get them.

Speaker 6 (29:46):
You know.

Speaker 10 (29:47):
Me and PQ, we roommates in the dorms, So it'll
be like eleven o'clock at night and I'll be in there.
I go knock on his door, and I was like,
I'll be like, I'm gonna knocked out him tomorrow, like
all I bet, you know, And then like last night,
I'm laying down and peck you like, hey, man, tomorrow, Man,
I'm running through that. I'm setting the tone. I'ma be

(30:07):
the first one, like, you know, we got that mentality,
you know. And I'm pretty sure Jalen and Naji doing
the same thing. And man, one thing about Jalen Naji, Man,
they work very hard.

Speaker 4 (30:16):
You know.

Speaker 10 (30:17):
They set the tone for the offense. Man, them guys
both for great leaders and stuff like that. And uh,
you know, I I'm excited to see them both ball
a lot this year when the offense have the ball.

Speaker 8 (30:28):
What about Arthur Smith.

Speaker 7 (30:29):
I heard he likes to chime in a little bit too,
maybe roughle little feathers on the defensive side of the ball.

Speaker 10 (30:34):
Oh yeah, yeah yeah, or be talking you know, or
or it's always been a hard nosed coach. Man, he
gonna talk a lot of stuff to you and stuff
like that, but at the same time, I appreciate your
heart because he tells us defensively what he's trying to
do and why the why to like, why he's doing
this and doing that. So it's preparing us for other

(30:56):
teams of knowing, okay, when they doing these certain plays,
this is the why behind it. So Uh, it's very complimentary,
you know what I'm saying. But yeah, most definitely man,
that that that that grit, that emotion, you know, and
that that toughness you see from the offense out there.
You know what I'm saying. Author Smith is the head
leader all.

Speaker 7 (31:12):
That last one for you, speaking of the offense, what
have you seen from that unit and how much have
they grown since getting here to La Trope.

Speaker 10 (31:20):
I think that unit man same same as defense and
special teams man. Each day we get an opportunity to
run it. Uh, our units out there on the field.
I think everybody mentality is let's just make sure that
that that that that were the toughest core out there,
but at the same time the smartest and that that
starts with not beating ourselves. Uh, lining up correctly, Uh,

(31:42):
getting the call in making sure we communicate defensively and
vice versa for offense and special teams. I think every
day we just come into it, uh knowing what we
need to do and making sure we uh we check
every box.

Speaker 8 (31:53):
All right, aland and we really appreciate, appreciate your time.
Thanks so much. Enjoy the day off tomorrow.

Speaker 6 (31:58):
All right, Thank you, guys.

Speaker 2 (32:00):
Landon Roberts great stuff with him and Missy Matthews following
practice on Sunday Labs. And one thing that he talked
about at the end there that I wanted to touch on
was that kind of complimentary nature between him and Arthur
Smith and the offense and the defense. You know, they're
competing against each other, of course in this camp setting,
but they are on the same team at the end
of the day, and you know tips that they can

(32:21):
pick up from Arthur from the defensive side of out, Hey,
what you can expect offenses to be thinking in this situation,
In that situation, that kind of complimentary nature is really
it's nice to hear it, honestly, because all we've really
heard about is how competitive and how nasty the two
units have been going at each other in these camp sessions.
And that's a good thing, but it's also a good
thing to learn from each other and take what Arthur

(32:42):
Smith has and apply it to maybe, Hey, this offensive
coordinator is probably gonna think like this because I remember
back at camp Arthur told me, you know, they like
to do that a lot.

Speaker 3 (32:51):
Yeah, and you know, that's an absolutely correct way of
looking at it. And you know, I think that maybe
that has to do with Arthur's Smith being a former
head coach, because those are the kinds of things that
head coaches would be doing, you know, explaining to one
unit what the other unit is thinking, because you know,

(33:12):
he is that individual. The head coach is, you know,
responsible for the entire program, the entire package, everything that
goes on on everything that goes on during game day.

Speaker 1 (33:26):
Uh.

Speaker 3 (33:26):
And you know, I think that that that's one of
the advantages. You know, Mike Tomlin has had some former
head coaches on his staff, Mike Munchek, Brian Flores, you know,
now Arthur Smith, and I think that there's a little
bit something extra that comes from those guys having sat

(33:46):
in the big seat, having warned the whistle, having you know,
carried the challenge flag, you know, all of those things
that only head coaches do, and yeah, Arthur Smith is
he's totally invested in the pro I mean he is
not just sure he wants to win seven shots, Sure,
he wants to win goal line, you know all of

(34:06):
that stuff. But he's also capable of seeing the big
picture in any scenario. And again, I think that's going
to be a big asset to this staff and then
also by extension to this team.

Speaker 2 (34:22):
Yeah, no question about it. Excited to see what the
Arthur Smith offense looks like. Get our first real taste
of it on Friday night at Akroscher Stadium when the
Houston Texans come to town. When Labs and I come back,
we're gonna talk a little bit about the punter, talk
a little bit about special teams. It is important, especially
in this training camp where you're breaking in a new punter.
And then in the second hour we're gonna hear from

(34:43):
Marcus Golden had some great audio over the weekend and
Will Allen is going to join us later on today
around ten to fifteen. So still a ton to look
forward to. On the Training Camp Report with Labs and
Tom on Steelers Nation Radio.

Speaker 1 (35:07):
This is the Training Camp Report with Tom Opperman and
Bob Labriola on Steelers Nation Radio.

Speaker 2 (35:14):
You know a lot of people who do training camp
content would like to just ignore the punter because the
punter is doing his job correctly and there's no reason
to even talk about him or focus on him that much.
But that's not the case for the Steelers because you're
breaking in a new punter a lab so there's intrigue
there just in general. But also, you know, that's been
a bit of a trouble spot for the team in

(35:35):
years past, and it's kind of one of those things
where you take it for granted until it's really below
the line and you realize just how detrimental that can
be for your team.

Speaker 6 (35:46):
Yeah, it was.

Speaker 3 (35:47):
That pretty much describes it for last year. I mean,
you know, the Steelers ranked twenty ninth in the league
last year in net punting average, and Presley Harvin i
think was thirtieth among all ranked A qualifying punters in
the NFL. So you know, that is that is the
to me, is the definition of below the line. And

(36:09):
there were a couple of times during last season where
Mike Tomlin would mention his dissatisfaction with the punting in
press conferences, and you don't usually see that or hear
that kind of thing coming from the head coach, and
you know he did it once and you know he
kind of opened your eyes. And then when he did

(36:29):
it again, that to me was really pretty much a
strong statement. And so you know it wasn't we In
the last segment we were talking about Patrick Queen Uh,
the all down, all situation inside lineback of the Steelers
sign Uh an unrestricted free agent. Certainly that got a
lot of attention and deservedly so. Adding a quarterback with

(36:53):
a Super Bowl win on his resume in Russell Wilson
got a lot of attention and deservedly so. But Cameron Johnston,
to me, was a significant addition. This guy, he finished
twenty twenty three ranked fourth in net punting average. And
you know that's the way the Steelers want to operate

(37:16):
their their punt team. You know, Danny Smith is not
interested in a punter just booming the ball as far
as he can with no regard to where he's kicking it.
Because of deep punt down the middle of the field
that can end up in your end zone and if
you kick it the wrong way, you know, if because

(37:36):
they like to coordinate the coverage with the kick. So
if the kick is called to go to the right
and you kick it to the left, well the coverage
the guys they don't know, you know, they can't see
the ball like we can, you know, watching from the
press boxer on TV, and so they're naturally going to

(37:57):
the right because that's where it's called. Now the ball
goes to the left, and you know, you've set yourself
up for the punk return team to have those angle blocks,
you know, and they say, got set up the wall.
Well that's you know, you don't want that to happen.
So Cameron Johnston, he put on a show the other
day he hit I don't know, I you know, I

(38:20):
was watching him. I would say at least six punts
went sixty or more yards and he was putting them
within two or three yards of the sideline. Perfect. Perfect,
I mean, that's exactly what you want. And so if
he continues along these lines performing like this, I think

(38:43):
that the Steelers punt team, which you know wasn't awful,
but it was too inconsistent and could have been better,
and I think can be consistent and better. And the
other thing we have seen so far is Cameron Johnston
has had no issues holding because the punter is the holder.

(39:05):
I know a lot of fans say, well, it used
to be the quarterback, why can't it be the quarterback.
It's not the quarterback, And it can't be the quarterback
because you don't want to waste one of your backup
quarterbacks who probably will be in a helmet on game
day with the placekicker during practice preparing for the upcoming opponent.
So now it's the punter. That's the way it is

(39:27):
throughout the NFL. That's the way it's going to be
here in Pittsburgh. And so that you know, I know
a lot of fans were didn't want to hear that.
You know, Presley Harvin was being kept because he was
a good holder. Well, that was part of his job.
And when he held that one in Baltimore when that

(39:47):
really that was really that cold, raw day and Boswell
had to kick that field goal to win that game, Well,
you don't want the holder fumbling it like Tony Romo
in that playoff game back in the day for the Cowboys.
So that's part of it. Cameron Johnston has shown no
issues with that, and I think that's a significant upgrade

(40:09):
for this team and looks like a really good acquisition.

Speaker 4 (40:12):
Yeah, I'm glad to hear all that.

Speaker 2 (40:14):
And you know, like you said, you know, holding the
ball for Boswell and being comfortable with Boswell and Christian Konson,
that whole battery. It's big, but it's not the only thing.
It can't just make you survive if your punting's not
going to come around. And unfortunately that's what happened for
Presley Harvin. But good to hear that Johnson has no
hang ups. And you know you mentioned his last year LABS.

(40:34):
He had a really good year punter wise, just looking
at the statistics within that position. But I also want
to note he was punting for the Houston Texans. You know,
it wasn't like he was just going out there for
the Carolina Panthers just Lottie, Dad, doesn't really matter.

Speaker 4 (40:46):
We're out of the season by week five.

Speaker 2 (40:48):
You know, this is a team that won their division
and went to the playoffs and really started to turn
a corner towards becoming more of a contender under their
second year quarterback now CJ. Stroud and second year head
coach Damiko Ryant. So you know, there were high stake
situations that Cameron Johnson was punting in last year, and
he did a great job.

Speaker 3 (41:06):
Yes, right exactly. I mean when you're punting for, you know,
a contender, a team that is contending throughout the season,
you know there are high pressure situations, and you know,
the Texans were, you know, they were in a fight
for the division titles slash playoff spot for a good

(41:27):
bit of the second half of the season, so a
lot of those games were very important. And I'm sure
you know when you go back and look at the
statistics or something, you know, CJ. Strouded something spectacular or
you know, something like that. But you don't want your
special teams to be a minus. You don't want, you know,
special teams to be a negative. A lot of times,

(41:50):
you know, if you're if your offense and defense are
really good, you can get by with special teams that
are a zero, you know what I mean. They don't
really help you, but they don't really hurt yet. But
you know, a lot of times for an up and
coming team like the Texans, they're going to be in
some crucial situations, some tipping points in games and maybe

(42:10):
you know, if a game tips the wrong way, then
maybe a part of their season tips the wrong way.
And you know a lot of times, you know, a punt,
a change of possession is critical, field positioned, you know,
something like that. Pinning the opponent down, hurts their offense,
helps your defense, that kind of thing. And for Cameron

(42:31):
Johnston to have that kind of season productivity wise, for
a team that contended and then ultimately you know, achieved
at least one of their goals, which was, you know,
to get into the playoffs, I think that that's a
feather in his cap.

Speaker 2 (42:46):
Looking forward to seeing how he punts for the Steelers
this coming season. One more thing on special teams before
we hit the break here labs quickly seeing any more
of the drilling of the new kickoff rule, any you know,
weird things about it that you've seen so far, the
players picking it up smoothly.

Speaker 4 (43:02):
Just your thoughts on that.

Speaker 3 (43:05):
They really haven't done much of it, and it's interesting.
I think that, you know, Friday Night's going to be interesting.
It really is. I mean, I firmly believe that this
is really the unknown. I mean Judy Batista, as I mentioned,
she was here watching practice and she has a pipeline

(43:26):
into the NFL office and she was talking to people there.
They do not know what to expect. They don't not that,
not the officials, not the higher ups. You know, this
is all new territory. You know a lot of the
things you know that people always say, well, the XFL
tried this. Well, some of the more radical things that

(43:47):
the XFL abandoned are now incorporated by the NFL. So
this is going to be the wild wild West a
little bit. I don't think anyone knows what to expect,
and you can certainly put me in that camp. I
don't know, I don't have it any idea.

Speaker 4 (44:01):
Yeah, I'm in that camp as well.

Speaker 2 (44:03):
Friday, we'll tell a tale for sure when the Houston
Texans come to town for the first preseason game, seven
o'clock kickoff at Akroshur Stadium.

Speaker 4 (44:10):
For that one, Well.

Speaker 2 (44:11):
Labs, when I come back to kick off the second
hour of our show today, we're gonna hear from Marcus Golden,
newly reacquired outside linebacker by the Steelers. He talked about
what his offseason was like and if the Steelers were
kind of in communication with him that this might be coming.
So we hear from him. We'll talk about that unit
for a bit, and then Will Allen is going to
join us at ten fifteen.

Speaker 4 (44:31):
That's all on the way.

Speaker 2 (44:32):
On the Training Camp Report on Steelers Nation Radio.

Speaker 1 (44:45):
He sees the Training Camp Report with Tom Opferman and
Bob Labriola on Steelers Nation Radio.

Speaker 2 (44:53):
We're gonna hear from Marcus Golden in just a little
bit and talk a bit about his reacquisition. But before
we do, it's time to make way for meteorologist Labs
to take center stage.

Speaker 4 (45:02):
I wouldn't want to rob him of his.

Speaker 2 (45:04):
Airtime today, so Meteorologist Labs, please, the floor is yours.

Speaker 3 (45:08):
Yes. From nine point fifteen until about when we went
to the last break, so it was a little less
than forty five minutes, the temperature was nine degrees now
now eighty two. It was a nice, somewhat cool seventy three.

(45:28):
Now it's eighty two. And you know, there's not a
lot of clouds in the sky looking to provide much shade,
so bring your sunscreen if you're coming out.

Speaker 2 (45:39):
But it does look like there won't be any rain
at least, so once again that part of the weather
cooperating with the Steelers. No lightning, no risk of practice
potentially being moved or canceled all together.

Speaker 3 (45:50):
Yes, and that's always a big plus. You know. Postponed,
I'll never forget postponed. Postponed is bad.

Speaker 4 (45:57):
Too, yeah, because then we to make it up again,
and that's the that's the worst.

Speaker 3 (46:04):
No, you're thinking, you're thinking.

Speaker 2 (46:06):
Marcus Golden was reacquired by the Steelers a few days ago.
Over the weekend, he was able to catch up with
the media and kind of have their first taste of
what his off season was like and hearing from the
guy who was a decent contributor for the team last year.
So before we talk about Golden's return, let's hear from
the man himself.

Speaker 6 (46:24):
Here. I'm here. I'm just happy to be here, happy
to be back with the Stealers. Man. I love playing
here and be able to do it in another years.
I'm excited for.

Speaker 2 (46:31):
What did they tell you about the timing of it
and kind of why why now they decided to do?

Speaker 6 (46:36):
Man, you know the older you getting the leader. This
is your team, man, So if I can get a
little break and then come in and be able to
fly around and be ready. So they kept in great contact. Women,
they all what I love about the Stillers, Man, they
keep in contact and let you know the real and
they said they were gonna bring me in and they
made it happen. Man. I appreciate it. I like this organization.
I'm excited to be here.

Speaker 10 (46:51):
Want you have a break to miss Campbello trope and
then they come in or you now.

Speaker 6 (46:55):
I'm gonna worker.

Speaker 4 (46:56):
Man.

Speaker 6 (46:56):
They would have told me to come in the day
after the season ended, I would have been there, but
I was just going with the flow, man, and just
make sure I'm ready when my time come. Why was
had a good fit for you last year? And what
do you think you're rolling.

Speaker 3 (47:06):
With you this year?

Speaker 5 (47:06):
Uh?

Speaker 6 (47:07):
Man, I don't really worry about the row out right now.
I'm focused on just getting here in camp. This my
day too in camp. Uh, A good fit is man,
it's pitchburgh still. This outside round back is fly around,
make plays and that's the type of player I am, man,
and whatever role I get, I'd be ready for it.
Just like I said last.

Speaker 3 (47:21):
Year, you look like you really got into it with
backs on backers in your first day.

Speaker 4 (47:24):
What was that like, just kind of getting back in
the groove and hitting right away.

Speaker 6 (47:27):
Just playing football again.

Speaker 3 (47:28):
Man.

Speaker 6 (47:28):
You know I ain't hitting a while since last year,
but football always football, man, So I just keep it simple.
Get out there and go at it, man, and compete.
And that's what camp about. Competing, and that's what I
came to do.

Speaker 3 (47:36):
While they were doing OTAs. What were you uh kind
of doing to keep it?

Speaker 6 (47:40):
Uh? I was working out, but man, I did a
lot of hanging out with my son and my daughter,
man having fun with them. My son was working out
with me every day. I start to feel a little retired, man,
so so it but it was cool. It was cool, man,
just to hang out with my kids a little extra,
but it's it's even better just to get back here
and they'll be able to watch me play this year.

Speaker 3 (47:55):
How old are they?

Speaker 9 (47:56):
Uh?

Speaker 6 (47:56):
My daughter? She uh saven my son and nine. Cause
you just took up three to Mexico. Uh yes, yes, yes, yeah,
think about that. I love Mexico, man. I went to
toa loon this time, but always always fun going to Mexico.

Speaker 3 (48:08):
But I'm looking forward to your season with the seriously.

Speaker 6 (48:10):
Yes, yes, yes, thank you man. I'm looking forward to
seeing all the Mexican fans. That's they great, They great.
I remember playing after with the Cartoners. Man, it's a
great place to play.

Speaker 4 (48:17):
What can you bring just to the outside, and you
know behind guys like TJ, Alex.

Speaker 6 (48:21):
Uh Man just really uh you know TJ and allis
great players, man, even Nick a great player. He's gonna
he's he's up next, working hard every day. Uh Me,
I can just come in man and do my road. Man,
come in, go hard with those guys, compete every day.
Uh work with those guys and just push each other
to get better. Man, That's what we do. That's why
I really want to come back, man. It's just playing
with Alex, TJ and Nick made them some great young dudes, man,
and just to be able to come back and play

(48:41):
with him, and he's really fun playing with those guys.

Speaker 3 (48:43):
That time of way that you had.

Speaker 7 (48:44):
You know, from from the end of the season until now,
have you noticed a h a difference to Nick in
the way he's whether whether it's p the way he prepares,
just the way he's he gonna.

Speaker 6 (48:52):
Be ready, man, that's what he is. He's he he
came in ready. He came in I told him as
a rookie, man, it seemed like you already been in
the NFL. He just put the work in and it
ain't too many guys to come in at that young
to put the work in. He owed school, did he
come to work and put his head and on and
go to work. So that's what I love about him.

Speaker 2 (49:07):
Was last night maybe the most button pushing you've seen
from both sides in one of those individual one.

Speaker 7 (49:11):
On one periods when you guys got in the corner
of the end zone and the backround backers.

Speaker 6 (49:15):
Nah, Man, that's it's early man in camp. And that's
what it is, man, that guys want to get nasty
and get to competing a little bit. But I didn't
seem worse, man, It's just part of camp.

Speaker 2 (49:24):
There's Marcus Golden. I love the guy labs. I mean,
how could you not Every answer that he gave him
that interview was awesome. First of all, great offseason for him,
a little bit of Mexico, so I'm working out with
his kids, hanging out at home being a dad. Then
you get to come right into training camp a couple
of days late too. You get a little extra vacation
to the start of Steeler's training camp. But you know
knows his role seems like someone who recognizes where he's at,

(49:47):
not only on the back nine of his career, but
he's approaching the eighteenth Green, but as he was at
home in the off season, just didn't want to feel
retired yet it didn't sit right.

Speaker 4 (49:56):
Needed at least maybe one more year.

Speaker 2 (49:58):
But you know, we've had turbulence in the past with
some guys that have a resume, like Marcus Golden coming
in towards the end of their career and maybe disrupting
the apple cart. But I have no doubt that he's
gonna walk what he's talking there, because I saw him
walk it just last year.

Speaker 3 (50:13):
Yeah, you know, and there's a difference between knowing your
role and accepting your role. A lot of people know
their role, a lot of people have been told what
their role is, and you know, they say the right things,
but then when you actually get down to it, now
they want more. And you know, that's in a lot
of ways understandable because this is a very competitive business

(50:34):
and if you're if you've been a player for any
length of time in the NFL, you know you have
to be a competitor. So while it's understandable, it's also
not what you're looking for from your number four outside linebacker.
And Marcus Golden, uh, you know, he was that starter
at one time in his career and now he is not.

(50:56):
And but again he showed last year beyond just saying
that he accepted his role that he does. I knows
his role, he accepts it. And so he was a
he was a definite asset. I mean, he had four sacks,
limited number of snaps, he was solid against the run.
As Mike Toman called him. He's a no maintenance guy.

(51:17):
So and that's again, that's what you need from him.
You don't need your number four outside linebacker being in
your ear or being a problem or being disgrentled or
any of that kind of stuff. And you know, Marcus
Golden checks all those boxes. Uh, it's it's good that
he's back, good for the team, he's happy. Uh, it's
good all around.

Speaker 2 (51:38):
Yeah, And you know that's that's a wealth of knowledge
that somebody like Nick Herbig can pull from. You know,
you see her Big just being a sponge out there
all the time. I've seen it on social media with
James Harrison already in this camp. He's talking to Watt
and high Smith obviously, but Golden's another one of those guys,
you know, just because he's not at the level of
water heih Smith. I mean, he was never at the

(51:59):
level of a Watt, but he was once kind of
like an Alex Highsmith in this league. You know, he
has a track record of being a very impactful player
in this league and getting a lot of sacks. So
you know, that's somebody that sounds like he's willing to
pass on his knowledge and loves passing on his knowledge
to some of these younger guys.

Speaker 3 (52:17):
Yes, and when he's also willing to you know, give
it his all whenever he gets on the field, and
he still has a little bit of a you know,
left in the tank in that respect. You know, again,
the Steelers have made some efforts trying to develop or find,
you know, veteran backups at that position outside linebacker, because

(52:40):
DJ Watter and Alex Highsmith, you know, are better down
the stretch when they're not playing every snap of the
game leading up to that down the stretch part. And
so you neque competent guys who can you know, be
productive the least and certainly you know, not be a liability.

(53:01):
You know, you don't want to be putting guys in,
you know, with your fingers crossed. Gott I hope this
guy doesn't get gashed. I got I hope he doesn't.
You know, he's not that kind of player. You don't
have to worry about that with him. And on the
on the upside, you know he might make a big
play for you. In addition, so again I I I
can't say enough about Marcus Golden as a professional and

(53:24):
you know his his production speaks for itself. I mean,
you know, to quote Mike Tomlin, he know he needs
no endorsement from me. Uh he is. He is. If
if you're drawing up a you know what you want
from a backup outside linebacker. Here, Marcus Golden checks all

(53:44):
the boxes.

Speaker 2 (53:46):
When we come back, our final segment will be joined
by former Steeler Will Allen. So looking forward to Will
joining us on the show. So keep it right here
on the Training Camp Report on Steelers Nation Radio.

Speaker 1 (54:07):
This is the Training Camp Report with Tom Opferman and
Bob Labriola on Steelers Nation Radio.

Speaker 2 (54:15):
Joining Labs and myself on the program today is former
Steeler Will Allen.

Speaker 6 (54:19):
Will.

Speaker 4 (54:19):
Thank you so much for giving us some of your time.

Speaker 11 (54:21):
We appreciate it, of course, thank you for having me.
I appreciate it.

Speaker 4 (54:31):
Well.

Speaker 2 (54:31):
Well, like I said, we really appreciate you giving us
the time today. You know, just what your thoughts being
back on campus for training camp, you know, taking it in. Yeah,
you know, I'm sure you had a great experience as
a player, but what's it like coming back as an alumni.

Speaker 11 (54:46):
It's fantastic to be around all the fans, to get
the love from them, don't recalling the play that you
had and the teams you were on, and just those
magical moments. And then you know, coming out during the
middle of the week with their kids and their families
just to you know, be a part of Stiller Nation.
And it's just fantastic.

Speaker 6 (55:06):
To be out.

Speaker 11 (55:08):
You got to always just be grateful for that. And
you know, and I'm excited to see the guys like
I haven't seen them up close and physical and training
camp is where the rubber meets the road, so you know,
seeing who's competing for those roster spots. Especially with limited
limited preseason games, you got to earn your keep in

(55:28):
these dog days. And you know, you're in a thick
of camp right now. When guys are a little tired,
you get a couple of injuries, you know, your legs
are kind of numb. You know, it'd be interesting to
see now who's who's separating themselves and who's being consistent
and who's performing at a high level. So it's a
lot of fun and I'm excited to go see it
and watch.

Speaker 3 (55:48):
Well. For all but one of your seasons with the
Steelers as a safety, tick Lebow was the defensive coordinator,
and on July twenty seventh, the first week of this
training camp, he was announced that he was elected to
the Steelers Hall of Honor as part of the Class
of twenty twenty four. Tell us a little bit about
your experience playing for Dick Lebo.

Speaker 11 (56:09):
Well, first, he's a buck guy, you know, and he's
a national champion. He's a national champion buck guy as well.
But man, he you know, playing for him, you know,
I didn't. I didn't get the privilege to win a
Super Bowl with him, but I did get the privilege
of being coached under him. And I mean he was
He loved you. He told you straight up how you

(56:31):
needed to get better. And every day he came in
with a positive attitude which was contagious amongst the defense
and amongst the team. You knew he was gonna work
as hard as he could and to put you in
the best position and give you the best information to
excel on the field, and he genuinely cared about you.
And that's what you want out of a coach. You know,

(56:52):
one one that's going to care about you, one is
going to really take take his responsibility as a defensive
coordinator to hard and do what's best for the team.
And he lived it every day and he just taught
me a lot. I would just walk into his office
and we would talk about schemes, we would talk about,
you know, ways to get better. We would just talk
about old Buckeye stories growing up in Ohio. So, uh,

(57:16):
he was a personable guy, you know, a guy who
you can always rely on, but also with you know,
shoot it to you straight. So yeah, it's exciting to
see him going to the you know, the Hall of
Fame here for the Steelers, and I'm excited and to
see him do it, and he deserves it. And he's
one of the greats, the greats ever to coach the
game and also to play in the game. So you know,

(57:38):
you can't forget he almost got sixty interceptions, I think,
or did he get more than sixty.

Speaker 3 (57:44):
Sixty two? Sixty two?

Speaker 11 (57:46):
Yeah, he got sixty two interceptions. Man, he got sixty
two interceptions when they were running the ball a lot,
So that tells you a lot about his skills and
his athletic ability. So you know, Dick Lobo is one
of the one of the best and greatest of all time.

Speaker 3 (57:59):
You know, it's funny that you mentioned right off the
thought that he's a buck Eye, because Dick lebou was
very proud of that, and he was willing to tell
you that he was a buck guy, whether you were
a Buck Eye fan or sometimes he enjoyed telling you
that he was a buck guy if you were not
a Buck Eye fan. But one of the traditions associated
with him long long time with the Steelers, he always recited,

(58:23):
uh twas the night before Christmas to the team, what
was it like being in there? For that?

Speaker 11 (58:29):
It was magical and you had to be there. You know.
It's one of those things where he told the story
with such you know, such just prestige better than you
could hear it on a TV or radio or your
parents could tell you. But you know, the way, the
way that he described it, he didn't miss a beat,

(58:50):
and you know, he just it just was a great
moment for the guys every year, and you never get
tired of it. And you know I could, I could
hear him do it right now, if he did it
in the middle of the summer, still be It's still
be great.

Speaker 3 (59:03):
You know, during your NFL career, you played for three teams, Tampa, Dallas,
and then the Steelers. Was playing for the Steelers different
than it was for those other two franchises? And if
it was, how was it different? Yeah?

Speaker 11 (59:18):
I think every franchise is different, to be honest with you.
You know, every chance franchise has his own culture and
belief system and you know, hopefully that's driven by the players.
But I played with some Hall of Fame guys down
in Tampa, Hall of Fame coaches, uh, you know, Mike
Tomlin being one of them. He was my secondary coach
and got to meet some fantastic people that you know,

(59:39):
helped me in my career. We obviously had our ups
and downs of having losing seasons, but you know, that
was the groundwork for me to have a twelve year career,
to build the foundation on how to be a good
ball player in this NFL, uh, you know, and and
and established myself. So you know, it was some good
that came out of Tampa. Obviously I was. I was

(01:00:02):
very blessed to come here to the Steelers. And you know,
I think being at the Steelers was just it was
a different level of connection, a different level of mentality
and play all around on a consistent basis that I
just really just drew to. It just was attracted to
and connected with. And I think it started with ownership.

(01:00:23):
You know, being able to talk to mister Rooney, you know,
and and and have a relationship with him, and you know,
and have a relationship with Mike Tomlin and you know,
every and all the players. It just makes this place
very special for the Pittsburgh Steelers. And uh, you know,
I enjoy and that's why I'm back here at training
camp and willing to do what I can to support

(01:00:44):
the organization. And and Pittsburgh is now home for me.
So you know, every every place has this pros and
his cons Nothing is perfect, but may not thoroughly enjoyed
my time being a Pittsburgh Steeler.

Speaker 6 (01:00:56):
Uh.

Speaker 3 (01:00:56):
While you were still a player, you created the Will
Allen Foundation, and that foundation has a stated goal of
inspiring youth and underresourced communities to succeed by providing necessary tools.
How did you come about starting your foundation, and why
did you choose that as the focus of it.

Speaker 11 (01:01:18):
That's a really good question, and thank you for asking that.

Speaker 6 (01:01:22):
You know, I was.

Speaker 3 (01:01:23):
I was.

Speaker 11 (01:01:24):
I got drafted in NFL and didn't know how to
buy a house. You know, I didn't know how to
manage my finances. I didn't know a lot about being
an adult. And I think a lot of adults don't
know how to be adults. They just have that title
and age associated with it. And so I said, well,
what's the problem here, Like, you know, if I'm going
through high school, I go through college, I get my

(01:01:45):
first job, or I get my second job, and I'm
about twenty five years old, Like, how am I going
to start my life? I need some tools, I need
some resources, I need some support. I need to be
able to draw and experiences to help me in moments
in life. And so I thought that was critically important
to start early to create career pathways for young people

(01:02:06):
to help them think differently. And again, what tools do
you have in your toolbox? Let's let's get some tools
for them to utilize when the moment comes, they can
they can they can draw from. So that was the
whole premise early on in Tampa in two thousand and six,
you know, working at you know, three different high schools,
and one of my former teammates, Dereck Derren Brooks, who
I love dearly. You know, he started a school, Brooks,

(01:02:29):
the Barlow Academy, and you know, were working in his school,
were working at King High School, and now you know,
we're working in schools in Pittsburgh. So at one point
we're at we're in three states, and now we're working
primarily in southwestern Pennsylvania, you know, collaboratively with business, the
business community and the nonprofit community. And you know, people
can find out more at will Alanfoundation dot org or

(01:02:52):
you can go to my Twitter, you know, Will Allen
w a F or my Instagram and it have a
bunch of information on how you can support or even
you know, if you want to just learn more about
what we're doing. But you know, the whole thing is
how do we get younger people to start thinking more
about in their futures and how to you know, and
giving them tools and resources so they can be ready

(01:03:14):
and prepared. And I think that's that's that's the big
mission and big premise about it and how we you know,
look at the communities that we serve and continue to
help people, and it's been a lot of fun. You know,
we've been doing this since two thousand and six, and
you know Pittsburgh has embraced us and we were going
to continue to do the work.

Speaker 2 (01:03:32):
Well, this was awesome. Thank you so much for giving
us some time today and enjoy your time up at camp.

Speaker 11 (01:03:36):
Thank you, thanks for having me.

Speaker 2 (01:03:38):
That's well Allen, great stuff from him. That's going to
do it for LABS in myself today. Quick note, though,
players are starting to matriculate onto the field for practice
just about five minutes away. Roman Wilson is out there
without that walking boot on, so hopefully some progress there.
We'll hear from coach Tomlin about not inform, not in
uniform now not in uniform, but some minor progress. And
again I'm sure we'll hear from coach Tomlin following practice

(01:04:00):
about Wilson's status. More importantly, though, if you want to
see Labs in person tonight, head on over to Dino's.
He'll be there seven to nine on d VE. Himself,
Jerry Dulac and Mike Bersuit of the Steelers pregame crew
going through a little trial run right Labs for the
real deal on Friday.

Speaker 3 (01:04:17):
Yeah, I got to get some of those final reps in,
you know, because we got we got a game on
Friday too, So look.

Speaker 2 (01:04:24):
For Labs up at Dino's tonight at seven Tomlin press
conference tomorrow at nine AM. So Labs and I will
be back with you on Thursday for another training camp
report on Steelers Nation Radio.