September 20, 2023 • 38 mins
Chris Carter of Locked on Steelers and the Post-Gazette joins the Blitz. Uhler and Moats all get to all your questions, comments, concerns, and reactions.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:17):
This is the Steelers Blitz with Wesley Euler and Arthur
Motes on your twenty four to seven Home of the
Black and Gold scan R.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Yes, indeed are the most Wesley Eulet. Top of the
Hour steals Nation Radio. More importantly, it steals Blitz on
SNR an ESPN nine seventy a m and uh. To
start this Top of the Hour man, we have been
talking a lot about our perspective on the game, how
we viewed it, and certain things that we took away
(00:48):
from it. But we also say this is a very
interactive show and we love to hear your thoughts, your feedback.
We like to call you, guys the power watt the megawatts, right,
We need all of that and usually get your info
whether the phone lines are open or through the Twitter
dot com.
Speaker 3 (01:04):
So for this second, we're gonna go to the Twitter section.
All right, m hm, So can can I get Big
Red to say something real quick? Type HRes diad is
Big Red hass.
Speaker 4 (01:15):
Spoken, Big Ron tweets us says two questions for you guys.
Number One, the way Kenny is playing. Do you think
it's more mental or something with his mechanics?
Speaker 2 (01:25):
I think it's both. Actually, his mechanics have been very inconsistent.
You look at his footwork on at times, it's not
always under him where it needs to be, transitioning power
from back foot to front foot, getting that hip involved
in the throw.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
You look at his release point. Sometimes he's releasing the
ball all over the place.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
You look at his pump fake, it's like he's kind
of conflicted of do I go with the one arm
pump or am I throwing a whole body, two hands
on the football Drew Brees style pump fake cause we've
seen both now on multiplely case just in two weeks.
But at the same time, when we're talking about the
(02:06):
is it something else, I look at the mental part
of it, and I just say I do feel at
times he is hesitating because he's not trusting what he's
seeing or he's being confused. And his defaults have been
to either stare down a receiver and say, hey man,
I'm locking in pre snapping this the gup going too,
and it has its pros and cons with that. The
(02:28):
other is that I'm gonna just reverse back and try
to run and you know, extend to put up my
legs and maybe that'll make it easier. Read for me
because now coverage is typically break down when quarterbacks leave
the pocket. Sure, but just once again, it's just a
lot of inconsistency with him in both of those veins.
And when you're doing that at quarterback and you don't
(02:51):
have this you know, sure fire running attack that's going
to work, or you don't have an offense line that
is giving you elite type time to just sit back
there and survey the feel that is going to be
what it looks like. But the flip side is he's
shown some promising things. I look at the not the
touchdown throw to George Pickens because with that, I'm like,
(03:15):
I still have my concerns even with that throw, but
I love how Pickins took it and went to the house.
But what I did like was in the third quarter
where Kenny really started to anticipate throws, really started to
lead and throw open certain things. I thought he had
a nice tight window throw to Calvin Austin. I thought
that he hit George Pickens a couple of times in stride.
Even the incompletion to Pickens I thought was a good throw.
(03:36):
Pickings should just come down with that. But those are
some of the things where it was like, Okay, this
is encouragement, this is promising.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
So I know it's in there. I know you're capable
of it.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
But the consistency is the issue in This is the
part we're trying to figure out because at the NFL level,
this is what we try to explain as alumni. Anybody
can do it once. Anybody can everybody can make a
p in this league. Everybody that puts on an NFL jersey,
if they're out throwing Sunday, they are capable of making
(04:07):
plays to win a game. They are capable of making
players look like stars. The difference between the real stars
and the flash in the pants are the real stars
do it each and every week.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
TJ.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
Wat was that the first time we seen TJ Watt
go odu? They have a performance like that?
Speaker 5 (04:21):
Far from it?
Speaker 3 (04:22):
What year is this for TJ?
Speaker 5 (04:24):
Seven?
Speaker 3 (04:24):
Okay?
Speaker 6 (04:25):
Right? Is that right?
Speaker 3 (04:25):
Yeah, We've seen that happen a lot. Right. Consistency, we
don't have to speculate. I TJ is great, we know, yes.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
We don't have to compare TJ to Hall of famers
and say, oh, yeah, he could be like that when
he hasn't even played seventeen games.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
Nah, Because we've seen it.
Speaker 5 (04:42):
We've seen it.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
To me, that's just you know, the big difference right
now with Kenny, We're still trying to figure out who
is he? Y'all said it was Ben Roethlisberger, You said
it was Joe Burrow. Is it Ryan Tannehill? Is it
Kirk Cousins Kirk? Is it Mason Rudolph?
Speaker 3 (04:59):
What is he? Who is he? Landry Jones? What is he?
Right now? That's what we're trying to figure out. Now.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
He's shown certain things to make it exciting, But at
the same time, if we're being brutally honest, I can
cut on table the other dudes that I've named and.
Speaker 3 (05:14):
Show it they have some flashes as well.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
And that's the part right now where we're like I said,
it's not a you rush to have a hard stance
on him, but I do feel like it's one of
the ones where he himself has to start helping himself out. Yeah,
And I think that, you know, would ease some of
this confusion in terms of how we look at him
right now, because I feel like it's a.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
Wide range of how people view Kenny, a.
Speaker 5 (05:41):
Very wide line.
Speaker 4 (05:43):
And uh yeah, there's a lot of factors into why
it's tough to get an accurate gauge on Kenny right now,
but he's got to control what he can control, and
I'm with you. I think it's it's always when you've
had the type of start that he's had, there's got
to be some mental aspect to it there too, but
there's certainly some mechanical stuff to get moving in the
right direction as well. Second question by Big Ron is
did you guys watch w W growing up? If so,
(06:05):
who was your favorite superstar?
Speaker 3 (06:07):
Stone cool? Absolutely if your smell.
Speaker 5 (06:12):
What the rock is cooking?
Speaker 3 (06:15):
And for the record, the actually was not called w W, it.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Was w Yeah attitude absolutely, Yeah, your mahamma might cringe
when she, you know, walking that room with me here.
Speaker 5 (06:24):
I used to have to go to the neighbors to
watch Monday, right.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
What do they want? Okay, mister Valvin, it's in all
I do? Yeah? Yeah, this this ain't what they you know?
Speaker 5 (06:36):
Hey, hey, Big Ron, what's your name? It doesn't matter
what your.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
Name, doesn't matter.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
Shot, But.
Speaker 5 (06:45):
Finally the rock has come back to Steelers Nation Radio.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
You mom, man, you better put some respect on that man.
Speaker 4 (06:52):
kJ K Steele tweets us and I could be wrong. Here,
But I think we got a newcomer that sounds.
Speaker 5 (06:59):
Answer me this. How can we only have one new
face on.
Speaker 4 (07:02):
The offensive line with four returning starters and have them
all look like they just started playing together.
Speaker 5 (07:09):
It's a good question.
Speaker 4 (07:09):
kJ kjkay, there's a lot of kjk steele.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
But the reason why is number one. The matchup we
talked about the forty nine Ers defense front. We said,
you could legitimately make a case that they're d linemen.
We're just better at their position than our offense, a
lot more at their position. Now, the pride would make
you say something different, but are we really about to
act like James Daniels and Isaac sa e Moly are
better at their job than Eric Armstead and Javon Hargrave.
(07:37):
Just by the monetization alone of their contracts. It lets
you know who they value more. So when we think
about just that part of it.
Speaker 4 (07:47):
Yeah, so Darius Smith, Miles Garrett Miles, Garrett versus Nick
Posa versus.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
Dan Moore and checks the core for it, it's just different.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
So I do feel like part a good person is that,
But the other part is they do gotta be more
consistent and they can be and agree and some of
the self inflicted stuff.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
You know, the pre snap RaaS. You can't have that.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
You know, if you know you're already gonna be limited
in certain capacities, you can't make it that much more
difficult on yourself by shooting yourself on the foot. And
I do feel like at times that is also with
this offense experience. In the third and fourth quarter, you
try to get something going, but every second down or
third down is backed up. You know how hard it
is to play back. Though it's not Madden in the NFL.
(08:34):
If I got you at second and ten, I got
you at third and twelve, bro, I'm gonna shoot bout
ninety five percent on third down. I'm telling you right now, Wes, Okay,
h third and twelve. It's hard to beat cover four.
It's hard to beat two men when it's third and twelve.
Speaker 5 (08:53):
Yes it is.
Speaker 3 (08:53):
Okay, Yes, it is your pray for cover three.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
And when you get that, hey man, we hit a pass,
get off to the races, lucky. But when it's starting
backed up, baby, that is very, very challenging, no doubt,
And we have faced those a good amount of times.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
Just well, no doubt.
Speaker 4 (09:07):
One more quick one here before we go to break
and gotta get to our Buddyes, C C Mama. Josh
tweets congrats on the w for WVU. Thank you, Josh,
I appreciate that. Very nice of you. Kenny was missing
on some of those slants.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
Oh wow, that's crazy. No, James Madison University. We want
to won't count JMU. Lives don't matter. Oh that's nuts,
that's coray go Dukes.
Speaker 4 (09:26):
All right, Josh says Kenny was missing on some of
those slants and quick plays. We got to get that
moving in the right direction. Also fellas I'm heading back
to school, got accepted into LSU to continue my education.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
Love it, Josh, good good Tigers.
Speaker 4 (09:38):
You know what, if you would have liked gun to
my head, I can't go to WVU.
Speaker 5 (09:42):
I might have gone to LS it would have been there.
Speaker 4 (09:43):
Wisconsin shut out because I wanted a big time sports school.
I love Madison, I love Baton Rouge, LSU, the Colors.
I've always liked the tradition of the football team. They
got good basketball they I mean they they're women's basketball team.
Their men's baseball team just won national championships. They got
good sports across the board.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
Very similar Universities l s U and Wisconsin very simply
very similar, weather, very similar, very similar.
Speaker 5 (10:05):
Wisconsin, you could say the same thing about her.
Speaker 4 (10:07):
They also have really good hockey too, which attracted me
to attracted me to Wisconsin. Both both schools known to
have a good time, great culture. You know, your boy
wanted to go somewhere where he was going to be
able to have a.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Good time, unless you wis cause I'm like the spectrum, right, But.
Speaker 4 (10:22):
Those were the two schools that I always looked at
from afar like fun. I think that would be a
lot of fun.
Speaker 3 (10:27):
I like it. I like it, And the board.
Speaker 5 (10:29):
Tweets to end the show.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
Well, that sounds like a plan right there. But we're
going to have some fun. We come back when we
will be joined by Chris Carter of the Posts. Because
you do not want to touch that doubt or the
most wesleywer this is Still's Nation Radio in ESPN nine
seventy am.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
This is the Steelers Blitz with Wesley Euler and Arthur
Mots on your twenty four to seven Home of the
Black and Gold Skin.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
R Arthur Motes, Wesley Uler Steals Nation Radio. Simoncassen on
ESPN nine seventy eight m and we are officially joined
by great friend of the show right in the Pittsburgh
Post Gazette, third member utter megoes.
Speaker 3 (11:31):
We talk about the winning only Chris carter Ce. See
how all we do?
Speaker 6 (11:36):
When?
Speaker 3 (11:37):
How are we doing?
Speaker 6 (11:39):
Oh?
Speaker 7 (11:39):
It's a beautiful Sunday in Pittsburgh. I'm here on the
South Side at upmc rooney Sports Complex. Just got done
talking to pitt players. Just got out of the Steelers'
locker room. It's been exciting and it's a big week
for the Steelers to see if they can stack some
wins going into the Raiders game.
Speaker 4 (11:56):
Chris, obviously, we're just getting back into our regular season
programming here, and you know, a Monday night football game
throws everything off.
Speaker 5 (12:04):
It's been too.
Speaker 4 (12:04):
Long since we've talked to you, So I just got
to ask, did you have a good weekend?
Speaker 5 (12:08):
I mean, do you do anything Saturday night?
Speaker 7 (12:11):
Saturday night?
Speaker 5 (12:12):
I mean, did you have did.
Speaker 6 (12:13):
You and Joe?
Speaker 5 (12:13):
What were you doing any any big plans this past Saturday?
Watch any football Saturday night?
Speaker 7 (12:18):
I actually I was working, you know, I was I
was doing a job. It was really important job. I
was in a really roucous environment and I had a
great time to.
Speaker 6 (12:27):
Say, it was actually a lovely experience out in.
Speaker 7 (12:30):
Morgantown, West Virginia, where West's Mountaineers won won a big game,
and I gotta say I was really impressed by West
Virginia's defense when Pitt. When Pitt got the ball at
the end of the game, they start they needed a
drive to kind of push things and most would you
believe it or not, but they started that last drive
on the thirteen yard line, and that West Virginia defense
(12:52):
was so good it ended on Pitt's nine yard pushed
them back four whole yards and that was how so
that was a pretty a job by what I gotta
give give them credit.
Speaker 3 (13:03):
Respect.
Speaker 4 (13:03):
I think Chris is hoping that Jerkovich can complete somewhere
between thirteen and nine passes and this Saturday night against
Drink may I mean that would be a heck of
a step up, wouldn't it.
Speaker 6 (13:12):
Certainly?
Speaker 7 (13:13):
Certainly. I certainly only completed eight this past weekend, so it's.
Speaker 6 (13:16):
Been a bit rough, friend.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
It was really just eight passes.
Speaker 4 (13:19):
Yeah, oh wow, Well he completed three total. Mostly he
threw from more yards to West Virginia wide receivers than
he did to his own Yo.
Speaker 6 (13:32):
What yeah, that was?
Speaker 7 (13:34):
That was bad.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
I saw people reacting on social media. I was tuning
in and out. I have my gym, you game on.
But man, you never.
Speaker 4 (13:42):
Never trust a guy from Pine Richland. I've been trying
to tell you guys. I'm trying to tell you a season.
Never trust the guy from Pine Richland. Wow, unless it's
Neil Walker. All right, well he did.
Speaker 5 (13:54):
He's coach.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
He's gotta count for something, right.
Speaker 5 (13:56):
Brandon saw it as well.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
Stanley Cup champion. We there we go.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
Yikes, yikes, but you know what, we're gonna bring this
thing back.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
We're gonna get on common ground. Common ground. Steel has
took Kid Bennis on Monday Night.
Speaker 5 (14:11):
For this week.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
Oh hey, hey, hey, I see what you did. Did
I like your energy?
Speaker 2 (14:15):
But yeah, man, how did you feel about Monday Night's performance?
Speaker 7 (14:18):
Man?
Speaker 2 (14:18):
Obviously still was getting the victory versus the Cleveland Browns.
What were your initial takeaways?
Speaker 4 (14:23):
Man?
Speaker 6 (14:24):
Oh?
Speaker 7 (14:25):
My initial takeaways was this was the ugly kind of
win that I kind of expected it to be. I
thought the Steelers were gonna win this game, and I
said it was gonna be ugly, but it's gonna come
down to defensive playmaking, and boy wasn't about defensive playmaking.
I even said, MoES like leading into this game, I said,
the key to this game is the edge rushers. If
TJ want Alex Heines Smith win more than Miles Garrett
and z Darius Smith, the Steelers were going to win
(14:45):
this game. I was gonna define it now. I didn't
think that meant that they were gonna score two touchdowns.
I mean, I didn't.
Speaker 6 (14:51):
You don't ever predict stuff like that.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
What yeah you did? Yeah you did. Put your stamp
on you.
Speaker 7 (14:56):
I call it.
Speaker 3 (14:57):
You was at the team dinner and everything night before
was like, yo, you're ready to score a TJ. Don't
forget the best scoop of score in the fourth man
and he's.
Speaker 7 (15:03):
Silly, But in all seriousness, I think it just highlights
just how important that position is and and why the
Steelers paid both these guys. They made TJ. Watt one
of the highest paid players in the league. They they
gave Alex Heisman a really good contract, and a lot
of people are wondering, like, man, can you pay two
edge rushers? The answer is yes, you can. When they
play like that and they win you football games. It's
a huge part of what this team's identity is. And
(15:25):
I gotta say like they still have a lot to
clean up. The interior defensive line. I don't think had
a particularly great game. I think Larry and Job really
did his best Cam Hayward impression and kind of held
everything else up. Montrevius Adam did force a fumble and
made some plays, but he also didn't wasn't great in
the run defense, and I think that across the board,
they still are getting bullied too much there and they
were able to neutralize it, as they often do against
(15:47):
the Browns, who, for some reason Kevin Stefanski loves to
just throw the football when Nick Chubb is averaging like
six yards of berry but whatever, uh you know.
Speaker 6 (15:56):
But but hey, you don't.
Speaker 7 (15:58):
You don't apologize for your right, so you always get
the win and then you learn from your winn and
it's better to learn from wins than learning from losses.
So a huge, huge win for the Steelers. And again,
like you know, let's say that this was Let's say
that these two weeks are the worst weeks the Steelers
play all season long, and they and they improved throughout
the year.
Speaker 6 (16:18):
Are you gonna care how they got this?
Speaker 7 (16:19):
Division win when they're ten and seven at the end
of the year and they're using that tiebreaker to get
into the playoffs, No you're not.
Speaker 5 (16:26):
And Chris, I like what you say there. I want
to stick with that for a second.
Speaker 6 (16:29):
You know.
Speaker 4 (16:30):
My hope and my kind of glass half full look
is this team started playing their best football, you know,
in late October early November last season. But by that
point they had kind of dug themselves too big of
a hole already, and it was impressive that they were
able to get to a winning record and at least
be in the playoff conversation. But when you're two and
six at one point, right, I mean, you're really getting
that shovel and digging yourself deep. If the Steelers can
(16:53):
be five hundred, right or maybe a game above five
hundred something like that through the first handful of games
this year, and then all of a sudden, you look
up in November, you know, sometime between Halloween and Thanksgiving,
and you're suddenly playing your best football and you're right
in the thick of things and you're not chasing it, right, Like,
That's the optimism for me, is we know this team,
(17:13):
at least in a small sample size now has a
history of playing their better football in the second half
of the season. If this group can tread water until
then and then start to peak at the right moment, right,
that could be the difference between this year.
Speaker 6 (17:25):
And last year. Absolutely.
Speaker 7 (17:28):
And I mean another thing to remember, you know, part
of what made the difference with TJ. Watt in this game, right,
and you know he wasn't available in game two.
Speaker 6 (17:35):
Of last year.
Speaker 7 (17:35):
And I think this is what happens.
Speaker 6 (17:37):
TJ.
Speaker 7 (17:37):
Wat doesn't play that game, they don't win, you know,
and it's a huge difference there. But I think, like
you said, if they can just keep stay afloating, I
think that they can do better than five hundred going
into the second half of the season. I think that
they can be a few games over five hundred, and
then if they hit their stride. I think what's really
encouraging that they could hit their strive is just how
many new and young players they still have on this roster,
(17:58):
you know, Kenny Pickett, second year player, George Pickett, second
year player, Donji Harris, Pat Frime, third year players done
Washington rookie Calvin Austin, the second year player really his
first year, you know, and they still haven't even brought
in Broderick Jones yet. There's a lot of potential for
growth on the offense and chemistry to manifest there. I
think Isaac Salmalo as well, just gelling with his team.
That kind of stuff takes time. And on the defensive
(18:19):
side the same thing as well. Keanu Benton's been getting
snaps and I think he's looked. It's encouraging what we've
seen out of him so far. To Marvin Lee Allen
his second year, you know, the whole new linebacker corp.
You brought in, Patrick Peterson, Joey Porter Junior. There's so
many factors that can improve just by more experience that
the Steelers have and if they again, if they can
stack wins, and I think these are very winnable games
(18:39):
against the Raiders and the Texans they got coming up
in back to back weeks, and if they're able to
handle their business come out of them. Doesn't matter how
ugly they win. But if they can handle their business
win those games. They can be three and one getting
ready to play Baltimore and you know, have a chance
to make a statement win and go two in the
AFC North going into the buy and all of a sudden,
you're four in one and you're not in and again
you're a few games over five hundred.
Speaker 6 (19:01):
You bought yourself face to grow. You'll have a bye.
Speaker 7 (19:03):
Week to kind of reassess things, and I think that's
exactly where this team needs to be. I even say, though,
if they're three and two or even two and three
going into the bye week, I think that they'll be
all right. But if they're one and four, that if
this is the only win head into the bye week,
then we're kind of looking at where they were this
last season.
Speaker 3 (19:19):
You make up some good points right there, man.
Speaker 7 (19:20):
One.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
I did want to ask you though, in terms of
the offense, specifically the running game. What have you been saying, man,
and what are your thoughts on the division of labor
as well.
Speaker 7 (19:31):
First of all, I think that this that the offensive
line has taken a step back from last year. That
kind of happens when you're when you when you take
a year off, you got a lot of guys that
are still needed to gel together and kind of you
to pick up where they left off. But I also
think that there's there's potential for them to get better.
A lot of I will say also, they face two
(19:52):
of maybe the best run defenses they're going to face
this season in the first two weeks. The Niners are
very tough led by Fred Warner. The Browns, they're aggressive,
they throw everything at you. And I think both of
those teams not only are they good against the run.
Speaker 6 (20:04):
They played the run they were sent.
Speaker 7 (20:05):
I mean, you saw how the Browns were loading the box,
sometimes eight to nine guys just loading up the same
please throw it, go ahead, we dare you to throw
the ball. And I think the Steelers passing offense hasn't
been enough to kind of back those.
Speaker 6 (20:18):
Those type of teams off.
Speaker 7 (20:20):
So I think it's tough to fully grand the offensive
line just on their own marriage. But you have to
still great what they've done, and it hasn't been great.
In the run game. I do think that Najie Harris
and Jalen One are both legitimate threats.
Speaker 6 (20:32):
I think you've seen what two You've.
Speaker 7 (20:34):
Seen three runs by Najie Harris go over seventeen yards
in the first two games. You know they he used
to be accused of not being able to pull off
runs of ten and more yards, and again these are
runs that some of these he's just creating on his
own that second that second run that he had, I
think it went like twenty five yards, you know, against
against the Browns on Monday Night. There was nothing there
(20:54):
like like the Browns kicked the bust of the Steelers
out of the line, and he just said, forget that man.
Speaker 8 (20:59):
I'm turning Aroun, I don't go in the other direction.
And he just and he hit it.
Speaker 7 (21:02):
And that's that's something that people said he couldn't do it.
He absolutely can, but he just needs ample opportunity. And
that's where I'm at with Najie Harris is that I
think you give him a hole and he will hit it,
and he will he will make plays. And that's what
the Steelers have to get going. And I mean people
were gonna say, well, jaymen warn doesn't need a hold.
Speaker 6 (21:17):
Jane Waren does need a hole.
Speaker 7 (21:18):
And the part of it is when he's in the game,
he gets more chances like that because people aren't crowding
him as much as they are Najie Harris. But go
back and look at their yards per carry. Nagie Harris
has outrushed him every single time. And if you look
at expected yards per carry for all the events that
people he's over it. Nagie. Harris is averaging two yards
for caring more than he's supposed to when you look
at you know, when he's meeting defenders and how plays
(21:41):
are being designed so far. So to me, offensive line
has to be better, but the passing offense has to
help open up the run game. It won't matter if
the offensive line figures things out and they start to
move guys a little bit. If teams are still selling
out to stop the run and can you pick it in,
the passing offense can't get going, it's gonna make it
that much harder to get the run game going, even
when the line does figure it out.
Speaker 4 (22:01):
Chris Carter with us here on the Steelers Blitz on
SNR and nine seventy espn CC. Few people in this
town have the uh, I think, the grasp of the
full body of Kenny Pickett's work like you do, obviously
from his time at pit and then now in the
National Football League. So we've got a lot of tweets
questions they want answers today.
Speaker 5 (22:21):
You know, is it is he Bless?
Speaker 4 (22:23):
That's right, Kenny Bless that we need to get the
pastor of the Church of Kenny anyway. Yeah, uh, we're
getting a lot of questions, you know, as I'm sure
as you can imagine.
Speaker 5 (22:30):
Is it mental, is it mechanical? Is it somewhere in between?
Speaker 4 (22:33):
So give us kind of your synopsis on everything that
we've seen with Kenny Pickett through these first two games.
Speaker 7 (22:39):
Well, first, first of all, I do want to say, yes,
I am the pastor of the Church of Kenny Pickett.
Speaker 6 (22:44):
Wow.
Speaker 7 (22:44):
But before I get into that, I dot acknowledge that
I am also, you know, one of the harsh, harsh
critics I think of Kenny Pickett when it comes to
breaking down his film and saying like, hey, you know what,
you know, he's missed this, He's missed that. There there
are times, I know a lot of people missount want
to blame everything on Matt Canada, and he is not
exemptive blame that Jets sweep reverse call. You know, after
Najie Harris had two big runs of Jalen Warren riverdoff
(23:06):
the five yarder, I didn't.
Speaker 6 (23:08):
Like that call.
Speaker 7 (23:08):
The third and one call at the end of the
fourth quarter when people were channing fire Canada, I didn't.
Speaker 6 (23:13):
Like that call.
Speaker 7 (23:13):
But they were also I'd say about like at least
twelve other plays that I could point to in this
game where he drew up a really nicely designed play
and it just wasn't executed. Whether it was the offensive
line giving up pressure, whether it was Timmy Pickett missing
a wide open target either he threw it to them
and missed, or he didn't see them or just didn't
pull the trigger. The offense needs to execute what's in
front of them. They got to take the basic things.
(23:34):
And I think that that's the thing that Kay Pickett
hasn't done consistently yet for the Steelers this season. And
like you said, I do have a perspective of seeing
him at Pitt. I've seen him grow from a player
who can hit the basic things to hitting the basic
things into the things to counter the basic things. What
I mean by that is when you start to show
that you have an identity, when you start to have success,
teams adjust to it. They say, Okay, we take away
(23:56):
this thing, this is his favorite thing to do. But
then when you study film, you know ways like for example,
if you know that, hey, uh, I'm really good at
hitting uh hitting the middle of cover two here, So
I'm gonna try to you so like we will attack
the middle part of the field when the safety split
and that's where we get points. And that's how George
Picktons squatters touchdown. Now teams are gonna say, hey, let's
(24:17):
not give him the middle of the field like that.
Speaker 6 (24:18):
Let's pack up the middle of the field.
Speaker 7 (24:20):
Let's let's force it. Then you can send up route
concepts that look like, hey, we're it looks like we're
sending we're gonna send a guy up the scene here. Instead,
this guy's gonna break on a corner route and and
we're gonna stack that over top of a short hitch route. So, now,
if you have guys that are that are playing the
boundary and the middle part of the field, you have
to make a tough choice. Are you gonna stick with
the underneath throw or the or the away throw? And
(24:40):
those are the things that Matt Canada has drawn up
for the ticket. He just hasn't consistently hit it. Now again,
this is the guy who has grown through his time
at pit. Now I'm gonna put on my my past
to close, and Kenneth Beckett takes the stand up leave.
(25:00):
This is the man who came with thirteen touchdowns that
kind of reception for back to back season. Wow, he
broke down Marino's records left West. I mean the Oregon
in the background, man.
Speaker 3 (25:13):
Broke You better talk to him now. You better talk
to him now.
Speaker 7 (25:19):
And if you believe, and you'll see the truth, Kenny
Pickett can be the guy who breaks the Steelers.
Speaker 6 (25:26):
Offense to salvation. All right, I'm gonna go praise God.
Speaker 8 (25:29):
But I think that Kenny Pickett can be the guy.
Speaker 7 (25:36):
If he can, if he if he is who we've
seen him be his best, and that's reading the field,
making smart decisions. He hasn't done that consistently yet, but
if he does, start to put this offense in a
better situation and then they can start to build off things.
But as James Daniels put it, leading into this uh
which he asked him this, you know, last game leading
into this one, they need to do something well. And
(26:00):
when I say something, I mean just one play like
George Picktt touchdown. They need an identity like hey, if
you hit these quick passes or run this specific play
that's gonna be five to eight yards and forced teams
to have to want to stop it. And when they
want to stop it, then you can hit them. Encounter that.
Speaker 6 (26:18):
But they need to start with it.
Speaker 7 (26:19):
That's the biggest key to Kenny Pickett moving forward.
Speaker 2 (26:23):
Let the church say, amen, Amen, you know I ain't
gonna go preach form how to preach. I know that,
and you ain't supposed to do that now, So I'm
gonn lead to Kenny talk alone. Man, Kenny, bless Kenny, blessed.
But uh, Kenny, you know, on the other side of
the ball, we did have a young corner that happened
to be out there for a couple of impact plays.
I might have a little bit of a tie towards him,
(26:45):
you know what I'm saying, Like I might know his coach,
might know.
Speaker 3 (26:47):
Him a little bit. You know how that go.
Speaker 2 (26:50):
But I gotta ask, man, how you feeling about what
we're seeing with the young corner.
Speaker 3 (26:54):
Joey Porter Jr.
Speaker 7 (26:57):
I think one thing that Joey Porter Junior seems to
do really well. He understood that the Simons and Grant
his assigns were limited. He was oftentimes just the outside corner.
Pin your man to the sideline and make sure that
that is a tough wind to throw. And each time
he was out there he did that, he was targeted twice,
had a breakup and was blanketing his man for you know,
to the point that Deshaun Watson overthrew him.
Speaker 6 (27:15):
Into the in zone.
Speaker 7 (27:16):
We'll say he got a little handsy there, and you
could say that maybe they should have been a call
get made. But I'll also say for anyone who thinks
that that was all the Rest robbed it, you go, like,
go back and look at how much Benzel Award and
then the Browns cornerbacks were holding George Pickens and the
Steelering receiver. I think that the Rest were giving both
teams a little bit of room to be physical. But again,
Joey Porter Jr. The way I've seen him, he's in position,
(27:39):
and that's what you want to see out of a rookie.
He understands where he's supposed to be, how he's supposed
to approach situations. He's reading the right key. And the
Steelers what I think they're doing. You saw seven snaps
in the first game, fourteen snaps in the second. You're
seeing them saying, Okay, we're gonna trust you a little
bit here, We're gonna trut you a little bit there.
If you prove that you can do these things, then
we'll start to put you out there more. And Levi Wallace,
he struggled to our two games. You know, he's I
(28:01):
think he's been the culprit on the on the two
long runs that they've given up to the Niners. In
the Browns, I think that, you know, when you go
back and look, you can fairly say Deshaun Watson was
even kind of looking for him at times when how
much he was targeting, I think it was eight times
they give up five receptions or so. But at the
same time, you know, Levi Wallace, he's a veteran, He's
a guy that I think that he can clean it up.
(28:23):
But I do think that we are nearing the time
when it's gonna time. He's gonna be time to see
Joey Porter Junior a little bit more on the outside.
Because he looked good.
Speaker 6 (28:31):
You want to take that caution, that precaution.
Speaker 7 (28:33):
This week might not be a week with DeVante Adams
being the primary receiver out there. But but certainly I
think that he has earned his strikes to get more
opportunities for the Steelers, and that's encouraging from your second
round rookie.
Speaker 2 (28:47):
Well, you know, past the CEC, they do say you're
favored with a little then we'll get a little bit.
Speaker 3 (28:53):
They say in the Bible. So we're gonna see if
young J p J.
Speaker 2 (28:57):
Can continue to be faithful with the more that they
continue to put on his plate. But either way, you know,
we appreciate you stopping by with us. And as always,
y'all know we y'all could get his work at man
in Pittsburgh Post Gazette, the one and only Chris called
it a K A C C a K A third
member of the migos.
Speaker 6 (29:15):
Mama real quick.
Speaker 4 (29:17):
Russell tweets us and says, Okay, guys, I'm ready to
make Chris Carter the offensive coordinator.
Speaker 5 (29:20):
I will tell Omar to expect an interview.
Speaker 3 (29:23):
It is there, it is.
Speaker 7 (29:26):
I don't need these problems because after one game, when
the Steelers game is just two hundred, y'all y'all gonna
be calling from my head. I don't need I'm fine
fatiguing it. Let let me handle that.
Speaker 3 (29:37):
There you have it, There you have it, Chris, what's
the gabing? We definitely appreciate you.
Speaker 5 (29:42):
Virginia now, Mama, he's not.
Speaker 7 (29:46):
Even talking about your state. That was actual Virginia, Virginia.
Speaker 1 (29:53):
Ma.
Speaker 5 (29:53):
See you know he you know your song slaps on everybody.
Speaker 7 (29:56):
I know.
Speaker 4 (29:56):
It's about Western Virginia, it's about Maryland, it's about massive.
Che said sign know y'all, just y'all just stick to
your little Boston Red Sox penn sake basic.
Speaker 5 (30:06):
Every fan base that take me home is dead?
Speaker 3 (30:15):
Is dead? Is cec?
Speaker 5 (30:17):
Thanks as always, buddy. We love catching up, buddy, Thanks
for taking the time.
Speaker 3 (30:20):
Let's go.
Speaker 6 (30:21):
Let's always happy again.
Speaker 4 (30:24):
And just tell Chris Carter were coming for that seventh
straight and basketball in a couple of weeks.
Speaker 3 (30:29):
Then you heard what he said. You heard what he said.
Speaker 2 (30:33):
But we all about to come back and take our
final break because we do got our final segment of
today's show.
Speaker 3 (30:38):
So you know what time that is. We're gonna be
opening up them up.
Speaker 2 (30:42):
Oh yeah, them comments and concerns time frame man, so
you know the floor in time will be yours.
Speaker 3 (30:47):
But don't touch that doubts Arth the mos.
Speaker 2 (30:49):
It's wesle Yula and this is Still's Nation Radio on
ESPN nine seventy A.
Speaker 1 (31:06):
This is the Steelers Blitz with Wesley Euler and Arthur
Motes on your twenty four to seven Home of the
Black and Gold scn R.
Speaker 2 (31:15):
You heard it right, there are the most west so
Ulie Steels Nation Radio sim of casting on ESPN nine
seventy And yes, man, this is the final segment of
today's show. We have a ton of tweets that have
come in throughout and like we say, Man, we keep
our show very interactive. So you've heard and continue to
hear from us here our perspective. We had opened up
(31:35):
the phone line to our good friend of the show,
Chris Carter Akacc of the Pittsburgh Post.
Speaker 3 (31:39):
Gazette, and uh yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:41):
Now for the final segment, Man, we will transition back
to some of your tweets and ultimately man in the
show with those so and the words a big red
time here.
Speaker 4 (31:51):
Rod Donald wants to know what was up with Gunner
in that kick return? So you think he was confused?
Do you think he thought it was a punt for
a second.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
No, I knew exactly he was trying to do. So
if the ball is kicked off and it lands and
bounds is a live ball. NFL kickers are highly skilled
where they can put that ball about a yard or
two from the sideline and it will sit there, and
it will just sit there, and you'll usually send the one,
two or three on your kickoff coverage team, the three
(32:19):
gentlemen that are usually located on the numbers and outside
of them, and you'll have them raced down there to
see if that returnment is going to assume that ball
is going out of bounds or if he's gonna field it.
The kicker did a good job, but he actually messed
up because the ball was probably going to land out
of bounds for Gunner. He was trying to ultimately catch
the ball with one foot in one foot out simultaneously,
(32:42):
because if you do that, you automatically get the ball
at the forty.
Speaker 3 (32:47):
That's what the intent was. The execution just was off.
Speaker 2 (32:50):
The execution was he ended up toe tapping it, having
a brain fart right at the last second, and cought
it with two feet in bounds. And that was ultimately
why I transpired the way that it did. But if
you've never played special teams or really paid attention to it,
you want to understand that rule and you would just
simply look and say, why is Gunner running over there
to catch this football when it's a kickoff like that?
(33:10):
But that was why he did what he did. The intent,
like we talked about man shoot intents, plenty people in
prison right now with good intent and bad execution. You know,
so he had good intent, but at the end of
the day, the execution was not what it was supposed
to be. And yeah, it cost him and then to
turn around a couple of plays later. You know, obviously
it was more so from the hit, but you put
(33:32):
the ball on the ground, it was a turnover.
Speaker 3 (33:34):
Obviously he got hurt after that. We hope he, you know,
has a speedy recovery.
Speaker 2 (33:37):
But it was just, man, you have two really bad
plays back to back, and at a time in the
game where we didn't feel like we could really afford
to have those type of self inflicted issues. You know,
it kind of adds to Gunner, But ultimately that's what
he was trying to do.
Speaker 4 (33:52):
Sure, let's see here DJ the spark. He wants to
know what you think is going on with Levi Wallace.
He looks a little confused out there.
Speaker 2 (34:00):
I don't think he's confused. It's just Levi's the number
two corner. He has long straight line speed. He does
not have good short aired quickness, and in terms of
his change of direction, if he's not going full speed,
he's not going to be able to start and stop fast.
So when you talk about, you know, the past two
games of him missing tackle, specifically, what did his feet
do prior to the head prior to the contact, It
(34:22):
stopped and he had to restart. Versus McCaffrey. It put
him in a position where he was out of position
and the spin move happened. He missed the tackle this week,
Jerome Baker is able to step around him, and you
see how long it takes him to get repositioned to
even start a foot chase. And we saw, you know,
his limitations there when you're talking about him in just
basic coverage he's designed for, you know, I feel like
(34:45):
press where he can use his length, or it needs
to be cover three, cover four where you're not asking
him to try to break down and come back down
on some of these, you know routes where receivers like
Mariy Cooper, receivers like Elijah More that you know have
really good footwork. I mean, you saw Brandon Iyuk last
week how he's able to get an out of his breaks.
Speaker 3 (35:05):
That is where Levi struggles.
Speaker 2 (35:07):
Very similar to when we talk George Pickens versus Deontay
Johnson and we say separation, you look at when George
Pickens attempts to create separation versus Manda Man. You look
at when Deontay Johnson creates separation versus Manda Man, and this.
Speaker 3 (35:19):
Night and day.
Speaker 2 (35:20):
Because one is just designed for the short area of
quickness and has that gift where the other guy doesn't
to this extent just yet. When I look at Levi
Wallace and Patrick Peterson, one is designed for some of
that short aarreia quickness, where the other guy is designed
for some of the down on the grass long stuff. Sure,
and I just think that that's ultimately what's been going
on with him. But he still has to play better.
(35:41):
And the problem is you can't have these limitations continue
to show up. We all have limitations, but the name
of the game of the NFL level is to minimize
those limitations, to hide them as best you can. But
every single player has a flow, Every single player has
a limitation. Levi right now has to figure out to
get that off his tape. Sure, but it's gonna be
(36:02):
the next four games where teams are going to be
trying to get their running back one on one versus
Levi on the perimeter. Because he's shown on back to
back weeks. That is not a guarantee you tackle who
Church of Arthur motes.
Speaker 3 (36:15):
Don't get me down, get me in trouble.
Speaker 4 (36:17):
I'm just trying to shout out to Francis and our
buddy steal Nation nine twenty for the kind tweets Francis says,
told you w would win.
Speaker 5 (36:25):
Sorry, CC just had a bad feeling. Nine to twenty.
Speaker 4 (36:28):
Our buddy Tyler tweets go ears, congrats all the big
w I tell you what, all right, Mozi, we got
like a minute left to okay, photoshop photoshop extraordinary.
Speaker 5 (36:39):
D have wants to know.
Speaker 4 (36:40):
Are we in for a lock luster offensive season of
the boys start clicking Sunday night in Vegas.
Speaker 3 (36:46):
I think we'll see them improving.
Speaker 4 (36:48):
I don't know that's the real thing, right, We just
improve every week, just get a little bit better.
Speaker 3 (36:52):
Because it really depends on what you're looking for.
Speaker 2 (36:54):
If you think that improvement is they're supposed to score
thirty points, I'm gonna tell you absolutely no. But if
you're saying improvement being that I feel like there to
functionally operate as an offense, stay on schedule, win the field,
position battle, minimized turnovers one hundred percent. I do feel
like they're capable of that, but it's all about your expectations.
Speaker 5 (37:09):
Completely agree in Mozie.
Speaker 4 (37:10):
Speaking of expectations, I expect you to get us up
on Adam here.
Speaker 2 (37:14):
So would that be in the case? Man, Let me
give a big time shout out too my partner in crime.
Actually no, not the partner crime, just shot. I'm a
higher about my producer. Because the producer was cheffing it
up in the kitchen. I'm talking about Chef Wesley Er.
Speaker 5 (37:26):
That's Backyard Brawl Champion Wesley Uller to.
Speaker 2 (37:29):
All yen, some respect on him, power grid, Mega watching participation,
undefeated as always, salute yourself, salute yourselves and then last,
but certainly not at least I got a shout out
my pot at them.
Speaker 3 (37:40):
The one and only mister Wesley.
Speaker 4 (37:43):
You that's backyard Brawl Champion Wesley Yu'ller to.
Speaker 2 (37:48):
All yen, put some respect on his name. And you
already know where to find us on your twenty four
to seven Home of the Black End, the go Stillest
Nation Radio.
Speaker 3 (37:59):
And there it is,
This is the Steelers Blitz with Wesley Euler and Arthur
Motes on your twenty four to seven Home of the
Black and Gold scan R.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Yes, indeed are the most Wesley Eulet. Top of the
Hour steals Nation Radio. More importantly, it steals Blitz on
SNR an ESPN nine seventy a m and uh. To
start this Top of the Hour man, we have been
talking a lot about our perspective on the game, how
we viewed it, and certain things that we took away
(00:48):
from it. But we also say this is a very
interactive show and we love to hear your thoughts, your feedback.
We like to call you, guys the power watt the megawatts, right,
We need all of that and usually get your info
whether the phone lines are open or through the Twitter
dot com.
Speaker 3 (01:04):
So for this second, we're gonna go to the Twitter section.
All right, m hm, So can can I get Big
Red to say something real quick? Type HRes diad is
Big Red hass.
Speaker 4 (01:15):
Spoken, Big Ron tweets us says two questions for you guys.
Number One, the way Kenny is playing. Do you think
it's more mental or something with his mechanics?
Speaker 2 (01:25):
I think it's both. Actually, his mechanics have been very inconsistent.
You look at his footwork on at times, it's not
always under him where it needs to be, transitioning power
from back foot to front foot, getting that hip involved
in the throw.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
You look at his release point. Sometimes he's releasing the
ball all over the place.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
You look at his pump fake, it's like he's kind
of conflicted of do I go with the one arm
pump or am I throwing a whole body, two hands
on the football Drew Brees style pump fake cause we've
seen both now on multiplely case just in two weeks.
But at the same time, when we're talking about the
(02:06):
is it something else, I look at the mental part
of it, and I just say I do feel at
times he is hesitating because he's not trusting what he's
seeing or he's being confused. And his defaults have been
to either stare down a receiver and say, hey man,
I'm locking in pre snapping this the gup going too,
and it has its pros and cons with that. The
(02:28):
other is that I'm gonna just reverse back and try
to run and you know, extend to put up my
legs and maybe that'll make it easier. Read for me
because now coverage is typically break down when quarterbacks leave
the pocket. Sure, but just once again, it's just a
lot of inconsistency with him in both of those veins.
And when you're doing that at quarterback and you don't
(02:51):
have this you know, sure fire running attack that's going
to work, or you don't have an offense line that
is giving you elite type time to just sit back
there and survey the feel that is going to be
what it looks like. But the flip side is he's
shown some promising things. I look at the not the
touchdown throw to George Pickens because with that, I'm like,
(03:15):
I still have my concerns even with that throw, but
I love how Pickins took it and went to the house.
But what I did like was in the third quarter
where Kenny really started to anticipate throws, really started to
lead and throw open certain things. I thought he had
a nice tight window throw to Calvin Austin. I thought
that he hit George Pickens a couple of times in stride.
Even the incompletion to Pickens I thought was a good throw.
(03:36):
Pickings should just come down with that. But those are
some of the things where it was like, Okay, this
is encouragement, this is promising.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
So I know it's in there. I know you're capable
of it.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
But the consistency is the issue in This is the
part we're trying to figure out because at the NFL level,
this is what we try to explain as alumni. Anybody
can do it once. Anybody can everybody can make a
p in this league. Everybody that puts on an NFL jersey,
if they're out throwing Sunday, they are capable of making
(04:07):
plays to win a game. They are capable of making
players look like stars. The difference between the real stars
and the flash in the pants are the real stars
do it each and every week.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
TJ.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
Wat was that the first time we seen TJ Watt
go odu? They have a performance like that?
Speaker 5 (04:21):
Far from it?
Speaker 3 (04:22):
What year is this for TJ?
Speaker 5 (04:24):
Seven?
Speaker 3 (04:24):
Okay?
Speaker 6 (04:25):
Right? Is that right?
Speaker 3 (04:25):
Yeah, We've seen that happen a lot. Right. Consistency, we
don't have to speculate. I TJ is great, we know, yes.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
We don't have to compare TJ to Hall of famers
and say, oh, yeah, he could be like that when
he hasn't even played seventeen games.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
Nah, Because we've seen it.
Speaker 5 (04:42):
We've seen it.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
To me, that's just you know, the big difference right
now with Kenny, We're still trying to figure out who
is he? Y'all said it was Ben Roethlisberger, You said
it was Joe Burrow. Is it Ryan Tannehill? Is it
Kirk Cousins Kirk? Is it Mason Rudolph?
Speaker 3 (04:59):
What is he? Who is he? Landry Jones? What is he?
Right now? That's what we're trying to figure out. Now.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
He's shown certain things to make it exciting, But at
the same time, if we're being brutally honest, I can
cut on table the other dudes that I've named and.
Speaker 3 (05:14):
Show it they have some flashes as well.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
And that's the part right now where we're like I said,
it's not a you rush to have a hard stance
on him, but I do feel like it's one of
the ones where he himself has to start helping himself out. Yeah,
And I think that, you know, would ease some of
this confusion in terms of how we look at him
right now, because I feel like it's a.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
Wide range of how people view Kenny, a.
Speaker 5 (05:41):
Very wide line.
Speaker 4 (05:43):
And uh yeah, there's a lot of factors into why
it's tough to get an accurate gauge on Kenny right now,
but he's got to control what he can control, and
I'm with you. I think it's it's always when you've
had the type of start that he's had, there's got
to be some mental aspect to it there too, but
there's certainly some mechanical stuff to get moving in the
right direction as well. Second question by Big Ron is
did you guys watch w W growing up? If so,
(06:05):
who was your favorite superstar?
Speaker 3 (06:07):
Stone cool? Absolutely if your smell.
Speaker 5 (06:12):
What the rock is cooking?
Speaker 3 (06:15):
And for the record, the actually was not called w W, it.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Was w Yeah attitude absolutely, Yeah, your mahamma might cringe
when she, you know, walking that room with me here.
Speaker 5 (06:24):
I used to have to go to the neighbors to
watch Monday, right.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
What do they want? Okay, mister Valvin, it's in all
I do? Yeah? Yeah, this this ain't what they you know?
Speaker 5 (06:36):
Hey, hey, Big Ron, what's your name? It doesn't matter
what your.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
Name, doesn't matter.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
Shot, But.
Speaker 5 (06:45):
Finally the rock has come back to Steelers Nation Radio.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
You mom, man, you better put some respect on that man.
Speaker 4 (06:52):
kJ K Steele tweets us and I could be wrong. Here,
But I think we got a newcomer that sounds.
Speaker 5 (06:59):
Answer me this. How can we only have one new
face on.
Speaker 4 (07:02):
The offensive line with four returning starters and have them
all look like they just started playing together.
Speaker 5 (07:09):
It's a good question.
Speaker 4 (07:09):
kJ kjkay, there's a lot of kjk steele.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
But the reason why is number one. The matchup we
talked about the forty nine Ers defense front. We said,
you could legitimately make a case that they're d linemen.
We're just better at their position than our offense, a
lot more at their position. Now, the pride would make
you say something different, but are we really about to
act like James Daniels and Isaac sa e Moly are
better at their job than Eric Armstead and Javon Hargrave.
(07:37):
Just by the monetization alone of their contracts. It lets
you know who they value more. So when we think
about just that part of it.
Speaker 4 (07:47):
Yeah, so Darius Smith, Miles Garrett Miles, Garrett versus Nick
Posa versus.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
Dan Moore and checks the core for it, it's just different.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
So I do feel like part a good person is that,
But the other part is they do gotta be more
consistent and they can be and agree and some of
the self inflicted stuff.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
You know, the pre snap RaaS. You can't have that.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
You know, if you know you're already gonna be limited
in certain capacities, you can't make it that much more
difficult on yourself by shooting yourself on the foot. And
I do feel like at times that is also with
this offense experience. In the third and fourth quarter, you
try to get something going, but every second down or
third down is backed up. You know how hard it
is to play back. Though it's not Madden in the NFL.
(08:34):
If I got you at second and ten, I got
you at third and twelve, bro, I'm gonna shoot bout
ninety five percent on third down. I'm telling you right now, Wes, Okay,
h third and twelve. It's hard to beat cover four.
It's hard to beat two men when it's third and twelve.
Speaker 5 (08:53):
Yes it is.
Speaker 3 (08:53):
Okay, Yes, it is your pray for cover three.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
And when you get that, hey man, we hit a pass,
get off to the races, lucky. But when it's starting
backed up, baby, that is very, very challenging, no doubt,
And we have faced those a good amount of times.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
Just well, no doubt.
Speaker 4 (09:07):
One more quick one here before we go to break
and gotta get to our Buddyes, C C Mama. Josh
tweets congrats on the w for WVU. Thank you, Josh,
I appreciate that. Very nice of you. Kenny was missing
on some of those slants.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
Oh wow, that's crazy. No, James Madison University. We want
to won't count JMU. Lives don't matter. Oh that's nuts,
that's coray go Dukes.
Speaker 4 (09:26):
All right, Josh says Kenny was missing on some of
those slants and quick plays. We got to get that
moving in the right direction. Also fellas I'm heading back
to school, got accepted into LSU to continue my education.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
Love it, Josh, good good Tigers.
Speaker 4 (09:38):
You know what, if you would have liked gun to
my head, I can't go to WVU.
Speaker 5 (09:42):
I might have gone to LS it would have been there.
Speaker 4 (09:43):
Wisconsin shut out because I wanted a big time sports school.
I love Madison, I love Baton Rouge, LSU, the Colors.
I've always liked the tradition of the football team. They
got good basketball they I mean they they're women's basketball team.
Their men's baseball team just won national championships. They got
good sports across the board.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
Very similar Universities l s U and Wisconsin very simply
very similar, weather, very similar, very similar.
Speaker 5 (10:05):
Wisconsin, you could say the same thing about her.
Speaker 4 (10:07):
They also have really good hockey too, which attracted me
to attracted me to Wisconsin. Both both schools known to
have a good time, great culture. You know, your boy
wanted to go somewhere where he was going to be
able to have a.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Good time, unless you wis cause I'm like the spectrum, right, But.
Speaker 4 (10:22):
Those were the two schools that I always looked at
from afar like fun. I think that would be a
lot of fun.
Speaker 3 (10:27):
I like it. I like it, And the board.
Speaker 5 (10:29):
Tweets to end the show.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
Well, that sounds like a plan right there. But we're
going to have some fun. We come back when we
will be joined by Chris Carter of the Posts. Because
you do not want to touch that doubt or the
most wesleywer this is Still's Nation Radio in ESPN nine
seventy am.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
This is the Steelers Blitz with Wesley Euler and Arthur
Mots on your twenty four to seven Home of the
Black and Gold Skin.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
R Arthur Motes, Wesley Uler Steals Nation Radio. Simoncassen on
ESPN nine seventy eight m and we are officially joined
by great friend of the show right in the Pittsburgh
Post Gazette, third member utter megoes.
Speaker 3 (11:31):
We talk about the winning only Chris carter Ce. See
how all we do?
Speaker 6 (11:36):
When?
Speaker 3 (11:37):
How are we doing?
Speaker 6 (11:39):
Oh?
Speaker 7 (11:39):
It's a beautiful Sunday in Pittsburgh. I'm here on the
South Side at upmc rooney Sports Complex. Just got done
talking to pitt players. Just got out of the Steelers'
locker room. It's been exciting and it's a big week
for the Steelers to see if they can stack some
wins going into the Raiders game.
Speaker 4 (11:56):
Chris, obviously, we're just getting back into our regular season
programming here, and you know, a Monday night football game
throws everything off.
Speaker 5 (12:04):
It's been too.
Speaker 4 (12:04):
Long since we've talked to you, So I just got
to ask, did you have a good weekend?
Speaker 5 (12:08):
I mean, do you do anything Saturday night?
Speaker 7 (12:11):
Saturday night?
Speaker 5 (12:12):
I mean, did you have did.
Speaker 6 (12:13):
You and Joe?
Speaker 5 (12:13):
What were you doing any any big plans this past Saturday?
Watch any football Saturday night?
Speaker 7 (12:18):
I actually I was working, you know, I was I
was doing a job. It was really important job. I
was in a really roucous environment and I had a
great time to.
Speaker 6 (12:27):
Say, it was actually a lovely experience out in.
Speaker 7 (12:30):
Morgantown, West Virginia, where West's Mountaineers won won a big game,
and I gotta say I was really impressed by West
Virginia's defense when Pitt. When Pitt got the ball at
the end of the game, they start they needed a
drive to kind of push things and most would you
believe it or not, but they started that last drive
on the thirteen yard line, and that West Virginia defense
(12:52):
was so good it ended on Pitt's nine yard pushed
them back four whole yards and that was how so
that was a pretty a job by what I gotta
give give them credit.
Speaker 3 (13:03):
Respect.
Speaker 4 (13:03):
I think Chris is hoping that Jerkovich can complete somewhere
between thirteen and nine passes and this Saturday night against
Drink may I mean that would be a heck of
a step up, wouldn't it.
Speaker 6 (13:12):
Certainly?
Speaker 7 (13:13):
Certainly. I certainly only completed eight this past weekend, so it's.
Speaker 6 (13:16):
Been a bit rough, friend.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
It was really just eight passes.
Speaker 4 (13:19):
Yeah, oh wow, Well he completed three total. Mostly he
threw from more yards to West Virginia wide receivers than
he did to his own Yo.
Speaker 6 (13:32):
What yeah, that was?
Speaker 7 (13:34):
That was bad.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
I saw people reacting on social media. I was tuning
in and out. I have my gym, you game on.
But man, you never.
Speaker 4 (13:42):
Never trust a guy from Pine Richland. I've been trying
to tell you guys. I'm trying to tell you a season.
Never trust the guy from Pine Richland. Wow, unless it's
Neil Walker. All right, well he did.
Speaker 5 (13:54):
He's coach.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
He's gotta count for something, right.
Speaker 5 (13:56):
Brandon saw it as well.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
Stanley Cup champion. We there we go.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
Yikes, yikes, but you know what, we're gonna bring this
thing back.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
We're gonna get on common ground. Common ground. Steel has
took Kid Bennis on Monday Night.
Speaker 5 (14:11):
For this week.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
Oh hey, hey, hey, I see what you did. Did
I like your energy?
Speaker 2 (14:15):
But yeah, man, how did you feel about Monday Night's performance?
Speaker 7 (14:18):
Man?
Speaker 2 (14:18):
Obviously still was getting the victory versus the Cleveland Browns.
What were your initial takeaways?
Speaker 4 (14:23):
Man?
Speaker 6 (14:24):
Oh?
Speaker 7 (14:25):
My initial takeaways was this was the ugly kind of
win that I kind of expected it to be. I
thought the Steelers were gonna win this game, and I
said it was gonna be ugly, but it's gonna come
down to defensive playmaking, and boy wasn't about defensive playmaking.
I even said, MoES like leading into this game, I said,
the key to this game is the edge rushers. If
TJ want Alex Heines Smith win more than Miles Garrett
and z Darius Smith, the Steelers were going to win
(14:45):
this game. I was gonna define it now. I didn't
think that meant that they were gonna score two touchdowns.
I mean, I didn't.
Speaker 6 (14:51):
You don't ever predict stuff like that.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
What yeah you did? Yeah you did. Put your stamp
on you.
Speaker 7 (14:56):
I call it.
Speaker 3 (14:57):
You was at the team dinner and everything night before
was like, yo, you're ready to score a TJ. Don't
forget the best scoop of score in the fourth man
and he's.
Speaker 7 (15:03):
Silly, But in all seriousness, I think it just highlights
just how important that position is and and why the
Steelers paid both these guys. They made TJ. Watt one
of the highest paid players in the league. They they
gave Alex Heisman a really good contract, and a lot
of people are wondering, like, man, can you pay two
edge rushers? The answer is yes, you can. When they
play like that and they win you football games. It's
a huge part of what this team's identity is. And
(15:25):
I gotta say like they still have a lot to
clean up. The interior defensive line. I don't think had
a particularly great game. I think Larry and Job really
did his best Cam Hayward impression and kind of held
everything else up. Montrevius Adam did force a fumble and
made some plays, but he also didn't wasn't great in
the run defense, and I think that across the board,
they still are getting bullied too much there and they
were able to neutralize it, as they often do against
(15:47):
the Browns, who, for some reason Kevin Stefanski loves to
just throw the football when Nick Chubb is averaging like
six yards of berry but whatever, uh you know.
Speaker 6 (15:56):
But but hey, you don't.
Speaker 7 (15:58):
You don't apologize for your right, so you always get
the win and then you learn from your winn and
it's better to learn from wins than learning from losses.
So a huge, huge win for the Steelers. And again,
like you know, let's say that this was Let's say
that these two weeks are the worst weeks the Steelers
play all season long, and they and they improved throughout
the year.
Speaker 6 (16:18):
Are you gonna care how they got this?
Speaker 7 (16:19):
Division win when they're ten and seven at the end
of the year and they're using that tiebreaker to get
into the playoffs, No you're not.
Speaker 5 (16:26):
And Chris, I like what you say there. I want
to stick with that for a second.
Speaker 6 (16:29):
You know.
Speaker 4 (16:30):
My hope and my kind of glass half full look
is this team started playing their best football, you know,
in late October early November last season. But by that
point they had kind of dug themselves too big of
a hole already, and it was impressive that they were
able to get to a winning record and at least
be in the playoff conversation. But when you're two and
six at one point, right, I mean, you're really getting
that shovel and digging yourself deep. If the Steelers can
(16:53):
be five hundred, right or maybe a game above five
hundred something like that through the first handful of games
this year, and then all of a sudden, you look
up in November, you know, sometime between Halloween and Thanksgiving,
and you're suddenly playing your best football and you're right
in the thick of things and you're not chasing it, right, Like,
That's the optimism for me, is we know this team,
(17:13):
at least in a small sample size now has a
history of playing their better football in the second half
of the season. If this group can tread water until
then and then start to peak at the right moment, right,
that could be the difference between this year.
Speaker 6 (17:25):
And last year. Absolutely.
Speaker 7 (17:28):
And I mean another thing to remember, you know, part
of what made the difference with TJ. Watt in this game, right,
and you know he wasn't available in game two.
Speaker 6 (17:35):
Of last year.
Speaker 7 (17:35):
And I think this is what happens.
Speaker 6 (17:37):
TJ.
Speaker 7 (17:37):
Wat doesn't play that game, they don't win, you know,
and it's a huge difference there. But I think, like
you said, if they can just keep stay afloating, I
think that they can do better than five hundred going
into the second half of the season. I think that
they can be a few games over five hundred, and
then if they hit their stride. I think what's really
encouraging that they could hit their strive is just how
many new and young players they still have on this roster,
(17:58):
you know, Kenny Pickett, second year player, George Pickett, second
year player, Donji Harris, Pat Frime, third year players done
Washington rookie Calvin Austin, the second year player really his
first year, you know, and they still haven't even brought
in Broderick Jones yet. There's a lot of potential for
growth on the offense and chemistry to manifest there. I
think Isaac Salmalo as well, just gelling with his team.
That kind of stuff takes time. And on the defensive
(18:19):
side the same thing as well. Keanu Benton's been getting
snaps and I think he's looked. It's encouraging what we've
seen out of him so far. To Marvin Lee Allen
his second year, you know, the whole new linebacker corp.
You brought in, Patrick Peterson, Joey Porter Junior. There's so
many factors that can improve just by more experience that
the Steelers have and if they again, if they can
stack wins, and I think these are very winnable games
(18:39):
against the Raiders and the Texans they got coming up
in back to back weeks, and if they're able to
handle their business come out of them. Doesn't matter how
ugly they win. But if they can handle their business
win those games. They can be three and one getting
ready to play Baltimore and you know, have a chance
to make a statement win and go two in the
AFC North going into the buy and all of a sudden,
you're four in one and you're not in and again
you're a few games over five hundred.
Speaker 6 (19:01):
You bought yourself face to grow. You'll have a bye.
Speaker 7 (19:03):
Week to kind of reassess things, and I think that's
exactly where this team needs to be. I even say, though,
if they're three and two or even two and three
going into the bye week, I think that they'll be
all right. But if they're one and four, that if
this is the only win head into the bye week,
then we're kind of looking at where they were this
last season.
Speaker 3 (19:19):
You make up some good points right there, man.
Speaker 7 (19:20):
One.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
I did want to ask you though, in terms of
the offense, specifically the running game. What have you been saying, man,
and what are your thoughts on the division of labor
as well.
Speaker 7 (19:31):
First of all, I think that this that the offensive
line has taken a step back from last year. That
kind of happens when you're when you when you take
a year off, you got a lot of guys that
are still needed to gel together and kind of you
to pick up where they left off. But I also
think that there's there's potential for them to get better.
A lot of I will say also, they face two
(19:52):
of maybe the best run defenses they're going to face
this season in the first two weeks. The Niners are
very tough led by Fred Warner. The Browns, they're aggressive,
they throw everything at you. And I think both of
those teams not only are they good against the run.
Speaker 6 (20:04):
They played the run they were sent.
Speaker 7 (20:05):
I mean, you saw how the Browns were loading the box,
sometimes eight to nine guys just loading up the same
please throw it, go ahead, we dare you to throw
the ball. And I think the Steelers passing offense hasn't
been enough to kind of back those.
Speaker 6 (20:18):
Those type of teams off.
Speaker 7 (20:20):
So I think it's tough to fully grand the offensive
line just on their own marriage. But you have to
still great what they've done, and it hasn't been great.
In the run game. I do think that Najie Harris
and Jalen One are both legitimate threats.
Speaker 6 (20:32):
I think you've seen what two You've.
Speaker 7 (20:34):
Seen three runs by Najie Harris go over seventeen yards
in the first two games. You know they he used
to be accused of not being able to pull off
runs of ten and more yards, and again these are
runs that some of these he's just creating on his
own that second that second run that he had, I
think it went like twenty five yards, you know, against
against the Browns on Monday Night. There was nothing there
(20:54):
like like the Browns kicked the bust of the Steelers
out of the line, and he just said, forget that man.
Speaker 8 (20:59):
I'm turning Aroun, I don't go in the other direction.
And he just and he hit it.
Speaker 7 (21:02):
And that's that's something that people said he couldn't do it.
He absolutely can, but he just needs ample opportunity. And
that's where I'm at with Najie Harris is that I
think you give him a hole and he will hit it,
and he will he will make plays. And that's what
the Steelers have to get going. And I mean people
were gonna say, well, jaymen warn doesn't need a hold.
Speaker 6 (21:17):
Jane Waren does need a hole.
Speaker 7 (21:18):
And the part of it is when he's in the game,
he gets more chances like that because people aren't crowding
him as much as they are Najie Harris. But go
back and look at their yards per carry. Nagie Harris
has outrushed him every single time. And if you look
at expected yards per carry for all the events that
people he's over it. Nagie. Harris is averaging two yards
for caring more than he's supposed to when you look
at you know, when he's meeting defenders and how plays
(21:41):
are being designed so far. So to me, offensive line
has to be better, but the passing offense has to
help open up the run game. It won't matter if
the offensive line figures things out and they start to
move guys a little bit. If teams are still selling
out to stop the run and can you pick it in,
the passing offense can't get going, it's gonna make it
that much harder to get the run game going, even
when the line does figure it out.
Speaker 4 (22:01):
Chris Carter with us here on the Steelers Blitz on
SNR and nine seventy espn CC. Few people in this
town have the uh, I think, the grasp of the
full body of Kenny Pickett's work like you do, obviously
from his time at pit and then now in the
National Football League. So we've got a lot of tweets
questions they want answers today.
Speaker 5 (22:21):
You know, is it is he Bless?
Speaker 4 (22:23):
That's right, Kenny Bless that we need to get the
pastor of the Church of Kenny anyway. Yeah, uh, we're
getting a lot of questions, you know, as I'm sure
as you can imagine.
Speaker 5 (22:30):
Is it mental, is it mechanical? Is it somewhere in between?
Speaker 4 (22:33):
So give us kind of your synopsis on everything that
we've seen with Kenny Pickett through these first two games.
Speaker 7 (22:39):
Well, first, first of all, I do want to say, yes,
I am the pastor of the Church of Kenny Pickett.
Speaker 6 (22:44):
Wow.
Speaker 7 (22:44):
But before I get into that, I dot acknowledge that
I am also, you know, one of the harsh, harsh
critics I think of Kenny Pickett when it comes to
breaking down his film and saying like, hey, you know what,
you know, he's missed this, He's missed that. There there
are times, I know a lot of people missount want
to blame everything on Matt Canada, and he is not
exemptive blame that Jets sweep reverse call. You know, after
Najie Harris had two big runs of Jalen Warren riverdoff
(23:06):
the five yarder, I didn't.
Speaker 6 (23:08):
Like that call.
Speaker 7 (23:08):
The third and one call at the end of the
fourth quarter when people were channing fire Canada, I didn't.
Speaker 6 (23:13):
Like that call.
Speaker 7 (23:13):
But they were also I'd say about like at least
twelve other plays that I could point to in this
game where he drew up a really nicely designed play
and it just wasn't executed. Whether it was the offensive
line giving up pressure, whether it was Timmy Pickett missing
a wide open target either he threw it to them
and missed, or he didn't see them or just didn't
pull the trigger. The offense needs to execute what's in
front of them. They got to take the basic things.
(23:34):
And I think that that's the thing that Kay Pickett
hasn't done consistently yet for the Steelers this season. And
like you said, I do have a perspective of seeing
him at Pitt. I've seen him grow from a player
who can hit the basic things to hitting the basic
things into the things to counter the basic things. What
I mean by that is when you start to show
that you have an identity, when you start to have success,
teams adjust to it. They say, Okay, we take away
(23:56):
this thing, this is his favorite thing to do. But
then when you study film, you know ways like for example,
if you know that, hey, uh, I'm really good at
hitting uh hitting the middle of cover two here, So
I'm gonna try to you so like we will attack
the middle part of the field when the safety split
and that's where we get points. And that's how George
Picktons squatters touchdown. Now teams are gonna say, hey, let's
(24:17):
not give him the middle of the field like that.
Speaker 6 (24:18):
Let's pack up the middle of the field.
Speaker 7 (24:20):
Let's let's force it. Then you can send up route
concepts that look like, hey, we're it looks like we're
sending we're gonna send a guy up the scene here. Instead,
this guy's gonna break on a corner route and and
we're gonna stack that over top of a short hitch route. So, now,
if you have guys that are that are playing the
boundary and the middle part of the field, you have
to make a tough choice. Are you gonna stick with
the underneath throw or the or the away throw? And
(24:40):
those are the things that Matt Canada has drawn up
for the ticket. He just hasn't consistently hit it. Now again,
this is the guy who has grown through his time
at pit. Now I'm gonna put on my my past
to close, and Kenneth Beckett takes the stand up leave.
(25:00):
This is the man who came with thirteen touchdowns that
kind of reception for back to back season. Wow, he
broke down Marino's records left West. I mean the Oregon
in the background, man.
Speaker 3 (25:13):
Broke You better talk to him now. You better talk
to him now.
Speaker 7 (25:19):
And if you believe, and you'll see the truth, Kenny
Pickett can be the guy who breaks the Steelers.
Speaker 6 (25:26):
Offense to salvation. All right, I'm gonna go praise God.
Speaker 8 (25:29):
But I think that Kenny Pickett can be the guy.
Speaker 7 (25:36):
If he can, if he if he is who we've
seen him be his best, and that's reading the field,
making smart decisions. He hasn't done that consistently yet, but
if he does, start to put this offense in a
better situation and then they can start to build off things.
But as James Daniels put it, leading into this uh
which he asked him this, you know, last game leading
into this one, they need to do something well. And
(26:00):
when I say something, I mean just one play like
George Picktt touchdown. They need an identity like hey, if
you hit these quick passes or run this specific play
that's gonna be five to eight yards and forced teams
to have to want to stop it. And when they
want to stop it, then you can hit them. Encounter that.
Speaker 6 (26:18):
But they need to start with it.
Speaker 7 (26:19):
That's the biggest key to Kenny Pickett moving forward.
Speaker 2 (26:23):
Let the church say, amen, Amen, you know I ain't
gonna go preach form how to preach. I know that,
and you ain't supposed to do that now, So I'm
gonn lead to Kenny talk alone. Man, Kenny, bless Kenny, blessed.
But uh, Kenny, you know, on the other side of
the ball, we did have a young corner that happened
to be out there for a couple of impact plays.
I might have a little bit of a tie towards him,
(26:45):
you know what I'm saying, Like I might know his coach,
might know.
Speaker 3 (26:47):
Him a little bit. You know how that go.
Speaker 2 (26:50):
But I gotta ask, man, how you feeling about what
we're seeing with the young corner.
Speaker 3 (26:54):
Joey Porter Jr.
Speaker 7 (26:57):
I think one thing that Joey Porter Junior seems to
do really well. He understood that the Simons and Grant
his assigns were limited. He was oftentimes just the outside corner.
Pin your man to the sideline and make sure that
that is a tough wind to throw. And each time
he was out there he did that, he was targeted twice,
had a breakup and was blanketing his man for you know,
to the point that Deshaun Watson overthrew him.
Speaker 6 (27:15):
Into the in zone.
Speaker 7 (27:16):
We'll say he got a little handsy there, and you
could say that maybe they should have been a call
get made. But I'll also say for anyone who thinks
that that was all the Rest robbed it, you go, like,
go back and look at how much Benzel Award and
then the Browns cornerbacks were holding George Pickens and the
Steelering receiver. I think that the Rest were giving both
teams a little bit of room to be physical. But again,
Joey Porter Jr. The way I've seen him, he's in position,
(27:39):
and that's what you want to see out of a rookie.
He understands where he's supposed to be, how he's supposed
to approach situations. He's reading the right key. And the
Steelers what I think they're doing. You saw seven snaps
in the first game, fourteen snaps in the second. You're
seeing them saying, Okay, we're gonna trust you a little
bit here, We're gonna trut you a little bit there.
If you prove that you can do these things, then
we'll start to put you out there more. And Levi Wallace,
he struggled to our two games. You know, he's I
(28:01):
think he's been the culprit on the on the two
long runs that they've given up to the Niners. In
the Browns, I think that, you know, when you go
back and look, you can fairly say Deshaun Watson was
even kind of looking for him at times when how
much he was targeting, I think it was eight times
they give up five receptions or so. But at the
same time, you know, Levi Wallace, he's a veteran, He's
a guy that I think that he can clean it up.
(28:23):
But I do think that we are nearing the time
when it's gonna time. He's gonna be time to see
Joey Porter Junior a little bit more on the outside.
Because he looked good.
Speaker 6 (28:31):
You want to take that caution, that precaution.
Speaker 7 (28:33):
This week might not be a week with DeVante Adams
being the primary receiver out there. But but certainly I
think that he has earned his strikes to get more
opportunities for the Steelers, and that's encouraging from your second
round rookie.
Speaker 2 (28:47):
Well, you know, past the CEC, they do say you're
favored with a little then we'll get a little bit.
Speaker 3 (28:53):
They say in the Bible. So we're gonna see if
young J p J.
Speaker 2 (28:57):
Can continue to be faithful with the more that they
continue to put on his plate. But either way, you know,
we appreciate you stopping by with us. And as always,
y'all know we y'all could get his work at man
in Pittsburgh Post Gazette, the one and only Chris called
it a K A C C a K A third
member of the migos.
Speaker 6 (29:15):
Mama real quick.
Speaker 4 (29:17):
Russell tweets us and says, Okay, guys, I'm ready to
make Chris Carter the offensive coordinator.
Speaker 5 (29:20):
I will tell Omar to expect an interview.
Speaker 3 (29:23):
It is there, it is.
Speaker 7 (29:26):
I don't need these problems because after one game, when
the Steelers game is just two hundred, y'all y'all gonna
be calling from my head. I don't need I'm fine
fatiguing it. Let let me handle that.
Speaker 3 (29:37):
There you have it, There you have it, Chris, what's
the gabing? We definitely appreciate you.
Speaker 5 (29:42):
Virginia now, Mama, he's not.
Speaker 7 (29:46):
Even talking about your state. That was actual Virginia, Virginia.
Speaker 1 (29:53):
Ma.
Speaker 5 (29:53):
See you know he you know your song slaps on everybody.
Speaker 7 (29:56):
I know.
Speaker 4 (29:56):
It's about Western Virginia, it's about Maryland, it's about massive.
Che said sign know y'all, just y'all just stick to
your little Boston Red Sox penn sake basic.
Speaker 5 (30:06):
Every fan base that take me home is dead?
Speaker 3 (30:15):
Is dead? Is cec?
Speaker 5 (30:17):
Thanks as always, buddy. We love catching up, buddy, Thanks
for taking the time.
Speaker 3 (30:20):
Let's go.
Speaker 6 (30:21):
Let's always happy again.
Speaker 4 (30:24):
And just tell Chris Carter were coming for that seventh
straight and basketball in a couple of weeks.
Speaker 3 (30:29):
Then you heard what he said. You heard what he said.
Speaker 2 (30:33):
But we all about to come back and take our
final break because we do got our final segment of
today's show.
Speaker 3 (30:38):
So you know what time that is. We're gonna be
opening up them up.
Speaker 2 (30:42):
Oh yeah, them comments and concerns time frame man, so
you know the floor in time will be yours.
Speaker 3 (30:47):
But don't touch that doubts Arth the mos.
Speaker 2 (30:49):
It's wesle Yula and this is Still's Nation Radio on
ESPN nine seventy A.
Speaker 1 (31:06):
This is the Steelers Blitz with Wesley Euler and Arthur
Motes on your twenty four to seven Home of the
Black and Gold scn R.
Speaker 2 (31:15):
You heard it right, there are the most west so
Ulie Steels Nation Radio sim of casting on ESPN nine
seventy And yes, man, this is the final segment of
today's show. We have a ton of tweets that have
come in throughout and like we say, Man, we keep
our show very interactive. So you've heard and continue to
hear from us here our perspective. We had opened up
(31:35):
the phone line to our good friend of the show,
Chris Carter Akacc of the Pittsburgh Post.
Speaker 3 (31:39):
Gazette, and uh yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:41):
Now for the final segment, Man, we will transition back
to some of your tweets and ultimately man in the
show with those so and the words a big red
time here.
Speaker 4 (31:51):
Rod Donald wants to know what was up with Gunner
in that kick return? So you think he was confused?
Do you think he thought it was a punt for
a second.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
No, I knew exactly he was trying to do. So
if the ball is kicked off and it lands and
bounds is a live ball. NFL kickers are highly skilled
where they can put that ball about a yard or
two from the sideline and it will sit there, and
it will just sit there, and you'll usually send the one,
two or three on your kickoff coverage team, the three
(32:19):
gentlemen that are usually located on the numbers and outside
of them, and you'll have them raced down there to
see if that returnment is going to assume that ball
is going out of bounds or if he's gonna field it.
The kicker did a good job, but he actually messed
up because the ball was probably going to land out
of bounds for Gunner. He was trying to ultimately catch
the ball with one foot in one foot out simultaneously,
(32:42):
because if you do that, you automatically get the ball
at the forty.
Speaker 3 (32:47):
That's what the intent was. The execution just was off.
Speaker 2 (32:50):
The execution was he ended up toe tapping it, having
a brain fart right at the last second, and cought
it with two feet in bounds. And that was ultimately
why I transpired the way that it did. But if
you've never played special teams or really paid attention to it,
you want to understand that rule and you would just
simply look and say, why is Gunner running over there
to catch this football when it's a kickoff like that?
(33:10):
But that was why he did what he did. The intent,
like we talked about man shoot intents, plenty people in
prison right now with good intent and bad execution. You know,
so he had good intent, but at the end of
the day, the execution was not what it was supposed
to be. And yeah, it cost him and then to
turn around a couple of plays later. You know, obviously
it was more so from the hit, but you put
(33:32):
the ball on the ground, it was a turnover.
Speaker 3 (33:34):
Obviously he got hurt after that. We hope he, you know,
has a speedy recovery.
Speaker 2 (33:37):
But it was just, man, you have two really bad
plays back to back, and at a time in the
game where we didn't feel like we could really afford
to have those type of self inflicted issues. You know,
it kind of adds to Gunner, But ultimately that's what
he was trying to do.
Speaker 4 (33:52):
Sure, let's see here DJ the spark. He wants to
know what you think is going on with Levi Wallace.
He looks a little confused out there.
Speaker 2 (34:00):
I don't think he's confused. It's just Levi's the number
two corner. He has long straight line speed. He does
not have good short aired quickness, and in terms of
his change of direction, if he's not going full speed,
he's not going to be able to start and stop fast.
So when you talk about, you know, the past two
games of him missing tackle, specifically, what did his feet
do prior to the head prior to the contact, It
(34:22):
stopped and he had to restart. Versus McCaffrey. It put
him in a position where he was out of position
and the spin move happened. He missed the tackle this week,
Jerome Baker is able to step around him, and you
see how long it takes him to get repositioned to
even start a foot chase. And we saw, you know,
his limitations there when you're talking about him in just
basic coverage he's designed for, you know, I feel like
(34:45):
press where he can use his length, or it needs
to be cover three, cover four where you're not asking
him to try to break down and come back down
on some of these, you know routes where receivers like
Mariy Cooper, receivers like Elijah More that you know have
really good footwork. I mean, you saw Brandon Iyuk last
week how he's able to get an out of his breaks.
Speaker 3 (35:05):
That is where Levi struggles.
Speaker 2 (35:07):
Very similar to when we talk George Pickens versus Deontay
Johnson and we say separation, you look at when George
Pickens attempts to create separation versus Manda Man. You look
at when Deontay Johnson creates separation versus Manda Man, and this.
Speaker 3 (35:19):
Night and day.
Speaker 2 (35:20):
Because one is just designed for the short area of
quickness and has that gift where the other guy doesn't
to this extent just yet. When I look at Levi
Wallace and Patrick Peterson, one is designed for some of
that short aarreia quickness, where the other guy is designed
for some of the down on the grass long stuff. Sure,
and I just think that that's ultimately what's been going
on with him. But he still has to play better.
(35:41):
And the problem is you can't have these limitations continue
to show up. We all have limitations, but the name
of the game of the NFL level is to minimize
those limitations, to hide them as best you can. But
every single player has a flow, Every single player has
a limitation. Levi right now has to figure out to
get that off his tape. Sure, but it's gonna be
(36:02):
the next four games where teams are going to be
trying to get their running back one on one versus
Levi on the perimeter. Because he's shown on back to
back weeks. That is not a guarantee you tackle who
Church of Arthur motes.
Speaker 3 (36:15):
Don't get me down, get me in trouble.
Speaker 4 (36:17):
I'm just trying to shout out to Francis and our
buddy steal Nation nine twenty for the kind tweets Francis says,
told you w would win.
Speaker 5 (36:25):
Sorry, CC just had a bad feeling. Nine to twenty.
Speaker 4 (36:28):
Our buddy Tyler tweets go ears, congrats all the big
w I tell you what, all right, Mozi, we got
like a minute left to okay, photoshop photoshop extraordinary.
Speaker 5 (36:39):
D have wants to know.
Speaker 4 (36:40):
Are we in for a lock luster offensive season of
the boys start clicking Sunday night in Vegas.
Speaker 3 (36:46):
I think we'll see them improving.
Speaker 4 (36:48):
I don't know that's the real thing, right, We just
improve every week, just get a little bit better.
Speaker 3 (36:52):
Because it really depends on what you're looking for.
Speaker 2 (36:54):
If you think that improvement is they're supposed to score
thirty points, I'm gonna tell you absolutely no. But if
you're saying improvement being that I feel like there to
functionally operate as an offense, stay on schedule, win the field,
position battle, minimized turnovers one hundred percent. I do feel
like they're capable of that, but it's all about your expectations.
Speaker 5 (37:09):
Completely agree in Mozie.
Speaker 4 (37:10):
Speaking of expectations, I expect you to get us up
on Adam here.
Speaker 2 (37:14):
So would that be in the case? Man, Let me
give a big time shout out too my partner in crime.
Actually no, not the partner crime, just shot. I'm a
higher about my producer. Because the producer was cheffing it
up in the kitchen. I'm talking about Chef Wesley Er.
Speaker 5 (37:26):
That's Backyard Brawl Champion Wesley Uller to.
Speaker 2 (37:29):
All yen, some respect on him, power grid, Mega watching participation,
undefeated as always, salute yourself, salute yourselves and then last,
but certainly not at least I got a shout out
my pot at them.
Speaker 3 (37:40):
The one and only mister Wesley.
Speaker 4 (37:43):
You that's backyard Brawl Champion Wesley Yu'ller to.
Speaker 2 (37:48):
All yen, put some respect on his name. And you
already know where to find us on your twenty four
to seven Home of the Black End, the go Stillest
Nation Radio.
Speaker 3 (37:59):
And there it is,
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