Steelers’ Early Defensive Struggles Due to Aggressive Approach? | Aaron Rodgers Says ‘Run the Ball’

Steelers’ Early Defensive Struggles Due to Aggressive Approach? | Aaron Rodgers Says ‘Run the Ball’

If you think you’re ticked off about the Steelers defense to start the season, try listening to Terrell Austin when I ask him about some of the mistakes they’ve been making. He makes his point very clear. But are the Steelers defense closer to figuring it out or still far away from being that top tier unit they promised to be. We’ll talk about that and get all our week three picks here on the Lockown Steelers podcast. I’m Chris Carter. Let’s get into it. [Music] You are Locked On Steelers, your daily Pittsburgh Steelers podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. Hello and welcome to the Locked On Steelers podcast. I’m your host, Chris Carter, bringing you your daily dose of all things in the Pittsburgh Steelers. As always, you can find the show on your favorite podcasting apps and on YouTube. Like this video if you enjoy it. Subscribe to this YouTube channel to get all of your daily Monday through Friday episodes as well as our bonus content. We thank you for making us your first listen every day because we’re your team every day. And today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new customers can bet just $5. And if your bet wins, you’ll get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. Check it out at fanduel.com. More on them later. We’re joined by the man himself, Josh Taylor from KDKA TV channel 2 in Pittsburgh. It’s been a minute since we had Josh on the show, but we’re always happy to have you on, Josh. Good to be back, man. We’re We’re at week three already. Like, this just I think last time we talked was right before training camp, but we’re already at week three. It’s nuts. It’s crazy how we get to July and the calendar just like it’s almost like it sims on its own if you’re playing the video game. We’re at week three. It’s insane, but still a lot for this team to iron out. So, let’s uh see if we can get some of those wrinkles out. Speaking of ironing out, one thing that I looked back on when I looked back at the tape, a very obvious play, the same two touch, same touchdown in both games, those deep crossing patterns against the Jets where Garrett Wilson caught a bomb on Darius Slay in week one. And then the same thing happened where Tory Hilton caught or Tory Holton caught a caught a pass on Jaylen Ramsay in week two with the Seahawks. And I noted it on Twitter and I said, “This is the same concept.” And they made the same mistake just with different guys. And I asked Terrell Austin, “Well, what do you got to do differently?” And listen to his response because it kind of gives you a hint. They talked about it and then the players didn’t do what they talked about. Both games you guys have been beat by the deep crossers uh for the for the for the long touchdown where safety goes one way, ball goes the other way. What do you guys have to do differently to handle that when other teams give you that look? Not do that. That was bad. Um and and that can’t happen uh because it wasn’t something that um it wasn’t something that was unressed during the course of the week. So, we have to those are things that um I think sometimes as a coach you get you a little bit offkilter. um is when there’s things that you know known things that happen uh that you work on them and then they still occur in the game. Uh because we all know in this league if you show a weakness in something it’s going to continue to show up and keep coming at you and uh we’ve open the door for to have those things h you know come at us every week now and so that’s why I get a little bit you know pissed off and and those things. Uh and we have to be better than that because I think our guys are better than that. And if I thought that they couldn’t do it then, you know, we got the wrong guys in there. But I think our guys can do it. Just got to get it done. So there you have it. Teros say we just got to get it done. I I hear him on that they them thinking they have the guys to do it. I brought this up in my film study and my grades a lot of these a lot of the times they gave up plays. It was guys losing in positions. You expect them to win. And I think it’s just sometimes hey like they called out certain adjustments and it just didn’t take. And now it’s like hey guys we got to we got to do these things the right way if we’re going to be as defense. You can’t just line up and say, “Hey, we’re more talented than the other than the other side of the ball.” We have to be on our P’s and Q’s. There’s been moments where I think they’ve been on that, but then there have been moments when they’re not, and that’s why they’ve given up the most 15 yard plus plays in the NFL through two weeks. I think my favorite part of what he said was the latter half. He says, you know, you you keep having that happen to you, then it becomes an expectation and people start they start wanting to look for it. it’s become something they exploit, which means you have to fix it. This is one of those things it’s like we got to get this taken care of, not you. You got to nip it in the bud because if you’re still giving up shots like that, you know, down the road, especially, you got to face some really good passing offenses, but you got the Green Bays of the world that you got to deal with. You got the Baltimore and Buffaloos of the world you got to deal with. You can’t keep having this problem because, you know, a a Jordan Love, you know, a Josh Allen, and you know, a Lamar Jackson will all try and those are throws that all three of those quarterbacks can make. So, you definitely don’t want that problem to follow you into the October and November parts of the season because it just becomes worse as it goes downhill. And it’s not it’s not just that play either. There there’s been been different chunk plays that they’ve given up. Um and also just different situations where they just looked like they didn’t have the right alignment or or some someone got beat at the exact wrong time. Third and longs. A lot of third and longs, whether it was Patrick Queen missing a sack or Jaylen Ramsay getting beat to the inside. uh and SP and and if he holds his leverage to the inside, maybe it gives TJ Watt to get a chance at at a sack because he was a step away from Sam Darnold. Um there’s opportunities to be had. I I also asked Tara Lost about how Jaylen Ramsay’s been playing in coverage and he kind of let on because because what I noted that like Jaylen Ramsay a lot in these in in the game, he was he was playing this off coverage where he was trying to set up his trail technique and for those who don’t know what trail technique is, imagine if a person’s if if the cornerback’s covering the wide receiver, right? and the wide receiver makes the move. Instead of trying to cut them off and stay in front of them as they’re making the move, the cornerback lets them get inside and then follows them on on on their route. And the idea is that if you’re athletic enough or talented enough as a quarterback, you can keep pace and when the ball comes, you can jump in front of them and get the interception. And very rare, it’s very rare that you have a have someone that can do that so well. And that but that was something Jaylen Ramsey did well in his prime. But if you miss in just one step when you’re doing that trail technique, that guy that’s in front of you gets separation and all of a sudden the quarterback has a wide openen target. And that was happening to Jaylen Ramsey. So I asked Terrell Austin about when Jaylen Ramsey gets a chance to decide when he wants to do that. And he kind of noted he listen he has a lot we have a lot of respect for how he’s done thing in the past, but we have way the ways that we do things here. listen to how he answered that question and I think it kind of illuminates what they’re trying how they’re trying to get everyone to assimilate into the big plan the Steelers defense has. Well, I think it’s your coverage leverage and and depth off receiver in terms of high, low, inside, outside, all depends on what coverage we’re running. Um, and so there’s going to be times you may think he’s wrong, but he’s actually right. Uh, and then there’s other times that he has to be, you know, tighter. And I think that’s one of the things that we talked about with our secondary. Um, you know, we and it really was the first question today. We had some really good blitzes, but our coverage wasn’t tight enough. And so, how do we get that done? Uh, we just go back to the board, we look at it and and you know, what’s our alignment? You know, how do we get, you know, what’s our technique and how do we get those into those positions so we can be successful and uh, you know, so it’s not a, you know, because he did it somewhere else. You know, this is kind of how we do it here. Uh and and I think that’s important that guys and and he does that guys understand hey there’s a way we try to do things here because we feel it gives us the best chance to win and he’ll he’s he’s on board. We just got to be again we’ve got to be better at executing it. So that’s part of where I think that this is right is that he’s talking about like, hey, we respect that there were different ways how he’s done things in his career and things like that, but we have a way of doing things here and he understands that, but there’s still a process to getting everyone on the same page to coalesce into what they need to do. It’s not something that you can just slap together overnight and say bam. This is definitely everyone’s cohesive. Everyone knows everything that they need to do. Uh, this is, you know, this is why the NFL it’s hard to be a to be a great defense. It’s why it takes a lot. It’s why it takes chemistry. It’s why it takes a lot of work. Um, but I I think that that’s what Terrell Lawson’s talking about is they are they know the plan, but it’s still it’s guys fighting through it, making their mistakes, learning from their mistakes, and then building that into so that they can all kind of know this is how we can play together and play together at a high level. Yeah. It feels like when you watch this defense, especially in certain situations, especially certain downs and distances, that you could tell that they have a game plan and what they want to do, but every time they try and it’s like one thing goes wrong. It’s like they’re trying to blitz, but one guy misses or they try to, you know, or maybe they get to the quarterback, but he gets he gets a release off at the very last second because one guy lagged off in coverage or, you know, one person was a step too slow or they were a step too quick. It’s always like there’s one thing missing and that that’s one of those things that if there’s any kind of comfort to it and not we don’t see comfort clearly but if there’s one thing you look at and say okay at least there’s kind of a bright spot to it is that that’s a fixable problem those are small things that are fixable and this is one of those things as far as how Jaylen Ramsey is playing in coverage because he’s played long enough to know what he needs to do differently. I don’t think Terrell Lawson needs to tell him that much as far as what he needs to do differently. I think Jaylen Ramsey knows that. But when you look at what this defense is doing, and they’re blitzing a lot more than they did a year ago. What? Fourth most blitz rate in the league right now in two games. They didn’t do this a lot last year. They only sent four, maybe five. A lot. They sent five quite quite frequently. But they had more guys out in coverage. So now when you’re sending five or six more guys more frequently, those four or five in the back got to be on their P’s and Q’s. They got to be ready to go. And when you blitz a lot, what does that mean? Probably a lot more man. So, you’ve got to have that coverage better. And it’s it’s one of those things that you you hope is fixable because if it is, okay, maybe a couple times a quarterback can’t find that open guy in that split second before somebody gets home. Maybe you’re not having a guy has a step or two on the DB that’s open to get the ball out quickly because he can identify it fast. And now you get that timing down because we’ve been hearing it for years, Chris. You hear everybody talks about how, hey, it’s got to be it’s got to be the pressure. It’s got to be the coverage. It has to go hand in hand. And right now there’s a finger or two that aren’t locking right now, but you hope they can get that fixed. I think that’s the thing here. But again, that’s why I do think this Steelers defense still has that potential to be one of the top units. Yes, they ranked 29th in points score or points allowed and yards allowed right now. But through two games, I think they’ve been figuring some things out. I think they could be closer than people realize to actually figuring things out. We’ll see if they do that Sunday against the Patriots in Foxboro. We’re going to predict that game. But before we do that, we got to predict all the NFL week three games. Josh will do that with me after the next break here on the Locked on Steelers podcast. Chris Carter, Josh Taylor. Stick with us. We’ll be right back. But first, remind you that this episode is brought to you by Door Dash. It’s almost the weekend and it’s time to look back to crown this week’s MVP on who delivered powered by Door Dash. Just like you can win every Saturday with Door Dash Streaks, saving more time with your with every order, these players are in position to deliver when it matters most. Let’s get into it. For the Steelers, it was Jaylen Warren who delivered in a big way last week. 136 yards from scrimmage against the Seahawks. He was Pittsburgh’s best weapon last Sunday. His 65 yard catch and run broke several tackles and gave the Steelers a chance to take the lead by getting them into the red zone in the third quarter when the game was tied. When the pressure was on, he came through no hesitation, no delay. Now, the Steelers hope Jaylen Warren stays hot and goes on a streak. And just like Aaron Ro, just like Jaylen Warren delivered for the Steelers, Door Dash delivers for your Saturdays. With Door Dash streaks, you save every Saturday you order. Stack it up all season and you can save up to $250, including $100 in Door Dash credits. Order this Saturday. Keep the streak alive. Fuel your game day only with Door Dash. Terms apply promo period through November 18th. We’re also brought to you by FanDuel. The NFL season is here and FanDuel’s making sure that you’re ready for every week with with this can’t miss offer. Right now, new customers can bet just $5. And if your bet wins, you’ll get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. I love using FanDuel because it fits however you like to bet. Player player props, building a same game parlay, or even jumping in live as the action unfolds. It makes every game more exciting, whether you’re watching your team or just keeping an eye on your fantasy lineup. It’s quick, easy, and the best way to add a little more energy to Sundays. So, are you ready to play? Download the FanDuel app now by visiting fanduel.com to get started. That’s fanduel.com to place your first $5 bet and get your chance to win $300 in bonus bets only at fanduel.com. [Music] We’re back here on the Lockdown Steelers podcast. Chris Carter here with Josh Taylor of KDKA TV channel 2 in Pittsburgh. Josh, you aren’t normally our picks person, but we love to have you on to do picks sometimes. Jenna Horn has been the person that picks with me. As of always, there’s the locked on Steelers pick them league that you can find on ESPN.com if you want to join. Shout out to the 287 people who are in it right now. Um, they are they’re competing. Currently, I’m standing all right. I got I’m 24 and eight. I’m in the top 100 of the group, but Jenna Hner is ahead of me at 27 and four. And we got to close this gap. I’m not playing around. Josh, we’re going to close this gap this week. But shout out to the people who are tied for first place. We got three people tied for first place in the lockdown Steelers picking group. That’s Watt Nation, Scottish Steeler, and the real Lisa Simpson. All tied at 28-4 through the first two weeks. But let’s get to the picks here. And as always, all odds, ends, and lines for on in this in our pick segment are brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook, the number one sports book in America. Of course, we’re recording this during Thursday Night Football, so we will not count for the Bills Dolphins game. But let’s flip to Sunday 1:00 games starting with the Raiders at the Commanders. We still got to see what happens with Jaden Daniels here, Josh, because he was he’s noted to be questionable. Uh, and they’re they’re seeing will he practice Friday? But I still feel like this should be the Commanders game to win. They have a lot of weapons. They have players. This this need I think I think that Jaden Daniels, even if he’s out, they can find a way to beat this Raiders team at home. I feel the same way. And I think that we really we’ve really gotten to the thing where we start to ignore the Commanders defense and it’s really good. And this is a Dan Quinn le Washington defense. You don’t discount a Dan Quinn led Washington defense at home. That’s the reason why I think they make this, you know, even without if Jaden Daniels does not play. I think that’s the reason why they still pull this off. So, I like the I like the Commanders, too. And the Commanders three and a half point favorites on FanDuel.com. Moving right along, Falcons at Panthers NFC South showdown. The Falcons are five and a half point favorites on the road. Give me the Falcons and the points. Panthers are still in rough in rough zone. I like the Falcons defense. They look aggressive. They look tough. I think they can cause some problems this year. A Raheem Morris defense. I’m gonna look at the defense again. I’m gonna do that. Plus, I have this standing policy right now. Anybody against Carolina by default. So, yeah. With Atlanta for no other reason because they’re playing Carolina. All right. So, but when the Panthers play the Saints, what you going to do? Hold my breath and probably hold my nose and just point at one. That’s probably what’s an NFC South game. Of course, you hold your nose and point at one for the most part. Packers at Browns. Packers seven and a half point favorites on FanDuel. Uh I feel like this is an easy one. Packers all the way. The Browns are just a mess and the Packers have leaped into being Super Bowl favorites. Agreed. You You put Micah Parsons on that team. You go from really really good team to possibly really great team if just overnight. So yeah, I’m going Green Bay. Potential game of the week territory here. Rams at Eagles. Eagles three and a half point favorites at home. Uh this is a this this Rams team has come out with a little bit more fire than I think people anticipated. Uh, but I still think the Eagles win at home, but I think this could be a very interesting game. I’m gonna put the we I’m gonna go with the Eagles at home because they still scare me both on paper and on tape. But yeah, if there’s a team that can make this game interesting even on the road, it might be the Rams. If Shawn McVey can find ways to win some games every once in a while, but yeah, I’ll take this because Yeah, I mean, both these teams are two and0, so that’ll be a big a big storyline uh for for that game. Let’s move it right along. AFC South. Uh this is a this might be well this isn’t a hold your nose because the Colts are actually kind of good right now. They started off two and0. They’re four and a half point favorites on the road against the 0 and2 Tennessee Titans. Um I’m taking the Colts. I’m I’m still not a firm believer of Indiana Jones, but I will say that is a cool nickname. Like Danny Danny Dimes has died and Indiana Jones has been birthed and whatever it is that has birthed some new life in Indianapolis. Danny Dobs walked so Indiana Jones could run. Clearly there. Um I’m going Indianapolis as well, but not for the reasons people think. I’m not going because of a rejuvenated uh Daniel Jones. I’m going because of rejuvenated Jonathan Taylor. That’s why I am interested in Indianapolis. You got a healthy Jonathan Taylor doing what he used to do two, three years ago. Sign me up. Give me the Colts. Same same here. Jets at Buccaneers. Uh Jets missing uh Justin Fields with a concussion. Give me the Buccaneers. They’re six and a half point favorites at home. Might not be enough in my opinion. I’m going with the Bucks. I I love what Baker Mayfield does with that offense. And Amecha Ubuka, he went to Tampa. I’m like, I’m going to love this move on paper. And yeah, they have not let me down. So, I’m going with the Bucks, too. A battle of backup quarterbacks. The Bengals on the road against the Vikings. Both Burrow on injured preserve. Adj McCarthy missing a couple of weeks. The Vikings are three-point favorites at home, but that is the normal spread for for the for the home team. Give me the Vikings in this matchup because I think when you take away the quarterback factor from both teams, I like the the Vikings roster a lot better because they’re better in the trenches. They’re better on defense and those are the things that can win a game between backup quarterbacks. I’m glad you mentioned take away the quarterback element to it because here’s the matchup. I like Kevin O’Connell’s offense with named quarterback here versus Cincinnati’s defense and I don’t think it matters. So yeah, Minnesota pretty much Texans at Jaguars. Jaguars one and a half point favorites. Not something I would have thought going into the season when you see these two match up. But the Jaguars are one and one. The Texans are are 0 and2. Give me the Texans winning on the road. I know the Jaguars have been a house of horrors for them at times, but I I think that Houston has to win this game because they otherwise they fall to 0 and three and that would be a disastrous start for for the Texans. I feel like this is the game where Houston gets it figured out. And and here’s the thing with Houston and here’s something that should concern anybody when you face Houston. They still have a really good pass rush. Like your quarterback’s not going to have an easy game and this is one of those times where I think Trevor Lawrence might have a really uncomfortable day. So yeah, I like Houston. Moving right along. Bron, excuse me, Saints at Seahawks. The Seahawks seven and a half point favorites at home. I’m sorry. Like like we said earlier, I’m not picking anytime I see the Saints on one side, I pick the other side. Same thing applies with the as as it does with the Panthers. It’s it’s the Seahawks just because the Saints they can’t figure it out yet. So yeah, that NFC self-d disclaimer was not standing. Chargers two and a half point home home favorites over the Broncos who come who come into the lo Angeles. Uh this is an interesting matchup because the Chargers right now have leaped to the top of the AFC West through two weeks. They beat the Chiefs who are 0 and2. A chance for the Broncos to stake their claim and get a chance at t at at getting in first place for the division early. But give me the Chargers. I like what they what they have going on. Their defense looks really nasty. Not that the Broncos don’t have their own nasty players and defense, but I like what they’re cooking up. uh for the Chargers as a whole. I like the Broncos defense. I love the Chargers defense. I love what they’re doing and and you’re gonna with the quarterback they have, they’re going to be in every game they play, but that defense, man, they make it hard for anybody to stick with them. So, yeah, I like the Chargers. Cardinals at Ners. The Cardinals have been a sneaky team early on. They have run it rushed out the gate. In fact, the entire NFC West has rushed out the gate. Everyone’s two and0 except the Seahawks who are one and one with their win being over the Steelers. So, this is a battle of two unbeaten teams in the division. This could have serious playoff implications down the line. Niners are at home. I believe Brock Party still hasn’t played. So, give me Arizona heading out to the West Coast and Kyler Murray pulling off the upset. I don’t care if the Niners are two and a half point favorites. Give me the Cotton. Stealing my thunder, man. I I was I swore you were going to take San Francisco. I just knew you were going to take the Niners in this game. I figured you’d take the Niners just because they got, you know, they got Robert Sal back and the defense might be figuring it out. I like Arizona in this game, too. People People forget what the Cardinals offense has been able to do in the past couple seasons. People forget what the Cardinals did last year and just what their record was. This offense is actually pretty creative. They do a lot of fun stuff in Arizona. And this is a fact who their coach is. And he’s not even an offensive minded coach, but they let that offense do what they do. I like the Cardinals, too, man. Just cause. I’m right with you there. Cowboys at Bears. Cowboys one and a half point favorites over the Bears. I know it’s in Chicago. Neither team has really impressed yet, but I think the Cowboys are a bit further along than the Bears. I know Ben Johnson’s a genius. Give me C Dallas walking into Chicago and being just a little too much for that Bears defense. The Cowboys showed us why you take them in a game like this against Chicago. They showed us that last week against the Giants. The Cowboys were dead to rights and somehow came back and won that game with a 64 yard field goal. Tie it and send it in overtime. Are you kidding me? Just nuts. But yeah, I think the Cowboys have just enough to get past a team like Chicago who hasn’t figured it out yet on defense. So I like the I like the Cowboys, too. The Chiefs at the Giants. Chiefs five and a half point favorites on the road here. Chiefs have a risk of going 0 and three if they lose this game. I don’t see that happening. Me neither. Not to a team like the Giants. It’s just we saw Russell Wilson do some crazy things over these first couple weeks. I don’t know if he’s outdo Patrick Mahomes crazy. I don’t think we’re there yet. And Malik Neighbors is fantastic, but I don’t think we’re at that crazy level yet of them beating the Chiefs. Kansas City gets their first win. Absolutely. And then Monday Night Football. What is the game of the week? I said that Rams Eagles could be, but what is the game of the week is Lions at Ravens. The Ravens five and a half point favorites at home. I I’ll take the Lions to cover, but I’ll take the Ravens to win. I think that they they stay home and they handle that business. I’m going to take the Ravens to actually with the points. I’m going to take the Ravens to win this one. And and the key reason why is Detroit’s offense. We we I mean I’m not one of those people that says, “Oh, the coordinator’s gone. Something’s different. Ben Johnson’s gone. Something’s different. But it’s not just Ben Johnson being gone. Um, they lost Frank Ragnau to retirement. Frank Ragna. Woo pig. Arkansas guy. Um, but that’s a big thing for me. My favorite thing about Detroit last year was that offensive line. And you know how I feel about offensive lines, Chris. That Detroit offensive line was so good and dominant up front. I thought they whooped everybody they played. And Frank Ragnau was a big part of that. I don’t think they figured it out since he’s been gone. I think Baltimore, even if this got into like a back and forth game, I still think Baltimore can win a shootout. Give Give me the Ravens if I have. There. There you have it. Those are the picks. Now we head to Steelers Patriots. That’s next here on the Locked On Steelers podcast. Chris Carter, Josh Taylor. Stick with us. We’ll be right back. But first, today’s episode is brought to you by Square. Your favorite neighborhood spots run on Square. There are certain businesses that truly make the neighborhood feel like home. Whether it’s the local sports bar packed on game days, the coffee shop that knows your order by heart, or the corner deli that’s been serving your community for decades, these are the places that bring people together. When neighborhood businesses thrive, the whole neighborhood thrives. Spending money there doesn’t just support the business, it supports the people around behind it and the community around it. Square is a proud partner of more than 4 million neighborhood businesses around the world. You can go to square.com/go/lockedonfl to learn more. But before you do, go support your favorite neighborhood spot. You’ll be happy you did. Square. See you in the neighborhood. [Music] We’re back here on the Locked on Steelers podcast. Chris Carter here with Josh Taylor. Josh, it’s time to look at Ste at Steelers Patriots. Now, one aspect of this matchup that I think is really interesting to me is when you look at the Patriots defense, they currently lead the NFL in sacks. They are the number three rushing defense both in yards allowed per rush and yard total yards allowed, but they’re giving up the uh the the most passing yards in the NFL right now. And it makes me wonder, what are they going to do against the Steelers? Last week, we saw the Seahawks come out and just not bite on play action. They sat back in their soft zones and their two high coverages. And that was something that Aaron Rogers noted after the game about, you know, why it kind of cut off play action, crossing routes, things the Steelers did well in week one. Well, I got got the chance to ask Aaron Rogers, what do the Steelers have to do if other teams employ that, and I think it would be uh the I think it would behoove the Patriots to at least give that look a few times in this game. Here’s what Aaron Rogers said when I asked him that. You got to run the ball. They play too high, you got to run the ball. That’s the uh the last five or six years coming out of the Seahawks three that went around the league. Um you got to run the football against these combo coverages and two coverages. So you run the football or you have a chance to have some good play action stuff. So I think he’s right. The thing is the Steelers are going to have to run the football. And we’ve said this all year, they need to be able to run the football. They’ve invested in this O line. They they believe in in this run game. So, they need to do that, but the run game hasn’t taken flight yet. And now they’re going up against a tough defensive front. Uh, I talked about this with locked on Patriots uh uh in our crossover in our crossover Thursday. Kyus Tonga, Milton Williams, Harold Landry, Christian Barmore. Um, you know, the all that front is going to be nasty and physical and that’s something that the Steelers offensive line has to has to win. They don’t have to dominate, but if they can win and give Jaylen Warren, Kenneth Gaywell, Caleb Johnson all chances to get solid yards, that can bring the balance that Aaron Rogers needs to pick at this at this Patriots secondary, whether or not Christian Gonzalez plays. I I I listen to your question to Aaron Rogers talking about too high coverage and I think about that ridiculous conversation that came up last year on ESPN. They were talking about possibly outlawing two high coverages. I’m sitting there going, “Okay, just run the ball. That’s what this is what you do. I I I remember reading this. I want to say it was Chris B. Brown. He’s one of my favorite football writers ever. Although you’re one of my favorite singers, but uh Chris B. Brown um he wrote a story about Chip Kelly. This is probably like a decade ago. But Chip Kelly, you I think one day say he was maybe still with he was with the Eagles by then. But he talked about how, you know, when he was like a high school player and he became a high school coach, he talked about how there was this ethos that if you gave me two high safeties against my offense, I took it as like a personal insult that you’re daring me to run the football. That that’s always how I felt about you got two high safeties, I’m running it down your throat because now you got a guy missing in the box that can’t make the plays that you need to make. Nine times out of 10, you got two high safeties. You should have the numbers advantage if nothing else by default. So, I totally agree with that that that mindset. Now, that said, we have not seen what you and I have been talking about. We’ve wanted to see for what, half a decade. We’ve wanted to see an offensive line that can be dominant and step up and take advantage of the numbers game. Even if it’s hat-on hat, and there are some days when they can’t do that, and that scares me. If there is a time where you’re going to try to come up with a game plan where it says, you know what, we see too high, then we got to do hat on hat and we got to win. This feels like one of those games. Even though the Patriots do have a pretty good run defense through two games. Okay, that’s fine. But this feels like a time where you need to use that to your advantage and you have the quarterback to see that and adjust to it. But your offensive line has to win battles. They got to beat the guy in front of them. And if there’s a time you’re going to do it, now it feels like it. Certainly. Let’s get to picking this game on FanDuel.com. You can get the odds, ends, and lines there. The Steelers are two and a half point favorites. They were more like three and a half, I think, to start the week. So, it’s gotten a little bit closer. The money line currently sits at Steelers minus 144. Viking, excuse me. Whoa, I am reading the wrong line here. That’s my bad. I’m reading next week’s picks there. The Steelers are one and a half point road favorites. That’s my bad for looking ahead. I’m I’m just looking to all four forward to the Guinness beer in Ireland. That’s my fault. Uh uh Josh, but looking at Steelers, they’re actually one and a half point favorites. They were higher at the start at the start of the week. Uh but one and a half point favorites on on the road. They are minus 130 as their money line. Patriots plus 110. The overunder is set at 44 and a half points right now. Um Josh, give me your X factor to this game. Where you think the turning point uh uh uh uh is in this game, describing how it plays out, and give us your final score. I get to make people mad now. Yay. I’m kidding. Actually, I’m not kidding. I do get to make people mad. X factor in this game. I’m going with history. I’m going with the two coaches. Mike Tomlin versus Mike Rael. There were there was this time in history and the universe where people kept claiming Mike Rael was a better head coach than Mike Tomlin. And I’m sitting there going, Mike Rael’s never beaten Mike Tom. How could you be better than the guy you’ve never beaten? Mike Thomas three and0 against Mike Rabel. I’ll take history and I’ll take the Steelers for that very reason. He’s yet to beat him. What did Rick Flair say? To be the man, you got to beat the man. Hasn’t happened yet. I’m going with it. I’m going with the Steelers. I’m going with Mike Tomman beating Mike Greyel yet again. Just what’s your final score prediction? Now that’s the crazier part. road game in Foxboro where people are already expecting mayhem and things to go wrong in the city burning down. I will say this is one of those Mike Tom when they come out with three turnovers and they turn one or two of them into touchdowns or maybe a couple Chris Boswell field goals. I will go 24-19 Steelers over the Patriots. Okay, I I like that. I like that. I see the X factor in this game coming down to still being needing to be the trenches, needing to be able to be that team that can either run the ball or stuff the run. I do think the Steelers are able to slow down the Patriots run game, but I think that the Patriots are going to be able to move the ball through the air a little bit. I think that Drake May is going to make a couple nice throws. And I also think that with the way the Patriots play play the defense, they’re going to be able to slow down the run game just enough that this is going to be a back and forth game. I think it’s going to be lowcoring. I think that I think that one team gets in the 20s, the other one falls just short, much like your prediction. I think the turning point comes though who makes the first big mistake. Last week, last week the Seahawks did make the first big mistakes. They had they had two interceptions uh in in that game, but it was countered by the tip pass from Calvin Austin. And then the biggest mistake of the game, Caleb Johnson letting the ball tip up tip into the end zone uh and spoiling that possession and handing uh the Seahawks a 10-point lead. I don’t think that that happens in this game, but I do think that the Steelers are a team that make that make a mistake here. I think a blown coverage, a fumbled ball at the wrong spot. It’s Foxboro. You did bring up Mike Vrabel in the history there. Mike Tomman has owned Mike Vrabel in in their history, but this stadium has had just been a house of horror for the Steelers. The just been annoying for the Steelers, even without uh Tom Brady. And I think that the last time the Steelers won in in New England was 2008 when they won the Super Bowl and they were going up against Matt Castle back when James Harrison was yelling 16. I’m coming to get you and he can’t stop me. And I don’t think the Steelers have that. I do think the Steelers defense plays better in this game. I think that the Steelers offense finds a couple things, but I think this is a wonky game on the road in a in an unfriendly environment. And I think the Patriots come out on top 2319 in a in a in a tough in a tough fight. The Steelers have to lick their wounds, turn it quick back around, and head to head to Ireland and get a win over the Vikings. They kind of flipped it. I got 2419 Pittsburgh. You get 24/19 New England. You bring up a good point though. I mentioned Tomman being 3 and0 against Rabel, but he’s three and 10 against the Patriots. So, yeah, there’s that. It’s it’s it’s the unstoppable force meeting the immovable object. Who will win in the intangible business? That’s going to be a fun thing to watch. The game is Sunday, 100 p.m. Foxboro. Uh, it’s going to be a fun time. Josh, thanks so much for joining us here on this Friday episode of the Locked On Steelers podcast. It’s been a minute. We’ll have you back on soon because we love having you here. Let people can find you, follow you, and get more of your work. Well, I’ll put it to you this way. Uh, as far as the football side of things, this is my second season um on the radio broadcast team for Duke football and Dukes are going on the road to face Akan. This is their second game against an FBS opponent taking on the Zips. You got Keystone Oaks guy and Jerry Schmidt against the Central Catholic guy Joe Morehead. That’ll be a fun little thing for the injurers there. Um, but you can listen to that. Myself and Alex Penormius on 104.7 FMD with Dukane and Akan. That’s on the football side. on the other side of things on the TV side. KDKA TV channel 2, CBS Pittsburgh.com. Of course, the game is going to be on KDKA 1:00 on Sunday after the game. We’ve got postgame as well. And then yours truly’s anchor in the news after all the postgame stuff. So, you’ll see me there. Absolutely. He’s Josh Taylor. Josh, thank you so much for joining us here on the Locked On Steelers podcast. Thank you all for joining us as well. I’m your host, Chris Carter. You can follow me on Twitter, Instagram, Tik Tok, Blue Sky, wherever you get social media. Carter Critiques is always my handle. You can read my work in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette by going to post-cazette.com. And you can find me here on the Lockdown Steelers podcast every day, Monday through Friday, breaking down your Pittsburgh Steelers. Uh right, right right here on the Locked On Steelers podcast. We’ll be back here Sunday night breaking down what happened. Steelers Patriots. We’ll see you here. [Music] [Music]

The Pittsburgh Steelers defense has struggled in their early games, and Christopher Carter shows how defensive coordinator Teryl Austin is livid over some of the mistakes. But Chris and Josh Taylor think those frustrations come from the defense’s more aggressive approach this season and how it puts more stress on the details for certain matchups. Could Jalen Ramsey, T.J. Watt and the defense be close to putting it together to be a dangerous unit?

Also, Chris and Josh give their picks for week three in the NFL, and their keys for the Steelers’ Sunday contest against the New England Patriots, as well as their final score predictions.

Steelers’ Early Defensive Struggles Due to Aggressive Approach? | Aaron Rodgers Says ‘Run the Ball’ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7JorgD8nGLtvvMy1ogFetg

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