July 8, 2025 • 37 mins
What are your expectations for DK Metcalf this year? The Blitz gets to your questions of the day during Time's Yours.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Stueler and Motes are on the air. This is the
Steelers Blitz on your twenty four to seven home of
the Black and gold less and are Steelers Nation Radio?
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Good afternoon, Steelers Nation. How we do it? Well, that's good.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
It's our number two of the Steelers' Blitz here on
Steelers Nation Radio on the Steelers Audio Network. Westeler West
solo with you here today on the program. As we are,
you know, touching a lot of different bases here, we
discussed the Omar Khan extension to start the show.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Today.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
July eighth is the Steelers ninety second birthday.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Oh you getting old, Pittsburgh Steelers.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
You're approaching triple digits baby, ninety second birthday of the
Steelers today. So we've been going over some of our
favorite and least favorite memories that we've all experienced during
our time as Steelers fan. Had a lot of fun
in the previous hour talking about the good memories. Corey
Sharon a funny one of a random regular season game
(01:08):
in two thousand and two to kind of kick off
our bad memories here, and like I said, I won't
go you know, we spent we spent a while on
those happy good memories.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
I do think it's only right to.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
Kind of do the groveling thing and talk about some
of the most painful ones. But I promise I'm not
gonna spend nearly as much time on these as I
did on the good I've got three for you, all right.
Number three for me was the Browns loss at home
in the COVID Wild Card playoff game in early twenty
(01:41):
twenty one, with you know, only a couple thousand people
there in the stands. That was still, you know, at
the time, hinz Field, Marky's Pouncy's last game as a
Pittsburgh Steeler, still to this day the super Bowl for
Browns fans, right and for Baker Mayfield. Just a game
that the Steelers had no excuse to lose, but they did.
It all started off with disaster, right with Pouncy snapping
(02:04):
the ball over Ben's head that gave the Browns an
early seven to nothing lead, and then just like that,
the Steelers were down twenty eight to nothing at the
end of the first quarter. I mean, Jarvis Landry had
a forty yard touchdown, Kareem Hunt had a couple touchdown runs.
The Steelers had way too many turnovers, and all of
a sudden, it was twenty eight to nothing at the
(02:24):
end of the first quarter, thirty five to ten at halftime,
and yeah, the Steelers scored twice in the third quarter.
It made it seem like a comeback was possible, but
then Nick Chubb had a forty yard touchdown to put
the Browns right back up by three scores again early
in the fourth quarter. It was just a game that
the Steelers were chasing from the beginning and never had
(02:45):
enough time to get their.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Footing once again.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
I mean, the Steelers had over five hundred and fifty
yards of offense to Cleveland's three hundred and ninety. The
Steelers had thirty four first downs to Cleveland's twenty. The
Steelers controlled the ball for about five minutes more than Cleveland,
but the Browns had zero turnovers and the Steelers had five.
Ben Roethlisberger had four interceptions, and you're just not going
(03:12):
to win playing football that way.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
It was.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
I mean, there's a lot of similar vibes to that
playoff Divisional Round loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. There were
even some of the similar vibes of that two thousand
and two Texans game that we just discussed at the
end of the first hour. But a game that the Steelers,
you know, if they take care of the football and
don't shoot themselves in the foot, end up winning.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
But they didn't.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
And you know, because of that, the Browns were able
to have a forty eight to thirty seven win at
Heinz Field, you know, in the wild card round with
seven thousand fans there something like that. I think it
was because of the COVID restrictions. It was a rough day.
That season started out with so much promise, right, remember
(03:59):
the Steelers started ten and oh or eleven and oh.
A lot of the talk the whole year was like,
can't wait for the Steelers and the Chiefs in the
AFC Championship game. And then it had about as disappointing
of an end of a season as you can losing
at home, not just losing at home in the playoffs
to Cleveland, which would be bad enough, but having five
turnovers and feeling like you just kind of threw up
(04:21):
all over yourself and handed that game to the Browns.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Yeah, that that one was a little That one was
a little painful.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
And you know, that was I think my third year
back working for the organization, and I felt like we
really had a chance to go on and run and
do something special, and just like that, it was kind
of all over pretty quickly. My number two most painful loss,
and this is really digging back deep into the archives,
but I'm gonna go with Super Bowl thirty. And I
(04:50):
know I was only six years old when this happened. Okay,
so most of these are much more modern. Most of
these are in the twenty first century, when I was
at least a teenager or an adult. But when the
Cowboys defeated the Steelers twenty seven to seventeen Super Bowl thirty, folks,
I think it was the only time in my life
I ever saw my grandpa cry. Like no joke, I
(05:11):
still vivid as day as a six year old, remember
my grandpa in his basement in West Virginia, sitting in
his lazy boy recliner, crying as the Steelers, you know,
failed to get that sixth or to get that fifth ring,
as the Steelers lost to the stinking Cowboys of all teams.
(05:32):
As the Steelers out there in Arizona, you know again,
kind of felt like they gave one away with too
many turnovers, too many costly mistakes. Steelers had three. Steelers
again outgained the Cowboys, had ten more first downs than
the Cowboys, but the Steelers had three turnovers in Dallas
had none quite often. That's the story of the game,
and it certainly was. You know, they held EMITTT Smith
(05:56):
and check Emmitt Smith had forty nine rushing yards.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
That's it.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
Michael Irvin had five receptions for seventy five yards. Okay,
they didn't completely silence Michael Irvin, but you would have
absolutely taken that coming into the game. Five receptions, seventy
five yards, no touchdowns for Michael Irvin, forty nine yards
for Emmett Smith. You would have signed for that in
blood and said we're bringing that one for the thumb
(06:23):
back to Pittsburgh. But turnovers cost the Steelers. They fall
twenty seven to seventeen. And again it's six years old.
I wasn't really old enough to understand the pain of
a Super Bowl loss, but I was old enough to
understand the pain of my grandpa crying something that, like
I said, I think that was the only time in
my life, in his life, part of me, that I
ever saw my grandpa cry was when the Steelers lost
(06:45):
Super Bowl thirty of the Cowboys. So for me, that
one's still painful as it's number two on my list
and then number one. I mean, there's no surprise here.
If you are my age, you know where this is going.
It's the twenty and eleven Steelers Tim Tebow game twenty
(07:06):
nine to twenty three. Well, I guess technically, sorry, it
was the twenty eleven season, but it happened in early
twenty twelve. In January of twenty twelve, in the playoffs,
the Steelers fell in overtime in the wildcard to the
Broncos in Denver. That was a twelve and four Steelers
team that felt prime to go on another you know,
had just been to what two super Bowls in the
(07:26):
previous uh sorry, had just been to three super bowls.
Part of me, in like the previous six or seven years,
felt like they were primed for another run and you know,
couldn't get it done against the Broncos team that played
very well, that did exactly what they had to do
Denver to their credit. I mean, Tim Tebow played probably
(07:48):
the best game of his life three hundred and sixteen
passing yards and two touchdowns. I don't think he ever
got close to that again, two hundred and four yards
receiving for Damarius Thomas in the finest game of his
NFL career.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
I mean, it was a back and forth game.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
The Steelers got out to a lead early, the Broncos
were up fourteen at halftime. The Steelers kind of clawed
back in and tied it up. Then, of course, first
play of scrimmage from overtime Tim Tebow Damarius Thomas eighty
yard touchdown pass, which hurt even more because Ryan Clark
wasn't out there because of his sickle cell disease and
that's kind of right where they threw the ball on
(08:25):
that play. That was a tough one because that Broncos
team was a fine team, without a doubt. But with
what the Steelers had with Tim Tebow under center at Pittsburgh,
I mean they and what's a tough place to play
at Mile High Stadium in Denver two without a doubt,
(08:47):
that atmosphere, that environment, that elevation, that is one of
the true I know I've said this before many times
on this show. I said it last year when the
Steelers went to Denver in Week two. There aren't many
stadiums in the end where the Steelers don't have a
home field advantage. I mean, it's crazy, but it's true.
Most of the time, Steelers fans at least have fifty
(09:08):
percent of the crowd. But like, that's not the case
in Baltimore, that's not the case in Green Bay, that's
not the case in Philadelphia, Kansas City, you know these
other NFL cities that have football obsessed fans too. Yes,
Steelers Nation shows up at those places, but they ain't
taken over the stadium either. It's a tough road environment
for the Steelers. Denver's one of those, without a doubt,
(09:30):
the elevation, it's you know, Broncos fans are wild, they
are crazy, They've got a great atmosphere. Two still should
have never lost that game, and that one kind of
felt like the end of that era for the Steelers.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
You know, then they had a.
Speaker 3 (09:48):
Couple eight and eight seasons and then they got back
to the Killer be era where they had some success
and some good years and some division titles and some
playoff wins. Right in an AFC Championship game again, but
this one kind of felt like the end of the
you know, the run for guys like Mike Wallace and
(10:10):
Emmanuel Sanders and Lamar Woodley and Ike Taylor and Troy Polamalu,
you know, the the farriers of the world, the foots
of the world. This one kind of felt like the
end of that, the group that had been to the
three previous Super Bowls in six or seven years, and
(10:30):
that was a tough loss, a tough pill to swallow
without a doubt. And I think if you're about my age,
maybe a little bit older, a little bit younger, that's
got to be number one for you on most painful losses.
So number three was the Browns wild card loss in
twenty twenty. Number two was the Steelers loss in Super
Bowl thirty. Yes, I was just six years old, but
I still remember my grandpa crying and his lazy boy
(10:51):
like it was yesterday.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
And number one.
Speaker 3 (10:55):
Quite often, when you just have to say the Tim
Tebow game, that tells the story, right, That's all I
got to say, And everybody knows what.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
I'm talking about. The Tim Tebow game. This was fun.
Speaker 3 (11:06):
I enjoyed this on the Steelers ninety second birthday. Let's
get to something. We'll get to some of your tweets
as we roll along here. I also.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
Want to get into an interesting conversation this morning.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
I'm, you know, flipping through the I kind of have
my morning routine of I take the girls to school,
I come back home and I do a little prep
work for the show. And when I do that, I
flip through NFL Network and things like that to see what.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
They're talking about.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
Interesting conversation this morning about DK Metcalf on Good Morning
Football on the NFL Network. They had an interesting conversation
about DK Metcalf that I want to discuss and kind
of kick around when we return here on the other
side for our pen ultimate segment of today as well.
So a whole bunch for you to chime in on,
a whole bunch to get involved with if you want to,
you know where to get at me. It is The
(11:53):
Steelers Blitz on Steelers Nation Radio on the Steelers Audio Network's.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
The Steelers Glitz with Wesley Huler and Arthur Mose on
your twenty four seven home of the Black and Gold.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
As Skin are back on the Blitz here, rolling along
having some fun as we always do. It's a West
Solo week for those of you who might have missed it.
Mozi on his tropical vacation Destina chan Out of the
country here for the week with his family. So you
just got west solo. We're having some fun, We're getting
to your tweets, all those good things as we roll
(12:37):
along here, just about two weeks away from training camp.
It's happening quick, folks, It's really happening quick. I'll be
in South Carolina on vacation next week and then I'm
home for like two or three days and it's off
the training camp. So it is crazy how the summer
feels like it's basically over and we just had July
(12:59):
fourth weekend. But that is kind of the blessing and
the curse of working in this business. I've talked about
that before. I love this job and I am insanely
fortunate to do it. But even the best jobs in
the world, you know, have some downside. And yeah, the
shortened summer and the you know, lack of holiday freedom
(13:20):
are I think probably the two downsides with this great
job that I have.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
But you know what, we make it worth it.
Speaker 3 (13:26):
We make up for it, and we'll be doing that
in Hiltonhead next week as we get recharged with the family,
my full family, big huge vacation that we do every year.
Gonna be a lot of fun aunts and uncles and cousins,
and my parents and my sister, and of course my
wife and my kids.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
So I'm looking forward to it.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
I'm also looking forward to having a lot of extra
hands around help with my two young children while I
put my feet up and enjoy myself and hopefully get
a little rest. Who am I kidding? I'm already like, dude,
you're an idiot. Why did you take a vacation this
close to training camp. You're gonna come home exhausted and
then you're gonna have to go live in the dorm
rooms and be out in the in the sunshine all
(14:06):
day for the next three weeks. But such as life.
I'm still young ish, I can handle it. I'll survive.
But this week we are having some fun. We're gonna
get to some of those like we do this time
every year. Our old buddy, Jeremy Fowler, formerly covered the
Pittsburgh Steelers, now works for ESPN. You see him Sports Center,
(14:28):
Get Up, NFL Live, all the big shows on ESPN.
He's very prominent as the NFL Senior Insider, and you
know he compiles anonymous lists from NFL executives and coaches
about the top ten players at each of their position.
Jeremy has started that his running back and his defensive
tackle lists are out. We'll get to some of those
(14:49):
later on in the week. But as I mentioned before,
we went to break interesting thing caught my eye this morning,
and I, you know, I tend to do this as
I think most people who are in my business, Like,
if you're in any type of content or media business,
I don't care if it's video, if it's radio, if
it's if it's print, you know, writing, if it's something
(15:10):
that's a combination of all of those podcasting, youtubing, traditional mediums,
whatever it may be. You're always kind of looking for
content and things to talk about, and particularly this time
of year, you're maybe kind of looking around the classroom
and looking at your classmates paper a little bit right
to see what they're writing about or what answers they're
(15:31):
putting down on the screen. And this morning, i'm, you know,
I'm I'm getting the girls dropped off at daycare. I'm
back home. I'm kind of you know, having some coffee
and some breakfast and prepping out the show for today,
which I have to do a little bit more of obviously,
when it's when it's just me, which I'm in here solo,
and I'm flipping through you know, ESPN and NFL Network
(15:51):
and all those things, and I land on Good Morning
Football and they asked a question, just point blank simple.
They were going through some some af CE teams and
asking different questions, you know, throughout the hour about certain
AFC teams. You know, like one of the questions was,
is there a quarterback that's you know, who's gonna be
the quarterback that dethrones Patrick Mahomes and keeps the Chiefs,
(16:13):
you know, out of the super Bowl. One of the
quests you know, who's your favorite running back duo in
the a f C. That was one of the questions.
One of the questions was also, though, will dk Metcalf
be a top five wide receiver in the AFC this season?
And there's a couple I think important just parameters. First one,
(16:36):
it's just the AFC. So you know, guys like Justin
Jefferson and bro No Brian Thomas would count. Guys like
Justin Jefferson, Drake London, I'm on Ross Saint Brown CD
lamb Right, those kind of guys would not count as
they are in the NFC Terry mcclaurin's of the world,
AJ Brown's of the world, all those guys in the NFC.
(16:59):
So just a and then I think also it was
top five receiver, but basically kind of how you would
assess it, not just top five receiving yards, not just
top five most touchdowns, but a combination of the season
that they have. If you were to do aggregate rankings,
(17:20):
can dk metcalf be a top five receiver in the
AFC Okay, So I thought that's interesting because if you
do it, top five receiver in the entire NFL, I
think that's a tall task. I mean, there are a
lot of teams with outstanding wide receivers that their offense
is kind of built around that. You know, have quarterbacks
(17:43):
like like Joe Burrow as well too, that are going
to throw the ball fifty times a game. Guys like
Jamar Chase, like, who's insane, who is clearly the best
receiver in the NFL, who just won the Triple Crown.
I mean he had seventeen touchdowns and over seventeen hundred yards.
It's just that is stupid, Like there's no other way
to describe that than stupid.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
That's the best receiver in the NFL, Jamar Chase.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
All Right, so there's one gone already, But then you
know the other guy that you would immediately throw in
that conversation, I think would be Justin Jefferson. But if
you take the NFC out of it, you take half
the league out of it, that this becomes a very
interesting conversation to me. Can we be sitting, you know,
next off season and doing some of these bigger picture
(18:26):
or revisionist type topics and say, yeah, you know, DK
Metcalf is one of the top five receivers in the
AFC in twenty twenty five. I do think it's possible,
But there's also, I think some concerns. So automatically you
just have to talk about the other guys as well, too, right,
(18:47):
because no matter what DK Metcalf does, there's going to
be dozens of other guys in this conversation. Jamar Chase
at the top of the list, Like I just mentioned
Brian Thomas Junior, who I said his name a couple
of minutes ago. He just had an incredible season as
a rookie in Jacksonville. Does he continue to be the
focal point of that offense? But they have a new
(19:08):
head coach in Liam Cohen, what's that look like? A
lot going on with Trevor Lawrence, injuries and trade rumors.
What's that look like. Does Brian Thomas Junior take off
in Liam Cohen's offense? Does he take off in year
number two? Or does he maybe have a little bit
of a sophomore slump like we've seen from guys in
the past. You know, someone like Jerry Judy had an
(19:29):
outstanding season last year, but what does that look like
for him? With the quarterback carousel chaos that Cleveland has
going on now? I think a guy like Lad McConkey
deserves to be mentioned in this conversation. I think a
guy like Courtland Sutton deserves to be mentioned in this conversation.
But a lot of the most productive receivers in the
(19:51):
NFL last year, particularly if you take Jamar Chase and
Brian Thomas Junior out of the conversation. We're in the NFC.
Justin Jefferson, NFC, London NFC, I'm on Ross Saint Brown NFC,
Myleik Neighbors NFC, Cede Lamb NFC. Those guys were all
in the top eight of receiving yards in the NFL
last season. You also too, remember like this is top
(20:14):
five wide receivers, So I'm not including a guy like
Brock Bowers who was top ten, who was a top
ten pass catcher in the NFL last year as a
rookie tight end. This is just a wide receiver conversation
as well too.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
How do you factor in?
Speaker 3 (20:30):
You know, some guys like Puka Nikua who didn't have
Puka nakou a part of me is in the NFC
as well too, so he wouldn't even factor into this conversation.
But could someone like Tyreek Hill surprise us and jump
into this? Does T Higgins get back into this conversation
if he has a healthy season in play sixteen or
seventeen games. Last year, DK Metcalf had nine hundred and
(20:51):
ninety two yards and five touchdowns. So if I let
me pull this up for you real quick in terms
of the AFC last year, and of course I'm gonna
have to look because he played in the NFC last year.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
I know I am a genius.
Speaker 3 (21:08):
DK Metcalf had the thirteenth most receiving yards in the
NFC last year. His number in the AFC would have
been a little bit hot. He would have been right
in that twelve thirteen range as well too.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
When I look at the.
Speaker 3 (21:21):
Names that would be ahead of DK Metcalf, Nico Collins,
Calvin Ridley, Zay Flowers, Courtland Sutton, Garrett Wilson, Lad McConkie,
Jerry Judy, Brian Thomas Junior, Jamar Chase. I certainly think
that again, aside from Jamar Chase, because he is the
(21:43):
best in the world, point blank period, full stop. I
think DK Metcalf can be as good as any of
those guys. I think DK Metcalf is as good as
any of those guys. Brian Thomas Junior, I think could
could get to another if he takes that sophomore leap.
I mean, it's ridiculous what he did last year as
a rookie with a with a coach that was on
the way out the door and in a less than
(22:06):
ideal quarterback situation. But okay, even if you want to
put Brian Thomas Junior in that next to be great
conversation with like Jamar Chase and Justin Jefferson and truly
the tippy tippy tippy top of wide receivers in the
National Football League, that still leaves three more spots, and
I think it's certainly fair the DK Metcalf could and
(22:28):
maybe even should be right in the thick of things there.
He's just as good, if not better than Jerry Judy,
then Garrett Wilson, then Courtland Sutton, then Zay Flowers.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
Now the last.
Speaker 3 (22:45):
Wrinkle of this, though, that I think is important, is
what exactly does the offense look like, namely the pass
run split, because this is something Arthur Motes and I
talked about two weeks ago. We did a whole show
on this. The Jets ran the ball the least in
the NFL last year. Aaron Rodgers threw it the most.
The Steelers ran the ball the most in the NFL
last year. So there's gonna have to be some kind
(23:08):
of marriage there. Aaron Rodgers, we know he wants to
throw the football, but I think a lot of it
felt like, you know, he had to do it out
of necessity last year in New York as well too.
What does that look like in Pittsburgh with hopefully a
better run game and a better offensive line. What's that
look like in Pittsburgh with an offensive coordinator in Arthur
Smith and really a head coach in Mike Tomlin in
(23:28):
an organizational philosophy that we know believes in running the football.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
So last year I just had this year, where did
it go?
Speaker 3 (23:38):
I'm really bad at reading my notes, folks, Like my
handwriting is not great. Last year, DK Metcalf had one
hundred and eight targets. Okay, Now, for example, I'm on
Rossaint Brown at one hundred and forty one, Drake Lundon
one hundred and fifty eight, Justin Jefferson one hundred and
fifty four, Jamar Chase obviously one hundred and seventy five.
(23:58):
But even Jerry Judy won forty five, Brian Thomas Junior
one thirty three, Garrett Wilson one fifty four, Court and
Sutton one thirty five, Zay Flowers one sixteen. If that
number stays just barely over one hundred for DK Metcalf,
while a lot of these other guys are getting twenty thirty,
(24:19):
forty fifty more targets for him than him, that could
hinder him in this conversation of just top five AFC
wide receivers in twenty twenty five. But if he's healthy,
if Rogers is healthy, I think we should expect him
to at least be legitimately in that conversation by the
(24:41):
time the year ends, not saying that he'll be a
slam dunk. Oh yeah, absolutely, but you should be able
to make a good faith argument that he's a top
five wide receiver in the AFC, because again after Jamar Chase,
and even if you want to include Brian Thomas Junior
in that, which I'm kind of I think.
Speaker 2 (24:59):
We're we're we're crowning them a little too early.
Speaker 3 (25:01):
But I'm also kind of okay with it based off
of what we saw last year. That still leaves three
more spots, and it leaves you know, a lot of
talented names like t Higgins and Tyreek Hill and Garrett Wilson,
Jerry Judy, Courtland Sutton. But if Aaron Rodgers is healthy,
if DK Metcalf is healthy, if the Steelers are running
(25:21):
the ball successfully too and opening up that run game.
Speaker 2 (25:26):
I think the answer can absolutely be yes. Which I'll
be honest with you.
Speaker 3 (25:29):
When I saw when that first flashed across my TV screen,
will DK Metcalf be a top five receiver in the AFC?
My initial reaction was, Eh, probably not. I bet you
he'll be in the six to ten range, but probably not.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
Top five.
Speaker 3 (25:45):
Because in my mind, I'm automatically like, all right, well,
Jamar Chase is one. We all know that there goes
one spot already that you can't even debate, So you're
down to four.
Speaker 2 (25:52):
But when you.
Speaker 3 (25:53):
Start to look at the rest of the names, a
lot of the other guys that you would say yes to,
like like are in the NFC. I think there's a
real chance if Aaron Rodgers is healthy, if DK Metcalf
is healthy, like I said, if they run the football successfully,
the DK Metcalf could be one of the top five
receivers in the AFC this season. And before I started
(26:15):
thinking about it and breaking it all down this morning,
that was not my answer.
Speaker 2 (26:18):
So I like it.
Speaker 3 (26:19):
I like it when new information and research presents itself
and we change our opinions. I think we as a
human species can learn a lot from that simple lesson.
I gotta get to my final break. We'll close things
down with your tweets on the other side, you know
where to get at me if you want to get
involved Wes solo today. You can get your questions, comments, concerns, reactions,
thoughts in at Wesley Uler on Twitter and on x
(26:42):
You are listening to Steelers Nation Radio on the Steelers
Audio Network.
Speaker 1 (26:56):
These the Steelers Blitz with Wesley Euler and are on
your twenty four to seven home of the Black and Gold.
Speaker 3 (27:03):
Skin r final segment here of the Steelers Blitz on
a Tuesday on the Steelers ninety second Birthday on a
West Solo week. I have had some fun today with
this program. I hope you have as well too. We'll
be back on Thursday to do it again, but for now,
you know the drill.
Speaker 2 (27:22):
It's time to close.
Speaker 3 (27:23):
Up shop for today, and the way that we do
that is by going to the tweets at wesle Uler
is where you can get at me if you want
to get involved. We've got a few to get to
today before we get on up out of here. Scott
is going to lead us off with what I think
is a good question here Scott tweets it says, so,
I'm curious, what do you think Joey Porter Junior thinks
(27:43):
of the additions of Darius Slay and the Ramsey trade.
Is he still going to be a guaranteed starter? I
hope you had a good fourth looking forward to Steeler
Nation this year. Yes, I did have a great fourth
of July weekend. I spent it with my cousin and
his wife. My cousin Jared, who I referenced earlier that
I was at that twenty ten divisional round win against
(28:06):
the Ravens with He's my older cousin. He's older than
me by a few years. Him and his wife have
two daughters that are a few years older than my
two daughters, so it's always great to get together. They
live in northern Virginia and they have a pretty pretty
cool piece of property with a pool. So we just
went there for the long weekend hung out with some family.
(28:26):
My girls got to you know, play with their cousins
while I got to hang with my cousin.
Speaker 2 (28:31):
It was a lot of fun.
Speaker 3 (28:33):
So yeah, I hope everybody had a great fourth And
like I said last week on our last show, I
hope you all still have as many fingers today as
you had last week. I think Joey Porter Junior is
loving the Darius Slay and Jalen Ramsey signings and here's why.
And Motz and I talked about this a little bit
last week when we were reacting to the trade. But
I know it's the off season, you guys. I don't
(28:54):
expect you to listen to every single second of every
single show. I know people are doing vacations and traveling
and just unplugging. I gotta tell you, I've been unplugging
from the sports world for the last couple of weeks.
Speaker 2 (29:05):
It's amazing.
Speaker 3 (29:06):
I can't tell you what's going on in baseball if
it doesn't directly affect the Steelers, I can't tell you
what's going on.
Speaker 2 (29:14):
It's been a man.
Speaker 3 (29:14):
I can't tell you what's going on in baseball. I
can't tell you what's going on with the Club World
Cup and all that stuff that's happening in soccer right now.
I can't tell you what what else is going on.
Speaker 2 (29:26):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (29:27):
Is their basketball stuff happening, is their college stuff happening.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
I know there's no Olympics right now, but I am.
Speaker 3 (29:33):
This is the time of year where I really unplug
from sports, and I kind of enjoy that. So I
get it if you guys are doing that as well too,
Like if it ain't the Steelers Steelers news this time
of year, I need five six weeks. Sports are my life,
man Like, every day, every hour, the sports cycles, sports news, wins, losses, signings, trades, drama, controversy,
(29:56):
all that stuff. Like I need five or six weeks
every summer to unplug. I just do it's it's mentally
healthy and that's kind of what I'm in right now.
And so again, if some of you didn't catch all
of our conversations about Ramsey and Slay and Joey Porter
Junior and the defense, I do think I can. I
can repeat it here for a minute. Certainly, I think
Joey Porter Jr. Is loving this because with the additions
(30:19):
of Ramsey, the additions of Slay, the exit of Dante
Jackson as well to Scott, that Steelers secondary is gonna
play a lot more man de man this season than
they did last year. Then they wanted to do a
lot more man to man and I think we're gonna
see much less zone concepts from the secondary, and that
is going to fit Joey Porter Junior's skill set.
Speaker 2 (30:40):
Joey Porter Jr.
Speaker 3 (30:41):
Is a on the ball pressman, tough, physical, get your
hands on you boundary corner, and that's much more difficult
to do for him. That doesn't really play to his
skill set. When you had to play zone as often
as the Steelers did last year, I think with the
addition of Ramsey and Slay and a guy like one
Thornhill as well too, who's gonna factor into this now
(31:04):
with the absence of Dante Jackson and Mika Fitzpatrick as
well too. I think Joey Porter Junior is loving this
because he's gonna get to play a lot more Manda
Man coverage, which suits his skill set. And I think
whatever ends up happening with Ramsey and Slay and Deshaun
Elliott and one Thornhill, whoever's in the slot, whoever's as safety,
do the Steelers sign somebody. However this all plays out,
(31:27):
I don't think it's going to cut into Joey Porter's
playing time at all. In fact, I think it might
be the opposite. I think some of these decisions by
the Steelers, part of what they liked about making some
of these moves was we think we're gonna get the
best out of Joey Porter Junior by doing this as
well too, So I think he's probably excited great veterans
(31:48):
to learn from. I don't think his role is threatened,
and I think now the Steelers are going to play
a style of defense in that secondary that's gonna be
much more conducive to him having success and to playing
to his strengths as well too.
Speaker 2 (32:02):
Kelly tweets me and says.
Speaker 3 (32:04):
I know you guys don't do much fantasy football, but
I saw this being debated, and one is your thoughts.
Who do you think is going to have a better
season for the Steelers from a fantasy football perspective, Pat
Fryermouth or John hu Smith. Oh, that is an interesting question,
and Motes and I do practically know fantasy football, and
that's not because we're against it or anything. I play
(32:24):
fantasy football. I feel about fantasy football very similar to
how I feel about golf. I like it, but I
don't love it like a lot of people my age do.
I like the golf. I enjoy golfing. I go a
few times a year, but I don't love it like
a lot of people do. I don't love it like
a lot of guys, you know, working on their game
during the winter time at some of these training facilities,
(32:47):
and buying new clubs and equipment and stuff like that,
and getting swing coaches and swing doctors and working on
their stand I don't do all that. I like golf,
I don't love golf. I am not actively trying to
get better. I just I play a few times a
year and I enjoy it. That's kind of the way
I feel about fantasy football. Like I am still in
(33:10):
two fantasy football leagues, one with my family, one with
my buddies from high school.
Speaker 2 (33:14):
That's it.
Speaker 3 (33:15):
I like it, like I'm trying to do my best,
but I'm not obsessed with it. I don't spend a
bunch of time on it. I don't do a bunch
of research. I don't read a bunch of fantasy football
insiders and stuff like that. Every once in a while,
maybe two or three times a year, I text our
buddy Matt Williamson a fantasy football question, and that's about
the extent of it. But I'm willing to Hey, you
(33:35):
got questions, I got answers, And that's a really good
one because I think both of those guys have a
chance to excel with Aaron Rodgers in Arthur Smith's offense.
Speaker 2 (33:51):
I do think John U.
Speaker 3 (33:52):
Smith is a little bit more of a pure athlete
and Pats pass catcher than Pat Fryermuth, but I think
Pat Fryer Moose's overall skill set. At the same time,
you could argue would be harder to keep him off
the field when the Steelers are in eleven personnel type situations.
I would probably lean ever so slightly to John new Smith.
I mean, just he had nine hundred yards and nine
(34:14):
touchdowns last year, and I know a lot of that
was when Tua was out. He kind of became the
primary target of that offense. Tyreek Hill was banged up
at times, Jalen Wattle at times as well too, and
in Miami last year, so John new Smith kind of
became the focal point of that offense in the back
half of the season. But nine hundred yards and nine touchdowns,
I mean, he was a Pro Bowl tight end. He
had the greatest single tight end season in Miami Dolphin's history.
(34:38):
From a statistical standpoint, It's hard to bet against that guy.
I think Friar Moose numbers will be much better. But
this is one where again, like I think I could
make a good faith argument either side. If I flipped
the coin, I wouldn't be disappointed, but I will give
just like the ever select I'll go fifty one percent,
fifty five percent to John hu Smith and like forty
(35:01):
five forty nine percent to Pat Fryarmuth. Wouldn't surprise me
if the answer is Mouth. But I think John new
Smith's fantasy from a fantasy perspective again, just fantasy football.
Will Well, we'll give you a little bit more numbers
than than Mouth is going to. All right, last one
from our buddy Andrew, he says, without saying the category,
(35:24):
I need to know your top five.
Speaker 2 (35:27):
Andrew's always chiming in with the random questions this time
of year.
Speaker 3 (35:29):
I love it, Okay, So without saying the category, what
are your top five? We see like this is this
is a really good question, Andrew. But I feel like
a lot of the answers that come to my mind
right away it would be a dead giveaway. Like if
I started saying the Departed, Gladiator, Ace Ventura, Lord of
(35:53):
the Rings, Scarface, Goodfellas, you would say, oh, that's obviously movies.
If I started saying Paulamlou and Holmes, you'd be like,
wait to say those are your top five favorite Steelers?
Speaker 2 (36:11):
All right? I was trying to think.
Speaker 3 (36:12):
I was trying to bide some time there to think
of a creative one that could could leave you, could
leave you guessing.
Speaker 2 (36:17):
But without saying the category, what's your top five?
Speaker 3 (36:20):
Grateful Dead, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Oasis, and Bruce Springsteen
and the E Street Band Bang. That one shouldn't be
too difficult for you to figure out, but maybe I'll
leave you guests in there for a few seconds.
Speaker 2 (36:37):
That was fun.
Speaker 3 (36:38):
A lot of good stuff on the program today, as
as I enjoyed this edition of Wes solo, first of
two this week on the Steelers Blitz. That'll do it
for today. Happy birthday, Pittsburgh Steelers ninety two years old today.
A big thank you to everybody that tweeted it, chimed
(37:00):
in and helped me get through this solo show by myself.
I get by speaking of the Beatles, I get by
with a little help from my friends. Take care now,
bye bye. Then I'll be back to talk to you
later in the week. And as always, you know where
to find us. It's on your twenty four to seven
home of the Black and Gold. It is the Steelers
Blitz on Steelers Nation Radio on the Steelers Audio Network.
Stueler and Motes are on the air. This is the
Steelers Blitz on your twenty four to seven home of
the Black and gold less and are Steelers Nation Radio?
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Good afternoon, Steelers Nation. How we do it? Well, that's good.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
It's our number two of the Steelers' Blitz here on
Steelers Nation Radio on the Steelers Audio Network. Westeler West
solo with you here today on the program. As we are,
you know, touching a lot of different bases here, we
discussed the Omar Khan extension to start the show.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Today.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
July eighth is the Steelers ninety second birthday.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Oh you getting old, Pittsburgh Steelers.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
You're approaching triple digits baby, ninety second birthday of the
Steelers today. So we've been going over some of our
favorite and least favorite memories that we've all experienced during
our time as Steelers fan. Had a lot of fun
in the previous hour talking about the good memories. Corey
Sharon a funny one of a random regular season game
(01:08):
in two thousand and two to kind of kick off
our bad memories here, and like I said, I won't
go you know, we spent we spent a while on
those happy good memories.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
I do think it's only right to.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
Kind of do the groveling thing and talk about some
of the most painful ones. But I promise I'm not
gonna spend nearly as much time on these as I
did on the good I've got three for you, all right.
Number three for me was the Browns loss at home
in the COVID Wild Card playoff game in early twenty
(01:41):
twenty one, with you know, only a couple thousand people
there in the stands. That was still, you know, at
the time, hinz Field, Marky's Pouncy's last game as a
Pittsburgh Steeler, still to this day the super Bowl for
Browns fans, right and for Baker Mayfield. Just a game
that the Steelers had no excuse to lose, but they did.
It all started off with disaster, right with Pouncy snapping
(02:04):
the ball over Ben's head that gave the Browns an
early seven to nothing lead, and then just like that,
the Steelers were down twenty eight to nothing at the
end of the first quarter. I mean, Jarvis Landry had
a forty yard touchdown, Kareem Hunt had a couple touchdown runs.
The Steelers had way too many turnovers, and all of
a sudden, it was twenty eight to nothing at the
(02:24):
end of the first quarter, thirty five to ten at halftime,
and yeah, the Steelers scored twice in the third quarter.
It made it seem like a comeback was possible, but
then Nick Chubb had a forty yard touchdown to put
the Browns right back up by three scores again early
in the fourth quarter. It was just a game that
the Steelers were chasing from the beginning and never had
(02:45):
enough time to get their.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Footing once again.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
I mean, the Steelers had over five hundred and fifty
yards of offense to Cleveland's three hundred and ninety. The
Steelers had thirty four first downs to Cleveland's twenty. The
Steelers controlled the ball for about five minutes more than Cleveland,
but the Browns had zero turnovers and the Steelers had five.
Ben Roethlisberger had four interceptions, and you're just not going
(03:12):
to win playing football that way.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
It was.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
I mean, there's a lot of similar vibes to that
playoff Divisional Round loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. There were
even some of the similar vibes of that two thousand
and two Texans game that we just discussed at the
end of the first hour. But a game that the Steelers,
you know, if they take care of the football and
don't shoot themselves in the foot, end up winning.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
But they didn't.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
And you know, because of that, the Browns were able
to have a forty eight to thirty seven win at
Heinz Field, you know, in the wild card round with
seven thousand fans there something like that. I think it
was because of the COVID restrictions. It was a rough day.
That season started out with so much promise, right, remember
(03:59):
the Steelers started ten and oh or eleven and oh.
A lot of the talk the whole year was like,
can't wait for the Steelers and the Chiefs in the
AFC Championship game. And then it had about as disappointing
of an end of a season as you can losing
at home, not just losing at home in the playoffs
to Cleveland, which would be bad enough, but having five
turnovers and feeling like you just kind of threw up
(04:21):
all over yourself and handed that game to the Browns.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Yeah, that that one was a little That one was
a little painful.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
And you know, that was I think my third year
back working for the organization, and I felt like we
really had a chance to go on and run and
do something special, and just like that, it was kind
of all over pretty quickly. My number two most painful loss,
and this is really digging back deep into the archives,
but I'm gonna go with Super Bowl thirty. And I
(04:50):
know I was only six years old when this happened. Okay,
so most of these are much more modern. Most of
these are in the twenty first century, when I was
at least a teenager or an adult. But when the
Cowboys defeated the Steelers twenty seven to seventeen Super Bowl thirty, folks,
I think it was the only time in my life
I ever saw my grandpa cry. Like no joke, I
(05:11):
still vivid as day as a six year old, remember
my grandpa in his basement in West Virginia, sitting in
his lazy boy recliner, crying as the Steelers, you know,
failed to get that sixth or to get that fifth ring,
as the Steelers lost to the stinking Cowboys of all teams.
(05:32):
As the Steelers out there in Arizona, you know again,
kind of felt like they gave one away with too
many turnovers, too many costly mistakes. Steelers had three. Steelers
again outgained the Cowboys, had ten more first downs than
the Cowboys, but the Steelers had three turnovers in Dallas
had none quite often. That's the story of the game,
and it certainly was. You know, they held EMITTT Smith
(05:56):
and check Emmitt Smith had forty nine rushing yards.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
That's it.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
Michael Irvin had five receptions for seventy five yards. Okay,
they didn't completely silence Michael Irvin, but you would have
absolutely taken that coming into the game. Five receptions, seventy
five yards, no touchdowns for Michael Irvin, forty nine yards
for Emmett Smith. You would have signed for that in
blood and said we're bringing that one for the thumb
(06:23):
back to Pittsburgh. But turnovers cost the Steelers. They fall
twenty seven to seventeen. And again it's six years old.
I wasn't really old enough to understand the pain of
a Super Bowl loss, but I was old enough to
understand the pain of my grandpa crying something that, like
I said, I think that was the only time in
my life, in his life, part of me, that I
ever saw my grandpa cry was when the Steelers lost
(06:45):
Super Bowl thirty of the Cowboys. So for me, that
one's still painful as it's number two on my list
and then number one. I mean, there's no surprise here.
If you are my age, you know where this is going.
It's the twenty and eleven Steelers Tim Tebow game twenty
(07:06):
nine to twenty three. Well, I guess technically, sorry, it
was the twenty eleven season, but it happened in early
twenty twelve. In January of twenty twelve, in the playoffs,
the Steelers fell in overtime in the wildcard to the
Broncos in Denver. That was a twelve and four Steelers
team that felt prime to go on another you know,
had just been to what two super Bowls in the
(07:26):
previous uh sorry, had just been to three super bowls.
Part of me, in like the previous six or seven years,
felt like they were primed for another run and you know,
couldn't get it done against the Broncos team that played
very well, that did exactly what they had to do
Denver to their credit. I mean, Tim Tebow played probably
(07:48):
the best game of his life three hundred and sixteen
passing yards and two touchdowns. I don't think he ever
got close to that again, two hundred and four yards
receiving for Damarius Thomas in the finest game of his
NFL career.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
I mean, it was a back and forth game.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
The Steelers got out to a lead early, the Broncos
were up fourteen at halftime. The Steelers kind of clawed
back in and tied it up. Then, of course, first
play of scrimmage from overtime Tim Tebow Damarius Thomas eighty
yard touchdown pass, which hurt even more because Ryan Clark
wasn't out there because of his sickle cell disease and
that's kind of right where they threw the ball on
(08:25):
that play. That was a tough one because that Broncos
team was a fine team, without a doubt. But with
what the Steelers had with Tim Tebow under center at Pittsburgh,
I mean they and what's a tough place to play
at Mile High Stadium in Denver two without a doubt,
(08:47):
that atmosphere, that environment, that elevation, that is one of
the true I know I've said this before many times
on this show. I said it last year when the
Steelers went to Denver in Week two. There aren't many
stadiums in the end where the Steelers don't have a
home field advantage. I mean, it's crazy, but it's true.
Most of the time, Steelers fans at least have fifty
(09:08):
percent of the crowd. But like, that's not the case
in Baltimore, that's not the case in Green Bay, that's
not the case in Philadelphia, Kansas City, you know these
other NFL cities that have football obsessed fans too. Yes,
Steelers Nation shows up at those places, but they ain't
taken over the stadium either. It's a tough road environment
for the Steelers. Denver's one of those, without a doubt,
(09:30):
the elevation, it's you know, Broncos fans are wild, they
are crazy, They've got a great atmosphere. Two still should
have never lost that game, and that one kind of
felt like the end of that era for the Steelers.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
You know, then they had a.
Speaker 3 (09:48):
Couple eight and eight seasons and then they got back
to the Killer be era where they had some success
and some good years and some division titles and some
playoff wins. Right in an AFC Championship game again, but
this one kind of felt like the end of the
you know, the run for guys like Mike Wallace and
(10:10):
Emmanuel Sanders and Lamar Woodley and Ike Taylor and Troy Polamalu,
you know, the the farriers of the world, the foots
of the world. This one kind of felt like the
end of that, the group that had been to the
three previous Super Bowls in six or seven years, and
(10:30):
that was a tough loss, a tough pill to swallow
without a doubt. And I think if you're about my age,
maybe a little bit older, a little bit younger, that's
got to be number one for you on most painful losses.
So number three was the Browns wild card loss in
twenty twenty. Number two was the Steelers loss in Super
Bowl thirty. Yes, I was just six years old, but
I still remember my grandpa crying and his lazy boy
(10:51):
like it was yesterday.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
And number one.
Speaker 3 (10:55):
Quite often, when you just have to say the Tim
Tebow game, that tells the story, right, That's all I
got to say, And everybody knows what.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
I'm talking about. The Tim Tebow game. This was fun.
Speaker 3 (11:06):
I enjoyed this on the Steelers ninety second birthday. Let's
get to something. We'll get to some of your tweets
as we roll along here. I also.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
Want to get into an interesting conversation this morning.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
I'm, you know, flipping through the I kind of have
my morning routine of I take the girls to school,
I come back home and I do a little prep
work for the show. And when I do that, I
flip through NFL Network and things like that to see what.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
They're talking about.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
Interesting conversation this morning about DK Metcalf on Good Morning
Football on the NFL Network. They had an interesting conversation
about DK Metcalf that I want to discuss and kind
of kick around when we return here on the other
side for our pen ultimate segment of today as well.
So a whole bunch for you to chime in on,
a whole bunch to get involved with if you want to,
you know where to get at me. It is The
(11:53):
Steelers Blitz on Steelers Nation Radio on the Steelers Audio Network's.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
The Steelers Glitz with Wesley Huler and Arthur Mose on
your twenty four seven home of the Black and Gold.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
As Skin are back on the Blitz here, rolling along
having some fun as we always do. It's a West
Solo week for those of you who might have missed it.
Mozi on his tropical vacation Destina chan Out of the
country here for the week with his family. So you
just got west solo. We're having some fun, We're getting
to your tweets, all those good things as we roll
(12:37):
along here, just about two weeks away from training camp.
It's happening quick, folks, It's really happening quick. I'll be
in South Carolina on vacation next week and then I'm
home for like two or three days and it's off
the training camp. So it is crazy how the summer
feels like it's basically over and we just had July
(12:59):
fourth weekend. But that is kind of the blessing and
the curse of working in this business. I've talked about
that before. I love this job and I am insanely
fortunate to do it. But even the best jobs in
the world, you know, have some downside. And yeah, the
shortened summer and the you know, lack of holiday freedom
(13:20):
are I think probably the two downsides with this great
job that I have.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
But you know what, we make it worth it.
Speaker 3 (13:26):
We make up for it, and we'll be doing that
in Hiltonhead next week as we get recharged with the family,
my full family, big huge vacation that we do every year.
Gonna be a lot of fun aunts and uncles and cousins,
and my parents and my sister, and of course my
wife and my kids.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
So I'm looking forward to it.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
I'm also looking forward to having a lot of extra
hands around help with my two young children while I
put my feet up and enjoy myself and hopefully get
a little rest. Who am I kidding? I'm already like, dude,
you're an idiot. Why did you take a vacation this
close to training camp. You're gonna come home exhausted and
then you're gonna have to go live in the dorm
rooms and be out in the in the sunshine all
(14:06):
day for the next three weeks. But such as life.
I'm still young ish, I can handle it. I'll survive.
But this week we are having some fun. We're gonna
get to some of those like we do this time
every year. Our old buddy, Jeremy Fowler, formerly covered the
Pittsburgh Steelers, now works for ESPN. You see him Sports Center,
(14:28):
Get Up, NFL Live, all the big shows on ESPN.
He's very prominent as the NFL Senior Insider, and you
know he compiles anonymous lists from NFL executives and coaches
about the top ten players at each of their position.
Jeremy has started that his running back and his defensive
tackle lists are out. We'll get to some of those
(14:49):
later on in the week. But as I mentioned before,
we went to break interesting thing caught my eye this morning,
and I, you know, I tend to do this as
I think most people who are in my business, Like,
if you're in any type of content or media business,
I don't care if it's video, if it's radio, if
it's if it's print, you know, writing, if it's something
(15:10):
that's a combination of all of those podcasting, youtubing, traditional mediums,
whatever it may be. You're always kind of looking for
content and things to talk about, and particularly this time
of year, you're maybe kind of looking around the classroom
and looking at your classmates paper a little bit right
to see what they're writing about or what answers they're
(15:31):
putting down on the screen. And this morning, i'm, you know,
I'm I'm getting the girls dropped off at daycare. I'm
back home. I'm kind of you know, having some coffee
and some breakfast and prepping out the show for today,
which I have to do a little bit more of obviously,
when it's when it's just me, which I'm in here solo,
and I'm flipping through you know, ESPN and NFL Network
(15:51):
and all those things, and I land on Good Morning
Football and they asked a question, just point blank simple.
They were going through some some af CE teams and
asking different questions, you know, throughout the hour about certain
AFC teams. You know, like one of the questions was,
is there a quarterback that's you know, who's gonna be
the quarterback that dethrones Patrick Mahomes and keeps the Chiefs,
(16:13):
you know, out of the super Bowl. One of the
quests you know, who's your favorite running back duo in
the a f C. That was one of the questions.
One of the questions was also, though, will dk Metcalf
be a top five wide receiver in the AFC this season?
And there's a couple I think important just parameters. First one,
(16:36):
it's just the AFC. So you know, guys like Justin
Jefferson and bro No Brian Thomas would count. Guys like
Justin Jefferson, Drake London, I'm on Ross Saint Brown CD
lamb Right, those kind of guys would not count as
they are in the NFC Terry mcclaurin's of the world,
AJ Brown's of the world, all those guys in the NFC.
(16:59):
So just a and then I think also it was
top five receiver, but basically kind of how you would
assess it, not just top five receiving yards, not just
top five most touchdowns, but a combination of the season
that they have. If you were to do aggregate rankings,
(17:20):
can dk metcalf be a top five receiver in the
AFC Okay, So I thought that's interesting because if you
do it, top five receiver in the entire NFL, I
think that's a tall task. I mean, there are a
lot of teams with outstanding wide receivers that their offense
is kind of built around that. You know, have quarterbacks
(17:43):
like like Joe Burrow as well too, that are going
to throw the ball fifty times a game. Guys like
Jamar Chase, like, who's insane, who is clearly the best
receiver in the NFL, who just won the Triple Crown.
I mean he had seventeen touchdowns and over seventeen hundred yards.
It's just that is stupid, Like there's no other way
to describe that than stupid.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
That's the best receiver in the NFL, Jamar Chase.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
All Right, so there's one gone already, But then you
know the other guy that you would immediately throw in
that conversation, I think would be Justin Jefferson. But if
you take the NFC out of it, you take half
the league out of it, that this becomes a very
interesting conversation to me. Can we be sitting, you know,
next off season and doing some of these bigger picture
(18:26):
or revisionist type topics and say, yeah, you know, DK
Metcalf is one of the top five receivers in the
AFC in twenty twenty five. I do think it's possible,
But there's also, I think some concerns. So automatically you
just have to talk about the other guys as well, too, right,
(18:47):
because no matter what DK Metcalf does, there's going to
be dozens of other guys in this conversation. Jamar Chase
at the top of the list, Like I just mentioned
Brian Thomas Junior, who I said his name a couple
of minutes ago. He just had an incredible season as
a rookie in Jacksonville. Does he continue to be the
focal point of that offense? But they have a new
(19:08):
head coach in Liam Cohen, what's that look like? A
lot going on with Trevor Lawrence, injuries and trade rumors.
What's that look like. Does Brian Thomas Junior take off
in Liam Cohen's offense? Does he take off in year
number two? Or does he maybe have a little bit
of a sophomore slump like we've seen from guys in
the past. You know, someone like Jerry Judy had an
(19:29):
outstanding season last year, but what does that look like
for him? With the quarterback carousel chaos that Cleveland has
going on now? I think a guy like Lad McConkey
deserves to be mentioned in this conversation. I think a
guy like Courtland Sutton deserves to be mentioned in this conversation.
But a lot of the most productive receivers in the
(19:51):
NFL last year, particularly if you take Jamar Chase and
Brian Thomas Junior out of the conversation. We're in the NFC.
Justin Jefferson, NFC, London NFC, I'm on Ross Saint Brown NFC,
Myleik Neighbors NFC, Cede Lamb NFC. Those guys were all
in the top eight of receiving yards in the NFL
last season. You also too, remember like this is top
(20:14):
five wide receivers, So I'm not including a guy like
Brock Bowers who was top ten, who was a top
ten pass catcher in the NFL last year as a
rookie tight end. This is just a wide receiver conversation
as well too.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
How do you factor in?
Speaker 3 (20:30):
You know, some guys like Puka Nikua who didn't have
Puka nakou a part of me is in the NFC
as well too, so he wouldn't even factor into this conversation.
But could someone like Tyreek Hill surprise us and jump
into this? Does T Higgins get back into this conversation
if he has a healthy season in play sixteen or
seventeen games. Last year, DK Metcalf had nine hundred and
(20:51):
ninety two yards and five touchdowns. So if I let
me pull this up for you real quick in terms
of the AFC last year, and of course I'm gonna
have to look because he played in the NFC last year.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
I know I am a genius.
Speaker 3 (21:08):
DK Metcalf had the thirteenth most receiving yards in the
NFC last year. His number in the AFC would have
been a little bit hot. He would have been right
in that twelve thirteen range as well too.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
When I look at the.
Speaker 3 (21:21):
Names that would be ahead of DK Metcalf, Nico Collins,
Calvin Ridley, Zay Flowers, Courtland Sutton, Garrett Wilson, Lad McConkie,
Jerry Judy, Brian Thomas Junior, Jamar Chase. I certainly think
that again, aside from Jamar Chase, because he is the
(21:43):
best in the world, point blank period, full stop. I
think DK Metcalf can be as good as any of
those guys. I think DK Metcalf is as good as
any of those guys. Brian Thomas Junior, I think could
could get to another if he takes that sophomore leap.
I mean, it's ridiculous what he did last year as
a rookie with a with a coach that was on
the way out the door and in a less than
(22:06):
ideal quarterback situation. But okay, even if you want to
put Brian Thomas Junior in that next to be great
conversation with like Jamar Chase and Justin Jefferson and truly
the tippy tippy tippy top of wide receivers in the
National Football League, that still leaves three more spots, and
I think it's certainly fair the DK Metcalf could and
(22:28):
maybe even should be right in the thick of things there.
He's just as good, if not better than Jerry Judy,
then Garrett Wilson, then Courtland Sutton, then Zay Flowers.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
Now the last.
Speaker 3 (22:45):
Wrinkle of this, though, that I think is important, is
what exactly does the offense look like, namely the pass
run split, because this is something Arthur Motes and I
talked about two weeks ago. We did a whole show
on this. The Jets ran the ball the least in
the NFL last year. Aaron Rodgers threw it the most.
The Steelers ran the ball the most in the NFL
last year. So there's gonna have to be some kind
(23:08):
of marriage there. Aaron Rodgers, we know he wants to
throw the football, but I think a lot of it
felt like, you know, he had to do it out
of necessity last year in New York as well too.
What does that look like in Pittsburgh with hopefully a
better run game and a better offensive line. What's that
look like in Pittsburgh with an offensive coordinator in Arthur
Smith and really a head coach in Mike Tomlin in
(23:28):
an organizational philosophy that we know believes in running the football.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
So last year I just had this year, where did
it go?
Speaker 3 (23:38):
I'm really bad at reading my notes, folks, Like my
handwriting is not great. Last year, DK Metcalf had one
hundred and eight targets. Okay, Now, for example, I'm on
Rossaint Brown at one hundred and forty one, Drake Lundon
one hundred and fifty eight, Justin Jefferson one hundred and
fifty four, Jamar Chase obviously one hundred and seventy five.
(23:58):
But even Jerry Judy won forty five, Brian Thomas Junior
one thirty three, Garrett Wilson one fifty four, Court and
Sutton one thirty five, Zay Flowers one sixteen. If that
number stays just barely over one hundred for DK Metcalf,
while a lot of these other guys are getting twenty thirty,
(24:19):
forty fifty more targets for him than him, that could
hinder him in this conversation of just top five AFC
wide receivers in twenty twenty five. But if he's healthy,
if Rogers is healthy, I think we should expect him
to at least be legitimately in that conversation by the
(24:41):
time the year ends, not saying that he'll be a
slam dunk. Oh yeah, absolutely, but you should be able
to make a good faith argument that he's a top
five wide receiver in the AFC, because again after Jamar Chase,
and even if you want to include Brian Thomas Junior
in that, which I'm kind of I think.
Speaker 2 (24:59):
We're we're we're crowning them a little too early.
Speaker 3 (25:01):
But I'm also kind of okay with it based off
of what we saw last year. That still leaves three
more spots, and it leaves you know, a lot of
talented names like t Higgins and Tyreek Hill and Garrett Wilson,
Jerry Judy, Courtland Sutton. But if Aaron Rodgers is healthy,
if DK Metcalf is healthy, if the Steelers are running
(25:21):
the ball successfully too and opening up that run game.
Speaker 2 (25:26):
I think the answer can absolutely be yes. Which I'll
be honest with you.
Speaker 3 (25:29):
When I saw when that first flashed across my TV screen,
will DK Metcalf be a top five receiver in the AFC?
My initial reaction was, Eh, probably not. I bet you
he'll be in the six to ten range, but probably not.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
Top five.
Speaker 3 (25:45):
Because in my mind, I'm automatically like, all right, well,
Jamar Chase is one. We all know that there goes
one spot already that you can't even debate, So you're
down to four.
Speaker 2 (25:52):
But when you.
Speaker 3 (25:53):
Start to look at the rest of the names, a
lot of the other guys that you would say yes to,
like like are in the NFC. I think there's a
real chance if Aaron Rodgers is healthy, if DK Metcalf
is healthy, like I said, if they run the football successfully,
the DK Metcalf could be one of the top five
receivers in the AFC this season. And before I started
(26:15):
thinking about it and breaking it all down this morning,
that was not my answer.
Speaker 2 (26:18):
So I like it.
Speaker 3 (26:19):
I like it when new information and research presents itself
and we change our opinions. I think we as a
human species can learn a lot from that simple lesson.
I gotta get to my final break. We'll close things
down with your tweets on the other side, you know
where to get at me if you want to get
involved Wes solo today. You can get your questions, comments, concerns, reactions,
thoughts in at Wesley Uler on Twitter and on x
(26:42):
You are listening to Steelers Nation Radio on the Steelers
Audio Network.
Speaker 1 (26:56):
These the Steelers Blitz with Wesley Euler and are on
your twenty four to seven home of the Black and Gold.
Speaker 3 (27:03):
Skin r final segment here of the Steelers Blitz on
a Tuesday on the Steelers ninety second Birthday on a
West Solo week. I have had some fun today with
this program. I hope you have as well too. We'll
be back on Thursday to do it again, but for now,
you know the drill.
Speaker 2 (27:22):
It's time to close.
Speaker 3 (27:23):
Up shop for today, and the way that we do
that is by going to the tweets at wesle Uler
is where you can get at me if you want
to get involved. We've got a few to get to
today before we get on up out of here. Scott
is going to lead us off with what I think
is a good question here Scott tweets it says, so,
I'm curious, what do you think Joey Porter Junior thinks
(27:43):
of the additions of Darius Slay and the Ramsey trade.
Is he still going to be a guaranteed starter? I
hope you had a good fourth looking forward to Steeler
Nation this year. Yes, I did have a great fourth
of July weekend. I spent it with my cousin and
his wife. My cousin Jared, who I referenced earlier that
I was at that twenty ten divisional round win against
(28:06):
the Ravens with He's my older cousin. He's older than
me by a few years. Him and his wife have
two daughters that are a few years older than my
two daughters, so it's always great to get together. They
live in northern Virginia and they have a pretty pretty
cool piece of property with a pool. So we just
went there for the long weekend hung out with some family.
(28:26):
My girls got to you know, play with their cousins
while I got to hang with my cousin.
Speaker 2 (28:31):
It was a lot of fun.
Speaker 3 (28:33):
So yeah, I hope everybody had a great fourth And
like I said last week on our last show, I
hope you all still have as many fingers today as
you had last week. I think Joey Porter Junior is
loving the Darius Slay and Jalen Ramsey signings and here's why.
And Motz and I talked about this a little bit
last week when we were reacting to the trade. But
I know it's the off season, you guys. I don't
(28:54):
expect you to listen to every single second of every
single show. I know people are doing vacations and traveling
and just unplugging. I gotta tell you, I've been unplugging
from the sports world for the last couple of weeks.
Speaker 2 (29:05):
It's amazing.
Speaker 3 (29:06):
I can't tell you what's going on in baseball if
it doesn't directly affect the Steelers, I can't tell you
what's going on.
Speaker 2 (29:14):
It's been a man.
Speaker 3 (29:14):
I can't tell you what's going on in baseball. I
can't tell you what's going on with the Club World
Cup and all that stuff that's happening in soccer right now.
I can't tell you what what else is going on.
Speaker 2 (29:26):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (29:27):
Is their basketball stuff happening, is their college stuff happening.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
I know there's no Olympics right now, but I am.
Speaker 3 (29:33):
This is the time of year where I really unplug
from sports, and I kind of enjoy that. So I
get it if you guys are doing that as well too,
Like if it ain't the Steelers Steelers news this time
of year, I need five six weeks. Sports are my life,
man Like, every day, every hour, the sports cycles, sports news, wins, losses, signings, trades, drama, controversy,
(29:56):
all that stuff. Like I need five or six weeks
every summer to unplug. I just do it's it's mentally
healthy and that's kind of what I'm in right now.
And so again, if some of you didn't catch all
of our conversations about Ramsey and Slay and Joey Porter
Junior and the defense, I do think I can. I
can repeat it here for a minute. Certainly, I think
Joey Porter Jr. Is loving this because with the additions
(30:19):
of Ramsey, the additions of Slay, the exit of Dante
Jackson as well to Scott, that Steelers secondary is gonna
play a lot more man de man this season than
they did last year. Then they wanted to do a
lot more man to man and I think we're gonna
see much less zone concepts from the secondary, and that
is going to fit Joey Porter Junior's skill set.
Speaker 2 (30:40):
Joey Porter Jr.
Speaker 3 (30:41):
Is a on the ball pressman, tough, physical, get your
hands on you boundary corner, and that's much more difficult
to do for him. That doesn't really play to his
skill set. When you had to play zone as often
as the Steelers did last year, I think with the
addition of Ramsey and Slay and a guy like one
Thornhill as well too, who's gonna factor into this now
(31:04):
with the absence of Dante Jackson and Mika Fitzpatrick as
well too. I think Joey Porter Junior is loving this
because he's gonna get to play a lot more Manda
Man coverage, which suits his skill set. And I think
whatever ends up happening with Ramsey and Slay and Deshaun
Elliott and one Thornhill, whoever's in the slot, whoever's as safety,
do the Steelers sign somebody. However this all plays out,
(31:27):
I don't think it's going to cut into Joey Porter's
playing time at all. In fact, I think it might
be the opposite. I think some of these decisions by
the Steelers, part of what they liked about making some
of these moves was we think we're gonna get the
best out of Joey Porter Junior by doing this as
well too, So I think he's probably excited great veterans
(31:48):
to learn from. I don't think his role is threatened,
and I think now the Steelers are going to play
a style of defense in that secondary that's gonna be
much more conducive to him having success and to playing
to his strengths as well too.
Speaker 2 (32:02):
Kelly tweets me and says.
Speaker 3 (32:04):
I know you guys don't do much fantasy football, but
I saw this being debated, and one is your thoughts.
Who do you think is going to have a better
season for the Steelers from a fantasy football perspective, Pat
Fryermouth or John hu Smith. Oh, that is an interesting question,
and Motes and I do practically know fantasy football, and
that's not because we're against it or anything. I play
(32:24):
fantasy football. I feel about fantasy football very similar to
how I feel about golf. I like it, but I
don't love it like a lot of people my age do.
I like the golf. I enjoy golfing. I go a
few times a year, but I don't love it like
a lot of people do. I don't love it like
a lot of guys, you know, working on their game
during the winter time at some of these training facilities,
(32:47):
and buying new clubs and equipment and stuff like that,
and getting swing coaches and swing doctors and working on
their stand I don't do all that. I like golf,
I don't love golf. I am not actively trying to
get better. I just I play a few times a
year and I enjoy it. That's kind of the way
I feel about fantasy football. Like I am still in
(33:10):
two fantasy football leagues, one with my family, one with
my buddies from high school.
Speaker 2 (33:14):
That's it.
Speaker 3 (33:15):
I like it, like I'm trying to do my best,
but I'm not obsessed with it. I don't spend a
bunch of time on it. I don't do a bunch
of research. I don't read a bunch of fantasy football
insiders and stuff like that. Every once in a while,
maybe two or three times a year, I text our
buddy Matt Williamson a fantasy football question, and that's about
the extent of it. But I'm willing to Hey, you
(33:35):
got questions, I got answers, And that's a really good
one because I think both of those guys have a
chance to excel with Aaron Rodgers in Arthur Smith's offense.
Speaker 2 (33:51):
I do think John U.
Speaker 3 (33:52):
Smith is a little bit more of a pure athlete
and Pats pass catcher than Pat Fryermuth, but I think
Pat Fryer Moose's overall skill set. At the same time,
you could argue would be harder to keep him off
the field when the Steelers are in eleven personnel type situations.
I would probably lean ever so slightly to John new Smith.
I mean, just he had nine hundred yards and nine
(34:14):
touchdowns last year, and I know a lot of that
was when Tua was out. He kind of became the
primary target of that offense. Tyreek Hill was banged up
at times, Jalen Wattle at times as well too, and
in Miami last year, so John new Smith kind of
became the focal point of that offense in the back
half of the season. But nine hundred yards and nine touchdowns,
I mean, he was a Pro Bowl tight end. He
had the greatest single tight end season in Miami Dolphin's history.
(34:38):
From a statistical standpoint, It's hard to bet against that guy.
I think Friar Moose numbers will be much better. But
this is one where again, like I think I could
make a good faith argument either side. If I flipped
the coin, I wouldn't be disappointed, but I will give
just like the ever select I'll go fifty one percent,
fifty five percent to John hu Smith and like forty
(35:01):
five forty nine percent to Pat Fryarmuth. Wouldn't surprise me
if the answer is Mouth. But I think John new
Smith's fantasy from a fantasy perspective again, just fantasy football.
Will Well, we'll give you a little bit more numbers
than than Mouth is going to. All right, last one
from our buddy Andrew, he says, without saying the category,
(35:24):
I need to know your top five.
Speaker 2 (35:27):
Andrew's always chiming in with the random questions this time
of year.
Speaker 3 (35:29):
I love it, Okay, So without saying the category, what
are your top five? We see like this is this
is a really good question, Andrew. But I feel like
a lot of the answers that come to my mind
right away it would be a dead giveaway. Like if
I started saying the Departed, Gladiator, Ace Ventura, Lord of
(35:53):
the Rings, Scarface, Goodfellas, you would say, oh, that's obviously movies.
If I started saying Paulamlou and Holmes, you'd be like,
wait to say those are your top five favorite Steelers?
Speaker 2 (36:11):
All right? I was trying to think.
Speaker 3 (36:12):
I was trying to bide some time there to think
of a creative one that could could leave you, could
leave you guessing.
Speaker 2 (36:17):
But without saying the category, what's your top five?
Speaker 3 (36:20):
Grateful Dead, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Oasis, and Bruce Springsteen
and the E Street Band Bang. That one shouldn't be
too difficult for you to figure out, but maybe I'll
leave you guests in there for a few seconds.
Speaker 2 (36:37):
That was fun.
Speaker 3 (36:38):
A lot of good stuff on the program today, as
as I enjoyed this edition of Wes solo, first of
two this week on the Steelers Blitz. That'll do it
for today. Happy birthday, Pittsburgh Steelers ninety two years old today.
A big thank you to everybody that tweeted it, chimed
(37:00):
in and helped me get through this solo show by myself.
I get by speaking of the Beatles, I get by
with a little help from my friends. Take care now,
bye bye. Then I'll be back to talk to you
later in the week. And as always, you know where
to find us. It's on your twenty four to seven
home of the Black and Gold. It is the Steelers
Blitz on Steelers Nation Radio on the Steelers Audio Network.
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