December 5, 2022 • 40 mins
Missi Matthews, Bill Hillgrove, Max Starks, and Craig Wolfley recap the Steelers win over the Falcons on Sunday in Atlanta.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Point After on w d V Pittsburgh,
brought to you by Parks Casino. The entire Steelers radio
broadcast team is here to break down the last game.
Here's your host, Missy Matthews. If I could share a
story like this morning, me and and went to my
dad's grave and you know, we got to share a
moment there, and so I was pretty emotional when you know,
(00:25):
he got the touchdown. Uh. I don't like to be
Mr Sappy, but like that, that like really hit me.
Luckily there wasn't a camera on me because I was
a messing. Everybody. Welcome to the point After. Our first
segment tonight is brought to you by Brian Patton and associates.
It's all about the benefits and Missy Matthews with Bill
(00:45):
hill Grove and Craig Wolfley and guys, how can you
not just you know, a heartfelt moment cam showing the motions.
He said that his stoppiness or something. I'm not sure
what that is. Maybe he meant sappy, but um talk
about a day Billy for the Hayward brothers yesterday. They
had already family and friends in the seats there at
the stadium. And I didn't find out about the visitation
(01:06):
until he mentioned it afterwards, and uh, you know, the
catch was great, it was a special catch, and um,
you know, I can I can understand that that emotion.
You know, I I got to know Ironhead personally, and uh,
he was a very special person as well as a
football player. But for the kids to pay tribute to
(01:28):
dad that way, that's that's pretty cool. You know, I
understand the feelings of Camas having my dad passed away
my third year in training camp. You know, so I
went home and you know, did the whole thing, came
back and played a game and everything like that, and
then later on, you know, is it. Here's the thing
when when you're when you can, when you're the older brother,
(01:49):
you suddenly become a father to the rest of your siblings,
you know what I mean, that father figure, which I
have four brothers, you know, four brothers and sisters, and
so there's that that that sort of acknowled ledgement of wow,
you know, you know, coming into training camp and we're
going you know, you got no choice to make this team.
You got to because you know, my other life skills
are like would you like that supersized or you want
(02:11):
paper plastic, you know. So, uh, there's really and so
I understand his feelings. You know, there were moments that
you know, you you feel like, oh wow, you know,
something happens that reminds you of the times with your
dad everything. So I understand what sopping this is. And
it's okay. It's okay to be soppy, Max. Not only
you know, we're talking about Connor's touchdown that helped the
(02:32):
nineteen six win for the Steelers over the Falcons, but
Cam had that sack that forced the Falcons to kick
a field goal to drive before. Yeah, no, it was,
it was. It was pretty special. I mean, and when
you look at everything that went down um in Atlanta yesterday,
I mean, it was just it was a beautiful moment
in general. But like you said, the Hayward boys were
(02:55):
on full display. And to hear to hear Cam afterward
to talk about because I saw it from my advantage
point on the sidelines, and and I just saw Carl
Dunbar kind of talking to him about it, and you know,
he was emotional coming off the field after the extra
point and then you hear the details on well why
(03:16):
was he like this? It was it was it was
pretty cool to hear after the fact that you know,
hey he uh he they had that special moment and
he was able to share that and like he said,
and when I talked to him last night, he was like,
he was like, yeah, Max, Man, I was. I was
done for like the next series. It took a series
(03:36):
to get over it. And I was like, hey man,
I was like, listen, this is an emotional game. And
I was like and tears. He was like, nah, but
I had to get it together. Man. You know, we
had a game. I'm like, I get you. But it's
it's all good. You can cry, Man tears, It's okay.
Captain Cam. You know, not only a good football player.
The Steelers Walter Peyton Man of the Year nominee for
how many years? You know, he's just one of a kind.
(03:59):
And I did a pull today on Twitter because there's
many big plays that we're going to talk about through
the next hour here on the point after um and
asked fans what was your favorite one? Connor Heyward's touchdown
was an option, the Naji stiff arm Friar moves fifty
seven yard catch, and the Minka interception. So which one
do you think is in the lead, Billy, none of
the above, You're gonna go with Pressley. Absolutely, I should
(04:22):
have added, and I even said if I could hit
a wedge like that, I'd be playing on Saturdays and
Sundays on TV. Uh. That was very special, and you
know it put them in the hole. But you know
my second choice would be Minca because I watched to
replay today and I said, Greg before the broadcast started
(04:43):
here it looked like Rod Woodson. Uh, the balls on
its way and Drake London's running his pattern and all
of a sudden, this blur comes the other direction and
the balls going the other way. I mean, it was special.
It's like Superman. Yeah. And then he went out of bounds,
and I know the numerologist didn't like it because it
(05:03):
probably affected one number or another. But what a football
mind to say, wait a minute, if I go into
the end zone, we have to kick it off, and
you know there's more drama to this game. I'm going
to end the drama right here by going out of bounds.
Kenny can take the knee and we jump and hit
for the buses. So it was it was, But I'm
(05:24):
still gonna go with Presley. Harvin's punt. You know, the
funny thing about it is it took me five seconds
after Maker ran out of bounds to understand why he
did it. That's a stupid I am now, why did
he do that? You know, after and then after the
game two year and say, well, I just figured out
I want I don't want to go back out there.
(05:45):
And to that point, he saves teammates possible injuries too.
You got to think about the football i Q of
that play. Well, Minka is one of those heads up guys.
And based on how fast you said the blur was
of Minka getting that ball, it was like he knew
exactly what Marcus Mariotta was about to do. And that
goes back to the film study, the Winning Edge meetings
(06:06):
that coach Tomlin holds with Mink and all the guys
on the defense who want to join on Friday afternoons.
They're just football junkies, Max, No, they absolutely are um
and and that's a special level of player. You know.
I told Craig this on our show earlier today, just
about what how James Lofton watched him, who was doing
the TV broadcast for CBS, and he was just like, yeah,
(06:30):
there's something special. But I mean, he is a ball
hawk and he understands and plays with with the level
of like an air traffic controller back there, he's like
and he was also questioning why Miami was willing to
trade him, and we both just looked at each other,
said Adam gae uh And and so for him to
(06:52):
have that play in that moment was just spectacular because
it kind of just that was the moment we needed,
like we needed a big play and we and you know,
we always talk about these gotta have at moments, and
that was a gotta have at moment right after Pressley
Harvin does the yeoman's work of literally hitting the equivalent
(07:13):
of a short, coughing corner punt, right, I mean, it
was it was absolutely spectacular. So for me to pick
a play, Billy already picked the punt, yeah, I mean
because that was that was mine because I've been talking
to press Lee before the game. So you know, he
had to show out for forty people that was there
(07:34):
that he bought tickets for, he played for, he played
for free this week. Um well, you know he's a
Georgia Tech kids, so that's understandable. Exactly g Tech right
around the court, you know, I nazy, stiff arm. I've
been we have been waiting for this moment. We've been
waiting for this moment all season. Guys, like, when is
Nagy going to just be the guy that we saw
(07:57):
at Alabama, be the guy he was a year ago?
When is he going to just be definitive in his
emotions and his attack process, and that like culminated it.
I don't know if it's something in those rubber pellets
on the ground because his artificial turf, I can't say
in the dirt, but you know, I said this during
the broadcast. The last time he was in that arena
(08:20):
or that stadium, whatever you wanna call it, he rushed
for a hundred and seventy eight yards and two touchdowns
and had three receiving touchdoff. The man had five total
touchdowns on that turf. And I don't know what it
was that came up from the turf and embodied him,
but I hope it stays for the rest of the
season because it was tremendous to what he bounced him
like a basketball half court shot, you know what I'm saying,
(08:42):
Like he hit him with such ferocity and to watch
his body then bounce back up like like another six
to eight inches was tremendous. Well, you know, he said
he was running angry after the game, and last week
we were talking about how coach Tomlin said Arthur Maulett
and Mike Hilton are angry little people. So I think
angry is maybe the physicality what we're carrying on through
(09:03):
the rest of this season. Um, but yeah, I agree,
you know that's what you wanted to see from Naji
and wof. He also had two days off from practice
this week because he was dealing with that abdominal injury,
So maybe having a chance to rest the body did
him good. I don't know. Um, not having abs, I
don't know what it's like that, right, Max. We don't
have that. We have obliques, Listen, we we just have
(09:27):
an area formally known as you know there you go.
You know the thing when I loved uh you know,
and I loved to watch Naji, but I also I
really loved the friar mooth going fifty seven. I mean,
we've been looking for a big one, that explosive play,
needed that one explosive play to get things rolling fifty
(09:48):
seven yards and you know, shaking off a tackle like
he did and getting down the field and boy, gad zooks,
that was just beautiful work by Pat Well. Ironically enough,
this is an unofficial Twitter pulling six people. Friar move
is at thirty eight point eight percent, Connor Heyward's touchdown
thirty one point six, Minca sixteen point nine, and then
(10:10):
the Naji stiff arm twelve point seven. So it's kind
of been jumping all over the place. But I don't
think you can go wrong with any of them. Billy No,
I agree, and uh, you know that. I remember Max
during the broadcast. I could feel the nervousness in his
voice when he said, I don't like trading field goals
for a touchdown. And you know, the first two scores
(10:31):
we had were field goals and could be otherwise, but
we finally broke through and had enough at the end
secure the win. It was. It was a fun day
at the at the old Mercedes Benz, no question about it.
I even made me think of what was better the
stiff arm from Vance McDonald yeah, or well, you didn't
(10:53):
have to give it to Vance because he did score
and it did turn the game around. But I do
I must say this that that slam dunk. I've never
seen a guys not you know, I've I've seen guys
dunk on somebody. I've never seen somebody dunk a guy
that was getting He got Richie Grant got dunked of
his eighties six yards forty were after contact. Wow, you
(11:14):
know he ran angry and that's what you love. Also,
back to back wins for the first time this season,
stacking them and both were on the road, which you know,
coach Tomlin said, and so you continue to do it.
No one takes you seriously, but to be able to
do it for the first time in twelve games, it
is an accomplishment. And we've seen some progress from this
(11:34):
team since the bye week. Max, No, we have seen
progress and you just you you have to be excited
to see this team gel. We knew it was going
to take some time, but you know, injuries obviously delay
that jelling process. But now that you really you literally
have almost everyone president accounted for, um, it's it's just
(11:57):
great to see everyone come together. And I know that
we have some guys playing Nick Dupp and probably playing
less than up to their standards, but just having them
they're going through the reps. The threat that you have
everybody available to you, is just a beautiful thing to see.
And when you're talking about surging at the end of
(12:18):
the year, that's what you want to have. You want
to have your soldiers accounted for, so you go storm
the castle and to have t J back, to have
Jalen Warren back, to have Naji back, to have to
Marvin Leale now as well added into the fold, the
secondary outside of a Kello Witherspoon is president accounted for. Um.
(12:38):
It's just it's cool to see all of them come
together and then play team football, not where it's overly
reliant on the offense, overly reliant on the defense or
special teams. Everybody has a key moment and we can
point to that throughout the game. And I think that's
where you know you start cooking with the right stuff,
where you can point to a key moment that every
(13:01):
unit had in this game. And we talked about it,
just just talking about it within the context of our
favorite plays. Right, you had a punt, you had an interception,
and you also had a reception. Special teams, defense, offense.
That's what you look for. Now. If you could only
say one or two things and then they're only on
one side of the ball, then we're in trouble. And
that's what that was, what the case was early in
(13:22):
the year. Complementary football. If we hear that a lot
from coach Tomlin. There's no doubt about it. And you know,
without it, you are left one side of one one
area is lagging. It's kind of like, you know, turkey
dinner without all the tremor. You gotta have complimentary turkey,
you know food there, man, you gotta have something that
that offsets this and that. So you know, I look
(13:44):
at this and I was number one that jumps out
at me. And what I enjoyed when I started watching
the tape this afternoon, I loved the offensive line came
off the ball and bodies were moved. I loved that japers.
That was just so good to see. You know, it's like,
I don't know, what's great family fund to watch somebody
get blown backwards and then slammed to the ground. You're like, going,
(14:05):
that was beautiful. Yes, it sounds very buffalo ish, No exactly.
No sacks as well, no sex. They were physical bullies.
There were some pressures, there was some hits, but they
kept they kept him off long enough to get the
ball out That's all we care about at the end
(14:25):
of the day. Don't tell me about shuldar could have
would as almost almost only applies to hand grenades and
horse shoes. I don't want to hear about it. Almost
sack and that all. Then the other did he go
down with the ball in his hand? No check, move on,
no interceptions for Kenny Pickett in four straight games passing attempts,
(14:45):
take care of the football, run the defense. Really, I
feel like they're putting something together here. It feels like it.
And uh, it's it's fun to watch young players grow
up in front of your eyes. And it's not just Kenny.
You know both Nagi and Pat Friar Muth our second
year guys. George Pickens is a rookie. You know, he's
(15:07):
going through trials and tribulations, but he does respond. And
that's the good thing. Um. You know, the relationship between
the coaches and the young people. Um, it's it's fun
to watch the teacher show the way and it's fun
to watch the pupil go the way. The one thing
I think about with Kenny every ever since Thursday night
(15:28):
in Miami, his QBR is going up every week. It
was Sunday night. I can't remember. I get yeah, you
know what my day, thank you Prime Time? Whatever? Was
it a night game? I don't even know. I think
about that. You go on the road on a Monday
night and then you've got to go on the road
the next Sunday at one o'clock. That's a tough turnaround,
(15:50):
and to win both I think is is all I
know is his QBR has gone up every week since.
So therefore night whether it was a day, whether it
was Thursday, while there was Sunday, I had no it's trending.
The nightclub was going, the nightclub was going next door. Well,
so you should not forget that. Trust this kid was
not in a nightclub. His arrow is pointed. All right, guys,
(16:12):
we are going to take a quick break here on
the point after. When we return to the Steelers now
have an identity, we'll discuss that and much more. You're
listening to w d V back to the Point after,
brought to you by Parks Casino on dv E. That's
just what we're missing right now is being consistent, you know,
with touchdowns in the red zone. So um, that's something
(16:33):
that we're continuing to work at we've been working at it. Um,
you know we're closed, but you know we just gotta
keep you know close to get us you know, a
loss in this kind of game. So um, we gotta,
we gotta, you know, figure that out this week. Welcome
back to the Point after everybody, I'm Miss Matthews with
Bill hill Grove, Craig will Flee and Max Starks And
this segment is brought to you by the Greater Pittsburgh
Community Food Bank and Dawn's Appliance. For every field goal
(16:54):
we kick this season, Dawn's Appliance will donate one thousand
dollars to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. That's five
thousand meals each time. Thank you to Don's Appliance. And
you can also help and donate to by texting goals
to five zero one five five. And that was Kenny
Pickt there, Billy, and we are seeing the good and
(17:15):
the different things that we discussed in the first segment,
the progressions what you'd like to see, but there are
still some bad in terms of not being able to
cash in when they're close. Yeah. I think that's the
next thing to fix is the red zone. Um, and
he you know, he's not by himself in that red zone.
And as Mike Tomlin will be quick to point out, uh,
(17:36):
and Atlanta did it too. In the red zone. You
can't have penalties. And I do believe the two times
we did not score, we're both penalties. I think one
against Dotson and one against d J. So uh. You know,
Kenny's not all by himself. It is a team game,
the ultimate team game, and everybody has to be on
the same page, and that red zones especially. But I
(17:59):
think it's some thing that they will fix. Well. The
one throw he made that was short to Deante if
you did in that corner, but that was a shame,
you know, because it was in perfect what could have
been in perfect place. He stacked a j Taroll like Cordwood.
I mean, he just got on top of him and
I thought Kenny just would hit him right in the
you know, but it was just a little short and
(18:20):
let Taryll able to get his hand in then break
it up a little bit. But again, it's a it's
a process. They are working at it and they're gonna
in the long run this is all gonna pay off well.
And I think these woes is this is the growing pains. Right,
let's focus on where we were at the beginning of
the year. How do we have to for for historical
(18:44):
perspective to simply document the journey with which we've traveled
thus far. We couldn't get across the fifty yard line
early this year, and now in these last couple of weeks,
especially with that Cincinnati game, we're now getting over the
(19:04):
fifty yard line consistently, and we're getting in scoring range consistently.
I think that is the biggest thing that has really
progressed and why we talk about the success that we've
had over the last few weeks. It's been that factor.
Now the next step or the in line is literally
(19:26):
the goal line to actually consistently now get into the
red zone and more specifically the low red zone inside
the ten and being scoring opportunities with a fresh set
of downs to then take advantage to get in said
end zone. I think that's the next step. But right
now we've taken the biggest leap. We prove we can
move the ball effectively and consistently. Now it comes down
(19:50):
to the nuances. First drive of the game, sixteen plays,
second drive of the game for the Steelers twelve place
that is a big improved and over what we saw
back in the day. As you said, I just think that,
you know, and again to your point before the game,
the best offense is a defense, and if you're going
(20:12):
to the best defense is a good offense. See I
got I'm dyslexic. Well not only that, but I can
dumb down anybody. You know, Just just hang out more
with me, that's all. Well, not to mention the Steelers
didn't punt until the fourth quarter, that's right. Only two punts,
but one was Yeah, one was Billy's play at the
(20:34):
game if you didn't know, but yeah, you know, for
at least they were, you know, getting fuel goals out
of it. There was the end of the half, of course,
um where nothing really happened with not a lot of time.
But Max, how do they fix the red zone woes?
Is it practice? Is it just continuing to play together?
Is there? Um? You know, maybe something magical that you
can wave in front of them and it fixes it.
(20:56):
Or what? Don't jump offside and don't get holding sounds
pretty simple. I mean, just just don't get penalties. I mean,
we were in that position where we had a first
in goal and then we went backwards in two consecutive plays.
It was like, Okay, we're getting over this and then boom,
you know you you stub your toe. And I think
(21:18):
it just comes down to that. And also play call
selection in those moments. You know, as you get closer
to the goal line, guess what, the tighter the field gets,
so the sharper you must be and the more constricted
guys get, the play calling should compliment that. And I
didn't see that. In fact, at one point, I was like,
(21:40):
why are we lined up and what looked like thirteen
personnel and running a jet sweep off the edge. You know,
I'm just like, no, that's not that that. You don't
run a short yardage play. You know, when you have
ten years ago, you still got space. Um. So there's
just some of the play calling kinks, but the biggest
(22:00):
thing is do not self injure yourself, meaning pre snap
penalties and also the post snap variety. Keep your hands
out of people's faces and their face masks, keep them
on their chest, and then win in doubt dumped them
to the ground while holding their shoulder pads within the
framework of the chest. You know what I'm saying, Like,
(22:21):
that's that's where it gets tough. Yeah, it's a clinic
on how to hold. No, it's clutching. Holding is when
they throw a flag. Yes, there is a difference. Well
that's why we get into ceramics here, you know what
I mean, and clay pottery, terracotta, everything a gentle hands
(22:42):
you guys have, yes, Um, well, what did Atlanta do
to take George Pickens out of the game or what
was going on in terms of not seeing that connection
or going to him as much that we've seen previously
with Kenny Pickett. There were a lot of targeting to
the tight ends and new going into the game, they
were going to target the tight ends. I had a
feeling that they were going to target Deontay More. They're
(23:03):
trying to get Deonte rebbed up a little bit too,
and George Pickens just didn't make himself available or they
took him out with some you know, there was They
got a pretty a couple of good defensive backs there.
But um, I think I think George got frustrated and
then it started to kind of one of those snowballing
things and you're not got your edge when you're concerned
(23:25):
over the fact here you are, you're where you. You know,
you went to college and you've got family all surrounding you,
and you want to excel and have this huge game.
Remember what it was like when I went back to
Orchard Park, Buffalo, you know, playing in Orchard Park two
point four miles from where I grew up. You know, Um,
for offensive linement, we at least we we can stay
(23:45):
hidden in the line. You know it's not, but you
know the fact is, you want to win, you want
to have that great game, and it just didn't happen.
And I have not I didn't watch enough of him.
I was watching most of the line in the trenches,
um this afternoon, But I have to go back and
look at it with George, he just didn't seem to
be getting it. Well. To your point, there were twenty
seven targets. Eleven went to DJ and seven went to
(24:09):
the tight ends. Yeah, I mean that only leaves nine
other targets. Do the math? Yeah, well, you know not
on this show math here, especially when one of us
flunk twice. What did you sense from Deontay and George
on the sidelines. You know, Deonte with a drop and
(24:30):
you know you could see he was getting frustrated, As
Wolf said, with Pickens. Well, I think I think the
biggest thing is is that um, it just it wasn't
a lot of the matchups when it drew to him. Um,
he just he had I think he had bad rusts.
I don't think he was the focal point or the
first or second option. And a lot of the route
(24:51):
tree and they had sticky covers. They they knew they
couldn't let George Picks get over the top of them
in a lot of those situations, so they tried to
jam him at the line of scrimmage. They were mixing
the coverage on Kenny Pickett. You saw a lot of quarters,
a lot of invert cover two um, just to just
(25:11):
to create shells. Um. The guys played the curl flat
zone that numbers area that numbers to hash area UM
very well to make sure that when George was on
that side, covers was rolling in that direction. That's why Dante,
I think got so many one on one opportunities, was
because they were more scared of George than they were
(25:33):
of Deonte. In terms of the old line Wolf, what
did you see when you were watching the film. I
know you and Max Um are very proud to say
we've we've seen improvements improvements each week. Um from a
unit that was taken some heat earlier in this season. Absolutely,
you know, there were somebody snatching going on there. Man,
they were lightening people up. And I enjoyed the fact that,
(25:55):
you know, when the very first rep from the line
of scrimmage, there was a washing back of the the
line of scrimmage back on the other side of the ball.
I mean, it was beautiful and I you know, you
get all fired up about it. And it didn't matter
who they put in there, whether it was Dickerson, Grady, Jarrett, whoever,
you know, any of the numbers that you want to
line up in there. They were taking the guys off
the ball, and they the double teams, yad Zook say,
(26:18):
it's like they double teams were coming together in a
very nice way. You know, if you take him off
the ball, you dump him on the ground, you pick
up the run through, you know, those those type of
things they did a nice job on. They rolled Kenny
and gave him a clean pocket, you know, on the outside.
One of the things. You know, Derek Watt does some
nice work very unobserved. You know, whether it's a fourth
(26:39):
down run, he's he's four for four or something like
that on on fourth down runs. Uh. At the same time,
when Kenny rolled out, he hooked the end man on
the line and did it such a nice way. Boy,
I don't think that end man in line understood. He
got twirled around and everything like that, and Derek did
a great job of hooking him and Kenny get out
there and he threw that ball. I think it was
Deonte on the outside on a timing out there. Um.
(27:01):
You know, just good stuff by that offensive line and
past protection and run blocking and you know again. Uh.
The one thing that I'd love to see that I
think that they can help themselves a lot is on
the twist stunts. There's too much penetration. The penetrator gets
in between the guy and the next guy and then
the twisting of the trailer comes around, and you've got
(27:24):
some problems there. And that's where they're not staying on
the same level and they get turned. They're not square
shoulders and not hip to hip. But again that's a
part of the parcel of the process of working it
out and they'll keep at it. They'll be fine. Billy,
does it feel like this team has an identity now?
It's got a better identity that it did a month ago.
(27:44):
And um, yes it does. Um. We have proven we
can run the ball consistently. That's the key, you know, consistently.
It's not just who your opponent is and what their
capabilities are are stopping you. It's that you're going to
impose your will. And I've seen that over this two
game win streak and winning three out of four. Um. Yeah,
(28:05):
definitely the identity is taking shape. You know who your
quarterback is. You know, there's no questioning, no question marks
about that. Uh. And Nagy has responded to the development
of the old line. I really believe that that. You know,
he feels that those guys are gonna give him cracks
and that's all he needs. He's wonderful when he gets
(28:28):
into that second level because he's a beast. And you
know what's his name, Richie the guy he got got
stiff armed, oh Grant. Yeah, he didn't stiff arm me,
slam dunked them. He'll be testimony testimonial to that. Another thing,
(28:50):
and it's kind of lost in the shuffle. But in
this pregame show, Mike Tomlin talked about Cordarrell Patterson like
he was the second coming of Joshua Cribbs, and that
is to me high praise and UH for him not
to have any returns UH and their return people no
punt return yardage and I think an average of eighteen
(29:11):
point three on kickoffs. That's a job well done. I
gotta give the special teams a plus all the way
around because the coverage was there, and we were the
last club in the National League going into that game
in kickoff coverage and that changed abruptly. And just rebounding
from what you saw Monday night, it was a short week.
The second half did not go their way and it
(29:32):
could have ended badly. The Steelers were able to pull
out the wind. But um, yeah, it was good to
see yesterday in Atlanta. And we have much more to
talk about here on the Point After. We'll be right
back on d V. Back to the Point After, brought
to by Parks Casino on d V. E shotgun snap
Mariota from his ends and throws that pass and it
(29:53):
did accept it, going to the five yard line and
getting out about makeup Fitzpatrick and that sales the deal
in the Mercedes Benz Stadium and the Steeler Nation is
celebrating welcome back to the point after Steelers Falcons nineteen
sixteen is your final score? The Steelers moved to five
(30:14):
and seven. I'm miss Matthews with Bill Hillgrove, Craig Wolfley
and Max Starks and guys, we've got to give the
defense a little love. I know we talked about Minka
in the first segment, but our segment right now is
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Visit clear View f CU dot org. Slash touchdown Billy.
The stats when you look for the Steelers defense, you
might not seem as impressive, but what they were able
to do in terms of especially in the first half,
controlling the line of scrimmage, not let the Falcons get
their run game going into the second half. Yeah, and
(30:57):
even the final numbers into eight that it was a
varsity performance by the defense. They held him to fourteen
less yards in our average it was one sixty. And
I think the past efficiency rating of Mariota seventy two
point seven, well below his yearly average, and the pick,
of course, that's sealed the deal. So yeah, you gotta
(31:19):
give the defense props. They played and and and they
played tired too, because once you know, the Falcons got
that running game going second half, um, you started to
worry because you know, all of a sudden you can
see why, uh they're ranked what fourth in the nation
in the National Football League coming into the game. So
I I give the defense a tip of the cap.
(31:42):
I thought they played well. I mean, you know, especially
the first half. They limited them, what twenty eight yards
in the first half, and great googly moogli. I thought that,
you know, they were all quitting themselves very well in
the one on one individual battles, controlling gaps, flowing to
and where they needed to be on the outside and
so forth. Um, then it seemed to get a little
bit more traction. Uh, you know, the Falcons got more traction.
(32:05):
You've you've got that inverted bone, the two thirds bone
that you know they run in formations which are odd formations.
They shifted back and forth and they caught him a
couple of times. The Steelers then would have alternated that,
I'm sorry. They would shift the Falcons and then the
Steelers would alter their their stance and shift into the gaps,
and then they'd come back out of it and they'd
(32:25):
catch the Steelers just going back into the original position.
And so that was part and parcel of what was
going on. But I think guys got tired, and there
was a lot more guys with turned shoulders in the trenches.
You know, when I say turned shoulders, you gotta keep
your shoulders square when you play a power running team
like this, you know, and when they get you running
sideline to sideline, you become one dimensional. And more guys
(32:47):
were getting on the ground, they were cutting on the
back side um and more guys at the point of
attack weren't holding the point like they were in the
first half. Well. And I think the other thing that
was also a note was the Falcons really tried to
pass the football at the beginning of the game like
they were I don't know what it was why they felt,
(33:10):
you know, we're gonna try and make Marcus Mariota a
total quarterback. It's like, no, he's a guy who can run.
I mean, he's he was Tim Tebow two point oh,
I mean, and I think that was something that they
were trying to prove that the zebra, you know, didn't
have stripes. But at the end of the day, we're
talking about their success. It came when the run game
(33:32):
actually started clicking for them. They could not get anything
done with the pass, and I think that was the
first half experiment, was can we actually pass with Marcus Mariota?
And then you woefully admit you cannot pass with Marcus Mariota.
So let's just go back to our bread and butter,
which is being a running team that runs option Corderold Patterson,
Tyler out Yere, whoever else, Caleb Huntley, whoever we can
(33:55):
put in the backfield. Guys, just go forward because the
going backwards thing and protect me is not working. Yeah,
the Falcons were over four in terms of red zone
efficiency in the first half and as we have said,
only twenty eight rushing yards That changed in the second
half a billion. Never felt like the Steelers defense wasn't
going to be able to keep it in a comfortable place,
(34:16):
unlike what we saw against the Colts and even the
Bengals previously. Yeah, it was it was scary, but you
never thought that they you know that they'd break and
they didn't, you know, And and that's again the progress
that we've been looking for. Um, I don't think we'll
face a rushing attack that good the rest of the way,
(34:36):
will we. Well, they were fourth, you know, I mean
they were up there, and I thought the Stews just
did a great job in that first half. In the
second half not as good, you know. I mean it's
like I think Max is correct. You know, they had
Mariotta was checking the ball a little too much and
he's not he's not a yeah he's he's not one
(34:56):
of those NFL caliber arms that it's going to scare you.
But he does have good wheels. And when you go
to that inverted bone, there's a lot of things going
on and you're trying to find your keys, and it's
like Mike Tomlin said pregame, you know, you've got to
know your keys. You gotta stare at your keys, you
gotta play your keys, and don't worry about the rest.
You know, those are everybody's got their own keys, and
(35:19):
so you cannot get yours mistaken with somebody else's. So
I thought in the second half that they just weren't
as sharp as they were in the first t J
Walk came into the game as questionable dealing with that
rib injury from Monday night in Indie. And you know, Max,
he's not getting the sacks that everybody wants him to get,
you know, pre injury with the knee and everything in
(35:41):
the pack. But he's still out there and teams have
to respect when he's there, and that's exactly what he's
out there for. He knows that he's gonna give you
the hustle plays. He's gonna run down the back side
of a running back, um breaking to the opposite side
of the ball. Uh, He's gonna give you the pressure
that's necessary. He's gonna draw the double teams. And I
think he's He's not to say he's content with it,
(36:05):
but he understands where he's at right now, and I
think that's the tough thing. And he took a he
took a big fall when he had a tackle for
a loss in the backfield where he landed on those
ribs and you can see him visibly coming off the field,
grimacing um and pain, taking the knee on the sidelines
and then trying to just kind of shake it off.
I mean the dude is as tough as nails. He
(36:27):
said after the game. He didn't even hide it. Max,
He said, my ribs are killing me. Yeah, So I
mean for him to go out there and give you
anything after that happened is iron man status, you know
what I'm saying. Like he is, he's just built differently
and to still make plays. But you're right, I mean,
it's not the standard we expect, but dealing with the
(36:49):
injuries that he dealt with from the beginning of the
year two now and then the perpetual injuries that will
occur because of playing. You know, you have to give
him two claps, you know, up top for for for
the way he's played. And interestingly enough, since we like
to get will fall route up. Lamar Jackson might not
(37:10):
be playing for the Ravens comes Sunday when they have
their first meeting with the Steelers at Akersher Stadium. Today,
John Harbather, head coach, said that Lamar Jackson is week
to week with a knee injury. He went through all
the m r I s today said quote, as the
week goes, we'll see for this week. It's probably less
likely for this week, but it's not impossible and Tyler
(37:33):
Huntley would be the next man up and and he
owes us a sack that he has t J. Watt.
J Watt, Yes, yes, I don't know how I us
got in there, but anyhow, t J. Watt. Yes, I'm
still frosted over the fact that last year he should
have had twenty three and a half sack. I know,
it's just it's bogus man that the sack record for
a single season should be t. J. Watt by himself,
(37:56):
by himself. I'm with you, no doubt. Huntley played well
yesterday after the injury to Lamar, and he played okay
against the Steelers sixteen of thirty one for one, but
he was intercepted twice, so and the Steelers won that game,
as you remember in overtime. Um, maybe the people in
Nevada know something that Jim Harbaugh doesn't want them to
(38:19):
know because they have installed the Steelers as a three
point favorite this coming something. Does that tell you something
about whether number eight is available or not? I think so, yeah,
Oh absolutely absolutely. I mean three points is what you
normally start with for a home team. That's that's good.
And then you look at the opponent you say, uh,
(38:41):
they got such a scess. They have such a scess. Well,
that number didn't move, so lets you know that Vejas
is making sure that lost wages. It was, yes, lost
wages the city of the City of Buffet's um it is.
(39:01):
You know. I think I think that is something because
they know that they are a different team. Yes, you
beat the Broncos, but this ain't the Broncos, especially the
way that we've been playing the last couple of weeks.
So it's gonna be a hard challenge. But the challenge
gets just a smit I mean a minuscule. I got
my fingers together. I'm trying to look through with a
squinted eye. Easier having Tyler Huntley in their versus Lamar
(39:21):
Jackson well, and also the Ravens signed Brett Huntley not
to be confused with Tyler Huntley to their practice squad,
a quarterback that spent some time with them as well.
So I'm with you, Billy, I think it's not even
the Vegas knows. Everybody knows. It does not sound good
for Lamar Jackson will keep an eye on that. We
want to remind you the Steelers Pro Shop is where
you can get up with the latest sideline apparel, hats
(39:42):
or jerseys of your favorite players, Authentic memorabilia, custom items,
and exclusives you can find only directly from the team
and one of the official Steelers Pro Shop stores located
at Aquisher Stadium, Gross City Premium Outlets, or Tanger Outlets,
or you can shop online at shop dot Steelers dot com. Guys,
it's always fun for a victory Monday for Bill Hill,
(40:03):
grow very willfully and Max Starks and our producer Toma
Missy Matthews, thanks for joining us on the point after
Welcome to the Point After on w d V Pittsburgh,
brought to you by Parks Casino. The entire Steelers radio
broadcast team is here to break down the last game.
Here's your host, Missy Matthews. If I could share a
story like this morning, me and and went to my
dad's grave and you know, we got to share a
moment there, and so I was pretty emotional when you know,
(00:25):
he got the touchdown. Uh. I don't like to be
Mr Sappy, but like that, that like really hit me.
Luckily there wasn't a camera on me because I was
a messing. Everybody. Welcome to the point After. Our first
segment tonight is brought to you by Brian Patton and associates.
It's all about the benefits and Missy Matthews with Bill
(00:45):
hill Grove and Craig Wolfley and guys, how can you
not just you know, a heartfelt moment cam showing the motions.
He said that his stoppiness or something. I'm not sure
what that is. Maybe he meant sappy, but um talk
about a day Billy for the Hayward brothers yesterday. They
had already family and friends in the seats there at
the stadium. And I didn't find out about the visitation
(01:06):
until he mentioned it afterwards, and uh, you know, the
catch was great, it was a special catch, and um,
you know, I can I can understand that that emotion.
You know, I I got to know Ironhead personally, and uh,
he was a very special person as well as a
football player. But for the kids to pay tribute to
(01:28):
dad that way, that's that's pretty cool. You know, I
understand the feelings of Camas having my dad passed away
my third year in training camp. You know, so I
went home and you know, did the whole thing, came
back and played a game and everything like that, and
then later on, you know, is it. Here's the thing
when when you're when you can, when you're the older brother,
(01:49):
you suddenly become a father to the rest of your siblings,
you know what I mean, that father figure, which I
have four brothers, you know, four brothers and sisters, and
so there's that that that sort of acknowled ledgement of wow,
you know, you know, coming into training camp and we're
going you know, you got no choice to make this team.
You got to because you know, my other life skills
are like would you like that supersized or you want
(02:11):
paper plastic, you know. So, uh, there's really and so
I understand his feelings. You know, there were moments that
you know, you you feel like, oh wow, you know,
something happens that reminds you of the times with your
dad everything. So I understand what sopping this is. And
it's okay. It's okay to be soppy, Max. Not only
you know, we're talking about Connor's touchdown that helped the
(02:32):
nineteen six win for the Steelers over the Falcons, but
Cam had that sack that forced the Falcons to kick
a field goal to drive before. Yeah, no, it was,
it was. It was pretty special. I mean, and when
you look at everything that went down um in Atlanta yesterday,
I mean, it was just it was a beautiful moment
in general. But like you said, the Hayward boys were
(02:55):
on full display. And to hear to hear Cam afterward
to talk about because I saw it from my advantage
point on the sidelines, and and I just saw Carl
Dunbar kind of talking to him about it, and you know,
he was emotional coming off the field after the extra
point and then you hear the details on well why
(03:16):
was he like this? It was it was it was
pretty cool to hear after the fact that you know,
hey he uh he they had that special moment and
he was able to share that and like he said,
and when I talked to him last night, he was like,
he was like, yeah, Max, Man, I was. I was
done for like the next series. It took a series
(03:36):
to get over it. And I was like, hey man,
I was like, listen, this is an emotional game. And
I was like and tears. He was like, nah, but
I had to get it together. Man. You know, we
had a game. I'm like, I get you. But it's
it's all good. You can cry, Man tears, It's okay.
Captain Cam. You know, not only a good football player.
The Steelers Walter Peyton Man of the Year nominee for
how many years? You know, he's just one of a kind.
(03:59):
And I did a pull today on Twitter because there's
many big plays that we're going to talk about through
the next hour here on the point after um and
asked fans what was your favorite one? Connor Heyward's touchdown
was an option, the Naji stiff arm Friar moves fifty
seven yard catch, and the Minka interception. So which one
do you think is in the lead, Billy, none of
the above, You're gonna go with Pressley. Absolutely, I should
(04:22):
have added, and I even said if I could hit
a wedge like that, I'd be playing on Saturdays and
Sundays on TV. Uh. That was very special, and you
know it put them in the hole. But you know
my second choice would be Minca because I watched to
replay today and I said, Greg before the broadcast started
(04:43):
here it looked like Rod Woodson. Uh, the balls on
its way and Drake London's running his pattern and all
of a sudden, this blur comes the other direction and
the balls going the other way. I mean, it was special.
It's like Superman. Yeah. And then he went out of bounds,
and I know the numerologist didn't like it because it
(05:03):
probably affected one number or another. But what a football
mind to say, wait a minute, if I go into
the end zone, we have to kick it off, and
you know there's more drama to this game. I'm going
to end the drama right here by going out of bounds.
Kenny can take the knee and we jump and hit
for the buses. So it was it was, But I'm
(05:24):
still gonna go with Presley. Harvin's punt. You know, the
funny thing about it is it took me five seconds
after Maker ran out of bounds to understand why he
did it. That's a stupid I am now, why did
he do that? You know, after and then after the
game two year and say, well, I just figured out
I want I don't want to go back out there.
(05:45):
And to that point, he saves teammates possible injuries too.
You got to think about the football i Q of
that play. Well, Minka is one of those heads up guys.
And based on how fast you said the blur was
of Minka getting that ball, it was like he knew
exactly what Marcus Mariotta was about to do. And that
goes back to the film study, the Winning Edge meetings
(06:06):
that coach Tomlin holds with Mink and all the guys
on the defense who want to join on Friday afternoons.
They're just football junkies, Max, No, they absolutely are um
and and that's a special level of player. You know.
I told Craig this on our show earlier today, just
about what how James Lofton watched him, who was doing
the TV broadcast for CBS, and he was just like, yeah,
(06:30):
there's something special. But I mean, he is a ball
hawk and he understands and plays with with the level
of like an air traffic controller back there, he's like
and he was also questioning why Miami was willing to
trade him, and we both just looked at each other,
said Adam gae uh And and so for him to
(06:52):
have that play in that moment was just spectacular because
it kind of just that was the moment we needed,
like we needed a big play and we and you know,
we always talk about these gotta have at moments, and
that was a gotta have at moment right after Pressley
Harvin does the yeoman's work of literally hitting the equivalent
(07:13):
of a short, coughing corner punt, right, I mean, it
was it was absolutely spectacular. So for me to pick
a play, Billy already picked the punt, yeah, I mean
because that was that was mine because I've been talking
to press Lee before the game. So you know, he
had to show out for forty people that was there
(07:34):
that he bought tickets for, he played for, he played
for free this week. Um well, you know he's a
Georgia Tech kids, so that's understandable. Exactly g Tech right
around the court, you know, I nazy, stiff arm. I've
been we have been waiting for this moment. We've been
waiting for this moment all season. Guys, like, when is
Nagy going to just be the guy that we saw
(07:57):
at Alabama, be the guy he was a year ago?
When is he going to just be definitive in his
emotions and his attack process, and that like culminated it.
I don't know if it's something in those rubber pellets
on the ground because his artificial turf, I can't say
in the dirt, but you know, I said this during
the broadcast. The last time he was in that arena
(08:20):
or that stadium, whatever you wanna call it, he rushed
for a hundred and seventy eight yards and two touchdowns
and had three receiving touchdoff. The man had five total
touchdowns on that turf. And I don't know what it
was that came up from the turf and embodied him,
but I hope it stays for the rest of the
season because it was tremendous to what he bounced him
like a basketball half court shot, you know what I'm saying,
(08:42):
Like he hit him with such ferocity and to watch
his body then bounce back up like like another six
to eight inches was tremendous. Well, you know, he said
he was running angry after the game, and last week
we were talking about how coach Tomlin said Arthur Maulett
and Mike Hilton are angry little people. So I think
angry is maybe the physicality what we're carrying on through
(09:03):
the rest of this season. Um, but yeah, I agree,
you know that's what you wanted to see from Naji
and wof. He also had two days off from practice
this week because he was dealing with that abdominal injury,
So maybe having a chance to rest the body did
him good. I don't know. Um, not having abs, I
don't know what it's like that, right, Max. We don't
have that. We have obliques, Listen, we we just have
(09:27):
an area formally known as you know there you go.
You know the thing when I loved uh you know,
and I loved to watch Naji, but I also I
really loved the friar mooth going fifty seven. I mean,
we've been looking for a big one, that explosive play,
needed that one explosive play to get things rolling fifty
(09:48):
seven yards and you know, shaking off a tackle like
he did and getting down the field and boy, gad zooks,
that was just beautiful work by Pat Well. Ironically enough,
this is an unofficial Twitter pulling six people. Friar move
is at thirty eight point eight percent, Connor Heyward's touchdown
thirty one point six, Minca sixteen point nine, and then
(10:10):
the Naji stiff arm twelve point seven. So it's kind
of been jumping all over the place. But I don't
think you can go wrong with any of them. Billy No,
I agree, and uh, you know that. I remember Max
during the broadcast. I could feel the nervousness in his
voice when he said, I don't like trading field goals
for a touchdown. And you know, the first two scores
(10:31):
we had were field goals and could be otherwise, but
we finally broke through and had enough at the end
secure the win. It was. It was a fun day
at the at the old Mercedes Benz, no question about it.
I even made me think of what was better the
stiff arm from Vance McDonald yeah, or well, you didn't
(10:53):
have to give it to Vance because he did score
and it did turn the game around. But I do
I must say this that that slam dunk. I've never
seen a guys not you know, I've I've seen guys
dunk on somebody. I've never seen somebody dunk a guy
that was getting He got Richie Grant got dunked of
his eighties six yards forty were after contact. Wow, you
(11:14):
know he ran angry and that's what you love. Also,
back to back wins for the first time this season,
stacking them and both were on the road, which you know,
coach Tomlin said, and so you continue to do it.
No one takes you seriously, but to be able to
do it for the first time in twelve games, it
is an accomplishment. And we've seen some progress from this
(11:34):
team since the bye week. Max, No, we have seen
progress and you just you you have to be excited
to see this team gel. We knew it was going
to take some time, but you know, injuries obviously delay
that jelling process. But now that you really you literally
have almost everyone president accounted for, um, it's it's just
(11:57):
great to see everyone come together. And I know that
we have some guys playing Nick Dupp and probably playing
less than up to their standards, but just having them
they're going through the reps. The threat that you have
everybody available to you, is just a beautiful thing to see.
And when you're talking about surging at the end of
(12:18):
the year, that's what you want to have. You want
to have your soldiers accounted for, so you go storm
the castle and to have t J back, to have
Jalen Warren back, to have Naji back, to have to
Marvin Leale now as well added into the fold, the
secondary outside of a Kello Witherspoon is president accounted for. Um.
(12:38):
It's just it's cool to see all of them come
together and then play team football, not where it's overly
reliant on the offense, overly reliant on the defense or
special teams. Everybody has a key moment and we can
point to that throughout the game. And I think that's
where you know you start cooking with the right stuff,
where you can point to a key moment that every
(13:01):
unit had in this game. And we talked about it,
just just talking about it within the context of our
favorite plays. Right, you had a punt, you had an interception,
and you also had a reception. Special teams, defense, offense.
That's what you look for. Now. If you could only
say one or two things and then they're only on
one side of the ball, then we're in trouble. And
that's what that was, what the case was early in
(13:22):
the year. Complementary football. If we hear that a lot
from coach Tomlin. There's no doubt about it. And you know,
without it, you are left one side of one one
area is lagging. It's kind of like, you know, turkey
dinner without all the tremor. You gotta have complimentary turkey,
you know food there, man, you gotta have something that
that offsets this and that. So you know, I look
(13:44):
at this and I was number one that jumps out
at me. And what I enjoyed when I started watching
the tape this afternoon, I loved the offensive line came
off the ball and bodies were moved. I loved that japers.
That was just so good to see. You know, it's like,
I don't know, what's great family fund to watch somebody
get blown backwards and then slammed to the ground. You're like, going,
(14:05):
that was beautiful. Yes, it sounds very buffalo ish, No exactly.
No sacks as well, no sex. They were physical bullies.
There were some pressures, there was some hits, but they
kept they kept him off long enough to get the
ball out That's all we care about at the end
(14:25):
of the day. Don't tell me about shuldar could have
would as almost almost only applies to hand grenades and
horse shoes. I don't want to hear about it. Almost
sack and that all. Then the other did he go
down with the ball in his hand? No check, move on,
no interceptions for Kenny Pickett in four straight games passing attempts,
(14:45):
take care of the football, run the defense. Really, I
feel like they're putting something together here. It feels like it.
And uh, it's it's fun to watch young players grow
up in front of your eyes. And it's not just Kenny.
You know both Nagi and Pat Friar Muth our second
year guys. George Pickens is a rookie. You know, he's
(15:07):
going through trials and tribulations, but he does respond. And
that's the good thing. Um. You know, the relationship between
the coaches and the young people. Um, it's it's fun
to watch the teacher show the way and it's fun
to watch the pupil go the way. The one thing
I think about with Kenny every ever since Thursday night
(15:28):
in Miami, his QBR is going up every week. It
was Sunday night. I can't remember. I get yeah, you
know what my day, thank you Prime Time? Whatever? Was
it a night game? I don't even know. I think
about that. You go on the road on a Monday
night and then you've got to go on the road
the next Sunday at one o'clock. That's a tough turnaround,
(15:50):
and to win both I think is is all I
know is his QBR has gone up every week since.
So therefore night whether it was a day, whether it
was Thursday, while there was Sunday, I had no it's trending.
The nightclub was going, the nightclub was going next door. Well,
so you should not forget that. Trust this kid was
not in a nightclub. His arrow is pointed. All right, guys,
(16:12):
we are going to take a quick break here on
the point after. When we return to the Steelers now
have an identity, we'll discuss that and much more. You're
listening to w d V back to the Point after,
brought to you by Parks Casino on dv E. That's
just what we're missing right now is being consistent, you know,
with touchdowns in the red zone. So um, that's something
(16:33):
that we're continuing to work at we've been working at it. Um,
you know we're closed, but you know we just gotta
keep you know close to get us you know, a
loss in this kind of game. So um, we gotta,
we gotta, you know, figure that out this week. Welcome
back to the Point after everybody, I'm Miss Matthews with
Bill hill Grove, Craig will Flee and Max Starks And
this segment is brought to you by the Greater Pittsburgh
Community Food Bank and Dawn's Appliance. For every field goal
(16:54):
we kick this season, Dawn's Appliance will donate one thousand
dollars to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. That's five
thousand meals each time. Thank you to Don's Appliance. And
you can also help and donate to by texting goals
to five zero one five five. And that was Kenny
Pickt there, Billy, and we are seeing the good and
(17:15):
the different things that we discussed in the first segment,
the progressions what you'd like to see, but there are
still some bad in terms of not being able to
cash in when they're close. Yeah. I think that's the
next thing to fix is the red zone. Um, and
he you know, he's not by himself in that red zone.
And as Mike Tomlin will be quick to point out, uh,
(17:36):
and Atlanta did it too. In the red zone. You
can't have penalties. And I do believe the two times
we did not score, we're both penalties. I think one
against Dotson and one against d J. So uh. You know,
Kenny's not all by himself. It is a team game,
the ultimate team game, and everybody has to be on
the same page, and that red zones especially. But I
(17:59):
think it's some thing that they will fix. Well. The
one throw he made that was short to Deante if
you did in that corner, but that was a shame,
you know, because it was in perfect what could have
been in perfect place. He stacked a j Taroll like Cordwood.
I mean, he just got on top of him and
I thought Kenny just would hit him right in the
you know, but it was just a little short and
(18:20):
let Taryll able to get his hand in then break
it up a little bit. But again, it's a it's
a process. They are working at it and they're gonna
in the long run this is all gonna pay off well.
And I think these woes is this is the growing pains. Right,
let's focus on where we were at the beginning of
the year. How do we have to for for historical
(18:44):
perspective to simply document the journey with which we've traveled
thus far. We couldn't get across the fifty yard line
early this year, and now in these last couple of weeks,
especially with that Cincinnati game, we're now getting over the
(19:04):
fifty yard line consistently, and we're getting in scoring range consistently.
I think that is the biggest thing that has really
progressed and why we talk about the success that we've
had over the last few weeks. It's been that factor.
Now the next step or the in line is literally
(19:26):
the goal line to actually consistently now get into the
red zone and more specifically the low red zone inside
the ten and being scoring opportunities with a fresh set
of downs to then take advantage to get in said
end zone. I think that's the next step. But right
now we've taken the biggest leap. We prove we can
move the ball effectively and consistently. Now it comes down
(19:50):
to the nuances. First drive of the game, sixteen plays,
second drive of the game for the Steelers twelve place
that is a big improved and over what we saw
back in the day. As you said, I just think that,
you know, and again to your point before the game,
the best offense is a defense, and if you're going
(20:12):
to the best defense is a good offense. See I
got I'm dyslexic. Well not only that, but I can
dumb down anybody. You know, Just just hang out more
with me, that's all. Well, not to mention the Steelers
didn't punt until the fourth quarter, that's right. Only two punts,
but one was Yeah, one was Billy's play at the
(20:34):
game if you didn't know, but yeah, you know, for
at least they were, you know, getting fuel goals out
of it. There was the end of the half, of course,
um where nothing really happened with not a lot of time.
But Max, how do they fix the red zone woes?
Is it practice? Is it just continuing to play together?
Is there? Um? You know, maybe something magical that you
can wave in front of them and it fixes it.
(20:56):
Or what? Don't jump offside and don't get holding sounds
pretty simple. I mean, just just don't get penalties. I mean,
we were in that position where we had a first
in goal and then we went backwards in two consecutive plays.
It was like, Okay, we're getting over this and then boom,
you know you you stub your toe. And I think
(21:18):
it just comes down to that. And also play call
selection in those moments. You know, as you get closer
to the goal line, guess what, the tighter the field gets,
so the sharper you must be and the more constricted
guys get, the play calling should compliment that. And I
didn't see that. In fact, at one point, I was like,
(21:40):
why are we lined up and what looked like thirteen
personnel and running a jet sweep off the edge. You know,
I'm just like, no, that's not that that. You don't
run a short yardage play. You know, when you have
ten years ago, you still got space. Um. So there's
just some of the play calling kinks, but the biggest
(22:00):
thing is do not self injure yourself, meaning pre snap
penalties and also the post snap variety. Keep your hands
out of people's faces and their face masks, keep them
on their chest, and then win in doubt dumped them
to the ground while holding their shoulder pads within the
framework of the chest. You know what I'm saying, Like,
(22:21):
that's that's where it gets tough. Yeah, it's a clinic
on how to hold. No, it's clutching. Holding is when
they throw a flag. Yes, there is a difference. Well
that's why we get into ceramics here, you know what
I mean, and clay pottery, terracotta, everything a gentle hands
(22:42):
you guys have, yes, Um, well, what did Atlanta do
to take George Pickens out of the game or what
was going on in terms of not seeing that connection
or going to him as much that we've seen previously
with Kenny Pickett. There were a lot of targeting to
the tight ends and new going into the game, they
were going to target the tight ends. I had a
feeling that they were going to target Deontay More. They're
(23:03):
trying to get Deonte rebbed up a little bit too,
and George Pickens just didn't make himself available or they
took him out with some you know, there was They
got a pretty a couple of good defensive backs there.
But um, I think I think George got frustrated and
then it started to kind of one of those snowballing
things and you're not got your edge when you're concerned
(23:25):
over the fact here you are, you're where you. You know,
you went to college and you've got family all surrounding you,
and you want to excel and have this huge game.
Remember what it was like when I went back to
Orchard Park, Buffalo, you know, playing in Orchard Park two
point four miles from where I grew up. You know, Um,
for offensive linement, we at least we we can stay
(23:45):
hidden in the line. You know it's not, but you
know the fact is, you want to win, you want
to have that great game, and it just didn't happen.
And I have not I didn't watch enough of him.
I was watching most of the line in the trenches,
um this afternoon, But I have to go back and
look at it with George, he just didn't seem to
be getting it. Well. To your point, there were twenty
seven targets. Eleven went to DJ and seven went to
(24:09):
the tight ends. Yeah, I mean that only leaves nine
other targets. Do the math? Yeah, well, you know not
on this show math here, especially when one of us
flunk twice. What did you sense from Deontay and George
on the sidelines. You know, Deonte with a drop and
(24:30):
you know you could see he was getting frustrated, As
Wolf said, with Pickens. Well, I think I think the
biggest thing is is that um, it just it wasn't
a lot of the matchups when it drew to him. Um,
he just he had I think he had bad rusts.
I don't think he was the focal point or the
first or second option. And a lot of the route
(24:51):
tree and they had sticky covers. They they knew they
couldn't let George Picks get over the top of them
in a lot of those situations, so they tried to
jam him at the line of scrimmage. They were mixing
the coverage on Kenny Pickett. You saw a lot of quarters,
a lot of invert cover two um, just to just
(25:11):
to create shells. Um. The guys played the curl flat
zone that numbers area that numbers to hash area UM
very well to make sure that when George was on
that side, covers was rolling in that direction. That's why Dante,
I think got so many one on one opportunities, was
because they were more scared of George than they were
(25:33):
of Deonte. In terms of the old line Wolf, what
did you see when you were watching the film. I
know you and Max Um are very proud to say
we've we've seen improvements improvements each week. Um from a
unit that was taken some heat earlier in this season. Absolutely,
you know, there were somebody snatching going on there. Man,
they were lightening people up. And I enjoyed the fact that,
(25:55):
you know, when the very first rep from the line
of scrimmage, there was a washing back of the the
line of scrimmage back on the other side of the ball.
I mean, it was beautiful and I you know, you
get all fired up about it. And it didn't matter
who they put in there, whether it was Dickerson, Grady, Jarrett, whoever,
you know, any of the numbers that you want to
line up in there. They were taking the guys off
the ball, and they the double teams, yad Zook say,
(26:18):
it's like they double teams were coming together in a
very nice way. You know, if you take him off
the ball, you dump him on the ground, you pick
up the run through, you know, those those type of
things they did a nice job on. They rolled Kenny
and gave him a clean pocket, you know, on the outside.
One of the things. You know, Derek Watt does some
nice work very unobserved. You know, whether it's a fourth
(26:39):
down run, he's he's four for four or something like
that on on fourth down runs. Uh. At the same time,
when Kenny rolled out, he hooked the end man on
the line and did it such a nice way. Boy,
I don't think that end man in line understood. He
got twirled around and everything like that, and Derek did
a great job of hooking him and Kenny get out
there and he threw that ball. I think it was
Deonte on the outside on a timing out there. Um.
(27:01):
You know, just good stuff by that offensive line and
past protection and run blocking and you know again. Uh.
The one thing that I'd love to see that I
think that they can help themselves a lot is on
the twist stunts. There's too much penetration. The penetrator gets
in between the guy and the next guy and then
the twisting of the trailer comes around, and you've got
(27:24):
some problems there. And that's where they're not staying on
the same level and they get turned. They're not square
shoulders and not hip to hip. But again that's a
part of the parcel of the process of working it
out and they'll keep at it. They'll be fine. Billy,
does it feel like this team has an identity now?
It's got a better identity that it did a month ago.
(27:44):
And um, yes it does. Um. We have proven we
can run the ball consistently. That's the key, you know, consistently.
It's not just who your opponent is and what their
capabilities are are stopping you. It's that you're going to
impose your will. And I've seen that over this two
game win streak and winning three out of four. Um. Yeah,
(28:05):
definitely the identity is taking shape. You know who your
quarterback is. You know, there's no questioning, no question marks
about that. Uh. And Nagy has responded to the development
of the old line. I really believe that that. You know,
he feels that those guys are gonna give him cracks
and that's all he needs. He's wonderful when he gets
(28:28):
into that second level because he's a beast. And you
know what's his name, Richie the guy he got got
stiff armed, oh Grant. Yeah, he didn't stiff arm me,
slam dunked them. He'll be testimony testimonial to that. Another thing,
(28:50):
and it's kind of lost in the shuffle. But in
this pregame show, Mike Tomlin talked about Cordarrell Patterson like
he was the second coming of Joshua Cribbs, and that
is to me high praise and UH for him not
to have any returns UH and their return people no
punt return yardage and I think an average of eighteen
(29:11):
point three on kickoffs. That's a job well done. I
gotta give the special teams a plus all the way
around because the coverage was there, and we were the
last club in the National League going into that game
in kickoff coverage and that changed abruptly. And just rebounding
from what you saw Monday night, it was a short week.
The second half did not go their way and it
(29:32):
could have ended badly. The Steelers were able to pull
out the wind. But um, yeah, it was good to
see yesterday in Atlanta. And we have much more to
talk about here on the Point After. We'll be right
back on d V. Back to the Point After, brought
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Mariota from his ends and throws that pass and it
(29:53):
did accept it, going to the five yard line and
getting out about makeup Fitzpatrick and that sales the deal
in the Mercedes Benz Stadium and the Steeler Nation is
celebrating welcome back to the point after Steelers Falcons nineteen
sixteen is your final score? The Steelers moved to five
(30:14):
and seven. I'm miss Matthews with Bill Hillgrove, Craig Wolfley
and Max Starks and guys, we've got to give the
defense a little love. I know we talked about Minka
in the first segment, but our segment right now is
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Visit clear View f CU dot org. Slash touchdown Billy.
The stats when you look for the Steelers defense, you
might not seem as impressive, but what they were able
to do in terms of especially in the first half,
controlling the line of scrimmage, not let the Falcons get
their run game going into the second half. Yeah, and
(30:57):
even the final numbers into eight that it was a
varsity performance by the defense. They held him to fourteen
less yards in our average it was one sixty. And
I think the past efficiency rating of Mariota seventy two
point seven, well below his yearly average, and the pick,
of course, that's sealed the deal. So yeah, you gotta
(31:19):
give the defense props. They played and and and they
played tired too, because once you know, the Falcons got
that running game going second half, um, you started to
worry because you know, all of a sudden you can
see why, uh they're ranked what fourth in the nation
in the National Football League coming into the game. So
I I give the defense a tip of the cap.
(31:42):
I thought they played well. I mean, you know, especially
the first half. They limited them, what twenty eight yards
in the first half, and great googly moogli. I thought that,
you know, they were all quitting themselves very well in
the one on one individual battles, controlling gaps, flowing to
and where they needed to be on the outside and
so forth. Um, then it seemed to get a little
bit more traction. Uh, you know, the Falcons got more traction.
(32:05):
You've you've got that inverted bone, the two thirds bone
that you know they run in formations which are odd formations.
They shifted back and forth and they caught him a
couple of times. The Steelers then would have alternated that,
I'm sorry. They would shift the Falcons and then the
Steelers would alter their their stance and shift into the gaps,
and then they'd come back out of it and they'd
(32:25):
catch the Steelers just going back into the original position.
And so that was part and parcel of what was
going on. But I think guys got tired, and there
was a lot more guys with turned shoulders in the trenches.
You know, when I say turned shoulders, you gotta keep
your shoulders square when you play a power running team
like this, you know, and when they get you running
sideline to sideline, you become one dimensional. And more guys
(32:47):
were getting on the ground, they were cutting on the
back side um and more guys at the point of
attack weren't holding the point like they were in the
first half. Well. And I think the other thing that
was also a note was the Falcons really tried to
pass the football at the beginning of the game like
they were I don't know what it was why they felt,
(33:10):
you know, we're gonna try and make Marcus Mariota a
total quarterback. It's like, no, he's a guy who can run.
I mean, he's he was Tim Tebow two point oh,
I mean, and I think that was something that they
were trying to prove that the zebra, you know, didn't
have stripes. But at the end of the day, we're
talking about their success. It came when the run game
(33:32):
actually started clicking for them. They could not get anything
done with the pass, and I think that was the
first half experiment, was can we actually pass with Marcus Mariota?
And then you woefully admit you cannot pass with Marcus Mariota.
So let's just go back to our bread and butter,
which is being a running team that runs option Corderold Patterson,
Tyler out Yere, whoever else, Caleb Huntley, whoever we can
(33:55):
put in the backfield. Guys, just go forward because the
going backwards thing and protect me is not working. Yeah,
the Falcons were over four in terms of red zone
efficiency in the first half and as we have said,
only twenty eight rushing yards That changed in the second
half a billion. Never felt like the Steelers defense wasn't
going to be able to keep it in a comfortable place,
(34:16):
unlike what we saw against the Colts and even the
Bengals previously. Yeah, it was it was scary, but you
never thought that they you know that they'd break and
they didn't, you know, And and that's again the progress
that we've been looking for. Um, I don't think we'll
face a rushing attack that good the rest of the way,
(34:36):
will we. Well, they were fourth, you know, I mean
they were up there, and I thought the Stews just
did a great job in that first half. In the
second half not as good, you know. I mean it's
like I think Max is correct. You know, they had
Mariotta was checking the ball a little too much and
he's not he's not a yeah he's he's not one
(34:56):
of those NFL caliber arms that it's going to scare you.
But he does have good wheels. And when you go
to that inverted bone, there's a lot of things going
on and you're trying to find your keys, and it's
like Mike Tomlin said pregame, you know, you've got to
know your keys. You gotta stare at your keys, you
gotta play your keys, and don't worry about the rest.
You know, those are everybody's got their own keys, and
(35:19):
so you cannot get yours mistaken with somebody else's. So
I thought in the second half that they just weren't
as sharp as they were in the first t J
Walk came into the game as questionable dealing with that
rib injury from Monday night in Indie. And you know, Max,
he's not getting the sacks that everybody wants him to get,
you know, pre injury with the knee and everything in
(35:41):
the pack. But he's still out there and teams have
to respect when he's there, and that's exactly what he's
out there for. He knows that he's gonna give you
the hustle plays. He's gonna run down the back side
of a running back, um breaking to the opposite side
of the ball. Uh, He's gonna give you the pressure
that's necessary. He's gonna draw the double teams. And I
think he's He's not to say he's content with it,
(36:05):
but he understands where he's at right now, and I
think that's the tough thing. And he took a he
took a big fall when he had a tackle for
a loss in the backfield where he landed on those
ribs and you can see him visibly coming off the field,
grimacing um and pain, taking the knee on the sidelines
and then trying to just kind of shake it off.
I mean the dude is as tough as nails. He
(36:27):
said after the game. He didn't even hide it. Max,
He said, my ribs are killing me. Yeah, So I
mean for him to go out there and give you
anything after that happened is iron man status, you know
what I'm saying. Like he is, he's just built differently
and to still make plays. But you're right, I mean,
it's not the standard we expect, but dealing with the
(36:49):
injuries that he dealt with from the beginning of the
year two now and then the perpetual injuries that will
occur because of playing. You know, you have to give
him two claps, you know, up top for for for
the way he's played. And interestingly enough, since we like
to get will fall route up. Lamar Jackson might not
(37:10):
be playing for the Ravens comes Sunday when they have
their first meeting with the Steelers at Akersher Stadium. Today,
John Harbather, head coach, said that Lamar Jackson is week
to week with a knee injury. He went through all
the m r I s today said quote, as the
week goes, we'll see for this week. It's probably less
likely for this week, but it's not impossible and Tyler
(37:33):
Huntley would be the next man up and and he
owes us a sack that he has t J. Watt.
J Watt, Yes, yes, I don't know how I us
got in there, but anyhow, t J. Watt. Yes, I'm
still frosted over the fact that last year he should
have had twenty three and a half sack. I know,
it's just it's bogus man that the sack record for
a single season should be t. J. Watt by himself,
(37:56):
by himself. I'm with you, no doubt. Huntley played well
yesterday after the injury to Lamar, and he played okay
against the Steelers sixteen of thirty one for one, but
he was intercepted twice, so and the Steelers won that game,
as you remember in overtime. Um, maybe the people in
Nevada know something that Jim Harbaugh doesn't want them to
(38:19):
know because they have installed the Steelers as a three
point favorite this coming something. Does that tell you something
about whether number eight is available or not? I think so, yeah,
Oh absolutely absolutely. I mean three points is what you
normally start with for a home team. That's that's good.
And then you look at the opponent you say, uh,
(38:41):
they got such a scess. They have such a scess. Well,
that number didn't move, so lets you know that Vejas
is making sure that lost wages. It was, yes, lost
wages the city of the City of Buffet's um it is.
(39:01):
You know. I think I think that is something because
they know that they are a different team. Yes, you
beat the Broncos, but this ain't the Broncos, especially the
way that we've been playing the last couple of weeks.
So it's gonna be a hard challenge. But the challenge
gets just a smit I mean a minuscule. I got
my fingers together. I'm trying to look through with a
squinted eye. Easier having Tyler Huntley in their versus Lamar
(39:21):
Jackson well, and also the Ravens signed Brett Huntley not
to be confused with Tyler Huntley to their practice squad,
a quarterback that spent some time with them as well.
So I'm with you, Billy, I think it's not even
the Vegas knows. Everybody knows. It does not sound good
for Lamar Jackson will keep an eye on that. We
want to remind you the Steelers Pro Shop is where
you can get up with the latest sideline apparel, hats
(39:42):
or jerseys of your favorite players, Authentic memorabilia, custom items,
and exclusives you can find only directly from the team
and one of the official Steelers Pro Shop stores located
at Aquisher Stadium, Gross City Premium Outlets, or Tanger Outlets,
or you can shop online at shop dot Steelers dot com. Guys,
it's always fun for a victory Monday for Bill Hill,
(40:03):
grow very willfully and Max Starks and our producer Toma
Missy Matthews, thanks for joining us on the point after
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