January 5, 2023 • 27 mins
With the Bengals/Bills game being postponed and the NFL giving no indication as to how the final week of the season will play out, there's a lot of uncertainty for the Steelers and the rest of the league. Stan is joined by Gerry Dulac to discuss how the team rebounded from a 2-6 start and if they could make some noise in the postseason if they make it there.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
There's no doubt the way he ran against Baltimore. I'm
sure the whole nation saw that, being on on national
TV and prime time, that he they had to come
away from press by the way he ran. This is
saverean On Steelers. Hello and happy New Year to all
in Steelers Nations. Welcome to the savrant On Steelers podcast.
(00:23):
I'm Stan Savran, your host. We put up two new
posts every week. You get us at Steelers dot com.
That's where you found us, and if you enjoy the
Steelers only content of this podcast, please let your friends
and neighbors and fellow fans relatives about the podcast again,
just go to Steelers dot com. Two new posts every
(00:44):
single week. We don't know what's going to happen between
the Steelers and Browns. Three potential outcomes. The Steelers could lose,
which would end the season. They could win but still
not make the playoffs, finishing nine and eight, keeping Mike
Tomins treak intact but again not making the playoffs. Or
(01:06):
number three. They could win and make the playoffs, which
when would send them into very difficult territory, meaning they'd
get one of the top seeds in the a f C.
Whichever team that happens to be. I mean, it wouldn't
be a promising outlook. Clearly they would be an underdog.
But whatever the outcome Sunday's action may bring, it appears
(01:32):
to me as though there's good reason to take more
of an optimistic path to the off season. Let's compare
it to where we were about a year ago today.
The Steelers did not know who their quarterback was gonna be.
In two they knew that Ben was calling it quits
(01:55):
the last wonderful memory game against Cleveland at then heinz Field,
But at that time they didn't have any idea, at
least not publicly, who they're new starting quarterback would be.
Most teams knowing that a guy like Ben, not necessarily
(02:16):
even a Hall of Famer, but a guy who's been
your starting quarterback for quite some time he's gonna retire,
usually prepared for that, and you have his error apparent
in waiting. That was clearly not the case with the Steelers,
and no time did they exhibit the kind of confidence
(02:38):
in Mason Rudolph that led one to believe that he
was a legitimate candidate to become the starting quarterback, even
though he knew the system, he was there. He'd been
here for quite some time. But it was pretty clear
at the time, and certainly during the off season, they
had no idea who their quarterback is gonna be. The
(03:00):
only idea they had was that it was not going
to be Mason Rudolph. Heading into next year, there's no
question as to who the starting quarterback is going to be.
Kenny Pickett has played enough and done enough to allay
(03:21):
all those fears. Now, there's no guarantee that he moves
beyond this plateaul. By the way, Kenny Pickett was voted
the Steelers Rookie of the Year by the Pro Football
Writers of Association in Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Chapter. I mean
(03:46):
that's pretty obvious. I mean, George Pickets has made his contributions,
but Kenny Picketts the rookie of the Year. So that's
a major major part of all this they found on
their quarterback. It's not the only thing they have to
worry about, but it's a major major component of how
(04:07):
you move forward. Seldom can you win and win big
with a mediocre game manager. Now, again, that doesn't mean
that Kenny Picketted is a finished product. He's a long
way from that. But it does mean he's progressed enough
(04:32):
to where he can build on whatever successes he may
have had this year and so heading into next year.
If you're thinking about these Steelers prospects, you start out
with a quarterback who you know is number one. He's
(04:54):
going to get the reps in O. T A S
Mini camp, certainly in Latrobe and throughout the regular season
barring injury. Of course, Another area is you have a
potential game breaker in George Pickens. I mean they thought
they had a real stud when they drafted him, but
(05:16):
now that they've seen him, one of the things they've
got to work on is getting more balls thrown to him.
They've got to find a way to get more targets
for him. But again, you know he's there. That was
(05:41):
an unknown quantity a year ago. Today they've also got
the potential of a game breaker. And over the top
guy in Calvin Austin, the third missed the entire year,
missed all the training camp, So I mean he's been around.
(06:02):
Maybe he'll get some knowledge by osmosis, but he has potential.
Stephen Sims has shown some potential. You also seen Najy
Harris at his absolute best the game against Baltimore. That's
(06:26):
the best he's looked, and it gave you a glimpse
of what he could be. I don't know if if
his health improved, if his foot was an issue, but
he looked like the guy the Steelers thought they were
getting from Alabama when they drafted the number one two
years ago. Not that he's been bad, he's been fine,
(06:46):
but he was great against Baltimore. And not only have
they laid any concerns about the lead running back, one
of the question marks they had last year. I mean,
they already had Nazi, they knew that, but they knew
that they were going to need a backup running back,
a capable backup running back, so that they could not
(07:07):
only get production out of that guy, whoever it was,
but also giving nausea arrest. He was getting way too
many touches. And you saw the way he played in
the fourth quarter, game winning touchdown drive against the Ravens.
He was fresher than if he had gotten carries and
caught four balls. Maybe that's a component of why he
(07:31):
was so fresh, throwing guys down, stiff, arming people, running
people over. Jalen Warren was a steel as an undrafted
free agent it's another question mark that's already been answered.
The offensive line always a concern. It's not great, but
(07:54):
it's got to the point where it's good. It's serviceable.
And while I would hope this would not be the case,
you could potentially enter with that same line and say, well,
we're okay, but I would offer this, okay, get your
(08:15):
nine and eight, even if they finish eight and nine.
It's time to start looking for players who are NFL good,
not just Steeler good. In other words, if you're starting
on the old line for the Pittsburgh Steelers, you just
may even be the best of a bad lot or
(08:36):
a mediocre lot. That'd be more fair. So there's work
to be done there, but they've got the draft capital
to get that done. Even with a winning record, they'll
draft in the middle of the pack, but they're going
to get what is tantum out to a number one
pick with the Chase Claypool trade. They need to find
(09:01):
a corner. They need to find the next Cam Hayward.
Not easy. Maybe the Marvin Leeal's that guy, different type player,
there's another guy who can really help next year. They
also need the corner. But maybe question has been answered
(09:21):
inside linebacker. Now, you're not going to get everything you
need in the draft. But because of all the things
that I've mentioned, all the questions they had a year
ago versus some of the questions that have been answered
heading into this year's offseason, I think there's reason to
(09:45):
be optimistic. Jerry Doolack covers the Steelers for the Pittsburgh
Post Gazette and as you know, Steelers Nation Radio on
the Steelers pregame show. He's covered the Steelers for a
long time continues to do so. He joined me now
(10:07):
on the Savrgan Steelers Podcast. Jerry, always great to talk
to you. Welcome. I've offered this up thinking back to
a year ago at this time, UM, I believe that
the Steelers now, um have a reason to be optimistic
about then perhaps they did a year ago heading into
(10:28):
this season. UM, the premises they found their quarterback, They've
got really some potential stars around them on the offensive line. Still,
you know, ways to go, certainly still other improvements have
to be made. But even if they don't make the playoffs,
do you believe that there a step ahead of the
game and were when they were a year ago? I
(10:51):
couldn't agree with you more stan Um, you know, and
the biggest reason is because of their quarterback. I mean
the questions and the and the concern that they had
going forward. You know, without Ben Roethlisberger after eighteen years,
that was as massive a concern as you can have
after a season heading into the following year. And they
(11:12):
don't have that now. I'm sure that they are convinced.
Not I'm sure I know they are convinced Kenny Pickett
is their guy going forward. He's shown, uh, the kind
of a winning characteristic that you look for in a
quarterback these past two games. You know, um doing what
he's done in the past two games on fourth quarter
(11:36):
drives against the Raiders and the Ravens in the final
minute forty seconds touchdown in one forty fifty seconds left
on the touchdown on the other and um, you know,
his numbers during that drive, both those drives. In fact,
you go back to the Colts game, that fourth quarter
game winning drive, his numbers are off the charts, just
pass a rating in those three game winning drives in
(12:00):
it's like one thirty two. When as you look at
the last two games, it's like one, you know, high
high completion percentage, no picks, obviously a couple of touchdowns.
He has shown that in those pressure moments he can
deliver and deliver big. Now. I know a lot of
the other times during the game he looks like a
rookie quarterback, but that's to be expected. But when you've
(12:20):
needed him, unlike the Jets game at the end, unlike
the Miami game at the end, he's delivered these times.
And so that answers a big, big concern. And we
have seen Nagy Harris, even though his numbers aren't as
high as they were last year, there's no question the
way he has run the past four or five games,
(12:40):
especially against the Ravens, um, you know, he looks like
he can be the big time dominating back that they
hope when they drafted him number one. And then of
course the offensive line, it's just you know, to me,
it's the uh, it's the m v P of units there,
the way they have played and the way they have
progressed from the beginning of the season when it looked
(13:01):
like it was going to be a worrisome unit. Would
you agree, based on your comments, that that was the
best nagis looked um, And I mean, I don't know
if it's because his foot is better. Um. I don't
know if he feels like being a team leader and
a team captain that he needs to, you know, exhibit
that type of play. How aggressive he was in many
(13:25):
of those situations. Um. And in conjunction with that, Jerry
one other problem they solved that they didn't have an
idea for during the off season. They needed a complimentary
back to Nag Harris to limit the amount of time
he's out there, and it sure seems like they found
one in Jail and Warren. Well, there's no question about
(13:46):
about the latter stay in Taalen Warren Um is a
really good complimentary back. I mean that guy goes to
the whole when he hits at a hundred twenty mile
UM and when when he gets the ball when he's played.
That's why they played him as much as they have.
They really like this guy. It's obviously it's not only
a good compliment to Najy. It lessons how many touches
(14:08):
he has, which last year was just way too many.
Too much of the offense ran through Naja Harris last year,
and that doesn't that hasn't happened this year, thankfully, and
it's made Nausea a better player. There's no doubt the
way he ran against Baltimore. I'm sure the whole nation
saw that being on in national TV in prime time,
that he They had to come away impressed by the
(14:31):
way he ran. And I don't I don't think really
it has anything to do with his foot that it's
getting better, but that really hasn't been a problem. Stand.
I think going way back to whatever week that was
early in the season, when he could take that steel
plate out of his shoe, I think that helped, But
I don't think it has anything to do with whatever
lingering effect he might have, which I don't think it's
(14:51):
any with his foot. Um, he looked very, very good,
very decisive, and a lot of that, stand is the
confidence he has in the offensive line. They're moving people out,
you know. Stand, they do a lot of zone blocking
up front, they do a lot of double teams, and um,
it's just been very effective. And you know, you've got
to have to give credit to Pat Meyer, their new
(15:13):
offensive line coach. Um, he comes in and he takes um,
you know, basically three new pieces. You know, the two
guys in free agency, Mason Cole and James Daniel Kevin
Dotson going back in it's moving Kendrick Green out of there,
um and and he's made him into an outstanding run
blocking offensive line, and so you have to give props
(15:35):
to him as well. But I think the combination of
the line, the confidence Nagi has in it, and the
way he is hitting the hole with the speed and
power that he's hitting the hole has been very impressive. Well,
it raised a couple of questions. Number One, what's going
on with the other fifty five minutes of the game. Uh,
It's all well and good that they have these comebacks.
(15:55):
They're thrilling, they're exciting, their confidence building. But the truth
of the matter is they scored one touchdown in each
of the last two games. Um and given the way
this league is, uh, that's not enough. So what's going
wrong up until the time where they have to make
a drive and have to score? Well, Stan, it's not
just the other three quarters or other three and a
(16:16):
half quarters. It's what we've seen the last two years.
And that's why I always have said here that you
can't be duped by this late season charge. You have
to look at the totality of what you've been watching
last year in the beginning of this year. So, I mean,
that's something that needs to be looked at and addressed.
(16:37):
You can't just sit there and say, well, we made
some improvements. The reality is, even if you win, you
are still a nine and eight football team. You're an
average football team. You're slightly above average, you're a C
plus football team. And last year you weren't a whole
lot better. You don't have any playoff wins, and so
you do have to assess where you are and say okay.
(16:57):
You can't just say, okay, we're on the right track.
Yeah you are with some of your young players. Your
first and second round picks each of the past two
years have turned into basically your best offensive players. Uh.
And so yeah, those those picks were good, and maybe
you are moving with those guys in the right direction,
especially after losing your future Hall of Fame quarterback. But um,
(17:20):
let's not kid ourselves. The offense doesn't score points. Um,
they have been moving the ball. Stand you have to
acknowledge that they go up and down the field. I
I will honestly tell you I have no issue for
the most part with the play calling. The last four
or five games. I'd liked the flow of it. I
thought they waited too long to try and go over
at the top the other day, but I get why
(17:41):
they didn't because they were running the ball so well. So,
but there are still some issues that that that need
that you can't run from. And um, you know, Mike
Tomlin always say, I don't you don't want to run
from it. We want to run to it. While they
need to do that when they start looking at, you
know where some of the problems are in terms of
scoring points. But you do have to acknowledge they are
(18:04):
a young offense and but their lack of explosive place.
Then it's just incredible to think that their longest offensive
touchdown is twenty four yards. I mean, that's that's almost
mind bogging. But that just shows the lack of explosion
in the offense and some of those things have to
change in today's NFL because you're gonna go to the
(18:25):
super Bowl, get to the playoffs, first of all. But
if you want to go to the super Bowl, you
don't have to be able to score forty points a game,
but you better be able to score more than seventeen.
You better have some explosion, and that's what's missing from
this offense. Well, part of the reason is it seems
to me as a curiously low number of targets to
(18:45):
George Pickens. Um he says he's open all the time.
I don't know it would seem to be. If that
were indeed the case, they would find him more frequently. Um.
Any explanations to why, and not even talking about deep
just in general, why they don't go to him more frequently, Well,
a couple of things. Then, don't buy into that idea
that he's open all the time. He thinks he's open
(19:06):
when the guys on him and when you're running him
on X routes, uh go routes down the sideline from
that exposition. Um, you know what, he's double teamed. He
has the player and he has the sideline confining him.
And so you can't live on a steady diet of those.
You have to be able to run across the middle. Now,
we saw it the other day on a pass in Baltimore.
We saw it on the touchdown winning touchdown against the Raiders.
(19:29):
There needs to be more than that. And let's that
goes back again. He's a rookie, it's not it was
not his strong suit in college. Um, you know, but
he you know, he may he needs to improve his
route running. I'm not saying he's terrible, UM, but you know,
it needs to develop a little bit more. So. Look,
Deante Johnson's their best rob runner. He gets open for
a reason because he comes out of his break so well.
(19:50):
And that's not the case with George Pickens. But George
Pickens is a different type of receiver. UM. And so
I don't think the idea that they just need to
throw it more to George Pickens as the answer because
teams will take that away. Uh. You know, if that's
all you're going to do, you just have to find
a little bit more explosion. So for example, the other day,
they waited and they waited, and they waited to attack
(20:12):
the Baltimore secondary. Go back to the first game that
they played against the Ravens. Mitch Drobiskie forty five yard
past thirty seven yard past thirty two yard pass. He
attacked that raven secondary. It can be attacked, especially Marcus
Peters isn't playing. They waited and they waited and they waited,
and the only time they went over the top until
(20:32):
the last drive, and even then they didn't go over
the top they just went into the middle of the field.
Was the thirty one yard to Deante Johnson, where once
again he failed to navigate the boundary and didn't get
his feet in bounds. That was the only time after
having much success doing it in the first game. Again,
I get it, they were able to run the ball
so well, so I understand that part of it. But
(20:53):
you obviously saw in the first game that you can
go over the top on that raven secondary and they
and they just didn't do it. They didn't want to
do it, that's why. And so, um, you know that
those are the kinds of things where as an offense
you have to develop and have a little bit more confidence,
if not just frequency to be able to and that
(21:14):
part of that. You know, Kenny Pickett as a rookie,
he's he's still learning, he's going to still learning. Um,
And I just think there's they want to be really
sure that Kenny Pickett isn't going to cost them a game,
and that's why he's been so good at protecting the
football only one interception since to buy and throwing the
football away. And so that's all part of it too.
(21:36):
Mark Caballi, our friend comes up with this in the
last two games. The last two drives of both those
games against the Raiders and the Ravens, his quarterback passer
rating was one two point five. All the other drives
in both the last two games pass rating of sixty. Um. Well,
(21:57):
that was that. That was the point I was making earlier.
When you go look at the last two drives, seventeen
of one for a hundred seventy six yards and two touchdowns. Yeah,
and that is his passer rating. And so you throw
in the Indie game where he had the fourth quarter
drive where he came back that drive, you include that drive,
his passer rating is one thirty two. But you take
(22:18):
the other ten and a half quarters from those three
games the Colts, the Raiders, and the Ravens, his passer
rating is seventy point two. Now I'm not condemning him
with that, but you know, there he's struggling as a
rookie to a degree. But the important thing is when
he has gotten into those game winning situations, unlike the Jets,
(22:39):
unlike Miami where he ended the game with bad interceptions.
Now he has delivered big time in those moments, despite
you know, looking like a rookie quarterback who makes some
good plays and then you know, look, you know looks
just you know, making looking average basically the other times. Um,
the the difference is stark. But at least he is
(23:00):
delivering in those moments, and that's the big key. How
do they feel about their defense? Um? You know, Mark
Robinson drew some good reviews to Marvin Leel received great reviews. Um,
how do they look at their defense heading into the season.
And they found some answers not only who they think
can play, but also who they have exhibited. And I
(23:23):
think that certain people cannot play well. They certainly have
some uh, they certainly have some some holes that they
need to feel. But I'll tell you one thing they
have found that they found their starting inside linebacker next year.
That will be Mark Robinson. So for all those people
who think they need to go high in the draft
and find an inside linebacker, first of all, I will
(23:44):
tell you that is not a high priority for them.
But Mark Robinson is a guy. He will be right.
He will go into next year as they're starting inside linebacker.
And he showed a lot of reasons why. Against the Ravens.
He played snaps, he had seven tackles, third on the team,
he's a very aggressive player. Now part of the reason
why he's not playing US because he doesn't know the defense.
(24:06):
But against the Ravens, you know, Mike Tomlin said this
the other day, with his skill set in the way
the Ravens like to play, it's a perfect match. And
that's why he played as much as he did and
that's why he played so well. And going forward, he
will be there inside linebacker next year. The Marvin Lee
Ou is a very is an athletic defensive end who's
played t J. Watts position. The other day, stand they
(24:27):
were using him as the four man defensive front defensive lineman,
but they kept moving him around and letting him stand
up and jump around, um, you know, to try and
give give you know, the Ravens a different look. And
that's just how athletic he is. And you heard Mike
Tomlin us, you know, kind of singing his praises the
other day for how athletic this guy is. But they
(24:50):
still need to rebuild that defensive line. They need to
go find a stud you know, Cam Hayward, even a
steffont it Um, and they will in the draft, you know,
no more drafting on the third or fourth round. For
these guys, you have to go with a high pick.
You have to find a cornerback. You know, Levi Wallace
is a nice backup a Kelly Weatherspoon depending on what
(25:12):
they do in the draft, he's a nice backup to.
But they're not starters. Cam Sutton's good player. Theyn't want
to bring him back, but there's some issues that they
have to address on defense, and one of them of courses,
will they decide to extend um, you know, Alex Highsmith,
or will he want to wait and go into free
agency coming off but this year was a big year.
(25:33):
But my guess is if they want to extend them
and sign them to a decent deal, that that he will.
But that will be something of a priority for them.
But there's there's a few questions on defense that they
will address in the off season that they have to.
All right, Jared, thanks very much. I always enjoy the time.
We'll see what we'll see. Last games could be Sunday,
(25:53):
maybe there's another game in the offing. Either way, we'll
talk about it next week. Thanks. All right, Stan, good
chat with you, my friend. Take care. Well, there's still
a game to play, maybe more than one. We'll see
as you know, the Steelers fade is not in their hands.
They do have to win, but need help from elsewhere. Hey,
(26:13):
when you're eight and eight, you're on the fringe. That's
the way it works. So we'll see what happens. But
either way, UM, the offseason I think tends to be
more positive than not. I want to remind you that
the sabeant On Steelers podcast can be found twice weekly
new post at Steelers dot com. You can listen to
(26:34):
the postgame show. I'll be on there this week with
Matt Williamson of Steelers Nation Radio. Following the Steelers Browns game,
will be on the air around four fift You can
listen to my daily radio show on ESPN Pittsburgh. That's
a M nine seventy on your am radio. We're on
daily noon to two Eastern time. If you can't listen,
(26:59):
then you can get my podcast um I tweet about
at my Twitter address at stand love the show where
you can download them by getting the I Heart Media app.
It's free and it's simple, and you can get the
show daily noon too. Right there. Thanks for joining us.
I hope you enjoyed today's podcast. We'll be back with
(27:20):
more on The Savant Students podcast
There's no doubt the way he ran against Baltimore. I'm
sure the whole nation saw that, being on on national
TV and prime time, that he they had to come
away from press by the way he ran. This is
saverean On Steelers. Hello and happy New Year to all
in Steelers Nations. Welcome to the savrant On Steelers podcast.
(00:23):
I'm Stan Savran, your host. We put up two new
posts every week. You get us at Steelers dot com.
That's where you found us, and if you enjoy the
Steelers only content of this podcast, please let your friends
and neighbors and fellow fans relatives about the podcast again,
just go to Steelers dot com. Two new posts every
(00:44):
single week. We don't know what's going to happen between
the Steelers and Browns. Three potential outcomes. The Steelers could lose,
which would end the season. They could win but still
not make the playoffs, finishing nine and eight, keeping Mike
Tomins treak intact but again not making the playoffs. Or
(01:06):
number three. They could win and make the playoffs, which
when would send them into very difficult territory, meaning they'd
get one of the top seeds in the a f C.
Whichever team that happens to be. I mean, it wouldn't
be a promising outlook. Clearly they would be an underdog.
But whatever the outcome Sunday's action may bring, it appears
(01:32):
to me as though there's good reason to take more
of an optimistic path to the off season. Let's compare
it to where we were about a year ago today.
The Steelers did not know who their quarterback was gonna be.
In two they knew that Ben was calling it quits
(01:55):
the last wonderful memory game against Cleveland at then heinz Field,
But at that time they didn't have any idea, at
least not publicly, who they're new starting quarterback would be.
Most teams knowing that a guy like Ben, not necessarily
(02:16):
even a Hall of Famer, but a guy who's been
your starting quarterback for quite some time he's gonna retire,
usually prepared for that, and you have his error apparent
in waiting. That was clearly not the case with the Steelers,
and no time did they exhibit the kind of confidence
(02:38):
in Mason Rudolph that led one to believe that he
was a legitimate candidate to become the starting quarterback, even
though he knew the system, he was there. He'd been
here for quite some time. But it was pretty clear
at the time, and certainly during the off season, they
had no idea who their quarterback is gonna be. The
(03:00):
only idea they had was that it was not going
to be Mason Rudolph. Heading into next year, there's no
question as to who the starting quarterback is going to be.
Kenny Pickett has played enough and done enough to allay
(03:21):
all those fears. Now, there's no guarantee that he moves
beyond this plateaul. By the way, Kenny Pickett was voted
the Steelers Rookie of the Year by the Pro Football
Writers of Association in Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Chapter. I mean
(03:46):
that's pretty obvious. I mean, George Pickets has made his contributions,
but Kenny Picketts the rookie of the Year. So that's
a major major part of all this they found on
their quarterback. It's not the only thing they have to
worry about, but it's a major major component of how
(04:07):
you move forward. Seldom can you win and win big
with a mediocre game manager. Now, again, that doesn't mean
that Kenny Picketted is a finished product. He's a long
way from that. But it does mean he's progressed enough
(04:32):
to where he can build on whatever successes he may
have had this year and so heading into next year.
If you're thinking about these Steelers prospects, you start out
with a quarterback who you know is number one. He's
(04:54):
going to get the reps in O. T A S
Mini camp, certainly in Latrobe and throughout the regular season
barring injury. Of course, Another area is you have a
potential game breaker in George Pickens. I mean they thought
they had a real stud when they drafted him, but
(05:16):
now that they've seen him, one of the things they've
got to work on is getting more balls thrown to him.
They've got to find a way to get more targets
for him. But again, you know he's there. That was
(05:41):
an unknown quantity a year ago. Today they've also got
the potential of a game breaker. And over the top
guy in Calvin Austin, the third missed the entire year,
missed all the training camp, So I mean he's been around.
(06:02):
Maybe he'll get some knowledge by osmosis, but he has potential.
Stephen Sims has shown some potential. You also seen Najy
Harris at his absolute best the game against Baltimore. That's
(06:26):
the best he's looked, and it gave you a glimpse
of what he could be. I don't know if if
his health improved, if his foot was an issue, but
he looked like the guy the Steelers thought they were
getting from Alabama when they drafted the number one two
years ago. Not that he's been bad, he's been fine,
(06:46):
but he was great against Baltimore. And not only have
they laid any concerns about the lead running back, one
of the question marks they had last year. I mean,
they already had Nazi, they knew that, but they knew
that they were going to need a backup running back,
a capable backup running back, so that they could not
(07:07):
only get production out of that guy, whoever it was,
but also giving nausea arrest. He was getting way too
many touches. And you saw the way he played in
the fourth quarter, game winning touchdown drive against the Ravens.
He was fresher than if he had gotten carries and
caught four balls. Maybe that's a component of why he
(07:31):
was so fresh, throwing guys down, stiff, arming people, running
people over. Jalen Warren was a steel as an undrafted
free agent it's another question mark that's already been answered.
The offensive line always a concern. It's not great, but
(07:54):
it's got to the point where it's good. It's serviceable.
And while I would hope this would not be the case,
you could potentially enter with that same line and say, well,
we're okay, but I would offer this, okay, get your
(08:15):
nine and eight, even if they finish eight and nine.
It's time to start looking for players who are NFL good,
not just Steeler good. In other words, if you're starting
on the old line for the Pittsburgh Steelers, you just
may even be the best of a bad lot or
(08:36):
a mediocre lot. That'd be more fair. So there's work
to be done there, but they've got the draft capital
to get that done. Even with a winning record, they'll
draft in the middle of the pack, but they're going
to get what is tantum out to a number one
pick with the Chase Claypool trade. They need to find
(09:01):
a corner. They need to find the next Cam Hayward.
Not easy. Maybe the Marvin Leeal's that guy, different type player,
there's another guy who can really help next year. They
also need the corner. But maybe question has been answered
(09:21):
inside linebacker. Now, you're not going to get everything you
need in the draft. But because of all the things
that I've mentioned, all the questions they had a year
ago versus some of the questions that have been answered
heading into this year's offseason, I think there's reason to
(09:45):
be optimistic. Jerry Doolack covers the Steelers for the Pittsburgh
Post Gazette and as you know, Steelers Nation Radio on
the Steelers pregame show. He's covered the Steelers for a
long time continues to do so. He joined me now
(10:07):
on the Savrgan Steelers Podcast. Jerry, always great to talk
to you. Welcome. I've offered this up thinking back to
a year ago at this time, UM, I believe that
the Steelers now, um have a reason to be optimistic
about then perhaps they did a year ago heading into
(10:28):
this season. UM, the premises they found their quarterback, They've
got really some potential stars around them on the offensive line. Still,
you know, ways to go, certainly still other improvements have
to be made. But even if they don't make the playoffs,
do you believe that there a step ahead of the
game and were when they were a year ago? I
(10:51):
couldn't agree with you more stan Um, you know, and
the biggest reason is because of their quarterback. I mean
the questions and the and the concern that they had
going forward. You know, without Ben Roethlisberger after eighteen years,
that was as massive a concern as you can have
after a season heading into the following year. And they
(11:12):
don't have that now. I'm sure that they are convinced.
Not I'm sure I know they are convinced Kenny Pickett
is their guy going forward. He's shown, uh, the kind
of a winning characteristic that you look for in a
quarterback these past two games. You know, um doing what
he's done in the past two games on fourth quarter
(11:36):
drives against the Raiders and the Ravens in the final
minute forty seconds touchdown in one forty fifty seconds left
on the touchdown on the other and um, you know,
his numbers during that drive, both those drives. In fact,
you go back to the Colts game, that fourth quarter
game winning drive, his numbers are off the charts, just
pass a rating in those three game winning drives in
(12:00):
it's like one thirty two. When as you look at
the last two games, it's like one, you know, high
high completion percentage, no picks, obviously a couple of touchdowns.
He has shown that in those pressure moments he can
deliver and deliver big. Now. I know a lot of
the other times during the game he looks like a
rookie quarterback, but that's to be expected. But when you've
(12:20):
needed him, unlike the Jets game at the end, unlike
the Miami game at the end, he's delivered these times.
And so that answers a big, big concern. And we
have seen Nagy Harris, even though his numbers aren't as
high as they were last year, there's no question the
way he has run the past four or five games,
(12:40):
especially against the Ravens, um, you know, he looks like
he can be the big time dominating back that they
hope when they drafted him number one. And then of
course the offensive line, it's just you know, to me,
it's the uh, it's the m v P of units there,
the way they have played and the way they have
progressed from the beginning of the season when it looked
(13:01):
like it was going to be a worrisome unit. Would
you agree, based on your comments, that that was the
best nagis looked um, And I mean, I don't know
if it's because his foot is better. Um. I don't
know if he feels like being a team leader and
a team captain that he needs to, you know, exhibit
that type of play. How aggressive he was in many
(13:25):
of those situations. Um. And in conjunction with that, Jerry
one other problem they solved that they didn't have an
idea for during the off season. They needed a complimentary
back to Nag Harris to limit the amount of time
he's out there, and it sure seems like they found
one in Jail and Warren. Well, there's no question about
(13:46):
about the latter stay in Taalen Warren Um is a
really good complimentary back. I mean that guy goes to
the whole when he hits at a hundred twenty mile
UM and when when he gets the ball when he's played.
That's why they played him as much as they have.
They really like this guy. It's obviously it's not only
a good compliment to Najy. It lessons how many touches
(14:08):
he has, which last year was just way too many.
Too much of the offense ran through Naja Harris last year,
and that doesn't that hasn't happened this year, thankfully, and
it's made Nausea a better player. There's no doubt the
way he ran against Baltimore. I'm sure the whole nation
saw that being on in national TV in prime time,
that he They had to come away impressed by the
(14:31):
way he ran. And I don't I don't think really
it has anything to do with his foot that it's
getting better, but that really hasn't been a problem. Stand.
I think going way back to whatever week that was
early in the season, when he could take that steel
plate out of his shoe, I think that helped, But
I don't think it has anything to do with whatever
lingering effect he might have, which I don't think it's
(14:51):
any with his foot. Um, he looked very, very good,
very decisive, and a lot of that, stand is the
confidence he has in the offensive line. They're moving people out,
you know. Stand, they do a lot of zone blocking
up front, they do a lot of double teams, and um,
it's just been very effective. And you know, you've got
to have to give credit to Pat Meyer, their new
(15:13):
offensive line coach. Um, he comes in and he takes um,
you know, basically three new pieces. You know, the two
guys in free agency, Mason Cole and James Daniel Kevin
Dotson going back in it's moving Kendrick Green out of there,
um and and he's made him into an outstanding run
blocking offensive line, and so you have to give props
(15:35):
to him as well. But I think the combination of
the line, the confidence Nagi has in it, and the
way he is hitting the hole with the speed and
power that he's hitting the hole has been very impressive. Well,
it raised a couple of questions. Number One, what's going
on with the other fifty five minutes of the game. Uh,
It's all well and good that they have these comebacks.
(15:55):
They're thrilling, they're exciting, their confidence building. But the truth
of the matter is they scored one touchdown in each
of the last two games. Um and given the way
this league is, uh, that's not enough. So what's going
wrong up until the time where they have to make
a drive and have to score? Well, Stan, it's not
just the other three quarters or other three and a
(16:16):
half quarters. It's what we've seen the last two years.
And that's why I always have said here that you
can't be duped by this late season charge. You have
to look at the totality of what you've been watching
last year in the beginning of this year. So, I mean,
that's something that needs to be looked at and addressed.
(16:37):
You can't just sit there and say, well, we made
some improvements. The reality is, even if you win, you
are still a nine and eight football team. You're an
average football team. You're slightly above average, you're a C
plus football team. And last year you weren't a whole
lot better. You don't have any playoff wins, and so
you do have to assess where you are and say okay.
(16:57):
You can't just say, okay, we're on the right track.
Yeah you are with some of your young players. Your
first and second round picks each of the past two
years have turned into basically your best offensive players. Uh.
And so yeah, those those picks were good, and maybe
you are moving with those guys in the right direction,
especially after losing your future Hall of Fame quarterback. But um,
(17:20):
let's not kid ourselves. The offense doesn't score points. Um,
they have been moving the ball. Stand you have to
acknowledge that they go up and down the field. I
I will honestly tell you I have no issue for
the most part with the play calling. The last four
or five games. I'd liked the flow of it. I
thought they waited too long to try and go over
at the top the other day, but I get why
(17:41):
they didn't because they were running the ball so well. So,
but there are still some issues that that that need
that you can't run from. And um, you know, Mike
Tomlin always say, I don't you don't want to run
from it. We want to run to it. While they
need to do that when they start looking at, you
know where some of the problems are in terms of
scoring points. But you do have to acknowledge they are
(18:04):
a young offense and but their lack of explosive place.
Then it's just incredible to think that their longest offensive
touchdown is twenty four yards. I mean, that's that's almost
mind bogging. But that just shows the lack of explosion
in the offense and some of those things have to
change in today's NFL because you're gonna go to the
(18:25):
super Bowl, get to the playoffs, first of all. But
if you want to go to the super Bowl, you
don't have to be able to score forty points a game,
but you better be able to score more than seventeen.
You better have some explosion, and that's what's missing from
this offense. Well, part of the reason is it seems
to me as a curiously low number of targets to
(18:45):
George Pickens. Um he says he's open all the time.
I don't know it would seem to be. If that
were indeed the case, they would find him more frequently. Um.
Any explanations to why, and not even talking about deep
just in general, why they don't go to him more frequently, Well,
a couple of things. Then, don't buy into that idea
that he's open all the time. He thinks he's open
(19:06):
when the guys on him and when you're running him
on X routes, uh go routes down the sideline from
that exposition. Um, you know what, he's double teamed. He
has the player and he has the sideline confining him.
And so you can't live on a steady diet of those.
You have to be able to run across the middle. Now,
we saw it the other day on a pass in Baltimore.
We saw it on the touchdown winning touchdown against the Raiders.
(19:29):
There needs to be more than that. And let's that
goes back again. He's a rookie, it's not it was
not his strong suit in college. Um, you know, but
he you know, he may he needs to improve his
route running. I'm not saying he's terrible, UM, but you know,
it needs to develop a little bit more. So. Look,
Deante Johnson's their best rob runner. He gets open for
a reason because he comes out of his break so well.
(19:50):
And that's not the case with George Pickens. But George
Pickens is a different type of receiver. UM. And so
I don't think the idea that they just need to
throw it more to George Pickens as the answer because
teams will take that away. Uh. You know, if that's
all you're going to do, you just have to find
a little bit more explosion. So for example, the other day,
they waited and they waited, and they waited to attack
(20:12):
the Baltimore secondary. Go back to the first game that
they played against the Ravens. Mitch Drobiskie forty five yard
past thirty seven yard past thirty two yard pass. He
attacked that raven secondary. It can be attacked, especially Marcus
Peters isn't playing. They waited and they waited and they waited,
and the only time they went over the top until
(20:32):
the last drive, and even then they didn't go over
the top they just went into the middle of the field.
Was the thirty one yard to Deante Johnson, where once
again he failed to navigate the boundary and didn't get
his feet in bounds. That was the only time after
having much success doing it in the first game. Again,
I get it, they were able to run the ball
so well, so I understand that part of it. But
(20:53):
you obviously saw in the first game that you can
go over the top on that raven secondary and they
and they just didn't do it. They didn't want to
do it, that's why. And so, um, you know that
those are the kinds of things where as an offense
you have to develop and have a little bit more confidence,
if not just frequency to be able to and that
(21:14):
part of that. You know, Kenny Pickett as a rookie,
he's he's still learning, he's going to still learning. Um,
And I just think there's they want to be really
sure that Kenny Pickett isn't going to cost them a game,
and that's why he's been so good at protecting the
football only one interception since to buy and throwing the
football away. And so that's all part of it too.
(21:36):
Mark Caballi, our friend comes up with this in the
last two games. The last two drives of both those
games against the Raiders and the Ravens, his quarterback passer
rating was one two point five. All the other drives
in both the last two games pass rating of sixty. Um. Well,
(21:57):
that was that. That was the point I was making earlier.
When you go look at the last two drives, seventeen
of one for a hundred seventy six yards and two touchdowns. Yeah,
and that is his passer rating. And so you throw
in the Indie game where he had the fourth quarter
drive where he came back that drive, you include that drive,
his passer rating is one thirty two. But you take
(22:18):
the other ten and a half quarters from those three
games the Colts, the Raiders, and the Ravens, his passer
rating is seventy point two. Now I'm not condemning him
with that, but you know, there he's struggling as a
rookie to a degree. But the important thing is when
he has gotten into those game winning situations, unlike the Jets,
(22:39):
unlike Miami where he ended the game with bad interceptions.
Now he has delivered big time in those moments, despite
you know, looking like a rookie quarterback who makes some
good plays and then you know, look, you know looks
just you know, making looking average basically the other times. Um,
the the difference is stark. But at least he is
(23:00):
delivering in those moments, and that's the big key. How
do they feel about their defense? Um? You know, Mark
Robinson drew some good reviews to Marvin Leel received great reviews. Um,
how do they look at their defense heading into the season.
And they found some answers not only who they think
can play, but also who they have exhibited. And I
(23:23):
think that certain people cannot play well. They certainly have
some uh, they certainly have some some holes that they
need to feel. But I'll tell you one thing they
have found that they found their starting inside linebacker next year.
That will be Mark Robinson. So for all those people
who think they need to go high in the draft
and find an inside linebacker, first of all, I will
(23:44):
tell you that is not a high priority for them.
But Mark Robinson is a guy. He will be right.
He will go into next year as they're starting inside linebacker.
And he showed a lot of reasons why. Against the Ravens.
He played snaps, he had seven tackles, third on the team,
he's a very aggressive player. Now part of the reason
why he's not playing US because he doesn't know the defense.
(24:06):
But against the Ravens, you know, Mike Tomlin said this
the other day, with his skill set in the way
the Ravens like to play, it's a perfect match. And
that's why he played as much as he did and
that's why he played so well. And going forward, he
will be there inside linebacker next year. The Marvin Lee
Ou is a very is an athletic defensive end who's
played t J. Watts position. The other day, stand they
(24:27):
were using him as the four man defensive front defensive lineman,
but they kept moving him around and letting him stand
up and jump around, um, you know, to try and
give give you know, the Ravens a different look. And
that's just how athletic he is. And you heard Mike
Tomlin us, you know, kind of singing his praises the
other day for how athletic this guy is. But they
(24:50):
still need to rebuild that defensive line. They need to
go find a stud you know, Cam Hayward, even a
steffont it Um, and they will in the draft, you know,
no more drafting on the third or fourth round. For
these guys, you have to go with a high pick.
You have to find a cornerback. You know, Levi Wallace
is a nice backup a Kelly Weatherspoon depending on what
(25:12):
they do in the draft, he's a nice backup to.
But they're not starters. Cam Sutton's good player. Theyn't want
to bring him back, but there's some issues that they
have to address on defense, and one of them of courses,
will they decide to extend um, you know, Alex Highsmith,
or will he want to wait and go into free
agency coming off but this year was a big year.
(25:33):
But my guess is if they want to extend them
and sign them to a decent deal, that that he will.
But that will be something of a priority for them.
But there's there's a few questions on defense that they
will address in the off season that they have to.
All right, Jared, thanks very much. I always enjoy the time.
We'll see what we'll see. Last games could be Sunday,
(25:53):
maybe there's another game in the offing. Either way, we'll
talk about it next week. Thanks. All right, Stan, good
chat with you, my friend. Take care. Well, there's still
a game to play, maybe more than one. We'll see
as you know, the Steelers fade is not in their hands.
They do have to win, but need help from elsewhere. Hey,
(26:13):
when you're eight and eight, you're on the fringe. That's
the way it works. So we'll see what happens. But
either way, UM, the offseason I think tends to be
more positive than not. I want to remind you that
the sabeant On Steelers podcast can be found twice weekly
new post at Steelers dot com. You can listen to
(26:34):
the postgame show. I'll be on there this week with
Matt Williamson of Steelers Nation Radio. Following the Steelers Browns game,
will be on the air around four fift You can
listen to my daily radio show on ESPN Pittsburgh. That's
a M nine seventy on your am radio. We're on
daily noon to two Eastern time. If you can't listen,
(26:59):
then you can get my podcast um I tweet about
at my Twitter address at stand love the show where
you can download them by getting the I Heart Media app.
It's free and it's simple, and you can get the
show daily noon too. Right there. Thanks for joining us.
I hope you enjoyed today's podcast. We'll be back with
(27:20):
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