00:00:00
Speaker 1: We'll get to that bucko base running faux pas just a little bit from now. We've been talking a lot about the offensive line, and I want to know, tell me, pick one thing, one thing only. What about the Steelers worries you right now? Worries you, legitimately worries you after admittedly the smallest sample possible, which is one regular season game, 8-3-3-4-1-2-W-X-D-X. And we asked Tommy Football that question. Boy, what a goal by United. A lot of cracking goals in the League Cup here. We asked that to Tommy Football earlier, and he said the offensive line, and I agree. I mean, you could tie the running game into that, but the offensive line is supposed to be a strength, and clearly yet it's not, and it's unfair to judge, but I'm going to, and so did Tom, and so are you probably.
00:00:55
Speaker 2: Now, Kabaly was talking about this.
00:01:00
Speaker 1: Kabaly don't think Ionichor should start till week five against Indy. I guess Kabaly thinks that with Tomlin gone, the Steelers are still going to slow play the young guys, and maybe that is an organizational philosophy that won't change with McCarthy, although I certainly hope it does. But Kabaly says Ionichor shouldn't start till week five against Indy. I'd love to know what he bases that on. I'd love to know what wiggle room he feels the Steelers have as a team to win games between now and then.
00:01:34
Speaker 2: I'd love to know if he thinks Dylan Cook is going.
00:01:38
Speaker 1: To not suck after that one-man debacle that you-know-what show he put on as the worst part of a bad offensive line.
00:01:49
Speaker 2: On Sunday.
00:01:50
Speaker 1: And people are saying, oh, he wasn't that bad.
00:01:52
Speaker 2: Watch the game. He was that bad. And he is that bad.
00:01:55
Speaker 1: Yeah, let's play Dylan Cook till Aaron Rodgers gets killed and then put in the first round draft pick who should be ready now, mostly based on being the first round draft pick. Your thoughts on any or all of that? 833-412-WXDX. Let's go to Paul.
00:02:17
Speaker 2: Paul, you're on with Mark.
00:02:19
Speaker 3: Hey, Mark, how's it going?
00:02:21
Speaker 2: My God, 2-0. I thought we were great. We were pretty good. Okay, go ahead, Paul.
00:02:27
Speaker 4: Hey, how's it going, Big M?
00:02:29
Speaker 2: Good, man. Hey, yeah, I got a guy that got a little inside scoop talk to Mike McCarthy. He said, DJ Watt, maybe not be.
00:02:39
Speaker 1: They're in the right position this year, and I think that they're going to put in Steely McBeam. Yeah, that's really funny. Now, did your friend get told by Mike McCarthy that you and your friend and your family and everybody's a total ass?
00:02:52
Speaker 2: Did that come up at all? Steely McBeam joke. I'm a yinzer. Friggin' a-hole. Not to be critical.
00:03:02
Speaker 5: 8-3-3.
00:03:02
Speaker 2: 412 WXDX. Here's something.
00:03:10
Speaker 1: I've been talking about stuff pissing me off. Well, that's pretty much the show. All NFL games should be on network or at the very least cable. Having to find games on streaming and having to pay subscriptions. I know they got the sports world in America by the short and curlies.
00:03:31
Speaker 2: But that sucks. Just saying. Up next.
00:03:36
Speaker 1: We will relive the nightmare of Roberto Clemente Day, namely Nick Gonzalez.
00:03:42
Speaker 2: Rounding third, except he didn't.
00:03:44
Speaker 1: 105.9.
00:03:44
Speaker 2: Capital One. There, my friend. That's asking for trouble. The X at 105.9. Oh, this is too good. This is just moving.
00:04:03
Speaker 1: You'll recall that Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings captain, wants traded. He's on a long, long-term contract. He has a no trade clause, but he wants traded. And he's willing to waive the no trade for like three teams, Carolina, Vegas, and Florida. And apparently they're not too interested or trying to lowball, give limited return on the deal because they know Larkin has the Red Wings over a barrel unless they show resolve and do what I would do, which is Now, when you said no trade cause, we assume you meant no trade. See you at training camp. But here's what's happened. This is so good. Sean Horkoff, that's their interim GM. I'm reading from Twitter. Horkoff said Dylan Larkin sustained an upper body injury training and will not be skating when camp begins.
00:05:00
Speaker 2: You know what's going on there, don't you?
00:05:03
Speaker 1: The Red Wings are saying, well, look what the Steelers did with that Porter guy. They lied about an injury, and the Rubes bought it. The Red Wings are doing a Joey Porter Jr.
00:05:17
Speaker 2: Oh, I love it.
00:05:18
Speaker 1: I do love it so. 833-412-WXDX, the number to call. There was this play last night at the Bucco game that summed up what the Pirates are. It's like it was Greg Brown that said, at the end of all this, Greg Brown said, that's the difference between the Brewers and the Pirates. Brown is getting pissed, and I like it. Okay, it's the bottom of the fourth, and Milwaukee leads 1-0. Pirates got runners on first and second, one out. Flores trickles a single to left, went off a glove. The lead runner is Nick Gonzalez, and he should have scored easily, but he holds it third, inexplicably. A miscommunication between Gonzalez and Beasley, the third base coach. Actually, Beasley probably just effed it up because he apologized afterward.
00:06:14
Speaker 2: It was just horrible. Awful. T-ball level optics.
00:06:21
Speaker 1: And O'Hearn is coming from first and he goes to third and Gonzalez is still there. And O'Hearn is out and then very obviously pissed. The inning ends without the Pirates scoring anything. And then Milwaukee blows the game open. That sums up the Pirates right there.
00:06:37
Speaker 2: What do you think?
00:06:38
Speaker 1: 833-412-WXDX. The Pirates should all show up for the game in the same car. And get out of it at the pitcher's mound. Because they're clowns. They don't know how to play baseball. And the coaches are not helping. It was embarrassing, and the worst kind of embarrassing because it was Roberto Clemente Day. Everybody's wearing number 21 to honor the greatest pirate ever. His whole family's there, and you stink it up like that.
00:07:13
Speaker 2: The Pirates are absolutely an embarrassment.
00:07:18
Speaker 1: You can look at their record, and it's better than last year, but it's not as good as it should be, and part of that is they don't know how to play baseball. Beasley, boy, he apologized. And on top of that, I heard he withdrew from the Ed Sheeran tour. Going to talk to DeCoursey next, 105.9. This is Chris Broussard. Here's what's trending from the iHeart Sports Network.
00:07:48
Speaker 2: Presented by NJM Insurance.
00:07:50
Speaker 6: Chief star tight end Travis Kelsey is one of the victims being named in a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme. It has not been revealed how much money Kelsey lost. The AFC offensive and defensive players of the week are Kenneth Walker, the third of the Chiefs.
00:08:04
Speaker 3: And the Steelers' T.J.
00:08:05
Speaker 5: Watt.
00:08:06
Speaker 6: Jessica Campbell, the first woman to coach full-time in the NHL, has been named the New Jersey Devils' new manager of player development.
00:08:13
Speaker 2: I'm Frank Garrett.
00:08:13
Speaker 1: If you dread dealing with your insurance more than you dread building it. When you've got a young trophy wife who owes money to... I can't even quote the Big Lebowski right.
00:08:22
Speaker 5: Goodbye.
00:08:22
Speaker 2: VX at 105.9.
00:08:24
Speaker 1: A lot going on with the Steelers in the wake of their opening game, a victory over Atlanta. Joining us now to talk about it, He's a Pittsburgh guy. You know him from the sporting news. It's Mike DeCoursey. Mike, here's a generic question, but a telling one. Does anything about the Steelers worry you after week one, quote unquote?
00:08:47
Speaker 3: Well, the thing that worries you first is the offensive line. And I went back and you're watching it live and you're thinking that doesn't look like it's working very well. And then I went back and watched the tape. And the concerns, the initial concerns I had about Dylan Cook were relatively verified. He doesn't block anybody backward. If he's effective, he jams them up and keeps them in place. And that can work in some cases, but it doesn't always work. It's not what you're necessarily looking for. But then you watch the left side of the offensive line, and they were really poor. They did not play well at all, especially in run-blocking. especially early when you're trying to establish a tone for the game. So some of that is relative to the defensive scheme you're playing against, not necessarily the competence.
00:09:39
Speaker 2: Of the defense.
00:09:41
Speaker 3: Atlanta doesn't have much of that at this point, but you really still have to do better than the left side did. We can put that down to the fact that they didn't play that much in the exhibition season. They didn't play that much together.
00:09:56
Speaker 2: They were.
00:09:57
Speaker 3: in a circumstance where everybody was kind of moving around and Broderick Jones was on the trading block, so they played him a ton. But it has to get better or this team doesn't.
00:10:10
Speaker 2: You mentioned that the left side didn't look good.
00:10:14
Speaker 1: Did McCarthy make a mistake moving Fatano and McCormick from right to left?
00:10:18
Speaker 2: Is it too early to judge that?
00:10:21
Speaker 3: I don't think necessarily because, remember, if you didn't do that, then you'd be looking at Dylan Cook and Spencer Anderson on the left side. And if you want to run to your power, you'd change your running game a little bit. And those guys might have been more comfortable early, but I don't think that Cook... has a lot of upside on that side. And I'm not sure how great Spencer Anderson is either. And so you want to be highly competent on the left side, if not great, because of the nature of the blind side. And so that's where the most talent is now. They're two most talented offensive linemen that are in the lineup. We still haven't seen IMAX yet, but the ones that are in the lineup, the most talented are where they need to be. They just have to get more comfortable and better there.
00:11:17
Speaker 2: I thought Rodgers was very good, Mike.
00:11:19
Speaker 1: I thought that Metcalf and like we've been talking about, the running game let him down. I think if he gets better from especially DK, the points and the stats go up.
00:11:30
Speaker 3: Yeah, and let's not let Roman Wilson off the hook. I mean, he did some good things drawing the PI and the big catch on third down. But immediately after, almost immediately after he had that big third down catch, he said, see, this is why they like them. And then he allows the ground to dislodge the ball from a potential touchdown. That's not what's supposed to happen with a professional receiver. You see that with college guys and you say, well, that's why that guy's not going to make the NFL. You can't see that with a pro. And I know that's not easy to do, but that's what the best guys do. They come down and that ball stays there. solid to their chest. And so he had that and DK's drops the, the touchdown drop I've watched again today. And it would be nice if he made that catch, but for a guy with not elite hands, uh, I can understand why he wouldn't get that one. But there were other drops that were clear drops.
00:12:28
Speaker 1: Oh, no, I thought there were two clear drops and two others he could have had.
00:12:32
Speaker 2: Right. And then there were two OPIs. I don't know.
00:12:35
Speaker 1: He's got to do a lot better. One guy who just has to maintain is TJ Watt. He was obviously very good. Got the touchdown, got the stats, got AFC Defensive Player of the Week, caused chaos, which is his strength.
00:12:49
Speaker 2: But the big question is, can you keep doing it? Like, he's no young guy.
00:12:53
Speaker 3: Right, and he has had problems at times sustaining his excellence into December. That's been probably the biggest hurdle for him as an all-time great is that he does so much damage early in the season that then all of a sudden toward the latter part of the season he's kind of spent. And I think that's where the schemes that they used and the rotations that they used on Sunday can make sure that that happens. I mean, his snap counts were not high on Sunday. I think it was about two-thirds of the possessions. Correct. And so if you're able to do that, and we'd like to see a little bit more from Herbick. Herbick did not play well on Sunday, but Jack Sawyer made some plays in the position that you'd ordinarily see T.J., And, of course, Highsmith was outstanding on his side again. So that was the most encouraging element, I thought, of what happened in that game.
00:14:01
Speaker 1: Yeah, me too. Here's my disclaimer. Herbig played away from the edge a lot. Like you said, didn't play particularly well. Is his success going to be sacrificed to prop up the old men?
00:14:13
Speaker 2: I think that's a legitimate question.
00:14:15
Speaker 3: Well, I think the key here is that you continue to use his snaps to try to keep those guys fresh, not just within the season, but also within a game. You want them to be great in the fourth quarter.
00:14:29
Speaker 1: Yeah, but Herbig's making 25 mil. I don't think that he should be used as a guy to make other people good.
00:14:36
Speaker 3: But that's what he is. I mean, he's still a backup in this lineup. Then they shouldn't have paid him 25 mil. Well, they had the money under the salary cap, and with the exception of what they haven't paid Joey Porter yet, I'm not sure that's an inefficient spend, but in order to have elite edge rush play, I think it's helpful that that guy be as fresh as possible. And like I said, Sawyer was really good on Sunday for the opportunities that he got. He's not a game breaker, but as long as he's solid at the point of attack and he made some run plays, which that's an issue or was an issue for them a year ago. And so I think that that still can be an effective thing. And then we'll see down a year from now whether you still have TJ. Is he going to play another year? We don't know. Or you still have Highsmith. Maybe you make a move with him. So I think that that's a part of what they did with her big was making sure that they had that long-term insurance.
00:15:39
Speaker 2: You know, it's incredible.
00:15:40
Speaker 1: I am always amazed by how many passes they backed down at the line of scrimmage, Cam Hayward, mostly, but TJ watt a lot too, that has been broken down to a science by them.
00:15:52
Speaker 2: And, and boy, that really makes a quarterback think, don't it?
00:15:56
Speaker 3: Oh, absolutely. And especially after what TJ did on that pick six, I, That was.
00:16:02
Speaker 2: Like batting a pass down, except he caught it.
00:16:05
Speaker 1: Yes.
00:16:05
Speaker 3: I don't think that play is getting enough attention. That was a spectacular play. It was an amazing play. When I was watching it, I was stunned by what I saw. You see so many of those where you think, oh, he could have. But it's hard to do that because the ball is coming out hard. So to be able to bat it and catch it at the same time, is a remarkable feat of athleticism. And of course it takes a great like TJ in order to do that. Cam has been extraordinary in that department for years. And again, I think that's an undervalued skill because a lot of those passes could be complete that we don't know. I mean, they could be going to guys that are wide open.
00:16:50
Speaker 1: When you reach up like that, if you don't time it just right, that could be exploited because you're giving away other stuff.
00:16:57
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think that he's exceptional in that area, and Sunday was another great day for him as well. I don't see any decline in his game, really. Other than the health year he had two years ago, he's still very close to where he was at his absolute peak.
00:17:18
Speaker 1: We're talking to Mike DeCourcy here on 105.9 The X. Big game with the Patriots Sunday, Mike. Where's New England at? I'm going back and forth between A, this is a winnable game, but B, they're defending AFC champs.
00:17:33
Speaker 3: Yeah, and it's still also a home game for the Patriots. They don't lose up there a lot. I know that the Steelers were able to do it a year ago, but remember, they play horrifically in that game with the exception of creating turnovers. They were horrendous. I mean, I think two of the turnovers, at least, were touchdowns. They were awful in that game, and one because New England was so bad at holding on to the ball. It helps the Steelers that A.J. Brown is injured and probably will be ruled out of the game. I mean, the initial diagnosis was high ankle sprain. Very few players play a week after that. So that helps. Drake May is someone that I think is maybe a smidge overrated, but he's still a very good NFL quarterback.
00:18:23
Speaker 1: Where would you rank him, Mike? Top 5 or top 10 among quarterbacks?
00:18:27
Speaker 3: I think 10 at best. In the top 10 at best.
00:18:32
Speaker 2: I think he's definitely top 10.
00:18:34
Speaker 1: I know he had a stinker this past week, but he was MVP runner-up last year.
00:18:39
Speaker 3: I realize that, but I did a breakdown on that a year ago, not a year ago, but toward the end of last season. So December, late December, early January, their schedule was barely D2. I mean, it was so bad. And they faced so few exceptional teams in that season. And it was a big part of why they were able to be as successful as they were and then They got into the playoffs, and yeah, they won one, and then they got the second one kind of handed to them when Denver's quarterback went out. So I'm not sure that I'm totally buying them as a juggernaut, but they are a fine NFL team, and going into that stadium and beating them, I would say, I don't know, I have not looked at the line, but I'd say the Steelers are probably ballpark five-point underdogs.
00:19:34
Speaker 1: No, it's five and a half. Yeah, I think that's going to be definitely a big ask. But again, they did it last year. But as you remind us, the Patriots lost that game a lot more than the Steelers won. Now, what's your take on how McCarthy and his staff did? their first week and really dating back to camp, the groundwork that's been laid?
00:19:54
Speaker 3: Well, I didn't like, honestly, the way the offensive line was handled in the preseason. Given that they were flipping the right side of the line, I thought that the number one line should have gotten a fair amount of time together. You don't want to get anybody out there hurt. I get that. But they should have gotten a fair amount of time together in exhibitions, and they didn't. So maybe you lose high-level performance in the first game as a result of that, and maybe that's all you need is to get one of those or two of those done, and then it starts to flow.
00:20:33
Speaker 1: Maybe.
00:20:33
Speaker 5: Maybe.
00:20:34
Speaker 3: But wouldn't you rather be good from the jump? I don't think that was good.
00:20:39
Speaker 1: I thought in general, Mike, and it dates back to what you're talking about at training camp, I think they treated the Atlanta game like a forced preseason game.
00:20:47
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Yeah, absolutely. And it worked out because they're 1-0. I liked what I saw on the defense. I thought that defensively they played the game that was in front of them and not trying to force– a particular scheme or style, they played Atlanta. Atlanta's not very good. This is what you do to beat a not very good team. They should have beaten them by more. The offense let them down, but they did not allow much of significance to happen. So defensively, I like that, but there are much greater challenges ahead, including on Sunday. So I thought there were some good things that they did. And offensively, I wasn't nearly as bothered, Mark.
00:21:29
Speaker 1: Like I said, I thought groundwork was late. I like their approach. They just need better execution.
00:21:35
Speaker 3: Yeah, but I think there was a lot of conversation about they didn't run the ball enough. It's always said it's the most oversaid thing. I don't remember when Tom Brady threw like 65 times against the Steelers because he knew that's what would work. That's what they called like four run plays back in the mid-teens and beat the Steelers. I don't care about balance. If they're going to put 11 guys in the box, throw over their heads. But this time, catch the ball. That's the only thing that went wrong offensively, I think, on Sunday, aside from the line, was that they played into what they were being given, and they threw over the opponent's heads. They gave Aaron Rodgers, even though the offensive line wasn't great, they gave him enough time most of the time, and he was able to find receivers who didn't complete the plays.
00:22:28
Speaker 1: What's going to happen with Porter? I think they've got to pay him. I don't think they beat good quarterbacks without him. Cooper Rush, yes.
00:22:38
Speaker 2: Joe Burrow, no.
00:22:40
Speaker 3: Yeah, I agree with you. I think it's a massive mistake. Look, I don't know what the exact number is. We've seen reports that the guarantees right now are around $ 33 million, I think. And I think that's about $ 7 million-ish short of what it needs to be I don't know why the Steelers would go to the wall for that. I don't understand that.
00:23:03
Speaker 1: Well, because of their policies, Mike, that they don't negotiate once the season starts and they don't guarantee beyond the first year, which all that stuff is antiquated.
00:23:11
Speaker 3: But they didn't do that with TJ. So they did not. I mean, TJ was guaranteed.
00:23:18
Speaker 2: Beyond the first year. That's right.
00:23:22
Speaker 3: So I think it's plausible to find an acceptable number. And at the same time, Joey has to realize, like, you go back to what's happened, like, for instance, with Ryan Shazier or most of the players that have signed with the Steelers. Like, they're not cutting you on a whim. If you get hurt horrifically like Shazier did, they took care of Ryan. And if you perform reasonably well, They don't dump you. They're not going to.
00:23:56
Speaker 1: Cut you after one year if you're on that kind of a contract and have that kind of pedigree.
00:24:00
Speaker 2: They're just not.
00:24:01
Speaker 3: Exactly my point. They're not going to do that.
00:24:04
Speaker 1: But given that they're not going to, Mike, why not guarantee it just to get the.
00:24:08
Speaker 2: Guy on the field?
00:24:11
Speaker 3: I think there's a number short of a full two-year guarantee that really matches up somewhat with the guarantees that have been given to other high-end players, like a Sauce Gardner, for instance. Get in the neighborhood of sauce, and I think you've got a reasonable deal. I will not endorse at all this we don't negotiate during the season stuff. If you're willing to go away from a 50-year history on what constitutes an effective Steelers coach, and they did, and I'm not saying that's wrong because McCarthy has done fine so far, but they were willing to give that up, so why hold to this reason? that doesn't have any real productivity at all.
00:24:56
Speaker 1: I'll tell you one reason, because it's not as hard to be a general manager when you put limits on things.
00:25:02
Speaker 3: You can just stop working, yes.
00:25:05
Speaker 2: Exactly.
00:25:06
Speaker 1: Your job's done when the first ball's kicked off. I find these Steelers very intriguing. They're hard to analyze, not least with the coaching change. I predicted them to win 10. I feel like they can win 11, but I don't think 5 and 12 is off the table either.
00:25:23
Speaker 2: Am I making any sense at all?
00:25:26
Speaker 3: Oh, absolutely making sense. Of course, you always have to first factor in the possibility of injury, and they are not so wonderfully deep, especially at particular positions, wide receiver being one, where you could assume that if they had a major injury, that your kind of calamity would be out of reach. And I think that it's more likely that they are successful in But you look at what we saw in the division on Sunday. I mean, Baltimore was spectacular. So was Cincinnati. And that's four games right there. Those are not going to be easy to win. So the schedule could be a challenge as well. The NFL, you never know from year to year all of the teams that are going to be great. Someone surprises you. The Denver a year ago. being as good as they were. Jacksonville putting up the record that they did. You don't always know who's going to be great. And so that could be an issue as well. And then, again, we still have to see the offensive line become a sufficient offensive line. We haven't seen it yet. We think the talent is there. And I think still the sooner Haunted Shore is out there, the better it will be for the development of this team.
00:26:46
Speaker 1: Mike, as always, great stuff. Thank you so much for the input. We will do it again next week.
00:26:51
Speaker 3: My pleasure, Mark. Thank you.
00:26:53
Speaker 1: And come on, you Reds. We shouldn't forget Mike DeCoursey is a Red. Mike brought to us by South Hills Kia. Up next, some interesting sound from Ben's podcast. Him and Santonio Holmes talking about the Steelers' tight end position.
00:27:07
Speaker 2: 105.9. GMC Truck Month is on at Wright Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Baden.
00:27:13
Speaker 3: Right now, get behind the wheel of a rugged new 20... I don't know what you said.
00:27:16
Speaker 4: Yeah, double M.
00:27:19
Speaker 1: Yeah?
00:27:19
Speaker 7: VX at 105.9. What past that Stiller fans will never forget is Ben Roethlisberger to Santonio Holmes to win that Super Bowl.
00:27:39
Speaker 1: Santonio was on Ben's podcast, which is very cool. And Santonio wants to see more of Darnell Washington.
00:27:48
Speaker 4: Our leading pass catcher, obviously, was Pat Frymuth. But we also got to get Darnell in the game, man. Those little quick passes out, those little dump offs.
00:27:56
Speaker 5: End of the game.
00:27:56
Speaker 2: End of the game with him on a little wide drag.
00:27:59
Speaker 4: You know, just give him a couple plays to just make some noise and have fun, you know, playing the game.
00:28:05
Speaker 2: And that's what a big stiff arm can do.
00:28:08
Speaker 1: People like to see that, so let's play Mount Washington some more. And I get it, but I disagree. Use 11 personnel. That's McCarthy's thing. Framuth is a McCarthy type of tight end. Better hands, better on routes, just better. Washington can help, like he did at the end of games with running out the clock, that stiff arm, etc. That's not a huge role. which reflects badly on how much they paid him. But you can't beat Bendis Antonio. Hearing them two talk, that is just magic. Robert Spillane was a Steeler, and now he's a Patriot. And this is Spillane talking about playing against Aaron Rodgers on Sunday.
00:28:59
Speaker 4: An exciting matchup.
00:29:00
Speaker 2: Yeah, Aaron Rodgers, obviously, what is he in his 23rd year, 22nd year? Still got it. Still can swing the ball from sideline to sideline. 50 yards down the field. Quick trigger.
00:29:14
Speaker 6: His mobility seemed to be better than it was last year.
00:29:19
Speaker 2: So he's going to be a fun challenge for us this weekend.
00:29:24
Speaker 1: Spillane put Rodgers over in typical fashion.
00:29:28
Speaker 2: No surprise.
00:29:28
Speaker 1: So I'm going to talk about how wrong I was about Spillane when he played for the Steelers. I thought he was a ham and egger here in Pittsburgh, but he went to Vegas and started. and then went to New England last year and started and started in the Super Bowl. Spillane is tough, a good tackler, excellent inside, and I wish the Steelers had him starting instead of Queen or Peyton Wilson. Here's Brandon Lyle of the Bucs talking about hitting against Miz last night.
00:30:03
Speaker 2: Miz allowed five hits and no runs in five innings.
00:30:07
Speaker 5: I mean, how in-depth do you want to get to it? Low release. There's 104. He's seven and a half feet of extension. And it's not like he's throwing the ball down the middle. He's hitting corners. He's throwing a slider at 98. curveball at 90 and he's got good stuff there's a reason that he's having the season that he's having and everybody seems to struggle hitting him but except Flores and Gonzo it feels like.
00:30:40
Speaker 1: You know why I played that because Brandon Lau talked about Jacob Mizorowski.
00:30:48
Speaker 2: Like guys used to talk about hitting against schemes used to This Sunday, we got week two.
00:30:59
Speaker 1: The Black and Gold are five and a half point road underdogs at New England. Bet this, bet that, bet more than the score. Bet Black and Gold individual player performances for touchdown, passing, rushing yards, the whole smear. Join me, the super genius, to make your downtime fun time with the BetParks app. BetParks also brings the casino to you. The casino is right at your fingertips, fun and easy, ready to use. Bedparks is the only online casino and sportsbook app that I recommend.
00:31:33
Speaker 2: I love it. You will, too.
00:31:36
Speaker 1: Play all your favorite classic casino games right on your phone for real money or play thousands of online slots right now.
00:31:44
Speaker 2: New users get up.
00:31:45
Speaker 1: To a $ 500 bonus back, plus 250 bonus spins on the hot online slots game, Sahara Riches Collect-a-Max. The Bed, Parks, Online, Casino, and Sportsbook app, where there's always another way to win. You gotta be 21 and in PA, New Jersey, Maryland, or Michigan.
00:32:05
Speaker 2: New users only. Terms and conditions apply. Get the details at betparks.com.
00:32:11
Speaker 1: Casino bonus must be wagered.
00:32:13
Speaker 2: You got a gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.
00:32:17
Speaker 1: Up next, the Steeler Talk comes hot and fast with Alan Saunders of Pittsburgh Steelers Now.
00:32:24
Speaker 2: I'm Madden on the air.
Speaker 1: We'll get to that bucko base running faux pas just a little bit from now. We've been talking a lot about the offensive line, and I want to know, tell me, pick one thing, one thing only. What about the Steelers worries you right now? Worries you, legitimately worries you after admittedly the smallest sample possible, which is one regular season game, 8-3-3-4-1-2-W-X-D-X. And we asked Tommy Football that question. Boy, what a goal by United. A lot of cracking goals in the League Cup here. We asked that to Tommy Football earlier, and he said the offensive line, and I agree. I mean, you could tie the running game into that, but the offensive line is supposed to be a strength, and clearly yet it's not, and it's unfair to judge, but I'm going to, and so did Tom, and so are you probably.
00:00:55
Speaker 2: Now, Kabaly was talking about this.
00:01:00
Speaker 1: Kabaly don't think Ionichor should start till week five against Indy. I guess Kabaly thinks that with Tomlin gone, the Steelers are still going to slow play the young guys, and maybe that is an organizational philosophy that won't change with McCarthy, although I certainly hope it does. But Kabaly says Ionichor shouldn't start till week five against Indy. I'd love to know what he bases that on. I'd love to know what wiggle room he feels the Steelers have as a team to win games between now and then.
00:01:34
Speaker 2: I'd love to know if he thinks Dylan Cook is going.
00:01:38
Speaker 1: To not suck after that one-man debacle that you-know-what show he put on as the worst part of a bad offensive line.
00:01:49
Speaker 2: On Sunday.
00:01:50
Speaker 1: And people are saying, oh, he wasn't that bad.
00:01:52
Speaker 2: Watch the game. He was that bad. And he is that bad.
00:01:55
Speaker 1: Yeah, let's play Dylan Cook till Aaron Rodgers gets killed and then put in the first round draft pick who should be ready now, mostly based on being the first round draft pick. Your thoughts on any or all of that? 833-412-WXDX. Let's go to Paul.
00:02:17
Speaker 2: Paul, you're on with Mark.
00:02:19
Speaker 3: Hey, Mark, how's it going?
00:02:21
Speaker 2: My God, 2-0. I thought we were great. We were pretty good. Okay, go ahead, Paul.
00:02:27
Speaker 4: Hey, how's it going, Big M?
00:02:29
Speaker 2: Good, man. Hey, yeah, I got a guy that got a little inside scoop talk to Mike McCarthy. He said, DJ Watt, maybe not be.
00:02:39
Speaker 1: They're in the right position this year, and I think that they're going to put in Steely McBeam. Yeah, that's really funny. Now, did your friend get told by Mike McCarthy that you and your friend and your family and everybody's a total ass?
00:02:52
Speaker 2: Did that come up at all? Steely McBeam joke. I'm a yinzer. Friggin' a-hole. Not to be critical.
00:03:02
Speaker 5: 8-3-3.
00:03:02
Speaker 2: 412 WXDX. Here's something.
00:03:10
Speaker 1: I've been talking about stuff pissing me off. Well, that's pretty much the show. All NFL games should be on network or at the very least cable. Having to find games on streaming and having to pay subscriptions. I know they got the sports world in America by the short and curlies.
00:03:31
Speaker 2: But that sucks. Just saying. Up next.
00:03:36
Speaker 1: We will relive the nightmare of Roberto Clemente Day, namely Nick Gonzalez.
00:03:42
Speaker 2: Rounding third, except he didn't.
00:03:44
Speaker 1: 105.9.
00:03:44
Speaker 2: Capital One. There, my friend. That's asking for trouble. The X at 105.9. Oh, this is too good. This is just moving.
00:04:03
Speaker 1: You'll recall that Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings captain, wants traded. He's on a long, long-term contract. He has a no trade clause, but he wants traded. And he's willing to waive the no trade for like three teams, Carolina, Vegas, and Florida. And apparently they're not too interested or trying to lowball, give limited return on the deal because they know Larkin has the Red Wings over a barrel unless they show resolve and do what I would do, which is Now, when you said no trade cause, we assume you meant no trade. See you at training camp. But here's what's happened. This is so good. Sean Horkoff, that's their interim GM. I'm reading from Twitter. Horkoff said Dylan Larkin sustained an upper body injury training and will not be skating when camp begins.
00:05:00
Speaker 2: You know what's going on there, don't you?
00:05:03
Speaker 1: The Red Wings are saying, well, look what the Steelers did with that Porter guy. They lied about an injury, and the Rubes bought it. The Red Wings are doing a Joey Porter Jr.
00:05:17
Speaker 2: Oh, I love it.
00:05:18
Speaker 1: I do love it so. 833-412-WXDX, the number to call. There was this play last night at the Bucco game that summed up what the Pirates are. It's like it was Greg Brown that said, at the end of all this, Greg Brown said, that's the difference between the Brewers and the Pirates. Brown is getting pissed, and I like it. Okay, it's the bottom of the fourth, and Milwaukee leads 1-0. Pirates got runners on first and second, one out. Flores trickles a single to left, went off a glove. The lead runner is Nick Gonzalez, and he should have scored easily, but he holds it third, inexplicably. A miscommunication between Gonzalez and Beasley, the third base coach. Actually, Beasley probably just effed it up because he apologized afterward.
00:06:14
Speaker 2: It was just horrible. Awful. T-ball level optics.
00:06:21
Speaker 1: And O'Hearn is coming from first and he goes to third and Gonzalez is still there. And O'Hearn is out and then very obviously pissed. The inning ends without the Pirates scoring anything. And then Milwaukee blows the game open. That sums up the Pirates right there.
00:06:37
Speaker 2: What do you think?
00:06:38
Speaker 1: 833-412-WXDX. The Pirates should all show up for the game in the same car. And get out of it at the pitcher's mound. Because they're clowns. They don't know how to play baseball. And the coaches are not helping. It was embarrassing, and the worst kind of embarrassing because it was Roberto Clemente Day. Everybody's wearing number 21 to honor the greatest pirate ever. His whole family's there, and you stink it up like that.
00:07:13
Speaker 2: The Pirates are absolutely an embarrassment.
00:07:18
Speaker 1: You can look at their record, and it's better than last year, but it's not as good as it should be, and part of that is they don't know how to play baseball. Beasley, boy, he apologized. And on top of that, I heard he withdrew from the Ed Sheeran tour. Going to talk to DeCoursey next, 105.9. This is Chris Broussard. Here's what's trending from the iHeart Sports Network.
00:07:48
Speaker 2: Presented by NJM Insurance.
00:07:50
Speaker 6: Chief star tight end Travis Kelsey is one of the victims being named in a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme. It has not been revealed how much money Kelsey lost. The AFC offensive and defensive players of the week are Kenneth Walker, the third of the Chiefs.
00:08:04
Speaker 3: And the Steelers' T.J.
00:08:05
Speaker 5: Watt.
00:08:06
Speaker 6: Jessica Campbell, the first woman to coach full-time in the NHL, has been named the New Jersey Devils' new manager of player development.
00:08:13
Speaker 2: I'm Frank Garrett.
00:08:13
Speaker 1: If you dread dealing with your insurance more than you dread building it. When you've got a young trophy wife who owes money to... I can't even quote the Big Lebowski right.
00:08:22
Speaker 5: Goodbye.
00:08:22
Speaker 2: VX at 105.9.
00:08:24
Speaker 1: A lot going on with the Steelers in the wake of their opening game, a victory over Atlanta. Joining us now to talk about it, He's a Pittsburgh guy. You know him from the sporting news. It's Mike DeCoursey. Mike, here's a generic question, but a telling one. Does anything about the Steelers worry you after week one, quote unquote?
00:08:47
Speaker 3: Well, the thing that worries you first is the offensive line. And I went back and you're watching it live and you're thinking that doesn't look like it's working very well. And then I went back and watched the tape. And the concerns, the initial concerns I had about Dylan Cook were relatively verified. He doesn't block anybody backward. If he's effective, he jams them up and keeps them in place. And that can work in some cases, but it doesn't always work. It's not what you're necessarily looking for. But then you watch the left side of the offensive line, and they were really poor. They did not play well at all, especially in run-blocking. especially early when you're trying to establish a tone for the game. So some of that is relative to the defensive scheme you're playing against, not necessarily the competence.
00:09:39
Speaker 2: Of the defense.
00:09:41
Speaker 3: Atlanta doesn't have much of that at this point, but you really still have to do better than the left side did. We can put that down to the fact that they didn't play that much in the exhibition season. They didn't play that much together.
00:09:56
Speaker 2: They were.
00:09:57
Speaker 3: in a circumstance where everybody was kind of moving around and Broderick Jones was on the trading block, so they played him a ton. But it has to get better or this team doesn't.
00:10:10
Speaker 2: You mentioned that the left side didn't look good.
00:10:14
Speaker 1: Did McCarthy make a mistake moving Fatano and McCormick from right to left?
00:10:18
Speaker 2: Is it too early to judge that?
00:10:21
Speaker 3: I don't think necessarily because, remember, if you didn't do that, then you'd be looking at Dylan Cook and Spencer Anderson on the left side. And if you want to run to your power, you'd change your running game a little bit. And those guys might have been more comfortable early, but I don't think that Cook... has a lot of upside on that side. And I'm not sure how great Spencer Anderson is either. And so you want to be highly competent on the left side, if not great, because of the nature of the blind side. And so that's where the most talent is now. They're two most talented offensive linemen that are in the lineup. We still haven't seen IMAX yet, but the ones that are in the lineup, the most talented are where they need to be. They just have to get more comfortable and better there.
00:11:17
Speaker 2: I thought Rodgers was very good, Mike.
00:11:19
Speaker 1: I thought that Metcalf and like we've been talking about, the running game let him down. I think if he gets better from especially DK, the points and the stats go up.
00:11:30
Speaker 3: Yeah, and let's not let Roman Wilson off the hook. I mean, he did some good things drawing the PI and the big catch on third down. But immediately after, almost immediately after he had that big third down catch, he said, see, this is why they like them. And then he allows the ground to dislodge the ball from a potential touchdown. That's not what's supposed to happen with a professional receiver. You see that with college guys and you say, well, that's why that guy's not going to make the NFL. You can't see that with a pro. And I know that's not easy to do, but that's what the best guys do. They come down and that ball stays there. solid to their chest. And so he had that and DK's drops the, the touchdown drop I've watched again today. And it would be nice if he made that catch, but for a guy with not elite hands, uh, I can understand why he wouldn't get that one. But there were other drops that were clear drops.
00:12:28
Speaker 1: Oh, no, I thought there were two clear drops and two others he could have had.
00:12:32
Speaker 2: Right. And then there were two OPIs. I don't know.
00:12:35
Speaker 1: He's got to do a lot better. One guy who just has to maintain is TJ Watt. He was obviously very good. Got the touchdown, got the stats, got AFC Defensive Player of the Week, caused chaos, which is his strength.
00:12:49
Speaker 2: But the big question is, can you keep doing it? Like, he's no young guy.
00:12:53
Speaker 3: Right, and he has had problems at times sustaining his excellence into December. That's been probably the biggest hurdle for him as an all-time great is that he does so much damage early in the season that then all of a sudden toward the latter part of the season he's kind of spent. And I think that's where the schemes that they used and the rotations that they used on Sunday can make sure that that happens. I mean, his snap counts were not high on Sunday. I think it was about two-thirds of the possessions. Correct. And so if you're able to do that, and we'd like to see a little bit more from Herbick. Herbick did not play well on Sunday, but Jack Sawyer made some plays in the position that you'd ordinarily see T.J., And, of course, Highsmith was outstanding on his side again. So that was the most encouraging element, I thought, of what happened in that game.
00:14:01
Speaker 1: Yeah, me too. Here's my disclaimer. Herbig played away from the edge a lot. Like you said, didn't play particularly well. Is his success going to be sacrificed to prop up the old men?
00:14:13
Speaker 2: I think that's a legitimate question.
00:14:15
Speaker 3: Well, I think the key here is that you continue to use his snaps to try to keep those guys fresh, not just within the season, but also within a game. You want them to be great in the fourth quarter.
00:14:29
Speaker 1: Yeah, but Herbig's making 25 mil. I don't think that he should be used as a guy to make other people good.
00:14:36
Speaker 3: But that's what he is. I mean, he's still a backup in this lineup. Then they shouldn't have paid him 25 mil. Well, they had the money under the salary cap, and with the exception of what they haven't paid Joey Porter yet, I'm not sure that's an inefficient spend, but in order to have elite edge rush play, I think it's helpful that that guy be as fresh as possible. And like I said, Sawyer was really good on Sunday for the opportunities that he got. He's not a game breaker, but as long as he's solid at the point of attack and he made some run plays, which that's an issue or was an issue for them a year ago. And so I think that that still can be an effective thing. And then we'll see down a year from now whether you still have TJ. Is he going to play another year? We don't know. Or you still have Highsmith. Maybe you make a move with him. So I think that that's a part of what they did with her big was making sure that they had that long-term insurance.
00:15:39
Speaker 2: You know, it's incredible.
00:15:40
Speaker 1: I am always amazed by how many passes they backed down at the line of scrimmage, Cam Hayward, mostly, but TJ watt a lot too, that has been broken down to a science by them.
00:15:52
Speaker 2: And, and boy, that really makes a quarterback think, don't it?
00:15:56
Speaker 3: Oh, absolutely. And especially after what TJ did on that pick six, I, That was.
00:16:02
Speaker 2: Like batting a pass down, except he caught it.
00:16:05
Speaker 1: Yes.
00:16:05
Speaker 3: I don't think that play is getting enough attention. That was a spectacular play. It was an amazing play. When I was watching it, I was stunned by what I saw. You see so many of those where you think, oh, he could have. But it's hard to do that because the ball is coming out hard. So to be able to bat it and catch it at the same time, is a remarkable feat of athleticism. And of course it takes a great like TJ in order to do that. Cam has been extraordinary in that department for years. And again, I think that's an undervalued skill because a lot of those passes could be complete that we don't know. I mean, they could be going to guys that are wide open.
00:16:50
Speaker 1: When you reach up like that, if you don't time it just right, that could be exploited because you're giving away other stuff.
00:16:57
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think that he's exceptional in that area, and Sunday was another great day for him as well. I don't see any decline in his game, really. Other than the health year he had two years ago, he's still very close to where he was at his absolute peak.
00:17:18
Speaker 1: We're talking to Mike DeCourcy here on 105.9 The X. Big game with the Patriots Sunday, Mike. Where's New England at? I'm going back and forth between A, this is a winnable game, but B, they're defending AFC champs.
00:17:33
Speaker 3: Yeah, and it's still also a home game for the Patriots. They don't lose up there a lot. I know that the Steelers were able to do it a year ago, but remember, they play horrifically in that game with the exception of creating turnovers. They were horrendous. I mean, I think two of the turnovers, at least, were touchdowns. They were awful in that game, and one because New England was so bad at holding on to the ball. It helps the Steelers that A.J. Brown is injured and probably will be ruled out of the game. I mean, the initial diagnosis was high ankle sprain. Very few players play a week after that. So that helps. Drake May is someone that I think is maybe a smidge overrated, but he's still a very good NFL quarterback.
00:18:23
Speaker 1: Where would you rank him, Mike? Top 5 or top 10 among quarterbacks?
00:18:27
Speaker 3: I think 10 at best. In the top 10 at best.
00:18:32
Speaker 2: I think he's definitely top 10.
00:18:34
Speaker 1: I know he had a stinker this past week, but he was MVP runner-up last year.
00:18:39
Speaker 3: I realize that, but I did a breakdown on that a year ago, not a year ago, but toward the end of last season. So December, late December, early January, their schedule was barely D2. I mean, it was so bad. And they faced so few exceptional teams in that season. And it was a big part of why they were able to be as successful as they were and then They got into the playoffs, and yeah, they won one, and then they got the second one kind of handed to them when Denver's quarterback went out. So I'm not sure that I'm totally buying them as a juggernaut, but they are a fine NFL team, and going into that stadium and beating them, I would say, I don't know, I have not looked at the line, but I'd say the Steelers are probably ballpark five-point underdogs.
00:19:34
Speaker 1: No, it's five and a half. Yeah, I think that's going to be definitely a big ask. But again, they did it last year. But as you remind us, the Patriots lost that game a lot more than the Steelers won. Now, what's your take on how McCarthy and his staff did? their first week and really dating back to camp, the groundwork that's been laid?
00:19:54
Speaker 3: Well, I didn't like, honestly, the way the offensive line was handled in the preseason. Given that they were flipping the right side of the line, I thought that the number one line should have gotten a fair amount of time together. You don't want to get anybody out there hurt. I get that. But they should have gotten a fair amount of time together in exhibitions, and they didn't. So maybe you lose high-level performance in the first game as a result of that, and maybe that's all you need is to get one of those or two of those done, and then it starts to flow.
00:20:33
Speaker 1: Maybe.
00:20:33
Speaker 5: Maybe.
00:20:34
Speaker 3: But wouldn't you rather be good from the jump? I don't think that was good.
00:20:39
Speaker 1: I thought in general, Mike, and it dates back to what you're talking about at training camp, I think they treated the Atlanta game like a forced preseason game.
00:20:47
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Yeah, absolutely. And it worked out because they're 1-0. I liked what I saw on the defense. I thought that defensively they played the game that was in front of them and not trying to force– a particular scheme or style, they played Atlanta. Atlanta's not very good. This is what you do to beat a not very good team. They should have beaten them by more. The offense let them down, but they did not allow much of significance to happen. So defensively, I like that, but there are much greater challenges ahead, including on Sunday. So I thought there were some good things that they did. And offensively, I wasn't nearly as bothered, Mark.
00:21:29
Speaker 1: Like I said, I thought groundwork was late. I like their approach. They just need better execution.
00:21:35
Speaker 3: Yeah, but I think there was a lot of conversation about they didn't run the ball enough. It's always said it's the most oversaid thing. I don't remember when Tom Brady threw like 65 times against the Steelers because he knew that's what would work. That's what they called like four run plays back in the mid-teens and beat the Steelers. I don't care about balance. If they're going to put 11 guys in the box, throw over their heads. But this time, catch the ball. That's the only thing that went wrong offensively, I think, on Sunday, aside from the line, was that they played into what they were being given, and they threw over the opponent's heads. They gave Aaron Rodgers, even though the offensive line wasn't great, they gave him enough time most of the time, and he was able to find receivers who didn't complete the plays.
00:22:28
Speaker 1: What's going to happen with Porter? I think they've got to pay him. I don't think they beat good quarterbacks without him. Cooper Rush, yes.
00:22:38
Speaker 2: Joe Burrow, no.
00:22:40
Speaker 3: Yeah, I agree with you. I think it's a massive mistake. Look, I don't know what the exact number is. We've seen reports that the guarantees right now are around $ 33 million, I think. And I think that's about $ 7 million-ish short of what it needs to be I don't know why the Steelers would go to the wall for that. I don't understand that.
00:23:03
Speaker 1: Well, because of their policies, Mike, that they don't negotiate once the season starts and they don't guarantee beyond the first year, which all that stuff is antiquated.
00:23:11
Speaker 3: But they didn't do that with TJ. So they did not. I mean, TJ was guaranteed.
00:23:18
Speaker 2: Beyond the first year. That's right.
00:23:22
Speaker 3: So I think it's plausible to find an acceptable number. And at the same time, Joey has to realize, like, you go back to what's happened, like, for instance, with Ryan Shazier or most of the players that have signed with the Steelers. Like, they're not cutting you on a whim. If you get hurt horrifically like Shazier did, they took care of Ryan. And if you perform reasonably well, They don't dump you. They're not going to.
00:23:56
Speaker 1: Cut you after one year if you're on that kind of a contract and have that kind of pedigree.
00:24:00
Speaker 2: They're just not.
00:24:01
Speaker 3: Exactly my point. They're not going to do that.
00:24:04
Speaker 1: But given that they're not going to, Mike, why not guarantee it just to get the.
00:24:08
Speaker 2: Guy on the field?
00:24:11
Speaker 3: I think there's a number short of a full two-year guarantee that really matches up somewhat with the guarantees that have been given to other high-end players, like a Sauce Gardner, for instance. Get in the neighborhood of sauce, and I think you've got a reasonable deal. I will not endorse at all this we don't negotiate during the season stuff. If you're willing to go away from a 50-year history on what constitutes an effective Steelers coach, and they did, and I'm not saying that's wrong because McCarthy has done fine so far, but they were willing to give that up, so why hold to this reason? that doesn't have any real productivity at all.
00:24:56
Speaker 1: I'll tell you one reason, because it's not as hard to be a general manager when you put limits on things.
00:25:02
Speaker 3: You can just stop working, yes.
00:25:05
Speaker 2: Exactly.
00:25:06
Speaker 1: Your job's done when the first ball's kicked off. I find these Steelers very intriguing. They're hard to analyze, not least with the coaching change. I predicted them to win 10. I feel like they can win 11, but I don't think 5 and 12 is off the table either.
00:25:23
Speaker 2: Am I making any sense at all?
00:25:26
Speaker 3: Oh, absolutely making sense. Of course, you always have to first factor in the possibility of injury, and they are not so wonderfully deep, especially at particular positions, wide receiver being one, where you could assume that if they had a major injury, that your kind of calamity would be out of reach. And I think that it's more likely that they are successful in But you look at what we saw in the division on Sunday. I mean, Baltimore was spectacular. So was Cincinnati. And that's four games right there. Those are not going to be easy to win. So the schedule could be a challenge as well. The NFL, you never know from year to year all of the teams that are going to be great. Someone surprises you. The Denver a year ago. being as good as they were. Jacksonville putting up the record that they did. You don't always know who's going to be great. And so that could be an issue as well. And then, again, we still have to see the offensive line become a sufficient offensive line. We haven't seen it yet. We think the talent is there. And I think still the sooner Haunted Shore is out there, the better it will be for the development of this team.
00:26:46
Speaker 1: Mike, as always, great stuff. Thank you so much for the input. We will do it again next week.
00:26:51
Speaker 3: My pleasure, Mark. Thank you.
00:26:53
Speaker 1: And come on, you Reds. We shouldn't forget Mike DeCoursey is a Red. Mike brought to us by South Hills Kia. Up next, some interesting sound from Ben's podcast. Him and Santonio Holmes talking about the Steelers' tight end position.
00:27:07
Speaker 2: 105.9. GMC Truck Month is on at Wright Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Baden.
00:27:13
Speaker 3: Right now, get behind the wheel of a rugged new 20... I don't know what you said.
00:27:16
Speaker 4: Yeah, double M.
00:27:19
Speaker 1: Yeah?
00:27:19
Speaker 7: VX at 105.9. What past that Stiller fans will never forget is Ben Roethlisberger to Santonio Holmes to win that Super Bowl.
00:27:39
Speaker 1: Santonio was on Ben's podcast, which is very cool. And Santonio wants to see more of Darnell Washington.
00:27:48
Speaker 4: Our leading pass catcher, obviously, was Pat Frymuth. But we also got to get Darnell in the game, man. Those little quick passes out, those little dump offs.
00:27:56
Speaker 5: End of the game.
00:27:56
Speaker 2: End of the game with him on a little wide drag.
00:27:59
Speaker 4: You know, just give him a couple plays to just make some noise and have fun, you know, playing the game.
00:28:05
Speaker 2: And that's what a big stiff arm can do.
00:28:08
Speaker 1: People like to see that, so let's play Mount Washington some more. And I get it, but I disagree. Use 11 personnel. That's McCarthy's thing. Framuth is a McCarthy type of tight end. Better hands, better on routes, just better. Washington can help, like he did at the end of games with running out the clock, that stiff arm, etc. That's not a huge role. which reflects badly on how much they paid him. But you can't beat Bendis Antonio. Hearing them two talk, that is just magic. Robert Spillane was a Steeler, and now he's a Patriot. And this is Spillane talking about playing against Aaron Rodgers on Sunday.
00:28:59
Speaker 4: An exciting matchup.
00:29:00
Speaker 2: Yeah, Aaron Rodgers, obviously, what is he in his 23rd year, 22nd year? Still got it. Still can swing the ball from sideline to sideline. 50 yards down the field. Quick trigger.
00:29:14
Speaker 6: His mobility seemed to be better than it was last year.
00:29:19
Speaker 2: So he's going to be a fun challenge for us this weekend.
00:29:24
Speaker 1: Spillane put Rodgers over in typical fashion.
00:29:28
Speaker 2: No surprise.
00:29:28
Speaker 1: So I'm going to talk about how wrong I was about Spillane when he played for the Steelers. I thought he was a ham and egger here in Pittsburgh, but he went to Vegas and started. and then went to New England last year and started and started in the Super Bowl. Spillane is tough, a good tackler, excellent inside, and I wish the Steelers had him starting instead of Queen or Peyton Wilson. Here's Brandon Lyle of the Bucs talking about hitting against Miz last night.
00:30:03
Speaker 2: Miz allowed five hits and no runs in five innings.
00:30:07
Speaker 5: I mean, how in-depth do you want to get to it? Low release. There's 104. He's seven and a half feet of extension. And it's not like he's throwing the ball down the middle. He's hitting corners. He's throwing a slider at 98. curveball at 90 and he's got good stuff there's a reason that he's having the season that he's having and everybody seems to struggle hitting him but except Flores and Gonzo it feels like.
00:30:40
Speaker 1: You know why I played that because Brandon Lau talked about Jacob Mizorowski.
00:30:48
Speaker 2: Like guys used to talk about hitting against schemes used to This Sunday, we got week two.
00:30:59
Speaker 1: The Black and Gold are five and a half point road underdogs at New England. Bet this, bet that, bet more than the score. Bet Black and Gold individual player performances for touchdown, passing, rushing yards, the whole smear. Join me, the super genius, to make your downtime fun time with the BetParks app. BetParks also brings the casino to you. The casino is right at your fingertips, fun and easy, ready to use. Bedparks is the only online casino and sportsbook app that I recommend.
00:31:33
Speaker 2: I love it. You will, too.
00:31:36
Speaker 1: Play all your favorite classic casino games right on your phone for real money or play thousands of online slots right now.
00:31:44
Speaker 2: New users get up.
00:31:45
Speaker 1: To a $ 500 bonus back, plus 250 bonus spins on the hot online slots game, Sahara Riches Collect-a-Max. The Bed, Parks, Online, Casino, and Sportsbook app, where there's always another way to win. You gotta be 21 and in PA, New Jersey, Maryland, or Michigan.
00:32:05
Speaker 2: New users only. Terms and conditions apply. Get the details at betparks.com.
00:32:11
Speaker 1: Casino bonus must be wagered.
00:32:13
Speaker 2: You got a gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.
00:32:17
Speaker 1: Up next, the Steeler Talk comes hot and fast with Alan Saunders of Pittsburgh Steelers Now.
00:32:24
Speaker 2: I'm Madden on the air.
