October 14, 2024 • 44 mins
It is another Victory Monday! Rob King, Craig Wolfley, and Matt Williamson as always share their thoughts and takeaways from the Steelers' fourth win of the young 2024 season.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Steelers Point After Show on WDBD Pittsburgh,
brought to you by your neighborhood Ford Store. The F
one point fifty is the official truck of the Pittsburgh
Steelers by Brian Patton and associates. It's all about the
benefits by the Steelers Pro Shop. Get it direct from
the team at shop dot Steelers dot com and by
Clearview Federal Credit Union. Get the financial answers you need.
(00:21):
And now here are your hosts, Rob King, Craig Wolfley,
and Matt Williamson.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
And our wonderful producer Justin Miller. Let us not forget
him as we welcome you to the Point After on
the Steelers Audio Network. It is time for our first Reaction,
brought to you by First National Bank. Let's get started,
Member FDIC. Steelers win by the final score of thirty
two to thirteen, so the Steelers improved a fourign two.
They remain tied top the AFC North, and teams over
(00:50):
the last five seasons that have been tied or leading
their division after six weeks have an eighty three percent
chance of going to the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
So that is very good following recent trends.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
So all in all the good victory for the Steelers
over the Raiders as far as that is concerned, But
maybe some other thoughts. Craig Wolf, we let us start
with you on your first reaction.
Speaker 4 (01:12):
Well, my first reaction was good Zeke's nudgy wow. I mean,
that was really a sensational number of a plays that
he participated. I mean, if you look at some of
those runs, whether he ghosted what's his name, Jack Jones
or whatever, it was actual yeah, out in the open field,
or he ran through tackles where he was taken on one, two, three,
(01:36):
four Raiders at a time, you know, or he was
in the middle of a rugby scrum of guys and
the pile kept moving for an extra ten yards or so.
He was just magnificent. I I was almost speechless watching
some of his efforts, knowing that this guy just shows
has been showing and displaying great combative effort in running
(01:57):
the ball. But that was really that was over and
above and beyond anything I've seen from Nagy. I think
in the past he really was terrific. Matt great place
to start. I thought he set the trend.
Speaker 5 (02:10):
It was needed, you know, a physicality mentality getting down
to running the football with aggression and chunk runs as well.
That's a great place to start Wolf. I also thought
the defense followed suit after that first drive really put
the clamps on the Raiders. Now I kind of want
to get this out of the way, and I respect
(02:31):
every NFL opponent, but this was a pretty bad football
team they played. I mean, I felt like the offense
had Brock Bauers and nothing else. And Max Crosby's fantastic
on defense, but the rest of that unit, I would say,
is subpar. But good teams wipe the floor with really
bad teams, and that's exactly what the Steelers did for
much of this game.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
I agree with all those things. Bowers looks like he's
gonna be a really really good player, and the way
they utilize him, I mean, I think he's going to
be kind of the and is already probably at this
stage just a half a dozen games into his career.
The next sort of mismatch nightmare for defensive coordinators. I mean,
he's just you get in no way can you guard him?
(03:11):
The linebacker very difficult to guard him, even with the
safety he moved. I mean, they throw I don't really
remember too many tight ends getting passes in the flat
where you have set up a blocking scheme out there,
that's usually either a receiver or running back running a
little swing route out to the flat, or a wide
(03:33):
receiver you know who maybe has got you know, like
a punt returner type of skills, that kind of thing.
They use Bowers that way.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
I can I can't.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Remember, Matt, Can you remember tight a tight end that's
really been utilized that frequently in that sort of an attack.
And it's not just the fact that they were trying
to get O'Connell into this. If you see other Raiders games,
and I watched them all looking up to this, leading
up to this game, they did the same thing with
Minshew a quarterback. They throw it out to him in
the flat, expect him to make a guy miss.
Speaker 5 (04:01):
Yeah, it's pretty crazy, and I've seen it with Kelsey.
I'm straining my mind right now to find others, you know,
maybe not to this degree.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
Now.
Speaker 5 (04:10):
I don't think they would do it as much if
they had Myers and DeVante Adams and Pat Mahomes, you
know what I mean. But I mean they are easy completions.
And even leading up to this game, Bowers average depth
of target was very low. It was like right around
five from what I remember, because they just wanted to
get the ball in his hands. And I give the
Seilers a lot of credit for their tackling, and it's
(04:31):
not something people think about enough, but man, they limited
him after the catch, which is a big weapon the
Raiders had, and I thought that collectively they were a
very good tackling defense.
Speaker 4 (04:41):
Well that's the Raiders weren't That's exactly That's exactly the
point I was going to bring up.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
Well, I mean, Antonio Pierce made that a point of
emphasis for the team this week, said we're going back
to training camp, We're going to work on fundamentals. This
is going to be a physical team. We need to
tackle better. And then not only did they not tackle better.
Wolf and I were leaving the press box and we
were listening to their post game show, of course because
it's it's in Las Vegas, so that's what's piping through
(05:08):
the speakers, and the guy Wolf he was their post
was railing on the lack of tackling by the Raiders
and how they need to get some guys out of there,
guys who want to tackle, and they don't have enough
guys who actually want to tackle, and you don't ever
have to worry about that with the Steelers.
Speaker 4 (05:23):
No, there's no question about it. I mean, we've got
enough hands in the pile of tacklers. The fact is,
what the Raiders were doing looked to be they just
look like they didn't want to be there at some
points in time. I mean, I can understand Nagee's going
to put a hurting on you you come up to
tackle him, but just at some moments in time, it
didn't seem like this was a team that was totally
(05:45):
that's This was a team that maybe had a couple
of business decisions, as they say, and certainly some of
them had to do with getting out of Nage's way
rather than taking the full front force from him. So yeah,
I thought their tackling was poor. I thought that it
was not representative of what they hope you know, I'm
sure they were hoping for. Maybe you have to understand
that training camp last more than one week.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
I am curious to get both of your guys' opinions
as to you know, it looked to me like there
was less contact in the backfield for Naji. Naji gets
contacted in the backfield a lot. I don't know whether
that is something defenses are doing. And certainly the Raiders
were selling out early to try to stop the run.
(06:30):
I mean they were bringing all kinds of you know,
sort of designed run blitz pressures to stop the running game.
I don't know whether he is hit in the backfield
a lot because of that, because of the blocking, and again,
at least they had the same starting unit out there.
We'll hear about Zach Frazer's injury. More about that tomorrow,
I think. But whether it's continuity in the offensive line,
whether it's just the Raiders not being a very good opponent.
(06:52):
But Naji had more room to run he when he
got the ball, he wasn't being hit in the backfield
as much. And because of that, we saw some different
things from him on the two runs. On that touchdown drive,
the twenty six yard er he made. I don't know
if I've ever seen Najy do this. He made Jack
(07:13):
Jones fall down. Now, he makes lots of people fall
down when they run into him, but he made him
fall down by juking him. Jack Jones fell to the turf.
I mean, that's a defensive back, a lighter guy, supposedly
you know, you would think more nimble coming up to
hit Naji, and Nagy faked him out so badly he
fell down. And then the move he made before he
(07:33):
broke to the sideline on the thirty six yard touchdown
run was also you know, him putting some moves on
and then showing some bursts.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
To the outside.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
So, guys, do you know why maybe there was less
contact for Naji in the backfield? Is it any of
those things that I mentioned previously?
Speaker 4 (07:50):
Wolf Well I said, Number one is you had an
offensive line that at least had a couple had a
game together, right, you know what I mean? So there
was an understanding of what's going on. Second of all,
there was a couple of design blitzes that hit. But
for instance, the one that that no, you didn't have
a chance at it, it was in the backfield. Yes,
you got three on three on the back side, and
then you have a blitzer come down. If you don't
audible out of that, you're in trouble, which they were.
(08:12):
But so you've got that. But really what's been going
on is at times you're not getting a hat on
a hat and you have a mess of you know,
of players at the line. Of scrimmage and he gets
hit and has to battle his way to the line
of scrimmage. Well, we're seeing less of that. As these
guys get more experienced, Mason McCormick and the other guys,
you know, as they get more experience in their their
vision grows wider than the A and B gaps and
(08:35):
sea gaps, and you start to see the big picture.
As Chuck Nolways used to say to me, say, you've
got to see the big picture. You've got to see
it from you know, three hundred feet. You got to
see what motion does in this case. You've got to
see what a shift does to the defense in this case.
And as Tounch always put he goes, Craig, you got
to get out of your left guard. Only you know
(08:55):
sell he said, you got to see the whole thing.
Because Tounch played all every position. I plum played one
for the first eight years of my career. So the
point is, you know, I think the guys are getting
a little more well rounded and seeing what's going on
and understanding and understanding how a blitz can hit you
and affect you. And you're not having the bus where
you got, you know, no hat on a hat on
(09:16):
any guy. Matt totally agree.
Speaker 5 (09:19):
I felt like there were fewer leaks in the damn
than ever. You know, that nobody was really a liability
rewatching it. Darnott Washington had some down moments. Not that
I'm worried at all about him as a blocker. It
just wasn't his day, I guess. But all in all,
I'm with Wolf. I don't have much to add to it.
I think that it's maturity, continuity, a little more experience
(09:40):
understanding what defenses are trying to do against you. And
I didn't see anyone that was a liability. I mean,
of course, like Max Crosby gives people problems, but I
mean there was there's down times, but there wasn't a
weak link.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
Well, Matt, here's the other thing too that I got
to thinking about today. I would have to look up
the specific moments, but the last I believe the last
two years, the Steelers running game midway maybe you know
a little beyond midway. The season right around that midway mark, anyway,
began to take off, began to take hold, and in fact,
going into last year, I think people thought, Okay, let's
(10:13):
look how well they ran the ball at the end
of last year, that's certainly going to carry over into
the beginning of the twenty twenty three season. Well, it didn't,
And I think maybe we had similar expectations with this team.
Look at the way they ran the ball toward the
end of the season and now at the beginning of
the season not running it quite as well. I guess
my question would be, you know, again, are these case
(10:35):
by every year different? Is there something about a running team?
Maybe the other defenses are getting more fatigued. Does the
season wears on Maybe the fact that you've continued to
slam your head against the wall that makes you more
prepared in week eight than the more tired guys are
getting in a week. I don't know what the explanation is,
because it's been a trend and now here we are,
(10:57):
hopefully this trend is beginning in week six for the Steelers,
were we can expect to see more of this dominating
running team.
Speaker 5 (11:03):
I'm sure this is more of wolf Sally. You're talking
about the left guard over here. I mean, he would
know this better than I would, But I do think
there's something to that. And last year it seemed to
get triggered by putting Roger Jones in the lineup. It
wasn't the coordinator change. It was you know, getting him
out there, weaponizing him as a poler as well as
some of the other guys. And I've been saying this
(11:25):
all along, even though they drafted well on the offensive line,
and I like all three of those young dudes. I
just thought, you know, early growing pains is going to
be in the cards for the offensive line no matter what.
Let alone when all these injuries have hit. And boy,
this frasier thing absolutely worries me along those lines. But
you also mentioned the weather and the fatigue of the season.
(11:45):
You know, everyone always talks about pounding the rock until
it eventually, you know, breaks. I think some of that
goes through the course of the year too. If you
stick with a running game. Stick with a running game
gets harder and harder to deal with as the season
goes on, as the weather changes. You know, Derrick Henry
has better numbers in December than he has September.
Speaker 4 (12:02):
You know. Now, let's not forget the fact that we've
got a new offensive coordinator. Sure, you've got Arthur Smith.
As I always talk about two fisted, double chin strap guy.
That is as subtle as a frying pan to the forehead.
It's all about bringing some power, bringing some heat, bringing
some physicality, which is he's very good at. And you
can see, you know the attitude of Arthur Smith being
(12:24):
picked up by the players. You know they love this,
they enjoys. I mean, there was nothing better then in
the second half when you're grounding and pounding on the
defense and those guys are starting to bicker with each
other and their body language says I'm tired, this hurts,
this stucks, you know, I mean, you know they get
all upset about Hey, that's great because you want to
(12:45):
pile it on. And if you have an offensive coordinator
that allows you to go after it like that and
go and deal with them physically. Man, that's just a
lot of fun. I can't even begin to tell you
how much fun that is.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
Well, Nagi's thirty six yard run was the first touchdown
run was the first touchdown run by a Steerer's running
back this year. And before we get to justin fields,
which will do next segment, Matt really encouraging to see
Jalen Warren out there. We've talked a lot about injuries,
and again we'll wait and see what the case is
with Zach Frazier. I mean, it's it's unbelievable that you know,
(13:19):
you felt like, Wow, the offensive line's got great depth,
The outside linebacker position's got great depth, the running back
position has great depth. And now you know you're calling
up guys from the practice clouded outside linebacker. You're down
three or four guys on the offensive line, and you're
down the two guys behind Nijee Harris at the running
back position that I think we all expected to really
(13:41):
help this running attack. Don't know when Cordero Patterson's going
to be back. It wasn't a breakthrough game. It wasn't
a I'm back kind of game for Jalen Warren necessarily,
but the fact that he is back, I think is
extremely significant for what this offense wants.
Speaker 5 (13:56):
To do one hundred percent and real quick. And that
outside line group that got basically called off off the street,
off practice squad, they didn't have the most challenging of
NFL Sundays, but I thought they were not a liability
and that's all I wanted from that group. So that
was good from a depth perspective as well. Warren didn't
look like last year's Warren quite yet, but I thought
(14:17):
that was a perfect game to kind of knock some
of that rust off. And I very much believe the
best is yet to come for him for the rest
of the season, and he could really spark plug this
you spark this offense in both phases run hand pass,
had really nice blitz pick up at one point too there,
and you know, helped out on third downs. So no,
I think that situations in pretty good hands right now.
Speaker 4 (14:36):
It's going to evolve and it'll continue to evolve. He's
a ballardbuster. It's like Matt talked about it. He picks
up the blitz. He's going to do things that maybe
on the third down that you know, you'd like to
get him the ball and get it out in open
field and get some first downs. But a lot of
what he does is just just impaling defensive backs and
so forth. Guys that are on a blitz man. You know,
(14:57):
let me tell you something, your quarterback, Justin, You're gonna oh,
Justin's I going, yeah, I'm glad I got the ballardbuster back.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
Well, the Steelers win that game obviously against the Raiders
to improve to four and two on the season. So
a really, really nice victory for the Steelers in Las Vegas.
Up next, we're gonna continue to examine the offense, look
at the quarterback position, We'll look at the defense. Special
teams should also get a round of applause as well.
That's when we continue on the point After on the
Steelers Audio Network.
Speaker 4 (15:26):
Back to the point after on DVD.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
Harris the loan setback. We'll get to pitch the Steelers
trying to seal the edge. Naji Oh, We're gonna slide
inside one tackle, get.
Speaker 3 (15:35):
Down the sideline.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
Naji Harris crazy towards the endo, scrawls out, is he in?
Speaker 3 (15:41):
Touchdown? Steelers? What a run by Naji Harris.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
The play of the game is brought to you by
S and T Bank, proudly serving our community since nineteen
oh two. stBank dot com s and T Bank member
fdi C. So it's great to see the running game
going and Naji Harrison for a huge part of that.
Great to see that first touchdown run by a Steelers
running back on this season. We hadn't seen that until
(16:07):
Nagi's thirty six yard first. So good stuff happening in
the running game. In the thirty two to thirteen victory.
Matt let's start with you first year as we then
talk about the other part of that big running attack,
and that was justin Fields, carrying the ball eleven times
for fifty nine yards and scoring twice in this game.
Speaker 5 (16:25):
Yeah, he's absolutely a weapon with his legs. I mean,
that's no secret. I think that early in the season
they're getting to know him, he's getting to know them
new system. You don't have an established Russell Wilson on
the sideline active that I didn't think that. I thought
they were a little reluctant to totally unleash his legs
early in the season because anybody to watch him with
(16:46):
the Bears saw, wow, you know, this guy is zero
to sixty in no time. And we hadn't seen a
lot of that yet, but it's starting to really expand
and it's a good outlet for him when in doubt,
just use those legs. I mean, the same thing that's
going on with Jayden Dan and guys like that.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
Well, I think one of the other things, and we
sort of made mention of it in the last part
of the last segment, is the fact that you know,
he has got the freedom to make a read and
if he sees something in a certain way. Okay, you've
called the pass for the average quarterback who doesn't have mobility.
The blitz is coming. You've got to try to find
(17:23):
the safety value. You've got to find the quick throw.
You know, sometimes that quick throw can mean great things.
Sometimes it can be a pressured and poor throw. Well,
justin Fields has the capability of getting back there and
immediately taking off and when you look at you know
the last First of all, he has five rushing touchdowns
in the last four weeks, but in two of the
(17:44):
last three weeks eleven carries fifty nine yards, and then
two weeks ago in the loss at Indianapolis, it was
ten carries for fifty five yards, also scoring two touchdowns
in that game. So we can talk all we want
about quarterback rating, and his rating has been very, very solid,
a little bit above average. Not wowing you with yardage numbers,
(18:05):
not wowing you with touchdown numbers. But the rating doesn't
take into account what he's doing carrying the ball, which
is a huge part of what this Yeelers are doing
offensively right now.
Speaker 4 (18:16):
Well, there's no question about it. Look, he's growing into
the role. I mean, as we see him go through
this process of expanding his offensive weaponry. You know, you
take a look at it. Okay, we got you got
an opportunity, you got the man coverage, you got a blitz.
You know, you got pitting nop. You can head right
up the field. You can, you know, beat the blitz.
You know those are great, Well you roll them out. Now,
(18:38):
all of a sudden, as he was rolling up, what
a nice throw that was to Calvin Austin, right, that
was just a nice job of throwing across his body
and doing a good job. You know. Now we also
see times where he put three throws together that you know,
you had to have to believe that justin sitting and going,
oh man, you know, they kind of got away from
me those three throws down to you know, Friar mooth
and so forth. But you know what, but it didn't
(19:01):
affect him for the rest of the game. It's not
like he went into the tank or anything like that.
He fought his way out of it, was able to
roll the chain some more in the second half and
everything and do the job that he needed to do.
And he's growing into a role and I think his
confidence has got to be there. I think when he's
in the huddle, the other ten guys are looking at
him with confident eyes, you know, and it to me
(19:24):
it all comes together and the result of good play
and positive, positive, you know stuff on the field where
he is doing the things he needs to do to
get this team down into the end zone.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
Yeah, and I think growing is that's the key word, Matt,
that a lot of Steelers fans are looking at right now.
And I think that if they're looking objectively, they're probably
just they just are questioning, is that what's going on?
There are some people that have already made up their minds, absolutely,
I can see it with Justin Fields. Others who haven't,
(19:57):
you know, I have them they need to throw for
more yards and square or more points. I think when
you're looking at this offense, first of all, they're doing
what they need to do to win games. We'll get
to that in a moment, but you know, as far
as just trying to isolate Justin Fields beyond that, which
is very difficult to separate from because that's his job
is to try to win games. But I think that
(20:18):
you need to be looking at this. Hopefully, if you're
a Steelers fan, the hope is that this is these
are signs of maturity. He is a player who's getting
better than the player that you know, we saw towards
the latter part of his time in the Bears. He's
the guy that the Bears took in the first round.
He's a guy that just needs a little more evolution,
(20:39):
a little more being surrounded by better talent, weeks and
weeks to grow into this, to get the technique better,
and those sort of things to be the kind of
quarterback that can, if needed, throw for two hundred and
eighty five yards and three touchdowns in a game against
the Chiefs or what have you when you need the offense.
(21:00):
Is that the way you kind of see what we
should be looking at and what fans should be looking at,
because I think that's what fans are looking at right
now with him.
Speaker 5 (21:06):
Yeah, And I think it's just society nowadays. But it
seems like many Stealer fans, as you mentioned, have already
made their mind up. You're either a Fields guy or
a Wilson guy, right, Why can't you be both? You know,
I don't understand why, right, right? I mean, I think
there's great arguments, great cases for both players, and they
are very different in a lot of ways. And I
(21:29):
also urge people to realize any development in football, but
especially quarterbacks.
Speaker 4 (21:34):
Is not linear.
Speaker 5 (21:35):
You just don't keep taking steps forward. There's going to
be setbacks. There's going to be times where you don't
look so great, but then the next week you look phenomenal.
And I didn't love the way Justin threw the ball yesterday.
I thought his accuracy was one of the worst it's
been in a Seiler uniform. But to think he's not
getting better since the time, you know, from last year,
even his end of his beaar days or even just
(21:57):
starting with week one till now is crazy. He's definitely improved, yep.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
And I also to you know, I like the rating
statistic because it puts some emphasis on touchdown to turnover ratio.
But you have to have that touchdown. So he had
a lower rating in this last game. But you know,
think about this, if that throw to pickings in the
end zone where I think I think George would tell
you that he would catch that, you know, nine times
(22:23):
out of ten, even though it was well defended. But George,
he's got such great hands that that's one I think
he normally hauls in. Now, your ratings in the nineties, right,
I mean no interception.
Speaker 5 (22:35):
Yeah, but he also bailed out on an interception too.
Speaker 3 (22:39):
And don't.
Speaker 4 (22:41):
You know when he was strapped across that was only
a step there, So.
Speaker 5 (22:44):
I mean yeah, I'm also I mean he's from one
interception all year.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
And that's true, and right, you can't and you're right,
I shouldn't be cherry picking one moment. I'm just saying,
what could have happened. You know that it could have
the rating could have been higher. But the sequence Wolf
was talking about your your left, you're supposed to layer
feather of throw in over defender to George Pickens. I
wonder if I wonder if he didn't see that defender
(23:09):
of the last minute, because it looked like he was
trying to fire it in there. It didn't look like
there was a lane to fire it in there that
was high in a way. And then the one to
friar Mouth I think was the one that was probably
of the three throws the easiest.
Speaker 3 (23:19):
You're your move to your left. You got to drop
a ball over a guy.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
You'd like to be able to make that throw, but
it's not quite as simple as it looks. And then
nor was the one the third one to Pickens, where
he also had to do the same thing rolling to
his right. The one to Friarmuth, I think is a
It's not the easiest throw you'll ever make, but I
think it's one that you know, again, nine times out
of ten, Justin's probably gonna hit him right between the eights.
So that three throw sequence. And then you know, again,
(23:45):
if we're gonna quibble the throw to Pickens where Pickens
caught the ball at to three, if he throws it
out a little further, it's that's probably a touchdown there,
And you know, we're looking at the offensive output maybe
a little bit differently. But again, I think your point's
a good one, Matt, is that in totality is he
getting better week after week? Are is there going to
be more put on his plate when necessary? But this
(24:07):
gets me back wolf to the biggest point. So yes,
we're all you know, fans are wondering, is are we
seeing the evolution of a young quarterback who's going to
be here for a while And we're seeing the first
steps on the path to proving why he was a
first to overall pick. But again, development goes hand in hand,
(24:28):
Actually it doesn't really go hand in hand. Winning leads
the way. Development is a step behind, you know what
I mean, if you're walking down the sideway, sidewalk developments
behind winning the game. And when you get into games
like this, you have to be able to what you're
looking at your assets as a team. What do we have, Well,
we have a defense, it's the highest paid in the
(24:49):
league and has proven to be very good at stopping opponents.
We have an offense. It's maybe evolving right now. So
what does the offense need to do? Well, largely run
the ball and not turn it over. And that's what
they did exactly.
Speaker 4 (25:03):
And that's the point of growing, you know. I mean
the thing about it is, it's not as you said,
And what's really important to remember, as Matt said, it's
not a linear thing. You know, you're gonna have ups
and downs, and you know the thing about it is
you're gonna have coaching that's trying to elevate your game.
I remember back as I was a rookie, and you know,
pass protection was I came from a run blocking school.
(25:23):
I mean, pass pro was just kind of like one
of those things you did when you know it was
too long to run the ball.
Speaker 3 (25:29):
You know, you and.
Speaker 4 (25:30):
The fact is, you know, my offensive line coach said, hey,
you gotta do this, God is. But if I stuffed
the guy, you'd be like, Okay, bottom line is, you
got the job done, you know. And that's what Justin's
doing right now. It's a bottom line thing at times,
and he's getting the job done. He's got those legs,
he's using them to extend drives, which is something we
so desperately needed. And he's keeping the offense out there
(25:53):
doing those sorts of things. And like I said, no,
it wasn't the best throwing day for him yesterday, but
Dad Gummett, when you throw three like he did in
a row, you start to wonder, oh, is there something
going on here or that? And he comes back and
he just settles down and finishes the job and wins
the day. You know, That's what it's all about, man,
It's about winning and how you get there. I know
(26:13):
you want to have nice stats, and I know that
you want to look good doing it, and I know
that you want to look like it's a smooth operation offensively,
But sometimes it's choppy water and you are bailing water
and you are paddling as hard as you can and
to do that, you know, it takes all hands on deck,
and I think that's what we're getting right now.
Speaker 5 (26:31):
Yeah, so Rob, I heard an interview once with Brett
Farv and he said, all NFL quarterbacks can hit the door.
The really good ones can hit the doorknob. The great
ones put it through the keyhole. And I don't think
Fields will ever be a keyhole accuracy guy, but he's
shown bouts of being a doorknob accuracy guy, and I
(26:52):
think he can get to that point consistently in not
a long, long stretch of time. And if you mix
that with his legs and you only throw an interception
once a month or so, you can win a lot.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
Of games, right And I think we should also remember
again if you're looking for little pieces of the wall,
the building block that is going to be justin Fields
leading you to success in the postseason. I'll bring you
back to that game against Dallas. You know, he led
them for a touchdown drive in the fourth quarter to
(27:26):
give them a seventeen to thirteen lead. That's what you
want to be able to do. I mean to me, guys,
an offense has to be able to have the character
to score when you want to you know, the defense
brings an attitude and we're going to shut you down.
Speaker 3 (27:39):
To the the offense, you.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
Need to be explosive, but you have to at least
have the character to be able to score when the
team needs you to score, to be able to go
on a drive when a team needs you to be
able to go on a drive and give that defense
a rest. And even in a loss against Dallas, he
marched the team down the field after the turnover and
scored a touchdown that gave them a game. They gave
them the lead and a chance to win that game
(28:03):
against Dallas. So again, is that, you know, three hundred
and seventy yards passing and three touchdown. No, it isn't,
But is it maybe another piece of the building block.
I'd like to think it is.
Speaker 4 (28:14):
Yeah, there's no question about it. Look, let's go back
to two thousand and four. Young man named Ben Roethlisberger
took the field and you know it was thrown for
a buck fifty bucks seventy five, had a powerful running
game behind him. Steel has just had a great day
running the ball yesterday. Even if part of it is
your quarterback's legs, good for that, all right, But you
(28:35):
got a good defense. The defense got what three takeaways
night's job, I believe it was, you know. And by
the way, we haven't even mentioned that TJ. Watt, Who
I gotta tell you, man, this guy gets chipped more
than a stone statue with a you know, a guy
doing a some sort of you know, a statue type thing,
chip it away. This guy gets chipped all the time,
(28:55):
and not just by one. Sometimes I saw like three
guys at one point in time. He's trying to weave
his way through and yet to be able to affect
the game to the outcome of the way he was.
He threw what we used to call a number nine
the overhand right on, punching down on two footballs, knocking
it out. It was tremendous. So, I mean, if you
(29:15):
got the defense that's playing like that, and you've got
an offense where you've got a number of people that
have got their hands in the pile doing those things,
but you've got a quarterback that if you need to run,
he can run it. If you need to pass, he's
going to pass it. And if you need to stuff
yourself in the keyhole, he's capable of doing it, you
know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (29:33):
So we're gonna talk about that defense more. We're going
to talk about the special teams, which is certainly worthy
of praise as well. And we're going to take a
sneak peek ahead to the game coming up against Aaron
Rodgers and the Jets. When we continue in the Point
After on this year, there's audio network back.
Speaker 4 (29:50):
To the point after on DV E.
Speaker 2 (29:53):
O'Connell gets a snap back to pass raiders. Feeling some
pressure in O'Connell is slung down Cam Hayward, playing his
two hundredth career game, and Hayward sacks him back at
the three yard line the Sack Humbert Hunger segment. The
Sack Hunger segment is brought to you by the Greater
(30:14):
Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. Get food, volunteer or donate at
Pittsburgh Foodbank dot org. Cam Heyward two hundredth game and
Wolf I just thought he was everywhere in this game.
The sack tackles at the line of scrimmager in the backfield.
I thought Cam Hayward was very, very noticeable for the Steelers.
Speaker 4 (30:33):
Oh yeah, the lion King was on the problem. I
tell you you know, it was interesting to watch because
this guy every time you hear people talk about his
age and everything, like, I don't know, you know, it's
a bad thing. You just look at him, go, he
don't look like a fourteenth season guy, you know. I
mean he just plays with such intensity, he plays with
such power and technique. I mean, it's all coming together
(30:56):
for him. That sack that he had was really, really good, man.
I mean, it was just fun watching him beat the
pants off the guy. And then of course you know
he almost got home a couple of other times too.
So his influence and his ability to marshal the resources
of the defense is huge, and I can't say enough
good things about the fact. Glad that he's in the lineup.
Speaker 2 (31:16):
You know, Matt Antonio Peers was asked about Cam Hayward
this week and he said prior to the game that
that's where it all start to the Coos defense is
Cam Heyward up front and he destroys people, and you know,
he's an all time great and he looked like it.
You know, I thought again, and I always preface this
the same way. I'm careful about saying a guy is
(31:37):
extra motivated, because look, if you're motivated at one hundred
percent and a lot of these guys are how do
you add extra to that? You know, when you say
he's going to be extra motivated, Well, what does that
mean he's only playing at seventy percent all these other years?
Speaker 3 (31:49):
No, of course not.
Speaker 2 (31:50):
But I thought a couple of guys who would would
have that little chip on their shoulder going into this
season would be Russ Wilson.
Speaker 3 (31:57):
And we talked a little bit.
Speaker 2 (31:58):
About this, I think in the past Cam Hayward, because
Russell Wilson, you know, a nine time Pro bowler, and
he gets to Denver and things just go off the
rails for him, and I want, I'm sure he would
like to remind people that, yeah, I'm a nine time
Pro bowler, I'm a Super Bowl champ. This is who
I am. I got plenty of good football left and
yes I'm on my way to Canton. And I think
Cam Hayward was hearing how kind of a down years
(32:20):
Cam getting older, and well, games like that make you
realize that he doesn't look like he's getting that much older.
Speaker 5 (32:25):
Yeah, And not that I doubted Cam at any point,
but many times on the air I mentioned I don't
know what he is right now, you know, I mean
that was a training camp that was at the preseason.
Of course, they took a lot off his plate. They're
not going to beat him up in those environments. They're
going to save him for now. And I just had
I had concerns, you know, because last year didn't go
(32:46):
as Cam would have liked. I'm sure he'd be the
first to admit that that was all injury riddled. But
I thought the year before twenty twenty two was actually
Hayward's best year as a pro. I think twenty twenty
four might even be better. I mean, like he's a
fine wine that just gets better and better. His technique improves.
I mean, he's that Dale and I always talk about
(33:08):
how he is that old man game at the Why
where he just gets every rebound and you don't know
how he did it. Yeah, yeah, never, He's not chasing
loose balls left and right, but he's pulling down every
rebound and smart, and you know his strength and power
is going to translate for years.
Speaker 3 (33:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (33:25):
I decided that I gave up playing hoops. I decided
I didn't want to be the old man game the Why.
But I know that guy you're talking.
Speaker 4 (33:32):
Yeah, I mean sharp Eldows, Yeah right.
Speaker 2 (33:34):
Right, yeah, you're you're you know, you're quicker than him,
and all of a sudden you go to get around
him and he's standing in your path.
Speaker 3 (33:39):
How did he get there? What is that? Was that
a hook shot? He just what the heck? And the yeah?
I mean so right? Yeah, good style. Love that analogy.
That's tremendous.
Speaker 2 (33:48):
You know, Wolf, When I was looking at this game,
you know, one of the things that I liked so
much about the offseason acquisitions for this Yeelers on defense was,
you know, if you're acting Cam Hayward to have a
bounce back, and you have Keanu Benton, who's a player
on the rise, and you have TJ. Watt and high
Smith and Herbig and of course Highsmith and Herbig get hurt,
(34:09):
but you have those forces on the outside. Then you
add to that Patrick Queen and Peyton Wilson. You team
them together with the Landon Roberts. We know what Mink
is capable of doing with a little bit of help,
So you bring into Shaun Elliet, you get Dante Jackson,
and again we do have to preface this, it's not
a very talented Oakland team they're going against. But the
(34:30):
Steelers there was a lot of wow performances out there
for me.
Speaker 3 (34:34):
For the Steelers defensively, MIKEA.
Speaker 2 (34:36):
Fitzpatrick had thirteen tackles, Deshaun Elliott added a half a
dozen tackles. He was tied with Peyton Wilson in that department.
I thought of Landon Roberts was very noticeable, as was
as was Patrick Queen in that middle linebacker position, and
Peyton Wilson, and then you get a third interception from
Dante Jackson. I just thought on all three levels, the
(35:00):
Steelers caused problems for the Raiders defensively.
Speaker 4 (35:04):
There's no question I think you laid it out there
very very well. I mean all three levels. You know
I've been I can't tell you the last month to
Shawn Elliott. It just seems to be standing out over
and over again. And one of the things that was
just amazing to me was how he closed on a
guy on it. I believe it was second half. Was
a possession down crossing route in the middle, and he
(35:26):
came up and he was about three yards short first contact. Now,
this is a situation where you and I have a
wide receiver running laterally and a guy trying to close
on him. You might get dragged to the first down,
you might be able to, you know, be out fought
for the first down. Deshaun Elliott just kept accelerating his
legs as he drove through the tackle to wipe the
(35:47):
guy out. I mean he didn't come in with him.
He caught the ball maybe three three and a half
yards from the first down, and he finished about five
yards from the first down when he hit the turf.
And I thought, what a great job of open field
tackling and not giving away the sticks on that route.
That was just a superb job by him. And you
know he's made plays in the run box, you know,
(36:09):
doing things from the backside, slashing into the B gap
and dropping guys and that, and I think he was
a great acquisition. And Dante Jackson was another guy you
know that has done so very well. And then the
back end Meca is makea man. And then you got
Joey Porter. I like, what's cooking back there? Yeah, rob
along those lines. You know, I have a scouting front
(36:31):
office background, and Wolf kind of mentioned it. And I
know it's almost Halloween, so these guys aren't new anymore.
But what additions Jackson and Elliott have made to the
back end playmakers, versatility, and you mentioned Queen. I thought
this was clearly his best game in a Steeler uniform,
no question about it.
Speaker 3 (36:50):
I wouldn't disagree with that.
Speaker 4 (36:52):
It all wolf Well, just the fact thirteen tackles. I mean,
this guy was coast to coast, you know, I mean
I love it. I mean it was just just to
watch him. He was his seed do and his his
ability to get on the hit and take guys down.
It was very apparent. You know. I think he's just
settling in. I think that's part and parcel of what
(37:12):
it is. He's getting real comfortable, he's realizing some of
the gap responsibilities and how some of the guys handle it.
And by the way, let's not forget Larry Ogan job.
He's been playing very well. Also. He eats up a
lot of meat up front of those big, big, heavy
hoofers and does a good job of turning loose the linebackers.
And the Landon Roberts is a Landon Roberts just one
(37:33):
of the toughest hitters. And then you got the young
man Peyton Wilson. So I like that parent of Spare
is now again coming to fruition. But the acquisitions in
the off season is like you said, on all three levels,
they are all contributing.
Speaker 2 (37:46):
Yep, and the development of the guys and the continued
development of the young guys along the defensive line being
able to spell guys the starters. That's a good mix.
I think right now for this Tethers as well, and
I think Matt, you know, we would be I would
be remiss if I did not bring up special teams.
You know, when you're covering players that are so good
(38:07):
they're almost automatic, you know, Mary of them you had
to go in two assists? Okay, yeah, but what else
did anybody else?
Speaker 3 (38:12):
Do you know exactly?
Speaker 2 (38:13):
Yeah, Crosby had to go on an assist, But what
about you know, McCutchen had two hits, But what about
you know, so you look, you know, Boswell four more
field goals, you know, another one from over fifty of
forty eight yard or Jeremiah Moon blocks a punt. Minka
Fitzpatrick does a nice job of Listen, you know, you
(38:35):
expect to be able to cover an on side kick,
but you still have to do it, and Minka did it.
And I just thought there was a lot to like
about this Dealer's Special team's performance. In this game, and
you know, I corless Weightman did a nice job kicking
the ball, averaging nearly forty six yards per kick and
(38:57):
getting two inside the twenty. So I just thought, I
think a go off of the cap to special teams
because I thought they were, you know, a sizable part
of his victory.
Speaker 5 (39:07):
Yeah, that's a great point. And I don't study or
know a ton of special teams tape in x's and
o's and those type of things. But obviously Danny Smith
has a real pension and a real talent for creating
opportunities to block kicks and punts, you know. I mean
that's just been true year after years since he's been here. Boswell,
(39:27):
I'm not a big believer in Hall of Fame kickers
and whatnot. I think Justin Tucker should go. But if
Tucker should go, Boswell's got a case. I mean, he's
that good year after year. And the fact that we
don't even talk about Weightman this far into the season
I think is really significant. When when Johnston went down,
I was flat out concerned.
Speaker 2 (39:46):
Yeah, I agreed, because he was. Look, you went into
this offseason Wolf thinking, Okay, we hope the offense is
going to get better with the addition to the quarterback
position in with some help along the offensive line. You know,
we'd like to think the defense, with the additions we've
made there, is going to go from very good to elite,
and we're gonna add to special teams. You go out
(40:08):
and you sign a punter like Cam Johnson and then
you get the greatest kickoff return man in history in
Cordero Patterson. When you think the kickoff return is going
to be bigger than it's kind of turned out to be,
this was clearly an area hit the steam.
Speaker 3 (40:24):
Right you bring back Matta Kavich.
Speaker 2 (40:25):
This was clearly, you know, an intention to this team
to make sure that that third part of the game offense, defense,
special teams, that the special teams are going to be
on the plus side of the ledger. I don't think
there's any question through six weeks that they've been on
the plus side of the ledgers. Blocked field goal, you know,
blocked punt, doing a solid job in the punting game,
(40:49):
Calvin Austin in the return game.
Speaker 3 (40:51):
I just think it's been a positive for the Steelers.
Speaker 4 (40:53):
There's no question about it. And one of the things
that you think about with a punter like that is.
You know, there's an old saying in football. You know
it's okay to punt. You know, there's times when your
offense is struggling a little bit, and you know what,
don't stretch yourself and put your the win in jeopardy.
You know, punt the ball, you know, get that defense
(41:14):
and keep them backed up, that sort of thing, and
he's able to execute that. I mean, he keeps it
inside that, you know, the coffin corner does a nice
job with that. The one thing that that just blew
me away Ryan watching Brian Johnson up at training camp
was the fact that he would kick the ball within
five yards of the sideline and they'd be seventy yard bombs,
(41:35):
sixty yard bombs, but he could place them within five
I just, how do you die?
Speaker 5 (41:41):
Every club in the bag?
Speaker 4 (41:42):
Yeah, yeah, that's a good point. Every club in the bag,
which you know I only had a putter.
Speaker 3 (41:48):
Wait when I brought up every club in the bag,
you didn't like it.
Speaker 4 (41:51):
Well, here's the thing about.
Speaker 3 (41:52):
It, and I stole it from Matt.
Speaker 4 (41:55):
You know, but I just I just had a flashback
to playing in them McCollen and play and on the
putt butt, you know what I mean? Sure where the
girls defeated us.
Speaker 2 (42:05):
As we are doing this show, we are waiting for
the Jets game to get started on Monday Night Football,
So we don't know if it's going to be a
Jets game coming in, a Jets team coming in three
and three or two and four. They fired their coach,
they still have Aaron Rodgers. I think they fired their coach,
Matt because they feel like they're off to a disappointing start.
I think they're a team, you know, they're a team
(42:26):
that some people were predicting would get to the super
Bowl this year. I think it's a team that's dissatisfied
clearly with where they are. I also think it's the
kind of team, like if you separate the sort of
teams in the AFC, you know, you kind of expect
the Chiefs to be up there, maybe even with all
the players they've lost. You expect the Bills to be
up there. Everybody else is trying to get there. I
(42:48):
think the Steelers and Jets are two teams that are
trying to get back to that level where they're hey, legitimate,
everybody knows we're a contender kind of thing, you know, Baltimore.
I think we can throw into that that group as well.
Speaker 3 (43:02):
Really intriguing game coming up on Sunday night.
Speaker 5 (43:05):
One hundred percent, and I'm already pretty deep into Matt stats.
I got two pages here and I've even seen the
Jets play this week. But one thing I know for
certain is tonight will be Jeff albricks first game as
an NFL head coach, and next week will be Mike
Tomlins three hundredth so a little bit of a discrepancy there,
(43:26):
But in terms of the Jets, I think rob more
than maybe any team in the league. And considering the
age of their quarterback. We talked about offseasons, they pushed
all their chips in. They went and got Tyron Smith
and Morgan Moses and all these older, once and still
productive players to try to win. Now you know, like
(43:48):
they're mortgaging the future to some degree and pushing their
chips in and it didn't kind of go to plan,
and the head coach suffered for it. So really curious
to see what tonight looks with a new head coach.
Speaker 4 (43:59):
Well, it'll be interesting because I doubt he's going to
go in for a hug with Aaron Rodgers, right I mean.
Speaker 2 (44:05):
Yeah, we all saw that video. Yeah, that was that
was interesting stuff. Well, looking forward to that one.
Speaker 3 (44:10):
Remember.
Speaker 2 (44:11):
Gear up with the latest game day necessities at the
Official Steelers pro Shops. Get the latest Sideline apparel, jerseys,
Terrible towels, authentic memorabilia, and custom exclusives you can only
find directly from the team.
Speaker 3 (44:23):
Visit one of the Official Steelers.
Speaker 2 (44:24):
Pro shops located at Akroshur Stadium, Grove City Premium out
Let's or Tang Route Let's, or gear up online at
Steelers dot com. For our great and wonderful producer Justin Miller,
for Matt Williamson, and for Craig Wolfley, I'm Rob King.
We thank you for listening to the point after on
the Steelers Audio Network
Welcome to the Steelers Point After Show on WDBD Pittsburgh,
brought to you by your neighborhood Ford Store. The F
one point fifty is the official truck of the Pittsburgh
Steelers by Brian Patton and associates. It's all about the
benefits by the Steelers Pro Shop. Get it direct from
the team at shop dot Steelers dot com and by
Clearview Federal Credit Union. Get the financial answers you need.
(00:21):
And now here are your hosts, Rob King, Craig Wolfley,
and Matt Williamson.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
And our wonderful producer Justin Miller. Let us not forget
him as we welcome you to the Point After on
the Steelers Audio Network. It is time for our first Reaction,
brought to you by First National Bank. Let's get started,
Member FDIC. Steelers win by the final score of thirty
two to thirteen, so the Steelers improved a fourign two.
They remain tied top the AFC North, and teams over
(00:50):
the last five seasons that have been tied or leading
their division after six weeks have an eighty three percent
chance of going to the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
So that is very good following recent trends.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
So all in all the good victory for the Steelers
over the Raiders as far as that is concerned, But
maybe some other thoughts. Craig Wolf, we let us start
with you on your first reaction.
Speaker 4 (01:12):
Well, my first reaction was good Zeke's nudgy wow. I mean,
that was really a sensational number of a plays that
he participated. I mean, if you look at some of
those runs, whether he ghosted what's his name, Jack Jones
or whatever, it was actual yeah, out in the open field,
or he ran through tackles where he was taken on one, two, three,
(01:36):
four Raiders at a time, you know, or he was
in the middle of a rugby scrum of guys and
the pile kept moving for an extra ten yards or so.
He was just magnificent. I I was almost speechless watching
some of his efforts, knowing that this guy just shows
has been showing and displaying great combative effort in running
(01:57):
the ball. But that was really that was over and
above and beyond anything I've seen from Nagy. I think
in the past he really was terrific. Matt great place
to start. I thought he set the trend.
Speaker 5 (02:10):
It was needed, you know, a physicality mentality getting down
to running the football with aggression and chunk runs as well.
That's a great place to start Wolf. I also thought
the defense followed suit after that first drive really put
the clamps on the Raiders. Now I kind of want
to get this out of the way, and I respect
(02:31):
every NFL opponent, but this was a pretty bad football
team they played. I mean, I felt like the offense
had Brock Bauers and nothing else. And Max Crosby's fantastic
on defense, but the rest of that unit, I would say,
is subpar. But good teams wipe the floor with really
bad teams, and that's exactly what the Steelers did for
much of this game.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
I agree with all those things. Bowers looks like he's
gonna be a really really good player, and the way
they utilize him, I mean, I think he's going to
be kind of the and is already probably at this
stage just a half a dozen games into his career.
The next sort of mismatch nightmare for defensive coordinators. I mean,
he's just you get in no way can you guard him?
(03:11):
The linebacker very difficult to guard him, even with the
safety he moved. I mean, they throw I don't really
remember too many tight ends getting passes in the flat
where you have set up a blocking scheme out there,
that's usually either a receiver or running back running a
little swing route out to the flat, or a wide
(03:33):
receiver you know who maybe has got you know, like
a punt returner type of skills, that kind of thing.
They use Bowers that way.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
I can I can't.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Remember, Matt, Can you remember tight a tight end that's
really been utilized that frequently in that sort of an attack.
And it's not just the fact that they were trying
to get O'Connell into this. If you see other Raiders games,
and I watched them all looking up to this, leading
up to this game, they did the same thing with
Minshew a quarterback. They throw it out to him in
the flat, expect him to make a guy miss.
Speaker 5 (04:01):
Yeah, it's pretty crazy, and I've seen it with Kelsey.
I'm straining my mind right now to find others, you know,
maybe not to this degree.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
Now.
Speaker 5 (04:10):
I don't think they would do it as much if
they had Myers and DeVante Adams and Pat Mahomes, you
know what I mean. But I mean they are easy completions.
And even leading up to this game, Bowers average depth
of target was very low. It was like right around
five from what I remember, because they just wanted to
get the ball in his hands. And I give the
Seilers a lot of credit for their tackling, and it's
(04:31):
not something people think about enough, but man, they limited
him after the catch, which is a big weapon the
Raiders had, and I thought that collectively they were a
very good tackling defense.
Speaker 4 (04:41):
Well that's the Raiders weren't That's exactly That's exactly the
point I was going to bring up.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
Well, I mean, Antonio Pierce made that a point of
emphasis for the team this week, said we're going back
to training camp, We're going to work on fundamentals. This
is going to be a physical team. We need to
tackle better. And then not only did they not tackle better.
Wolf and I were leaving the press box and we
were listening to their post game show, of course because
it's it's in Las Vegas, so that's what's piping through
(05:08):
the speakers, and the guy Wolf he was their post
was railing on the lack of tackling by the Raiders
and how they need to get some guys out of there,
guys who want to tackle, and they don't have enough
guys who actually want to tackle, and you don't ever
have to worry about that with the Steelers.
Speaker 4 (05:23):
No, there's no question about it. I mean, we've got
enough hands in the pile of tacklers. The fact is,
what the Raiders were doing looked to be they just
look like they didn't want to be there at some
points in time. I mean, I can understand Nagee's going
to put a hurting on you you come up to
tackle him, but just at some moments in time, it
didn't seem like this was a team that was totally
(05:45):
that's This was a team that maybe had a couple
of business decisions, as they say, and certainly some of
them had to do with getting out of Nage's way
rather than taking the full front force from him. So yeah,
I thought their tackling was poor. I thought that it
was not representative of what they hope you know, I'm
sure they were hoping for. Maybe you have to understand
that training camp last more than one week.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
I am curious to get both of your guys' opinions
as to you know, it looked to me like there
was less contact in the backfield for Naji. Naji gets
contacted in the backfield a lot. I don't know whether
that is something defenses are doing. And certainly the Raiders
were selling out early to try to stop the run.
(06:30):
I mean they were bringing all kinds of you know,
sort of designed run blitz pressures to stop the running game.
I don't know whether he is hit in the backfield
a lot because of that, because of the blocking, and again,
at least they had the same starting unit out there.
We'll hear about Zach Frazer's injury. More about that tomorrow,
I think. But whether it's continuity in the offensive line,
whether it's just the Raiders not being a very good opponent.
(06:52):
But Naji had more room to run he when he
got the ball, he wasn't being hit in the backfield
as much. And because of that, we saw some different
things from him on the two runs. On that touchdown drive,
the twenty six yard er he made. I don't know
if I've ever seen Najy do this. He made Jack
(07:13):
Jones fall down. Now, he makes lots of people fall
down when they run into him, but he made him
fall down by juking him. Jack Jones fell to the turf.
I mean, that's a defensive back, a lighter guy, supposedly
you know, you would think more nimble coming up to
hit Naji, and Nagy faked him out so badly he
fell down. And then the move he made before he
(07:33):
broke to the sideline on the thirty six yard touchdown
run was also you know, him putting some moves on
and then showing some bursts.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
To the outside.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
So, guys, do you know why maybe there was less
contact for Naji in the backfield? Is it any of
those things that I mentioned previously?
Speaker 4 (07:50):
Wolf Well I said, Number one is you had an
offensive line that at least had a couple had a
game together, right, you know what I mean? So there
was an understanding of what's going on. Second of all,
there was a couple of design blitzes that hit. But
for instance, the one that that no, you didn't have
a chance at it, it was in the backfield. Yes,
you got three on three on the back side, and
then you have a blitzer come down. If you don't
audible out of that, you're in trouble, which they were.
(08:12):
But so you've got that. But really what's been going
on is at times you're not getting a hat on
a hat and you have a mess of you know,
of players at the line. Of scrimmage and he gets
hit and has to battle his way to the line
of scrimmage. Well, we're seeing less of that. As these
guys get more experienced, Mason McCormick and the other guys,
you know, as they get more experience in their their
vision grows wider than the A and B gaps and
(08:35):
sea gaps, and you start to see the big picture.
As Chuck Nolways used to say to me, say, you've
got to see the big picture. You've got to see
it from you know, three hundred feet. You got to
see what motion does in this case. You've got to
see what a shift does to the defense in this case.
And as Tounch always put he goes, Craig, you got
to get out of your left guard. Only you know
(08:55):
sell he said, you got to see the whole thing.
Because Tounch played all every position. I plum played one
for the first eight years of my career. So the
point is, you know, I think the guys are getting
a little more well rounded and seeing what's going on
and understanding and understanding how a blitz can hit you
and affect you. And you're not having the bus where
you got, you know, no hat on a hat on
(09:16):
any guy. Matt totally agree.
Speaker 5 (09:19):
I felt like there were fewer leaks in the damn
than ever. You know, that nobody was really a liability
rewatching it. Darnott Washington had some down moments. Not that
I'm worried at all about him as a blocker. It
just wasn't his day, I guess. But all in all,
I'm with Wolf. I don't have much to add to it.
I think that it's maturity, continuity, a little more experience
(09:40):
understanding what defenses are trying to do against you. And
I didn't see anyone that was a liability. I mean,
of course, like Max Crosby gives people problems, but I
mean there was there's down times, but there wasn't a
weak link.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
Well, Matt, here's the other thing too that I got
to thinking about today. I would have to look up
the specific moments, but the last I believe the last
two years, the Steelers running game midway maybe you know
a little beyond midway. The season right around that midway mark, anyway,
began to take off, began to take hold, and in fact,
going into last year, I think people thought, Okay, let's
(10:13):
look how well they ran the ball at the end
of last year, that's certainly going to carry over into
the beginning of the twenty twenty three season. Well, it didn't,
And I think maybe we had similar expectations with this team.
Look at the way they ran the ball toward the
end of the season and now at the beginning of
the season not running it quite as well. I guess
my question would be, you know, again, are these case
(10:35):
by every year different? Is there something about a running team?
Maybe the other defenses are getting more fatigued. Does the
season wears on Maybe the fact that you've continued to
slam your head against the wall that makes you more
prepared in week eight than the more tired guys are
getting in a week. I don't know what the explanation is,
because it's been a trend and now here we are,
(10:57):
hopefully this trend is beginning in week six for the Steelers,
were we can expect to see more of this dominating
running team.
Speaker 5 (11:03):
I'm sure this is more of wolf Sally. You're talking
about the left guard over here. I mean, he would
know this better than I would, But I do think
there's something to that. And last year it seemed to
get triggered by putting Roger Jones in the lineup. It
wasn't the coordinator change. It was you know, getting him
out there, weaponizing him as a poler as well as
some of the other guys. And I've been saying this
(11:25):
all along, even though they drafted well on the offensive line,
and I like all three of those young dudes. I
just thought, you know, early growing pains is going to
be in the cards for the offensive line no matter what.
Let alone when all these injuries have hit. And boy,
this frasier thing absolutely worries me along those lines. But
you also mentioned the weather and the fatigue of the season.
(11:45):
You know, everyone always talks about pounding the rock until
it eventually, you know, breaks. I think some of that
goes through the course of the year too. If you
stick with a running game. Stick with a running game
gets harder and harder to deal with as the season
goes on, as the weather changes. You know, Derrick Henry
has better numbers in December than he has September.
Speaker 4 (12:02):
You know. Now, let's not forget the fact that we've
got a new offensive coordinator. Sure, you've got Arthur Smith.
As I always talk about two fisted, double chin strap guy.
That is as subtle as a frying pan to the forehead.
It's all about bringing some power, bringing some heat, bringing
some physicality, which is he's very good at. And you
can see, you know the attitude of Arthur Smith being
(12:24):
picked up by the players. You know they love this,
they enjoys. I mean, there was nothing better then in
the second half when you're grounding and pounding on the
defense and those guys are starting to bicker with each
other and their body language says I'm tired, this hurts,
this stucks, you know, I mean, you know they get
all upset about Hey, that's great because you want to
(12:45):
pile it on. And if you have an offensive coordinator
that allows you to go after it like that and
go and deal with them physically. Man, that's just a
lot of fun. I can't even begin to tell you
how much fun that is.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
Well, Nagi's thirty six yard run was the first touchdown
run was the first touchdown run by a Steerer's running
back this year. And before we get to justin fields,
which will do next segment, Matt really encouraging to see
Jalen Warren out there. We've talked a lot about injuries,
and again we'll wait and see what the case is
with Zach Frazier. I mean, it's it's unbelievable that you know,
(13:19):
you felt like, Wow, the offensive line's got great depth,
The outside linebacker position's got great depth, the running back
position has great depth. And now you know you're calling
up guys from the practice clouded outside linebacker. You're down
three or four guys on the offensive line, and you're
down the two guys behind Nijee Harris at the running
back position that I think we all expected to really
(13:41):
help this running attack. Don't know when Cordero Patterson's going
to be back. It wasn't a breakthrough game. It wasn't
a I'm back kind of game for Jalen Warren necessarily,
but the fact that he is back, I think is
extremely significant for what this offense wants.
Speaker 5 (13:56):
To do one hundred percent and real quick. And that
outside line group that got basically called off off the street,
off practice squad, they didn't have the most challenging of
NFL Sundays, but I thought they were not a liability
and that's all I wanted from that group. So that
was good from a depth perspective as well. Warren didn't
look like last year's Warren quite yet, but I thought
(14:17):
that was a perfect game to kind of knock some
of that rust off. And I very much believe the
best is yet to come for him for the rest
of the season, and he could really spark plug this
you spark this offense in both phases run hand pass,
had really nice blitz pick up at one point too there,
and you know, helped out on third downs. So no,
I think that situations in pretty good hands right now.
Speaker 4 (14:36):
It's going to evolve and it'll continue to evolve. He's
a ballardbuster. It's like Matt talked about it. He picks
up the blitz. He's going to do things that maybe
on the third down that you know, you'd like to
get him the ball and get it out in open
field and get some first downs. But a lot of
what he does is just just impaling defensive backs and
so forth. Guys that are on a blitz man. You know,
(14:57):
let me tell you something, your quarterback, Justin, You're gonna oh,
Justin's I going, yeah, I'm glad I got the ballardbuster back.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
Well, the Steelers win that game obviously against the Raiders
to improve to four and two on the season. So
a really, really nice victory for the Steelers in Las Vegas.
Up next, we're gonna continue to examine the offense, look
at the quarterback position, We'll look at the defense. Special
teams should also get a round of applause as well.
That's when we continue on the point After on the
Steelers Audio Network.
Speaker 4 (15:26):
Back to the point after on DVD.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
Harris the loan setback. We'll get to pitch the Steelers
trying to seal the edge. Naji Oh, We're gonna slide
inside one tackle, get.
Speaker 3 (15:35):
Down the sideline.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
Naji Harris crazy towards the endo, scrawls out, is he in?
Speaker 3 (15:41):
Touchdown? Steelers? What a run by Naji Harris.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
The play of the game is brought to you by
S and T Bank, proudly serving our community since nineteen
oh two. stBank dot com s and T Bank member
fdi C. So it's great to see the running game
going and Naji Harrison for a huge part of that.
Great to see that first touchdown run by a Steelers
running back on this season. We hadn't seen that until
(16:07):
Nagi's thirty six yard first. So good stuff happening in
the running game. In the thirty two to thirteen victory.
Matt let's start with you first year as we then
talk about the other part of that big running attack,
and that was justin Fields, carrying the ball eleven times
for fifty nine yards and scoring twice in this game.
Speaker 5 (16:25):
Yeah, he's absolutely a weapon with his legs. I mean,
that's no secret. I think that early in the season
they're getting to know him, he's getting to know them
new system. You don't have an established Russell Wilson on
the sideline active that I didn't think that. I thought
they were a little reluctant to totally unleash his legs
early in the season because anybody to watch him with
(16:46):
the Bears saw, wow, you know, this guy is zero
to sixty in no time. And we hadn't seen a
lot of that yet, but it's starting to really expand
and it's a good outlet for him when in doubt,
just use those legs. I mean, the same thing that's
going on with Jayden Dan and guys like that.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
Well, I think one of the other things, and we
sort of made mention of it in the last part
of the last segment, is the fact that you know,
he has got the freedom to make a read and
if he sees something in a certain way. Okay, you've
called the pass for the average quarterback who doesn't have mobility.
The blitz is coming. You've got to try to find
(17:23):
the safety value. You've got to find the quick throw.
You know, sometimes that quick throw can mean great things.
Sometimes it can be a pressured and poor throw. Well,
justin Fields has the capability of getting back there and
immediately taking off and when you look at you know
the last First of all, he has five rushing touchdowns
in the last four weeks, but in two of the
(17:44):
last three weeks eleven carries fifty nine yards, and then
two weeks ago in the loss at Indianapolis, it was
ten carries for fifty five yards, also scoring two touchdowns
in that game. So we can talk all we want
about quarterback rating, and his rating has been very, very solid,
a little bit above average. Not wowing you with yardage numbers,
(18:05):
not wowing you with touchdown numbers. But the rating doesn't
take into account what he's doing carrying the ball, which
is a huge part of what this Yeelers are doing
offensively right now.
Speaker 4 (18:16):
Well, there's no question about it. Look, he's growing into
the role. I mean, as we see him go through
this process of expanding his offensive weaponry. You know, you
take a look at it. Okay, we got you got
an opportunity, you got the man coverage, you got a blitz.
You know, you got pitting nop. You can head right
up the field. You can, you know, beat the blitz.
You know those are great, Well you roll them out. Now,
(18:38):
all of a sudden, as he was rolling up, what
a nice throw that was to Calvin Austin, right, that
was just a nice job of throwing across his body
and doing a good job. You know. Now we also
see times where he put three throws together that you know,
you had to have to believe that justin sitting and going,
oh man, you know, they kind of got away from
me those three throws down to you know, Friar mooth
and so forth. But you know what, but it didn't
(19:01):
affect him for the rest of the game. It's not
like he went into the tank or anything like that.
He fought his way out of it, was able to
roll the chain some more in the second half and
everything and do the job that he needed to do.
And he's growing into a role and I think his
confidence has got to be there. I think when he's
in the huddle, the other ten guys are looking at
him with confident eyes, you know, and it to me
(19:24):
it all comes together and the result of good play
and positive, positive, you know stuff on the field where
he is doing the things he needs to do to
get this team down into the end zone.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
Yeah, and I think growing is that's the key word, Matt,
that a lot of Steelers fans are looking at right now.
And I think that if they're looking objectively, they're probably
just they just are questioning, is that what's going on?
There are some people that have already made up their minds, absolutely,
I can see it with Justin Fields. Others who haven't,
(19:57):
you know, I have them they need to throw for
more yards and square or more points. I think when
you're looking at this offense, first of all, they're doing
what they need to do to win games. We'll get
to that in a moment, but you know, as far
as just trying to isolate Justin Fields beyond that, which
is very difficult to separate from because that's his job
is to try to win games. But I think that
(20:18):
you need to be looking at this. Hopefully, if you're
a Steelers fan, the hope is that this is these
are signs of maturity. He is a player who's getting
better than the player that you know, we saw towards
the latter part of his time in the Bears. He's
the guy that the Bears took in the first round.
He's a guy that just needs a little more evolution,
(20:39):
a little more being surrounded by better talent, weeks and
weeks to grow into this, to get the technique better,
and those sort of things to be the kind of
quarterback that can, if needed, throw for two hundred and
eighty five yards and three touchdowns in a game against
the Chiefs or what have you when you need the offense.
(21:00):
Is that the way you kind of see what we
should be looking at and what fans should be looking at,
because I think that's what fans are looking at right
now with him.
Speaker 5 (21:06):
Yeah, And I think it's just society nowadays. But it
seems like many Stealer fans, as you mentioned, have already
made their mind up. You're either a Fields guy or
a Wilson guy, right, Why can't you be both? You know,
I don't understand why, right, right? I mean, I think
there's great arguments, great cases for both players, and they
are very different in a lot of ways. And I
(21:29):
also urge people to realize any development in football, but
especially quarterbacks.
Speaker 4 (21:34):
Is not linear.
Speaker 5 (21:35):
You just don't keep taking steps forward. There's going to
be setbacks. There's going to be times where you don't
look so great, but then the next week you look phenomenal.
And I didn't love the way Justin threw the ball yesterday.
I thought his accuracy was one of the worst it's
been in a Seiler uniform. But to think he's not
getting better since the time, you know, from last year,
even his end of his beaar days or even just
(21:57):
starting with week one till now is crazy. He's definitely improved, yep.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
And I also to you know, I like the rating
statistic because it puts some emphasis on touchdown to turnover ratio.
But you have to have that touchdown. So he had
a lower rating in this last game. But you know,
think about this, if that throw to pickings in the
end zone where I think I think George would tell
you that he would catch that, you know, nine times
(22:23):
out of ten, even though it was well defended. But George,
he's got such great hands that that's one I think
he normally hauls in. Now, your ratings in the nineties, right,
I mean no interception.
Speaker 5 (22:35):
Yeah, but he also bailed out on an interception too.
Speaker 3 (22:39):
And don't.
Speaker 4 (22:41):
You know when he was strapped across that was only
a step there, So.
Speaker 5 (22:44):
I mean yeah, I'm also I mean he's from one
interception all year.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
And that's true, and right, you can't and you're right,
I shouldn't be cherry picking one moment. I'm just saying,
what could have happened. You know that it could have
the rating could have been higher. But the sequence Wolf
was talking about your your left, you're supposed to layer
feather of throw in over defender to George Pickens. I
wonder if I wonder if he didn't see that defender
(23:09):
of the last minute, because it looked like he was
trying to fire it in there. It didn't look like
there was a lane to fire it in there that
was high in a way. And then the one to
friar Mouth I think was the one that was probably
of the three throws the easiest.
Speaker 3 (23:19):
You're your move to your left. You got to drop
a ball over a guy.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
You'd like to be able to make that throw, but
it's not quite as simple as it looks. And then
nor was the one the third one to Pickens, where
he also had to do the same thing rolling to
his right. The one to Friarmuth, I think is a
It's not the easiest throw you'll ever make, but I
think it's one that you know, again, nine times out
of ten, Justin's probably gonna hit him right between the eights.
So that three throw sequence. And then you know, again,
(23:45):
if we're gonna quibble the throw to Pickens where Pickens
caught the ball at to three, if he throws it
out a little further, it's that's probably a touchdown there,
And you know, we're looking at the offensive output maybe
a little bit differently. But again, I think your point's
a good one, Matt, is that in totality is he
getting better week after week? Are is there going to
be more put on his plate when necessary? But this
(24:07):
gets me back wolf to the biggest point. So yes,
we're all you know, fans are wondering, is are we
seeing the evolution of a young quarterback who's going to
be here for a while And we're seeing the first
steps on the path to proving why he was a
first to overall pick. But again, development goes hand in hand,
(24:28):
Actually it doesn't really go hand in hand. Winning leads
the way. Development is a step behind, you know what
I mean, if you're walking down the sideway, sidewalk developments
behind winning the game. And when you get into games
like this, you have to be able to what you're
looking at your assets as a team. What do we have, Well,
we have a defense, it's the highest paid in the
(24:49):
league and has proven to be very good at stopping opponents.
We have an offense. It's maybe evolving right now. So
what does the offense need to do? Well, largely run
the ball and not turn it over. And that's what
they did exactly.
Speaker 4 (25:03):
And that's the point of growing, you know. I mean
the thing about it is, it's not as you said,
And what's really important to remember, as Matt said, it's
not a linear thing. You know, you're gonna have ups
and downs, and you know the thing about it is
you're gonna have coaching that's trying to elevate your game.
I remember back as I was a rookie, and you know,
pass protection was I came from a run blocking school.
(25:23):
I mean, pass pro was just kind of like one
of those things you did when you know it was
too long to run the ball.
Speaker 3 (25:29):
You know, you and.
Speaker 4 (25:30):
The fact is, you know, my offensive line coach said, hey,
you gotta do this, God is. But if I stuffed
the guy, you'd be like, Okay, bottom line is, you
got the job done, you know. And that's what Justin's
doing right now. It's a bottom line thing at times,
and he's getting the job done. He's got those legs,
he's using them to extend drives, which is something we
so desperately needed. And he's keeping the offense out there
(25:53):
doing those sorts of things. And like I said, no,
it wasn't the best throwing day for him yesterday, but
Dad Gummett, when you throw three like he did in
a row, you start to wonder, oh, is there something
going on here or that? And he comes back and
he just settles down and finishes the job and wins
the day. You know, That's what it's all about, man,
It's about winning and how you get there. I know
(26:13):
you want to have nice stats, and I know that
you want to look good doing it, and I know
that you want to look like it's a smooth operation offensively,
But sometimes it's choppy water and you are bailing water
and you are paddling as hard as you can and
to do that, you know, it takes all hands on deck,
and I think that's what we're getting right now.
Speaker 5 (26:31):
Yeah, so Rob, I heard an interview once with Brett
Farv and he said, all NFL quarterbacks can hit the door.
The really good ones can hit the doorknob. The great
ones put it through the keyhole. And I don't think
Fields will ever be a keyhole accuracy guy, but he's
shown bouts of being a doorknob accuracy guy, and I
(26:52):
think he can get to that point consistently in not
a long, long stretch of time. And if you mix
that with his legs and you only throw an interception
once a month or so, you can win a lot.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
Of games, right And I think we should also remember
again if you're looking for little pieces of the wall,
the building block that is going to be justin Fields
leading you to success in the postseason. I'll bring you
back to that game against Dallas. You know, he led
them for a touchdown drive in the fourth quarter to
(27:26):
give them a seventeen to thirteen lead. That's what you
want to be able to do. I mean to me, guys,
an offense has to be able to have the character
to score when you want to you know, the defense
brings an attitude and we're going to shut you down.
Speaker 3 (27:39):
To the the offense, you.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
Need to be explosive, but you have to at least
have the character to be able to score when the
team needs you to score, to be able to go
on a drive when a team needs you to be
able to go on a drive and give that defense
a rest. And even in a loss against Dallas, he
marched the team down the field after the turnover and
scored a touchdown that gave them a game. They gave
them the lead and a chance to win that game
(28:03):
against Dallas. So again, is that, you know, three hundred
and seventy yards passing and three touchdown. No, it isn't,
But is it maybe another piece of the building block.
I'd like to think it is.
Speaker 4 (28:14):
Yeah, there's no question about it. Look, let's go back
to two thousand and four. Young man named Ben Roethlisberger
took the field and you know it was thrown for
a buck fifty bucks seventy five, had a powerful running
game behind him. Steel has just had a great day
running the ball yesterday. Even if part of it is
your quarterback's legs, good for that, all right, But you
(28:35):
got a good defense. The defense got what three takeaways
night's job, I believe it was, you know. And by
the way, we haven't even mentioned that TJ. Watt, Who
I gotta tell you, man, this guy gets chipped more
than a stone statue with a you know, a guy
doing a some sort of you know, a statue type thing,
chip it away. This guy gets chipped all the time,
(28:55):
and not just by one. Sometimes I saw like three
guys at one point in time. He's trying to weave
his way through and yet to be able to affect
the game to the outcome of the way he was.
He threw what we used to call a number nine
the overhand right on, punching down on two footballs, knocking
it out. It was tremendous. So, I mean, if you
(29:15):
got the defense that's playing like that, and you've got
an offense where you've got a number of people that
have got their hands in the pile doing those things,
but you've got a quarterback that if you need to run,
he can run it. If you need to pass, he's
going to pass it. And if you need to stuff
yourself in the keyhole, he's capable of doing it, you
know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (29:33):
So we're gonna talk about that defense more. We're going
to talk about the special teams, which is certainly worthy
of praise as well. And we're going to take a
sneak peek ahead to the game coming up against Aaron
Rodgers and the Jets. When we continue in the Point
After on this year, there's audio network back.
Speaker 4 (29:50):
To the point after on DV E.
Speaker 2 (29:53):
O'Connell gets a snap back to pass raiders. Feeling some
pressure in O'Connell is slung down Cam Hayward, playing his
two hundredth career game, and Hayward sacks him back at
the three yard line the Sack Humbert Hunger segment. The
Sack Hunger segment is brought to you by the Greater
(30:14):
Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. Get food, volunteer or donate at
Pittsburgh Foodbank dot org. Cam Heyward two hundredth game and
Wolf I just thought he was everywhere in this game.
The sack tackles at the line of scrimmager in the backfield.
I thought Cam Hayward was very, very noticeable for the Steelers.
Speaker 4 (30:33):
Oh yeah, the lion King was on the problem. I
tell you you know, it was interesting to watch because
this guy every time you hear people talk about his
age and everything, like, I don't know, you know, it's
a bad thing. You just look at him, go, he
don't look like a fourteenth season guy, you know. I
mean he just plays with such intensity, he plays with
such power and technique. I mean, it's all coming together
(30:56):
for him. That sack that he had was really, really good, man.
I mean, it was just fun watching him beat the
pants off the guy. And then of course you know
he almost got home a couple of other times too.
So his influence and his ability to marshal the resources
of the defense is huge, and I can't say enough
good things about the fact. Glad that he's in the lineup.
Speaker 2 (31:16):
You know, Matt Antonio Peers was asked about Cam Hayward
this week and he said prior to the game that
that's where it all start to the Coos defense is
Cam Heyward up front and he destroys people, and you know,
he's an all time great and he looked like it.
You know, I thought again, and I always preface this
the same way. I'm careful about saying a guy is
(31:37):
extra motivated, because look, if you're motivated at one hundred
percent and a lot of these guys are how do
you add extra to that? You know, when you say
he's going to be extra motivated, Well, what does that
mean he's only playing at seventy percent all these other years?
Speaker 3 (31:49):
No, of course not.
Speaker 2 (31:50):
But I thought a couple of guys who would would
have that little chip on their shoulder going into this
season would be Russ Wilson.
Speaker 3 (31:57):
And we talked a little bit.
Speaker 2 (31:58):
About this, I think in the past Cam Hayward, because
Russell Wilson, you know, a nine time Pro bowler, and
he gets to Denver and things just go off the
rails for him, and I want, I'm sure he would
like to remind people that, yeah, I'm a nine time
Pro bowler, I'm a Super Bowl champ. This is who
I am. I got plenty of good football left and
yes I'm on my way to Canton. And I think
Cam Hayward was hearing how kind of a down years
(32:20):
Cam getting older, and well, games like that make you
realize that he doesn't look like he's getting that much older.
Speaker 5 (32:25):
Yeah, And not that I doubted Cam at any point,
but many times on the air I mentioned I don't
know what he is right now, you know, I mean
that was a training camp that was at the preseason.
Of course, they took a lot off his plate. They're
not going to beat him up in those environments. They're
going to save him for now. And I just had
I had concerns, you know, because last year didn't go
(32:46):
as Cam would have liked. I'm sure he'd be the
first to admit that that was all injury riddled. But
I thought the year before twenty twenty two was actually
Hayward's best year as a pro. I think twenty twenty
four might even be better. I mean, like he's a
fine wine that just gets better and better. His technique improves.
I mean, he's that Dale and I always talk about
(33:08):
how he is that old man game at the Why
where he just gets every rebound and you don't know
how he did it. Yeah, yeah, never, He's not chasing
loose balls left and right, but he's pulling down every
rebound and smart, and you know his strength and power
is going to translate for years.
Speaker 3 (33:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (33:25):
I decided that I gave up playing hoops. I decided
I didn't want to be the old man game the Why.
But I know that guy you're talking.
Speaker 4 (33:32):
Yeah, I mean sharp Eldows, Yeah right.
Speaker 2 (33:34):
Right, yeah, you're you're you know, you're quicker than him,
and all of a sudden you go to get around
him and he's standing in your path.
Speaker 3 (33:39):
How did he get there? What is that? Was that
a hook shot? He just what the heck? And the yeah?
I mean so right? Yeah, good style. Love that analogy.
That's tremendous.
Speaker 2 (33:48):
You know, Wolf, When I was looking at this game,
you know, one of the things that I liked so
much about the offseason acquisitions for this Yeelers on defense was,
you know, if you're acting Cam Hayward to have a
bounce back, and you have Keanu Benton, who's a player
on the rise, and you have TJ. Watt and high
Smith and Herbig and of course Highsmith and Herbig get hurt,
(34:09):
but you have those forces on the outside. Then you
add to that Patrick Queen and Peyton Wilson. You team
them together with the Landon Roberts. We know what Mink
is capable of doing with a little bit of help,
So you bring into Shaun Elliet, you get Dante Jackson,
and again we do have to preface this, it's not
a very talented Oakland team they're going against. But the
(34:30):
Steelers there was a lot of wow performances out there
for me.
Speaker 3 (34:34):
For the Steelers defensively, MIKEA.
Speaker 2 (34:36):
Fitzpatrick had thirteen tackles, Deshaun Elliott added a half a
dozen tackles. He was tied with Peyton Wilson in that department.
I thought of Landon Roberts was very noticeable, as was
as was Patrick Queen in that middle linebacker position, and
Peyton Wilson, and then you get a third interception from
Dante Jackson. I just thought on all three levels, the
(35:00):
Steelers caused problems for the Raiders defensively.
Speaker 4 (35:04):
There's no question I think you laid it out there
very very well. I mean all three levels. You know
I've been I can't tell you the last month to
Shawn Elliott. It just seems to be standing out over
and over again. And one of the things that was
just amazing to me was how he closed on a
guy on it. I believe it was second half. Was
a possession down crossing route in the middle, and he
(35:26):
came up and he was about three yards short first contact. Now,
this is a situation where you and I have a
wide receiver running laterally and a guy trying to close
on him. You might get dragged to the first down,
you might be able to, you know, be out fought
for the first down. Deshaun Elliott just kept accelerating his
legs as he drove through the tackle to wipe the
(35:47):
guy out. I mean he didn't come in with him.
He caught the ball maybe three three and a half
yards from the first down, and he finished about five
yards from the first down when he hit the turf.
And I thought, what a great job of open field
tackling and not giving away the sticks on that route.
That was just a superb job by him. And you
know he's made plays in the run box, you know,
(36:09):
doing things from the backside, slashing into the B gap
and dropping guys and that, and I think he was
a great acquisition. And Dante Jackson was another guy you
know that has done so very well. And then the
back end Meca is makea man. And then you got
Joey Porter. I like, what's cooking back there? Yeah, rob
along those lines. You know, I have a scouting front
(36:31):
office background, and Wolf kind of mentioned it. And I
know it's almost Halloween, so these guys aren't new anymore.
But what additions Jackson and Elliott have made to the
back end playmakers, versatility, and you mentioned Queen. I thought
this was clearly his best game in a Steeler uniform,
no question about it.
Speaker 3 (36:50):
I wouldn't disagree with that.
Speaker 4 (36:52):
It all wolf Well, just the fact thirteen tackles. I mean,
this guy was coast to coast, you know, I mean
I love it. I mean it was just just to
watch him. He was his seed do and his his
ability to get on the hit and take guys down.
It was very apparent. You know. I think he's just
settling in. I think that's part and parcel of what
(37:12):
it is. He's getting real comfortable, he's realizing some of
the gap responsibilities and how some of the guys handle it.
And by the way, let's not forget Larry Ogan job.
He's been playing very well. Also. He eats up a
lot of meat up front of those big, big, heavy
hoofers and does a good job of turning loose the linebackers.
And the Landon Roberts is a Landon Roberts just one
(37:33):
of the toughest hitters. And then you got the young
man Peyton Wilson. So I like that parent of Spare
is now again coming to fruition. But the acquisitions in
the off season is like you said, on all three levels,
they are all contributing.
Speaker 2 (37:46):
Yep, and the development of the guys and the continued
development of the young guys along the defensive line being
able to spell guys the starters. That's a good mix.
I think right now for this Tethers as well, and
I think Matt, you know, we would be I would
be remiss if I did not bring up special teams.
You know, when you're covering players that are so good
(38:07):
they're almost automatic, you know, Mary of them you had
to go in two assists? Okay, yeah, but what else
did anybody else?
Speaker 3 (38:12):
Do you know exactly?
Speaker 2 (38:13):
Yeah, Crosby had to go on an assist, But what
about you know, McCutchen had two hits, But what about
you know, so you look, you know, Boswell four more
field goals, you know, another one from over fifty of
forty eight yard or Jeremiah Moon blocks a punt. Minka
Fitzpatrick does a nice job of Listen, you know, you
(38:35):
expect to be able to cover an on side kick,
but you still have to do it, and Minka did it.
And I just thought there was a lot to like
about this Dealer's Special team's performance. In this game, and
you know, I corless Weightman did a nice job kicking
the ball, averaging nearly forty six yards per kick and
(38:57):
getting two inside the twenty. So I just thought, I
think a go off of the cap to special teams
because I thought they were, you know, a sizable part
of his victory.
Speaker 5 (39:07):
Yeah, that's a great point. And I don't study or
know a ton of special teams tape in x's and
o's and those type of things. But obviously Danny Smith
has a real pension and a real talent for creating
opportunities to block kicks and punts, you know. I mean
that's just been true year after years since he's been here. Boswell,
(39:27):
I'm not a big believer in Hall of Fame kickers
and whatnot. I think Justin Tucker should go. But if
Tucker should go, Boswell's got a case. I mean, he's
that good year after year. And the fact that we
don't even talk about Weightman this far into the season
I think is really significant. When when Johnston went down,
I was flat out concerned.
Speaker 2 (39:46):
Yeah, I agreed, because he was. Look, you went into
this offseason Wolf thinking, Okay, we hope the offense is
going to get better with the addition to the quarterback
position in with some help along the offensive line. You know,
we'd like to think the defense, with the additions we've
made there, is going to go from very good to elite,
and we're gonna add to special teams. You go out
(40:08):
and you sign a punter like Cam Johnson and then
you get the greatest kickoff return man in history in
Cordero Patterson. When you think the kickoff return is going
to be bigger than it's kind of turned out to be,
this was clearly an area hit the steam.
Speaker 3 (40:24):
Right you bring back Matta Kavich.
Speaker 2 (40:25):
This was clearly, you know, an intention to this team
to make sure that that third part of the game offense, defense,
special teams, that the special teams are going to be
on the plus side of the ledger. I don't think
there's any question through six weeks that they've been on
the plus side of the ledgers. Blocked field goal, you know,
blocked punt, doing a solid job in the punting game,
(40:49):
Calvin Austin in the return game.
Speaker 3 (40:51):
I just think it's been a positive for the Steelers.
Speaker 4 (40:53):
There's no question about it. And one of the things
that you think about with a punter like that is.
You know, there's an old saying in football. You know
it's okay to punt. You know, there's times when your
offense is struggling a little bit, and you know what,
don't stretch yourself and put your the win in jeopardy.
You know, punt the ball, you know, get that defense
(41:14):
and keep them backed up, that sort of thing, and
he's able to execute that. I mean, he keeps it
inside that, you know, the coffin corner does a nice
job with that. The one thing that that just blew
me away Ryan watching Brian Johnson up at training camp
was the fact that he would kick the ball within
five yards of the sideline and they'd be seventy yard bombs,
(41:35):
sixty yard bombs, but he could place them within five
I just, how do you die?
Speaker 5 (41:41):
Every club in the bag?
Speaker 4 (41:42):
Yeah, yeah, that's a good point. Every club in the bag,
which you know I only had a putter.
Speaker 3 (41:48):
Wait when I brought up every club in the bag,
you didn't like it.
Speaker 4 (41:51):
Well, here's the thing about.
Speaker 3 (41:52):
It, and I stole it from Matt.
Speaker 4 (41:55):
You know, but I just I just had a flashback
to playing in them McCollen and play and on the
putt butt, you know what I mean? Sure where the
girls defeated us.
Speaker 2 (42:05):
As we are doing this show, we are waiting for
the Jets game to get started on Monday Night Football,
So we don't know if it's going to be a
Jets game coming in, a Jets team coming in three
and three or two and four. They fired their coach,
they still have Aaron Rodgers. I think they fired their coach,
Matt because they feel like they're off to a disappointing start.
I think they're a team, you know, they're a team
(42:26):
that some people were predicting would get to the super
Bowl this year. I think it's a team that's dissatisfied
clearly with where they are. I also think it's the
kind of team, like if you separate the sort of
teams in the AFC, you know, you kind of expect
the Chiefs to be up there, maybe even with all
the players they've lost. You expect the Bills to be
up there. Everybody else is trying to get there. I
(42:48):
think the Steelers and Jets are two teams that are
trying to get back to that level where they're hey, legitimate,
everybody knows we're a contender kind of thing, you know, Baltimore.
I think we can throw into that that group as well.
Speaker 3 (43:02):
Really intriguing game coming up on Sunday night.
Speaker 5 (43:05):
One hundred percent, and I'm already pretty deep into Matt stats.
I got two pages here and I've even seen the
Jets play this week. But one thing I know for
certain is tonight will be Jeff albricks first game as
an NFL head coach, and next week will be Mike
Tomlins three hundredth so a little bit of a discrepancy there,
(43:26):
But in terms of the Jets, I think rob more
than maybe any team in the league. And considering the
age of their quarterback. We talked about offseasons, they pushed
all their chips in. They went and got Tyron Smith
and Morgan Moses and all these older, once and still
productive players to try to win. Now you know, like
(43:48):
they're mortgaging the future to some degree and pushing their
chips in and it didn't kind of go to plan,
and the head coach suffered for it. So really curious
to see what tonight looks with a new head coach.
Speaker 4 (43:59):
Well, it'll be interesting because I doubt he's going to
go in for a hug with Aaron Rodgers, right I mean.
Speaker 2 (44:05):
Yeah, we all saw that video. Yeah, that was that
was interesting stuff. Well, looking forward to that one.
Speaker 3 (44:10):
Remember.
Speaker 2 (44:11):
Gear up with the latest game day necessities at the
Official Steelers pro Shops. Get the latest Sideline apparel, jerseys,
Terrible towels, authentic memorabilia, and custom exclusives you can only
find directly from the team.
Speaker 3 (44:23):
Visit one of the Official Steelers.
Speaker 2 (44:24):
Pro shops located at Akroshur Stadium, Grove City Premium out
Let's or Tang Route Let's, or gear up online at
Steelers dot com. For our great and wonderful producer Justin Miller,
for Matt Williamson, and for Craig Wolfley, I'm Rob King.
We thank you for listening to the point after on
the Steelers Audio Network
Popular Podcasts
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy And Charlamagne Tha God!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Decisions, Decisions
Welcome to "Decisions, Decisions," the podcast where boundaries are pushed, and conversations get candid! Join your favorite hosts, Mandii B and WeezyWTF, as they dive deep into the world of non-traditional relationships and explore the often-taboo topics surrounding dating, sex, and love. Every Monday, Mandii and Weezy invite you to unlearn the outdated narratives dictated by traditional patriarchal norms. With a blend of humor, vulnerability, and authenticity, they share their personal journeys navigating their 30s, tackling the complexities of modern relationships, and engaging in thought-provoking discussions that challenge societal expectations. From groundbreaking interviews with diverse guests to relatable stories that resonate with your experiences, "Decisions, Decisions" is your go-to source for open dialogue about what it truly means to love and connect in today's world. Get ready to reshape your understanding of relationships and embrace the freedom of authentic connections—tune in and join the conversation!