August 1, 2025 • 42 mins
Labs and Tom discuss practice from yesterday, hear from Coach Tomlin, and discuss Jonnu Smiths impact and attitude so far
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Iheartradios Live Coverage job Dot twenty twenty five Steelers Training
Camp is presented by Fadex where Now meets Next and
also brought to you by bud Light, Independence Health System,
by Pennsylvania One Call System, by Live Casino, Calciente Pizza
and Drafthouse by Tom's Appliances, South Hills Auto, Laurel Highlands
(00:27):
Visitors Bureau, we Max Select Realty, the Pittsburgh Steelers Pro Shop,
and by US Steel.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Labs.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
This is certainly one of the days that you circle
on your training camp calendar. The Steelers will have practice
tonight in front of a crowd of six thousand plus
people for Friday Night Lights at La Trobe Memorial Stadium.
There's obviously a ton of excitement in the air, and
maybe on top of it being Friday night lights and
it always being such a great time, Labs, there's only
(00:56):
the second time that the Steelers are gonna throw on pads.
Since we've been here for over a week, we haven't
really seen actual football very much.
Speaker 4 (01:03):
Right, And you forgot the third reason. I get to
take a nap.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
That's the most important. Yes, put that to the top
of the list.
Speaker 4 (01:12):
But yeah, I mean it's Uh, it's an event. It
really is Friday Night Lights. I mean it we'll talk
about it later in the show how it began and
but what it has become. I mean, seriously, I had
no idea that this this it's an event. It's a
full day event. I mean there's stuff going on there
(01:33):
already started at eleven o'clock. I mean not football related,
but I mean they have all kinds of it's like
a carnival too. I mean it has really grown from
just you know, a football practice. You know, it's a
there's an autograph session. Now there's fireworks in belly, fireworks
at the end. It's you know, it's it's huge. It's
(01:58):
a almost a county fair, you know. But it's only
one day and it's you know, sports related. But I'm
talking about in terms of the it generates buzz in
the community. There's all kinds of things to do. It's
for all ages. And yeah, it's the ride over. You know.
(02:22):
Take the buses from the school buses, yellow school buses,
bluebirds i think they're called from Saint Vincent College and
the Steelers take the same route all the time. So
the people who live along the route they come out.
You know they'll be sitting out in lawn chairs on
their grass with terrible tiles and stuff, waving at the buses,
(02:42):
and I mean it's it's not so. It's not only
an event for people who are in the stands. It's
an event for, as I said, the entire community. And
I know there have been times when the Steeler's attendants
at this practice would be higher than the Pirate game.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
That's a very safe assumption. I think moving forward, after
what those knuckleheads did recently, it might even become more
truer than you even let on there. But yeah, it's
such an exciting thing. It's almost like a carnival like atmosphere.
And we'll get into it later in the show. We'll
talk about the history of Friday Night Lights and just
what to expect when you go up there and how
much fun it's been for the Steelers since its inception.
(03:27):
But before we get to that, we got a practice
that we got to talk about yesterday Labs, and we
always kind of like to start with seven shots. That's
really the only thing you can truly keep score on
in these training camp practices, and once again, such a
common theme in fact, every single one of these drills
in this twenty twenty five training camp has gone to
that quote unquote Game seven, this time the defense prevailing
(03:48):
four to three.
Speaker 4 (03:49):
Yeah, and you know, I don't want to give it away,
but I will say this, this was the first time
in Game seven that Mike Tomlin did not put the
number ones back on the field. Interesting so, but anyway,
starting at the beginning, it was a padless practice. You
couldn't really tell that by the amount of chippiness and
stuff that took place over the course of the workout.
(04:12):
But you know you mentioned this. This tonight will only
be the second practice in pads of this camp. In
the first practice in pads of this camp, which was Wednesday,
because it was in full pads, the the running game
was introduced into seven shots for the first time, and
(04:34):
it became a factor because you know, it's it's it's
a live drill and so you could the offense could
run the ball and the defense had to tackle the
guy before he got into the goal line, as opposed
to in a paddless practice, you know, you just touch
up the running back. So okay, so there was no
running the football this time. It started out as so
(04:58):
many of them have Aaron Rodgers to DK Metcalf. Somehow,
Darius Slay was right there in coverage. Broke up, broke
up the pass. Second play, Aaron Rodgers to DK Metcalf
again other side of the field. Instead of like a
quick route to the pylon, he did a quick route
(05:21):
over the middle inside Jalen Ramsey touchdown. So Rogers was
in for another play again. He went to a receiver
at the pylon, at this time it was Roman Wilson. Again,
Darius Slay was there in tight coverage. So then Mason
Rudolph comes on. Uh, he's the second quarterback in he
(05:44):
always has been this camp so far. So he was
in for two plays. Mason Rudolph HiT's Robert Woods for
a touchdown. Second play of his little set again goes
the Woods incomplete and tight coverage. Let me just say
that the coverage the defensive backs were very sticky yesterday.
(06:11):
Props to them. Good to hear, yes, So okay. So
now after Mason Rudolph's two plays, it's the scores three
two in favor of the defense. Will Howard comes in again.
There seemed to be a lot of plays similar plays
in that they were quick passes from the quarterback to
(06:33):
a wide receiver at the pylon, either on either side
of the formation. Will Howard's first one to Brandon Johnson,
touchdown three to three. So, as I mentioned game seven,
as you'd like to call it, and I like that too,
So that's what that's what it'll be on this show
for the duration of camp.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
It gives it the appropriate gravitas.
Speaker 4 (06:55):
You know. Yes, okay, so game seven, but Mike Thomlin
did not put in in the first team offense or
the first team defense. He left the units that were
out there out there, so they got to decide the drill.
Will Howard airmailed tight end JJ Golbreth kind of in
(07:19):
the back of the end zone, but not like along
the end line, a little bit in front of that.
The throw was high from the beginning. It had no chance.
I don't know if goalbreath had been Victor wimbin Yama,
he couldn't have got that one. So defense wins for three.
Speaker 3 (07:37):
What do you think that was for Toman to keep
the second third stringers in just simply because you know,
the first stringers have gotten that kind of pressure rep
that seventh rep for the past practices. You need to
put these guys in the pressure cooker to see how
they respond.
Speaker 4 (07:51):
Yeah, I mean, I'm speculating, but that's what I would speculate.
You know, As I said, every time it's been a
game seven to this point in camp, he has done
the teams. So I think that you know that, not
that it's getting old, but those guys were familiar with
that being in that situation, and I think you want
(08:13):
to create pressure as much as you can in training
camp for as many of these players as you can,
and so you know, you get to see what some
of these other guys have some of the other.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
Things you observed in camp, and you can read all
of Labs's observations from training camp practices. Every day there's
a practice following practice will be published on Steelers dot
com at some point written version of the training camp report.
But the timeliness that comes with Aaron Rodgers in the
passing game, you know, he is such a surgeon and
things really need to be exactly the way he wants
(08:44):
them to be or else sometimes things are going to
look a little bad. And we had some of those
awkward looking throws in practice yesterday that wasn't necessarily Number
eight's fault.
Speaker 4 (08:52):
Yeah, I mean talking to media who have covered Aaron
Rodgers at his previous stops, the word that I heard
most often was he's a stickler. He wants it the
way it's supposed to be, the way it's drawn up,
the way they do it and walk through. You know,
if if the guy is supposed to break the route
(09:15):
a certain depth, that's what he expects. If it's supposed
to be a back shoulder throw, that's what he expects,
and that's where the ball's going. That's what the ball
is going to be. Because one of the things Aaron
Rodgers is definitely is he is in anticipatory thrower. Anticipatory thrower.
Say that three times fast on the radio. I could
(09:37):
spell it really easy for writing. It's not as easy
to say as it is to spell. But so it
looks bad when you're not. They're not on the same page.
And with the Jets, you know, I was told that
Aaron Rodgers, you know, Garrett Wilson high picked for the Jets.
(09:58):
I had a great year last year, a lot of
pack got a lot of passes, a lot of yards
and all that stuff. But he was not I don't
know where he was supposed to be all the time
early in his rookie season. You know, I don't. I
don't want to say he was running sloppy routes. I don't.
You know, I don't know, but there was a little
miscommunication there and Aaron Rodgers was not having it. You know,
(10:22):
as I said, excuse me, he expects you to be
where you're supposed to be. And when that happened yesterday
during the practice, I give wide receiver coach zach Azano.
I think I'm pronouncing that correctly credit because he got
(10:46):
He didn't get in the receiver's face, but he was
right there to make it obvious that it was not
the quarterback's fault. It's zach Azani. Excuse me that he was,
you know, he because he went to the receiver right
away and corrected him, which is what coaches do. But yeah,
(11:07):
that's and I like that you nip that stuff in
the butt in the bud. And you know, I'm not
saying that you need to publicly assign blame or anything,
but I think you need to I don't know, correct
things that need to be corrected in real time. And
(11:28):
so I liked seeing that. And then you know, later
in the same drill, Ben Skernik, who is known for
let me see, I can say this nicely. You know,
he's not a athletic marvel in any way as a receiver,
A good special teams guy, tough guy, blocker as a
(11:51):
receiver is a lot of things that he can contribute
to a team. And as a receiver, what he may
lack in speed, raw athletic ability, some of the ridiculous
things we see NFL receivers do. Now, what he doesn't
do well is he runs the route as it's drawn up,
(12:14):
and when it's time for the ball to arrive, he's
where he's supposed to be. And he ran a route
like that. The ball was thrown before he made his
little mini break and looked for it. It was right
on the money he made the catch. So I'm sure
that that was brought up at some point in meetings
(12:37):
when they watched the video of practice yesterday. You know,
you don't have to be I don't know whoever is
the most acrobatic receiver in the league. You don't have
to be that kind of guy. With Aaron Rodgers, necessarily,
there will be some times when he will, you know,
put the ball in a place and give you a
chance to make a play, but a lot of other
(13:00):
He's going to throw it where you're supposed to be,
when you're supposed to be there, and it's going to
be accurate and delivered on time. So do your job
turn around catch the ball.
Speaker 3 (13:10):
Well, one person that really did his job in that
receiving room, and some of that I'm sure coaches on
he was proud of. And maybe another thing they highlighted
yesterday when they were watching film was Roman Wilson who
had a great play getting behind cornerback Joey Porter making
a contested catch not only thirty five yards downfield labs,
but also in the end zone.
Speaker 4 (13:28):
Yeah, and I think that since Roman Wilson came here
last season, he was a premium draft pick what I
call a premium draft pick, which is, you know, the
first two days of the draft, and because of the
Steelers situation at wide receiver, there was a lot of
hope slash expectation that you know, Roman Wilson was going
(13:51):
to be provide some answers to some of the questions
the Steelers ad at that position. Now, last year it
didn't work out because he was injured on the sixth
snap of seven shots on the first day of practice
and pats so that kind of just ruined it for him.
And you know, because he then by the time he
(14:13):
got back, he had missed so much time and watching watching,
you know, they call it mental reps when you when
you're watching, mental reps would be fine maybe for DK
Mettcalff or Robert Woods or you know, someone like that,
But when you're a rookie, mental reps, I mean, that's
(14:36):
that doesn't really help you. And so you know, that
just put Roman Wilson's too far behind where you know,
even when he was physically healthy, he wasn't ready to
play and wasn't ready to play is different from he
doesn't and didn't know the playbook. Let me make that clear,
(14:57):
because there were some people who can confuse those things.
Some people in the media confuse those things. They work
at a station down the street. Nice And that's all
I'm gonna say about it. So about who was making
the mistakes, because there's no there's no question Roman Wilson
(15:18):
knew the place. I mean, you know, and I'm not
trying to detegrate him or anything, but I could learn
the place too. You know, knowing the plays has nothing
to do with being ready to play because a lot
of stuff happens that happens on the field, you know,
is at full speed, and a lot of times there
are adjustments made in on at full speed in real time.
(15:42):
And that's what's known in the league is being ready
to play, because if you're not ready to play, and
you're not, you know, in the same wavelength with the quarterback.
And because the route adjustments could be made based on
the coverage that the defense is in after you break
huddle and lineup. Adjustments on the route could be made
(16:05):
after the ball is snapped and you're actually starting to
get into your route because defenses will disguise things until
the snap or sometimes into the play once the ball
is snapped, and if you're not ready to play, that
leads to interceptions because the quarterback sees something expects you
to know what to do. If you don't do it
(16:26):
in real time. Once again, it has to be in
real time, it's a takeaway turnover. So Roman Wilson wasn't
ready to play, all right, So fast forward out of
this year. I said this yesterday, I believe Roman Wilson
showed up from for the start of the off season
program that actually involved football looking like he had done
(16:50):
some very nice work on his body. He looked much
more physically mature, bigger upper body, didn't seem to have
lost any of his quickness. So again, good for Roman Wilson. Uh. Now,
there were I think there was a little bit of
a sense among the team, you know, the personnel people,
(17:15):
maybe even the coaches to some degree. Uh, when is
he going to do something that makes us go, wow,
look at that, because that's you know, that's the kind
of thing you need from receivers in this league. Now.
And again, as I mentioned, he was a premium draft pick.
He did that yesterday. Wow, that catch he made. You know,
(17:36):
it wasn't he got behind Joey Porter Junior. Uh. And
you know, but it's not like he was wide open.
You know, Joey Porter Junior was still close enough to him.
He caught up and he was right on his back,
on his shoulder. However you want to call it was
close coverage. The ball was up in the air and
(17:59):
Roman Wilson went for it, made a contested catch in
the end zone over Uh, the guy who was a
Steelers number one cornerback last year.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
I was gonna say that adds to the wow factor
that it wasn't you know, a second team or that
he sunned because we've seen him do that all the
time in Michigan, Right, that's not really a step up.
Now you're going up against a true NFL cover corner.
Speaker 4 (18:18):
Yeah, And for Mike pursuit, I'll just throw this in
because I know he listens to this. It's not like
it was an SEC team he was playing, right of course,
but anyway, yes, so to me, that was a wild moment.
And so that now that box has been checked, and
you know, we'll see what Roman Wilson could continue to
do throughout this training camp and then you know this
(18:40):
is a preseason game. Preseason game start next week and
the next week, so you know he's gonna get have
some opportunity to play in games. Understandably not games the
content standing standings, but still it's a step up from
training camp practice.
Speaker 3 (18:58):
When we come back, we'll hear from Tomlin his thoughts
following yesterday's practice, and LABS will let you know what
to expect if you're headed up to Friday night lights
with the weather and what that's going to look like.
Fingers crossed that we get that practice in. It is
such a great moment during Steelers Training Camp. Bob Labriella,
Tom Opferman, It's the Training Camp Report on Fox Sports
Pittsburgh nine seventy AM and the Steelers Audio.
Speaker 1 (19:18):
Network Iheartradios Live coverage. Job Not twenty twenty five Steelers
Training Camp is presented by Fadex where Now meets Next
and also brought to you by CGR Wholesale Roofing and
(19:40):
Siding Supply Center, by Ton's Appliances, by Always Safe Flagging
and Traffic Control by Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, by
Schneider Downs, by Has's Steak and Seahouse, by your Neighborhood
Forward Store, by Castle Rock, by Clearview Federal Credit Union,
and by US steel.
Speaker 3 (20:01):
There's a Training Camp Report with Tom Aframan and Bob
Labriola setting the table for tonight's Friday Nights Lights practice
up at THEA. Trobe Memorial Stadium and Labs. Because of
it being such an important practice, I hate to break
it to you, but the pressure's on a little bit
more in this segment. Now, as you become a meteorologist
for the next couple of minutes, we need to know
are we gonna be able to get this practice in
(20:21):
what's your best hunch.
Speaker 4 (20:24):
I don't think even I could mess this one up. Seriously.
Speaker 3 (20:27):
I mean famous last words, because yeah, well.
Speaker 4 (20:29):
I know, but this is in terms of this my opinion,
in terms of watching practice or practicing football, this is
the perfect day. There's cloud cover, but not ugly clouds,
you know what I mean. They're just very nice, little
white clouds, and so there's you know, you're not getting
(20:51):
baked by the sun. It's seventy degrees, the humidity is low,
relatively low for this area, and it's not windy, but
there is a little you know, the air is moving.
It's really nice. It's beautiful, and tonight it's supposed to
be clear, so you know, as long as it's clear,
(21:14):
that means there's no clouds, which means there's no precipitation.
So not only should it be good for practice, but
it should be good for fireworks too. And the low tonight,
and usually you don't get the low until you know,
three four in the morning, it's supposed to be fifty
four degrees, which you know would be a little chilly,
but I think practice will be over before that. So
(21:37):
right now, it's seventy degrees. The high today is supposed
to be seventy seven based on the way I'm looking
at it, you know, looking at things now, I don't
know they're going to quite get to seventy seven. But
as I said, it's very pleasant. There's nothing about this
day that is oppressive or uncomfortable. So and in the
forecast there's not supposed to be anything either. That's all
(22:01):
I got. I mean, I can't, I can't make any guarantees.
The rest is in the hands right let me say this.
I'm not bringing an umbrella.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
Perfect so we won't jinks ourselves. You're doing everything you
can to not jinks yourself here, so it really isn't
your fault if things go south. I think we've done
a good job of clearing your name beforehand. You know, Labs.
Every player i've heard talk to a man about the
weather the heat has said they don't care. It doesn't matter,
just the pads on. It doesn't matter. We're going out
and playing. And people have been asked about it a
lot because it's been such a factor in these first
(22:30):
couple of practices. Let's give them a little drop of
true serum in their coffee this morning. They're happy that
they get a little break today, right, like this feels
good out there like this, Like I understand that there's
benefits to the oppressiveness of the heat, but also, you know,
get a little more comfortable on the field, You start
to really play football a little better too.
Speaker 4 (22:47):
Sometimes well, And I think that really what it is
is players they may think that it's oppressive and miserable,
but they don't want to say it out loud. Not
so much for the people listening. Maybe they would think
that it sounds like an excuse. But you don't want
to get to put that in your own head either.
(23:08):
I mean, they've got enough things to worry about out
here in terms of things they have to do, and
the drudgery of the day and the drudgery of the
same day over and over and over again, So to
be worrying about things they cannot control. So I think
that that would be a defense mechanism for anyone out
(23:30):
here trying to make this football team. You know, you're
just saying, oh, that doesn't matter, I don't care. Just
as I said, you're trying to convince yourself as much
as you're you know, saying it to people who are listening.
Speaker 3 (23:46):
Mike Tomlin spoke to the media as he always does
following practice yesterday. Let's hear what he had to say.
Speaker 5 (23:53):
You know, we always try to have a hardcore plan
but be light on our feet. I just think that's
a component of football and particularly team to belopment. We
went early today to beat the weather. I like the
energy and the preparedness that the guys showed even with
the change. Sometimes we get challenges man rain, delays and
so forth, and we still have to perform, and so
that's some of the messaging that went along with today's work.
(24:15):
I really appreciate the competitive spirit we have out here.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
Man.
Speaker 5 (24:18):
We got some guys that are learning what to do
and getting to know each other while at the same
time being highly competitive. And you can't run away from
the competition in this game, particularly at this level. Got
some guys working their way back to us, increasing their participation.
Isaac c Almolu, for example, was taking off the list
and began the process of working and so all things
(24:39):
pointed in the right direction in that regard. Some other
injuries to report on. Jacob Slade he's got a knee
injury yesterday that's being evaluated. Dean Lowry, he's got a
knee injury from yesterday that's being evaluated. I have more
information on some of those guys and others a little
bit later, and the rest of this stuff is just
things that man to manage that comes along with this process.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
I'll pause and opened up for questions.
Speaker 6 (25:05):
Mike Roscy shiftiness between John and some of the bus pacts.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
How do you react to that?
Speaker 7 (25:08):
And you just had something with the patch off that
meaning you'd like to see.
Speaker 5 (25:12):
You know, I just prefer to keep some of that
stuff in house. I'd much rather say wee than Sickham.
This is a football team we're putting together, but it's
also an opportunity to learn how to compete and compete
the right way and be professional. But largely how I
handle those circumstances is our business.
Speaker 3 (25:31):
Competition periods today too, despite no paths, how would you assess.
Speaker 7 (25:33):
You know, the one on ones along the well.
Speaker 5 (25:35):
I love the energy and the competitive spirit on display.
I think you can do both. I think you can learn,
you can develop skill while competing and competing at a
high level at the same time.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
And I think that was on display.
Speaker 7 (25:47):
Sound excuge big for Roman. How have you seen them
respond to that? Playing outside inside? Justine him separate practices.
Speaker 5 (25:53):
He's shown really good adaptability and position flex We're still
very much early in the process, but I like some
of the things I seen for him.
Speaker 4 (26:00):
Certainly, Aaron talked about yes today, about a master in
this offense and he wants to get.
Speaker 3 (26:05):
It down by the end of the room.
Speaker 6 (26:06):
How he assessed his probless and that at the same
time too, and maybe him getting some systems from as
he can be thrown.
Speaker 7 (26:12):
The ball to playing offensive.
Speaker 5 (26:13):
Wel you know, I agree with his sentiment regarding his progress.
I like it, but certainly we still push him forward
to wark comfort every day. You got to remember the
guy here in the spring, and so this is a
big process for him. Here he's doing a really good
job of communicating and dialogueing with these eligibles, the people
that he works with. But we'll just keep punching that
(26:33):
clock every day.
Speaker 3 (26:34):
Can you talk about past Catcher Arterbuck's going.
Speaker 6 (26:37):
Obviously, reps are invaluable, but inside those rips, how old
do you do catch work?
Speaker 5 (26:43):
Watching the work back t you said it is primarily
built on reps and gaining and understanding and feel for
one another, but that can also happen in the classroom.
And so you know, the work that we do in
the classroom is just as important as the work that
we do out here, and particularly the peer to peer
communication based on what we see to gain that understanding,
that level of understanding, to get an understanding of what
(27:05):
your partner is thinking under certain circumstances is big.
Speaker 3 (27:08):
Last one year, Friday Nightlights to mine that you always
get excited about. He got a ton of new key
guys that get your experience that for the first time,
as well as your thoughts.
Speaker 5 (27:15):
We just appreciate the welcome wagon that we get up
here in La Trobe, not only at Saint Vincent, but
in this community, and it's an opportunity for us to
show our appreciation to perform in that different environment at primetime.
It's also a really good component of team development. You
like to change the variables and circumstances in which we work,
like we did today.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
We went early in the morning. Tomorrow night we'll work.
Speaker 5 (27:38):
At primetime, but oftentimes that mirror is scheduling and so forth.
We play at a variety of times in the National
Football League, and regardless of when it's time to go,
it's time to go, and so Friday Night Lights means
a lot of things to us, man, and we're really
excited about getting to it.
Speaker 2 (27:54):
It's coach Comlin.
Speaker 3 (27:55):
After yesterday's practice, heard him hyping up Friday night lights
a little bit there, and lats the beginning of that
he was talking about being laid on their feet. He
was referring to they had to move practice up to
ten am. I get it. You know, they had that
storms that looked like they were going to be in
the area in the afternoon, and we've already had practices
delayed or altered completely because of weather. So let's just
play it safe rather than be sorry later. But you
(28:17):
are telling me that they could have waited and they
wouldn't have been sorry. It was a very dry day
on campus of Saint Vincent College yesterday.
Speaker 4 (28:24):
Yeah, I mean, and you know, I understand you. You
have to make the decisions, you know, in real time.
And it seemed to me that the two options were
move practice to the morning or get on buses and
go to the south side. And I know which one
I was voting for, and I think the one that
would you know, obviously, the option that was less disruptive
(28:46):
was moving the practice up to the morning, and the
practice did take place and was concluded no rain did
and then the rest of the day it didn't rain.
I mean say this, up until eight o'clock there was
no rain on campus. And what happened after that, I
don't know. But so the Steelers could have had their
(29:10):
normal schedule and not gotten wet. But when you have
to make that decision and what the forecast was, it
was the only decision to make.
Speaker 3 (29:19):
Yeah, and you got to get these practices, Like you said,
they would have gotten the practice and yesterday, no matter what,
whether it's southside, whether it's moving in the morning, what
they actually did. But like as you mentioned, Jacksonville's on
the horizon now, like you really have to get things
kind of honed in because you've got a game that
kind of matters. It's not real in terms of the
standings for the year, but it's real in terms of
(29:40):
those you know, number sixty five through ninety on the roster.
Speaker 4 (29:45):
Yeah, and you know, and again as I said in
the last segment, it's a step up from this training camp.
You know, you get to go against competition in both
individually as a team, in a different in a different jersey,
and that's a that's a step along the way. That's
(30:08):
a part of the process, and there's still a lot
of uh, there's still a lot of unknowns in putting
this roster together, uh, in putting the in terms of
roles for players, you know, arranging certain units, the the
(30:30):
depth chart within those units. I mean, there's still a
lot of things that uh to be determined. I mean
we might look at the starting eleven on offense and
defense quote unquote starting eleven and have a very good
idea who it's going to be, but there's still so
much more to it than that. You know, you may
(30:53):
know who your top four receivers are, but okay, now
how you're going to use them in what combinations? You know,
those kinds of things. So that's what preseason games I
think allow you to do or allow you to take
steps along the path to those answers. And it also
gets guys ready for the routine of playing games, you know,
(31:17):
you the week once you get into the regular season.
I mean, the whole week is scheduled based for the
build up the game day. And again, a preseason game
isn't the same as you know, a week six matchup
against the Ravens. But there are still some similarities in
that you know, you have to recover from the previous game,
(31:40):
get your body ready for the next game. You know,
the game plan or whatever it is, has to be installed,
You work on it, you fine tune it, and then
you build up the playing in the game. So this
is I wouldn't even call it a dress rehearsal because it's,
you know, not that similar to what you're gonna do
in the regular season. But it's still again, as I've said,
(32:03):
it's it's more than just practice at training camp.
Speaker 3 (32:08):
When we return, we're going to get into some of
the things that Steelers may be doing with the tight
ends in this early person portion of training camp. And
John Owsmith has really made an impact since returning to
the fold after missing the first couple camp practices with
an injury, and he spoke to the media as well.
So we'll hear from John Owsmith himself. It's the Training
Camp Report on Fox Sports Pittsburgh nine seventy AM and
the Steelers Audio.
Speaker 1 (32:28):
Network Iheartradios live coverage. I'm about twenty twenty five Steelers
training camp. He's presented by Fadex where Now meets Next
and also brought to you by CGR Wholesale Roofing and
Siding Supply Center by Tom's Appliances, by Always Safe Flagging
(32:51):
and Traffic Control by Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, by
Schneider Downs, by Hasu's Steake and Seahouse, by your Neighborhood
Forward Store, by Castle Rock, by clear View Federal Credit Union,
and by US Steel Labs.
Speaker 3 (33:07):
When we were talking about practice from yesterday, you said
that it was real chippy out there and Johnny Smith
might have been leading that train. Him and jan Thornhill
kind of had some words and exchanges throughout practice.
Speaker 4 (33:22):
Yeah, definitely, And as I said, it was, it was
very physical. It was despite not being in pads. And
you know, one of the things that impressed me was
the offense did not back down. You know, the Steelers
added a lot of defensive players who are aggressive and
physical and mouthy. You know, they like to talk. And
(33:48):
Johnny Smith is a guy, maybe as a leader on
the offense in this respect, he's not going to stand
for that stuff. And right now it's teammates and so
you know, you might have a little bit of a
bad taste in your mouth when you see it happening,
but once the game start, you know, if somebody on
(34:10):
the Ravens wants to run his mouth and John new
Smith is there defending what is right. As Chuck Knowles said,
when Lambert throw Chris Harris on the ground, I think
he'll become a fan favorite in Pittsburgh really fast.
Speaker 3 (34:26):
And you know, he is just such a great weapon
in the passing game. You know they're gonna put three
tight ends on the field a lot, and they just
have so much worthy players of playing time in that
tight end room when you look at John hu Pat
and Darnell Washington. But if you're expecting them to, you know,
be in there like ice road truckers and just clear
(34:48):
the way and be like the team that just runs
the ball down your throat. With these three massive tight ends,
a couple of these guys, including the guy we just
talked about and we're gonna hear from in a second,
John new Smith, you need to look at him more
in the lens of like a Biggert wide receiver.
Speaker 4 (35:02):
Yeah. I mean, the Steelers didn't sign John news Smith,
you know, to put him next to Darnell Washington to
you know, dominate the line of scrimmage. I mean that's
not his game. If that's the kind of player you're
looking for that John new Smith is not your guy
for that. I don't think Pat Fryermouth is your guy
for that. I'm not saying that neither one of them
(35:22):
can block, but that's not what they do well, that's
not why they're making what they're making in terms of
their contract. So, yeah, Jonas Smith, I would you know,
he's a playmaker in his own way, and teams are
gonna have to account for him, but I don't think
it's necessarily account for him because of his physical presence.
Speaker 3 (35:46):
Johnny Smith spoke to the media following practice yesterday. Let's
take a listen to what the newly acquired Steelers tight
end had to say.
Speaker 7 (35:54):
With twenty two.
Speaker 6 (35:56):
No, I ain't got a history of twenty two. It
is a training camp, repeating, you know, trying to get better.
Speaker 7 (36:01):
That's it.
Speaker 8 (36:02):
So you kind of just spike the ball his feet
when you made that catch. Is that sort of just
a statement to the defense, you know, just getting back
at him for you know, other times of practice.
Speaker 6 (36:10):
No, man, you know, when you're competitive, man, you know,
you just that competitive spirit come out in different ways,
you know what I mean. That's just how I was
feeling at the time, you know what I mean. But uh,
you know, we just out there battling, you know what
I mean, training, can competing and trying to get better.
Speaker 7 (36:22):
That's it, you know what I mean. If Thorn Thorn
Hill win that one or was it just a little.
Speaker 6 (36:27):
High afterwards, I gotta go back and watch the field.
I mean, I ain't get it, So I mean I
give it to him. You know how about the last
week Ran I ain't get it. I'll get it to him.
And we watched the tape and see what's going on.
But you know, again, we battling, and you know it
is what it is. I'm gonna want something, you gonna
want They gonna win something, you know, that's what it is.
Speaker 7 (36:43):
We're taking pictures out of the back there. How difference is,
don't Fred And that's a different more.
Speaker 6 (36:46):
I've made plays from the backfield in my career, you
know what I mean, nothing different. Uh, you know, I'm
just continuing to be as valuable as I can to
this offense and whatever they whatever it is, they need me.
Speaker 7 (36:57):
That's what I'm gonna be up trying to go to
my first US about this camp.
Speaker 6 (37:01):
It's extremely fun, you know it get get kind of quiet.
You gotta, you know, wake the stands up a little bit,
you know what I mean. It's training camp, that's what
you know. So you know we all here competing and
then having a good time having fun, you know, I mean, that's.
Speaker 7 (37:12):
What it's about. Look at the second one, you chump
the ball in your gut and couldn't want to if
you were looking at anymore. And he looked, let it.
Speaker 4 (37:19):
Gos that the hell?
Speaker 7 (37:19):
Which one? Which one?
Speaker 2 (37:20):
The second time.
Speaker 7 (37:23):
He went to pick up the ball after the completetion.
Oh yeah, uh, I don't know. I don't know, you
know what I mean.
Speaker 6 (37:31):
Yeah, I guess he's like me throwing them Listen week teammates, man,
I ain't got no personal beef or nothing like that.
Speaker 7 (37:36):
We all here compete, you know what I mean. We're
having fun.
Speaker 6 (37:39):
It get competitive when you lose and when you win,
and you know, we that's that's why we we do.
We've been doing this for a long time, man, and
we want to win. And you know it just brings
you know, certain uh, you know, characteristics out in this.
We understand that we can't take this to Sunday, so
we can let it out here in training.
Speaker 7 (37:59):
Camp, you know what I mean, kind of bottle it up.
Speaker 6 (38:01):
But you know, it's still a lot of technique, fundamentals
and things that like that that we gotta apply each
and every day. So we can't just come out here
and have wasted emotional reps.
Speaker 8 (38:08):
You know what I'm saying, Johnny, It seems like Aaron
connected with you guys a lot more today. This might
have been his most consistent day as far as finding
you guys different parts of the field. What can you
appreciate about his process that he's worked with you guys
to continue to build chemistry.
Speaker 6 (38:20):
I would just say he's another coach on the field
and just kind of the way he sees things.
Speaker 7 (38:25):
You could be very comfortable with Aaron operating the offense,
and obviously he's gonna be one of.
Speaker 6 (38:32):
The greatest to ever do it at his position, and
so that just it's an honor, you know what I
mean that to have that you and you know, I
understand that this is last year. You wanna go out there,
you wanna you wanna be successful for him, You want
to compete for him, and you know he's a great teammate, man.
I mean, I I don't know, you know, with things,
how things have been portrayed in the past or whatever
(38:52):
you know, however was portrayed.
Speaker 7 (38:54):
To the media, or that guy's a great teammate, great
leaders recorded.
Speaker 2 (38:58):
Up, great lady's on the team you can have How
do you feel like this?
Speaker 4 (39:01):
You guys are joeing.
Speaker 7 (39:02):
Its not gonna h uh as start as the playbook is.
How come are you that?
Speaker 2 (39:07):
Uh?
Speaker 6 (39:07):
You know it's early, it's the early second week chat.
We got a long way to go, you know, a
long way to go before September when every report is
valuable and it's gonna take Rome was not built in
the day and it's gonna take time.
Speaker 7 (39:21):
You gotta continue to keep our head heirs out high.
Speaker 6 (39:23):
Like a a bad day out here isn't a bad
day because there's always something to learn from and and
grow from, you know, as when you are a professional
and you and as intentional as you should be, there
should not be a bad day when you get to
this level.
Speaker 7 (39:37):
There's always things to clean up.
Speaker 6 (39:38):
And I learn from technique while it's fundamentals, uh, mental
eras and you know we we don't hop.
Speaker 7 (39:45):
From that stuff. You run to it ever, play righting.
Speaker 6 (39:47):
Back for I've had some success out the backfield during
my career.
Speaker 2 (39:51):
Yeah, boyd, I do what have you heard about that
Friday night lights practice?
Speaker 8 (39:56):
What are you looking forward to?
Speaker 7 (39:57):
A lot of great energy? Is a lot of great
energy out there. I'm looking forward to it that much fuel?
How yeah, and so uh, I'm looking forward to it.
I man, listen, like just being out here.
Speaker 6 (40:09):
These past couple of days, that chain can I understand
what kind of fan base this is and uh, we
gotta be part of it.
Speaker 2 (40:15):
But I talked to Chuck Clark.
Speaker 7 (40:16):
I asked him, is he a free safety or strong safety?
He said, I'm wherever they want me. It seems like
there's a lot of fluidity on that side of the ball.
Speaker 4 (40:22):
You feel.
Speaker 8 (40:23):
It's the same way with the way you and the
receivers are working with how you guys, line of us
le less about positions, more about just.
Speaker 7 (40:28):
Talent, right right right?
Speaker 6 (40:30):
You know that that that availability, that versatility is gonna
give us flexible, tough and uh you know that's gonna
that's gonna be a following for other teams. And that's
how we kind of simbling this thing. And uh, you know,
it's it's a selflessness aspect that goes into it.
Speaker 7 (40:47):
Being able to.
Speaker 6 (40:47):
Play all different positions and learn different positions and maybe
not what you have me you used to doing in
the guys, you know, if we working to the big goal,
we don't know what that is. And so uh you know,
we we ready to attack this thing here it don
hawar comes.
Speaker 2 (41:00):
Did you where did you play running back? Guys?
Speaker 8 (41:02):
Tell me where did you play running back?
Speaker 5 (41:04):
Yeah?
Speaker 7 (41:05):
Where did I play running back?
Speaker 4 (41:06):
Go back?
Speaker 2 (41:07):
Uh like before the.
Speaker 7 (41:08):
League or in the league.
Speaker 2 (41:09):
What the league?
Speaker 7 (41:11):
I'll say this, go back to twenty nineteen Tennessee versus Houston. Okay,
and check the stack, shoot and go to rushing the
tests and rushing yards and then you can pull up
the table calls before that tip. Uh, I got it.
Speaker 2 (41:35):
I got a few.
Speaker 7 (41:36):
God, do you know what I I didn't.
Speaker 6 (41:39):
I didn't have many carries in college. But uh Art
was like the first guy to wanna put the ball
in my hands out the back field like this league,
at this level, okay, and so uh you know, I
just you know again, it's usually mean places that you
know I've uh no, I know I could be in
touching run for not getting us to say, huh you
(41:59):
have a favorite runky game against me?
Speaker 7 (42:01):
There was only one line.
Speaker 3 (42:07):
Steelers tight end John new Smith speaking with the media,
talking about his versatility, maybe getting the ball in the backfield,
perhaps speaking a little bit about that something to keep
an eye on, but just him overall is a player
to definitely keep an eye on for the Pittsburgh Steelers
this year in regards to their passing game. We'll keep
talking about that passing game and the weapons the Steelers
have when Labs and I return. Roman Wilson had a
(42:27):
big practice yesterday. We'll get more into his day when
we come back on the training camp report on Fox
Sports Pittsburgh nine seventy am and the Steelers Audio Network.
Iheartradios Live Coverage job Dot twenty twenty five Steelers Training
Camp is presented by Fadex where Now meets Next and
also brought to you by bud Light, Independence Health System,
by Pennsylvania One Call System, by Live Casino, Calciente Pizza
and Drafthouse by Tom's Appliances, South Hills Auto, Laurel Highlands
(00:27):
Visitors Bureau, we Max Select Realty, the Pittsburgh Steelers Pro Shop,
and by US Steel.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Labs.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
This is certainly one of the days that you circle
on your training camp calendar. The Steelers will have practice
tonight in front of a crowd of six thousand plus
people for Friday Night Lights at La Trobe Memorial Stadium.
There's obviously a ton of excitement in the air, and
maybe on top of it being Friday night lights and
it always being such a great time, Labs, there's only
(00:56):
the second time that the Steelers are gonna throw on pads.
Since we've been here for over a week, we haven't
really seen actual football very much.
Speaker 4 (01:03):
Right, And you forgot the third reason. I get to
take a nap.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
That's the most important. Yes, put that to the top
of the list.
Speaker 4 (01:12):
But yeah, I mean it's Uh, it's an event. It
really is Friday Night Lights. I mean it we'll talk
about it later in the show how it began and
but what it has become. I mean, seriously, I had
no idea that this this it's an event. It's a
full day event. I mean there's stuff going on there
(01:33):
already started at eleven o'clock. I mean not football related,
but I mean they have all kinds of it's like
a carnival too. I mean it has really grown from
just you know, a football practice. You know, it's a
there's an autograph session. Now there's fireworks in belly, fireworks
at the end. It's you know, it's it's huge. It's
(01:58):
a almost a county fair, you know. But it's only
one day and it's you know, sports related. But I'm
talking about in terms of the it generates buzz in
the community. There's all kinds of things to do. It's
for all ages. And yeah, it's the ride over. You know.
(02:22):
Take the buses from the school buses, yellow school buses,
bluebirds i think they're called from Saint Vincent College and
the Steelers take the same route all the time. So
the people who live along the route they come out.
You know they'll be sitting out in lawn chairs on
their grass with terrible tiles and stuff, waving at the buses,
(02:42):
and I mean it's it's not so. It's not only
an event for people who are in the stands. It's
an event for, as I said, the entire community. And
I know there have been times when the Steeler's attendants
at this practice would be higher than the Pirate game.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
That's a very safe assumption. I think moving forward, after
what those knuckleheads did recently, it might even become more
truer than you even let on there. But yeah, it's
such an exciting thing. It's almost like a carnival like atmosphere.
And we'll get into it later in the show. We'll
talk about the history of Friday Night Lights and just
what to expect when you go up there and how
much fun it's been for the Steelers since its inception.
(03:27):
But before we get to that, we got a practice
that we got to talk about yesterday Labs, and we
always kind of like to start with seven shots. That's
really the only thing you can truly keep score on
in these training camp practices, and once again, such a
common theme in fact, every single one of these drills
in this twenty twenty five training camp has gone to
that quote unquote Game seven, this time the defense prevailing
(03:48):
four to three.
Speaker 4 (03:49):
Yeah, and you know, I don't want to give it away,
but I will say this, this was the first time
in Game seven that Mike Tomlin did not put the
number ones back on the field. Interesting so, but anyway,
starting at the beginning, it was a padless practice. You
couldn't really tell that by the amount of chippiness and
stuff that took place over the course of the workout.
(04:12):
But you know you mentioned this. This tonight will only
be the second practice in pads of this camp. In
the first practice in pads of this camp, which was Wednesday,
because it was in full pads, the the running game
was introduced into seven shots for the first time, and
(04:34):
it became a factor because you know, it's it's it's
a live drill and so you could the offense could
run the ball and the defense had to tackle the
guy before he got into the goal line, as opposed
to in a paddless practice, you know, you just touch
up the running back. So okay, so there was no
running the football this time. It started out as so
(04:58):
many of them have Aaron Rodgers to DK Metcalf. Somehow,
Darius Slay was right there in coverage. Broke up, broke
up the pass. Second play, Aaron Rodgers to DK Metcalf
again other side of the field. Instead of like a
quick route to the pylon, he did a quick route
(05:21):
over the middle inside Jalen Ramsey touchdown. So Rogers was
in for another play again. He went to a receiver
at the pylon, at this time it was Roman Wilson. Again,
Darius Slay was there in tight coverage. So then Mason
Rudolph comes on. Uh, he's the second quarterback in he
(05:44):
always has been this camp so far. So he was
in for two plays. Mason Rudolph HiT's Robert Woods for
a touchdown. Second play of his little set again goes
the Woods incomplete and tight coverage. Let me just say
that the coverage the defensive backs were very sticky yesterday.
(06:11):
Props to them. Good to hear, yes, So okay. So
now after Mason Rudolph's two plays, it's the scores three
two in favor of the defense. Will Howard comes in again.
There seemed to be a lot of plays similar plays
in that they were quick passes from the quarterback to
(06:33):
a wide receiver at the pylon, either on either side
of the formation. Will Howard's first one to Brandon Johnson,
touchdown three to three. So, as I mentioned game seven,
as you'd like to call it, and I like that too,
So that's what that's what it'll be on this show
for the duration of camp.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
It gives it the appropriate gravitas.
Speaker 4 (06:55):
You know. Yes, okay, so game seven, but Mike Thomlin
did not put in in the first team offense or
the first team defense. He left the units that were
out there out there, so they got to decide the drill.
Will Howard airmailed tight end JJ Golbreth kind of in
(07:19):
the back of the end zone, but not like along
the end line, a little bit in front of that.
The throw was high from the beginning. It had no chance.
I don't know if goalbreath had been Victor wimbin Yama,
he couldn't have got that one. So defense wins for three.
Speaker 3 (07:37):
What do you think that was for Toman to keep
the second third stringers in just simply because you know,
the first stringers have gotten that kind of pressure rep
that seventh rep for the past practices. You need to
put these guys in the pressure cooker to see how
they respond.
Speaker 4 (07:51):
Yeah, I mean, I'm speculating, but that's what I would speculate.
You know, As I said, every time it's been a
game seven to this point in camp, he has done
the teams. So I think that you know that, not
that it's getting old, but those guys were familiar with
that being in that situation, and I think you want
(08:13):
to create pressure as much as you can in training
camp for as many of these players as you can,
and so you know, you get to see what some
of these other guys have some of the other.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
Things you observed in camp, and you can read all
of Labs's observations from training camp practices. Every day there's
a practice following practice will be published on Steelers dot
com at some point written version of the training camp report.
But the timeliness that comes with Aaron Rodgers in the
passing game, you know, he is such a surgeon and
things really need to be exactly the way he wants
(08:44):
them to be or else sometimes things are going to
look a little bad. And we had some of those
awkward looking throws in practice yesterday that wasn't necessarily Number
eight's fault.
Speaker 4 (08:52):
Yeah, I mean talking to media who have covered Aaron
Rodgers at his previous stops, the word that I heard
most often was he's a stickler. He wants it the
way it's supposed to be, the way it's drawn up,
the way they do it and walk through. You know,
if if the guy is supposed to break the route
(09:15):
a certain depth, that's what he expects. If it's supposed
to be a back shoulder throw, that's what he expects,
and that's where the ball's going. That's what the ball
is going to be. Because one of the things Aaron
Rodgers is definitely is he is in anticipatory thrower. Anticipatory thrower.
Say that three times fast on the radio. I could
(09:37):
spell it really easy for writing. It's not as easy
to say as it is to spell. But so it
looks bad when you're not. They're not on the same page.
And with the Jets, you know, I was told that
Aaron Rodgers, you know, Garrett Wilson high picked for the Jets.
(09:58):
I had a great year last year, a lot of
pack got a lot of passes, a lot of yards
and all that stuff. But he was not I don't
know where he was supposed to be all the time
early in his rookie season. You know, I don't. I
don't want to say he was running sloppy routes. I don't.
You know, I don't know, but there was a little
miscommunication there and Aaron Rodgers was not having it. You know,
(10:22):
as I said, excuse me, he expects you to be
where you're supposed to be. And when that happened yesterday
during the practice, I give wide receiver coach zach Azano.
I think I'm pronouncing that correctly credit because he got
(10:46):
He didn't get in the receiver's face, but he was
right there to make it obvious that it was not
the quarterback's fault. It's zach Azani. Excuse me that he was,
you know, he because he went to the receiver right
away and corrected him, which is what coaches do. But yeah,
(11:07):
that's and I like that you nip that stuff in
the butt in the bud. And you know, I'm not
saying that you need to publicly assign blame or anything,
but I think you need to I don't know, correct
things that need to be corrected in real time. And
(11:28):
so I liked seeing that. And then you know, later
in the same drill, Ben Skernik, who is known for
let me see, I can say this nicely. You know,
he's not a athletic marvel in any way as a receiver,
A good special teams guy, tough guy, blocker as a
(11:51):
receiver is a lot of things that he can contribute
to a team. And as a receiver, what he may
lack in speed, raw athletic ability, some of the ridiculous
things we see NFL receivers do. Now, what he doesn't
do well is he runs the route as it's drawn up,
(12:14):
and when it's time for the ball to arrive, he's
where he's supposed to be. And he ran a route
like that. The ball was thrown before he made his
little mini break and looked for it. It was right
on the money he made the catch. So I'm sure
that that was brought up at some point in meetings
(12:37):
when they watched the video of practice yesterday. You know,
you don't have to be I don't know whoever is
the most acrobatic receiver in the league. You don't have
to be that kind of guy. With Aaron Rodgers, necessarily,
there will be some times when he will, you know,
put the ball in a place and give you a
chance to make a play, but a lot of other
(13:00):
He's going to throw it where you're supposed to be,
when you're supposed to be there, and it's going to
be accurate and delivered on time. So do your job
turn around catch the ball.
Speaker 3 (13:10):
Well, one person that really did his job in that
receiving room, and some of that I'm sure coaches on
he was proud of. And maybe another thing they highlighted
yesterday when they were watching film was Roman Wilson who
had a great play getting behind cornerback Joey Porter making
a contested catch not only thirty five yards downfield labs,
but also in the end zone.
Speaker 4 (13:28):
Yeah, and I think that since Roman Wilson came here
last season, he was a premium draft pick what I
call a premium draft pick, which is, you know, the
first two days of the draft, and because of the
Steelers situation at wide receiver, there was a lot of
hope slash expectation that you know, Roman Wilson was going
(13:51):
to be provide some answers to some of the questions
the Steelers ad at that position. Now, last year it
didn't work out because he was injured on the sixth
snap of seven shots on the first day of practice
and pats so that kind of just ruined it for him.
And you know, because he then by the time he
(14:13):
got back, he had missed so much time and watching watching,
you know, they call it mental reps when you when
you're watching, mental reps would be fine maybe for DK
Mettcalff or Robert Woods or you know, someone like that,
But when you're a rookie, mental reps, I mean, that's
(14:36):
that doesn't really help you. And so you know, that
just put Roman Wilson's too far behind where you know,
even when he was physically healthy, he wasn't ready to
play and wasn't ready to play is different from he
doesn't and didn't know the playbook. Let me make that clear,
(14:57):
because there were some people who can confuse those things.
Some people in the media confuse those things. They work
at a station down the street. Nice And that's all
I'm gonna say about it. So about who was making
the mistakes, because there's no there's no question Roman Wilson
(15:18):
knew the place. I mean, you know, and I'm not
trying to detegrate him or anything, but I could learn
the place too. You know, knowing the plays has nothing
to do with being ready to play because a lot
of stuff happens that happens on the field, you know,
is at full speed, and a lot of times there
are adjustments made in on at full speed in real time.
(15:42):
And that's what's known in the league is being ready
to play, because if you're not ready to play, and
you're not, you know, in the same wavelength with the quarterback.
And because the route adjustments could be made based on
the coverage that the defense is in after you break
huddle and lineup. Adjustments on the route could be made
(16:05):
after the ball is snapped and you're actually starting to
get into your route because defenses will disguise things until
the snap or sometimes into the play once the ball
is snapped, and if you're not ready to play, that
leads to interceptions because the quarterback sees something expects you
to know what to do. If you don't do it
(16:26):
in real time. Once again, it has to be in
real time, it's a takeaway turnover. So Roman Wilson wasn't
ready to play, all right, So fast forward out of
this year. I said this yesterday, I believe Roman Wilson
showed up from for the start of the off season
program that actually involved football looking like he had done
(16:50):
some very nice work on his body. He looked much
more physically mature, bigger upper body, didn't seem to have
lost any of his quickness. So again, good for Roman Wilson. Uh. Now,
there were I think there was a little bit of
a sense among the team, you know, the personnel people,
(17:15):
maybe even the coaches to some degree. Uh, when is
he going to do something that makes us go, wow,
look at that, because that's you know, that's the kind
of thing you need from receivers in this league. Now.
And again, as I mentioned, he was a premium draft pick.
He did that yesterday. Wow, that catch he made. You know,
(17:36):
it wasn't he got behind Joey Porter Junior. Uh. And
you know, but it's not like he was wide open.
You know, Joey Porter Junior was still close enough to him.
He caught up and he was right on his back,
on his shoulder. However you want to call it was
close coverage. The ball was up in the air and
(17:59):
Roman Wilson went for it, made a contested catch in
the end zone over Uh, the guy who was a
Steelers number one cornerback last year.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
I was gonna say that adds to the wow factor
that it wasn't you know, a second team or that
he sunned because we've seen him do that all the
time in Michigan, Right, that's not really a step up.
Now you're going up against a true NFL cover corner.
Speaker 4 (18:18):
Yeah, And for Mike pursuit, I'll just throw this in
because I know he listens to this. It's not like
it was an SEC team he was playing, right of course,
but anyway, yes, so to me, that was a wild moment.
And so that now that box has been checked, and
you know, we'll see what Roman Wilson could continue to
do throughout this training camp and then you know this
(18:40):
is a preseason game. Preseason game start next week and
the next week, so you know he's gonna get have
some opportunity to play in games. Understandably not games the
content standing standings, but still it's a step up from
training camp practice.
Speaker 3 (18:58):
When we come back, we'll hear from Tomlin his thoughts
following yesterday's practice, and LABS will let you know what
to expect if you're headed up to Friday night lights
with the weather and what that's going to look like.
Fingers crossed that we get that practice in. It is
such a great moment during Steelers Training Camp. Bob Labriella,
Tom Opferman, It's the Training Camp Report on Fox Sports
Pittsburgh nine seventy AM and the Steelers Audio.
Speaker 1 (19:18):
Network Iheartradios Live coverage. Job Not twenty twenty five Steelers
Training Camp is presented by Fadex where Now meets Next
and also brought to you by CGR Wholesale Roofing and
(19:40):
Siding Supply Center, by Ton's Appliances, by Always Safe Flagging
and Traffic Control by Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, by
Schneider Downs, by Has's Steak and Seahouse, by your Neighborhood
Forward Store, by Castle Rock, by Clearview Federal Credit Union,
and by US steel.
Speaker 3 (20:01):
There's a Training Camp Report with Tom Aframan and Bob
Labriola setting the table for tonight's Friday Nights Lights practice
up at THEA. Trobe Memorial Stadium and Labs. Because of
it being such an important practice, I hate to break
it to you, but the pressure's on a little bit
more in this segment. Now, as you become a meteorologist
for the next couple of minutes, we need to know
are we gonna be able to get this practice in
(20:21):
what's your best hunch.
Speaker 4 (20:24):
I don't think even I could mess this one up. Seriously.
Speaker 3 (20:27):
I mean famous last words, because yeah, well.
Speaker 4 (20:29):
I know, but this is in terms of this my opinion,
in terms of watching practice or practicing football, this is
the perfect day. There's cloud cover, but not ugly clouds,
you know what I mean. They're just very nice, little
white clouds, and so there's you know, you're not getting
(20:51):
baked by the sun. It's seventy degrees, the humidity is low,
relatively low for this area, and it's not windy, but
there is a little you know, the air is moving.
It's really nice. It's beautiful, and tonight it's supposed to
be clear, so you know, as long as it's clear,
(21:14):
that means there's no clouds, which means there's no precipitation.
So not only should it be good for practice, but
it should be good for fireworks too. And the low tonight,
and usually you don't get the low until you know,
three four in the morning, it's supposed to be fifty
four degrees, which you know would be a little chilly,
but I think practice will be over before that. So
(21:37):
right now, it's seventy degrees. The high today is supposed
to be seventy seven based on the way I'm looking
at it, you know, looking at things now, I don't
know they're going to quite get to seventy seven. But
as I said, it's very pleasant. There's nothing about this
day that is oppressive or uncomfortable. So and in the
forecast there's not supposed to be anything either. That's all
(22:01):
I got. I mean, I can't, I can't make any guarantees.
The rest is in the hands right let me say this.
I'm not bringing an umbrella.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
Perfect so we won't jinks ourselves. You're doing everything you
can to not jinks yourself here, so it really isn't
your fault if things go south. I think we've done
a good job of clearing your name beforehand. You know, Labs.
Every player i've heard talk to a man about the
weather the heat has said they don't care. It doesn't matter,
just the pads on. It doesn't matter. We're going out
and playing. And people have been asked about it a
lot because it's been such a factor in these first
(22:30):
couple of practices. Let's give them a little drop of
true serum in their coffee this morning. They're happy that
they get a little break today, right, like this feels
good out there like this, Like I understand that there's
benefits to the oppressiveness of the heat, but also, you know,
get a little more comfortable on the field, You start
to really play football a little better too.
Speaker 4 (22:47):
Sometimes well, And I think that really what it is
is players they may think that it's oppressive and miserable,
but they don't want to say it out loud. Not
so much for the people listening. Maybe they would think
that it sounds like an excuse. But you don't want
to get to put that in your own head either.
(23:08):
I mean, they've got enough things to worry about out
here in terms of things they have to do, and
the drudgery of the day and the drudgery of the
same day over and over and over again, So to
be worrying about things they cannot control. So I think
that that would be a defense mechanism for anyone out
(23:30):
here trying to make this football team. You know, you're
just saying, oh, that doesn't matter, I don't care. Just
as I said, you're trying to convince yourself as much
as you're you know, saying it to people who are listening.
Speaker 3 (23:46):
Mike Tomlin spoke to the media as he always does
following practice yesterday. Let's hear what he had to say.
Speaker 5 (23:53):
You know, we always try to have a hardcore plan
but be light on our feet. I just think that's
a component of football and particularly team to belopment. We
went early today to beat the weather. I like the
energy and the preparedness that the guys showed even with
the change. Sometimes we get challenges man rain, delays and
so forth, and we still have to perform, and so
that's some of the messaging that went along with today's work.
(24:15):
I really appreciate the competitive spirit we have out here.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
Man.
Speaker 5 (24:18):
We got some guys that are learning what to do
and getting to know each other while at the same
time being highly competitive. And you can't run away from
the competition in this game, particularly at this level. Got
some guys working their way back to us, increasing their participation.
Isaac c Almolu, for example, was taking off the list
and began the process of working and so all things
(24:39):
pointed in the right direction in that regard. Some other
injuries to report on. Jacob Slade he's got a knee
injury yesterday that's being evaluated. Dean Lowry, he's got a
knee injury from yesterday that's being evaluated. I have more
information on some of those guys and others a little
bit later, and the rest of this stuff is just
things that man to manage that comes along with this process.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
I'll pause and opened up for questions.
Speaker 6 (25:05):
Mike Roscy shiftiness between John and some of the bus pacts.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
How do you react to that?
Speaker 7 (25:08):
And you just had something with the patch off that
meaning you'd like to see.
Speaker 5 (25:12):
You know, I just prefer to keep some of that
stuff in house. I'd much rather say wee than Sickham.
This is a football team we're putting together, but it's
also an opportunity to learn how to compete and compete
the right way and be professional. But largely how I
handle those circumstances is our business.
Speaker 3 (25:31):
Competition periods today too, despite no paths, how would you assess.
Speaker 7 (25:33):
You know, the one on ones along the well.
Speaker 5 (25:35):
I love the energy and the competitive spirit on display.
I think you can do both. I think you can learn,
you can develop skill while competing and competing at a
high level at the same time.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
And I think that was on display.
Speaker 7 (25:47):
Sound excuge big for Roman. How have you seen them
respond to that? Playing outside inside? Justine him separate practices.
Speaker 5 (25:53):
He's shown really good adaptability and position flex We're still
very much early in the process, but I like some
of the things I seen for him.
Speaker 4 (26:00):
Certainly, Aaron talked about yes today, about a master in
this offense and he wants to get.
Speaker 3 (26:05):
It down by the end of the room.
Speaker 6 (26:06):
How he assessed his probless and that at the same
time too, and maybe him getting some systems from as
he can be thrown.
Speaker 7 (26:12):
The ball to playing offensive.
Speaker 5 (26:13):
Wel you know, I agree with his sentiment regarding his progress.
I like it, but certainly we still push him forward
to wark comfort every day. You got to remember the
guy here in the spring, and so this is a
big process for him. Here he's doing a really good
job of communicating and dialogueing with these eligibles, the people
that he works with. But we'll just keep punching that
(26:33):
clock every day.
Speaker 3 (26:34):
Can you talk about past Catcher Arterbuck's going.
Speaker 6 (26:37):
Obviously, reps are invaluable, but inside those rips, how old
do you do catch work?
Speaker 5 (26:43):
Watching the work back t you said it is primarily
built on reps and gaining and understanding and feel for
one another, but that can also happen in the classroom.
And so you know, the work that we do in
the classroom is just as important as the work that
we do out here, and particularly the peer to peer
communication based on what we see to gain that understanding,
that level of understanding, to get an understanding of what
(27:05):
your partner is thinking under certain circumstances is big.
Speaker 3 (27:08):
Last one year, Friday Nightlights to mine that you always
get excited about. He got a ton of new key
guys that get your experience that for the first time,
as well as your thoughts.
Speaker 5 (27:15):
We just appreciate the welcome wagon that we get up
here in La Trobe, not only at Saint Vincent, but
in this community, and it's an opportunity for us to
show our appreciation to perform in that different environment at primetime.
It's also a really good component of team development. You
like to change the variables and circumstances in which we work,
like we did today.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
We went early in the morning. Tomorrow night we'll work.
Speaker 5 (27:38):
At primetime, but oftentimes that mirror is scheduling and so forth.
We play at a variety of times in the National
Football League, and regardless of when it's time to go,
it's time to go, and so Friday Night Lights means
a lot of things to us, man, and we're really
excited about getting to it.
Speaker 2 (27:54):
It's coach Comlin.
Speaker 3 (27:55):
After yesterday's practice, heard him hyping up Friday night lights
a little bit there, and lats the beginning of that
he was talking about being laid on their feet. He
was referring to they had to move practice up to
ten am. I get it. You know, they had that
storms that looked like they were going to be in
the area in the afternoon, and we've already had practices
delayed or altered completely because of weather. So let's just
play it safe rather than be sorry later. But you
(28:17):
are telling me that they could have waited and they
wouldn't have been sorry. It was a very dry day
on campus of Saint Vincent College yesterday.
Speaker 4 (28:24):
Yeah, I mean, and you know, I understand you. You
have to make the decisions, you know, in real time.
And it seemed to me that the two options were
move practice to the morning or get on buses and
go to the south side. And I know which one
I was voting for, and I think the one that
would you know, obviously, the option that was less disruptive
(28:46):
was moving the practice up to the morning, and the
practice did take place and was concluded no rain did
and then the rest of the day it didn't rain.
I mean say this, up until eight o'clock there was
no rain on campus. And what happened after that, I
don't know. But so the Steelers could have had their
(29:10):
normal schedule and not gotten wet. But when you have
to make that decision and what the forecast was, it
was the only decision to make.
Speaker 3 (29:19):
Yeah, and you got to get these practices, Like you said,
they would have gotten the practice and yesterday, no matter what,
whether it's southside, whether it's moving in the morning, what
they actually did. But like as you mentioned, Jacksonville's on
the horizon now, like you really have to get things
kind of honed in because you've got a game that
kind of matters. It's not real in terms of the
standings for the year, but it's real in terms of
(29:40):
those you know, number sixty five through ninety on the roster.
Speaker 4 (29:45):
Yeah, and you know, and again as I said in
the last segment, it's a step up from this training camp.
You know, you get to go against competition in both
individually as a team, in a different in a different jersey,
and that's a that's a step along the way. That's
(30:08):
a part of the process, and there's still a lot
of uh, there's still a lot of unknowns in putting
this roster together, uh, in putting the in terms of
roles for players, you know, arranging certain units, the the
(30:30):
depth chart within those units. I mean, there's still a
lot of things that uh to be determined. I mean
we might look at the starting eleven on offense and
defense quote unquote starting eleven and have a very good
idea who it's going to be, but there's still so
much more to it than that. You know, you may
(30:53):
know who your top four receivers are, but okay, now
how you're going to use them in what combinations? You know,
those kinds of things. So that's what preseason games I
think allow you to do or allow you to take
steps along the path to those answers. And it also
gets guys ready for the routine of playing games, you know,
(31:17):
you the week once you get into the regular season.
I mean, the whole week is scheduled based for the
build up the game day. And again, a preseason game
isn't the same as you know, a week six matchup
against the Ravens. But there are still some similarities in
that you know, you have to recover from the previous game,
(31:40):
get your body ready for the next game. You know,
the game plan or whatever it is, has to be installed,
You work on it, you fine tune it, and then
you build up the playing in the game. So this
is I wouldn't even call it a dress rehearsal because it's,
you know, not that similar to what you're gonna do
in the regular season. But it's still again, as I've said,
(32:03):
it's it's more than just practice at training camp.
Speaker 3 (32:08):
When we return, we're going to get into some of
the things that Steelers may be doing with the tight
ends in this early person portion of training camp. And
John Owsmith has really made an impact since returning to
the fold after missing the first couple camp practices with
an injury, and he spoke to the media as well.
So we'll hear from John Owsmith himself. It's the Training
Camp Report on Fox Sports Pittsburgh nine seventy AM and
the Steelers Audio.
Speaker 1 (32:28):
Network Iheartradios live coverage. I'm about twenty twenty five Steelers
training camp. He's presented by Fadex where Now meets Next
and also brought to you by CGR Wholesale Roofing and
Siding Supply Center by Tom's Appliances, by Always Safe Flagging
(32:51):
and Traffic Control by Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, by
Schneider Downs, by Hasu's Steake and Seahouse, by your Neighborhood
Forward Store, by Castle Rock, by clear View Federal Credit Union,
and by US Steel Labs.
Speaker 3 (33:07):
When we were talking about practice from yesterday, you said
that it was real chippy out there and Johnny Smith
might have been leading that train. Him and jan Thornhill
kind of had some words and exchanges throughout practice.
Speaker 4 (33:22):
Yeah, definitely, And as I said, it was, it was
very physical. It was despite not being in pads. And
you know, one of the things that impressed me was
the offense did not back down. You know, the Steelers
added a lot of defensive players who are aggressive and
physical and mouthy. You know, they like to talk. And
(33:48):
Johnny Smith is a guy, maybe as a leader on
the offense in this respect, he's not going to stand
for that stuff. And right now it's teammates and so
you know, you might have a little bit of a
bad taste in your mouth when you see it happening,
but once the game start, you know, if somebody on
(34:10):
the Ravens wants to run his mouth and John new
Smith is there defending what is right. As Chuck Knowles said,
when Lambert throw Chris Harris on the ground, I think
he'll become a fan favorite in Pittsburgh really fast.
Speaker 3 (34:26):
And you know, he is just such a great weapon
in the passing game. You know they're gonna put three
tight ends on the field a lot, and they just
have so much worthy players of playing time in that
tight end room when you look at John hu Pat
and Darnell Washington. But if you're expecting them to, you know,
be in there like ice road truckers and just clear
(34:48):
the way and be like the team that just runs
the ball down your throat. With these three massive tight ends,
a couple of these guys, including the guy we just
talked about and we're gonna hear from in a second,
John new Smith, you need to look at him more
in the lens of like a Biggert wide receiver.
Speaker 4 (35:02):
Yeah. I mean, the Steelers didn't sign John news Smith,
you know, to put him next to Darnell Washington to
you know, dominate the line of scrimmage. I mean that's
not his game. If that's the kind of player you're
looking for that John new Smith is not your guy
for that. I don't think Pat Fryermouth is your guy
for that. I'm not saying that neither one of them
(35:22):
can block, but that's not what they do well, that's
not why they're making what they're making in terms of
their contract. So, yeah, Jonas Smith, I would you know,
he's a playmaker in his own way, and teams are
gonna have to account for him, but I don't think
it's necessarily account for him because of his physical presence.
Speaker 3 (35:46):
Johnny Smith spoke to the media following practice yesterday. Let's
take a listen to what the newly acquired Steelers tight
end had to say.
Speaker 7 (35:54):
With twenty two.
Speaker 6 (35:56):
No, I ain't got a history of twenty two. It
is a training camp, repeating, you know, trying to get better.
Speaker 7 (36:01):
That's it.
Speaker 8 (36:02):
So you kind of just spike the ball his feet
when you made that catch. Is that sort of just
a statement to the defense, you know, just getting back
at him for you know, other times of practice.
Speaker 6 (36:10):
No, man, you know, when you're competitive, man, you know,
you just that competitive spirit come out in different ways,
you know what I mean. That's just how I was
feeling at the time, you know what I mean. But uh,
you know, we just out there battling, you know what
I mean, training, can competing and trying to get better.
Speaker 7 (36:22):
That's it, you know what I mean. If Thorn Thorn
Hill win that one or was it just a little.
Speaker 6 (36:27):
High afterwards, I gotta go back and watch the field.
I mean, I ain't get it, So I mean I
give it to him. You know how about the last
week Ran I ain't get it. I'll get it to him.
And we watched the tape and see what's going on.
But you know, again, we battling, and you know it
is what it is. I'm gonna want something, you gonna
want They gonna win something, you know, that's what it is.
Speaker 7 (36:43):
We're taking pictures out of the back there. How difference is,
don't Fred And that's a different more.
Speaker 6 (36:46):
I've made plays from the backfield in my career, you
know what I mean, nothing different. Uh, you know, I'm
just continuing to be as valuable as I can to
this offense and whatever they whatever it is, they need me.
Speaker 7 (36:57):
That's what I'm gonna be up trying to go to
my first US about this camp.
Speaker 6 (37:01):
It's extremely fun, you know it get get kind of quiet.
You gotta, you know, wake the stands up a little bit,
you know what I mean. It's training camp, that's what
you know. So you know we all here competing and
then having a good time having fun, you know, I mean, that's.
Speaker 7 (37:12):
What it's about. Look at the second one, you chump
the ball in your gut and couldn't want to if
you were looking at anymore. And he looked, let it.
Speaker 4 (37:19):
Gos that the hell?
Speaker 7 (37:19):
Which one? Which one?
Speaker 2 (37:20):
The second time.
Speaker 7 (37:23):
He went to pick up the ball after the completetion.
Oh yeah, uh, I don't know. I don't know, you
know what I mean.
Speaker 6 (37:31):
Yeah, I guess he's like me throwing them Listen week teammates, man,
I ain't got no personal beef or nothing like that.
Speaker 7 (37:36):
We all here compete, you know what I mean. We're
having fun.
Speaker 6 (37:39):
It get competitive when you lose and when you win,
and you know, we that's that's why we we do.
We've been doing this for a long time, man, and
we want to win. And you know it just brings
you know, certain uh, you know, characteristics out in this.
We understand that we can't take this to Sunday, so
we can let it out here in training.
Speaker 7 (37:59):
Camp, you know what I mean, kind of bottle it up.
Speaker 6 (38:01):
But you know, it's still a lot of technique, fundamentals
and things that like that that we gotta apply each
and every day. So we can't just come out here
and have wasted emotional reps.
Speaker 8 (38:08):
You know what I'm saying, Johnny, It seems like Aaron
connected with you guys a lot more today. This might
have been his most consistent day as far as finding
you guys different parts of the field. What can you
appreciate about his process that he's worked with you guys
to continue to build chemistry.
Speaker 6 (38:20):
I would just say he's another coach on the field
and just kind of the way he sees things.
Speaker 7 (38:25):
You could be very comfortable with Aaron operating the offense,
and obviously he's gonna be one of.
Speaker 6 (38:32):
The greatest to ever do it at his position, and
so that just it's an honor, you know what I
mean that to have that you and you know, I
understand that this is last year. You wanna go out there,
you wanna you wanna be successful for him, You want
to compete for him, and you know he's a great teammate, man.
I mean, I I don't know, you know, with things,
how things have been portrayed in the past or whatever
(38:52):
you know, however was portrayed.
Speaker 7 (38:54):
To the media, or that guy's a great teammate, great
leaders recorded.
Speaker 2 (38:58):
Up, great lady's on the team you can have How
do you feel like this?
Speaker 4 (39:01):
You guys are joeing.
Speaker 7 (39:02):
Its not gonna h uh as start as the playbook is.
How come are you that?
Speaker 2 (39:07):
Uh?
Speaker 6 (39:07):
You know it's early, it's the early second week chat.
We got a long way to go, you know, a
long way to go before September when every report is
valuable and it's gonna take Rome was not built in
the day and it's gonna take time.
Speaker 7 (39:21):
You gotta continue to keep our head heirs out high.
Speaker 6 (39:23):
Like a a bad day out here isn't a bad
day because there's always something to learn from and and
grow from, you know, as when you are a professional
and you and as intentional as you should be, there
should not be a bad day when you get to
this level.
Speaker 7 (39:37):
There's always things to clean up.
Speaker 6 (39:38):
And I learn from technique while it's fundamentals, uh, mental
eras and you know we we don't hop.
Speaker 7 (39:45):
From that stuff. You run to it ever, play righting.
Speaker 6 (39:47):
Back for I've had some success out the backfield during
my career.
Speaker 2 (39:51):
Yeah, boyd, I do what have you heard about that
Friday night lights practice?
Speaker 8 (39:56):
What are you looking forward to?
Speaker 7 (39:57):
A lot of great energy? Is a lot of great
energy out there. I'm looking forward to it that much fuel?
How yeah, and so uh, I'm looking forward to it.
I man, listen, like just being out here.
Speaker 6 (40:09):
These past couple of days, that chain can I understand
what kind of fan base this is and uh, we
gotta be part of it.
Speaker 2 (40:15):
But I talked to Chuck Clark.
Speaker 7 (40:16):
I asked him, is he a free safety or strong safety?
He said, I'm wherever they want me. It seems like
there's a lot of fluidity on that side of the ball.
Speaker 4 (40:22):
You feel.
Speaker 8 (40:23):
It's the same way with the way you and the
receivers are working with how you guys, line of us
le less about positions, more about just.
Speaker 7 (40:28):
Talent, right right right?
Speaker 6 (40:30):
You know that that that availability, that versatility is gonna
give us flexible, tough and uh you know that's gonna
that's gonna be a following for other teams. And that's
how we kind of simbling this thing. And uh, you know,
it's it's a selflessness aspect that goes into it.
Speaker 7 (40:47):
Being able to.
Speaker 6 (40:47):
Play all different positions and learn different positions and maybe
not what you have me you used to doing in
the guys, you know, if we working to the big goal,
we don't know what that is. And so uh you know,
we we ready to attack this thing here it don
hawar comes.
Speaker 2 (41:00):
Did you where did you play running back? Guys?
Speaker 8 (41:02):
Tell me where did you play running back?
Speaker 5 (41:04):
Yeah?
Speaker 7 (41:05):
Where did I play running back?
Speaker 4 (41:06):
Go back?
Speaker 2 (41:07):
Uh like before the.
Speaker 7 (41:08):
League or in the league.
Speaker 2 (41:09):
What the league?
Speaker 7 (41:11):
I'll say this, go back to twenty nineteen Tennessee versus Houston. Okay,
and check the stack, shoot and go to rushing the
tests and rushing yards and then you can pull up
the table calls before that tip. Uh, I got it.
Speaker 2 (41:35):
I got a few.
Speaker 7 (41:36):
God, do you know what I I didn't.
Speaker 6 (41:39):
I didn't have many carries in college. But uh Art
was like the first guy to wanna put the ball
in my hands out the back field like this league,
at this level, okay, and so uh you know, I
just you know again, it's usually mean places that you
know I've uh no, I know I could be in
touching run for not getting us to say, huh you
(41:59):
have a favorite runky game against me?
Speaker 7 (42:01):
There was only one line.
Speaker 3 (42:07):
Steelers tight end John new Smith speaking with the media,
talking about his versatility, maybe getting the ball in the backfield,
perhaps speaking a little bit about that something to keep
an eye on, but just him overall is a player
to definitely keep an eye on for the Pittsburgh Steelers
this year in regards to their passing game. We'll keep
talking about that passing game and the weapons the Steelers
have when Labs and I return. Roman Wilson had a
(42:27):
big practice yesterday. We'll get more into his day when
we come back on the training camp report on Fox
Sports Pittsburgh nine seventy am and the Steelers Audio Network.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce
Football’s funniest family duo — Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs — team up to provide next-level access to life in the league as it unfolds. The two brothers and Super Bowl champions drop weekly insights about the weekly slate of games and share their INSIDE perspectives on trending NFL news and sports headlines. They also endlessly rag on each other as brothers do, chat the latest in pop culture and welcome some very popular and well-known friends to chat with them. Check out new episodes every Wednesday. Follow New Heights on the Wondery App, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free, and get exclusive content on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And join our new membership for a unique fan experience by going to the New Heights YouTube channel now!