00:00:07
Speaker 1: Steelers host the Colts on Sunday.
00:00:09
Speaker 2: Joining me now to talk about that game and where the Steelers are at, he covers the team for Steelers now. Always great to talk to Alan Saunders. Alan, how can the Steelers fix their passing game? Because that's a bad wide-out room, even more so now with Pittman out. There's really nobody for Sauce Gardner to cover.
00:00:30
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, obviously I think I'll get DK Metcalf, but I don't think the Steelers have put a lot of fear in opposing secondaries so far. I think they've got to keep stretching the field. I don't think they need to have a very prolific passing game for them to have a successful passing game. They've just got to hit a couple of those deep balls, like we saw against the Bengals. It's not like Rodgers threw for 500 yards, but they hit a couple of deep passes early, and I think that's opened up everything else underneath that they want to do and they're actually good at in this offense.
00:01:03
Speaker 2: I agree, and it's got to be noted, DK was pretty good against Cleveland. But to me, the big problem is lack of a number two receiver. I mean, worse not that Pittman's out, but he wasn't doing much anyway.
00:01:16
Speaker 4: Yeah.
00:01:17
Speaker 5: And he was, you know, he's been banged up.
00:01:18
Speaker 3: He's been playing through this foot injury and I didn't think he had a very good game against Cleveland anyway. So, I mean, I don't know how much of a loss he is this week compared to last week, but in general, you know, you're leaning a lot on Jeremy Bernard.
00:01:31
Speaker 5: Who's a rookie.
00:01:32
Speaker 3: I think Roman Wilson has been one of the more improved players on this offense this year. He looks like a legitimate option, especially on the inside. But I mean, that's kind of it as far as like legit, you know, NFL options go and they want to play with a lot of three wide receivers and they only have three. That's not how you want it to be. And would be, I would expect Omar Khan to be trolling the waiver wire or whatever to see if he can find some veteran depth here. But pickings are usually slim this time of year and, Uh, yeah, it's, it's not an overwhelming group right now.
00:02:04
Speaker 5: That's for sure.
00:02:05
Speaker 2: Uh, do the Steelers almost got to use more double tight end 12 personnel, even though that's not what McCarthy prefers to fit the personnel, Alan.
00:02:15
Speaker 5: Yeah.
00:02:15
Speaker 3: I don't think they can go exclusively that, but I think it makes sense to go with more than they have been. I mean, it's hard to argue that their best five eligible players don't include both tight ends at this point, and they've been having success with it. They're a top five NFL offense when they go under center. I'm not expecting them to change their personality, but they should probably lean into what they've been having success with a little bit more.
00:02:39
Speaker 1: I'm not as big on Washington as some are, Alan. Don't get me wrong.
00:02:43
Speaker 2: Every once in a while, he pulls off a highlight reel play like a stiff armor that twinkle toes down the sideline. And he's big and there's a lot about him to like. But his rock tree is very limited. Ergo, even if he plays more, I think his impact is going to be somewhat limited.
00:02:59
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, the one area is he helps the offensive line, right? I mean, that doesn't show up on the stat sheet, but I think him being out there, not only does he block well, I just think he keeps teams from wanting to blitz, right?
00:03:13
Speaker 5: They don't want to send all.
00:03:15
Speaker 3: Of their bigger people after the quarterback and leave the secondary to deal with Darnell Washington. He kind of makes teams be a little bit more passive on defense, and so I think he helps in that way. I don't think he's ever going to be a real high-volume guy in terms of the passing game, which is not the way he's built. He's a real matchup problem in the red zone, and if you can get him free and turned up field a couple times in the secondary game, I think that's pretty good usage for him.
00:03:41
Speaker 2: Can Roman Wilson or Jeremy Bernard do any more than they are? I mean, they can certainly be asked, but it's asking a lot. Roman Wilson's been on the pay-no-mind list up until this year, and Bernard's a rookie.
00:03:55
Speaker 3: I honestly feel like they didn't play Wilson enough against the Browns. I thought he was the one guy that was routinely getting open in that game against the Cleveland team that played a lot of man coverage and nobody else really. I mean, DK had a nice game, but all of his catches were contested. It's not like he was running free a whole lot either. I thought Roman was the one guy who really got some separation. I thought they should have leaned on him a little bit more, but the matchups will be different. I don't know that Andy's going to play as much man to man as Cleveland did, uh, I think Bernard is probably better suited to attack some zone defenses. That just feels like more of his game. I also think, just because they're going to rely on him a lot with Pittman out, I'd like to see them just get the ball in his hands a little bit, run off some screens or some jet sweeps or something like that. I think for a rookie, that could be helpful.
00:04:42
Speaker 2: How about going to Warren more out of the backfield, or, God forbid, run the ball more?
00:04:48
Speaker 5: Well, I mean, I think they're finally....
00:04:51
Speaker 3: It's only taken five years, but finally approaching the upward limit of what you can pile on to Jalen Warren. He's had a lot of work over these last two games. I did see Rico Dowdle do a little bit more practice today. It looks like he's trending positively. I don't know if he's going to get there this week, but without Dowdle there, when you're already running the ball with Warren on first and second down a lot, I don't know how much more you can ask him to do than what he's done these last two weeks. But if they get Dowdle back, I definitely think you can use Warren a lot more in the passing game at that point.
00:05:21
Speaker 2: I agree with you want to, I don't know if protects the right word, but Warren's not a big guy and he has a history getting dinged up. That said, the ratio between run and pass is two to one, and that seems to me to be just absurd. You need more balance than that, especially when your running game is averaging, what is it, four and a half yards per carry just about.
00:05:45
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, I think he's been the best player on our offense. I don't really think second place is all that close. So any way they can make him more productive is a good thing. And I do think there is a little bit of a, well, okay, we want him to last 17 games, right? You can't burn them out early.
00:06:02
Speaker 5: In the season.
00:06:03
Speaker 3: He's never had this kind of workload over a sustained pace at any point in his career. So I understand wanting to be a little bit cautious with him, but I think he's been fantastic. And I think any way they can get the ball in his hands is helpful.
00:06:17
Speaker 2: We're talking to Alan Saunders of Pittsburgh Steelers now here on the Mark Madden Show. How did the Steelers survive a cornerback without Porter? He's gone and Dean's hurt. Who does what?
00:06:29
Speaker 3: I mean, I think you're going to see Asante Samuel and Daylon Everett play almost every snap. I don't really see who else they're going to go to. Patrick Graham was pretty definitive when we talked to him on Monday that Jalen Ramsey's not going to move.
00:06:41
Speaker 5: I think that's the right choice.
00:06:43
Speaker 1: I do too.
00:06:44
Speaker 3: I think he's much better suited to play in the slot at this point in his career. So that really, I mean, they bring in Sean Murphy Bunting and Terrell Smith who are guys with NFL experience. Bunting's was all before a pretty significant injury that cost him all of last season.
00:07:02
Speaker 5: And Smith's, you know, same thing. He had an injury as well.
00:07:06
Speaker 3: So I don't know what they can expect out of those guys coming after three practices, I wouldn't think much. I think at least for this week, it's going to have to be Samuel and Everett for better or for worse.
00:07:17
Speaker 2: Is it going to keep being primarily zone defense? And if so, doesn't that hinder the pass rush? I think we saw an element of that against Cleveland's.
00:07:25
Speaker 5: It makes them predictable. That's for sure.
00:07:27
Speaker 3: I mean, I think you can still rush the passer against zone cover. What was zone coverage behind you? I thought they were, they were passive to a fault though, against the Browns where, It sure seemed like they were holding back from rushing Deshaun Watson, who has time and again proven that he's capable of throwing the game away. I felt like they should have pressured him a little bit more, and it's certainly possible that a lack of faith in their ability to keep things covered up on the back end is a reason they didn't. I do think Everett can be a pretty good man corner. He has the size and the speed and all the tools to do that. Samuel is definitely a player who's better suited to zone though.
00:08:10
Speaker 5: So I don't know. We'll see. I just think they can't be as predictably.
00:08:13
Speaker 3: So you can be a zone heavy team and still find ways to mix in some changeups a little bit better than they did against Cleveland.
00:08:23
Speaker 2: How good is Indy's offense? It's Taylor and a decent line, I guess. And with Harmon out, that's gotta be what they're thinking, right?
00:08:33
Speaker 5: I would think so.
00:08:33
Speaker 3: I mean, They don't have a dynamic group of pass-catching weapons. Tyler Warren, a tight end, is a pretty good player. They've been banged up at receiver, and they never really replaced Pittman after trading him to Pittsburgh. So they're down a couple receivers from where they were last year. I would think that they're going to try really hard to establish the run, especially going on the road.
00:08:56
Speaker 5: They're going to want to try to take the crowd out of it.
00:08:59
Speaker 3: All that seems to add up to me like, You can get a Steelers defensive player every week to tell you, oh, the most important thing is stopping the run. I feel like this week, it really is the most important thing in almost everything. If you take Jonathan Taylor out of this game, I don't see how the rest of the Colts beat you.
00:09:14
Speaker 1: What's wrong with Benton and Herbig?
00:09:17
Speaker 2: Not exactly high visibility by either after getting their big deals.
00:09:22
Speaker 3: I think Benton is getting a lot more attention this year in terms of double teams than he has in the past.
00:09:27
Speaker 5: I'm not sure why that is.
00:09:29
Speaker 3: It could be some of like a trickle down effect of some of what the Steelers have been doing to try to get TJ Watt and the rest of the edge guys, some more single looks. Herbig is adapting to playing a bunch of different roles. You know, he had one job and really he had one piece of one job because when he was in there, that meant it was a passing situation. They really tailored his reps to as being the third guy to just come in and rush the passer. And now he's playing more on first and second down and he's playing from a bunch of different alignments i think we'll get there i just think it was a big adjustment for him and he's still learning how to do all these things he's being asked to do instead of just doing that one thing that he's very good.
00:10:13
Speaker 6: At um.
00:10:15
Speaker 2: How would you rate Rodgers? I find it very hard to do that. He's totally immobile. His guile obviously leads him to make good decisions. I'd probably give him a solid B, but every time he's in trouble, I just cringe.
00:10:31
Speaker 3: Yeah, I would say he still has a very good arm. and he's certainly a well above average thinker of the game at the position. He definitely does not deal with pressure very well. I think that's been established at this point. He doesn't move that well. And even just compared to some other guys that do move well, his game was always about extending plays and navigating the pocket and keeping his eyes downfield. And I think as his ability to do that has waned, When you saw Drew Brees at the end of his career, he was a point guard. It was stand and pass. And I don't think that Rodgers maybe comparatively has transitioned that way as well as some other guys. Of course, there's very few players who have ever played to his age. So we're talking about a pretty small sample. But I think he still can be very good. If they had a dominant offensive line, I think you could see Aaron Rodgers be a very good player with.
00:11:32
Speaker 5: His current physical tools.
00:11:33
Speaker 3: But they don't, and I think he's going to continue to struggle when other teams are able to pressure him.
00:11:38
Speaker 2: This just feels like a real important game. I know it's not division, but it's at home. You lost at Cleveland on Thursday night again. It feels like they need to win this game, Alan, to keep Exkerman from rolling downhill and to keep the fans from turning. There is some discontent among the fans, and I know you can't worry about that, but it's there.
00:12:00
Speaker 3: You can't worry about that, but I think you can worry about the schedule gets hard at the end.
00:12:04
Speaker 5: There's no question about that.
00:12:05
Speaker 3: They have a string of four or five games in a row against playoff teams come November into December. These next three games, the Colts don't seem to be very good. You've got Tampa possibly with a backup quarterback, and then the Saints, one, two, three, and then Cleveland again, even really if you want to go to four. But they've got to find a way to win these games because the schedule is going to get more difficult. They don't have the luxury of taking half the season to find their stride. And these are winnable games, especially this one at home. These are games that teams that are headed to the playoffs have to find a way to win.
00:12:42
Speaker 1: Alan, great stuff as always. Good work at the. com, and we'll talk again real soon, I hope.
00:12:47
Speaker 5: Thanks, Mark. We'll see you.
00:12:48
Speaker 1: That's Alan Saunders. I'm Mark Madden.
00:12:50
Speaker 2: Get your calls in now. Hockey fans. Are you worried about the Penguins? Are you worried about Sid? Minus four last night, only two assists in four games.
00:12:58
Speaker 1: I'm not worried.
00:13:00
Speaker 2: But, boy, looking at that score sheet and seeing minus four for him, the consummate 200-foot player, it's just weird.
00:13:07
Speaker 1: I got faith, but it's just weird. 105.9. iHeartRadio.
00:13:13
Speaker 6: And now the super genius, Mark Madden.
00:13:16
Speaker 7: Double M, huge fan.
00:13:17
Speaker 1: You're talking to the super genius.
00:13:18
Speaker 8: No doubt, Double M.
00:13:19
Speaker 5: Hey, Mark, who has the best onion drink?
00:13:21
Speaker 6: Ooh. The X at 105.9.
00:13:34
Speaker 2: If you're just tuning in, what was it that Matthew McConaughey said? No, no, Pink Floyd, Randall Pink Floyd, that character. At the end of, God, I forget the.
00:13:46
Speaker 1: Name of that movie now. Dazed and Confused.
00:13:50
Speaker 2: The coming of age, high school, Texas in the 70s movie. When Randall Pink Floyd is telling off his football coach, he said, me and my loser friends got to get Aerosmith tickets today. big priority of the summer. Well, it was my big priority today for the two comeback and perhaps last Aerosmith shows ever, Aerosmith and Friends at the Hollywood Bowl at month's end. I got second row for the first show, first row for the second show. I paid a lot of money, but it's going to be well worth it because, like Pink said, it's a big priority.
00:14:30
Speaker 1: I asked before for people to call and.
00:14:34
Speaker 2: Talk about your experience if you ever saw indoor soccer at the Civic Arena, the Pittsburgh Spirit. The Pittsburgh Spirit has a reunion Saturday night at the Riverhans game.
00:14:46
Speaker 1: The franchise is being honored.
00:14:49
Speaker 2: And my guest at the bottom of the hour, just a little bit away, is John O'Hara, who played for the Spirit from Mount Lebanon, played for Pitt as well, had quite a career in indoor soccer.
00:14:59
Speaker 1: So looking forward to talking to Spud.
00:15:03
Speaker 2: That's Matt Bartkowski's father-in-law, so I've run into Spud from time to time, even since the Spirit days. But I was a big Spirit guy. I wrote for the program. I was kind of an unofficial intern. The game night program covered the team for different publications, so I'm quite looking forward, not least to having John O'Hara on at the bottom of the hour. We were talking about Sid. I was hoping to get some conversation going on that, but maybe... conversations of dead art because of my superior intellect at least as far as you dummies are concerned but uh sid has two assists in four games like yo he just said he has three goals in 28 games dating back through last year are you worried i'm not i'm not but like i said talking uh to yo he when you look at sid's stat line with just two points in four games after 21 seasons of averaging a point per game, every season, the NHL record, past Gretzky last year. When you consider that and look at Sid's stat line for the year, and when you consider that Sid's the best 200-foot player ever.
00:16:13
Speaker 1: And.
00:16:17
Speaker 2: He was minus four last night. I think he was minus five once. I think he's been minus four in his career three times. It's just weird to look at. Guys that great that post stat lines, whether for small stretches or in one game like Sid last night, it's just hard to believe. It looks weird right there on the sheet. But that said, great players do have, I don't want to say slumps, but just don't come through statistically.
00:16:50
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's a slump. That defines a slump.
00:16:52
Speaker 2: But when Mario had his 199.
00:16:56
Speaker 1: Point season in 1988, 89.
00:16:57
Speaker 2: This is hard to believe, but he went without a goal three games in a row, two times.
00:17:09
Speaker 1: Seems really odd, but, but it's true.
00:17:11
Speaker 2: I remember, I remember, uh, near the end of Mary's first career, we were wondering a lot, the most games.
00:17:20
Speaker 1: He went without a goal.
00:17:21
Speaker 2: And, uh, He kind of shrugged and said maybe three and trying to look it up, that seems like it might be true, probably a couple fours and fives in there. I do know in his last season, right before he retired, he went nine games without a goal, which is probably why he retired. The point being that even the very best have the occasional dry patch. It's just odd to witness and even crazier to see on the score sheet, which might not make sense, but it does to me.
00:17:53
Speaker 1: Let's go to Seth and Harmer. Seth, you're on with Double M.
00:17:58
Speaker 7: Good day, sir.
00:17:58
Speaker 1: I said good day.
00:18:01
Speaker 7: About Sid, I mean, He also hasn't really had his line mates so far, too. I mean, with Rusty being out and all that.
00:18:08
Speaker 2: Yeah, but Rusty was not preordained to play with Sid, Seth. Rusty was going to be on the third line with Kendall. Although, like I said earlier and Yowie agreed, they've got to put Rust, Raquel, and Sid together in Columbus tomorrow night. They played together in the third period last night, and Sid looked exponentially better for that being the case.
00:18:33
Speaker 7: Yeah, I would think that's got to be the move, especially with his comfort level with his guys historically. I wouldn't be shocked if that's a reason for a slow start.
00:18:47
Speaker 2: I think the short training camp is the reason for the slow start. Sid is, more than any athlete I've ever been around, a creature of habit, and I think disrupting his habit in that regard is probably the problem.
00:19:00
Speaker 1: Let's go to Steve. Steve, you're on with Double M.
00:19:04
Speaker 9: Hey, Mark, got a question for you.
00:19:05
Speaker 7: I don't remember the spirit for indoor soccer, but I do remember the Pittsburgh Stingers.
00:19:10
Speaker 1: Yeah, they were like the one season wonder, correct? Or maybe two.
00:19:14
Speaker 7: Yeah, I was like in the early 90s in the Phantom.
00:19:17
Speaker 5: That was like the indoor hockey league. I think they tried to promote those simultaneously.
00:19:21
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's correct. One of the teams only lasted one season. One lasted two. Do you remember which one?
00:19:28
Speaker 7: I think the Phantom might have lasted, too. And I think Brian Trottier actually played on the Phantom as well.
00:19:33
Speaker 2: Yeah, he only played home games until the playoffs, but that's correct. Warren Young was the coach, but he wound up playing as well. I forget, and it was honestly forgettable, even though it was a great time.
00:19:42
Speaker 1: Rick Kehoe coached.
00:19:44
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think the roller hockey was around two years because Rick Kehoe coached.
00:19:48
Speaker 9: Okay.
00:19:49
Speaker 1: I forget.
00:19:49
Speaker 2: But, yeah, it was fun. But it wasn't that the Stingers indoor team. wasn't as good as the Spirit. That major indoor soccer league that the Spirit played in, there was no NASL.
00:20:02
Speaker 1: There was no MLS.
00:20:03
Speaker 2: They caught the pocket between, and it was an incredibly talented league as a result.
00:20:08
Speaker 1: Let's go to Big Willie. Big Willie, you're on with Double M.
00:20:11
Speaker 7: Hey, what's up?
00:20:14
Speaker 10: Mark, how are you?
00:20:15
Speaker 1: Good, man.
00:20:17
Speaker 10: Hey, just wanted to let you know, you know, I had fond memories of the Pittsburgh Spirit, and Just the MISL in general. And, you know, some of those, you know, Stan Terlecki and Paul Child, Graham Fife, Marcio Leite, John O'Hare, as you said. And some of those great players. They were great teams. And I'll always remember Dave Sobieski.
00:20:45
Speaker 1: No, Chris Sobieski, yeah. Yeah, and thank you for the call.
00:20:49
Speaker 2: One thing funny about indoor soccer, because the goals are sent into the boards on a hockey rink. And the goalies obviously got to go to their post. Goalies would get their fingers pinched and sometimes broken by the ball against the boards, against the post and whatnot.
00:21:05
Speaker 1: So you always had to carry three goalies. And sometimes more.
00:21:08
Speaker 2: This guy who keeps stats for the Penguins, Phil Spano, he used to fill in at practices, the emergency goalie. And if you ever saw him play goal, you would know it was indeed an emergency. I remember Stan Terlecki almost killed him with a shot once. If Stan had done so, the stat-keeping at the Penland games would be.
00:21:25
Speaker 1: A lot more accurate. Okay, up next, talk to the devil. No, not Phil. God, no. Not Stan, either. He sadly passed. John O'Hara of the Pittsburgh Spirit. Up next, 105.9. From the Dollar Energy Fund Weather Center.
00:21:38
Speaker 6: This report is sponsored by the Distillery Complex. The X at 105.9.
00:21:45
Speaker 2: The Pittsburgh Steer were an indoor soccer team that existed here in Pittsburgh from 78 through 86 and played at the Igloo, the Civic Arena, seven seasons. There's an alumni reunion this weekend at Saturday's Riverhounds game down at... the stadium in the strip district and joining me now from the spirit and originally from Mount Lebanon and the university of Pittsburgh. It's a pleasure to again, talk to John O'Hara, uh, Spud, what do you think of this reunion? It's pretty cool that people still remember, isn't it?
00:22:18
Speaker 9: Absolutely.
00:22:19
Speaker 6: Mark.
00:22:20
Speaker 9: Uh, and thanks for having me. And, uh, Spud, I don't hear that very often, but I like it.
00:22:26
Speaker 5: Thanks.
00:22:27
Speaker 9: Yeah, it's, uh, it, it'll, it'll be a fun night, uh, It's wonderful that the Riverhounds would acknowledge and recognize the spirit. And, you know, we're all in it.
00:22:41
Speaker 5: We love the game.
00:22:43
Speaker 9: And that's why we're here.
00:22:45
Speaker 2: How would you describe indoor soccer to those who never saw it?
00:22:51
Speaker 1: It was nuts.
00:22:52
Speaker 9: It was fast. It was very much fun. You had to expect the unexpected, even including in the early years when they were trying to figure it out, the carpet that we played on, the floor that we played on, used to come up from time to time at the seams until.
00:23:17
Speaker 5: They figured all that out. So it was a very fast game, very.
00:23:22
Speaker 9: Skillful, and just a real entertainment, I think a real you know, a good entertainment buck for the fans. And, but it also, you know, filled your appetite. If you were, you know, if you were a soccer fan between the, you know, between the years, of the success of the early success of the outdoor game in this country. And, and, you know, and now the success of the outdoor game in this country, including the, the, you know, the U S men's national team and the women too.
00:23:54
Speaker 2: What kind of caught the pocket between the old North American soccer league with Pele, it folded. Then MLS came on, came along, like, I don't know, a decade or so later and, And the indoor game.
00:24:05
Speaker 1: Kind of filled that gap.
00:24:06
Speaker 2: I kind of always describe it as soccer combined with pinball and very Americanized. I mean, like you, I enjoy the outdoor game to watch probably more. But as an American version of the game, I really saw what they were trying to do and did do well.
00:24:26
Speaker 9: Yeah, absolutely. Um, uh, not just you and, and, and others too. I mean, I remember that the first year, you know, some of the people that were involved at the top, you know, Bob Cousy was a basketball guy. And, uh, of course, and I, and I recognize Bob Cousy's name. My father was a basketball player. And so a lot of people saw the potential of the game and, um, and combining one of the things that I really liked about, about the game. It was much like hockey. I loved hockey ever since I was a kid, ice hockey and the indoor soccer, you were right on top of the game, just like you are at the, just like you are at the hockey rink. And there's nothing like watching a, you know, an ice hockey game when the rink is full speed and the excitement, it was very much that way with indoor soccer too.
00:25:20
Speaker 2: And the talent was great because MI also had a lot of imports and guys in their prime like Stan Terlecki who played for Pittsburgh and Steve Jungel who was probably the league's best player. It just seemed to keep getting better as the league went on.
00:25:37
Speaker 9: No question about it. The earlier years, it was very accomplished players from Europe who were trying to figure the game out just as everyone else was. But But the really good ones figured it out very quickly. Among them, Zungle, of course, and Stan, Stan Terlacki. And because the fundamentals are still pretty much the same, you know, play the ball quickly, play and move. And then the individual brilliance of guys like that is what really made the game exciting, again, because.
00:26:14
Speaker 5: You're so close to it.
00:26:16
Speaker 9: And those are the things that I remember.
00:26:19
Speaker 2: We're talking to former Pittsburgh Spirit defender John O'Hara. Spirit with a reunion Saturday night at the Riverhounds game. Kickoff 7 p.m. at FNB Stadium on Strip District. God, Station Square.
00:26:34
Speaker 1: I'm getting old.
00:26:35
Speaker 2: I forget what neighborhood is which now. You were a good defender. What's the key to playing defense indoors in a hockey rink with the boards? I always felt that defenders had the biggest adjustment from the outdoor game.
00:26:51
Speaker 9: Yeah, I suppose it's just like sensing danger. I think good defenders, whether they're defensemen or midfielders or forwards, can sort of sense the danger. And that wasn't any different. That's not any different today. And then just closing down the time and the space, it was the funny bounces and off the wall, that kind of thing. And just the speed in and around the goal is what made it unpredictable and difficult. But I always thought a good defenseman, a good outdoor defenseman, defenseman midfielder, could adjust to the indoor game just because of sensing the danger just as you would in soccer or hockey. You just know, good defenders just know you know, when you're, when, uh, when your team's in trouble and where you need to, where you need to get to be to stop the ball, the ball or the puck from going in the net.
00:27:56
Speaker 2: Now there wasn't really a big time outdoor league during the prime of your career. Uh, are you just as happy having played indoors in your hometown in front of some pretty good crowds?
00:28:07
Speaker 9: Oh, for sure. For sure.
00:28:09
Speaker 5: Mark.
00:28:09
Speaker 9: And, uh, You know, it's about professional sports. It's about timing and opportunity. And it was the timing and the opportunity was right.
00:28:20
Speaker 5: It was fun.
00:28:20
Speaker 9: It was, you know, we filled, as you said, we filled the gap. I grew up playing outdoor soccer and then finished up playing outdoor soccer, too. And in the middle, there was the indoor. There's no question the game sort of kept interest alive. and because of that, we have the opportunity to get acknowledged and recognized with the Riverhounds here on Saturday.
00:28:47
Speaker 2: Well, people certainly love the spirit in Pittsburgh. I mean, there were a lot of great marketing campaigns, too, very efficient, like the Hot Legs campaign, tying into the Rod Stewart song, and in 83-84, you guys drew a bigger average crowd than the Penguins, and of course, uh, Mr. DeBartolo on both teams, but 10, the Penguins drafted Mario and that kind of, kind of put the spirit to rest after a little bit, didn't it?
00:29:13
Speaker 9: Yes. Yes, it did. And, uh, I mean, as I said earlier, I'm a big, always have been a big hockey fan and, and just love, love Mario Mew. And, uh, yeah, unfortunately the timing just, it just wasn't right. I mean, it was right there for a while. Uh, and, uh, but, but at that time it just wasn't. But it was a very good seven years with one interrupted year there. And hopefully we left a mark for more young people in Pittsburgh, boys and girls, to play and learn the game and to advance their careers just as we did ours.
00:29:54
Speaker 1: Spud, great stuff. I appreciate you taking the time, and I will see you this weekend.
00:29:59
Speaker 9: Yeah, Mark, thanks so much for having me. It's good to talk to you, and I look forward to seeing you.
00:30:03
Speaker 5: It's been a while.
00:30:04
Speaker 1: It certainly has. Can't wait.
00:30:05
Speaker 2: That's John O'Hara, defender for the Spirit. The reunion is at, well, it's a bunch of stuff. There's a dinner tomorrow night, and then there's the official Riverhans promoted on field before the game, I think, reunion at FNB Stadium. in Station Square before the Riverhans game, which is Saturday night at 7 p.m. So a lot to look forward to this weekend in Pittsburgh if you're a soccer type.
00:30:33
Speaker 1: But now it's time to ask Mark anything.
00:30:34
Speaker 2: 833-412-WXDX, 833-412-WXDX. Or you can leave a talkback via the microphone icon at the iHeartMedia app.
00:30:45
Speaker 1: I'm Mark Madden, 105.9.
00:30:47
Speaker 3: Time now to send in your questions for Ask Mark Anything. Use the TalkBack mic on your free iHeartRadio app and record your question for the super genius.
00:31:00
Speaker 6: It's the Woody Show. Weekend mornings at 6. Pretty cool. It is super cool. VX at 105.9.
00:31:07
Speaker 3: The haunted battle between the 80s and 90s happens on the game.
00:31:11
Speaker 8: I'm lucky you got the balls to say what you want to say.
00:31:13
Speaker 1: Very good point.
00:31:15
Speaker 6: VX at 105.9.
00:31:24
Speaker 2: And Ask Mark Anything brought to us by People's Natural Gas, reminding you to call 811 before you dig, you dig? Even landscaping work requires you to call 811. For more info, go to peoples-gas.com. Great having John O'Hara on, Spud. I hadn't thought that's just what we called him back then. I'm sure that's all he'll be called this weekend at the Spirit reunion. Riverhunt's fighting to get home field for the playoffs, so you don't want to miss that game. Between that Spirit reunion and the game Saturday night figures to be a heck of an evening at FNB in Station Square. Let's go to Dick. Dick, you're on with Double M.
00:32:09
Speaker 5: Yeah, I'm curious.
00:32:10
Speaker 11: I looked on one of those betting apps. They had 47 guys offered to win the Calder Trophy, none of which were named Sergei Murashov. I wondered what odds would Mark Madden need to put his money on Murashov.
00:32:23
Speaker 9: To win it all, the Calder?
00:32:24
Speaker 2: I don't know that I'd assign odds to him winning the Rookie of the Year, but I think it's going to be tough given that he's going to be in a rotational situation with a veteran goalie. And as such, I don't think he'll stand out as much.
00:32:37
Speaker 1: As he might in a game on the day.
00:32:43
Speaker 2: I think you need a certain amount of momentum by playing a lot to get an award like the Calder.
00:32:48
Speaker 1: Who's favorite, out of curiosity, who do they have as number one?
00:32:50
Speaker 9: McKenna?
00:32:52
Speaker 11: They have McKenna is tied with your boy, Porter Martone, at plus 280. I took Cole Hudson, Lane's brother, who actually may be better than his brother at 9-1.
00:33:03
Speaker 2: I don't think he's better than his brother, but 9-1 is not bad value for money.
00:33:07
Speaker 1: Let's go to Scott. Scott, ask Mark anything.
00:33:11
Speaker 9: Hey, Mark.
00:33:13
Speaker 4: You were talking to Spud and just about the spirit. I don't know if you remember, but you mentioned the hot legs thing. I used to do all the ice sculptures for their gigs when they had the competition at nightclubs.
00:33:30
Speaker 9: Yep.
00:33:30
Speaker 4: Did you ever make it to any of those?
00:33:32
Speaker 1: I did not. I do.
00:33:35
Speaker 2: The two models were Paul Child and Silhouette and Kevin Maher up close.
00:33:39
Speaker 1: Let's go to a talkback.
00:33:42
Speaker 12: Mark, are you a Halloween guy, or what's your best costume as a child?
00:33:50
Speaker 2: I don't remember any of my costumes. I wasn't much of a Halloween kid, to tell you the truth. Probably dressed up as a bum or something like that, which is how most of us dressed in reserve township anyway, Halloween or not. I think I dress every Halloween now as an unmade bed. Actually, I'll be in Hollywood for Halloween this year, in between the Aerosmith shows.
00:34:12
Speaker 1: Let's go to Corey in Bloomfield. Corey, you're on with Double M.
00:34:14
Speaker 6: Hey, Mark. How you doing?
00:34:17
Speaker 9: Good.
00:34:18
Speaker 10: Hey, Mark.
00:34:19
Speaker 3: I just wanted to see if you regret trying to run Tomlin out.
00:34:22
Speaker 1: Of time now.
00:34:24
Speaker 2: First off, if I could have run Tomlin out of town, I would have done it a lot sooner because he was a fraud as a coach. He won with cowards, players, culture, and leaders. He didn't deserve that ring. He should pawn it because he doesn't deserve to have it. I will say one good thing. If he was still here, Joey Porter Jr. would have been signed, but that's the only good thing. McCarthy's a much better coach. He's a real coach. And honestly, I'm flattered you think I could run him out of town. If I could do that, I'd run a lot more people than him.
00:34:52
Speaker 1: Out of town, though.
00:34:55
Speaker 3: Well, it seems like a whole lot of the same going on over there on the south side with the Steelers.
00:34:59
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, we'll see. We'll see.
00:35:01
Speaker 2: But I think over two or three years, McCarthy will make things different, and I think he will straighten out the situation at quarterback, which Tomlin could not have done. How do you feel about your guy Tomlin drafting Kenny Pickett now?
00:35:13
Speaker 1: How'd that work out for you?
00:35:16
Speaker 11: Uh.
00:35:17
Speaker 8: It didn't work out that great.
00:35:19
Speaker 2: Yeah, how about trading for Minka Fitzpatrick so they could finish 500 instead of drafting Justin Herbert?
00:35:25
Speaker 1: How'd that work out?
00:35:28
Speaker 8: How do you feel about LeTang?
00:35:29
Speaker 1: No, no, answer my question. Oh, we're going to change subject to LeTang. Corey, you're an idiot.
00:35:33
Speaker 2: Bloomfield, all the restaurants are closing because you're broke and can't afford to eat there anymore.
00:35:37
Speaker 1: See you later. And I will miss the Pleasure Bar. Although I haven't been there in years, I'm probably part.
00:35:43
Speaker 2: Of the problem.
00:35:44
Speaker 1: Let's go to a talkback.
00:35:45
Speaker 7: Mark, when you go to a concert, are you the dancing type, or do you sit, or do you just stand, or do you pound a bunch of beers and get weird?
00:35:56
Speaker 2: I don't drink at all at concerts, maybe like one drink, but I got drunk when I was a kid at Lynyrd Skynyrd, and I don't remember the show, and it was the only time I saw the original lineup before the plane crash.
00:36:07
Speaker 1: That broke me then and there from drinking at concerts.
00:36:10
Speaker 2: I don't know, I kind of banged my head a little bit, just a little bit, I'm curious to see if I have to stand because I'm in the first two rows at Aerosmith in Hollywood. Second row on the first night, first row on the second night. And now Guns N' Roses added to the show. How great is that? See, I know you guys don't like to hear this, but I'm so much happier doing that than even thinking about the freaking Steelers. I'm just so sick of the Steelers. I'm Steelered out, not least the way it's going this year. With everything I knew would happen happening, like blaming McCarthy right away like that dipstick from Bloomfield just did, and worrying about the four quarterbacks all through training camp, when I told you all during that time, it wouldn't make even a little bit of difference because only one was going to play all year barring injuries. And then the Porter thing just put a bad taste in my mouth, especially the way you guys blamed Porter Jr. because you just think he should take what he's offering, be glad to be a Steeler, and you want Eli Hyden White to represent the community and never even acknowledge Porters from the community. And when people say Pittsburgh is racist, I'm going to say it out loud, arguments like that really support that. So, I mean, hey, you be you. You love the Steelers. End of the month, I'll be at Aerosmith. Let's go to a talkback.
00:37:41
Speaker 1: Hey, Mark, this is Flying Ryan in the car. I'm going to a 90s-themed Halloween party. Who do you think I should go as?
00:37:49
Speaker 9: A Stretch Armstrong doll, Roy Munson, or Coach Kline from the Waterboy?
00:37:56
Speaker 7: Good day, sir.
00:37:58
Speaker 1: I said good day. That's a good question.
00:38:07
Speaker 2: If you looked at all like Henry Winkler, the Coach Kline thing would be good, but you'd have to look like him to pull it off because otherwise you're just a coach. The Roy Munson thing, if you could get the skin wig or preferably actually be bald and do the comb over, that'd be all right.
00:38:24
Speaker 1: Go with Mr. Coach Kline. That's my suggestion.
00:38:30
Speaker 2: How about that guy already saying, don't you wish you had Tomlin back? Dude, they're 2-2. And if you're saying things haven't changed, yeah, you're right. I'm disappointed about that. But they would have to change the GM to even give yourself a chance for real change because this roster is betraying McCarthy. McCarthy is a high-tech offensive coach, and he doesn't even have a No. 2 wide receiver. And the con artist has let that position be this giant gaping hole for for over two years since they traded Deontay. Let's go to Mike in the car. Mike, you're on with Double M.
00:39:06
Speaker 12: Mark, I completely agree with you, and that's the perfect segue. I mean, McCarthy's trying to coach with the team that Tomlin put together, which is, quite frankly, a bunch of meatheads that he could coach to run through a wall and finish 9-8. It's not a team of players that's going to take a couple of years. And that's why I agree with you when you say that Tomlin won with Cowher's players and culture, because he did. that Cowher instilled that team built that culture.
00:39:30
Speaker 2: Well and his leaders and his leaders bro that's really important guys like Farrier and Pulamalu and Fanica you know uh Kiesel all those guys there's so many of them that team had so many leaders because that was cultivated by Cowher whereas all Tomlin cultivated was a cult of personality.
00:39:50
Speaker 9: Exactly.
00:39:51
Speaker 12: And you've got to give McCarthy a couple of years because that's what it's going to take to turn over a roster and build what he.
00:39:56
Speaker 6: Needs to build.
00:39:57
Speaker 2: I don't see McCarthy as a guy who was brought in to win a Super Bowl.
00:40:00
Speaker 1: I mean, maybe Art the Dope thinks.
00:40:02
Speaker 2: That, but I think it'll turn out that McCarthy will spend five years here and get the quarterback position ironed out. And if that's all he contributes, then that's enough.
00:40:12
Speaker 1: That's enough because nobody's been able to do it for how long?
00:40:17
Speaker 9: I agree completely.
00:40:19
Speaker 12: You know, I look at him as a five- to eight-year person, and eventually, even if he becomes a senior advisor, I mean, whatever happens to him. But I agree, he's the bridge to when they find the long-term guy, which I don't imagine they'd start looking for the next three or four years anyway. So, yeah, you've got to let him build his team, and then we'll judge.
00:40:38
Speaker 1: Let me ask you this.
00:40:40
Speaker 2: What's the earliest, do you think, how many years before the Steelers win a Super Bowl?
00:40:44
Speaker 6: Ooh.
00:40:47
Speaker 12: I mean, Rodgers turned over quick, but I would say at least five.
00:40:53
Speaker 9: Easily five.
00:40:54
Speaker 1: Yeah, I would say at least five, and it might be more than that.
00:40:58
Speaker 2: It might be a real long time, because I think they're in a deeper hole than we realize, exacerbated by the fact that Omar Khan is an awful GM, and they will just never, ever fire him.
00:41:10
Speaker 1: They won't ever fire.
00:41:11
Speaker 2: Him, because that's how granddaddy and daddy did it. You kept the job forever. But daddy and granddaddy, especially daddy, hired the right guys.
00:41:21
Speaker 9: Mm-hmm.
00:41:21
Speaker 12: Yeah, I think AR2, he's a big part of the problem, and Khan, I think, is just a joker. And until maybe those two go, I'm hopeful McCarthy can get a little bit more influence in the organization.
00:41:34
Speaker 6: No, no, for.
00:41:36
Speaker 2: Mike's sake, I just want him to coach, okay? Get a better GM, which they won't. But whenever the coaches start having the final say, heck, by the end of Cowher's tenure, and he established a standard for that, the coach having final say, it didn't even do Cowher any favors. The coaches who want power don't understand they're hurting themselves. They're putting themselves in a job that they're not qualified to do. They're qualified to coach the players they're given, not assemble the players.
00:42:05
Speaker 1: Let's go to Big Z. Big Z, you're on with Double M.
00:42:08
Speaker 8: Hey now, Double M.
00:42:09
Speaker 9: Hey now.
00:42:09
Speaker 1: Hey now.
00:42:11
Speaker 8: Yeah, so I just wanted to get your take. Obviously, we're in a very, very, very early going to the very small sample size, but I just can't help but think about, you know, it is kind of frustrating from a youth's perspective to that we have Van Riensdyk up here playing at 30-plus years old. And it just is, you know, I want to see what Bernanke and Pickering do. can do, and I just don't understand.
00:42:35
Speaker 1: Please pronounce it right. Brunick, but here's the problem.
00:42:38
Speaker 10: Pardon me.
00:42:38
Speaker 1: Brunick's right-handed.
00:42:40
Speaker 2: He's better off playing top four minutes in Wilks at 19 years old than he would be playing bottom pair in Pittsburgh behind Letang and Carlson. He's going to get power play and PK timed on there. This is better for his development. When they trade Carlson at the deadline or he walks via free agency, that's when Brunick steps in. I have no problem with the timetable at that point, As far as Owen Pickering goes, I think they think he's just no good. That said, I would not necessarily have brought in a 35-year-old either.
00:43:10
Speaker 8: Yeah, I mean, in that case, you know, and give him a contract, like, Wartherspoon's only making, you know, a million dollars a year. We're paying... You know.
00:43:20
Speaker 2: Losing Water Spoon is just no big deal. It's just no big deal. I'm tired of hearing about Water Spoon and Shea. Carlisle's as good as either of them, maybe better. I would have played Pickering just to see how Pickering did.
00:43:35
Speaker 1: But, you know, I don't know. Van Riemsdijk at that.
00:43:39
Speaker 2: Price over Water Spoon at his price.
00:43:41
Speaker 1: But who'd they get back for Water Spoon?
00:43:46
Speaker 8: Oh, that's a good question.
00:43:48
Speaker 9: Wait, was that?
00:43:49
Speaker 4: No, no.
00:43:50
Speaker 2: That was to Vegas for Korchak, yeah. So, I mean, six of one, half a dozen of the other.
00:43:58
Speaker 1: Let's go to Buffalo Bill.
00:44:01
Speaker 8: Mark, rank every Motley Crue album.
00:44:07
Speaker 1: Well, I mean, when you say rank, I'm going to go with just my favorites. How's that?
00:44:12
Speaker 6: Perfect.
00:44:13
Speaker 2: Number one is the first album. Number two is the second album, Shout at the Devil. Number three is Dr.
00:44:21
Speaker 1: Feelgood.
00:44:23
Speaker 2: Number four is the self-titled album with John Karabi singing. And number five, I guess I'd have to say Theater of Pain because it had the biggest hit on it. But I think they've done four great albums and I named those. Thank you for the call.
00:44:43
Speaker 1: I'm Mark Madden, 105.9.
Speaker 1: Steelers host the Colts on Sunday.
00:00:09
Speaker 2: Joining me now to talk about that game and where the Steelers are at, he covers the team for Steelers now. Always great to talk to Alan Saunders. Alan, how can the Steelers fix their passing game? Because that's a bad wide-out room, even more so now with Pittman out. There's really nobody for Sauce Gardner to cover.
00:00:30
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, obviously I think I'll get DK Metcalf, but I don't think the Steelers have put a lot of fear in opposing secondaries so far. I think they've got to keep stretching the field. I don't think they need to have a very prolific passing game for them to have a successful passing game. They've just got to hit a couple of those deep balls, like we saw against the Bengals. It's not like Rodgers threw for 500 yards, but they hit a couple of deep passes early, and I think that's opened up everything else underneath that they want to do and they're actually good at in this offense.
00:01:03
Speaker 2: I agree, and it's got to be noted, DK was pretty good against Cleveland. But to me, the big problem is lack of a number two receiver. I mean, worse not that Pittman's out, but he wasn't doing much anyway.
00:01:16
Speaker 4: Yeah.
00:01:17
Speaker 5: And he was, you know, he's been banged up.
00:01:18
Speaker 3: He's been playing through this foot injury and I didn't think he had a very good game against Cleveland anyway. So, I mean, I don't know how much of a loss he is this week compared to last week, but in general, you know, you're leaning a lot on Jeremy Bernard.
00:01:31
Speaker 5: Who's a rookie.
00:01:32
Speaker 3: I think Roman Wilson has been one of the more improved players on this offense this year. He looks like a legitimate option, especially on the inside. But I mean, that's kind of it as far as like legit, you know, NFL options go and they want to play with a lot of three wide receivers and they only have three. That's not how you want it to be. And would be, I would expect Omar Khan to be trolling the waiver wire or whatever to see if he can find some veteran depth here. But pickings are usually slim this time of year and, Uh, yeah, it's, it's not an overwhelming group right now.
00:02:04
Speaker 5: That's for sure.
00:02:05
Speaker 2: Uh, do the Steelers almost got to use more double tight end 12 personnel, even though that's not what McCarthy prefers to fit the personnel, Alan.
00:02:15
Speaker 5: Yeah.
00:02:15
Speaker 3: I don't think they can go exclusively that, but I think it makes sense to go with more than they have been. I mean, it's hard to argue that their best five eligible players don't include both tight ends at this point, and they've been having success with it. They're a top five NFL offense when they go under center. I'm not expecting them to change their personality, but they should probably lean into what they've been having success with a little bit more.
00:02:39
Speaker 1: I'm not as big on Washington as some are, Alan. Don't get me wrong.
00:02:43
Speaker 2: Every once in a while, he pulls off a highlight reel play like a stiff armor that twinkle toes down the sideline. And he's big and there's a lot about him to like. But his rock tree is very limited. Ergo, even if he plays more, I think his impact is going to be somewhat limited.
00:02:59
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, the one area is he helps the offensive line, right? I mean, that doesn't show up on the stat sheet, but I think him being out there, not only does he block well, I just think he keeps teams from wanting to blitz, right?
00:03:13
Speaker 5: They don't want to send all.
00:03:15
Speaker 3: Of their bigger people after the quarterback and leave the secondary to deal with Darnell Washington. He kind of makes teams be a little bit more passive on defense, and so I think he helps in that way. I don't think he's ever going to be a real high-volume guy in terms of the passing game, which is not the way he's built. He's a real matchup problem in the red zone, and if you can get him free and turned up field a couple times in the secondary game, I think that's pretty good usage for him.
00:03:41
Speaker 2: Can Roman Wilson or Jeremy Bernard do any more than they are? I mean, they can certainly be asked, but it's asking a lot. Roman Wilson's been on the pay-no-mind list up until this year, and Bernard's a rookie.
00:03:55
Speaker 3: I honestly feel like they didn't play Wilson enough against the Browns. I thought he was the one guy that was routinely getting open in that game against the Cleveland team that played a lot of man coverage and nobody else really. I mean, DK had a nice game, but all of his catches were contested. It's not like he was running free a whole lot either. I thought Roman was the one guy who really got some separation. I thought they should have leaned on him a little bit more, but the matchups will be different. I don't know that Andy's going to play as much man to man as Cleveland did, uh, I think Bernard is probably better suited to attack some zone defenses. That just feels like more of his game. I also think, just because they're going to rely on him a lot with Pittman out, I'd like to see them just get the ball in his hands a little bit, run off some screens or some jet sweeps or something like that. I think for a rookie, that could be helpful.
00:04:42
Speaker 2: How about going to Warren more out of the backfield, or, God forbid, run the ball more?
00:04:48
Speaker 5: Well, I mean, I think they're finally....
00:04:51
Speaker 3: It's only taken five years, but finally approaching the upward limit of what you can pile on to Jalen Warren. He's had a lot of work over these last two games. I did see Rico Dowdle do a little bit more practice today. It looks like he's trending positively. I don't know if he's going to get there this week, but without Dowdle there, when you're already running the ball with Warren on first and second down a lot, I don't know how much more you can ask him to do than what he's done these last two weeks. But if they get Dowdle back, I definitely think you can use Warren a lot more in the passing game at that point.
00:05:21
Speaker 2: I agree with you want to, I don't know if protects the right word, but Warren's not a big guy and he has a history getting dinged up. That said, the ratio between run and pass is two to one, and that seems to me to be just absurd. You need more balance than that, especially when your running game is averaging, what is it, four and a half yards per carry just about.
00:05:45
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, I think he's been the best player on our offense. I don't really think second place is all that close. So any way they can make him more productive is a good thing. And I do think there is a little bit of a, well, okay, we want him to last 17 games, right? You can't burn them out early.
00:06:02
Speaker 5: In the season.
00:06:03
Speaker 3: He's never had this kind of workload over a sustained pace at any point in his career. So I understand wanting to be a little bit cautious with him, but I think he's been fantastic. And I think any way they can get the ball in his hands is helpful.
00:06:17
Speaker 2: We're talking to Alan Saunders of Pittsburgh Steelers now here on the Mark Madden Show. How did the Steelers survive a cornerback without Porter? He's gone and Dean's hurt. Who does what?
00:06:29
Speaker 3: I mean, I think you're going to see Asante Samuel and Daylon Everett play almost every snap. I don't really see who else they're going to go to. Patrick Graham was pretty definitive when we talked to him on Monday that Jalen Ramsey's not going to move.
00:06:41
Speaker 5: I think that's the right choice.
00:06:43
Speaker 1: I do too.
00:06:44
Speaker 3: I think he's much better suited to play in the slot at this point in his career. So that really, I mean, they bring in Sean Murphy Bunting and Terrell Smith who are guys with NFL experience. Bunting's was all before a pretty significant injury that cost him all of last season.
00:07:02
Speaker 5: And Smith's, you know, same thing. He had an injury as well.
00:07:06
Speaker 3: So I don't know what they can expect out of those guys coming after three practices, I wouldn't think much. I think at least for this week, it's going to have to be Samuel and Everett for better or for worse.
00:07:17
Speaker 2: Is it going to keep being primarily zone defense? And if so, doesn't that hinder the pass rush? I think we saw an element of that against Cleveland's.
00:07:25
Speaker 5: It makes them predictable. That's for sure.
00:07:27
Speaker 3: I mean, I think you can still rush the passer against zone cover. What was zone coverage behind you? I thought they were, they were passive to a fault though, against the Browns where, It sure seemed like they were holding back from rushing Deshaun Watson, who has time and again proven that he's capable of throwing the game away. I felt like they should have pressured him a little bit more, and it's certainly possible that a lack of faith in their ability to keep things covered up on the back end is a reason they didn't. I do think Everett can be a pretty good man corner. He has the size and the speed and all the tools to do that. Samuel is definitely a player who's better suited to zone though.
00:08:10
Speaker 5: So I don't know. We'll see. I just think they can't be as predictably.
00:08:13
Speaker 3: So you can be a zone heavy team and still find ways to mix in some changeups a little bit better than they did against Cleveland.
00:08:23
Speaker 2: How good is Indy's offense? It's Taylor and a decent line, I guess. And with Harmon out, that's gotta be what they're thinking, right?
00:08:33
Speaker 5: I would think so.
00:08:33
Speaker 3: I mean, They don't have a dynamic group of pass-catching weapons. Tyler Warren, a tight end, is a pretty good player. They've been banged up at receiver, and they never really replaced Pittman after trading him to Pittsburgh. So they're down a couple receivers from where they were last year. I would think that they're going to try really hard to establish the run, especially going on the road.
00:08:56
Speaker 5: They're going to want to try to take the crowd out of it.
00:08:59
Speaker 3: All that seems to add up to me like, You can get a Steelers defensive player every week to tell you, oh, the most important thing is stopping the run. I feel like this week, it really is the most important thing in almost everything. If you take Jonathan Taylor out of this game, I don't see how the rest of the Colts beat you.
00:09:14
Speaker 1: What's wrong with Benton and Herbig?
00:09:17
Speaker 2: Not exactly high visibility by either after getting their big deals.
00:09:22
Speaker 3: I think Benton is getting a lot more attention this year in terms of double teams than he has in the past.
00:09:27
Speaker 5: I'm not sure why that is.
00:09:29
Speaker 3: It could be some of like a trickle down effect of some of what the Steelers have been doing to try to get TJ Watt and the rest of the edge guys, some more single looks. Herbig is adapting to playing a bunch of different roles. You know, he had one job and really he had one piece of one job because when he was in there, that meant it was a passing situation. They really tailored his reps to as being the third guy to just come in and rush the passer. And now he's playing more on first and second down and he's playing from a bunch of different alignments i think we'll get there i just think it was a big adjustment for him and he's still learning how to do all these things he's being asked to do instead of just doing that one thing that he's very good.
00:10:13
Speaker 6: At um.
00:10:15
Speaker 2: How would you rate Rodgers? I find it very hard to do that. He's totally immobile. His guile obviously leads him to make good decisions. I'd probably give him a solid B, but every time he's in trouble, I just cringe.
00:10:31
Speaker 3: Yeah, I would say he still has a very good arm. and he's certainly a well above average thinker of the game at the position. He definitely does not deal with pressure very well. I think that's been established at this point. He doesn't move that well. And even just compared to some other guys that do move well, his game was always about extending plays and navigating the pocket and keeping his eyes downfield. And I think as his ability to do that has waned, When you saw Drew Brees at the end of his career, he was a point guard. It was stand and pass. And I don't think that Rodgers maybe comparatively has transitioned that way as well as some other guys. Of course, there's very few players who have ever played to his age. So we're talking about a pretty small sample. But I think he still can be very good. If they had a dominant offensive line, I think you could see Aaron Rodgers be a very good player with.
00:11:32
Speaker 5: His current physical tools.
00:11:33
Speaker 3: But they don't, and I think he's going to continue to struggle when other teams are able to pressure him.
00:11:38
Speaker 2: This just feels like a real important game. I know it's not division, but it's at home. You lost at Cleveland on Thursday night again. It feels like they need to win this game, Alan, to keep Exkerman from rolling downhill and to keep the fans from turning. There is some discontent among the fans, and I know you can't worry about that, but it's there.
00:12:00
Speaker 3: You can't worry about that, but I think you can worry about the schedule gets hard at the end.
00:12:04
Speaker 5: There's no question about that.
00:12:05
Speaker 3: They have a string of four or five games in a row against playoff teams come November into December. These next three games, the Colts don't seem to be very good. You've got Tampa possibly with a backup quarterback, and then the Saints, one, two, three, and then Cleveland again, even really if you want to go to four. But they've got to find a way to win these games because the schedule is going to get more difficult. They don't have the luxury of taking half the season to find their stride. And these are winnable games, especially this one at home. These are games that teams that are headed to the playoffs have to find a way to win.
00:12:42
Speaker 1: Alan, great stuff as always. Good work at the. com, and we'll talk again real soon, I hope.
00:12:47
Speaker 5: Thanks, Mark. We'll see you.
00:12:48
Speaker 1: That's Alan Saunders. I'm Mark Madden.
00:12:50
Speaker 2: Get your calls in now. Hockey fans. Are you worried about the Penguins? Are you worried about Sid? Minus four last night, only two assists in four games.
00:12:58
Speaker 1: I'm not worried.
00:13:00
Speaker 2: But, boy, looking at that score sheet and seeing minus four for him, the consummate 200-foot player, it's just weird.
00:13:07
Speaker 1: I got faith, but it's just weird. 105.9. iHeartRadio.
00:13:13
Speaker 6: And now the super genius, Mark Madden.
00:13:16
Speaker 7: Double M, huge fan.
00:13:17
Speaker 1: You're talking to the super genius.
00:13:18
Speaker 8: No doubt, Double M.
00:13:19
Speaker 5: Hey, Mark, who has the best onion drink?
00:13:21
Speaker 6: Ooh. The X at 105.9.
00:13:34
Speaker 2: If you're just tuning in, what was it that Matthew McConaughey said? No, no, Pink Floyd, Randall Pink Floyd, that character. At the end of, God, I forget the.
00:13:46
Speaker 1: Name of that movie now. Dazed and Confused.
00:13:50
Speaker 2: The coming of age, high school, Texas in the 70s movie. When Randall Pink Floyd is telling off his football coach, he said, me and my loser friends got to get Aerosmith tickets today. big priority of the summer. Well, it was my big priority today for the two comeback and perhaps last Aerosmith shows ever, Aerosmith and Friends at the Hollywood Bowl at month's end. I got second row for the first show, first row for the second show. I paid a lot of money, but it's going to be well worth it because, like Pink said, it's a big priority.
00:14:30
Speaker 1: I asked before for people to call and.
00:14:34
Speaker 2: Talk about your experience if you ever saw indoor soccer at the Civic Arena, the Pittsburgh Spirit. The Pittsburgh Spirit has a reunion Saturday night at the Riverhans game.
00:14:46
Speaker 1: The franchise is being honored.
00:14:49
Speaker 2: And my guest at the bottom of the hour, just a little bit away, is John O'Hara, who played for the Spirit from Mount Lebanon, played for Pitt as well, had quite a career in indoor soccer.
00:14:59
Speaker 1: So looking forward to talking to Spud.
00:15:03
Speaker 2: That's Matt Bartkowski's father-in-law, so I've run into Spud from time to time, even since the Spirit days. But I was a big Spirit guy. I wrote for the program. I was kind of an unofficial intern. The game night program covered the team for different publications, so I'm quite looking forward, not least to having John O'Hara on at the bottom of the hour. We were talking about Sid. I was hoping to get some conversation going on that, but maybe... conversations of dead art because of my superior intellect at least as far as you dummies are concerned but uh sid has two assists in four games like yo he just said he has three goals in 28 games dating back through last year are you worried i'm not i'm not but like i said talking uh to yo he when you look at sid's stat line with just two points in four games after 21 seasons of averaging a point per game, every season, the NHL record, past Gretzky last year. When you consider that and look at Sid's stat line for the year, and when you consider that Sid's the best 200-foot player ever.
00:16:13
Speaker 1: And.
00:16:17
Speaker 2: He was minus four last night. I think he was minus five once. I think he's been minus four in his career three times. It's just weird to look at. Guys that great that post stat lines, whether for small stretches or in one game like Sid last night, it's just hard to believe. It looks weird right there on the sheet. But that said, great players do have, I don't want to say slumps, but just don't come through statistically.
00:16:50
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's a slump. That defines a slump.
00:16:52
Speaker 2: But when Mario had his 199.
00:16:56
Speaker 1: Point season in 1988, 89.
00:16:57
Speaker 2: This is hard to believe, but he went without a goal three games in a row, two times.
00:17:09
Speaker 1: Seems really odd, but, but it's true.
00:17:11
Speaker 2: I remember, I remember, uh, near the end of Mary's first career, we were wondering a lot, the most games.
00:17:20
Speaker 1: He went without a goal.
00:17:21
Speaker 2: And, uh, He kind of shrugged and said maybe three and trying to look it up, that seems like it might be true, probably a couple fours and fives in there. I do know in his last season, right before he retired, he went nine games without a goal, which is probably why he retired. The point being that even the very best have the occasional dry patch. It's just odd to witness and even crazier to see on the score sheet, which might not make sense, but it does to me.
00:17:53
Speaker 1: Let's go to Seth and Harmer. Seth, you're on with Double M.
00:17:58
Speaker 7: Good day, sir.
00:17:58
Speaker 1: I said good day.
00:18:01
Speaker 7: About Sid, I mean, He also hasn't really had his line mates so far, too. I mean, with Rusty being out and all that.
00:18:08
Speaker 2: Yeah, but Rusty was not preordained to play with Sid, Seth. Rusty was going to be on the third line with Kendall. Although, like I said earlier and Yowie agreed, they've got to put Rust, Raquel, and Sid together in Columbus tomorrow night. They played together in the third period last night, and Sid looked exponentially better for that being the case.
00:18:33
Speaker 7: Yeah, I would think that's got to be the move, especially with his comfort level with his guys historically. I wouldn't be shocked if that's a reason for a slow start.
00:18:47
Speaker 2: I think the short training camp is the reason for the slow start. Sid is, more than any athlete I've ever been around, a creature of habit, and I think disrupting his habit in that regard is probably the problem.
00:19:00
Speaker 1: Let's go to Steve. Steve, you're on with Double M.
00:19:04
Speaker 9: Hey, Mark, got a question for you.
00:19:05
Speaker 7: I don't remember the spirit for indoor soccer, but I do remember the Pittsburgh Stingers.
00:19:10
Speaker 1: Yeah, they were like the one season wonder, correct? Or maybe two.
00:19:14
Speaker 7: Yeah, I was like in the early 90s in the Phantom.
00:19:17
Speaker 5: That was like the indoor hockey league. I think they tried to promote those simultaneously.
00:19:21
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's correct. One of the teams only lasted one season. One lasted two. Do you remember which one?
00:19:28
Speaker 7: I think the Phantom might have lasted, too. And I think Brian Trottier actually played on the Phantom as well.
00:19:33
Speaker 2: Yeah, he only played home games until the playoffs, but that's correct. Warren Young was the coach, but he wound up playing as well. I forget, and it was honestly forgettable, even though it was a great time.
00:19:42
Speaker 1: Rick Kehoe coached.
00:19:44
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think the roller hockey was around two years because Rick Kehoe coached.
00:19:48
Speaker 9: Okay.
00:19:49
Speaker 1: I forget.
00:19:49
Speaker 2: But, yeah, it was fun. But it wasn't that the Stingers indoor team. wasn't as good as the Spirit. That major indoor soccer league that the Spirit played in, there was no NASL.
00:20:02
Speaker 1: There was no MLS.
00:20:03
Speaker 2: They caught the pocket between, and it was an incredibly talented league as a result.
00:20:08
Speaker 1: Let's go to Big Willie. Big Willie, you're on with Double M.
00:20:11
Speaker 7: Hey, what's up?
00:20:14
Speaker 10: Mark, how are you?
00:20:15
Speaker 1: Good, man.
00:20:17
Speaker 10: Hey, just wanted to let you know, you know, I had fond memories of the Pittsburgh Spirit, and Just the MISL in general. And, you know, some of those, you know, Stan Terlecki and Paul Child, Graham Fife, Marcio Leite, John O'Hare, as you said. And some of those great players. They were great teams. And I'll always remember Dave Sobieski.
00:20:45
Speaker 1: No, Chris Sobieski, yeah. Yeah, and thank you for the call.
00:20:49
Speaker 2: One thing funny about indoor soccer, because the goals are sent into the boards on a hockey rink. And the goalies obviously got to go to their post. Goalies would get their fingers pinched and sometimes broken by the ball against the boards, against the post and whatnot.
00:21:05
Speaker 1: So you always had to carry three goalies. And sometimes more.
00:21:08
Speaker 2: This guy who keeps stats for the Penguins, Phil Spano, he used to fill in at practices, the emergency goalie. And if you ever saw him play goal, you would know it was indeed an emergency. I remember Stan Terlecki almost killed him with a shot once. If Stan had done so, the stat-keeping at the Penland games would be.
00:21:25
Speaker 1: A lot more accurate. Okay, up next, talk to the devil. No, not Phil. God, no. Not Stan, either. He sadly passed. John O'Hara of the Pittsburgh Spirit. Up next, 105.9. From the Dollar Energy Fund Weather Center.
00:21:38
Speaker 6: This report is sponsored by the Distillery Complex. The X at 105.9.
00:21:45
Speaker 2: The Pittsburgh Steer were an indoor soccer team that existed here in Pittsburgh from 78 through 86 and played at the Igloo, the Civic Arena, seven seasons. There's an alumni reunion this weekend at Saturday's Riverhounds game down at... the stadium in the strip district and joining me now from the spirit and originally from Mount Lebanon and the university of Pittsburgh. It's a pleasure to again, talk to John O'Hara, uh, Spud, what do you think of this reunion? It's pretty cool that people still remember, isn't it?
00:22:18
Speaker 9: Absolutely.
00:22:19
Speaker 6: Mark.
00:22:20
Speaker 9: Uh, and thanks for having me. And, uh, Spud, I don't hear that very often, but I like it.
00:22:26
Speaker 5: Thanks.
00:22:27
Speaker 9: Yeah, it's, uh, it, it'll, it'll be a fun night, uh, It's wonderful that the Riverhounds would acknowledge and recognize the spirit. And, you know, we're all in it.
00:22:41
Speaker 5: We love the game.
00:22:43
Speaker 9: And that's why we're here.
00:22:45
Speaker 2: How would you describe indoor soccer to those who never saw it?
00:22:51
Speaker 1: It was nuts.
00:22:52
Speaker 9: It was fast. It was very much fun. You had to expect the unexpected, even including in the early years when they were trying to figure it out, the carpet that we played on, the floor that we played on, used to come up from time to time at the seams until.
00:23:17
Speaker 5: They figured all that out. So it was a very fast game, very.
00:23:22
Speaker 9: Skillful, and just a real entertainment, I think a real you know, a good entertainment buck for the fans. And, but it also, you know, filled your appetite. If you were, you know, if you were a soccer fan between the, you know, between the years, of the success of the early success of the outdoor game in this country. And, and, you know, and now the success of the outdoor game in this country, including the, the, you know, the U S men's national team and the women too.
00:23:54
Speaker 2: What kind of caught the pocket between the old North American soccer league with Pele, it folded. Then MLS came on, came along, like, I don't know, a decade or so later and, And the indoor game.
00:24:05
Speaker 1: Kind of filled that gap.
00:24:06
Speaker 2: I kind of always describe it as soccer combined with pinball and very Americanized. I mean, like you, I enjoy the outdoor game to watch probably more. But as an American version of the game, I really saw what they were trying to do and did do well.
00:24:26
Speaker 9: Yeah, absolutely. Um, uh, not just you and, and, and others too. I mean, I remember that the first year, you know, some of the people that were involved at the top, you know, Bob Cousy was a basketball guy. And, uh, of course, and I, and I recognize Bob Cousy's name. My father was a basketball player. And so a lot of people saw the potential of the game and, um, and combining one of the things that I really liked about, about the game. It was much like hockey. I loved hockey ever since I was a kid, ice hockey and the indoor soccer, you were right on top of the game, just like you are at the, just like you are at the hockey rink. And there's nothing like watching a, you know, an ice hockey game when the rink is full speed and the excitement, it was very much that way with indoor soccer too.
00:25:20
Speaker 2: And the talent was great because MI also had a lot of imports and guys in their prime like Stan Terlecki who played for Pittsburgh and Steve Jungel who was probably the league's best player. It just seemed to keep getting better as the league went on.
00:25:37
Speaker 9: No question about it. The earlier years, it was very accomplished players from Europe who were trying to figure the game out just as everyone else was. But But the really good ones figured it out very quickly. Among them, Zungle, of course, and Stan, Stan Terlacki. And because the fundamentals are still pretty much the same, you know, play the ball quickly, play and move. And then the individual brilliance of guys like that is what really made the game exciting, again, because.
00:26:14
Speaker 5: You're so close to it.
00:26:16
Speaker 9: And those are the things that I remember.
00:26:19
Speaker 2: We're talking to former Pittsburgh Spirit defender John O'Hara. Spirit with a reunion Saturday night at the Riverhounds game. Kickoff 7 p.m. at FNB Stadium on Strip District. God, Station Square.
00:26:34
Speaker 1: I'm getting old.
00:26:35
Speaker 2: I forget what neighborhood is which now. You were a good defender. What's the key to playing defense indoors in a hockey rink with the boards? I always felt that defenders had the biggest adjustment from the outdoor game.
00:26:51
Speaker 9: Yeah, I suppose it's just like sensing danger. I think good defenders, whether they're defensemen or midfielders or forwards, can sort of sense the danger. And that wasn't any different. That's not any different today. And then just closing down the time and the space, it was the funny bounces and off the wall, that kind of thing. And just the speed in and around the goal is what made it unpredictable and difficult. But I always thought a good defenseman, a good outdoor defenseman, defenseman midfielder, could adjust to the indoor game just because of sensing the danger just as you would in soccer or hockey. You just know, good defenders just know you know, when you're, when, uh, when your team's in trouble and where you need to, where you need to get to be to stop the ball, the ball or the puck from going in the net.
00:27:56
Speaker 2: Now there wasn't really a big time outdoor league during the prime of your career. Uh, are you just as happy having played indoors in your hometown in front of some pretty good crowds?
00:28:07
Speaker 9: Oh, for sure. For sure.
00:28:09
Speaker 5: Mark.
00:28:09
Speaker 9: And, uh, You know, it's about professional sports. It's about timing and opportunity. And it was the timing and the opportunity was right.
00:28:20
Speaker 5: It was fun.
00:28:20
Speaker 9: It was, you know, we filled, as you said, we filled the gap. I grew up playing outdoor soccer and then finished up playing outdoor soccer, too. And in the middle, there was the indoor. There's no question the game sort of kept interest alive. and because of that, we have the opportunity to get acknowledged and recognized with the Riverhounds here on Saturday.
00:28:47
Speaker 2: Well, people certainly love the spirit in Pittsburgh. I mean, there were a lot of great marketing campaigns, too, very efficient, like the Hot Legs campaign, tying into the Rod Stewart song, and in 83-84, you guys drew a bigger average crowd than the Penguins, and of course, uh, Mr. DeBartolo on both teams, but 10, the Penguins drafted Mario and that kind of, kind of put the spirit to rest after a little bit, didn't it?
00:29:13
Speaker 9: Yes. Yes, it did. And, uh, I mean, as I said earlier, I'm a big, always have been a big hockey fan and, and just love, love Mario Mew. And, uh, yeah, unfortunately the timing just, it just wasn't right. I mean, it was right there for a while. Uh, and, uh, but, but at that time it just wasn't. But it was a very good seven years with one interrupted year there. And hopefully we left a mark for more young people in Pittsburgh, boys and girls, to play and learn the game and to advance their careers just as we did ours.
00:29:54
Speaker 1: Spud, great stuff. I appreciate you taking the time, and I will see you this weekend.
00:29:59
Speaker 9: Yeah, Mark, thanks so much for having me. It's good to talk to you, and I look forward to seeing you.
00:30:03
Speaker 5: It's been a while.
00:30:04
Speaker 1: It certainly has. Can't wait.
00:30:05
Speaker 2: That's John O'Hara, defender for the Spirit. The reunion is at, well, it's a bunch of stuff. There's a dinner tomorrow night, and then there's the official Riverhans promoted on field before the game, I think, reunion at FNB Stadium. in Station Square before the Riverhans game, which is Saturday night at 7 p.m. So a lot to look forward to this weekend in Pittsburgh if you're a soccer type.
00:30:33
Speaker 1: But now it's time to ask Mark anything.
00:30:34
Speaker 2: 833-412-WXDX, 833-412-WXDX. Or you can leave a talkback via the microphone icon at the iHeartMedia app.
00:30:45
Speaker 1: I'm Mark Madden, 105.9.
00:30:47
Speaker 3: Time now to send in your questions for Ask Mark Anything. Use the TalkBack mic on your free iHeartRadio app and record your question for the super genius.
00:31:00
Speaker 6: It's the Woody Show. Weekend mornings at 6. Pretty cool. It is super cool. VX at 105.9.
00:31:07
Speaker 3: The haunted battle between the 80s and 90s happens on the game.
00:31:11
Speaker 8: I'm lucky you got the balls to say what you want to say.
00:31:13
Speaker 1: Very good point.
00:31:15
Speaker 6: VX at 105.9.
00:31:24
Speaker 2: And Ask Mark Anything brought to us by People's Natural Gas, reminding you to call 811 before you dig, you dig? Even landscaping work requires you to call 811. For more info, go to peoples-gas.com. Great having John O'Hara on, Spud. I hadn't thought that's just what we called him back then. I'm sure that's all he'll be called this weekend at the Spirit reunion. Riverhunt's fighting to get home field for the playoffs, so you don't want to miss that game. Between that Spirit reunion and the game Saturday night figures to be a heck of an evening at FNB in Station Square. Let's go to Dick. Dick, you're on with Double M.
00:32:09
Speaker 5: Yeah, I'm curious.
00:32:10
Speaker 11: I looked on one of those betting apps. They had 47 guys offered to win the Calder Trophy, none of which were named Sergei Murashov. I wondered what odds would Mark Madden need to put his money on Murashov.
00:32:23
Speaker 9: To win it all, the Calder?
00:32:24
Speaker 2: I don't know that I'd assign odds to him winning the Rookie of the Year, but I think it's going to be tough given that he's going to be in a rotational situation with a veteran goalie. And as such, I don't think he'll stand out as much.
00:32:37
Speaker 1: As he might in a game on the day.
00:32:43
Speaker 2: I think you need a certain amount of momentum by playing a lot to get an award like the Calder.
00:32:48
Speaker 1: Who's favorite, out of curiosity, who do they have as number one?
00:32:50
Speaker 9: McKenna?
00:32:52
Speaker 11: They have McKenna is tied with your boy, Porter Martone, at plus 280. I took Cole Hudson, Lane's brother, who actually may be better than his brother at 9-1.
00:33:03
Speaker 2: I don't think he's better than his brother, but 9-1 is not bad value for money.
00:33:07
Speaker 1: Let's go to Scott. Scott, ask Mark anything.
00:33:11
Speaker 9: Hey, Mark.
00:33:13
Speaker 4: You were talking to Spud and just about the spirit. I don't know if you remember, but you mentioned the hot legs thing. I used to do all the ice sculptures for their gigs when they had the competition at nightclubs.
00:33:30
Speaker 9: Yep.
00:33:30
Speaker 4: Did you ever make it to any of those?
00:33:32
Speaker 1: I did not. I do.
00:33:35
Speaker 2: The two models were Paul Child and Silhouette and Kevin Maher up close.
00:33:39
Speaker 1: Let's go to a talkback.
00:33:42
Speaker 12: Mark, are you a Halloween guy, or what's your best costume as a child?
00:33:50
Speaker 2: I don't remember any of my costumes. I wasn't much of a Halloween kid, to tell you the truth. Probably dressed up as a bum or something like that, which is how most of us dressed in reserve township anyway, Halloween or not. I think I dress every Halloween now as an unmade bed. Actually, I'll be in Hollywood for Halloween this year, in between the Aerosmith shows.
00:34:12
Speaker 1: Let's go to Corey in Bloomfield. Corey, you're on with Double M.
00:34:14
Speaker 6: Hey, Mark. How you doing?
00:34:17
Speaker 9: Good.
00:34:18
Speaker 10: Hey, Mark.
00:34:19
Speaker 3: I just wanted to see if you regret trying to run Tomlin out.
00:34:22
Speaker 1: Of time now.
00:34:24
Speaker 2: First off, if I could have run Tomlin out of town, I would have done it a lot sooner because he was a fraud as a coach. He won with cowards, players, culture, and leaders. He didn't deserve that ring. He should pawn it because he doesn't deserve to have it. I will say one good thing. If he was still here, Joey Porter Jr. would have been signed, but that's the only good thing. McCarthy's a much better coach. He's a real coach. And honestly, I'm flattered you think I could run him out of town. If I could do that, I'd run a lot more people than him.
00:34:52
Speaker 1: Out of town, though.
00:34:55
Speaker 3: Well, it seems like a whole lot of the same going on over there on the south side with the Steelers.
00:34:59
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, we'll see. We'll see.
00:35:01
Speaker 2: But I think over two or three years, McCarthy will make things different, and I think he will straighten out the situation at quarterback, which Tomlin could not have done. How do you feel about your guy Tomlin drafting Kenny Pickett now?
00:35:13
Speaker 1: How'd that work out for you?
00:35:16
Speaker 11: Uh.
00:35:17
Speaker 8: It didn't work out that great.
00:35:19
Speaker 2: Yeah, how about trading for Minka Fitzpatrick so they could finish 500 instead of drafting Justin Herbert?
00:35:25
Speaker 1: How'd that work out?
00:35:28
Speaker 8: How do you feel about LeTang?
00:35:29
Speaker 1: No, no, answer my question. Oh, we're going to change subject to LeTang. Corey, you're an idiot.
00:35:33
Speaker 2: Bloomfield, all the restaurants are closing because you're broke and can't afford to eat there anymore.
00:35:37
Speaker 1: See you later. And I will miss the Pleasure Bar. Although I haven't been there in years, I'm probably part.
00:35:43
Speaker 2: Of the problem.
00:35:44
Speaker 1: Let's go to a talkback.
00:35:45
Speaker 7: Mark, when you go to a concert, are you the dancing type, or do you sit, or do you just stand, or do you pound a bunch of beers and get weird?
00:35:56
Speaker 2: I don't drink at all at concerts, maybe like one drink, but I got drunk when I was a kid at Lynyrd Skynyrd, and I don't remember the show, and it was the only time I saw the original lineup before the plane crash.
00:36:07
Speaker 1: That broke me then and there from drinking at concerts.
00:36:10
Speaker 2: I don't know, I kind of banged my head a little bit, just a little bit, I'm curious to see if I have to stand because I'm in the first two rows at Aerosmith in Hollywood. Second row on the first night, first row on the second night. And now Guns N' Roses added to the show. How great is that? See, I know you guys don't like to hear this, but I'm so much happier doing that than even thinking about the freaking Steelers. I'm just so sick of the Steelers. I'm Steelered out, not least the way it's going this year. With everything I knew would happen happening, like blaming McCarthy right away like that dipstick from Bloomfield just did, and worrying about the four quarterbacks all through training camp, when I told you all during that time, it wouldn't make even a little bit of difference because only one was going to play all year barring injuries. And then the Porter thing just put a bad taste in my mouth, especially the way you guys blamed Porter Jr. because you just think he should take what he's offering, be glad to be a Steeler, and you want Eli Hyden White to represent the community and never even acknowledge Porters from the community. And when people say Pittsburgh is racist, I'm going to say it out loud, arguments like that really support that. So, I mean, hey, you be you. You love the Steelers. End of the month, I'll be at Aerosmith. Let's go to a talkback.
00:37:41
Speaker 1: Hey, Mark, this is Flying Ryan in the car. I'm going to a 90s-themed Halloween party. Who do you think I should go as?
00:37:49
Speaker 9: A Stretch Armstrong doll, Roy Munson, or Coach Kline from the Waterboy?
00:37:56
Speaker 7: Good day, sir.
00:37:58
Speaker 1: I said good day. That's a good question.
00:38:07
Speaker 2: If you looked at all like Henry Winkler, the Coach Kline thing would be good, but you'd have to look like him to pull it off because otherwise you're just a coach. The Roy Munson thing, if you could get the skin wig or preferably actually be bald and do the comb over, that'd be all right.
00:38:24
Speaker 1: Go with Mr. Coach Kline. That's my suggestion.
00:38:30
Speaker 2: How about that guy already saying, don't you wish you had Tomlin back? Dude, they're 2-2. And if you're saying things haven't changed, yeah, you're right. I'm disappointed about that. But they would have to change the GM to even give yourself a chance for real change because this roster is betraying McCarthy. McCarthy is a high-tech offensive coach, and he doesn't even have a No. 2 wide receiver. And the con artist has let that position be this giant gaping hole for for over two years since they traded Deontay. Let's go to Mike in the car. Mike, you're on with Double M.
00:39:06
Speaker 12: Mark, I completely agree with you, and that's the perfect segue. I mean, McCarthy's trying to coach with the team that Tomlin put together, which is, quite frankly, a bunch of meatheads that he could coach to run through a wall and finish 9-8. It's not a team of players that's going to take a couple of years. And that's why I agree with you when you say that Tomlin won with Cowher's players and culture, because he did. that Cowher instilled that team built that culture.
00:39:30
Speaker 2: Well and his leaders and his leaders bro that's really important guys like Farrier and Pulamalu and Fanica you know uh Kiesel all those guys there's so many of them that team had so many leaders because that was cultivated by Cowher whereas all Tomlin cultivated was a cult of personality.
00:39:50
Speaker 9: Exactly.
00:39:51
Speaker 12: And you've got to give McCarthy a couple of years because that's what it's going to take to turn over a roster and build what he.
00:39:56
Speaker 6: Needs to build.
00:39:57
Speaker 2: I don't see McCarthy as a guy who was brought in to win a Super Bowl.
00:40:00
Speaker 1: I mean, maybe Art the Dope thinks.
00:40:02
Speaker 2: That, but I think it'll turn out that McCarthy will spend five years here and get the quarterback position ironed out. And if that's all he contributes, then that's enough.
00:40:12
Speaker 1: That's enough because nobody's been able to do it for how long?
00:40:17
Speaker 9: I agree completely.
00:40:19
Speaker 12: You know, I look at him as a five- to eight-year person, and eventually, even if he becomes a senior advisor, I mean, whatever happens to him. But I agree, he's the bridge to when they find the long-term guy, which I don't imagine they'd start looking for the next three or four years anyway. So, yeah, you've got to let him build his team, and then we'll judge.
00:40:38
Speaker 1: Let me ask you this.
00:40:40
Speaker 2: What's the earliest, do you think, how many years before the Steelers win a Super Bowl?
00:40:44
Speaker 6: Ooh.
00:40:47
Speaker 12: I mean, Rodgers turned over quick, but I would say at least five.
00:40:53
Speaker 9: Easily five.
00:40:54
Speaker 1: Yeah, I would say at least five, and it might be more than that.
00:40:58
Speaker 2: It might be a real long time, because I think they're in a deeper hole than we realize, exacerbated by the fact that Omar Khan is an awful GM, and they will just never, ever fire him.
00:41:10
Speaker 1: They won't ever fire.
00:41:11
Speaker 2: Him, because that's how granddaddy and daddy did it. You kept the job forever. But daddy and granddaddy, especially daddy, hired the right guys.
00:41:21
Speaker 9: Mm-hmm.
00:41:21
Speaker 12: Yeah, I think AR2, he's a big part of the problem, and Khan, I think, is just a joker. And until maybe those two go, I'm hopeful McCarthy can get a little bit more influence in the organization.
00:41:34
Speaker 6: No, no, for.
00:41:36
Speaker 2: Mike's sake, I just want him to coach, okay? Get a better GM, which they won't. But whenever the coaches start having the final say, heck, by the end of Cowher's tenure, and he established a standard for that, the coach having final say, it didn't even do Cowher any favors. The coaches who want power don't understand they're hurting themselves. They're putting themselves in a job that they're not qualified to do. They're qualified to coach the players they're given, not assemble the players.
00:42:05
Speaker 1: Let's go to Big Z. Big Z, you're on with Double M.
00:42:08
Speaker 8: Hey now, Double M.
00:42:09
Speaker 9: Hey now.
00:42:09
Speaker 1: Hey now.
00:42:11
Speaker 8: Yeah, so I just wanted to get your take. Obviously, we're in a very, very, very early going to the very small sample size, but I just can't help but think about, you know, it is kind of frustrating from a youth's perspective to that we have Van Riensdyk up here playing at 30-plus years old. And it just is, you know, I want to see what Bernanke and Pickering do. can do, and I just don't understand.
00:42:35
Speaker 1: Please pronounce it right. Brunick, but here's the problem.
00:42:38
Speaker 10: Pardon me.
00:42:38
Speaker 1: Brunick's right-handed.
00:42:40
Speaker 2: He's better off playing top four minutes in Wilks at 19 years old than he would be playing bottom pair in Pittsburgh behind Letang and Carlson. He's going to get power play and PK timed on there. This is better for his development. When they trade Carlson at the deadline or he walks via free agency, that's when Brunick steps in. I have no problem with the timetable at that point, As far as Owen Pickering goes, I think they think he's just no good. That said, I would not necessarily have brought in a 35-year-old either.
00:43:10
Speaker 8: Yeah, I mean, in that case, you know, and give him a contract, like, Wartherspoon's only making, you know, a million dollars a year. We're paying... You know.
00:43:20
Speaker 2: Losing Water Spoon is just no big deal. It's just no big deal. I'm tired of hearing about Water Spoon and Shea. Carlisle's as good as either of them, maybe better. I would have played Pickering just to see how Pickering did.
00:43:35
Speaker 1: But, you know, I don't know. Van Riemsdijk at that.
00:43:39
Speaker 2: Price over Water Spoon at his price.
00:43:41
Speaker 1: But who'd they get back for Water Spoon?
00:43:46
Speaker 8: Oh, that's a good question.
00:43:48
Speaker 9: Wait, was that?
00:43:49
Speaker 4: No, no.
00:43:50
Speaker 2: That was to Vegas for Korchak, yeah. So, I mean, six of one, half a dozen of the other.
00:43:58
Speaker 1: Let's go to Buffalo Bill.
00:44:01
Speaker 8: Mark, rank every Motley Crue album.
00:44:07
Speaker 1: Well, I mean, when you say rank, I'm going to go with just my favorites. How's that?
00:44:12
Speaker 6: Perfect.
00:44:13
Speaker 2: Number one is the first album. Number two is the second album, Shout at the Devil. Number three is Dr.
00:44:21
Speaker 1: Feelgood.
00:44:23
Speaker 2: Number four is the self-titled album with John Karabi singing. And number five, I guess I'd have to say Theater of Pain because it had the biggest hit on it. But I think they've done four great albums and I named those. Thank you for the call.
00:44:43
Speaker 1: I'm Mark Madden, 105.9.
