HR 1 - Asante Samuel Jr, Wheel of 1,000 Questions

Tom and Chris talk about Asante Samuel Jr signing with Steelers practice squad, spin the Wheel of 1,000 questions and recap Tomlins presser

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:09):
Secondary help has arrived to the practice squad for now.
A Sante Samuel Junior, who I joked last week was
kind of like on his ben affleck Ish going around
in goodwill hunting asking for those retainers. Retainers he had
like scheduled visits with like every team in the NFL.

Speaker 2 (00:28):
It seems so.

Speaker 1 (00:29):
When I saw that news last week that the Steelers
were included, I was like, yeah, I mean I could
get talked into some of Sante Samuel Junior, but I'm
not gonna hold my.

Speaker 2 (00:37):
Breath because he's visiting the entire NFL. But dang it,
our retainer was the retainer that he wanted.

Speaker 1 (00:43):
Because he's coming to Pittsburgh, he's on the practice squad,
and I view this as a very temporary thing as
far as that practice squad label is concerned. I think
a Sante Samuel Junior, you know, close your eyes and
look ahead. Five weeks from now, he might be your
starting outside corner opposite of Joey Porter Jr.

Speaker 2 (01:00):
This is the Steelers Blitz.

Speaker 1 (01:01):
I'm tom up froman He's Chris Sadamski, Chris am I
getting too ahead of myself. There is that far fetched
in your mind's eye.

Speaker 3 (01:09):
It's crazy because that news breaks, what was it, three
o'clock in the afternoon, three third round? Then, yes, And
I had just spent time talking myself into how James
Pierre is going to play the rest of the season,
and Mike Toman loved him and and how the organization
really liked him. He's probably gonna get this long term
chance to be an outside corner after all this service

(01:31):
to the Steelers and all this. And then I'm like, oh, oh, okay,
well that kind of threw some cold water on that
hole my perceived inevitability on that. So we'll see, you know,
I'm sure, I am sure we'll get the he's a
practice squad guy. We'll we'll get that, uh that answer
to start with at least, And that's probably what the
delay was. And with the visiting everybody, it's like, somebody's

(01:53):
got to give me a full time job here, I
would imagine, without any assurances or anything to terms of
he comes here in the practice squad.

Speaker 2 (02:02):
Maybe that was the delay.

Speaker 3 (02:03):
But obviously in terms of you see injury, you see attrition,
you have your best corner move to safety with the Steelers.
If you're Samuel and his representatives, you see an opportunity
with the Steelers and they could use a corner. And
this is the guy who has been a starter from
the very he's still young, he's been a four year
pretty much hit the ground as a rookie, was a starter.

(02:25):
Have had a three interception playoff game on his resume,
which is probably more you know, yeah in one game,
could probably lead to you know, lead teams interception. So
we'll see where it all goes. We'll see what you
get him on the fifth. To be cliche, that's I'm
sure that's what Mike Tom gonna say. Because him on
the field, see what he can do, and get him
up to speed. See you make sure he's healthy in

(02:46):
that sense, to be sure we can pick things up.

Speaker 2 (02:49):
I can't.

Speaker 3 (02:49):
I wouldn't imagine he plays this Sunday. I mean what
this is speaking here Wednesday with not knowing practice yet.

Speaker 1 (02:54):
I kind of like him to play this Sunday if
he was coming off of kind of this is a
weird thing to say, a quote unquote normal injury. I
think then we would be like just throw them out there.
Just tell him to help covering Higgins every once in
a while, tell him to help cover Chase every once
in a while, but that shoulder injury was devastating last year,

(03:15):
played four games, was knocked out for the entire season.
He couldn't even get the spinal fusion surgery until this
past April, so he had to wait until almost to
the draft to get his surgery. Hence the reason why
he's still available at week ten, week eleven of the
NFL season. I mean, there's a twenty six year old
corner with some track record here. I mean, those guys

(03:36):
don't just get crumpled up and thrown into the trash
unless a very bad injury happens. Now, maybe his career
is derailed because of this injury and he will never
get back to what he looked like he could be
and what he was as an LA Charger. But the
Steelers didn't sign, you know, someone that they know is
a lemon for sure right now, Like he went through
a workout and was able to show them, you know,

(03:57):
athleticism is still there. And I'm recovering from the surgery
and this injury pretty well.

Speaker 3 (04:03):
And you would think that being an upper body injury
like that that and it's easy for me doesn't go. Yes,
it's easy for me to say to cover NFL wide
receivers with a bump, shoulder or whatever.

Speaker 2 (04:13):
I get it. Richard Sherman played in an entire NFC
Championship game without his shoulder in his socket. How hard
can it be be?

Speaker 3 (04:20):
So if you have that speed and it's not if
this was like a foot or an ankle or a
knee something like that, that theoretically is going to forever
hinder or make him lose a step or something along
that level.

Speaker 2 (04:32):
You wouldn't think, I get there, there's reha whatever it is.

Speaker 3 (04:34):
You would think he kept himself in shape that way,
or if he wasn't, he can get back to that level.
He's still young enough, so and we'll see obviously that
can hinder you in some ways, maybe the innersy. I
don't know, Like I can't what range of motion was
going on there in terms of if he has recovered
all the way, I don't know. But again, if you
had to pick a serious injury that needed surgery that

(04:56):
the cause you to mission year and everything, you would
for a cornerback, you would want to be an upper
body injury rather than something new with your legs that
could affect your speed, your agility, your lateral movement things
like that. So that skill set's obviously there. He was
a second round pick, and like I said, he's been
a starter starter for some buff average teams on hold
to some good teams, good defense, whatever.

Speaker 2 (05:15):
It's not like he uh you know.

Speaker 3 (05:16):
When the starter on the on these Bengals that are
coming up this weekend, they're talking about a really bad
he was getting lit up all the time.

Speaker 2 (05:23):
If he would have been able to stay healthy last year.

Speaker 1 (05:24):
I don't want to say that this is a guarantee,
but if he plays the full season for the Chargers,
they probably signed him. Maybe they toy with a franchise tag.
They I think they would entertain though, an extension to
his rookie deal.

Speaker 2 (05:35):
That's just money.

Speaker 1 (05:36):
Couldn't have been a worse time to have an injury
like that happened. It was his final seats playing for
his rookie deal to be extended.

Speaker 2 (05:43):
And yeah, there you go. It wasn't a first round pick.
It was his fourth year, is his last year of
his contract, and he.

Speaker 3 (05:48):
You know, you're not me even second round picks. I
mean again, easy for me to say, I take the
money the second round pick gets, but in terms of
NFL money.

Speaker 2 (05:55):
Huh, I'd be happy to have. I guess it's a slight.

Speaker 3 (05:58):
I wanted the office yesterday and tried to demand that
it really it didn't. It didn't go very well. I thought, maybe,
you know, a couple of months into this, we're good,
you know, we're doing well. I mean, and no, they
didn't give.

Speaker 2 (06:07):
Me that same like you're closer to being Yeah, yeah,
it was.

Speaker 3 (06:09):
It was kind of a yeah, I got the equivalent
of the practice squad. Actually, uh so, yeah, it's it's
obviously low risk. You didn't even take up a roster
spot for crying out loud. I'm sure the money is
if anything is negligible at all, certainly for again NFL money,
and you need depth. It became more. I want to

(06:30):
the timing of it. That's the one thing I don't know.
This is just totally speculation. Is like the Steelers looked
at him two weeks ago, all the other NFL teams
looked at him.

Speaker 2 (06:39):
I guess you could turn it. Did he wait for it? Okay?

Speaker 3 (06:42):
The Steelers looks like slave might not play slaves cut.

Speaker 2 (06:44):
You know this.

Speaker 3 (06:45):
They don't only have three corners on their active roster
right now. They need a fourth corner to play probably
or was it the Steelers were like, well, looked at
them two weeks ago, and I don't know, it doesn't
look like he said, well, you know what desperate times.
You know, if trade deadline's gone, we need to So
it was a combination of those two.

Speaker 2 (07:01):
I don't know.

Speaker 1 (07:02):
I think a little column a columb be there. I
think he definitely was attracted to the opportunity that could
be here in Pittsburgh. There's a path to the field here.
Maybe some of those other teams were like, we kind
of want to sign you and put you towards the
bottom of the roster special teams guy, and then if
we need you, we can kind of break glass in
case of emergency. We can be like, hey, remember when
we got to Sante Samuel five weeks ago. He can

(07:23):
slide in there for our injured corner. And the Steelers
He's like, I could be starting in five weeks from now,
Like I said, close your eyes, I can envision it. Again,
no guarantee, but there is a path to the field.
So I think that clearly was going in the Steelers
favor when it came to him making a decision on
where he wanted to sign.

Speaker 3 (07:43):
Yeah, and the Steelers because again they only have three
assuming Ramsey plays safety the whole game, which that week
into that too. Just that was before the news broke
about that, but that was my main One of my
main takeaways is that they love Ramsey at safety so
much that even though they're down to literally don't have
a corner play, they only have three corners to play,
they're not considering moving him back. They think that's working

(08:03):
so well with him and Dougar. And that's an aspect
of I'm sure because if you believed in your safeties,
if the Shawn Elliott wasn't hurt, what however you want
to slice it up here, if you know, if thorn
Hill had been better or whatever you want to say,
if the safeties were fine, you'd move Ramsey to outside
corner and that'd be that you'd probably move on as
might not be happening, and the practice squad is so
essentially you would think that you'd have to go in
the game with four outside cornerbacks, right. I guess you

(08:27):
could say that if Peppers comes back, and then if
an injury happens in game, you'd have to move. Then
you move Ramsey back to the corner, I guess you could
do that, but you would think that's one of the
three hash to dress that's on the practice squad around
Daryl Porter Junior is a rookie and what DeShawn Jamison
who started some games for Carolina in the past couple
of years. He's a small corner, but he's quick. He

(08:47):
kind of popped in camp a little bit for me.
You know, he's a veteran, he's been around too, so
you would think somebody has to dress. So if Samuel
obviously has the most lengthy track record of that group
and the experience, now I don't know, could you get
him up on specials, get those speed on special team?
Do you take James per off special There's a lot
of questions that maybe even maybe even by tomorrow or Friday,

(09:09):
we know a little bit more because of going through practice.
If Pierre's gonna play every snap, they play in every
special team again, then you have a big hole on
special teams and Samuel able to play special teams at
this point, to trump on a movie tray and do that,
I don't know, but there's a lot of things that
could happen. But either way, overall, the signing like I said,
it's very low risk. There's nothing doesn't work out. Cut
him next week if you have to have a question. Yeah,

(09:30):
And so it's high ceiling here that potentially you have
a starter going forward.

Speaker 1 (09:35):
Right absolutely, I think that you could still envision that
and back to him wanting to find a path to
the field and that being an attraction for him coming
to Pittsburgh. You know, he's twenty six years old. He
doesn't want his NFL career to be over. He needs
to put tape out there, like whether it's with the Steelers,
and I hope it all works out where the Steelers

(09:56):
are like, yep, he was great. Let's try to bring
him in on a two year deal or something like that,
and we can roll forward with JPJ and Asante Samuel
Junior as kind of our tandem. We can try to
see what that looks like. That's getting way ahead of myself,
of course, but he needs to put film out there
for the Steelers, for all other teams to say, hey,
I'm still viable, I'm still an option, I can still play.

Speaker 2 (10:17):
In this league.

Speaker 1 (10:18):
Because that injury happening when that rookie contract was expiring,
it is a dicey situation. That he finds himself in
right now. All it really takes, Chris, is, you know,
a string of games at the NFL level where to
your point, Hey, there's my upper body that got hurt.
I can still gallop with these guys on the outside.

(10:40):
I can still stay stride for stride with them. And
that's all it takes is like four game film of
him with that speed for all NFL people to be like, Okay,
he belongs in this league. If it's not the Steelers,
someone else is snatching him up in the offseason. So like,
he's got to get on the field. It can't just
be like practice squad to special teams for him because
that's not going to move the needle enough for him

(11:01):
to kind of get back to who a Sante Samuel
Junior was when he got drafted and played those four
years in LA.

Speaker 3 (11:06):
And the Steelers have the advantage. If he does show
it's almost like holding and you know, teams can sign
him off the practice squad and things like that.

Speaker 2 (11:13):
I get it. And he's on a one year deal
and he.

Speaker 3 (11:15):
Can hit free if you If he does show out
and show he's good, you can obviously wait to hit
the market. But the Steelers obviously have exclusive rights to him.
They get to see him every day if they they
do start, and I'm sure if they see it in practice,
obviously we're at the point where he would play to
some degree even you know, who knows what. We'll see
what happens with Slay, what they think is Slay, things
like that going forward, but and sometimes he don't. It's

(11:38):
totally I don't make this comparison because it's a different
situation ages things like that. Remember they brought on William
Jackson three or what three seasons ago now at a
corner late that was sort of like looking for an
opportunity and not obviously did not work out at all,
and he didn't play at all. They cut him. Again,
there's nothing really lost because there's no Again, it was
very so you don't know what will happen. And they're
not the same situation at all, the same as a

(11:59):
lot younger. And so again the fact that to me,
the fact that it's a again easy for me to say,
it's easy to cover, you know, bump shoulder, you can
play cornerback.

Speaker 2 (12:10):
I get it.

Speaker 3 (12:11):
But it's you would also think that going forward, if
he does show the quickness and he does show he
still has has the feet and has the step and
has the speed and all that that. I would imagine,
I'm not worthopedic, that he would continue to heal in
whatever's going on with his shoulder in his back, and
everything would just get better and better, and by next
year then you would have a more complete, viable starting

(12:32):
player no matter what.

Speaker 2 (12:33):
At that point. Yeah, And I just keep going back
to like, this isn't a bump, Like this isn't.

Speaker 1 (12:37):
Some guy who was just some you know, fringe roster
player on the Chargers in his first four years in
the league, played played special teams, you know, had a
couple of moments here or there. This is a legitimate
starting outside corner for them, a key contributor on some
pretty decent Chargers teams, you know. I know Brandon Staley

(13:00):
wasn't the best coach and left a lot to be desired,
but he still got into the playoffs. I believe once,
at the very least it was that Jacksonville game where
he should have won the playoff game, and then Trevor
Lawrence came back in the second half. Maybe there's another
playoff appearance that he was able to guide them to.
I know, he had that debacle with the Raiders at
the end of the season when they were knocking on

(13:20):
the door. So like you know what I mean, Like
these weren't terrible Charger teams, Like it wasn't like, well,
somebody's got to play corner, Like these were teams that
weren't in the hunt for the wild card while Samuel
was there. So it really comes down to just how
bad that injury was. Because there's nothing, you know, play
wise in those first three years, and some change because
he only played in four games in his fourth year,

(13:42):
that would be like, oh, he can't play, he's a bust.
He's not good enough to play in the NFL. No,
quite the opposite where he was drafted. You're looking at
how he played in those three years and you're like,
this is a great pick. I mean, this is a
starting contributor in a secondary and would be for a
lot of teams in the NFL.

Speaker 2 (13:59):
And then he has that older injury.

Speaker 1 (14:01):
And it's giving a lot of teams pause. Clearly, as
he went through all of the offseason and to this
point until finally signing with a team, and now he's
still just on a practice squad so has yet to
find his way back to an active roster from that injury.
So you know, that's why it's such an attractive lottery
ticket because even though you're probably gonna scratch this off

(14:24):
and it's gonna come up with like I want want,
and you're not gonna win, you I think have better
odds than you usually would when you go to a
dumpster dive, when you go to a scrap heap like this.
It just comes down to how that surgery went, and
is he going to be able to get himself back
into that football shape after missing a very significant amount

(14:46):
of time almost a full calendar year now, if not
more than a calendar year.

Speaker 3 (14:49):
Yeah, he was only he just turned twenty six a
couple of weeks, so.

Speaker 1 (14:54):
You're certainly not If he's good, there's like four to
five years of potential there still.

Speaker 3 (14:59):
And he never he was like I said, he was
his minister's entire career, four years of second round pick.
So all all the you know, all the pedigrees there,
the intangibles there. You know how much Mike Thoman loved
the sons of you know, the family ties things like that.
Thinks that that helps intangibly and everything. And he's been
you know. Again, I always put the preface out there,

(15:20):
what do you think of pro football focus? But he's
been in the top twenty five the last two full
seasons he played as a cornerback.

Speaker 2 (15:26):
In their grades, Dad was a little bit better. Yeah, yeah,
I don't know if he's ever gonna catch it slightly better.

Speaker 1 (15:31):
A couple of first team All Pro, second Team All Pro.
He's got a couple of Super Bowl rings too.

Speaker 3 (15:35):
Yeah yeah, I was on on that, well, the O
seven Patriots team that couldn't win it all. But maybe
maybe his dad benefitted from some illegally gathered videotape from
sky Bit.

Speaker 1 (15:46):
Did you know this is just a random thing I
stumbled into. Did you know he is the career leader
for interception yardage in playoffs, interception touchdowns in playoffs, and
passes defense in playoffs Santae Samuel Seniers. Okay, he's got
twenty eight defense passes in playoffs. He's got four pick sixes,
really four pick sixes in the playoffs. He's got two

(16:08):
hundred and twenty seven yards of interceptions of masks. He's
got seven picks in the playoffs.

Speaker 2 (16:12):
Wow, Dad was Dad was? That was a lot better.
Dad was a lot better. Huh. Yeah, I don't think
he's gonna be in there somewhere. Chris Junior got that
in there somewhere. DNA's there, Yes, so we gotta hit him.

Speaker 3 (16:24):
So and he had, Hey Junior had what three three
interception playoff game? Right, that's what the against the Jaguars.

Speaker 2 (16:30):
It's in there. Playoff performers got the January. He's gonna
make some splash when that happens.

Speaker 3 (16:37):
So, yeah, I don't you know, And like you said, listen,
I don't know the first thing. And I certainly wouldn't
speculate on the negative side at all and have no
reason to us. So I thought, what I'm doing, I'm saying,
no matter what his his outlook is, or his intangibles
or whatever it is, he knows he got you said,
he's playing for his contract. He's playing for his second contract,
played for his NFL. Yeah, so he could he could

(16:59):
turn this around out and start and then make himself
a lot of money in March from fro from the
Steelers when somebody else, if he gets the opportunity or
if this flames out here, then you kind of middling.
You kind of wonder where he goes from here. So uh,
he has all the motivation in the world to uh
to hop on this train and and and be harmonious.
And I mean this secondary, this steal or secondary I
can can you go through the chain of events something

(17:21):
I should go through and where the depth chart was
theoretically obviously they weren't practicing her playing and early March
before free agency, after free agency, after the draft, and
then June and then you just it was bang bang
bang in terms of Ramsey and Chuck Clark and Pepper's
and Dugger and it's like all these veteran guys like
over and over and over again coming in here and

(17:41):
just it's it's kind of wild how this, how this
has evolved over time here now to this point.

Speaker 1 (17:45):
And in August we thought it was gonna be great,
and August we thought it was gonna work. And now
it's kind of kind of like we're just throwing stuff
against the wall and hoping something sticks. Now things are
kind of sticking, though, Like the safety tandem of Dugger
and Ramsey is sticking. And Tomlin said in his press
conference yesterday that yeah, we're gonna stick with Ramsey there,
so that stuck to the wall.

Speaker 2 (18:02):
I think Joey Porter Junior has been better.

Speaker 1 (18:04):
I don't think anybody played particularly you know, spectacular against
the Chargers, but no receiver other than Lad McConkey, and
that's more of a slot problem went off against the Steelers.
So you know, Joey's been playing better too. So things
are sticking to the wall. Maybe this is that final
piece that you need to stick to the wall. A
Sante Samuel Jr. And I'm just glad that the Steelers

(18:25):
took a hack right, because I've been saying for two
weeks now. The big concern obviously is you pull Ramsey
out of that corner position.

Speaker 2 (18:33):
Well, who the hell's your second corner? Now?

Speaker 1 (18:35):
You know Darius Slay is in the concussion protocol currently,
but when he's out there, he has not been playing
well this year. You know, Eckles bumping to the outside
was nice in theory, but I think we're starting to
see Chris the more Eckles expands in his role, a
little more exposed that Brandon Eckles has been. James Pierre
stepped up to the plate last week in that outside role,
but you know that your razor thin then at that point.

Speaker 2 (18:58):
So I love that the team took a hack and
was proactive.

Speaker 1 (19:01):
They couldn't get a deal done in the trade deadline
portion of the season, so get it done now the
post trade deadline, and you know, a bit lucky that
there is this kind of weird circumstance out there in
a Sante Samuel Jr.

Speaker 2 (19:14):
And you were able to capitalize on it.

Speaker 3 (19:16):
Yeah, we'll see obviously how it plays out and everything,
but it was probably as if, if you look at it,
that they couldn't. They do not have to submit any
draft cap but or anything for it. If if he
plays just by resume alone, I don't know, you know,
if it if he didn't get hurt, right, and let
we say this was so they were you know, he

(19:37):
was available this year and he has the resume is
up to this point, he's played the games he has.
He would have been a pretty valuable trade chip to
have at this point in the season. So it all
comes down to how healthy he is and see that
and how quick he can get on. But like I said,
somebody in that one of those three guys in the
practice squad, they're three cornerbacks. Now he's one of three

(19:58):
in the practice squad. Now one of them all most
probably has to dress. Assuming Sleigh isn't cleared and may
have Slay cleared. That a lot of things change. We're
talking here. We'll figure that out. But if if Slay
can't play, one of them has to play and I don't. Yeah,
Pierre has to play special teams. So it could happen
as early as this week. We'll see how it all
plays out. I mean, you say, now you know all

(20:20):
on the MVS. He's the MVS version of sort of
on the defense. We'll see now at a position of need,
a position that has some attrition, and I don't there's
not too much of a drawback. I guess, like I said,
there's not any risk. What's the worst could happen?

Speaker 1 (20:36):
I suppose Chris and I come back, we will spin
our Wheel of a thousand questions and we'll answer probably
about two or three of them. That's next on the
Steelers Splitz on Steelers Nation Radio, part of the Steelers
Audio Network. Chris, before we spin are Wheel of a

(21:00):
thousand questions, Interns putting a little bit of finishing touches
on it now, and by intern that's me, I'm doing
it and trying to host the show with you as well.

Speaker 2 (21:09):
Right now.

Speaker 1 (21:09):
Putting a last couple of questions on here, Let's talk
about the big big news today in Steelers Nation, the
activation of their sweet sweet baby boy, Will Howard. Oh boy,
is everybody just doing backflips over this? Uh?

Speaker 2 (21:23):
Have you ever really seen a.

Speaker 1 (21:24):
Third string quarterback capture this much attention from a fan base,
this much enamoration, if that's a word, if I may,
with the fan base, I suppose I've seen backups opened
up the camps. Don't you start with me? Don't you
play these semantic games?

Speaker 2 (21:41):
We will Howard? I mean he's getting interviewed sometimes like he.

Speaker 3 (21:45):
Had an endorsement deal before. He still was not playing
a game. He is still a preseason game. He has
not stepped on a field at a Steelers uniformed Yeah, exactly.
I was like, I was like, what I did a
double that was back in August. It was like August,
You've got through like four practices and he had had
an endorsement deal.

Speaker 2 (22:02):
I have never seen it.

Speaker 1 (22:03):
I mean, I've seen backup quarterbacks get you know, this
kind of attention, usually when the starters aren't very good,
and the starter for the Steelers save one week last week,
so recency biases creeping in there. But the starter's been
pretty damn good this year for the Steelers, so it's
really quite a spectacle. Look, I hope he turns out
to be the greatest quarterback of all time. I hope

(22:24):
he turns out to be the next sixth round Tom
Brady pick. But like you know, it's I've always come
back to Chris. It's hard for me to see teams,
including the Steelers, pass on this young man in five
rounds worth of draft as a national champion at Ohio State.
Like if they thought that there was something legitimate there,
they would have. I'm talking about all thirty two teams

(22:46):
in the NFL taken him earlier. I'm not saying it
would have been a first round pick, but like second, third, fourth,
The guy won a Natty with one of the better
college football teams we've seen.

Speaker 3 (22:55):
I think that's why the fans are so Inabor's he
arguably although he was really but arguably, if you had
to say a generic position, the starting quarterback for the
National champions would be the highest profile.

Speaker 1 (23:06):
College That's how the movie would work cinematic, So.

Speaker 3 (23:11):
I see why, But was it did he have the
most comical perhaps and this is before I thought this
before obviously he was a Steeler. Watching that, I was like,
he might have had the worst combine workout I ever.
Remember he was his missing flip players all over the place,
and hey, he's he's been great.

Speaker 2 (23:26):
I think that they genuinely like.

Speaker 3 (23:28):
In terms of his work ethic, I generally like he's
been a good teammate. I think he's still genuinely almost
to a detriment where he's almost like a kid still like,
oh my god, I'm a steel Like he still has
that like grin on his face.

Speaker 2 (23:42):
The joy is still there and all that.

Speaker 3 (23:44):
And so I think just seeing his in all in
terms of all that he even talked about, he might
be want to be a coach someday. I could see
him just sticking around the league as a number two,
number three quarterback, you know, maybe that long term. But yeah,
it was like I remember, I just was anytime I
turn on of course not SNR because that's perfect Sterling analysis,

(24:05):
that's intelligent and whatever.

Speaker 2 (24:06):
I'm talking about it. The other the other yeah, yeah,
the other.

Speaker 3 (24:10):
As people I'll hear about Will Howard, I'm like, guys,
he coulda make He's a six round pick.

Speaker 1 (24:13):
He gonna make the team. What I thought about being
the franchise quarterback. I know you've interviewed him this year.
I know you've been in those scrums. So how dare
you cast stones in your glasshouse? Chris adamskis uh what
you said? There though, one last thing on him and
then we'll spin the wheel. It's what I've been saying
really since I was down at the facility on the
air for USNR on Draft night and he got picked

(24:35):
in that third night of the draft. Like I project
him to be a very good backup as far as
his ceiling is concerned in this league. Maybe comes in
wins you wins the team down the road some games,
you know, keeps him afloat, Gonna be kind of another
coach in the room, a good sounding board for whoever
starting quarterback is. And then I mean this is you know,

(24:56):
I'll I'll give him a nice high bar and talk
him up, hype him up a little bit. Then I
could see him becoming like a Kevin O'Connell type of dude.
You know, a backup quarterback who gets into coaching pretty young.
You noticides Yeah, you know what, I'll hang up the
backup quarterback and at like twenty six, twenty seven years old,
and let me start being a quarterbacks coach for real.
Let me start climbing up that ladder. Let me get
onto a head coach's coaching tree and see where this

(25:18):
thing can go. I've always thought that that was kind
of like the ceiling for what a Will Howard is
because cerebraly. I mean, everybody says like that's great, Like
he why he was such a great quarterback for Ohio State,
Like that team was perfect, Like they paid twenty million
dollars for that roster, there was not a hole on it.
He still need a quarterback to make all the right decisions, though,
You still need a quarterback to get you in the

(25:39):
right plays and make the clutch throws when they need
to be made. And that's exactly what he did. So
I don't have any doubt that he can do that stuff.
But that's the ceiling really for me.

Speaker 2 (25:47):
Yeah, I don't.

Speaker 3 (25:48):
Yeah, listen, if he gets into a game, it's probably
it's bad news. Well, yes, yes, and you don't want
if you're the stealer. It's kind of ironic. If he
went to a bad team, he might have got a
shot by now to start might get a shot.

Speaker 2 (26:00):
By in the seat and get hurt. Bub blah blah.
I get it.

Speaker 3 (26:02):
But he might have got a shot this season to
start a couple Yes, he could have been something something
like that where or you know, a no calling with
the Raiders a couple of year late rounds show that
they take a shot at as you know, size whatever
has some tools. See you know, at least he gets
to run it out there and get his opportunity. So
obviously that happens this season. That means that things went
sideways for one reason or another, for a lot of reasons.

(26:23):
So and that that's a sense Steeler fans, you don't
want to see what Howard this year playing a game.

Speaker 2 (26:27):
I'm sure it is a shame.

Speaker 3 (26:29):
Though, because the preseason I would have loved. Everybody would
love to seeing the preseason. That's what it's tailor made,
preseason games. People make fun of him. I just like football.
I don't care about as much as most people do.
But I mean we got the private seeing Will Howard
in the preseason, which I mean, I'm not even being
funny that that does kind of.

Speaker 1 (26:44):
Just I thought we could have had that, you know,
that classic third game, all right, rook take them, you
know what I mean, Like start a full football.

Speaker 2 (26:50):
Game, run two minute drial. Things like that now would
have been a lot more fun to watch. Exactly.

Speaker 3 (26:55):
We've sat a lot of logan woodside, which was doing
nothing for anybody.

Speaker 2 (26:59):
All right, let's give this spin.

Speaker 1 (27:00):
You know I like a big one first, Chris, You
know I like to wind this thing up and get
a nice big spin again. I don't want to be
used those fusion You don't want me to pull in
a Sante Samuel.

Speaker 2 (27:10):
No, Wow, the wheel was listening to us. It does
have a mind of its own.

Speaker 1 (27:14):
Because this is a quarterback related question having to do
with Willy.

Speaker 2 (27:18):
It's like an AI wheelways.

Speaker 1 (27:19):
It kind of is I'm getting nervous. It has nothing
to do it's becoming sentient. It has nothing to do
with Will Howard.

Speaker 2 (27:25):
This question. I'm kidding there, Aaron Rodgers.

Speaker 1 (27:28):
Was Sunday more of a fluke or is that going
to be the new norm?

Speaker 3 (27:32):
You know, I still I'm the mind to say it
was a one off and that's fine. However, if you
look now at a like a what are we trend
in now?

Speaker 2 (27:42):
Three games, the arrow generally over.

Speaker 3 (27:46):
He was better the first however, you want to cap
at a look back game by game, the Seattle game aside,
I guess that would be the four of the five
games early and the Seler has been losing.

Speaker 2 (27:55):
That's part of it here.

Speaker 3 (27:58):
So I do worry about that that it is more.
But I don't think he'll be I think he'll be better.
I don't think he'll be like that. If he's like that,
for you know, you stack a couple of those more
together and then you really have serious, actual discussions about
doing something moving on to something else. But I don't
think he's going to be like that. But you know,

(28:21):
if you're the steel and here's the thing that the
Bengals are the perfect tonic for yah whatever.

Speaker 2 (28:27):
You know that you.

Speaker 3 (28:28):
Couldn't be a more tailor. Made the offense of struggling,
and he got confidence. Whatever it is, we're gonna to
score some points, go out there, throw for three thirty
and three touchdowns and everybody feels good again, and you know,
we kick the can down the road about whether this
is a you know, and it might be masked because
it is the Bengals and they are just hideous defensively
and that might be why. But that's Okay, we'll take

(28:50):
the stats, take the points, take the win if it happened,
and uh, and then you know, worry about another day.

Speaker 1 (28:56):
The Bengals defense is like the Old West, like miracle
tonic that they used to give everybody, like, oh, your
leg got sawed off.

Speaker 2 (29:03):
Here have some miracle tonic. Oh you have you know, dysentery.

Speaker 1 (29:05):
Here have some miracle tonic, like just kind of the
catchups like and then it was just like rum or
something like that. Yeah, it was just like distilled alcohol.
So the Bengals defense is that miracle tonic. For whatever
ails you as an offense, it really should be. You're
struggling in the passing game, here comes the Cincinnati Bengals. Hey,
you can't run the ball. Here come the Cincinnati Bengals.
Your quarterbacks getting sacked too much.

Speaker 2 (29:26):
Don't worry.

Speaker 1 (29:26):
His jersey will be pretty clean at the end of
this game, because here comes the Cincinnati Bengals in their defense.
But but you lost the game last time to that defense,
to no fault of the offense. Really, but you lost
that game to that Cincinnati defense last time. I think
to answer this question, if I had to in the
terms that the Wheel asked, it and really I asked

(29:47):
it last night, was it was more fluke and that
I don't think that this will be the new norm
for Aaron Rodgers where he's just gonna look completely flustered.
I haven't seen a defense really shake him like that,
you know, dropping Bud dupre back a couple of times
into coverage shook Rogers and blew up a couple of plays.

(30:09):
I think his pre snap reads were a little bit off,
and that's fine. You know, Michael Jordan misses shots every
once in a while. So I think it's a little
bit more of a fluky thing that that Chargers defense
was doing some really creative things pre snap that kind
of gave Rogers pause. Combined with Rogers not really being
on his a game clearly self admittedly not being on

(30:32):
his a game, that was a deadly combination. You know,
he's at his worst and the Chargers were bringing really
creative and good things, and they were a great pass
defense to begin with anyway, So I think it will
look a lot cleaner, a lot better he's at home.
It's kind of an easy defense to play against. You'll
see the crispness again from Aaron Rodgers this week. Now,

(30:54):
does that carry into the Bears game and then the
Ravens on December seventh. I don't know about that. I
don't know if we're guaranteed to never see Chargers Rogers again,
but I think we're gonna see more of the previous
week's version than last week's, more often moving forward than not.

Speaker 2 (31:10):
And I do. And he wasn't good.

Speaker 3 (31:12):
There were objectively throws that were off in decisions.

Speaker 2 (31:15):
And failing high always high. I don't know why, but
I do. But you know, if Calvin Austin makes.

Speaker 3 (31:23):
Makes that catch instead of turning an interception, which which
is nothing, clearly what was I find nothing was wrong
with that. There's no reason that had to happen. And
I'm not citing that because he misthrows. Other than that
that maybe could have interceptions. However that it just creates,
It created more negativity, It creates more of the narrative.
If John why Smith makes the catch early in the
first quarter, there that it was a bad throw, but

(31:43):
you know you're gonna.

Speaker 1 (31:45):
You're allowed to bail your quarterback out as a professional
help at all.

Speaker 3 (31:48):
I felt like by the receiving corps in general, you know,
the fade Metcalf's made and it wasn't you know, that
was good coverage. It's not no nobody's fault. But you know,
Metcalf made a play for him at some point. What
I'm saying he will.

Speaker 1 (32:02):
You can bail your quarterback out exactly. So that's what
wide receivers like him and tight ends like John who
actually are supposed to do is like, hey, it wasn't
perfect this time, a rod, It's perfect ninety nine percent
of the time. I got this one. I'll climb the
ladder and grab it, you know what I mean. I'm
dk Metcalf. I'll stiff arm two of these little boys
in the dirt and I'll catch a fade out in

(32:22):
the end zone for you.

Speaker 3 (32:23):
So yeah, and if he gets a couple more plays
made for him, with the negativity and a lot of
it isn't necessarily there. So I think, you know, if
they if the if the school group has a better
game going forward for him too, that'll actually help as well.
So I'm willing to say it was a one off.
Rinse it off, as Clint Hurdle used to say, or
wash it off, or shower it off, whatever, you have
a bad game, respeci all three of those things something.

Speaker 2 (32:46):
And why am I citing Curt? I don't know, but
I missed that man. All right, let's spin the wheel.
Oh yeah, I quick one this time, A quick hitter.
All right. This thing is getting sentient, and I don't
like it. I don't like it one bit. Will dk
Metcalf have a one hundred yard game moving forward this season?
I feel like we've expect it.

Speaker 3 (33:07):
Like my instincts is to say, oh, of course he will,
But I feel like i've I've predicted it, I've called
for it. I've said it a few times, and it
seems to be almost his production.

Speaker 2 (33:15):
He teams are getting worse and worse. No, it's going
in the office direction. So I don't know. And again,
the the he had one hundred yard game this year
against Minnesota, I.

Speaker 3 (33:26):
Was because essentially because of the adr catch, which is obviously
is the counts.

Speaker 2 (33:29):
You can't take it away.

Speaker 1 (33:30):
That was five catches, one hundred and twenty six yards
against Minnesota. He has not eclipsed one hundred yards in
a game since then. I'm sorry, but a number one
receiver getting paid thirty million dollars a year, you know,
you look at you know the salary breakdowns for receivers.
He's in the top five, if not right on the outside.
Now got up more than one game through the team's
first nine, eclipsing one hundred yards receiving. No, he did

(33:53):
have ninety five, but I'm allowed to cheat a little
bit with numbers because that's not one hundred. So I
think the answer to the question is yes, he will
have a one hundred yard game, right. That's kind of
how I want to answer it with a question, because
like it would be hard to believe that he would not.
But your point is so well taken, Chris. It's almost
like his production has gone down in recent weeks. Targets

(34:16):
going down, catches going down, I mean his worst two
games as a Steeler, no doubt, or his previous two
games two catches for six yards against the Colts was abysmal,
and then three catches on seven targets for thirty five
yards against the Chargers obviously not much better.

Speaker 3 (34:30):
And you have four games now four a nine. It's
almost half the games he has thirty five yards or
fewer if you're talking about yardage, and six of the
nine fifty five yards are fewer, and I think more
kind of alarming than the yardage even that he only
has two games where he has even five catches, and
that's the max is five catches, No No, no six
catch games, and seven of the nine games is four

(34:52):
catches are fewer. So I don't know whether it's at
this point it's the you almost it's like, oh, the
first few weeks're like, okay, well.

Speaker 2 (35:00):
That that big games.

Speaker 3 (35:01):
Comedy's still scoring touchdowns and he has made He made
the eighty yard play.

Speaker 2 (35:06):
I keep going back.

Speaker 3 (35:07):
I say it all the time because I thought it
was like we well, okay, w r one here it
is that very first play of this season that he
made was it was just simple little flip out pass
and it was third and eleven and he got the
first down by all by himself, and I was like, Okay,
now we're cooking here.

Speaker 2 (35:20):
Here go there it is.

Speaker 3 (35:22):
But I keep going back to that, and he's made,
you know, he's made he makes those catches in the
end zone which are are not not their scoring plays
that he's made. And seems like for a while there
every week he was making one of those early in
the season. There, But the fact that he's only been
targeted more than seven times once in nine games, it
only has no games again, no one with five catches,
only two with five catches, So seven to nine games

(35:44):
there four receptions are fewer that and there's a lot
lot going on, lot to unpack with that, right you
have the It goes without saying we know the number
two receivers been an issue here. The wide receiver depths
on an issue. We know that they're clearly going to
put their or best, whether they're having somebody travel with
him or not, are going to put an attention on
him because until somebody else proves it in a game,

(36:08):
whether it be Kavin Austin, whoever it might be, for
the Steelers is another number two. Even the tight end
core in terms of the splash plays, the big plays.
We know the Steelers tight ends as an aggregate at times,
although not every week, has been commensurate with like a
wide receiver two production. So there's a lot of attention
being paid to DK Metcalf. But at the same time, yes,
he's getting you know, thirty million dollars an average, a

(36:28):
real value. There's gonna be attention paid to all the
guys like that are I mean, there's a lot of
attention play to Jamar Chase and he has one hundred
catches or whatever it is already this season, halfway through
the year, and how many targets he's gonna get Sunday
when you have twenty three last time to play the Steelers.

Speaker 1 (36:42):
That's correct, sixteen catches. You don't see him come down
with a lot of combat catches either, which is weird.
You think, you know, just his build, yeah, he'd be
the best in the NFL at combat catches, but it's
not the case. He doesn't really go up there and
grab it. And I think that fade route was proof
of that. You know, he didn't even give it that
good of an effort. Honestly, he kind of got swallowed

(37:03):
up by the defenders in that play.

Speaker 2 (37:04):
And he's a mammoth of a man. I mean, he
should be overpowering, he should be like the you got
most guy in the NFL this entire career of his,
But it's just not the case.

Speaker 3 (37:15):
It's weird because he's been quicker than I like, I
just assume because its body type. And you obviously watch
Seahawks games in the past or whatever, watch id you
know he's been quicker. He's almost he almost plays like
a little like a good little receiver. It's weird, like
you know, catch yeah, but he doesn't. And he's had
a couple of those fades, and then that's I guess
that is partially due to size. So I'll give him,

(37:36):
you know, a credit for that, but it's he's not
been terrible. But yeah, for for the money and the
thing they gave up for him. They need this offense
to be good. They need him to be a lot
more productive.

Speaker 2 (37:46):
Let's get one more in here.

Speaker 1 (37:53):
Always want to make a good one in the final spin,
Keanu Benton true or false having a breakout season? Breakout season,
I'm gonna say true. He kinda put himself on the
map his rookie year. I don't want to call that
a breakout season. That's a put yourself on the map season.

(38:13):
Then his second season was wait, we kind of lost.

Speaker 2 (38:15):
You on the map season.

Speaker 1 (38:16):
It's like, are you Radiator Springs? That's a Cars movie reference.
I have a little kid at home. I'm sorry, but
it disappeared. We don't see it.

Speaker 2 (38:23):
Where are you?

Speaker 1 (38:24):
And now it's back. Now it's been rejuvenated. Lightning McQueen
has been through the town and everybody knows where it is.
Now it has become popularized dude, he's been an animal
in these past couple week.

Speaker 2 (38:34):
Ever since that Vikings game.

Speaker 1 (38:36):
You know, he kind of had you know, a couple
of games there where it wasn't you know, spectacular after Minnesota,
but he was still very good and he has you know,
moments now in games that are like whoa, he just
blew up that play big time. So yeah, I think
it's true. I think Keanu Benton is kind of breaking
out and you know, what we wanted to see from

(38:56):
him in a third season we're seeing from him.

Speaker 3 (38:59):
Yeah, he's more I think, you know, he's been disruptive.
He hasn't had that like star turn that I think
was in there, but it's probably the point where you
take what you can get. And I mean he's been
I mean, he played with Okunjobi two years, but he's
been a better he's been a better Robbin to Cam
Hayward's batman. I think now I think he's finally that
like I don't he's probably not even going to be

(39:20):
a star, which I thought was in there, and I
guess that's what I had. I probably had high expectations
for him partially taught. I mean, the organization thought they
had he had really high, our high ceiling, our higher
ceiling than this even and at this point you kind
of it's three years in. Okay, he's probably not going
to get there, but there's nothing wrong with being what
he can, what he's been this year. That doesn't mean
he's you know, a bust or disappointment or anything. If

(39:43):
you go back, yeah, six games now four and a
half sacks the past six games, eight QB hits, tackles
for lost twenty two. It was even sort of more
productive in terms of tackles. You feel like he's just
more you know, in the running game. Think about seven tackles,
seven tackles this past game, which for a defensive lineman
is a pretty good figure. So if if that's the standard,
I guess I would I should have just said yes,

(40:06):
but I had I had a higher, like again, higher ceiling,
higher expectations. Was probably might have been unfair or might
be unfair to him, but in a way to compliment
to what I think the skill set is. And you know,
we've touched on a couple of times and I always
hate to I always look ahead to things like the
offseason and where, but I mean, they're being evaluated every
week and the Benton extension situation is coming up this

(40:27):
next offseason. I'm always there's always the most fascinating part
of the off season to me is more so than who.

Speaker 2 (40:32):
They acquires, who they extend they keep.

Speaker 3 (40:33):
Yeah, yeah, when a guy's entering the final year of
his contract and and he's definitely I think you see
him now as being a long term piece in the
middle of your defense. And you know, you know, whenever
Cam Cam Heywoard have played to he was fifty seven,
maybe for on we know the way he plays. But
at some point when they place him, I don't know
if he's going to be that color bird, the multi

(40:54):
time All Pro like Cam Hayward is. But yes, I
think he can be a starter for a decade for
the Steelers in interior of the defensive line.

Speaker 2 (41:00):
All right, Chris and I come back.

Speaker 1 (41:02):
We will get to our Tomlin Tuesday tidbits and takeaways.
I got a few of them from his presser yesterday,
so we'll get into that next. It's a Steelers Butitz
on Steelers Nation Radio, part of the Steelers Audio network.
Mike Tomlin delivered his weekly press conference yesterday, and I

(41:23):
have some takeaways from the tidbits that he provided us.
So it is time now for the Steelers Blitz is
Tomlin Tuesday tidbits and takeaways. Don't interrupt me when I'm
talking about tidbits. No, it's his tidbits that I take away.

Speaker 2 (41:36):
You don't even know what we're doing on this show
half the time, apparently, God my attention. See what I see?

Speaker 3 (41:42):
It is there are tidbits off of his off of Tomlins.

Speaker 2 (41:46):
We take them away. Okay, maybe you may be right.
I don't know. I'm lashing out.

Speaker 1 (41:52):
Isaac Seamal trending in the right direction, starting with the
injury front. I hope he can play. And here's why, Chris,
I don't like musical chairs that we're playing. When it
comes to the Jumbo package without Cimalu, I don't like
putting Pete in, then taking Pete out, and then having
to bump Spencer Anderson out to tackle eligible. And I
didn't know this. And this was brought to my attention

(42:13):
by Matt Williamson, who had it brought to his attention
by Max Starks. So a little you know SNR Family.

Speaker 3 (42:22):
Later date, this is brought to my attention by Tom offerb me.
There's about the attention. He was about back starks and
maybe they'll tell somebody.

Speaker 1 (42:28):
When you are the tackle eligible, when you are the
you know, the sixth lineman, you have to go out
after that play if you want to go in the
game as guard, like you can't bump like Spencer Anderson
can't be the tackle eligible and then the very next
play bump inside. He has to sit out of play.
Pete has to be left guard, and then Spencer Anderson

(42:50):
can check back into the game as the starting left guard.

Speaker 3 (42:53):
Okay, so that makes it because I was wondering, like
because the first drive even that happened, I'm like, so Pete,
are they just rotating?

Speaker 2 (42:58):
What are they doing? Because Pete was in and there
was no jumbo right sense.

Speaker 1 (43:01):
Yes, Spencer Anderson is not allowed to jump into that
left guard spot immediately after reporting as a tackle eligible,
which makes it even more maddening to me that that's
what we're doing.

Speaker 2 (43:10):
Keep Spencer Anderson at left guard.

Speaker 1 (43:12):
Just throw the Calvin and you had a billion Anderson
throw the Calvin one out there to be the the
tackle eligible, to throw Pete out there eligible, any of them,
but Spencer Anderson, because now he's your starting left guard.

Speaker 2 (43:24):
So I hope seem long.

Speaker 1 (43:26):
Story short, I hope see them all starts and plays
and finishes the game so we don't have to do
this and Spencer Anderson could just be the jumbo.

Speaker 3 (43:32):
Yeah, it really seems like you're you're, like I said,
you're over complicating, overthinking and doing this.

Speaker 2 (43:37):
I get it, but you know, I don't know.

Speaker 3 (43:40):
I mean I because I do think his Spencer Anderson
does that well. He has a skill set that's very good.
He could move really good for being offensive lineman. But
but yeah, which just insane. And I got the impression
then that Sayamalu, last week was a you know what,
this is two games in a row. He couldn't finish.
We're not going to do this again. We're gonna sit

(44:01):
him down for an entire week. Keep stay off your
I was saying this still I think to the west
to the drive and I said, stay off your feet.
But wouln't really stay off your feet because it's an
upper body injury. But you know, stay out, just don't move.
What's just shut you down for a week? Come back
next week, turn to practice through a regular old week
like you do, which you take off. You know, at
his stage of his career. He takes off practices anyway,

(44:22):
but be ready for Sunday. I think it was always
kind of the plan was, like, you know what, we
we don't want it as much as awkward as it is,
this shuffling in and out eligible to left guard thing.
We two games in a row before that they had
to in the fourth quarter put a whole new left guard,
you know what, which just shut him down for a week.
So I think it always was the plan that say
Amala would be like, he probably could.

Speaker 2 (44:42):
Know. What I'm saying is that he probably could have
played last.

Speaker 3 (44:44):
Week, but after two weeks in a row, I'm not
finishing the game, so it's just shut him down. Yes, right,
So so I would imagine that he's on track to
play for sure on Sunday against the Bengals.

Speaker 1 (44:54):
Jalen Ramsey and Kyle Duggar have been kind of ordained
as the safety tandem moving forward by coach Tom Jalen Warren.
The comment that he made about him not a huge
fan about it.

Speaker 2 (45:05):
I'm not gonna lie.

Speaker 1 (45:07):
Uh, he can't play every snap, agreed, he shouldn't be playing.

Speaker 2 (45:11):
He shouldn't be playing less snaps maybe half.

Speaker 3 (45:14):
Yeah, nobody saying every snap but half probably reasonable.

Speaker 1 (45:18):
He shouldn't be playing less than kenth game. And then
the whole thing about how we need to be converting
third downs to kept Jalen Warren on the field, Jalen
Warns allowed to play on third down. In fact, Jalen
Warren's best on third down. He's better than Kenneth Gainwell.
I would argue that the reason why there's not good
at third on the field. Yes, if Jayla war was
on the field, they'd be better third downs. So I
rub me a little bit wrong with those comments about

(45:38):
him because you need to be playing him more. I
agree with you, coach, he cannot play every single down,
but he needs to be playing more or or put
him in his role that he was in the previous
two years, and then that'll be on the field a
lot in those third downs. Give the rookie shot on
first and second down, give Caleb Johnson the ball on
those obvious running downs. They're not gonna do that, though.

(46:00):
Put Jalen Warren on the field more in those third
down situations.

Speaker 2 (46:03):
I think it would.

Speaker 3 (46:04):
Yeah, whether it be I don't think Kaylor Johns is
a probduct gonna play third downs but in all the
more reason.

Speaker 1 (46:08):
But he was supposed to be like the one first
and second down back, and then Warren kind of stays
in his old role.

Speaker 3 (46:13):
Yeah when he takes so I just think to give
if you want to limit, which is fine, limit Warren
reps instead of doing.

Speaker 2 (46:20):
On third downs.

Speaker 3 (46:21):
Do it just to give him a whole series off.
Let him play the whole series, Let him play third
downs and then the next series. But Gainwell play if
you want every third series. However you want to divv
it up Caleb Johnson and then Warren comes on third
downs on that drive, I don't know, but give him
off a series because we saw Kenneth Gainwell when he
did play every down, was was okay with that was
the fine. Yes, the Dublin game that worked out okay,

(46:43):
So let him play. I'd rather have that happen and
let Warren play some more third downs than have Gainwell
play every third down and Warren not play at all,
like literally not play a third down staff which is
how he made himself known in this league is by
his every August second or whatever it is up a
training camp. Mike Thoma can't wait to put Warren out
there to see if one of his rookie pass rushers

(47:04):
can get past him, because he knows he's the best
of what he does right. He knows it's a it's
a five star matchup in the backs on backers up
up at a training camp because he knows how good
Warren in It is at it. And now we're not
utilizing at all.

Speaker 1 (47:17):
We'll get to what Mike Tomlins said about the mystical
nature of Joe Flacco when we need some mystical music.
Get through our second hour of the show. You're allowed
to find that stuff, Chris, there's nothing against that. I
got to worry about the royalties and all that stuff.
So we'll get into that more. But I can't wait
any longer. It's time for power rankings, baby, so we'll
do that next on Steelers Blitz on Steelers Nation Radio,

(47:37):
part of the Steelers Audio Network.