January 9, 2023 • 44 mins
Max and Wolf are in the locker room breaking down the regular season finale and the win over Cleveland.
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
This is in the locker room with Wolf and Starks
on ESPN Pittsburgh against Steelers Nation Radio, presented by your
neighborhood Forward Store. The F one is the official truck
of the Pittsburgh Steelers. And he's running around and he's
hitting that died by Captain Camp whoa, and there's no roughing.
(00:31):
With one second left, they say that's it. The game
is over on another sack back to backsacks by this
Steelers defense that played superbly. That's the end of the
game for the final Store Pittsburgh fourteen. Well, the quote
a famous fat guy Michael Lee a day, better known
(00:52):
as Meatloaf. By the way, two out of three ain't bad,
but it won't get you to the playoffs. And Max
the everything lined up yesterday. The Steelers beat the Browns,
and the Bills beat the Patriots, but those dad gum
Dolphins beat the Jets unfortunately, and as meat Loaf crooned,
(01:14):
two out of three bad, but as I said, it
won't get us to the playoffs. Yeah, Wolf, it was.
It was a tough thing. I mean, you know when
when you actually think you could actually root for a
the Jets and be Joe Flacco, Uh, they just to
(01:37):
quote the late Denny Green. They were who I thought
they were let and they let him off the hook,
you know, I mean it's it's it's bittersweet because I
think that, you know, for that Buffalo game next week,
we would have given a better fight then. I think
(02:00):
what the Dolphins are going to be giving when they
see Buffalo. It's just ugly. You know, he can't start
to and two is the only way that team goes. Yes,
I mean, I know, I know they slogged this one out,
but I mean, come on, I mean, would you would
you rather see Dolphins Bills for a third time this year?
(02:26):
Would you rather see a rematch of Steelers Bills? With
the Steelers actually looking a lot better than that early
season matchup where they where they didn't know that? I
think we I think we could have been We could
have been a problem for a team or two. Oh,
there's no doubt about it. What we've won what seven
of eight starts since the buy? You know something like that.
(02:48):
I don't. I don't even know what the record is.
I know that some last night, you know what the math?
The math is always tripping me up. I just know this.
It's like an inverse. You know two and six War
seven and two after just because we got odd numbers.
But but I tell you what though, for a season
finale that that was a show, especially by the the
(03:12):
defense and the offense both put on a show. And
then Pressley Harvin and and good old Bozzy boy has
had had good had a good boot um actually two.
And then you know Pressley with that nice little sidewinder
back flip kick um that he did to down that
(03:34):
ball inside the ten Um was just was just great.
I think the team performed admirably. They they had quality showing.
Kenny Pickett gave us a little razzle dazzle um in
his in his season finale. UM. A lot of guys
stepped up and oh my god, the sacks come on.
(03:58):
They looked like seasoned grocer's over there the defensive side
of the ball. You know what I'm saying. They they
sacked more than the giant eagle bag boys on Thanksgiving Day.
You know, yes, absolutely brought all the stuffing the stuff
and indeed absolutely what type do you get home last night,
my friend midnight? Oh my goodness, the time I got
(04:21):
home last night. That is why I sound so amazing
right now. Will thanks for noticing. I just yeah, but
you're an era zone, you know. So the point is
you can walk outside without a code on you know,
five five thirty? Still five thirty? Was it five thirty?
Well no, no, that's what time I had to get Okay, yeah, okay,
(04:45):
it came. It came quick. Oh it came real quick. Yes.
Oh yeah, well you're you're much younger than me, my friends,
so my days of doing that. Um, I'm not I'm
not very good at it. You you you get that youth,
he still got your youth utes. Yeah, yeah, this is
the two youths are are about to about to go down.
(05:08):
They'll suck it up, cupcake, because we got we had
another two hours to go here. Alright, Hey, I I
am perfectly fine, sir. See you challenge the manhood a
little bit. What happens, bam the football player emerges rise
to the occasion. Just don't do practice that well anymore.
(05:31):
Practice just doesn't practice. We're talking practice. Oh my good stuff.
Think about this game, all right, you got you've got
so much at stake. Um, the fact is they turn
this thing around seven and two, great googly mooglie. I mean,
you love to see the rise of this team. Now,
(05:52):
unfortunately you lose too many of those pre buy games
that create for you that dead gum hole that you
gotta dig yourself out of. But you know, to dig
your way out of that hole. There's a lot of
people that do not understand what it's like to be
in the four walls looking at each other, sitting there
at in my case, one and seven one time, or
(06:13):
you know, as this year two and eight or whatever,
it was two and six. That's right, right, I got that?
Did I get the math? Right? It was eight games
there you go to alright, so two and six, all right,
so you got that. Go. That's hard. That's hard because
a lot of times you start to get people pointing
fingers and they're saying, well, you gotta do this. You
(06:34):
get the infamous team meetings where everybody stands up and
starts griping, you know, and to me, um, none of
that is gonna be beneficial. It's all about how you
resolve to get better, and it starts on an individual basis. Well,
and one of the axioms inside the locker room versus
(06:57):
uh what what what you say? Out in the real world,
it is called sports talking insert insert a different word
or expletive in place of that, when you just talk
about problems but you don't talk to the person who
can solve them. Um and often you know, like you
(07:17):
said about Chuck Nole, right, you know, the only people
that can answer those questions that people in those four walls.
But at the same time, there there's still a dissection
of leadership and when you go to the right people
to help you solve those issues, like a Mike Tomlin
who who will say, don't flinch, just keep doing what
(07:38):
you're doing, get better at it, get more efficient, keep
keep rehoning, reshaping, recrafting. All of those things are important,
um for for personal development, growth and team success. And
so I think that's one where I look at it
and I say, this team did not flinch, They did
not turn their eyes away, and then in the midst
(08:01):
of immense adversity, they just kept they just kept charging forward.
They kept looking. Only six six inches in front of
your feet, right mine, sweeper, drill, keep looking, keep looking,
keep looking. You're gonna see something. There's gonna be something
that pops up. Make sure you're ready, make sure you're aware.
You know, it's funny you say that, because it takes
(08:23):
me back to two thousand, two eleven when my son
was over in Afghanistan and he came back over on
a two week Um, you know, just come back for
two weeks and then go back out, you know, just
a little R and R. I came back and when
I picked him up the airport, we're walking and his
(08:44):
eyes are six inches in front of his feet and
he's like head down, looking, you know, looking, And I said,
what are you doing? When he goes, I'm sorry, you
can remember he's forty eight hours out of a combat theater.
He's hours, you know, a very dangerous place. And he said,
you learn to keep your eyes right in front of
your feet because of the I E. D s and
(09:05):
so forth. You know, and you know, and you realize
that that that sort of focus, that laser type focus
they have to carry our armed force has been in women.
That's that's huge. And so using that kind of as
a metaphor because it's incomparable, you know, playing ball to
serving your country in a foreign land in a combat theater.
(09:26):
That's that's not there's nothing that compares with that. That's
just unbelievable. But football learning to have that laser like
focus is very much alike that because if you start
taking your eyes off of what you need to do
to get better, you're gonna get worse. And Chuck always
used to say, you're either in the process of getting
(09:48):
better or you're in the process of getting worse, and
you have to decide which it's gonna be well, and
you have to you have to make sure that you're
keeping the main thing, the main thing. When you start
worrying about what other people say or what other people
are doing and you're not doing your work, that's when
(10:09):
they find somebody else to do that work. And if
you lose sight of that, if you're not fully committed,
you're not all the way in there, you will be
gone there there, There's there's no question about it. I mean,
you know we talk about this, but we also know
the theme for today Wolf you know, around the league
(10:29):
is this is bloody Monday, right, I mean, this is
a day where you start finding out people who who
were employed are no longer employed. Uh, those who had
a future don't have a future. Uh you know because
look at look at Levy Smith already gone and he
(10:50):
won a game yesterday, by the way, Yes, yeah, Joe
Woods a surprise that Kevin Stefanski didn't have to get
an uber back to Cleveland. I am surprised. I am
surprised he did not have a Greyhound ticket waiting for
him to be dropped off right downtown from the stadium.
(11:12):
It might be it might be a turnaround when you see,
because he didn't get him to the playoffs. You know,
he has he's done that, and they might have a
little bit of you know, maybe we hang with this guy,
you know, I don't know. I just wonder if they're
gonna be patient with him or if it's gonna be
another house cleaner. But to finish off the season finales,
(11:33):
the Steelers winning the game yesterday fifteen one, they're now
sixteen and one against the Browns and season finales. Yeah
once again, Uh, no surprise, there, business as usual. The
Browns are one in three. There we go. Let me
just because I was like, I could say the Steelers
(11:53):
are three and one against the Browns over the last
two years, but it's so much better when you say
the Browns are one in three versus the Steelers being
three and one. I just want to just dig it in.
There's my boy, my boy. Brantley would not appreciate that.
But he knew what he was doing. That's why he
wasn't watching the game yesterday. Uh, he knew what it was.
(12:15):
And and you know, it's it's one of those things
where I was, I'm not gonna lie. I'm actually waiting
to see because I believe there's gonna be a lot
of turnover about teams who underperformed, teams who did not
do it. But Mike Tomlin stayed the course six teams
straight years without a losing record. Let me let me
(12:37):
ask you something now, and this is this is sincere
um because I think it's tremendous, all right, But there's
a lot of people they're they're bellyaching about. I think
it's a tremendous story of the turnaround. I think it's
it's tremendous because there is a huge connection between Mike
Tomlin and his players individually. Each guy feels like Mike
(13:03):
is a guy they can reach out to. Each guy
that I've ever talked to that's been around him, is
they all They always come back to the fact that
they have a personal relationship with him, you know, And
I find that fascinating And a lot of people seems
to overlook the fact that if you really care about somebody,
(13:23):
you love somebody, if he's he's your brother too in
a sense of you know, just like a father figure
to a lot of these guys. Um it's it's very
important that you succeed where they succeed, and where they succeed,
you succeed, and you want to help them in whatever
way you can. I know that with with Chuck it
(13:44):
you know, you feel bad about some bad seasons. Chuck
was a legend, a living legend. They called him the
Emperor for crying out loud. And when you have a
bad season, it's just like ah, and the whole eighties
was after the Great seventies, and you just felt like, uh,
you know, it's a shame and you just but I
love Chuck. Chuck changed, He changed the trajectory of my life.
(14:05):
You grow very familiar with those that you know, that
that coach you, that you you interconnect with on a
daily basis, and when things don't go well, you know,
for them and for yourself, you know, you you just
naturally wanted to have things go better for Chuck because
he was just great well, I think, and that's the mark,
(14:28):
that's the market thing right. I mean the fact that
we can talk about our coach and between you and
I Wolf, we've literally had all three coaches that the
Steelers have had since nine you know. I mean when
you think of how remarkable that is in an era
where we see a team like the Texans literally fire
(14:50):
coaches in successive years after one year stints, it's amazing.
That's just right. You see that type of turnover. But
yet the Steelers don't buy into that, are prescribed into that. Yes,
there will be belly aching people, but once again, they
think the grass is greener in the other yard. And
(15:12):
I'm here to tell you all he had was some
some seeds and a water can with a hole in
it and this and this dude created a performance, you know,
garnering type of environment. And I think that's what gets
(15:33):
lost in the wise because it has been such a
part of it, you just assume it. But it is
so tough to maintain that standard of success around a
league that has free agency guy suddenly retiring, the team
turnover it. You're battling the attrition of age and injuries
(15:54):
on top of that, and you still find a way
to win in the midst of all of that. Come on,
everybody could have justified we're gonna suck, it's gonna be
a rebuild a year. Everybody. I want to find out
who actually picked above five hundred. That's what I want
to know, because I know it's only a slim margin
and hopefully it's not just family votes, right, Um, but
(16:19):
nobody would have I didn't even predict this Wolf and
I and I love the squad, and I was like,
I don't know if this this might be the year. Yeah,
but once again, Mike Tomlin has shown you that quality leadership,
quality coaching at the top trickles down. And those guys
(16:40):
understood assignment. Because even remember when I when when I
was interviewing Nazi yesterday, right, he talked about it intimately, Hey,
we didn't want to be the group that was the
first one to give him a losing season. That was
on our minds today. That was on our minds coming
into this game, like we're gardless of whatever the playoff
(17:01):
outcome would have been, our play outcome is what matters first, absolutely,
you know, and that's the final thing about it. And
my mind is, you know, you won seven of the
final nine games. Okay, yeah, you're you're your standard is
you fell way short of it, but that doesn't mean
you stop trying to achieve that standard. You know. Yeah,
(17:25):
it's frustrating. There's a lot of things that go into
a season. Each season under itself is I mean, it's
it's like it's like a lifetime, you know. I mean,
you know, the the NFL does stand for not for
long for a reason, you know, because each season is
just it's a a year long journey unto itself and
it's not going to be replicated by the year before
(17:48):
or the year after, you know, And it's just it's
just one of those things where you know, you go
down this road and you you hope that you have
the the stop at the at the great standard bearer
that in the super Bowl at the end of the year.
But if you don't get there, well, you know, I mean,
it's it's life. But the fight was always there. You know,
(18:08):
you didn't see this team tank when when you see
other teams tank. I just I find that fascinating. Where
where can you find that? I know, in the second
half of the schedule, they you know, you didn't have
quite the same quality of opponents as you might have
had before, all right, but you only play what you
can play. The schedules there for a reason, you know.
(18:29):
And each team just because they're they're hot in September
doesn't mean they're a good team in October or vice versa.
You know what I mean. Because it's always in flux.
So when you play a team, sometimes a team that
is uh, you know, is a rolling along and a
monster suddenly hits a pitole, pothole. It's because of the
(18:52):
fact you might have a couple of guys that aren't
in the game, and they makes them just an average
team for a period of a couple of weeks, well
a couple a couple of weeks or a season or
you yeah, you don't know. And and and after the bye,
they had every reason to go in the tank wolf.
(19:14):
They had every opportunity to use an excuse, and they
didn't use those excuses. They didn't pull the tardy slip,
so to speak, right, I forgot about this. I had
to run back home. No, there's none of that. This
squad was ready. After the bye. They got some good
(19:35):
practices in and they said, you know what, we're a
better squad of this. We're gonna show everybody else that, Yeah,
we can talk about the schedule. Oh my gosh, Buffalo,
I'm Philly and the same same side of the schedule. Okay,
those two. But for for every one of those, we
had two of these, we had a Miami, New England,
the Jets, and the and and the second Baltimore, uh
(20:00):
Cincinnati winnable games. And that's not even including the first Baltimore. Right,
I mean, we had, we had, we had, we had
opportunities you win any of those other five. Guess what,
it's a different conversation, absolutely different one. And let it
be and let it have been a division game. I mean,
(20:23):
you're talking about potentially winning the division. Um you know,
if if, if you can, if you can do the
do two of those things. Um, but any one of
those wins puts a different puts a different perspective on us. Right,
that that's how you have to get ten wins was
going to be the standard cut off for for a
(20:44):
lot of that. Um. But you knew you need to
get to ten wins, and so the opportunity slim you get.
You gave up all all you get out of jail
free cards in the first half of the season. Now
you gotta be skillful and roll of those dice accordingly, right,
got to think about it. You gotta make it happen.
And they did. They did, I mean to to our
(21:08):
you know thoughts, they said, Nope, we believe in ourselves.
And that offensive line came together at the right moment.
They did. They came together and and and did something incredible.
Well one of the incredible things about this. And then
we're gonna go to break. But is checking on these
the f C North. Isn't it amazing that within the division,
(21:32):
all the division, the division record of each team in
the a f C North's three and three. I don't
think that's ever been done in the NFL. I'm not.
I wonder if that I could be wrong on that,
but I think that's the first they all split. They're
the games, you know, each one one and lost one.
And I don't think that's ever been done quite like that.
(21:53):
But you know what that's for people who have an
ability to do math? All right, Well, guess well, I'm
gonna do some math. Hey, we need to go to
break plus me equals break in the locker room. We'll
be back after these commercial breaks. You are in the
(22:14):
locker room. Wolf of Starks here on ESPN and that's
in our radio. This is in the locker Room with
(22:37):
Wolf and Starks on ESPN Pittsburgh against Steelers Nation Radio,
presented by your neighborhood Forward Store. The F one is
the official truck of the Pittsburgh Steeler. They bring four
Pickert throws it down the middle, topdown, George Pickens pick
it to Pickens from thirty one out Heather Steelers in
(22:57):
possession to tie it up and his usual we will
start with our good, the bad, the ugly, maybe the
awesome or the uglier. I'm not even sure so many
categories you could have, but certainly you gotta say, you know,
picking the pickings has been outstanding since it got kind
of unveiled, and it's been getting better. And that throw,
(23:18):
I know there was a blown coverage there, but you
know how many times have you seen a young guys
so over eager to whistle that baby in there? He
overthrows his man. Great job, got the steers untracked, got
to a tie. Um. I look forward to a whole
lot of good stuff. And I'm the good, the bad,
and the ugly. That was a lot of good right
there with pick at the pickings. You're absolutely right, I
(23:40):
mean It's one that we can expect to hear moving
forward as a just U just a phenomenal connection between
those two. And even when Yeah, there was a couple
of throws where was he in? Was he out along
the sidelines but never got discouraged. I mean, and he said, Okay,
(24:03):
we can't throw it on the left side line. Apparently
there's an issue. Boom, come come back and throw it
on the right side line. There was a lot of
great plays this season between Kinney Pickett and George Pickens,
and I thought that that highlight just kind of accentuated
what it was last two home games to have that
(24:26):
type of route, because I mean, that was the same
route they ran in the Raiders game to win it
that that Pickings caught and right down the seam, George
is right there, and once again, for some reason, they
just like busting that coverage in the red zone. I
have no clue. That doesn't matter the team. It happens
to the Raiders, happened to the Browns. Yeah, I mean,
(24:47):
I don't I don't know. I don't know how six
ft four is stealthy, but apparently, uh when when when
when you're playing hind and seek amongst the Redwoods. You know,
tall guys have have an equal shot. I guess I
don't know. But but George Pickett's you know, played played Peekaboo,
hid and hide and go seek and h Kenny Pickett
found him, but didn't he and he tagged him all right,
(25:08):
He tagged him in a good way for the end zone.
Think about this, Kenny Pikett for the seventh seventh time
in eight starts since to buy no I n T S.
I mean that's doing something. He threw how many in
the eight and his first five or something, there's six,
I can't remember, but he's had none, you know since
(25:30):
the Bay he's had one. Let's just settle it that way. Well,
I think I think that's just that's one of those
hallmark type of situations, right, I mean, think about you
know that first game that he comes in halftime of
the Jets, right boo, he can't find the end zone
except for by running in it and couldn't get it
(25:52):
in the air. And then then now you you turn
back and you see boom, this dude can't get it
and he doesn't understand at it. The opportunities are there
now now did he force it a little bit in
this game. Yeah, a couple of times. But at the
same time, you know, when when you're playing to win
a game, that's what happens. You're gonna have forceful moments.
(26:14):
And it did not cost the team in that process.
You know, I thought that was also big, that his
decision making was sound, that either my guy was gonna
get it or nobody was going to get it. Yeah,
you know what I enjoy watching how he's he has grown. Look,
he just comes off a two game winning touchdown pass
(26:35):
passes thrown in the last minute of the game to
back to back games to win the games. Right now,
he comes out to this game, the last game, it's
the Browns as at Acquasure all everything's on the line,
and he did not start fast. I mean, you know,
he he overthrew some people and it didn't look like
he was really lasered in, and yet he still was
(26:57):
able to marshal the resources to turn things around and
make the throws when he needed to make the throws.
And he started, he got this offense kind of just unshackled.
And from my first drive that ended, I couldn't believe,
you know, I went back, I saw that I saw
the picture that Naji scored on that first drive. You know,
(27:18):
he scored on on what the first down or whatever
that they said he's in touch, said, yeah, I saw
a shot of it. He was across the goal line.
That should have been a touchdown. But the fact is,
even after the fumble, even after Kenny had some issues
with overthrowing and it just didn't it wasn't happening. It
comes together and he got it going again. And I
(27:41):
like that because these are all learning steps for Kenny.
You're not gonna start fast every game, you're not gonna
finish great every game. But you've got to find the
wherewithal at some point during the game to be able
to lift your team up and get him over the
goal line. Yeah. No, you're absolutely right. And he never
(28:01):
I mean, keeping with this thing, He never flinched. He
never got overly up or down, even even his demeanor
on the sidelines, right even after coming off the field,
um after not after not failing to score on a drive,
there was no frustration, There was there was no panic.
He was cool, calm, collected. Hey, we'll get him next time. Hey,
(28:23):
that's on me, my bad, right. Um, All those things
were displayed and also we'll have to talk about that
Nazi fumble. Also, right before that bumble play, a Brown's
defender kicked the football and they moved it back, and
then the official came in and did not reset the
(28:44):
spot where it was. They moved it back about a
half a yard, And I thought that also was tough.
When you're talking about Nazi leaping over the pile. If
you're a foot closer, that's a touchdown and not a fumble.
That's just that's just that's that's my gut saying. So
even though they messed up the call on the initial
run by Nazi to get in the end zone when
(29:06):
he stretched out there the very next play where where
the ball should have been lined up and where he
should have been launching, should have been a touchdown on
that one, but they moved it back. That's true. Okay,
that's a great point. Yeah, I roll that one. Not
bad at all. Again, you know, just the fact that
it started so well, I mean, they were just I
(29:27):
watched the first play they ran from scrimmage. I'm watching
the three guys on the inside, uh Dotson, Cole and
uh Daniels. They just blowing people back off the line
of scrimmage rolling them back. I mean ged zooks man.
That was that was nice. That was great. That was
a double team going on with with Mouth and with
(29:49):
Danny Moore on the left side, and they rolled Garrett
back and you know we got to the second level
with Danny Moore getting a block and that you know,
I love that. I mean the physicality that was emating
from that first drive. You're like, I was just like
overwhelmed with like, yes, this is what you want to see.
And then you know it just kind of got a
little that's so good, not so great, and then again
(30:12):
then they turned it on and they were able to reload.
But again, this offensive line has grown tremendously since the
buy oh they have. I mean, what watching them go
about their business, It's like watching the percussion section in
the orchestra when there when there's a really dynamic scene,
right and you've got the drums and you got the triangle,
(30:34):
you got all the crashing and the banging and all
these things like karmina barana. Right, It's just it's one
of those it's just what carmina barana that's by carl Um,
but it has like it has like this very intense
like percussion. Right, it's big bangs of the drum, it's
(30:55):
big clangs of the symbols. And that's what that's what
Watching the offensive line when it's a good physical run play,
it's like watching that. It's watching that orchestra of chaos
UM come together and make something beautiful. Like you said,
double teams hitting guys getting off to the second level,
the running back trucking a dude in the hole. That
(31:15):
that's the unaccounted for a guy, right, the guy that
he has to beat. Like, all of that is just
awesome perfection in a very chaotic and physical type of manner.
So that that's what I was trying to get across
with my with my metaphor or I loved it. You
just raised the level for me. See you know what
was that again? Carmina barana barona? Is that uh symphony
(31:43):
play or something or it's it's like an opera with
symphony Okay, alright, yeah, yeah, you know, I'll play it
for you next time I play it for it was
it was a part of my pregame package. So that's
why I could draw from UM because I realized that
it had I made my another analogy UM about Manfred
(32:04):
Hannick and the h in the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the
Pops conductor that that that would have been a little
bit over over the head um. But yeah, it's way
over my head. Yeah. Oh oh that's love this there
it is, See and West hopefully you know, I'll send
(32:25):
it to you, to send a wolf to play it.
But it's it's good stuff. It's good. It's good stuff
when you're talking about it. But but I think that
that's kind of what we've been waiting for this, right.
It's it's one of those things where it's like you
know it's there, you know it's there. It's like looking
up at a stage with those instruments and there's no
(32:45):
players there yet, right, no members present, But you see
the big drum in the back corner, you see you
see the glocker spiel and the xylophones and all that
stuff glocking spiel. Yeah, so you see all of these
instruments and you know what the show is supposed to be.
But the people haven't shown up yet. And that's what
(33:07):
we're waiting for with the offensive line, right, we were
waiting for them to show up. You know, we've been
watching it since camp, and we're like man talking about practice,
man as practice ugly, but you're you're talking about coming
out of the by and then especially the last, you know,
quarter of this season. I mean coming out with with authority,
(33:28):
coming out with authority, dictating terms to the other team
and controlling time of possession and have and sustaining drives,
converting first downs and third down conversions. Like all of
these beautiful things that you want to see happening in
a football game, We're happening. And it was coming together.
Everybody knew their cues, and everybody performed to the best
(33:50):
of their abilities, and they did and they got better.
They did, and we better go to our break, so
nobody breaks anything. This will be an intermission in missiow
love love this intermission, and when we come back, we'll
(34:12):
continue to talk more Steelers Browns on this edition. On
the locker Room Symphony. You know, if you want more symphony, oh,
I'll give you more symphony. We can get into a
lot of staying is in town with the symphony tonight
and tomorrow night. Oh yeah, hey, let's always sit it
(34:35):
out in s OS. But but you know I won't
but I won't call the police anyways on that note,
but it was a wrestler for crying out loud. I
mean yes and yes exactly agree to agree. We'll be
back the group Wolf starts on Already Radio. This is
(35:12):
in the locker room with Wolf and Starks on ESPN
Pittsburgh against Steelers Nation Radio, presented by your neighborhood Forward Store.
The F one fifty is the official truck of the
Pittsburgh Steelers. Watson, in a hurry up is back Waits.
Waits fires a pass. It's abstainers set that and with
the football is lead by Wallace. He's got it at
(35:34):
the forty up to the forty five and the Brown
stand him up at the forty five yard line of
Pittsburgh for a minute eleven ago here in the second quarter,
shotgun snap back is Watson throws it over the middle banner,
cept it and that is Casey and Casey gets inside
the still on his feet. No, he was down, but
(35:55):
he runs to the end zone to please the Steeler fandom.
In the end zone. To our left, day Monte CAZy,
the six year man from San Diego State, his second
pick of the year. He jumped inside the intended receiver
Donovan people's jone. You know, one of the things about
this secondary, Max and on this defense twenty interceptions. Twenty interceptions.
(36:17):
Now we couldn't buy a fumble recovery it seemed like,
but you know, twenty interceptions. That secondary was playing well
all through the season. No, they were opportunistic and when
the sacks were light, the turnovers were still there. You know,
I think that was one of the things that you
(36:38):
think about balance and consistency. Um. But yeah, well yesterday,
if we're talking about the good Wolf, everything was working yesterday.
I mean, you know, you said back in the quarterback
think about that. We'll get to that Cam Heyward, that
that's what minus that one? But how many other ones
did they have? Brother? But I'm just thinking in terms
(37:02):
of that that overshadowed everything for I am absolutely honked
about that. That's right, because Cam should be at seventy
nine and a half right now and a half? You know,
I mean, um or was it? Yeah? No? Or was
(37:22):
and a half? He's gotten H's right, Yeah, it should
have been seventy nine and a half. That's right. Okay,
I was right. I was worried. It's it's a half
sex and throw me off. But I mean, you know,
it's just one of those things. You know. What's was
that you you you you allowed me to confirm you
with math. Listen fact checkers. You should never listen to
(37:47):
me when fact checking statistics like that. But but that
that is the trust that I have in you as
my partner in football, you know, I had, man, Yeah,
you know, love you too, man. Uh, But I mean,
but that, but that, but that that is a frustrated point,
you know, because I was like, what, you know, we
(38:07):
were kind of going back and forth during the like
we couldn't believe that, And I was like, Okay, that
either had to have been a makeup call for them
blowing the Larry Ogan Joe Feast mass tackle. That's another one,
you know. I mean, I'm not gonna sit there and yeah,
hey call that thing. But at the same time, that
(38:30):
was that had to be an obvious making west do
you have do you have cam sack? And then the
billy's call on that. Okay, we're putting Wesley on the
spot here and see how fast our ninja can move
and dial it up and so forth. But that was such,
as I said at the time, that is the most
egregious penalty I've seen since I tackled uh a jet player? Well,
(38:55):
who had it was? He was a free runner going
right at Bradshaw and Bradshaw had the bad elbow, and
I just tackled the dude, Ben Rudolph. Ben Rudolf came around.
So that was the most egregious un sports or roughing
penalty since I tackled Ben Rudolph way back in. Oh
(39:16):
my gosh. Well, because it's like everything else, I was like,
how did you call that a slam? Right? What? He
and he purposely did not fall on top of like
he took him down to the side, absolutely, but you
know you have you have to do a certain level
of like torquing of the body to get his feet
(39:38):
from underneath him. How many I mean, DeShawn Watson had
been breaking tackles. You know remember that one where we
we literally you had to go back to the replay
and see that both his elbows were touching the ground
because the referees did not see it was gonna let
that go. He dies, He dies for like seven guys,
It got like twenty yards exactly. So you was like
(40:00):
it was like, y'all didn't see that. That was terrible. Well,
we got what Wesley's got the dial it up, trips left,
its back, looking left, He's hit by Captain Cap and
down he goes, Are they gonna throw a flag? No,
he got slammed down and they threw a flag on
the play defense First, I'm are you kidding me? That's
(40:38):
the emotion, that's that's live in the moment. You sit
there and you look at Cam dropping Deshaun Watson, who,
like you said, had run through several tackles before, broken
tackles and everything, and you're gonna call that. That's like
you've suddenly entered into the twilight zone of the National
(40:59):
Touch foot Ball League. That's the only thing I can
say was it was. It was absolutely super egregious. Yeah,
it hearkened onto the days of the No Fun League
right where it's like you just you said there, Yeah,
the days of yore, at that moment where it's like,
are you serious? I mean we can't do anything right,
(41:19):
I mean we're gonna flag for everything. Like remember when
it was like if you even looked in the direction
of a guy, what what are you He's facing the
direction that I'm going, what are you talking about? Nope, Nope, nope,
you look down he still was on the ground. That's intimidation.
It's like God, I mean, that's essentially what it is.
(41:41):
I mean you literally, like on that plate it was
textbook on how you should do it and how to
prevent a penalty, and he draws a penalty from that
being as conscious as you can when you're going at
full hand to hand combat with another three pound plus human.
(42:02):
You beat said human on the play, and then you
have to go tackle a two d and thirty pound
human in the process that's athletic and strong as well.
So it's it's like, come on. I mean, I could
see if Kim would have grabbed him and then like
like fork lifted him and then landed on top of
him with his full weight, right. I mean, that's where
(42:24):
I see that penalty. That's the that's the upper edges
and limits of that penalty before it becomes something intentional.
But in this moment, I felt like he was conscious
about how he had to hit Deshaan and how to
take him to the ground and make that not costly
to the team. I thought that was one with the referee,
(42:48):
and the referee was talking with the with with the
side judge, and I was kind of like behind with
my microphone and you can see him looking over his
shoulder at me. At one point, I'm like, yeah, if
I hear anything, I'm reporting all of it. Keith whispering,
Keith whispering. My my laser darts are are hitting all
(43:10):
the major appendages right now. I just I just threw
another one. Threw another one with my eyes, you know it.
But but yeah, but that was egregious. But I mean
that that one, Yeah, it kind of overshadows. But when
you think about just all of the production, how many
group meetings did they have at the quarterback over the quarterback,
(43:32):
at the quarterbacks express I mean it was it was
just it was phenomenal. And then at the end of
the game to close it out that way back to
back sacks, I mean, what what what Hubbard Hudson was
already having a problem. Guys with the last name H
on the offensive line should not play against the Steelers.
I'm just saying that just had a tough time. I'm
(43:54):
telling you, bass rush was back. Well, why don't we
close up and let me ask you something. You want
to open the phone lines in the in the what
in the power hour of this show, we will open
the phone lines, great ideal Wolf FO six are the
mathematics to dial on your smartphone Syracuse mathematics or Florida
(44:23):
gohead what West Virginia? Most likely that's not yeah exactly,
Well at least they're not hitting the one first that
that's the most important, oh man. But now we want
to hear from you stealer nations, good bad and the
ugly during the beautiful part of the program, which is
(44:45):
the Power Hour coming up next here on S and
R Wolf and Starks, ESPN, s R Radio
This is in the locker room with Wolf and Starks
on ESPN Pittsburgh against Steelers Nation Radio, presented by your
neighborhood Forward Store. The F one is the official truck
of the Pittsburgh Steelers. And he's running around and he's
hitting that died by Captain Camp whoa, and there's no roughing.
(00:31):
With one second left, they say that's it. The game
is over on another sack back to backsacks by this
Steelers defense that played superbly. That's the end of the
game for the final Store Pittsburgh fourteen. Well, the quote
a famous fat guy Michael Lee a day, better known
(00:52):
as Meatloaf. By the way, two out of three ain't bad,
but it won't get you to the playoffs. And Max
the everything lined up yesterday. The Steelers beat the Browns,
and the Bills beat the Patriots, but those dad gum
Dolphins beat the Jets unfortunately, and as meat Loaf crooned,
(01:14):
two out of three bad, but as I said, it
won't get us to the playoffs. Yeah, Wolf, it was.
It was a tough thing. I mean, you know when
when you actually think you could actually root for a
the Jets and be Joe Flacco, Uh, they just to
(01:37):
quote the late Denny Green. They were who I thought
they were let and they let him off the hook,
you know, I mean it's it's it's bittersweet because I
think that, you know, for that Buffalo game next week,
we would have given a better fight then. I think
(02:00):
what the Dolphins are going to be giving when they
see Buffalo. It's just ugly. You know, he can't start
to and two is the only way that team goes. Yes,
I mean, I know, I know they slogged this one out,
but I mean, come on, I mean, would you would
you rather see Dolphins Bills for a third time this year?
(02:26):
Would you rather see a rematch of Steelers Bills? With
the Steelers actually looking a lot better than that early
season matchup where they where they didn't know that? I
think we I think we could have been We could
have been a problem for a team or two. Oh,
there's no doubt about it. What we've won what seven
of eight starts since the buy? You know something like that.
(02:48):
I don't. I don't even know what the record is.
I know that some last night, you know what the math?
The math is always tripping me up. I just know this.
It's like an inverse. You know two and six War
seven and two after just because we got odd numbers.
But but I tell you what though, for a season
finale that that was a show, especially by the the
(03:12):
defense and the offense both put on a show. And
then Pressley Harvin and and good old Bozzy boy has
had had good had a good boot um actually two.
And then you know Pressley with that nice little sidewinder
back flip kick um that he did to down that
(03:34):
ball inside the ten Um was just was just great.
I think the team performed admirably. They they had quality showing.
Kenny Pickett gave us a little razzle dazzle um in
his in his season finale. UM. A lot of guys
stepped up and oh my god, the sacks come on.
(03:58):
They looked like seasoned grocer's over there the defensive side
of the ball. You know what I'm saying. They they
sacked more than the giant eagle bag boys on Thanksgiving Day.
You know, yes, absolutely brought all the stuffing the stuff
and indeed absolutely what type do you get home last night,
my friend midnight? Oh my goodness, the time I got
(04:21):
home last night. That is why I sound so amazing
right now. Will thanks for noticing. I just yeah, but
you're an era zone, you know. So the point is
you can walk outside without a code on you know,
five five thirty? Still five thirty? Was it five thirty?
Well no, no, that's what time I had to get Okay, yeah, okay,
(04:45):
it came. It came quick. Oh it came real quick. Yes.
Oh yeah, well you're you're much younger than me, my friends,
so my days of doing that. Um, I'm not I'm
not very good at it. You you you get that youth,
he still got your youth utes. Yeah, yeah, this is
the two youths are are about to about to go down.
(05:08):
They'll suck it up, cupcake, because we got we had
another two hours to go here. Alright, Hey, I I
am perfectly fine, sir. See you challenge the manhood a
little bit. What happens, bam the football player emerges rise
to the occasion. Just don't do practice that well anymore.
(05:31):
Practice just doesn't practice. We're talking practice. Oh my good stuff.
Think about this game, all right, you got you've got
so much at stake. Um, the fact is they turn
this thing around seven and two, great googly mooglie. I mean,
you love to see the rise of this team. Now,
(05:52):
unfortunately you lose too many of those pre buy games
that create for you that dead gum hole that you
gotta dig yourself out of. But you know, to dig
your way out of that hole. There's a lot of
people that do not understand what it's like to be
in the four walls looking at each other, sitting there
at in my case, one and seven one time, or
(06:13):
you know, as this year two and eight or whatever,
it was two and six. That's right, right, I got that?
Did I get the math? Right? It was eight games
there you go to alright, so two and six, all right,
so you got that. Go. That's hard. That's hard because
a lot of times you start to get people pointing
fingers and they're saying, well, you gotta do this. You
(06:34):
get the infamous team meetings where everybody stands up and
starts griping, you know, and to me, um, none of
that is gonna be beneficial. It's all about how you
resolve to get better, and it starts on an individual basis. Well,
and one of the axioms inside the locker room versus
(06:57):
uh what what what you say? Out in the real world,
it is called sports talking insert insert a different word
or expletive in place of that, when you just talk
about problems but you don't talk to the person who
can solve them. Um and often you know, like you
(07:17):
said about Chuck Nole, right, you know, the only people
that can answer those questions that people in those four walls.
But at the same time, there there's still a dissection
of leadership and when you go to the right people
to help you solve those issues, like a Mike Tomlin
who who will say, don't flinch, just keep doing what
(07:38):
you're doing, get better at it, get more efficient, keep
keep rehoning, reshaping, recrafting. All of those things are important,
um for for personal development, growth and team success. And
so I think that's one where I look at it
and I say, this team did not flinch, They did
not turn their eyes away, and then in the midst
(08:01):
of immense adversity, they just kept they just kept charging forward.
They kept looking. Only six six inches in front of
your feet, right mine, sweeper, drill, keep looking, keep looking,
keep looking. You're gonna see something. There's gonna be something
that pops up. Make sure you're ready, make sure you're aware.
You know, it's funny you say that, because it takes
(08:23):
me back to two thousand, two eleven when my son
was over in Afghanistan and he came back over on
a two week Um, you know, just come back for
two weeks and then go back out, you know, just
a little R and R. I came back and when
I picked him up the airport, we're walking and his
(08:44):
eyes are six inches in front of his feet and
he's like head down, looking, you know, looking, And I said,
what are you doing? When he goes, I'm sorry, you
can remember he's forty eight hours out of a combat theater.
He's hours, you know, a very dangerous place. And he said,
you learn to keep your eyes right in front of
your feet because of the I E. D s and
(09:05):
so forth. You know, and you know, and you realize
that that that sort of focus, that laser type focus
they have to carry our armed force has been in women.
That's that's huge. And so using that kind of as
a metaphor because it's incomparable, you know, playing ball to
serving your country in a foreign land in a combat theater.
(09:26):
That's that's not there's nothing that compares with that. That's
just unbelievable. But football learning to have that laser like
focus is very much alike that because if you start
taking your eyes off of what you need to do
to get better, you're gonna get worse. And Chuck always
used to say, you're either in the process of getting
(09:48):
better or you're in the process of getting worse, and
you have to decide which it's gonna be well, and
you have to you have to make sure that you're
keeping the main thing, the main thing. When you start
worrying about what other people say or what other people
are doing and you're not doing your work, that's when
(10:09):
they find somebody else to do that work. And if
you lose sight of that, if you're not fully committed,
you're not all the way in there, you will be
gone there there, There's there's no question about it. I mean,
you know we talk about this, but we also know
the theme for today Wolf you know, around the league
(10:29):
is this is bloody Monday, right, I mean, this is
a day where you start finding out people who who
were employed are no longer employed. Uh, those who had
a future don't have a future. Uh you know because
look at look at Levy Smith already gone and he
(10:50):
won a game yesterday, by the way, Yes, yeah, Joe
Woods a surprise that Kevin Stefanski didn't have to get
an uber back to Cleveland. I am surprised. I am
surprised he did not have a Greyhound ticket waiting for
him to be dropped off right downtown from the stadium.
(11:12):
It might be it might be a turnaround when you see,
because he didn't get him to the playoffs. You know,
he has he's done that, and they might have a
little bit of you know, maybe we hang with this guy,
you know, I don't know. I just wonder if they're
gonna be patient with him or if it's gonna be
another house cleaner. But to finish off the season finales,
(11:33):
the Steelers winning the game yesterday fifteen one, they're now
sixteen and one against the Browns and season finales. Yeah
once again, Uh, no surprise, there, business as usual. The
Browns are one in three. There we go. Let me
just because I was like, I could say the Steelers
(11:53):
are three and one against the Browns over the last
two years, but it's so much better when you say
the Browns are one in three versus the Steelers being
three and one. I just want to just dig it in.
There's my boy, my boy. Brantley would not appreciate that.
But he knew what he was doing. That's why he
wasn't watching the game yesterday. Uh, he knew what it was.
(12:15):
And and you know, it's it's one of those things
where I was, I'm not gonna lie. I'm actually waiting
to see because I believe there's gonna be a lot
of turnover about teams who underperformed, teams who did not
do it. But Mike Tomlin stayed the course six teams
straight years without a losing record. Let me let me
(12:37):
ask you something now, and this is this is sincere
um because I think it's tremendous, all right, But there's
a lot of people they're they're bellyaching about. I think
it's a tremendous story of the turnaround. I think it's
it's tremendous because there is a huge connection between Mike
Tomlin and his players individually. Each guy feels like Mike
(13:03):
is a guy they can reach out to. Each guy
that I've ever talked to that's been around him, is
they all They always come back to the fact that
they have a personal relationship with him, you know, And
I find that fascinating And a lot of people seems
to overlook the fact that if you really care about somebody,
(13:23):
you love somebody, if he's he's your brother too in
a sense of you know, just like a father figure
to a lot of these guys. Um it's it's very
important that you succeed where they succeed, and where they succeed,
you succeed, and you want to help them in whatever
way you can. I know that with with Chuck it
(13:44):
you know, you feel bad about some bad seasons. Chuck
was a legend, a living legend. They called him the
Emperor for crying out loud. And when you have a
bad season, it's just like ah, and the whole eighties
was after the Great seventies, and you just felt like, uh,
you know, it's a shame and you just but I
love Chuck. Chuck changed, He changed the trajectory of my life.
(14:05):
You grow very familiar with those that you know, that
that coach you, that you you interconnect with on a
daily basis, and when things don't go well, you know,
for them and for yourself, you know, you you just
naturally wanted to have things go better for Chuck because
he was just great well, I think, and that's the mark,
(14:28):
that's the market thing right. I mean the fact that
we can talk about our coach and between you and
I Wolf, we've literally had all three coaches that the
Steelers have had since nine you know. I mean when
you think of how remarkable that is in an era
where we see a team like the Texans literally fire
(14:50):
coaches in successive years after one year stints, it's amazing.
That's just right. You see that type of turnover. But
yet the Steelers don't buy into that, are prescribed into that. Yes,
there will be belly aching people, but once again, they
think the grass is greener in the other yard. And
(15:12):
I'm here to tell you all he had was some
some seeds and a water can with a hole in
it and this and this dude created a performance, you know,
garnering type of environment. And I think that's what gets
(15:33):
lost in the wise because it has been such a
part of it, you just assume it. But it is
so tough to maintain that standard of success around a
league that has free agency guy suddenly retiring, the team
turnover it. You're battling the attrition of age and injuries
(15:54):
on top of that, and you still find a way
to win in the midst of all of that. Come on,
everybody could have justified we're gonna suck, it's gonna be
a rebuild a year. Everybody. I want to find out
who actually picked above five hundred. That's what I want
to know, because I know it's only a slim margin
and hopefully it's not just family votes, right, Um, but
(16:19):
nobody would have I didn't even predict this Wolf and
I and I love the squad, and I was like,
I don't know if this this might be the year. Yeah,
but once again, Mike Tomlin has shown you that quality leadership,
quality coaching at the top trickles down. And those guys
(16:40):
understood assignment. Because even remember when I when when I
was interviewing Nazi yesterday, right, he talked about it intimately, Hey,
we didn't want to be the group that was the
first one to give him a losing season. That was
on our minds today. That was on our minds coming
into this game, like we're gardless of whatever the playoff
(17:01):
outcome would have been, our play outcome is what matters first, absolutely,
you know, and that's the final thing about it. And
my mind is, you know, you won seven of the
final nine games. Okay, yeah, you're you're your standard is
you fell way short of it, but that doesn't mean
you stop trying to achieve that standard. You know. Yeah,
(17:25):
it's frustrating. There's a lot of things that go into
a season. Each season under itself is I mean, it's
it's like it's like a lifetime, you know. I mean,
you know, the the NFL does stand for not for
long for a reason, you know, because each season is
just it's a a year long journey unto itself and
it's not going to be replicated by the year before
(17:48):
or the year after, you know, And it's just it's
just one of those things where you know, you go
down this road and you you hope that you have
the the stop at the at the great standard bearer
that in the super Bowl at the end of the year.
But if you don't get there, well, you know, I mean,
it's it's life. But the fight was always there. You know,
(18:08):
you didn't see this team tank when when you see
other teams tank. I just I find that fascinating. Where
where can you find that? I know, in the second
half of the schedule, they you know, you didn't have
quite the same quality of opponents as you might have
had before, all right, but you only play what you
can play. The schedules there for a reason, you know.
(18:29):
And each team just because they're they're hot in September
doesn't mean they're a good team in October or vice versa.
You know what I mean. Because it's always in flux.
So when you play a team, sometimes a team that
is uh, you know, is a rolling along and a
monster suddenly hits a pitole, pothole. It's because of the
(18:52):
fact you might have a couple of guys that aren't
in the game, and they makes them just an average
team for a period of a couple of weeks, well
a couple a couple of weeks or a season or
you yeah, you don't know. And and and after the bye,
they had every reason to go in the tank wolf.
(19:14):
They had every opportunity to use an excuse, and they
didn't use those excuses. They didn't pull the tardy slip,
so to speak, right, I forgot about this. I had
to run back home. No, there's none of that. This
squad was ready. After the bye. They got some good
(19:35):
practices in and they said, you know what, we're a
better squad of this. We're gonna show everybody else that, Yeah,
we can talk about the schedule. Oh my gosh, Buffalo,
I'm Philly and the same same side of the schedule. Okay,
those two. But for for every one of those, we
had two of these, we had a Miami, New England,
the Jets, and the and and the second Baltimore, uh
(20:00):
Cincinnati winnable games. And that's not even including the first Baltimore. Right,
I mean, we had, we had, we had, we had
opportunities you win any of those other five. Guess what,
it's a different conversation, absolutely different one. And let it
be and let it have been a division game. I mean,
(20:23):
you're talking about potentially winning the division. Um you know,
if if, if you can, if you can do the
do two of those things. Um, but any one of
those wins puts a different puts a different perspective on us. Right,
that that's how you have to get ten wins was
going to be the standard cut off for for a
(20:44):
lot of that. Um. But you knew you need to
get to ten wins, and so the opportunity slim you get.
You gave up all all you get out of jail
free cards in the first half of the season. Now
you gotta be skillful and roll of those dice accordingly, right,
got to think about it. You gotta make it happen.
And they did. They did, I mean to to our
(21:08):
you know thoughts, they said, Nope, we believe in ourselves.
And that offensive line came together at the right moment.
They did. They came together and and and did something incredible.
Well one of the incredible things about this. And then
we're gonna go to break. But is checking on these
the f C North. Isn't it amazing that within the division,
(21:32):
all the division, the division record of each team in
the a f C North's three and three. I don't
think that's ever been done in the NFL. I'm not.
I wonder if that I could be wrong on that,
but I think that's the first they all split. They're
the games, you know, each one one and lost one.
And I don't think that's ever been done quite like that.
(21:53):
But you know what that's for people who have an
ability to do math? All right, Well, guess well, I'm
gonna do some math. Hey, we need to go to
break plus me equals break in the locker room. We'll
be back after these commercial breaks. You are in the
(22:14):
locker room. Wolf of Starks here on ESPN and that's
in our radio. This is in the locker Room with
(22:37):
Wolf and Starks on ESPN Pittsburgh against Steelers Nation Radio,
presented by your neighborhood Forward Store. The F one is
the official truck of the Pittsburgh Steeler. They bring four
Pickert throws it down the middle, topdown, George Pickens pick
it to Pickens from thirty one out Heather Steelers in
(22:57):
possession to tie it up and his usual we will
start with our good, the bad, the ugly, maybe the
awesome or the uglier. I'm not even sure so many
categories you could have, but certainly you gotta say, you know,
picking the pickings has been outstanding since it got kind
of unveiled, and it's been getting better. And that throw,
(23:18):
I know there was a blown coverage there, but you
know how many times have you seen a young guys
so over eager to whistle that baby in there? He
overthrows his man. Great job, got the steers untracked, got
to a tie. Um. I look forward to a whole
lot of good stuff. And I'm the good, the bad,
and the ugly. That was a lot of good right
there with pick at the pickings. You're absolutely right, I
(23:40):
mean It's one that we can expect to hear moving
forward as a just U just a phenomenal connection between
those two. And even when Yeah, there was a couple
of throws where was he in? Was he out along
the sidelines but never got discouraged. I mean, and he said, Okay,
(24:03):
we can't throw it on the left side line. Apparently
there's an issue. Boom, come come back and throw it
on the right side line. There was a lot of
great plays this season between Kinney Pickett and George Pickens,
and I thought that that highlight just kind of accentuated
what it was last two home games to have that
(24:26):
type of route, because I mean, that was the same
route they ran in the Raiders game to win it
that that Pickings caught and right down the seam, George
is right there, and once again, for some reason, they
just like busting that coverage in the red zone. I
have no clue. That doesn't matter the team. It happens
to the Raiders, happened to the Browns. Yeah, I mean,
(24:47):
I don't I don't know. I don't know how six
ft four is stealthy, but apparently, uh when when when
when you're playing hind and seek amongst the Redwoods. You know,
tall guys have have an equal shot. I guess I
don't know. But but George Pickett's you know, played played Peekaboo,
hid and hide and go seek and h Kenny Pickett
found him, but didn't he and he tagged him all right,
(25:08):
He tagged him in a good way for the end zone.
Think about this, Kenny Pikett for the seventh seventh time
in eight starts since to buy no I n T S.
I mean that's doing something. He threw how many in
the eight and his first five or something, there's six,
I can't remember, but he's had none, you know since
(25:30):
the Bay he's had one. Let's just settle it that way. Well,
I think I think that's just that's one of those
hallmark type of situations, right, I mean, think about you
know that first game that he comes in halftime of
the Jets, right boo, he can't find the end zone
except for by running in it and couldn't get it
(25:52):
in the air. And then then now you you turn
back and you see boom, this dude can't get it
and he doesn't understand at it. The opportunities are there
now now did he force it a little bit in
this game. Yeah, a couple of times. But at the
same time, you know, when when you're playing to win
a game, that's what happens. You're gonna have forceful moments.
(26:14):
And it did not cost the team in that process.
You know, I thought that was also big, that his
decision making was sound, that either my guy was gonna
get it or nobody was going to get it. Yeah,
you know what I enjoy watching how he's he has grown. Look,
he just comes off a two game winning touchdown pass
(26:35):
passes thrown in the last minute of the game to
back to back games to win the games. Right now,
he comes out to this game, the last game, it's
the Browns as at Acquasure all everything's on the line,
and he did not start fast. I mean, you know,
he he overthrew some people and it didn't look like
he was really lasered in, and yet he still was
(26:57):
able to marshal the resources to turn things around and
make the throws when he needed to make the throws.
And he started, he got this offense kind of just unshackled.
And from my first drive that ended, I couldn't believe,
you know, I went back, I saw that I saw
the picture that Naji scored on that first drive. You know,
(27:18):
he scored on on what the first down or whatever
that they said he's in touch, said, yeah, I saw
a shot of it. He was across the goal line.
That should have been a touchdown. But the fact is,
even after the fumble, even after Kenny had some issues
with overthrowing and it just didn't it wasn't happening. It
comes together and he got it going again. And I
(27:41):
like that because these are all learning steps for Kenny.
You're not gonna start fast every game, you're not gonna
finish great every game. But you've got to find the
wherewithal at some point during the game to be able
to lift your team up and get him over the
goal line. Yeah. No, you're absolutely right. And he never
(28:01):
I mean, keeping with this thing, He never flinched. He
never got overly up or down, even even his demeanor
on the sidelines, right even after coming off the field,
um after not after not failing to score on a drive,
there was no frustration, There was there was no panic.
He was cool, calm, collected. Hey, we'll get him next time. Hey,
(28:23):
that's on me, my bad, right. Um, All those things
were displayed and also we'll have to talk about that
Nazi fumble. Also, right before that bumble play, a Brown's
defender kicked the football and they moved it back, and
then the official came in and did not reset the
(28:44):
spot where it was. They moved it back about a
half a yard, And I thought that also was tough.
When you're talking about Nazi leaping over the pile. If
you're a foot closer, that's a touchdown and not a fumble.
That's just that's just that's that's my gut saying. So
even though they messed up the call on the initial
run by Nazi to get in the end zone when
(29:06):
he stretched out there the very next play where where
the ball should have been lined up and where he
should have been launching, should have been a touchdown on
that one, but they moved it back. That's true. Okay,
that's a great point. Yeah, I roll that one. Not
bad at all. Again, you know, just the fact that
it started so well, I mean, they were just I
(29:27):
watched the first play they ran from scrimmage. I'm watching
the three guys on the inside, uh Dotson, Cole and
uh Daniels. They just blowing people back off the line
of scrimmage rolling them back. I mean ged zooks man.
That was that was nice. That was great. That was
a double team going on with with Mouth and with
(29:49):
Danny Moore on the left side, and they rolled Garrett
back and you know we got to the second level
with Danny Moore getting a block and that you know,
I love that. I mean the physicality that was emating
from that first drive. You're like, I was just like
overwhelmed with like, yes, this is what you want to see.
And then you know it just kind of got a
little that's so good, not so great, and then again
(30:12):
then they turned it on and they were able to reload.
But again, this offensive line has grown tremendously since the
buy oh they have. I mean, what watching them go
about their business, It's like watching the percussion section in
the orchestra when there when there's a really dynamic scene,
right and you've got the drums and you got the triangle,
(30:34):
you got all the crashing and the banging and all
these things like karmina barana. Right, It's just it's one
of those it's just what carmina barana that's by carl Um,
but it has like it has like this very intense
like percussion. Right, it's big bangs of the drum, it's
(30:55):
big clangs of the symbols. And that's what that's what
Watching the offensive line when it's a good physical run play,
it's like watching that. It's watching that orchestra of chaos
UM come together and make something beautiful. Like you said,
double teams hitting guys getting off to the second level,
the running back trucking a dude in the hole. That
(31:15):
that's the unaccounted for a guy, right, the guy that
he has to beat. Like, all of that is just
awesome perfection in a very chaotic and physical type of manner.
So that that's what I was trying to get across
with my with my metaphor or I loved it. You
just raised the level for me. See you know what
was that again? Carmina barana barona? Is that uh symphony
(31:43):
play or something or it's it's like an opera with
symphony Okay, alright, yeah, yeah, you know, I'll play it
for you next time I play it for it was
it was a part of my pregame package. So that's
why I could draw from UM because I realized that
it had I made my another analogy UM about Manfred
(32:04):
Hannick and the h in the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the
Pops conductor that that that would have been a little
bit over over the head um. But yeah, it's way
over my head. Yeah. Oh oh that's love this there
it is, See and West hopefully you know, I'll send
(32:25):
it to you, to send a wolf to play it.
But it's it's good stuff. It's good. It's good stuff
when you're talking about it. But but I think that
that's kind of what we've been waiting for this, right.
It's it's one of those things where it's like you
know it's there, you know it's there. It's like looking
up at a stage with those instruments and there's no
(32:45):
players there yet, right, no members present, But you see
the big drum in the back corner, you see you
see the glocker spiel and the xylophones and all that
stuff glocking spiel. Yeah, so you see all of these
instruments and you know what the show is supposed to be.
But the people haven't shown up yet. And that's what
(33:07):
we're waiting for with the offensive line, right, we were
waiting for them to show up. You know, we've been
watching it since camp, and we're like man talking about practice,
man as practice ugly, but you're you're talking about coming
out of the by and then especially the last, you know,
quarter of this season. I mean coming out with with authority,
(33:28):
coming out with authority, dictating terms to the other team
and controlling time of possession and have and sustaining drives,
converting first downs and third down conversions. Like all of
these beautiful things that you want to see happening in
a football game, We're happening. And it was coming together.
Everybody knew their cues, and everybody performed to the best
(33:50):
of their abilities, and they did and they got better.
They did, and we better go to our break, so
nobody breaks anything. This will be an intermission in missiow
love love this intermission, and when we come back, we'll
(34:12):
continue to talk more Steelers Browns on this edition. On
the locker Room Symphony. You know, if you want more symphony, oh,
I'll give you more symphony. We can get into a
lot of staying is in town with the symphony tonight
and tomorrow night. Oh yeah, hey, let's always sit it
(34:35):
out in s OS. But but you know I won't
but I won't call the police anyways on that note,
but it was a wrestler for crying out loud. I
mean yes and yes exactly agree to agree. We'll be
back the group Wolf starts on Already Radio. This is
(35:12):
in the locker room with Wolf and Starks on ESPN
Pittsburgh against Steelers Nation Radio, presented by your neighborhood Forward Store.
The F one fifty is the official truck of the
Pittsburgh Steelers. Watson, in a hurry up is back Waits.
Waits fires a pass. It's abstainers set that and with
the football is lead by Wallace. He's got it at
(35:34):
the forty up to the forty five and the Brown
stand him up at the forty five yard line of
Pittsburgh for a minute eleven ago here in the second quarter,
shotgun snap back is Watson throws it over the middle banner,
cept it and that is Casey and Casey gets inside
the still on his feet. No, he was down, but
(35:55):
he runs to the end zone to please the Steeler fandom.
In the end zone. To our left, day Monte CAZy,
the six year man from San Diego State, his second
pick of the year. He jumped inside the intended receiver
Donovan people's jone. You know, one of the things about
this secondary, Max and on this defense twenty interceptions. Twenty interceptions.
(36:17):
Now we couldn't buy a fumble recovery it seemed like,
but you know, twenty interceptions. That secondary was playing well
all through the season. No, they were opportunistic and when
the sacks were light, the turnovers were still there. You know,
I think that was one of the things that you
(36:38):
think about balance and consistency. Um. But yeah, well yesterday,
if we're talking about the good Wolf, everything was working yesterday.
I mean, you know, you said back in the quarterback
think about that. We'll get to that Cam Heyward, that
that's what minus that one? But how many other ones
did they have? Brother? But I'm just thinking in terms
(37:02):
of that that overshadowed everything for I am absolutely honked
about that. That's right, because Cam should be at seventy
nine and a half right now and a half? You know,
I mean, um or was it? Yeah? No? Or was
(37:22):
and a half? He's gotten H's right, Yeah, it should
have been seventy nine and a half. That's right. Okay,
I was right. I was worried. It's it's a half
sex and throw me off. But I mean, you know,
it's just one of those things. You know. What's was
that you you you you allowed me to confirm you
with math. Listen fact checkers. You should never listen to
(37:47):
me when fact checking statistics like that. But but that
that is the trust that I have in you as
my partner in football, you know, I had, man, Yeah,
you know, love you too, man. Uh, But I mean,
but that, but that, but that that is a frustrated point,
you know, because I was like, what, you know, we
(38:07):
were kind of going back and forth during the like
we couldn't believe that, And I was like, Okay, that
either had to have been a makeup call for them
blowing the Larry Ogan Joe Feast mass tackle. That's another one,
you know. I mean, I'm not gonna sit there and yeah,
hey call that thing. But at the same time, that
(38:30):
was that had to be an obvious making west do
you have do you have cam sack? And then the
billy's call on that. Okay, we're putting Wesley on the
spot here and see how fast our ninja can move
and dial it up and so forth. But that was such,
as I said at the time, that is the most
egregious penalty I've seen since I tackled uh a jet player? Well,
(38:55):
who had it was? He was a free runner going
right at Bradshaw and Bradshaw had the bad elbow, and
I just tackled the dude, Ben Rudolph. Ben Rudolf came around.
So that was the most egregious un sports or roughing
penalty since I tackled Ben Rudolph way back in. Oh
(39:16):
my gosh. Well, because it's like everything else, I was like,
how did you call that a slam? Right? What? He
and he purposely did not fall on top of like
he took him down to the side, absolutely, but you
know you have you have to do a certain level
of like torquing of the body to get his feet
(39:38):
from underneath him. How many I mean, DeShawn Watson had
been breaking tackles. You know remember that one where we
we literally you had to go back to the replay
and see that both his elbows were touching the ground
because the referees did not see it was gonna let
that go. He dies, He dies for like seven guys,
It got like twenty yards exactly. So you was like
(40:00):
it was like, y'all didn't see that. That was terrible. Well,
we got what Wesley's got the dial it up, trips left,
its back, looking left, He's hit by Captain Cap and
down he goes, Are they gonna throw a flag? No,
he got slammed down and they threw a flag on
the play defense First, I'm are you kidding me? That's
(40:38):
the emotion, that's that's live in the moment. You sit
there and you look at Cam dropping Deshaun Watson, who,
like you said, had run through several tackles before, broken
tackles and everything, and you're gonna call that. That's like
you've suddenly entered into the twilight zone of the National
(40:59):
Touch foot Ball League. That's the only thing I can
say was it was. It was absolutely super egregious. Yeah,
it hearkened onto the days of the No Fun League
right where it's like you just you said there, Yeah,
the days of yore, at that moment where it's like,
are you serious? I mean we can't do anything right,
(41:19):
I mean we're gonna flag for everything. Like remember when
it was like if you even looked in the direction
of a guy, what what are you He's facing the
direction that I'm going, what are you talking about? Nope, Nope, nope,
you look down he still was on the ground. That's intimidation.
It's like God, I mean, that's essentially what it is.
(41:41):
I mean you literally, like on that plate it was
textbook on how you should do it and how to
prevent a penalty, and he draws a penalty from that
being as conscious as you can when you're going at
full hand to hand combat with another three pound plus human.
(42:02):
You beat said human on the play, and then you
have to go tackle a two d and thirty pound
human in the process that's athletic and strong as well.
So it's it's like, come on. I mean, I could
see if Kim would have grabbed him and then like
like fork lifted him and then landed on top of
him with his full weight, right. I mean, that's where
(42:24):
I see that penalty. That's the that's the upper edges
and limits of that penalty before it becomes something intentional.
But in this moment, I felt like he was conscious
about how he had to hit Deshaan and how to
take him to the ground and make that not costly
to the team. I thought that was one with the referee,
(42:48):
and the referee was talking with the with with the
side judge, and I was kind of like behind with
my microphone and you can see him looking over his
shoulder at me. At one point, I'm like, yeah, if
I hear anything, I'm reporting all of it. Keith whispering,
Keith whispering. My my laser darts are are hitting all
(43:10):
the major appendages right now. I just I just threw
another one. Threw another one with my eyes, you know it.
But but yeah, but that was egregious. But I mean
that that one, Yeah, it kind of overshadows. But when
you think about just all of the production, how many
group meetings did they have at the quarterback over the quarterback,
(43:32):
at the quarterbacks express I mean it was it was
just it was phenomenal. And then at the end of
the game to close it out that way back to
back sacks, I mean, what what what Hubbard Hudson was
already having a problem. Guys with the last name H
on the offensive line should not play against the Steelers.
I'm just saying that just had a tough time. I'm
(43:54):
telling you, bass rush was back. Well, why don't we
close up and let me ask you something. You want
to open the phone lines in the in the what
in the power hour of this show, we will open
the phone lines, great ideal Wolf FO six are the
mathematics to dial on your smartphone Syracuse mathematics or Florida
(44:23):
gohead what West Virginia? Most likely that's not yeah exactly,
Well at least they're not hitting the one first that
that's the most important, oh man. But now we want
to hear from you stealer nations, good bad and the
ugly during the beautiful part of the program, which is
(44:45):
the Power Hour coming up next here on S and
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