DK’s Double Shot of Steelers: Part of the trend?

DK’s Double Shot of Steelers: Part of the trend?

that. Hey everyone, welcome to Double Shot of Steelers presented by FanDuel. I’m Chris Hock. DK is uh on his way back from uh New York. Well, really, yeah. Yeah, New York. Madison Square Garden. The Penguins won three nothing. Uh but because he’s not here, I’m actually not just filling in for DK. I’m filling in his his chair today uh here in our downtown HQ uh in downtown Pittsburgh. Um thank you guys for your patience. We’re getting a little bit of a late start today. Uh but uh yeah, appreciate your patience. Uh Steelers did practice today on the south side. Uh I was there for the uh entire thing uh from this morning when the uh uh when the locker room first opened and then uh throughout practice and then uh in the locker room uh after practice as well. Bit of news uh on the injury front. Let me get that pulled up for you really quick. Um Jaylen Ramsay, Calvin Austin did not practice today. Um that’s obviously not good news. The good news Joey Porter Jr. and Jaylen Warren did both fully participate in practice. Alex Highmith was a limited participant in practice. So, that is uh the news. We’ll get into more of that, what it might mean. But before we we kind of unravel and begin to kind of have a back and forth since you guys are going to be co-hosted, I did want to hit on one kind of important thing because I I I hit on this subject, I think, in yesterday’s show and I wanted to to dive more into it than I did. And if you have our app, which you should get by the way, but if you have our app, uh you might have already read this. And so I I I urge you to go read the whole thing. Um so that you fully understand it because I’m not going to read it for you. Um I’m going to want you to download the app, but go read it. Um the Steelers are part of a trend here. Uh they’re not following the trend. They are leading the charge on this. Uh, it is no. And Chris B71 says, “Please say your dive is is Roman.” No, it’s not Roman Wilson. It has nothing to do with the receivers. If anything, it has to do with lesser receivers. Listen, the Steelers obviously like to use tight ends. Uh, we we know that. We’ve we’ve seen that with Pat Footh, with Johnny Smith, Dornell Washington, Connor Hayward. They have four tight ends at their disposal that they can use at any given moment. And it’s not an accident. It’s not something that they’re doing that’s also in defiance of the rest of the league. The league is trending in this direction. The league is trending toward more tight ends. I had a conversation with uh Patrick Queen about it today. I wanted to get the defense’s perspective on this and he said, “Yeah, it’s it doesn’t make it easy on us.” Um, you know, I I don’t I think it’s I think it’s worth crediting the team, you know, because I think we’ve we’ve spent a good amount of time on this show and everywhere else to to kind of take our shots at Mike Tomlin or Terara Lost or even Arthur Smith. I think I’ve even said with Arthur Smith’s offense that uh there are parts of it that are outdated. uh you know and so I think we also need to acknowledge when they’re doing things that are with the trend where they are I want to say ahead of the trend but they are helping lead the charge on it. Um 12 personnel 13 personnel are both uh way I say way up but they’re both higher this year higher rate of usage throughout the league this year than they are than they were last year and the year before. it it is continually growing where we’re seeing more two tight ends, more three tight ends. Uh, one team in particular, the Colts have been one of the more surprising teams in the league. They’ve looked really, really good. Um, yeah, they’re using 13 personnel at the highest rate in the league at 13.2%. And that is a huge increase from 3.4% last year. 12 personnel. You can I can’t think of a team other than the Rams who used more 11 personnel, which is three receivers on the field at the same time. Two years ago, they were at 95% in 11 personnel. That’s ridiculous. That’s an insane number. And this year, they’re down to 78%. because their 12 personnel has increased from 5% two years ago to 20% this year. So even the teams that like to operate out of 11 personnel more than anything else, they’re still starting to use a lot more tight ends. And the biggest reason for that is well because defenses have started playing primarily out of the nickel. Uh the Bills and the Eagles are both like they’re both right among the league leaders and have been among the league leaders in in how much they use I they’re pretty much their base defense is with five defensive backs. So one way that you can do that, one way offenses are doing that is they are attacking defenses by just being bigger and stronger. That’s the best way to do it really. Uh, you can try to fight fire with fire and you can get three really good receivers, but not everybody has Puka Nakua. You know, Shawn McVey has Puka Nakua at his disposal where you can literally trot three receivers on the field and you can have Puka go block a linebacker and he’s just as effective as a tight end blocking a linebacker because he’s a freak. So, I I don’t want to say pat the Steelers on the back for this, but I think it’s worth recognizing that this team, this offense is doing something that is along the lines of the way the league is trending. This is not Arthur Smith being stuck in the 70s. This is not Mike Tomlin being stuck trying to play old school football. This is the direction of the NFL. It is bigger personnel groupings. It is running the football. It is controlling the clock. Yeah, defenses are not only smaller, they’re also shelling everything. They’re also running with these two high looks all the time. That’s why you’re seeing the Steelers throw short and control the ball that way. Why take shots? Why put the ball at risk? I also, Mr. CJ Jr. said, “I puke on my team.” I have puke on my team, too. And I really enjoy having Puka Nua on my fantasy team. But, uh, yeah, but I just really wanted to kind of highlight that. But, you know, again, I I there’s a lot more numbers, a lot more detail. If you go read on the app, uh it’s right there. Uh we’re going to take a quick break and when we come back, uh we’ll uh we’ll put you guys in the co-host chair right next to me. Uh I do not have the Starbucks um today. So, if you guys want to bring me one, uh I’m right here in downtown. So, uh uh but we’ll get into that uh right after we take a really quick break right after this. At DK Pittsburgh Sports, we take pride in coverage that connects our city’s fans to their favorite teams. Now that connection’s stronger than ever. Introducing our all-new state-of-the-art app. Find expert inside reporting and original podcasts. Check live box scores. Track the latest stats. Cat it up with our community of thousands of fans all in one place. The new app from DK Pittsburgh Sports. Coverage that connects. Guys, welcome back to Double Shot of Steelers. And the football season is fully in swing. It’s October. It’s like the best time of the year. Hockey season just started. Football season’s underway. Uh basketball season is about to get underway. It really is. I I know some people say March is October is my favorite time of the year because it just we got playoff baseball, hockey season just got started. Football season’s in full swing. It’s my favorite time of the year. It’s also the perfect time to go download the FanDuel sports book so you can get in on all the action, all the latest odds, futures, and win totals for all these sports, including football. So, if you think the Steelers are in a prime position to win the AFC North because of where the Ravens are at 1-4, the Browns at 1-4, the Bengals desperate to trade for Joe Flacco at 2 and three, just completely burying Jake Browning. If you don’t think any of those teams are going to threaten the Steelers in the AFC North, well, you better place your bet today then. Uh, whatever your game, the FanDuel sports book delivers the latest lines, features, and specials, so you can join in on all the action. Um, okay, let’s put you guys in the co-host chair. um any reaction that you guys might have to multiple tight ends? Uh anything else today? Uh one thing that I did want to hit hit on uh was obviously the matchup against the Browns. The AFC North is uh you know AFC North schedule is starting for the Steelers. Uh they’ve got two of these matchups right here in a row. Got the Browns on Sunday and then immediately turn around to go to Cincinnati 4 days later. Uh not looking forward to the Skyline Chile at halftime there. Uh, but I digress. Um, Chris, have any little birdies chirped about potential trades that could happen with the Steelers now being favored to win the North? Well, one thing I can tell you is that Omar Khan is never going to he’s never going to make a move based on what other people are doing, what other teams are doing, and nor should he. That’s how bad decisions are made. If you start to look elsewhere to be the motivation to make decisions, uh you’re going to lose your job fast because you will make more poor decisions than than good decisions. Um Omar Khan is I I think he is shown very very like throughout everything that he’s done, all the aggressive moves moves that he’s made, I don’t think he’s shown any um hesitance. um to not make these big moves, to not make a big move. I mean, he traded for Jaylen Ramsey in the offseason. He uh brought in John Smith. I mean, we have seen him make some big time trades. And I don’t think that he’s going to, you know, shy away from that. If he feels like the Steelers need a a a receiver or any other or any other position, he’s going to get it done. Now, I don’t also don’t think that he’s going to make a move just to make a move. I think some people are just continue to scream WR2 because a move hasn’t been made. Well, we’ve kind of seen what happens whenever he just makes a move to make a move. We saw that last year. He got Mike Williams at the trade deadline. Didn’t pan out. And you know, some things you don’t know, you can’t know ahead of time. He didn’t pan out because I don’t think his heart or head was fully in it. He’s not even playing in the league anymore. He retired. So I I I don’t think that Well, I know for sure that he does not No, it’s And Chris says something about the moving train. It’s not a moving train at all. That’s not the reason why Mike Williams didn’t get acclimated. Mike Williams isn’t even playing in the NFL right now. That’s a That’s a big thing. That tells me a lot. The fact that that they just did not have the trust for him to be out there. Yeah, I think that was probably probably the issue. Uh Randy asks, “If we go big bodies like we did against the Vikings, do we think Garrett will have a Dornell problem like he used to have a Moore problem?” Well, I I do like the fact that you brought up uh Miles Garrett and the big bodies because Brick Jones spoke uh after or after practice today and of course was asked about facing Miles Garrett and uh here’s what he had to say about facing um um a pretty good football player whether you guys like it or not. He he gave his flowers to to Miles Garrett. Just trying to keep a lid on them. I guess that’s the right way to say it. Um, so you know that that’s that’s the game plan and hopefully we can stick to it and execute. Rodrick, what’s the key for you to do that? The key for me? Yeah, like I said, just coming in with the right mindset. I feel like that’s 90% of the battle. Um, just not getting in your own head uh before before it’s time and just going out there and playing your game. Uh, one thing that I don’t think was played on that was uh, he called him a freak in nature. Um, he he does everything and that’s exactly what Miles Garrett does. Um, he he’s a great football player. Uh, yes, I do think they’re going to have a plan for Miles Garrett and I don’t think it’s going to be just one-on-one with Broadick Jones all day. I do think they’re going to have they’re going to have to have other plans, but there’s a number of things you can do. Yes, you can stick Darnell Washington next to Brick Jones. You can stick Spencer Anderson out there and use the jumbo packages the same way you did against the Vikings. You can also just call a lot of plays in which Aaron Rogers gets rid of the ball in less than two seconds. That’s Miles Garrett’s not getting back. You can leave him one-on-one with Roderick Jones if Rogers is getting rid of the ball that quick because he’s not getting back there that that quickly. He’s just not. Um, Dan asked Chris, “Do you think instead of getting a WR2, Smith will use Johnny Smith and Pat as that option?” Um, I think the first thing they want to find out about WR2 regarding the receiver position is they want to see what they have on Roman Wilson. It would not surprise me if the guy who ends up getting the majority of the snaps in Calvin Austin instead, assuming Calvin Austin doesn’t play and him not practicing today is not a great start to the week, but I I would assume that Roman would be the first guy to be in line for that. Now, I I I don’t think that means he’s going to be taking all of Calvin’s snaps. I do think Scotty’s going to be part of that solution as well, but I think they they need to see what they have in Roman uh before Omar wants to make any kind of move in which they’re like, “Okay, you know, if the Raiders are going to fall, let’s try to go get Jacobe Meyers or if the Saints are going to are going to put a for sale sign up, you know, and see possibly if they’re willing to to part ways with Chris Ave and and try to get some, you know, some pretty good draft compensation back. Whatever it is, they need to find out what they have in Roman Wilson. And I’m not saying that as somebody who’s trying to be an advocate for Roman. That’s not my job. My job is to report on the team. But I also understand that this team invested a third round pick in the guy. They need to find out what they have in him. That’s what you should be doing. Uh so we’ll see what happens. But you need to have a receiver. It can’t just be the tight ends. You you look at some of the stuff that Calvin Austin does, what he does well. that speed is a weapon. Tight ends can’t be used uh they’re they’re not used for their speed. You have to have guys who can open things up with their speed, whether that be for themselves, taking the top off the defense, or for opening things up for other people. Uh Joe says, “Tayen Burks, former Titans first round pick is clear to play football and got released by the Titans even with the tight ends. Would the Steelers be interested in him?” I I I don’t I don’t want to be talking for an hour about WR2 guys. I I I understand this is a big topic. I understand this is something that everybody gets all up in arms about that, but I I don’t think Listen, we’re writing off Roman Wilson before he really even gets a chance. He didn’t get a chance last year because he was injured. He dealt he dealt with multiple injuries and never got in a place where he was physically ready, mentally ready. He just he he wasn’t there. They need to find out what they have in this guy, you know, before they go and make a rash decision to go get a Jacobe Meyers or Tayen Burks or anybody else. Sure, you can add a guy maybe like Trayon Burks who can come in and sign him to the practice squad, see if he’s still got it, whatever. Whatever, you know, and they’ve kind of they’ve kind of done that already. No, not a player of Burke’s level, but they brought in the guy who was with the Giants who had a pretty good stretch, couple of couple of games he looked really good, but he’s on the practice squad for a reason. You know, anybody that you’re going to add right now, unless it’s a a a huge marquee trade, it’s not going to be anybody of significance. you would much rather listen if you can get that guy just by developing Roman Wilson. That is always the best option other than having to spend more draft capital to go get another guy. Uh Dwight says, “The Browns may go run heavy to protect Gabriel. Will the Steelers go big on D to counter?” Uh the Steelers are going to have to go big uh on defense to counter. Anyway, the Browns are using, in doing my research on the multiple tight ends, the Browns are actually leading the league in 12 personnel usage at 50%. That means half the time they have one running back and two tight ends on the field. I didn’t even look at their 13 personnel. Uh so yeah, they’re using multiple tight ends quite a bit. So that means you’re probably going to see the base three four uh quite a bit in this game from the Steelers. Uh and yeah, they they’re going to want to run the ball. Quinnshaw Judkins has become a part of what they’re doing. Uh they’re not going to ask Dylan Gabriel to throw the ball 40 times a game. Um you’re going to have to you’re going to have to play some bully ball on defense. You’re going to have to go get after. So yeah, I absolutely think you’re going to see bigger defense this week. Uh WVU Chad asks, “Does this team understand that this is a game that Cleveland circles on their calendar?” Absolutely. Absolutely. I I I if if there’s any week to try to put this under the this is a Tomlin trap game, this is not one of those weeks, man. AF you you guys don’t see Mike Tomlin on these AFC North weeks. This dude walks around the locker room every day after practice and he I mean he does it a I mean like he he does it on a different level for whenever the Steelers are playing the Ravens, but he does this when they’re playing the Browns or the Bengals, too. Usually it’s once a week Mike Tomlin will come in the locker room after practice. And coaches don’t often do this. The locker room is the player space. you know, coaches kind of they try to keep that separate a little bit. Um, Mike Tomlin usually once a week he’ll he’ll do his rounds. He’ll walk around the locker room and he’ll either cut it up with one guy. He’ll he’ll make fun of the media, you know, being in there and he’ll say something like, “Hey, how about you guys go interview Christian Couns? He’s a heck of a story. You guys need to go talk to him.” But then he’ll also go have a serious conversation, even if it’s for only 30 seconds, with another player or he’ll check on another player and how he’s doing. He does this every single day after practice during AFC North weeks. If you guys got to see what I see every week, every time they’re playing an AFC North team, you would never have this notion that Mike Tomlin doesn’t have his team ready for AFC North games. It’s just not a thing. It’s not a thing. It’s not a nerve. Plus, Mike Tomlin is 14-4, I think it is, after a by-week as head coach of the Steelers. 14-4. It might even be better than that because he No, no, no. He’s going into his 19th 19th year. So, yeah. So, he’s he’s coached eight 18 games after a bye-week and he’s won 14 of them. So, yeah, he he does he does plenty well after after the buy. Uh let’s see what you guys got here. Um Uh, William asked, “With Cleveland being so runheavy, could we see Peppers and Elliot on the field together?” I think that’s another way you could do it. Absolutely. I I don’t think there’s one one way you can do it. I think you can run a big nickel. That’s another way that you can defend uh two tight ends. Um I I I don’t think it’s just defending the run. I also think it’s defending uh you know, David Njoko and Harold Fannon. You know, the two tight ends that they have. You got to you would most likely rather have a safety on those guys than have a linebacker. Even though Peyton Wilson uh is a pretty good coverage linebacker, Patrick Queen can be a pretty good coverage linebacker. Uh I I really think uh that another way you can do that is to have multiple multiple safeties out there. You could have a three safety package which would be your your big nickel instead of having a third linebacker or a second linebacker should be should say like offball linebacker inside linebacker. Instead of having a second one of those you put another safety on the field or instead of uh having five defensive backs, which is usually three corners and two safeties, you take one of the corners off and you go with a safety. I think there are a number of ways you can do this. Chris gives us a nice shout out. says that this insight is worth more uh than uh is more than worth the cost of the DK Pittsburgh Sports app. Well, the app itself is free. So, I really hope that our insight is worth more than free. Uh but uh even if the for the premium subscription, which DK uh when he gets back from New York, if you email him uh dkdpittsports.com, uh he will um he will get you a discount that is absolutely worth it. So, you don’t have the ads. Uh, you can comment on on all of our stories. You can read my story in the Steelers feed right now on this multiple tight end usage and you can say literally on the you can comment saying I’m full of crap. Whatever. You know, you Yeah, you can do it all. Yeah, I’m never full of crap. I’m I always tell the truth. I’m always Yeah. Yeah. Um, Mr. CJ Jr. asked me a really really hard-hitting question. Are the helmets in front of you? They actually are in front of me. They’re They’re right here. Um, we we were trying to get my my phone to get set up as the camera and it just didn’t work. I was already running behind coming over from the southside and we just wanted to get started. So, I’m using the the camera from my computer. So, yes, they are in front of me along with the bobbleheads. They’re they’re down here, too. I don’t want to touch them. They got a nice little setup and everything. Uh, yeah. So, um, is missing. Yeah, the entire studio is here just looks a little bit little bit different. Uh, Stockwork Studios says they’ve struggled to beat Cleveland a lot lately. Um, I wouldn’t Well, honestly, like I think the last couple of seasons they’ve split. Um, but I I think Well, number one, it’s AFC North. You always have any divisional matchup, you have to almost throw records out the window. Uh, and especially when you talk about the Browns, like one of you guys already mentioned it earlier. Listen, the Browns, if they go two and 15 every year, as long as those two wins are against the Steelers, that’s all they care about. They just want to beat the Steelers. That’s all they want to do. I mean, it’s just it’s just the truth. Um, and so, yeah, the Browns bring their absolute best whenever they play the Steelers. And so, yeah, I expect the Browns to to uh to play a heck of a football game on Sunday. I really do. I I think it’s going to be uh I I don’t think it’s going to be an easy win. And it would not surprise me in the slightest if the Steelers lost this game. The Browns have a great defense. They have a great defensive front and for as much crap as we gave the Browns for their draft night. Uh especially drafting multiple quarterbacks, they have had a number of rookies step up and play very, very well. Um Dylan Gabriel’s come in. We’ll have to see more of him before we can really make an an early judgment on him. Uh but Quinnshaw Judkins has been good. A number of the rookies have have been big contributors. They lose uh one of their best linebackers who’s currently on injured reserve right now. Uh J uh he’s and Robert already trying to put the jinx on me. Say way to put the hex on it, Chris. Talking about the the 14 and four after the buy. Listen, I I if I had this kind of power to put a hex on or to to have jinxes, I I wouldn’t have to have this job because I would have somehow uh won the lottery or or something along those lines or I would have finally hit on that Darnell Washington anytime touchdown or I would have put a lot of money on Ben Scoranic scoring the first touchdown of the season for the Steelers. I would have I would have found a way to use my powers for for my pocketbook uh more than uh let’s just get the Steelers to three and two. Um DV says, “I think we’re uh much more focused on Cincy or more likely to lose to Cincinnati.” I actually don’t think that at all. I Yes, Joe Flacco uh is a better quarterback than Jake Browning, but this the Bengals defense is just atrocious. Teams with a really great defense, like a really, really good defense, are harder to beat in these type of situations. Even if the offense isn’t as great, uh, if they can stop you from scoring, if they can really limit you on what you can do, sometimes those games turn into a bit of a wash and it and then you’re kind of relying on a lucky bounce of the ball and you just might be unlucky that day. When you’re facing a team that’s I mean, think about it. Think about it from this perspective. There is no reason why the Steelers shouldn’t have won a Super Bowl when they had the killer bees, right? When they had Ben Rothberger and Antonio Brown and Levian Bell. Well, what was the reason why those teams didn’t win a Super Bowl? Because they didn’t have a defense for about all but one of those seasons. And the one season they did have a defense, they lost their best defensive player to a career-ending injury. So, you can have the greatest offense, but if you have a terrible defense, it does not it does not matter. And plus, it’s not like they have Joe Burrow back there. I mean, Joe Flacco is immobile and he’s playing behind a terrible offensive line. Gstacks 434 asks, “Hey Chris, do you believe that we’ll see the three outside linebacker package?” I do. I also don’t think it’s going to be as as featured as some people think. I think the best way, and this is assuming Alex Heismith plays, I I would assume that they would much rather use a rotation of those three rather than stick those three on the field. And I know you’re going to hear that and think that means less snacks for less snaps for Nick Herbig, and I don’t like that. Well, would you rather Nick Herbig play maybe seven to eight less snaps so that he can stay healthy so you can have him for the rest of the season so you can have him when you’re trying to win games down the stretch in December and January to win the division or would you rather him play 90% of the time and really risk putting him on the sideline or an injured reserve because you you wore him down? It’s the same thing with TJ Watt. don’t want TJ Watt playing 90% of the snaps. You want him playing about 80%. That means somebody else is going to have to be on the field. And it’s really really awesome if you can have Nick Herbig be that guy. Because Nick Herbig has turned into a heck of a football player. Uh and Kyler gets it. He says, “I like having a rotation for all the edge rushers.” And the Steelers do, too. They want to be able to rotate because it keeps everybody fresh. It keeps your best players. Think about it. If you’re if TJ Watt is fresh for those critical third downs or for those critical plays late in the second quarter, late in the fourth quarter, that’s the that’s the ideal situation. That’s when you that’s when TJ can really pin his ears back, especially if the defense can force the offense to be onedimensional or it’s a one-dimensional if it’s a a one-dimensional uh like if it’s a one-dimensional situation where you know it’s a passing down. Absolutely. put TJ Wat on the field. That’s when you want to put TJ, you want to put Nick Herbig, you want to put those guys. Uh yeah. No, it’s uh it’s a rotation. Yes, but I do think that they are going to have some times in which all three of those guys are on the field. Uh Little C says, “Hey Chris, do you think we’ll see more of Gainwell again this week or do you think Warren takes the lead back?” Warren, assuming Warren is fully healthy, like fully go uh like he’s he’s fully cleared. He’s a full go. Yes. I think Warren will be the lead back, but I don’t think they’re going to try to run him to the ground either. And and I think, you know, you’re finding out the reason why. You know, like we I I’ve been talking about this. Yes, Warren only missed three games in his career heading into this season, but he had played at less than 100% in several other games. Health has been a has been a bit of a situation for him. Has been a bit of an issue for him. And so he’s he’s got to prove himself in that way. He’s got to prove that he can stay healthy. And so to to circumvent that situation, you can have Gainwell take some touches away from him. You can even have Caleb Johnson come onto the field. I think that’s another part of it. Randy asked, Chris, do you think that do you feel that Caleb Johnson is going to have a prominent have a prominent impact at running back anytime this season? Uh prominent? Probably not. I mean, unless injury like forces that forces Mike Tomlin and Arthur Smith to to give him more touches, I think ideally with especially with the way he started the season, they would prefer that Jaylen Warren and Kenny Kenny Gainwell really share the load at running back, excuse me. while Caleb Johnson uh really acts as that RB3, a guy who can come in maybe in a more uh like obvious run situation kind of like he did in um when he was like complimenting Gainwell last week, you know, against against the Vikings. I think that’s more of what we’ll see from Caleb Johnson. Uh Denny saying uh Kenny uh or Gainwell and Caleb being new, it makes sense to get them uh more early season snaps. Steve Warren for a stretch run. I think it’s just about again when you talk about rotation, when you talk about uh you know rotation at running back, edge rusher, defensive line, whatever it is, uh a lot of it is keeping guys healthy. You know, the the the NFL season is long. And for Caleb Johnson especially, he’s never gone through a 17 game season. You know, the longest it it goes in college, especially if you don’t make the college football playoff, is 13 games. I mean, you got 12 regular season games. you have a bowl game. If your team happens to be good enough to to qualify for a bowl game and then even if you make the playoffs, then you are finally getting to that stage where you’re kind of flirting with the with the 16 games or whatever, but it’s still not 17 games plus if you make the playoffs. Caleb Johnson’s going to have trial would have trial by fire if uh if there’s an injury and forces him to play a little bit more. Uh Justin says, “I have a feeling is going to significantly outnack her out snap Herbig.” I don’t think so, especially not this week. Uh I think with with them, I think they’re going to take it easy with Heismith. If he’s cleared to play and I I I think he will end up playing, I still think that Heismith is going to be what would normally be your your third edge rusher in this game. Even if he technically starts, even if the Steelers introduce their defensive starters and he’s one of those two edge rushers that’s announced at Acer Stadium, that just says I mean eventually. Okay, I I get that. I I I I’m actually not fully convinced of that. I I I do think I do think the Steelers really know what they have with Nick Herbig. And it’s a difficult situation for them to be in because if you leave Alex Highmith on the bench, that’s a really good player that you gave a second contract to. That’s leaving a really good player on the sideline. But sometimes you you just you got to know what you have. And Nick Herbig has turned into a heck of a player. He really has. Williams says, “With Cleveland relying on the run, does that play into a Pittsburgh advantage because of the Gabriel Height?” I mean, I kind I got this question, by the way. If you had our app, I’m going to do another plug here. I did live cues yesterday and I got this kind of similar question like does does Dylan Gabriel’s height like impact the Steelers ability to to knock to bat balls down? Well, absolutely because the Steelers are doesn’t matter if the quarterback is 6’5 or 510, they bat balls down at the line of scrimmage. So, yes, that they they have an advantage um uh when it comes to to Gabriel’s height, uh when it comes to stopping the run and and and I mean, they they want to be able to do that. G Gabriel has to find different ways to be good at quarterback. Any quarterback who’s been who’s been shorter, who’s found success, and there there have not been many of them, uh they’ve had to find ways to be great because they don’t have the ideal size. and Drew Brees obviously probably being the best of all of them. Uh Russell Wilson being another one in his heyday. Uh it requires something else that’s pretty special. For Russell Wilson, it was his athleticism, you know, his ability to to create uh out of structure. Uh he did he was really really great at that stuff. Dylan Gabriel is going to have to find his superpower, which Mike Tomlin described as his processing. And so Steelers have to be prepared for that, too. Um, Evans says, “Could we see more of Peppers help stop the run?” Yeah, I mean, we could, but if it means less Deshawn Elliott, why, you know, it’s hard to have both Deshawn Elliot and Peppers on the field at the same time. I think it’s possible. Sure, you could have a big a big nickel setup like I was talking about earlier, but you don’t want to take Deshawn Elliott off the field. That dude is too good. And he is Yeah. He’s there. I cannot I cannot put to words how how much how much that locker room loves Deshawn Elliott and the coaching staff too. He has really become a player. Um, he has really becoming a player that I think is going to be like like I I think about some of those players that kind of fly under the radar and become like like those like those fan favorites like like a Brett Kiesel type, you know, didn’t come in and was this high draft pick, but just because of just really good play and just I I think Deshawn Ellen can become that type of a player uh when we’re talking about like how Steelers are remembered and he loves playing here. That’s the other part of it, too. And it’s not like he grew up here. He grew up in He grew up in Cowboys country. He went to the He grew up in the same town that I lived in for 15 years and the same town that I went to high school in uh in uh in North Texas. I mean, he came from Cowboys country, but he he loves playing for this team, man. He re he really does and and they love having him. Uh Chris Dolnac uh gives us a $5 contribution, which is always appreciated, and asks, “Chris, what is your key to a Steelers win? Both sides of the ball.” Well, on offense, I I I I think more than anything, it’s neutralizing Miles Garrett. You got to find a way to I won’t say neutralize, but limiting Miles Garrett. It’s getting rid of the finding ways to get rid of the ball quick. Uh so that Aaron Ry I don’t think this is a game in which you’re going to see the Steelers finally open it up. Uh now, there could be some opportunities for that to happen. I think more so than you might have seen against the Vikings because the Vikings run a lot of too high, more than anybody else in the league. And the Browns are among league leaders in single high looks. But even Aaron Rogers said it today after practice. Uh he said that the Browns run a lot of single high but then drop into a two high. Uh so that’s something to look for. Um but they got to find a way to get the ball out quick. They got to protect Aaron Rogers. Uh they got to run the ball. But I think more than anything else on the offensive side, they have to find a way to limit Miles Garrett, not let him wreck the game. Uh and convert on third down. Absolutely convert on third down. They have to sustain drives better. On the defensive side, they got to stop the run. Uh, I know that sounds cliche, like, oh, of course, every defense wants to stop the run, but they really need to. You want to force Dylan Gabriel to to beat you. You want to make Dylan Gabriel be the reason why the Browns win the game. And, you know, there there have been plenty of times in which the Steelers have have done that and done that successfully. Uh, for example, when they faced Dorian Thompson Robinson. Now, technically, yes, the Browns did win the game. They they won. Uh and and Thompson Robinson got that W, but it wasn’t because of him. It was absolutely because it was absolutely because um it was because Matt Canada finally had gave everybody a game in which Mike Tomlin even had to say, “Okay, I’m pulling the plug. Matt Canada’s fired.” That’s the reason why they lost that game. So, um let’s do uh let’s do one more here. Um Dwight Jefferson uh kind of similar situation asks Chris, “How should the Steelers attack the Browns defense?” Um I would actually like to do something in which they almost throw behind Miles Garrett when he is when he is rushing. like you kind of throw behind him. You you you you like wherever like if he’s running from if he’s rushing from the offensive’s left side, well, you run a slant behind him, you know? You you make him completely like he’s completely out of the play at that point. You do little things like that. Um they’ve got to find ways uh to run the ball. Uh but I I would like to I think it’s going to be more quick game stuff. I think you’re going to have to challenge receivers to get open. Uh because the Browns do run a good amount of man coverage. So I I I and and and and you know some people are going to be like, “Man, you’re talking the Browns up a little bit too much, man. Their defense is really really good. Their defense is very very good. You’re going to have to you’re going to have to find ways to to you’re going to have to find a way to win this game settling for field goals. You’re have to find a way to win this game by maybe only scoring 20 points. Maybe that’s all it’s going to have to take. And honestly, when you’re facing a Browns offense that has a rookie quarterback and a rookie running back and, you know, receiving group that’s, you know, pretty lacking, even Jerry Judy’s not been that great. Um, yeah, the the 20 points should get you a win, but uh I think it’s going to require a quick game and yeah, you got to run the ball. I’m going to keep hammering that home. Uh, well, thank you guys so much for tuning in. Really appreciate it. I appreciate you guys taking the time. We’ll be back to to normal stuff uh tomorrow. Um at least I I I believe we are. I know DK will be back in town. I think he’s going to cover the Penguins game tomorrow night, but that’s at least just right down the street uh from here at PBG Paints Arena. So, we should have a normal show tomorrow. Um but until then, we’ll catch you guys on the flippity flip. We will see you later.

#Pittsburgh #Steelers #HereWeGo #NFL

The Steelers sure do love to use their tight ends, but they aren’t alone. It’s the way the NFL is trending.

Hear award-winning columnist Dejan Kovacevic’s Daily Shot of Steelers podcasts every weekday morning, a LIVE DOUBLE SHOT show that follows up at 4:00 p.m. Eastern! We also have regular shows from former Steelers guard Ramon Foster, former NFL scout Matt Williamson and much more!

SUBSCRIBE TO CHANNEL ► https://www.youtube.com/@DKPS_Steelers?sub_confirmation=1

MEMBERSHIP TO CHANNEL ► https://www.youtube.com/@DKPS_Steelers/join

OUR APPS ► https://DKPS.net/apple | https://DKPS.net/android

OUR WEBSITE ► http://www.DKPittsburghSports.com

ABOUT US ► DK Pittsburgh Sports is the proud, pioneering, fully independent venture begun in 2014 by award-winning reporter Dejan Kovacevic and featuring a professional staff covering the Steelers year-round and everywhere they go! This is where it all started!

🎙️ New to streaming or looking to level up? Check out StreamYard and get $10 discount! 😍 https://streamyard.com/pal/d/4512131044605952