RC CALLS OUT STEPHEN A. 🗣️ Is he REALLY a Steelers fan? 👀 Aaron Rodgers expectations 📈 | First Take

RC CALLS OUT STEPHEN A. 🗣️ Is he REALLY a Steelers fan? 👀 Aaron Rodgers expectations 📈 | First Take

Pittsburgh to win another one. And the Steelers had a busy offseason with that same goal in mind. Outside of signing Rogers, Pittsburgh also traded for DK Metaf and gave a huge extension to TJ Watt. They hope this will be enough to earn their first playoff win in eight seasons. The Steelers will start their campaign with Rogers returning to Metife to take on his former team, the New York Jets. Across from him will be Justin Fields, who’s also facing his former team in the Steelers. How about them apples? Uh Mike T joining the party. Great to have you here with us. Good to be here. Stephen A, I’ll start with you. How fast of a start do the Steelers need to get to this season? Well, I definitely think they need to get off to a strong start because um you know when you’ve got the Jets, the Seahawks, and the New England Patriots in your first three weeks of the NFL season, and you going to struggle with them, what the hell are we to believe from that? We don’t we certainly not going to believe over the next uh third 13 to 14 games or so that you’re going to be any better if you struggle in those in those three games. So, I think it’s important that they get off to a strong start. Um and I think it’s good for them psychologically having Aaron Rogers as your new quarterback and getting off to a strong start uh puts them in a position to feel even more confident about him moving forward. Uh, this is a team that hasn’t won a playoff game since 2016. And we know that and that’s what that’s really what this comes down to. We know that the Cincinnati Bengals and the Baltimore Ravens are considered the two best teams in the AFC North, not necessarily in that order. And so for the Steelers to make some noise, um, I definitely think it’s going to be important for them to start off a little bit strong. You’ve got Metave, you got a new wide receiver. Pickings is gone. You kept some other pieces there. Fri Muth is still there. Warren is still there in the back field even though Naji Harris is gone. So you got some familiar pieces in there, but it all starts with Aaron Rogers and what he and Metaf are going to be able to do. And if they start off strong, I think that’ll go a long way towards producing a positive season. Mike Tate. Yeah, look, we talked about this yesterday. Look, over the last three years, guys, there’s only four quarterbacks that have a worse QBR than Aaron Rogers. And we’re going to see a litmus test early, guys. when you think about he’s going to go up against Sam Darnold and Justin Fields. So, obviously a lot of Jet connections here between those three quarterbacks, but to me, Aaron Rogers has to show not what he’s done, which is an all-time great four-time MVP, Super Bowl winner. It’s more about what he’s going to do. And again, guys, in the history of pro football, only two quarterbacks started a playoff game, 42 or older. So, I think he has to get off to a good start to earn the trust and and respect of his teammates. And boy, those first two games to me are going to be really interesting. RC. Yeah. Molly, can I can I take your seat for a second and ask you a question? Of course. Um, how many friends or fans do you believe you have that just never support you? Do you have any people that you consider a friend or a fan that consistently goes against you or says negative things about you or doesn’t support you? I mean, if they’re your friend, they’re supporting you if they’re a real friend. Yeah. And if they’re a fan, a lot of times the fans support, too. You know, that’s how they become a fan. Because what I can’t get is how Stephen A continues to call himself a Steeler fan and be such a hater. Like the fact that during his beautiful eloquent response he goes, “Well, everybody believes that the Bengals and the Ravens are better.” Who believes that? Are the Baltimore Ravens one of the top teams in the NFL? Absolutely. I’ll give you them. But last I checked, a Cincinnati Bengals team that looked extremely similar to this one was sitting at at home when the Pittsburgh Steelers were playing in the playoffs last year. So you’re telling me that we should expect Mike Tomlin to be walking in the training camp and saying the standard is the standard, but we have no standard that we think we could be better than the Cincinnati Bengals, a team that didn’t go to the playoffs last year and can’t sign their best defensive player. So Stephen Nay wants to come on this show and say, “Oh, wait. I don’t really believe that they are that good. I don’t really believe that they do have a chance when all Omar Khan has done as the general manager is continue to add good football players with great NFL pedigree.” But no, Mike T can’t get this team to be good enough to win. The Pittsburgh Steelers need to start fast because of this. There’s always a microscope on what the Pittsburgh Steelers do because unlike what George Pickin said, the Pittsburgh about the Cowboys, the Pittsburgh Steelers are synonymous with Super Bowls. But in being synonymous with Super Bowls throughout history, the last 10 years they aren’t. The last 10 years they aren’t synonymous with winning playoff games. So, there’s already going to be a microscope on them. Now, you add Aaron Rodgers to that mix and what Mike T has talked about over and over again, the QBR over the last three years, people are going to want to see what Aaron Rodgers has showed up to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers. That’s why a fast start is needed. A fast start is needed so you don’t have to answer the questions on whether or not this relationship will work very early on. It’s going to be difficult for this team to win a Super Bowl, to win a championship. Absolutely. But this is a playoff football team with a playoff roster and a Hall of Fame head coach and I’m not going to walk into this season doubting what they could be when looking at the roster especially defensively. So Stephen A, are you not a real fan? You’re a real fan. You know listen Ryan’s full of it. Okay, I’m not letting him get away with that. Here’s the thing. It’s hilarious. You know what I’m saying? I mean, they ain’t won a playoff game since 2016. And I point out that fact and I’m hating as opposed to pointing out a fact that is undeniable. The standard that is the standard hasn’t been met. And we all know that. We love Mike T. I love Mike T. I think he’s a great coach and a great guy. Nothing but love for him. But damn it, I I I want a playoff victory. I’m a Yankees fan. I want a World Series. I’m a Knicks fan. I want a birth to the final. I want a championship. I ain’t had a 1973. Me pointing that out ain’t hating. Me pointing that out is a frustration that rates through the core of a fan base. And by the way, Ryan Ryan Clark RC, Mr. Pivot himself, just pivoting like nobody else can. Okay, I would like to remind you of the importance of being very, very careful. There’s footage on Monday Night Football. There’s footage on NFL Live. There’s footage on Get Up. There’s footage on First Take. And I can assure you I can pull out some clips or you hating whether it’s on Aaron Rodgers or a Pickkins or somebody else that was on the Steelers or is on the Steelers. I’m the one that said Aaron Ro is a bad man and I believe in him. I didn’t hear you saying that. Let me tell you something right now. Be very, very careful, Ryan Clark. I got clips now. I got clips and I’ll play them. Don’t you start with me. Don’t you start. Hey, come on now. I have said nothing. I have said nothing but glowing things. Aaron Rogers became our I said since he became our You sure about that? Nothing but glowing. Listen. Listen, America. Listen to me. That’s a technical I believe in Aaron. That’s a ter That’s a technicality thing. Oh yeah. Yeah. Uh-huh. Now you said that. Now you said that. But what did you say the day before he arrived with the Steelers? 24 hours earlier. What did you say there? You see what I’m saying? This is not a relationship. No, this is not a relationship where you got you get to bring up old stuff. See, that’s what happened. When people when people aren’t getting what they want out the present conversation, they want to bring up old stuff. We got to move on from those past traumas. We need to heal. And in healing, it can allow us to move forward. Listen to Molly. All the work Molly’s done on herself. She knows we can’t stay stuck with those old gremlins, right, that seem to just re their ugly heads whenever things still have some gremlins. Stephen A. I got it. I got it. Ryan Clark is Ryan Clark is is the black football version of Mark Maguire. He ain’t here to talk about the past. He ain’t here to talk about past. I here for the past. That’s what it is. Right. That’s what it is. Right. I’m not here to talk about the past. I understand. I understand. I understand. All right. At least you weren’t Sammy Sosa needing an interpreter. I’ll give you that. Mike, I’ll give you the final word on this. Speaking of old guys, that’s what the Pittsburgh Steeler defense is. They have four starters that are over 30. Jaylen Ramsay, Darius Slay, Cam Haywood, and TJ Watt. They got to get off to a fast start because that defense may wear down during the season. So, we’re going into the season. Oh, we’re now down on the defense, too. This isn’t looking good for I’m just saying like an older defense typically doesn’t get better during the season. Mike T not feeling the Steelers. I want to ask Ryan before we go to break. I wanted to ask Ryan this question real quickly. In all seriousness, I was really sad that they lost they they they they gave away Micah Fitzpatrick. I loved him on the Spitsburg Steelers. I like Jaylen Ramsey a lot, but damn that’s a lot. How do you feel about Jonah Smith and and and Jaylen Ramsay being on the Steelers instead of Ma Fitzpatrick? Yeah, first of all, I wish you could have kept Ma Fitzpatrick, but there’s no way that Jaylen Ramsay becomes a Pittsburgh Steeler without having some assets be involved in that trade. I think the thing that happened with Ma was a little bit of discomfort with the way he was utilized. Ma wants to be free. Ma wants to have the ability to go make plays to be involved and his pairing with Deshaawn Elliott, the strong safety. I don’t believe it allowed Ma to do that. And so I think there were some frustrations that could bubble up for someone who is such a playmaker, such an instinctive player. And I feel like Jaylen Ramsay fits and can be utilized in more way than more ways than Mika was, but also more ways than Ma was willing. And so I think that this is a a good switch if Jaylen is able to ingratiate himself in different pieces of this defense. And everything I’m hearing out of training camp and seen from the couple of clips I’ve seen seems that Jaylen is finding a way to do that.

Stephen A. Smith, Ryan Clark and Mike Tannenbaum join Molly Qerim on First Take to discuss expectations with Aaron Rodgers as the new QB for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

0:00 Setting the scene
0:43 Best start for the Steelers
2:50 RC calls out Stephen A.
5:45 Stephen A.’s rebuttal
8:30 Mike T. gets the final word

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