Steelers Injury News | Time for WR Trade
[Music] What is up, Steelers nation? Thank you so much for jumping on to another episode of All Steelers Talk. I’m No Strike B joined always by my main man Jacob Punuri. Find us on youtube.com/allsteelers talker. Subscribe anywhere you get your podcast. The Pittsburgh Steelers are two weeks through training camp. There are plenty of takeaways to dive into. Two very concerning injuries. We’re going to talk about some fun fullback news because, you know, we love some fullbacks and a big giant looming question that I think is becoming very apparent and to be honest with you, somewhat necessary for the Pittsburgh Steelers and their success in 2025. We’ll dive into all that plus more. Shout out to our super chatters and to our members as always. Jacob, it’s a good one here in the bird. The Steelers are on an off day. Preseason starts in five days. I feel Oh, just felt a little uh shiver, a little chill go down my spine. We got preseason football here in five days. Oh, man. Shout out to the picnic pack. We back. We live. It’s a Monday morning, buddy. I’m doing all right. Lots to talk about here. You know, I I I take a day off of going up to camp and then here here’s what happens. We got tons to talk about. So, happy to dive into it with you. Yeah, it is uh it is it is pretty crazy. It was a big weekend for the Pittsburgh Steelers for sure in both good and bad. We’re going to dive into the fun stuff first in Mark Robinson and you know, maybe or maybe not the Pittsburgh Steelers listening to the podcast. For those of you who weren’t here on Saturday, I definitely talked about maybe the Pittsburgh Steelers should uh make Mark Rob the fullback and see if it works because the guy goes 140 miles per hour on every play. He loves to hit people. I don’t know a position that hits people more than the fullback. That was the big news yesterday. And then obviously some injuries that we’ll dive into. I’m excited to talk offense and the wide receiver though because I do think and we’ll get to this in a little bit. We’re at a point right now where I I don’t think you could ignore it any longer. I don’t think the Pittsburgh Steelers could sit here and and rightfully say this offense is good because they’re not. They’re really bad and you either have to figure it out or you’re going to be in a lot of trouble um going forward. Let’s start with Mark Rob playing some fullback, having a blast. White 93 jersey, which I think is the most badass thing ever. If the dude does become a fullback, he cannot change numbers. He has to be number 93 in the backfield. I don’t care what the Steelers have to do. They got to make it work. Uh you think that Mark Rob, I mean, he played two snaps yesterday. The Steelers didn’t score once, but they didn’t do much scoring this weekend at all. Like it they they had goal line stands 12 times. They got in twice. And that’s, you know, it one of them was the third string with Evan Hall. The other one was Darnell Washington who’s 45 feet taller than everybody. It was not a good time. Mark Rob’s out there. He I mean he laid a blow on Patrick Queen which was very nice. Also worrisome to see. I mean you you saw the news like everybody else did. You you were from afar. You’re laughing now. What were your thoughts on Mark Rob playing some fullback getting in on the offense? You know this is the time to do it. You know I I I genuinely was not shocked. I think I I do not remember who in the comment section asked us about it like on Thursday or Friday and I feel like I said something along the lines of this might make a little more sense than like the Darnell Washington to left tackle sort of conversation because he is just like a a human missile in a lot of ways. So yeah, I mean it I was not shocked and I do I find it hilarious that they’re just like you know what this is the time to experiment. I hearken back to the Kendrick Green days of going from an a center to guard to fullback. You just got to see what you have in these players, especially when they are on the fringe of the roster or, you know, fighting for one of those final uh roster spots for the 53 man. You just got to see what you have. If this translates to, you know, some sort of success, it sounds like the initial attempt really didn’t, but the offense as a whole was just having a difficult time matching the defense so far through training camp. I feel like we can agree on that. So, not surprised. I think it’s a hilarious sort of transition. I hope they keep at it. Let’s see him get a couple of weeks. Let’s see if the offense can get any sort of push with him, you know, making some attempts at fullback. The question I have for you, Noah, is sir, are we going to see Mark Rob play fullback this Saturday? Yes, I think so. I think he does get a rep at fullback, a rep or two at at fullback. I don’t think it’s much. I think it’s like the third string, but I do think that we get a a rep or two at fullback, which is so awesome. Like the look, it the Steelers should test this guy fullback. He’s going to make the roster at inside linebacker. And Carson Bruner is not that guy. I’m sorry to say, but he doesn’t look like an NFL player. He’s not big enough to be an NFL player. He’s not fast enough to be an NFL player. Like, you were hoping he was a special teamer. He’s going to be on the practice squad, but you’re wasting a roster spot if you keep this guy on the the 53 man. Mark Rob’s going to be that guy. You might as well say screw it. If he’s going to be a special teamer, if he’s going to be an emergency inside linebacker, might as well say screw it. He’s the emergency fullback. I’ll ask you this question because this is the exciting part of the of the thing. Do we now have a fullback competition with Connor Hayward and Mark Robinson to see who makes the roster this season? Yep, we do. And and this is going to be the toughest competition. I I do really have to wonder. I don’t think Connor Hayward’s job I think Connor Hayward has sort of assumed um like he’s here until until Cam’s not sort of a situation. or anything behind closed doors. But I will not write him off as a 100% cuts. But I do have to pose and and wonder like if Mark Rob succeeds in this, does that actually push Connor Hayward spot on the roster? Does it challenge it at all? Again, I don’t think he is uh on the bubble. I think he is one of those players who we might talk about being on the bubble, but isn’t in reality. Oh, we lost you there for a second. You hit the mute button. We could hear you again. Looks like Mike got me, man. No, but you’re not connected to your mic. You’re not connected to your mic. I’ll I’ll rift off you while you figure the mic situation out. Um, yeah, look at I I I don’t I agree with you, Mark. Conor Awards here till Cam’s not. And Connor Award’s not a bad option. You know what I mean? For a fourth tight end, fine. But the whole experiment at fullback has just not been an experiment that that anybody has thought has worked out. You know, he doesn’t provide the blocking that you need him to provide. There are people tossing other names out there. When Mark Rob’s playing fullback, you know that you’re in trouble because, you know, you don’t really have a fullback. He’s not going anywhere. I just think it’s fun about who could actually be the fullback this season. And I I do while it’s very early for good old Mark Rob to assume the position and he’s gota he’s got to successfully lead a block first before we go anywhere else. I do think it’s uh it’s a difficult thing to say he’s going to he’s going to push the limits here. We back we back. Can you can you hear me? Okay, my We’re back. We’re back. Oh, we’re back. The basement brings all kinds of troubles, especially on a Monday morning. So, we’ll we’ll see. I appreciate the heads up, but yeah, I mean, I I just would love to see competitions emerge and be set up and be more focused on in unlikely places. That’s why I’ve mentioned like the punting competition a couple of times. Like, I think if if this offense is going to succeed or find success from unlikely places, having a steady fullback would be an excellent way. We’ve talked about it in all kinds of ways. We talked about these big jumbo sets. We’ve talked about this 04 personnel kind of thing going on. uh the four tight ends said that they’ve been using like so why not try to be creative if that means Mark Rob can successfully lead a block like you mentioned then great let’s let’s put it in there and let’s try to get this offense going this all-in mentality I think has to include sort of turning over every stone to see what you have and if that means Mark Rob at fullback so be it I agree we’ll see what happens exciting times Tuesday they’ll be back and I’m sure Mark Rob will be playing a little bit of fullback um Alex Highmith Calvin Austin are the two big injury news that we should t touch on. Alex Highmith suffered a groin injury during one-on-one drills. That’s not good news for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He suffered a groin injury last year. It lingered throughout the year. Mike Tomlin doesn’t know the severity of it, which is also concerning. It’s good if Mike Tomlin tosses out a, you know, it’s a dayto-day injury, which usually can mean anywhere from like 24 hours to 6 weeks. But it’s still a good time frame to have for Mike Tomlin. when he doesn’t know the severity of it, that’s usually a bad sign for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Alex Highmith going down is huge. Calvin Austin’s the other one. Mike Tolman refuses to touch on it. Refuses to tell us what’s going on there, but he’s been on the sidelines for two days. Joey Porter Jr. has been on the sideline for three days. The Steelers getting hit with injuries. Things are not looking good for this team right now. How concerned are you about Highmith? I mean, of all the positions, having Nick Herbig and Jack Sawyer behind you certainly helps. Calvin Austin, though, I think that sparks a different conversation of the Pittsburgh Steelers are in trouble already. They might be in a lot of trouble if uh if this guy goes down and they don’t have their wide receiver, too. Yeah. Um I I’ll start with Calvin. Let’s start with wide receiver two here. I I will say that I am certainly, you know, th this is a very concerning injury and I think I have to start moving off of my uh little soap box here about the Steelers not making any additions to the wide receiving room because this is this is going to force their hand. They were already in a um a not great situation. You know, they already had a wide receiving room that we’ve agreed is not, you know, up to snuff with the Super Bowl contenders. So I think if you don’t have Calvin Austin available, you have Omar Khan’s hands would be tied at that point. There has to be a move made and I think that puts them in a slight disadvantage once again because they won’t have a lot of leverage in the trade market. And I don’t think uh if Calvin Austin is out for you know if he’s dayto-day okay but I do think this need has now risen right along to uh the top of the list alongside offensive line and making sure that is in a place that you feel comfortable about uh before going into week one. You have to make sure that this is okay if there’s no Calvin Austin. I would give it until and I’m curious your thoughts here. I guess I would like to see if he plays on Saturday. If he suits up and it seems like they’re just being extra, it’s a precaution, then maybe my worry comes down a little bit, maybe I back off this stance. But for today, until he returns to the practice field and I see him on the field, I’m going to feel like the the need for wide receiver has skyrocketed up the list. Yes, I I agree. Alexis Smith to me is a guy that I don’t expect to play in the preseason. When it comes to Calvin Austin, though, like we’re at a place right now, and you know, this is a good transition into the offense as a whole. But the offense, it the offense, I don’t want to be that guy, but it’s time to be that guy. The offense stinks. It looks so bad. It doesn’t look remotely good. It had one good day. The best player on the Pittsburgh Steelers offense right now consistently is Scotty Miller. That’s that’s so concerning. And people will say, “Well, the defense looks elite.” That’s great. I understand that and maybe that is a big part of what is happening, but you have to beat elite defenses from time to time. The Pittsburgh Steelers are almost never winning a drill on offense almost ever. They had again one good day and then when their backups had a good two-minute drill on Friday Night Lights, James Pierre ended it with an interception. So, it’s just not looking good. Calvin Austin is starting to kind of build some momentum. You’re seeing Aaron Rogers find some connection with DK Metaf consistently some days, not all days. And then Calvin goes down. Roman has shown almost nothing. You know, again, I hate to be this guy, but we are at the point where you have to be more brutally honest about the situation. There is no more hiding. This is two weeks in and in two weeks there has been no growth. There has been no improvement. Roman has shown nothing. You know, Roman is at this point not a guy that I think the Steelers are even looking at as their wide receiver three. Robert Woods reliable, but is that the guy that you want to be your wide receiver three? Who knows? If Calvin Austin is if Calvin Austin is a guy that is down, is going to miss some time, which I would expect if he doesn’t practice, he probably isn’t going to play. If he practiced Tuesday, okay, you know, probably plays on Saturday. If he doesn’t practice Tuesday, I have a hard time believing he’s gonna play against the the Jaguars. If he doesn’t, I mean, you’re you’re you’re in a place where you need to add, you know, you can’t you can’t ignore it anymore because at that point, like, what are you going to do? You’re going to walk into the season with DK Mechaf, John Smith, Pat Armuth, and then Scotty Miller as your wide receiver, too. Is that what you’re Is that the game plan there? I just I don’t I don’t know. Um, I I I look at it and say that the Pittsburgh Steelers, this injury is another wakeup call to just say it wasn’t even DK and the Steelers are already in a place. I don’t know what’s going on with with Calvin. I I think he’s going to be fine. You know, he walked by a couple of us yesterday and Mike DeFabo the Athletic was like, “You good?” He’s like, “Yeah, just a football thing.” And seemed pretty okay. That’s a good sign. But I still think it’s a wakeup call that it is time for the Pittsburgh Steelers to start making some phone calls cuz they’re not there, man. Like the offense is just not there. And it’s it people are going to be really upset come week one if if they don’t improve anything. Yeah, I mean agreed 100% and I think that would be a very fair criticism to make. I think I think that the Steelers are likely to bring in Gabe Davis. Now, do you disagree? Uh, I kind of do. I don’t think it’s going to be immediately Gabe Davis, to be honest with you. I They called Washington and I think they’re shooting a little bit higher than Gabe Davis. I do. I I don’t think they’re going to settle. You know, they might settle if they find themselves that Terry’s worth way too much money and there’s nobody else on the market, but I don’t think that they call Gabe Davis tomorrow and say, “Hey, we or today and say, “Hey, we got to sign you.” you know, let’s come in here. I think if you’re calling Terry McLur and it’s just like the Jaylen Ramsay thing, like you didn’t just call, you know, you didn’t just call because you, oh, screw it. Why not? No, you’re calling because you’re aware that things need to improve and you’re going to start here and fall down instead of try to work your way up and you’ve already tested the waters at these places. So maybe it’s not Terry, which I think it’d be it’d be very difficult to bring in Terry McLuren and say, “We’re going to pay you more than DK Mechaf.” You know, I think that’s a really that causes trouble. Um, but if it’s not Terry, I think that they start shooting what’s the next what’s slot B? What’s SL? I think Gabe Davis is like slot E, you know, and where do you go between that before you’re there? So I think that it’s it’s more they’re probably not calling the Saints again for Chris Lave, but maybe. But it’s more the Alaves. It’s more the Romeo Doss. It’s more the who, where looks like they could be traded at some point and what do we have to give up? Um, I’ll ask you this question. I tossed it out there on Saturday. Would you uh would you trade Roman Wilson for another wide receiver if you could? Yeah. that. Yes, that man. I I guess yeah, we we we do have to be I guess a little bit more brutally honest. Uh not that we are ever not, but I think um more critical maybe is a better way of of phrasing it. Yeah, Roman Wilson I I’ve held out hope for him that he would show me something. And a couple of couple of bright plays, a couple of standout plays sporadically uh space in between is not enough to convince me that you are the answer at wide receiver, too. So yeah, that’s why I threw out the option of, you know, going after Gabe Davis. I just wonder if the patience has run so short that they just want an immediate sort of fix. But at the same time, yes, to your question, I think Omar Khan can use this the injury to uh Calvin Austin and the excuse me, the slight poor performance from Roman Wilson, let’s call it, as a catalyst to really go out there and make another trade and say, “Hey, we did what we what was right. We gave the guys that we drafted that we have developed a chance to show us that they had something. It has not worked so far. This team is trying to win a Super Bowl. In order to do so, we need more weapons. Therefore, I have to go out and get a proven commodity, a Romeo Dobs, a Crystal L. I agree with you about the Saints. I think that might not be the answer right now. But again, I will throw out Romeo Dobs and Green Bay as a potential trade partner. this if a Roman Wilson trade is on the table where you could use him to as a part of a package to acquire someone that is a legitimate number two wide receiver, I think you have to do it at this point. I don’t think Wilson has shown enough that Warren’s keeping him and hanging on to that potential if you can get something more immediate. Yeah, I look at I I agree. I I look at I look at Roman right now and say you have four days to look better, you know, before those phone calls become reality. And that’s the thing is after the first preseason games, trades heat up, guys get into deeper conversations, teams start to have these real conversations. Like at some point I I expect Washington to sign Terry McLaren, but I don’t expect it to come without the like they got really somebody got really close to trading for him. You know, there is that if this person offered a bigger contract or this or that, the deal gets made. I don’t think that the the Steelers are going to be that team, but I expect it to get there. And that’s what’s going to happen in the next coming days, the next week, is that the NFL is going to start heating up with all these trades. And the Steelers got to be on board with them. They got to go get somebody. And it’s just comes down to like pure I I mean, you can’t win a Super Bowl without scoring points. And right now, the offensive line doesn’t win any reps almost ever. Brick Jones looks terrible. Um, and I hate to call these guys out because I think that there’s growth there, but it’s just the reality of the Steelers right now. Um, Aaron Rogers doesn’t have a consistent connection with any of his wide receivers and it’s been two weeks and still not there. Um, Jaylen Ran or Jaylen Jaylen Warren and Caleb Johnson have great days without pads on and terrible days with pads on. That’s concerning. That’s not what you want there. And again, the best wide receiver on the Pittsburgh Steelers right now is Scotty Miller. That is not okay. That is not what you’re looking for. You got to go. You just the the alarms are starting to sound a little bit, you know, and you got to you got to go you got to go figure it out. Ju just because like I think that’s what you are is I think you are a wide receiver away from I I personally I think and I don’t expect them to go get Terry McLaren, but I think you go get Terry McLaren and he’s your Jaylen Ramsay. He’s your he comes over and this team is instantly so much better because it doesn’t m it you know the whole f it GP’s down there somewhere f it DK’s down there somewhere f it somebody’s down there somewhere and either one of these guys is going to come up with the football that’s totally fine that’s what you’re looking for you know and I think that he does that I don’t think they get them but I do think that they are like that piece away and and an offensive tackle but I don’t think you’re going to get an offensive tackle you just got hope that, you know, Darnell could uh could block enough before he runs out there on a flat route to uh to get some work done. But I I would um I I do think that the Steelers are like that piece away from being a a much more serious team than they are right now. And again, like, you know, in years past, we ignore a lot of things. The offensive line’s bad, but that’s all right. The everything looks good. Um the the defensive front’s bad. That’s all right. You know, they’re veterans. We You talk yourself out of these things. I This is a year where like you The defense looks so good and the hype was so real that you can’t talk yourself into these. You have to You have to be factual about it. Right now, factual is the Steelers went two for 12 at the goal line yesterday. And And it wasn’t even They lost more yards than they gained. It was It was It was brutal. It was absolutely brutal. And that’s that’s not where you uh that’s not where you want to be. If the Steelers added a wide receiver and didn’t add a tackle, what’s where you at with this offense? Where where where do you stand with it? It’s better for sure. It’s better. Um, but man, I I think I said something similar about this sometime last week, so forgive me for repeating myself, but the offensive line, I think, is way more important to the success of the Steelers offense as a whole than making sure you have the most talented wide receiver, too. I think if there is more time in the pocket for Aaron Rogers to read the defense and to make those throws that he is so capable of making, it will serve the offense better than just making sure there’s, you know, efforts, there’s someone downfield because if he only has two seconds to throw the ball, I I don’t know how he’s going to find DK Metaf or a potential new addition like a Scary Terry, Romeo Dobs, throw anyone else in the mix you want to. Even Calvin Austin, the reason I expected him to be an improved player and to maybe step into this wide receiver 2 position was under the assumption that this offensive line would be improved from last year and that would give Aaron Rogers the time to find Calvin Austin as an improved route runner. If that can’t happen, I’m not sure what wide receiver 2 solves that issue or makes up the difference for Aaron Rogers not having enough time in front of him with the offensive line. Agreed. I want a wide receiver too. I want a really good offense. I want this to be the scariest offense in the AFC and maybe the NFL of course, but unless you unless Jones shapes up or they bring in some other offensive tackle that can really really solidify the left side, I just think it’s kind of all for not. The effort has to be there still. I’m not saying don’t do it, but it might just kind of be for nothing. Yeah, look at I I don’t disagree. You you you add a wide receiver and I think it’s it it boosts this thing dramatically. Brick Jones stinks. you’re in a lot of trouble. Like not even not a little bit of trouble. You are in so much trouble as the Pittsburgh Steelers to have to go out there and I hope that your quarterback at 41 years old who isn’t that mobile anymore can survive. I don’t think that you can to be honest. I truly truly do not think that you can. Um we’ll see what happens. I expect some movement. And I don’t think the Pittsburgh Steelers are done. And I think Calvin Austin’s injury kind of puts a uh an emphasis on on going to make a move. I think the struggles put more of an emphasis on it. Like, you know, everybody’s Aaron Rogers, great teammate. Aaron Rogers is a great teammate. The no look passes are awesome. Yeah. When they’re completed, not when they’re picked off by James Pierre. You know, that’s that’s when things get better. I think the Steelers have uh their eyes on and I this is just pure speculation. I I truly think the Steelers have their eyes on somebody right now or someone ons right now because they are that they cannot be satisfied with the way this group looks and they’re starting to, you know, Roman’s taking less and less first team reps as the days go on. You’re starting to see Scotty Miller more with the first team. You’re starting to see Robert Woods more with the first team. That’s a clear indication that the Pittsburgh Steelers are starting to realize that their evaluation process is not going the way that they hoped it is. and we’ll we’ll see what happens from there. Again, I expect something to change when it happens. I couldn’t tell you. Jacksonville Jacksonville will be a good indicator. Um, not that Jacksonville is like a threat to the Pittsburgh Steelers, but we’re going to see how good these guys look and how good Roman looks and how good everybody else looks. And if not, I bet you some change comes. I bet you some change comes. All right, with that said, guys, we’re going to start answering everybody’s questions. Close off the show the same way we do every single day. So, make sure you’re getting them in the chat. We’ll be right back. Pittsburgh, this one’s for you. From the voices behind All Steelers Talk comes Black and Gold Apparel. Your go-to for bold fan-driven merch that reps the city, the Steelers, and everything in between. Whether you bleed black and gold or just love that Pittsburgh grit, we’ve got something for you. It’s more than a podcast. It’s a community. And thanks to your support, we’re proud to bring the passion from our mics to your closets. Gear up, stand out, and show the world what real fans look like. Shop now at black and gold apparel.mmyshopify.com. All righty. Shout out to our super chatters. Shout out to the our members. Sorry, I just got a text. And any text that comes up, I don’t know if you’re the same way, but any text that comes up that says, “Hi, Noah.” I immediately am like, “Oh, I’m in trouble for something. What did I do?” You know, it’s it’s never like your mom’s never texting you like, “What’s up, Noah?” Like, “Hi, Noah.” No, no. It’s always like, “This is very important.” And you need to read the whole thing. Or it’s like a scam of some sort. The you know, you were telling me the other day the pay your payroll t or pay your your your turnpike taxes or something. Yep. Whatever. Yep. Yeah. So, it’s one of the two, but just got one as I as I was speaking. It threw me off for a second. Uh, for for sure. Let’s dive into some questions here. Toss them in the chat if you got it. Once again, shout out to our super chatters and to our members as always. Lord knows 36. Noah, you owe me 93 cents for the Mark Robinson call. You did for sure. I love the Mark Rob at fullback thing. I I think I look at I can’t I got to talk to Mike Tomlin on Tuesday and just say, “Hey, did you watch the show on Saturday? Is that why Mark Rob was playing? Did you hear that one?” Um Mark Rob playing fullback is my favorite storyline of the off seasonason so far. I think it works, you know, and and people start comparing him. Here’s the thing. People start comparing him to Kendrick Green saying like, “Oh, this is a desperation to see if he could make the team.” I I agree but disagree. I Mark Rob came into the off season with almost no chance to make the roster. Kendrick Green did the same thing. He never got any better. They had to try to adjust him somewhere. For Mark Rob, chances are he’s going to make the roster. um as that last inside linebacker. This is just uh we would really like a fullback. That would be really nice. And they’re gonna see uh they’re gonna see they’re going to see if it works. Rocky Mountain Oyster Salad. This offense is scary. All right. It is uh it is it is it is a little um a little concern. What’s your you know, I’ll I’ll talk all day about how bad I think the Steelers offense is and how concerning it is because it’s just my opinion on this. What’s your opinion on, you know, your concern level and and I I don’t know. I kind of just want to give you the floor here. Talk about the offense and where you stand with them. I am concerned for sure. I’m not I’m not panicked. Um I don’t want to swing one way or the other based off of the first two weeks of training camp alone. And I feel like I need to see them going up against competition because I am concerned about this offense. I wonder how much of it is the eliteness of the defense. I wonder how much of it is the new pieces coming together. I wonder how much of it is the offensive line not really jelling together like they should be. Uh so I think it is all there’s so many moving pieces. It’s hard to identify one sole issue and until I can sort of zone in on what that one sole issue is or that one thing that feels bigger than the rest. I’ve talked about offensive tackle. We’ve talked about wide receiver, too. But they just they just feel so in conjunction with one another that it is difficult for me to panic outright because I think if we see some game action like against the Jaguars, we might see how maybe playing against this elite defense has prepared them to go against a lesser defense against Jacksonville, for example. Or maybe we’ll see that this is just a flawed offense with a flawed roster and then action has to be taken. But all that said, I’m concerned. I think I’m at the the halfway point of my panic meter at a five out of 10, let’s call it. Saturday will dictate a ton. The rest of the week, I think I’m sitting, you know, on the edge of my seat on the panic meter waiting to stand up and be like, “Okay, I’m fully panicked. Something needs to change, but I have to I have to pump the brakes a little bit. But I have to hold my horses here until I see some game action. What do you judge Jacksonville? Like, okay, say the Steelers come out. Aaron Rogers isn’t going to play. Say Mason Rudolph throws two touchdowns. Roman Wilson catches a touchdown. Things look great. Steelers win 21 to7 or something like that. Like, how do you go about saying that looked good? It’s the Jacksonville Jaguars, you know, at the backups of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Where do you draw the line? Because again, like you go back a couple years, Kenny Picket and George Pickkins, they were Super Bowl bound against the backup temp Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They were super that was the greatest team. That was the best show on turf. That was that was the next great offense for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Didn’t didn’t turn out that way. How do you go about saying like where is the line for you to say like okay you know Roman had two catches for 40 yards and a touchdown that was great compared to you put Marlon Humphrey against this guy he’s still not going to do anything for sure. Yeah I mean I think it is an individual case by case basis because you’re not going out there and celebrating a win if it is a 20 21 to7 victory just because you played the the twos and threes in Jackson Villa. I’m not saying that that would be the answer, but I think you have to look at it. You take Roman Wilson’s game tape for example. I want to see who he’s getting matched up against. I want to look at the routes he’s running and I want to see if he does make any receptions. What were those routes? Did he win one-on-one? Was there a breakdown in coverage? Like, it is an individual case byase basis. And if Roman Wilson is out there executing perfect technique, he’s running different routes and he’s beating his defender no matter what, then I’m saying, well, okay, maybe my evaluation in the first couple of weeks with him at training camp wasn’t spot-on. If he’s just out there and just is getting wide open, because again, they’re playing the twos and threes and, you know, Mason Rudolph and company should carve them up. Not sitting here, you know, next a week from today going, “Yeah, offense solved it. I think we just had to give them a little bit of time. I think I just need to see some competition that isn’t internal and I want to see how they respond to it because I think the biggest question in my mind about this is again is the Steelers defense so good that playing against them is just a difficult task for anyone on the offense or is it you know if you go against competition and you’re still that miserable of an offense your answer is pretty clear there but I think there is a level of this that the defense is so elite the defense is so deep, you know, at the two and three position for a lot of positions that it just makes the offense such a gives them such a terrible struggle, you know, in training camp. I’ve seen it so many times firsthand, they just have a hard time playing against this defense. So, I I just I’m not 100% on what the answer to that question is. Yeah. I uh look at I I look at it and for Roman, it’s how open how much better do you look over these guys, you know, for the offense? How much better do you not do you look better? How drastically better do you look compared to them? Do you win 35 to zero? You know what I mean? Like does the offense just so crazy good that you can’t not talk about it? Because if that’s the case, yeah, I I’m not going to say they’re good, but maybe they have a baseline that’s higher than we expected them to be. Um, if you win by the skinnier teeth and you score two touchdowns, I don’t care who scored those touchdowns, you’re in trouble. And there are some big conversations to be had. Pittsburgh Hornets, do you think the number one priority would be getting a tackle and who would be available that we can honestly replace a starter? That’s the problem is I don’t think that there is anybody out there that you can replace Jones with at this point in the offseason. Like there’s just you’re not going to go get a free agent. Like who you going to go get? Tyrone Smith at 60 years old or David Bakiari who hasn’t played in two years or you know like I I just don’t know who you’re going to go out there and get. I think the Steelers are in trouble at tackle. I I do think that tackle is a priority and becoming a concerning one. Um but I also think that wide receiver there are always wide receivers available somewhere. You know, there are you got to get tackles in the spring because by the time this time rolls around, you’re not trading for tackles. You’re not making tackle moves. The Steelers are hitting a point like Brick looks so bad. I talked about it on Sat Brick’s I I think a really raw talent who I’ve been trying to defend for a long time, but dude, he went up against Alex Heismith. You weren’t there on Friday. He went up against Alex Heismith three times. The first one looked terrible. The second one, he went untouched. Alex Highmith in a one-on-one drill did not get touched by Brick Jones. That should never happen. They’re running at each other. And then the third one, Brick loses again in in easy fashion. I mean, like, it’s just it’s very clear that he that he’s just not he’s not capable handling these guys. I think it’s a priority, but again, like I think you’re in a lot of tr like you’re going to hit a point where you’re going to have real conversations about Darnell playing tackle or Dylan Cook starting or something if nothing improves because it’ll be it’ll be catastrophic to ignore how bad your left tackle play is. But I don’t think you can replace him. No, you you can’t. And and to Noah’s point, while he was talking, I was looking up like the last like Laramie Tonsel to the Commanders was like the first trade that sort of popped into my head where that was a starter going to a a new team recently. It took four draft picks to bring him to the Washington Commanders. And that was in March of this year. Granted, it was a a third and a seventh in 2025 and then a second and a fourth round selection the following draft, so in 2026. So, you part with four day two picks for a starting left tackle in March. I can only imagine the asking price for a starting left tackle, even, you know, a veteran like Laramie Tonsel, that that asking price has just gone up with every passing month. So, the Steelers would be, you know, you’re you’re you think you had to give up a a second round pick next year to get someone in March, you probably have to give, you know, your uh your next second round pick up. So, meaning the 2026 one just to get a starting left tackle. And to me, who is that player that sticks out? No one at the moment. And no one that would even be available. So, yeah, I think that the priority of offensive line continues to remain at the top of the list. But the answer, the solution is so much harder to find than at wide receiver. Yeah, I just don’t like that. You have to find a team that is currently looking to trade their starting left tackle, which is like that guy would have to have pissed that organization off so bad. Contract negotiations would have to be so south that this guy’s just like, “Get me out of here, man. Screw it. Whatever.” Or you’re just the Houston Texans who just love giving up good guys around CJ Strad. That’s their specialty is to say, “Let’s make life as difficult as possible for the quarterback.” You’re just not going to find that right now. You’re not. macaroni salad just trying to get 1% better every day. They have not done that. They have they have very much so not done that. The defense on the other hand has done that quite a bit. They look very very good. The offense has won one game one day out of out of seven or 10 practices. Nine practices that you could watch one day. That’s that is they’re one and nine right now on days one and it is not remotely close on those off days. So, it’s 1% better, man. They’re trying to get I hear you. We all are. We all That’s the goal every day. Trying to get 1% better every day. Shout out macaroni salad. Klaw aka Berg fan. What’s up, AS? Shout out to the salad squad. Picnic Peek secondary name idea. No passing zone. Black. Oh, the black and yellow sign is a good one. Um, with the no passing zone. I kind of like that as well. I’m a big uh We came up with one, the no-fly zone. What was the other one? There was another one there with the no-fly zone that was really good that one day. Don’t remember what it is to be honest with you. Um, I got Swiss cheese brains, so let’s just No, no memory there. I bet the Put it in the comments if you remember. I uh I I do like the no-fly zone with the thing. I think it’s a good one. And the secondary looks Chuck Clark’s starting to look good, too, which I think is impressive. He’s had a couple of couple of moments where you just look, okay, sounds good. And I’m here you go again. I hate to be this guy, but I’m gonna be this guy again. The best play the offense has had in the last four days against the defense, the first team defense. Scotty Miller beat Darius Slay on a crossing route. Caught it. Hit up the sideline and outran Juan Thornnehill and Chuck Clark. And you’re just going wide receiver one. Wide receiver one maybe. Is uh Slippy Slippy Z? I think I got that one. Is Jaylen Ramsey the Swiss Army knife cam was supposed to be last year? 100% 100%. And Jaylen Ramsey looks insane. Like Jaylen Ramsey looks I don’t I wrote about this this morning. It it comes out in 15 minutes. I don’t know. I don’t know who started the narrative of Jaylen Ramsey is not good anymore or Jaylen Ramsey took a step back and we we talked about it like when they were trading there was a conversation of like ah Jaylen Ramsay’s 30 years old. All nonsense. All nonsense. Jaylen Ramsay is insane guys. Insane. This guy out TJ Watt does not do much at training camp. Spends a lot of time on the sidelines to keep him rested for the season. Jaylen Ramsay’s head and shoulders above anybody else on that defense. He is hands down the best defensive player outside of TJ Watt. It’s it’s like crazy to me how maybe it was Miami, maybe it was the national media, maybe I just heard the the random the wrong guy at the bar telling me that Jaylen Ramsey stinks and I carried the narrative. I have no idea. But everybody was wrong because Jaylen Ramsay is a freaking aer and he looks he looks good playing literally everywhere on this defense. Yes, he does. He It’s can confirm it has been wild watching him in training camp so far because his impact is undeniable and it happens just every single spot on the field. You cannot miss him. So to to have him around, I I think Steelers fans are going to fall in love with him if they haven’t the moment week one happens because he’s going to be all around the field making those plays, probably creating turnovers or helping to create turnovers at the least. And then we’re going to be like, “Wow, how did we get this allpro defensive player of the year worthy quarterback on this team along with John Smith for Minka Fitzpatrick?” It’s going to be it’s going to be an exciting time watching Jaylen Ramsay’s first year in Pittsburgh. Yeah, for sure. Uh, also just to go back here, control altdelete was the was the name and that is still fire. That’s still fire. That’s still fantastic. The no the no passing zone is also it works so well. You know, that would look very good on a t-shirt. Very good on a t-shirt. Lord knows 36. In the future, can Brick make the change to guard because he has this he has to work somewhere. Also, I don’t see us winning off off and off of offense alone this year. Oh, no chance. The Steelers are winning on their defense. It’s just a matter of and the the offense doesn’t even have to look great, you know? The offense just has to be able to win games. And right now, like that’s what’s coming into question is not is the offense decent. It’s can the offense beat the Ravens if the Steeler if the RA if the Steelers defense holds them to 20 points? You know, if the Steelers offense has to score 24 points in a game against a good defense, can they do it? You know, that’s the that’s what’s coming into question. Not can they score 35. It’s if you are in a shootout with Baltimore or Buffalo or Detroit or whoever, can you pull it off? Can you say our defense did everything they can? Can the offense put 25 points on the board? Because if that’s the if that’s the case, you’re fine. But I don’t know if that’s the case right now. I I truly don’t. Um I’ve made the suggestion of Brick to guard a number of times. I think he’s athletic enough right now. looks so slow though. But if you’re more in a box, you know, if you are in you’re you’re more in a cage here and you just got to be nasty. Can he win that one? I think there’s a possibility. I just don’t like everything’s a mess with Brick. He looks slow. His hand play. He looks like he’s reaching. Um he doesn’t fall back into into guys. He he more so falls back and creates so much space that he can’t get over fast enough. Maybe that does improve a guard. I I think it’s a PO, but I also think that if you if you gave him that opportunity next year to replace Isaac Small, you are definitely taking a risk that it’s not going to work out and your guard position is now going to be bad in instead of your tackle, which is also there. But I hear you. Like I think I think coming into the league, Brick was so raw and had so much talent that you know, you just thought you can make him work somewhere. Maybe you still can. I would test him out of guard, but I’d also have competition in there. Yeah. I sure he can he can try to compete there. I he doesn’t strike me as someone who would transition to guard well. I I think the problem is like you can’t you know he’s clearly having a tough time and I think that there is an effect the mental part of it is having an effect on him as well where like the the harder he works the more he puts into it like he has already and the less outcome the less results come from it the like kind of worse he gets it the the resiliency doesn’t seem to be there at all. So, like if I was seeing some sort of translatable skills to the guard position, yeah, I would be heralding that as well. But like slow hands, slow feet, slow to to meet your the person you’re blocking like that. That’s not who I want at the left guard position. Uh especially in like a transitional year either with a rookie quarterback or another veteran in 2026. So yeah, I just, you know, it’s hard for me to even feain confidence about him potentially moving to guard, but I think there is so much raw talent. It just feels so disappointing every time we talk about him because the athleticism is there, the the tools are there, but there is just this missing piece that is the glue putting it together and they just cannot seem to put that pieces together and keep it sticking for Project Jones. So I don’t know. I just think this is going to continue to get worse and worse is my feeling right now before it gets better. Yeah, I I mean I agree. I I I don’t think that this is improving anytime soon with Brick Jones. There’s no signs of improvement there. But the Steelers will hit a point at some point where they go, “Oh, okay. Yeah, that needs to change and it needs to change right now.” Cody Silva, Pat Myers, Matt Canada undercover worked the Panthers for one year before they laid him off just like Canada at LSU. We have a soft spot for these guys. I think Okay, so Pat Meyer Pat Meyer I don’t think keeps his job after this season. I I think that’s pretty set in stone here. I don’t think Pat Meyer is the best developer of talent. I never have. I think Pat Meyer is a phenomenal scout. I think Pat Meyer should get into scouting. That’s where he should go because Pat Meyer is the reason Zack Frasier’s here. Pat Meyer’s the reason Troy Fatanu is here. Pat Meyer’s the reason Mason McCormack’s here. Those guys are good. Mason McCormack looks great. He looks so good. Actually, Zack Frasier, I don’t care about the snapping issues right now. I have faith he’s going to figure it out and look just as good, if not better, than he did last year. And Troy Fano is holding up TJ Watt every chance he gets. Like Troy Fatano looks good. He’s good at scouting. He’s really he’s got a great eye for for talent. The developmental side is is really rough. And I think with Brick I think the thing with Brick was it it was just like the Kenny thing. It was it was the Steelers knew they needed that position. How do they go get it? They fell in love with this guy probably a year earlier and just hope for the best. Again, you got to you got to understand it was a bad tackle year and a year that the Steelers needed a tackle. Sometimes they reach they tend to do that quite often, you know, but it did work out. And also go look at that first round. Have you ever looked at the first round that was drafted in? It’s atrocious. It’s I will certainly go do that. It’s really, you want to know the guys that were drafted around him? It was like Emanuel Forbes, Will McDonald, um Darnell uh Wright was in that group somewhere. Um it’s it’s so it is just not good. The best players out of it are like Jordan Addison, Zay Flowers, and Christian Gonzalez are like the top guys that that lead the class. It it’s it’s a rough group. Um, and sometimes that happens. But I do think that, you know, Pammy’s got a great eye for talent and a bad act for developing it. And I think that’s a that’s a problem. It’s definitely a problem. No thoughts? No thoughts? No, I I have Sorry, I didn’t hit unmute. Yeah, I mean, I agree. I just I think Pat Meyers, you know, he’s reached the end of his his rope here with the Steelers. And I think you know u barring some sort of monumental development where the offensive line comes together and becomes this underdog team and and unit that surprises everybody we are just still looking at like how do we better develop the offensive lineman once they are here. Um and I think you know Pat Meyer is certainly a problem but I wonder again like how much does this go up the chain? How much does this how much of this is a reflection on you know Tomlin and Omar Khan in you know if Pat Meyer is advocating for these players hypothetically great the buck stops with Tomlin and Khan you know so like they they can certainly override him and if they have some sort of better intel or if they had some sort of better quote unquote judgment in that situation maybe that problem doesn’t ever arrive in Pittsburgh because they’re able to make a slightly better selection. I’m not I’m not saying there was a different answer in the 2023 draft class or 22 whenever Brick Jones came out, but like you know I I’m willing to blame Pat Meyer a good bit. I also think it’s a reflection of you know who employs Pat Meyer if you are entrusting guys like Matt Canada, like Pat Meyer, like you know to carry out the plan, it doesn’t come to fruition. Maybe it’s the people putting those people in that place that are more to blame. I I don’t know. I don’t know. You know, I think there’s a lot of culpability to throw around. That’s for sure. I agree. I I do agree with that. And Mike Tomlin’s awful at hiring coordinators. Awful. He always has been. You got to put some blame there. Eddie the first imposs we trust. Here we go again. Again, probably again. Chris Boswell kicked some kicks the other day for the first time. I I don’t know if it was him or Ben Sauls. Somebody smoked this little girl, man. Right in the face. I felt awful. It was like a classic moment of like balls coming. She looks boom right in the dude right in the noggin. I was like, “Oh my.” And then immediately starts crying. You feel awful for her. And then the worst part, the absolute worst part is they gave her the football. That hit her in the face. The Steelers gave her the football. That hit her in the face. Yeah, that’s uh that’s that’s where in Bos we trust. For sure. In Bos we trust. Rocky Mountain Oyster Salad Salad Bar needs to meet up at a game. That would be awesome. If you guys do, please let me know. Please let me know. Papaya Salad, just saying Moscow is the same size as Steph Curry. Wild. Sometimes when you compare NBA players to football players, you really do realize that they are tiny human beings and the NBA is f is so so large. It’s crazy. But they wouldn’t last 10 minutes in the NFL. That is that’s for certain. For sure. Actually, can I can I riff for one second? I actually met Steph Curry. I don’t know if I’ve talked about this on the pod, but I actually met Steph Curry one time. Uh I was at the same wedding as him. Um what? Yeah, right. I know. I’m that cool, guys. I’m just that cool. Uh but I was at the same wedding as him. So, and he and his wife were there and I introduced myself to him and just like how you know Steph Curry again to Noah’s point, you watch the NBA, you’re like this this guy’s tiny, right? Like he’s such a small player. He’s so little. He’s 8 in taller than me. Like he’s a 6’3 human or whatever it is. You know, the average person walking around, you’re like, “This guy’s ginormous.” You know, I only have like two cousins who are above six foot in my family. So, like to meet any human that’s above six foot, crazy. Steph Curry is super nice. Shout out and his wife though. They were very nice. That they they I have heard that they uh that they are great people. Um, that’s the craziest that’s the that’s the craziest we are we we are that close story I’ve heard in a long time of like we are one mutual friend at a wedding away from knowing each other. We are you could essentially say you’re best friends with Steph Curry. You know what I mean? Like yeah, we’re we’re bros me and if you ask somebody they’d be like yeah you should casually bring that up in conversation next time somebody’s talking about a wedding. She’ll be like, “Oh, yeah, dude. This one time at a wedding, me and Steph Curry, uh, we were doing we we were dancing and uh and people be like, “What? What did you just say? Did you just say Steph Curry? What?” Yeah. I think you look back and you’re like, “Yeah, I did say Steph Curry.” And you walk away. You don’t even say anything. Just like look at him, just be like and then just and then just keep it going. You know what I mean? That’s that’s a great story. That’s a great story. Papati Salad. Antonio Gates never played football. He was a basketball dude. first time was NFL all great. Yeah, some some dudes are some dudes are crazy. Some dudes are crazy. I also think that like LeBron James would be awesome, but I think that guys like you know like AI was my favorite basketball player of all time and he played football and could have went to Georgetown to play football and like you know like he could have been that dude. If he didn’t put the muscle I think he would have died. Like I think somebody would have hit him so hard that his like body just exploded. See, that’s the, you know, it’s the rule of like the you can’t you can’t go to the NFL until you played for three years. And people be like, “That’s dumb.” It’s not because if Ray Lewis, I I remember talking to Vince Williams one time and him like laying it out to me like these guys think that they could do that until they get to the NFL and I hit them and then they realize like, “Oh, we are not the same.” You know, like we are we I have not been hit by you yet. I don’t even know what that feels like. It’s way worse than anything I’ve ever experienced. So, but Antonio Grades also stud. Could you imagine? This is my one last NBA NFL thought here, but could you imagine like uh SGA from the Oklahoma City Thunder? Like that man is so tall and slender. Like he would be a great wide receiver, but if he goes across the middle and gets a hospital ball, like his career’s done. Like there’s just nothing to him, you know? So, like it’s just a a crazy sort of thing. But I would love an alternate, you know, universe where we could see NBA players playing in the NFL just to see how they do cuz that I’m sure we could ask chat GBT and they could create a timeline that is Hey Grock. Yeah. So awesome. So awesome. Keeping it trucking here. Cody Silva, LeBron flopping in the NFL would be that’s what I’m saying. Like I just don’t you know what I mean? You’re not you’re not flopping in the NFL. You’re getting kicked in the spine if you’re if you’re flopping in the NFL. That’s what’s happening for sure. Lindsay is Alex Highmith injury prone? This is a good question. I I I don’t want to say yes. I just think soft tissue injuries do add up. They take a toll on guys. He had a groin issue last year. I don’t I don’t know. He’s also crazy athletic, you know, so he he doesn’t have like big giant injuries. He’s never suffered that big crazy injury that I don’t remember. Um, the groins do add up though. But like he’s not like, you know, like we’re kind of hitting that point where Corey Trice where like if Cory Tric’s hamstring injury is significant, I don’t think he makes the team because at some point you get that label. I don’t think Alex Heismith’s there yet. I don’t think he’s he’s relatively close. I I think it’s close. I I don’t want to call him that. I think star players, you know, I’m much more hesitant to slap a label like that on them, but you know, this is the same sort of soft tissue injury, not the exact same, but a similar area soft tissue injury two years in a row forum. What it makes me think of I think first is like is there anything about the the environment of being in Latro? Like I know that this past weekend wasn’t as hot as it was the week prior if if uh if I’m correct there, but Oh, it was beautiful. Friday night lights, I wore a sweatshirt. That’s wonderful. Like so like it wasn’t the 100 degree hellscape that it was, you know, for the previous five to six days, but like I just wonder if the training camp environment is at all if it’s like correlation or causation to some of these soft tissue injuries and, you know, a rash of several players going down at the same time. It that’s like sort of the first question that pops up. But for Highmith, I’m getting closer to that, you know, that label of injury prone. I’m not there yet because he’s just so vital to the team. And I also just feel like it’s like I I these, you know, these professional athletes are doing things that I just think the human body should like not be was never meant to do, was never built to do. So like you’re kind of like defying, you know, everything in my mind by just being that incredible of a professional athlete. So when these soft tissue injuries occur, I kind of like put that in my mind as well. And I’m like, well, you know, the fact that he’s this ripped and can also run a 40 yard dash in, you know, four and a half seconds is like like I’m watching gods play. So like, you know, let’s just like let him heal up, you know. Yeah. Look at I I I agree. I I don’t know the severity. If it’s something minor, like, you know, these things happen. They happen all the time. Um and you just have to be cautious about it. But it is it is adding up. I still think, you know, Alex Heismith’s worth keeping on to for as long as you possibly can. The dude’s a stud. Also, I don’t know if anybody’s actually tried to run a 40, but you it’s always way worse than you think it was going to be. You know, you go in there being like, “A, I could run a five a sub 540.” You can’t. You can’t come close. I promise. I I promise. Mike Lang willing to try. Yeah, I’ve tried. I tried two years ago at the I again, like I you know, I’m not a big guy, but I’m definitely not like a chunky dude. And I I tried two two three years ago something like that at the NFL combine ran a 56 40 but that’s imp 40 yards is so much amount of space to run so long that’s 120 ft right did I do conversion right there that’s so far to run five and a half seconds I like you know I know um I was going to maybe buy a CP84 jersey if he made the team um but now I feel think we have to do if we reach some other goal, if we have anything else going on, like what if we film me running a 40 and just I think we should do that anyway. I think we should film you running a 40 either way. I think that should be, you know, we could both do it. I might tear something. That’s a real concern, you know, but I think we should definitely we should definitely see down. Mike Lang, do you guys think the offense needs time before it’s so many new pieces and moving and moving pieces? What are you guys willing to give up for wide receiver 2? I’d give up a second round pick for a wide receiver two at this point. If if it’s Terry McLuren, you know, if you got to adjust accordingly to whoever’s there, but if it’s Terry McLuren, I’d give up a second round pick. Um, I also think that two weeks is adequate time. And I I know people are going to tell me like, you’re crazy. It’s only two weeks. We’re a week away from the preseason. Like, we’re there. We We have hit a point where and like this is it. It’s It’s not It’s not a couple of bad passes. It’s not a couple of bad days, it’s every day but one. And I think at that point, like the defense clicked real quick. It was It took zero days for Jaylen Ramsey to show up and be like, “Oh, we’re actually fantastic. This is this is how good this defense is.” You did not get that from the offense. So, I just don’t think that. And again, like, you know, we’re going to get a benchmark on Saturday, but I don’t I don’t fall for the whole it’s too early thing. You know, I think that two weeks is adequate enough time to to say you should be taking steps forward. And that’s the problem is if you took steps forward but weren’t having the progress that you know, if you weren’t great but you were looking like you were getting better, totally fine. But they they look like they’re getting worse. You know, that’s that’s what’s happening. Yep. Yep. No, I think you nailed it perfectly there. it. I would be giving them more grace and more space to develop if I had seen anything outside of the second day of the day after pads came on was the only day that I saw the offense do anything that impressed me or looked like they could be a competent offense once week one rolls around. So, like if I if there if that was coupled with uh the next day we saw a little bit more, you know, or the the next day after that we saw a nice connection forming with Roman Wilson or Calvin Austin and Aaron Rogers or just like any other examples, you know, if it if we were seeing that Caleb Johnson was taking more steps in in past protection as well. If Jaylen Warren looked dominant in some sort of way, like these were all small things that would tell me, okay, there is progress being made. It might not be as large as we want, but it’s something. And then, you know, you can give them more time for that. But through two weeks, it has looked just miserable. It hasn’t looked competent. It hasn’t looked like an NFL offense. It looks like a Matt Canada offense trying to go up against there. And yes, I know. No. And I have been the biggest proponents of take stuff with a grain of salt in training camp. But that doesn’t change that there has been so little to sort of come in here and build on and expound on regarding the offense. like you just can’t fabricate that the offense looks good if it doesn’t for two weeks. It’s and it just simply has not. Um take it with a grain of salt, sure, but it’s got to improve fast or else this team will be, you know, uh struggling to even hit the 500 mark this season. Yes, I big yikes. Big yikes. Macaroni Salad’s got an insane comment here. I went to to a funeral and Charlie Daniels was there and did an acoustic version of Amazing Grace, which is like, dude, the last funeral I was at, they let Doves go and they did this cool thing and I was like, this is the this is incredible. I couldn’t even like I couldn’t even imagine. I couldn’t even imagine. That’s I don’t have cool stories like this. You know what I mean? Like I don’t I don’t have cool stories like this. That is that’s awesome. You know what I mean? My cool story is like one time I played beer pong with Sterling Marte and like that was cool, dude. Don’t underell it. That’s cool. Come on. It was cool. Beat him. That was the coolest part. There you go. Yeah. Yeah. He was hitting on my girlfriend a little bit. It wasn’t great. But you know, I would have let him You got to let him got to let him cuck you in that situation. For sure. For sure. He’s a millionaire. Multi-millionaire. Yeah. Uh I got one other celebrity thing while we’re on this. Okay. I met Jason Biggs at a bar mitzvah. What? American American Pies own in Philadelphia, mind you. Um I had one of my c it was my cousin’s bar mitzvah and his some like his cousin on the other side of his family was like married to like his sister or something like that. So the bigs clan showed up. That’s insane, dude. I don’t have any of these. My family is nothing. You know what I mean? No. Jessup didn’t have these things. Jessup didn’t, you know what I mean? We didn’t There are no famous people that came from nothing. Nothing. Unreal. Marlon Marlon Lewis. Does Gabe Davis put their wide receiver room on par with the Super Bowl contender? Who does like who’s the wide receiver that if they brought in today, you’d go like, “Oh, okay.” like, you know, if Brick Jones could not be awful, there’s, you know, this offense definitely improved quite a bit. I mean, Scary Terry’s the the the easiest answer. So, outside of him, I think Romeo Dobs solves that issue for me. I think Jawan Jennings solves that issue for me. And I think uh Chris Lave obviously solves that issue for me as well. Um, one other is Jaylen McMillan from Tampa Bay. I think you bring him in, you got a legitimate legitimate wide receiver, too, that no one really is talking about. I’m not really sure. I throw that name out strictly as someone who’s like a carryover from like my summer trade target list, but like I don’t know if Tampa Bay is willing to play ball. Don’t really know what the the skinny is on their camp so far. So maybe they’re just like thinking, you know, Baker’s leading them again to a Super Bowl for all I know. But if it’s on the table, you know, I think Tampa Bay is worth talking to more. And I think Green Bay feels like a really good trade partner as well. I said that earlier. Wow. Okay. I like McMillan. I like McMillan a lot. I think he’s a sleeper. I don’t, you know, I’d have to see how he meshes, but to be honest with you, the bar is low and I would I feel like a lot of these guys are are upgrades. Lindsay Strawberry Pretzel Jello Salad. Does Aaron Rogers look good or is he the problem too? He doesn’t have a connection with these wide receivers yet, which I think is is starting to become a concern. I’m not like, look at at the end of the day, Aaron Rogers is the best thrower of the football the Pittsburgh Steelers have ever seen. It’s insane how beautiful those passes are. It’s it’s cinematic actually how beautiful those passes are. But you got to have some connection with these guys. We’re going to see once the games start because he’s a guy where like Ben used to do the same thing. Ben used to look awful in training camp for like days at a time and then he’d tell you he’d be like, “Yeah, I’m just messing around.” you know, like I’m just testing. I’m trying to see what I could get away with before we get into games and I want to see if that’s the case with Aaron. I don’t know, but I would I want to see if that’s the case um with Aaron Rodgers. Cody Silva, we need a left tackle more than a wide receiver two right now. Would you trade Brick and a third round pick for someone who is more developed? And if you were someone else, would you accept that trade? I It depends on who that guy is. I think that’s a big thing. You’re not going to get somebody Brick’s age, you know, like you’re not getting a a a rookie contract guy. You’re getting a second contract guy or a dude whose contract’s about to expire who they don’t want to pay, who you’re going to have to overpay at the end of the day. Like, that’s you’re not getting an even trade. You know, you’re not trading Brick in a third round pick for a guy that comes in here and gives you this giant vast improvement and you know, you you’re just like okay with it. You’re getting a guy that might be like a little bit better that you’re going to have to give a contract to that isn’t a franchise left tackle, but you hope he develops into one. Like that’s what you’re looking at if you if you give up Rodri. you feel different? No, I I I I really from the other team’s perspective, there’s nothing about that trade that makes me want to do business. Like I there’s just nothing. Like I I I have So no, I’m going to throw it back to you in one second here, Noah, but like I’m looking at a list of left tackles in the NFL, uh listed by how much they make. I’m going to throw you a couple names. Tell me tell me if you would accept this trade. So, if you’re the Las Vegas Raiders, Colton Miller, 30 years old, would you accept that trade? No. Exactly. Um, let’s go a little bit further down. Uh, oh, would I accept that trade if I’m the Either way, I wouldn’t make that trade if I’m the Steelers. I would make that trade if I’m the Vegas, but I wouldn’t feel good about it by no means because just because Miller’s a UFA at the end of the year. Yeah. And he’s 30 years old. So, you’re either going to have to pay a 31y old or, you know, move on. So, that one I would do if I’m Vegas, not the Steelers. But that’s a prime that’s a great example. Yeah, I think that’s those ex like that is who you could get is someone who is 30 or above. And so then you’re looking at some of the most expensive left tackles in the entire NFL. And then you’re also looking at some of these players who are declining in production and play because of their age. So, like in theory, I’m all about, you know, taking a player like Jones who maybe you could convince another organization still has this untapped potential when you can package it with a day two pick and get someone who’s really valuable. But like, you know, I would if I’m Las Vegas and I’ve Pittsburgh calls me about Brick Jones, I’m my first question is why are you offering him to me? Yes. Yes. And then I’m going to watch the tape and I’m gonna be like, “Oh, that’s why I’d rather have Colton Miller.” Like, so like I just cannot see how, you know, unless someone’s just not doing their due diligence on Brick Jones and how he’s looked over the last year or since he’s entered the league, let’s be honest, then, you know, I I don’t really know how someone’s going to play ball in a Brick Jones trade. I agree. I agree. What’s more likely? Lemieux buys the team back this year, the Steelers win the AFC Championship, or the Steelers win the AFC Championship this year. Lemieux is going to own the the the Penguins. Am I wrong there? Uh, no. You’re not wrong. I think they’re they’re playing a they’re playing a waiting game. From what I’ve heard, there’s a a large um difference in in, you know, final prices and what Lemieux and his camp would want and what FSG would want to part with for the whole team. But FSG, they don’t care. They will get out if they make the best deal. So, I think that’s where the the the bridge has to kind of be walked there. But, yeah, I think Lemieux is gonna eventually own the Penguins again. Yeah, I agree. I agree. Uh, this is a crazy one, John. The Steelers will get their wide receiver on August 26th 27th either just before or after 4 p.m. Somebody mark that down because if it happens, that’s awesome. Eddie the First Morning fellas going to the first game ever in Pittsburgh this season. That’s awesome, dude. In October, any suggestions on where to stay and where to eat? stay stay on the Northshore or downtown. Um that’s the way to go about it. There’s a couple of hotels on the on the north shore. I’d stay at any of them. Um where where to where to eat, dude? Again, like go walk around downtown. Go walk around the strip district. That’s always my place to go to. Um get some permanis. You want to get some permanis and go hang out at the you know, go go sit at one of the bars at at the Northshore and just enjoy your day. You know what I mean? like there great food at all of them. Um, yeah, you can’t go wrong on the Northshore and you can’t go down wrong downtown for sure. Those are those are the and then go to the strip district, but I say that all the time. That’s the best place to go. Stuart, is the passing game even able to toss a salad? I just had to give that one a highlight cuz that’s hilarious. That is hilarious. Pittsburgh Hornets they should tell McLaren they that we can make scary terrible bowl towels in October. That’s also awesome. Shout out to Salad. Is Darnell going to tackle a legit possibility? How do you think How do you guys think he’d do? I think he’d do fantastic. I think he’d be a great left tackle. I don’t think it’s a possibility now, but I did get some sense that maybe that conversation has been had once or twice between Darnell. He was open. He’s like, “Yeah, man. I’m an open-minded guy.” That you’ve either heard that too much on social media or the Steelers had a conversation with you about you potentially playing tackle. That’s my thing. But I I do think he’d be pretty good at left tackle. I mean, he’s just such a hulking man. Like, he’s just it’s just Yeah, I have no trouble believing that he would succeed based off of his size and he could just add, you know, some more poundage onto him and then boom, I think he got a massive and imposing left tackle. But yeah, I think they’ve they’ve definitely talked about it. I just and he seemed open to it. Was it the other was it from Sunday or Saturday where you guys asked him about it? Yeah. Yeah. So, I mean something some conversation’s been had and I think just when you are that size and maybe you are recognizing where you are in the depth chart, I think maybe the wheels turn a little bit like maybe I’ll have to make an adjustment somewhere to get a longer shot with this team or to maybe get a new contract with another NFL team. So, I wouldn’t be surprised if it happens down the line, but I don’t think the Steelers are like making this change behind the scenes and then they’re going to just like debut, you know, Mount Washington as the left tackle in a in a month or something. No, I think it would be awesome, but no. No, I agree with you. And Joe, would you say Ramsay is looking like the next Troy? No. I mean, Troy Palm was, you know, man amongst boys. It was insane. Uh that guy was I never got to watch him live like in person like this, but I’ve you know I will I can’t compare anybody to Troy. I will say that Jaylen’s a future Hall of Famer. There’s no question to it. He plays like a future Hall of Famer, but he’s not doing like the you know when we get into the season, we’ll see. But for right now, I would say I would say no. Out of pure respect for Troy Palmu and how awesome it is. It still gets me when you like walk into the cafeteria some days and Troy’s standing there and you like have a conversation with him and you’re just like, “Damn, dude. That’s Troy freaking Paulo, man.” Like that’s crazy to me. Um Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It’s pretty cool. Absolutely crazy. It just I just got to say this real quick. Like when I talked to him for like a minute in the cafeteria uh a week or two ago and one treated me like we have met millions of times. It was legitimately the first time I ever told him my name. Yeah. And two, if you didn’t know what his face looked like, you would not know that was Troy Palamalu at all. Cuz my man was rocking knee high socks. My man was rocking like thigh high shorts, a hoodie, a hat. Like, and I was like, “This must be like a coaching fellow or something.” Everybody like, “Oh my god, that is the greatest safety to ever play for, you know, the Steelers maybe ever.” Um, yeah, it’s he’s awesome. Incredible. Troy is such an incredible human being. It is so cool whenever he’s in town. Brick, did Tomlin Company ruin their offensive lineman by forcing them to play a different position? No, I don’t think that’s what they did to Brick. I think Kevin Dawson, there’s an argument there. I think that’s like the big one. Mason McCormack looks just fine at right tack. At right guard, he looks very good. Troy Fatano looks just fine at right tackle. He looks very good. Brick to me is like the one right left, but you weren’t going to bench Dan Moore. like, you know, your offensive line would have been so much worse if it was Brick on the left and Chukes on the right. That would have just been atrocious. Um, so I want to say no. I just honestly think that he just has not developed in almost any capacity. And you know, that’s where it is. I think there’s an argument with some guys, but I don’t make that argument for Brick. Yeah. Yes. I I don’t think it’s just because they switched him and forced him to play on the left side. I don’t think the I think the same exact issues and problems we’ve seen out of Project Jones emerge if he stays on the right side for the entirety of his time here or if he switches over to the left side. I I think it was it made a lot of sense to put him there and to try him at the left side because of the athleticism. You want someone who is, you know, quote unquote quicker, a little bit faster, reactionary on the left side protecting your blind side, but like just hasn’t worked at all. So yeah, failure of development, not a failure of an idea in my opinion. Yes, I agree. Enigma After Dark. Now, who is looking like the excuse me, team captains this year? Cam, TJ, Aaron Rodgers, Miles Kilibru. That might be it. That might be it. Pat Frier Mute, I think, is a should get a captain spot this year. I think he is I think he’s kind of deserving of it. Definitely a veteran leader who’s been around here for a minute. Um, but Aaron’s going to get it and then it’s just a matter of if they keep five. But that’s, you know, that’s guess and also like kind of just like joking with guys, talking on the side of like, you know, who’s going to be captains this year. So that’s that would be my guess um on who on who gets there for sure. Street corn, Mayo, and Paprika little charred. Do do you think they will wait for a wide receiver to be cut instead of trading? Um, no. What I think that’s going to happen is I think the Steelers are going to wait until there are more options available, which is going to happen in the next week or so. And then they’re going to go start making offers to people and see what they come up with. But I think it’s about a week away from teams really revealing that guys are on the market and available. And once that happens, I think that’s when that’s when they start to make a move. Yep. Yeah. I mean, I I I just can’t imagine them being that patient. If the issue feels as big a priority in, you know, behind closed doors as it does on the All Steelers Talk podcast, then you’re playing a dangerous game waiting for someone to get cut who’s maybe at best a fringe wide receiver 2/3. So, I still think trade is is going to be the best option to fully address the issue. Yes, I agree. I agree. Did we call each other uh to decide on all Mon hoodie Mondays? It’s cold out here in Pittsburgh. It’s cold after you staying in the sun for, you know, 42 hours a day for two weeks. You know, gets a little a little chilly, a little nippy in the morning. You know what I’m saying? We’ll finish off with Lindsay. What are the times for the live shows this week? Um, it’ll be the same schedule that we that we went with last week. Friday will be the 9:00 a.m. show um because there will be no practice. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday there will be practice. So, it’s just kind of whenever we’re done, when everything’s wrapped up, I’d say somewhere between 5 and 5:30 is is when we’ll uh be going live, stuff like that. But, it’s really it’s tough to to pinpoint an exact time because you just never know what’s what chaos is going to come from training camp. And right, you know, some days they end at 3:30 and some days they end at 4:15 and you go, “All right, cool.” So, just playing it by ear, but I’d say somewhere in that 530 range um is what we’re looking at. All right, with that said, guys, we’re heading out of here. Thank you so much for jumping on to another episode of All Steelers Talk. Make sure to subscribe to us on YouTube. YouTube.com/allsteelers talk. Check us out anywhere you get your podcasts. And as always, find all of our work at si.com/ NFL/steelers. We’ll be back tomorrow after practice. But until then, enjoy another beautiful day in the Berg. Peace. [Music]
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36 comments
I’m honestly perfectly okay with getting some very high draft picks this year. We have so many picks and with high picks as well, we could effectively rebuild half the team.
I think we should all just let the coaches do their thing. How could we overlook the 12 personnel as a way to give help to broderick on the left side? There are some far more refined "football minds" inside the walls of that facility.
Y'all need to chill and let Omar cook.
I think we are being too physical in camp with all these injuries I know it’s the Steelers way but work on the fundamentals and get the schemes right
Robinson was a former running back, transition a linebacker
A WRs is better 2 B quick than just fast bc a quick WRs who great at running routes even if a corner is all over them they can make space and get open
Noah,how can you say the Steelers offense is really bad just by watching practice. Look, I know you have to report on what you see in practice. I understand that. But it gets to a point where I can't take you seriously anymore. I've been a Steelers fan for almost 40 years, going back when Mark Malone was the QB for the Steelers, and I've seen when our offense looked amazing in practice before the season started, and when the season started our offense looked like trash. The same as when our offense looked horrible in practice, but when the season started, our offense looked really good. Personally, I think our offense will be good. I'm not saying great because of the offensive line, but I think we will be good offensively.
(aka Lovett's Tossed Salad) Am I the only one connecting the Alex and Calvin quiet "injuries status" to the timing of the 'Terry wants to be traded' press?!? I would NOT be surprised if those 2 are being held out because they have been floated in ongoing talks about a trade thus they don't wanna damage the goods!!
Regardless of WHO you are talking about as a WR2-3 addition, those teams are likely wanting one of those 2 players when Omar says I'm keeping my top 2025 picks.
Agreed… when Scotty becomes the difference maker sans DK, you better get some phones ringing fo sho
Just my two cents…
Come on guys, is this any Different than when the Steelers were playing Kendrick Green at FB during training camp?
Curry is garbage!!!
Not really concerned about the injuries right now because I still got preseason that we can go 0 in three and then start start the regular season anyone that hurt you don't start the preseason
I believe Broderick Jones is just not smart and but by the time he mentally processes what’s going on it’s too late. I watch him look at the lineman next to him and it seems he’s always asking them. What just happened?
We have the money and picks to trade
GET KEENAN ALLEN IN THE HOUSE BEFORE HE SIGNS WITH CHARGERS🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️
Your making this a story when it shouldn't be , IT'S TRAINING CAMP the defense will be ahead of the offense this time of the year. During Roethlisberger prime when they made their championship runs the defense would be ahead of the offense . It means nothing , it's normal.
the offense needs a wr2! and to not run first down,run second down or throw the ball backward, throw to the sidelines on third
(aka Lovett's Tossed Salad) we should be trading Philly a 6th for Stoutland University's assistant O-line coach YESTERDAY!!
Stouts team just keeps churning out pro-bowlers from guys that NEVER PLAYED THE POSITION!!!
Back in the day, the Steelers made Benny Cunningham a tackle when he was originally a tight end and he became one of the best tackles the Steelers ever had.
How the hell do the Steelers say they are really trying when they keep coaches like pat mier that simply ARE NOT GETTING IT DONE!!!! Just because they don't wanna end contracts in the middle of a contract. No one better say bring munchak back cuz it's delusional. Watch us trade Broderick and see him excel! Tomlin puts zero stock in offense. Thinks we don't need it! Tomlin thinks he can win a superbowl with field goals.
I’m seeing so many mixed reports when it comes to Roman. These guys have said he’s done nothing, while others have said he has done well. I’m looking for him to hopefully play alot of snaps in the preseason
I don’t see any significant changes coming. You don’t really need a #2 receiver in Smiths offense. It would help sure but it’s not a need even last year after trading for Mike Williams they didn’t really attempt to use him. Nobody is going to trade with them for a starting caliber player this close to the regular season.
Ummm noah, i hope your analysis of where the steelers offense is in line with your thoughts of 2023 draft and who was drafted around broderick umm will mcdonald recorded double digit sacks last year while playing about half of the defense snaps, and had 8 sacks 7tfl 2 FF in first 7 games of season and dont know why they have him playing 17 games last year when he literally missed like 3 weeks but double digit sacks and tfl's playing half of the snaps is not atrocious, other people selected around broderick ummm just two guys named bijan and jahmyr, both top 10 backs in the league jalen carter was a few picks before as well as darnell wright a tackle for the bears thats been pretty good people after broderick we could of got jsn from seattle, jordan addison, jack campbell, christian gonzalez,calijah kancey, anton harrison,sam laporta, brian branch, which detroit got gibbs laporta branch and campbell 3 of those coming after broderick 1 just few picks before, we need their scout, while we got jones, porter, benton and herbig all within same group of pics, i love benton and herbig but herbig being behind tj limits us from seeing a full seasons work from him but almost every game he gets sufficient snaps he makes plays benton did rookie year not as much last year, hopefully that changes with additions this year, and hopefully porter bounces back and is like rookie year cause he drew alot of penalties last year, but i definitily would of taken branch and laporta instead i mean they were the best at their position for the draft, and thats where you see teams doing well in drafts their the teams that pick the best players available on the board not strictly their needs especially if there is a player far ahead of the rest pittsburgh will pass and grab a need, while other teams are doing way better in the long run by taking best player, i mean all four of those picks for detroit already pro bowlers within their first two seasons branch gibbs laporta already all pro they make it work move on from a veteran sooner if the draft picks are undeniably better and nfl ready soon, then they either are stacked at positions or trade away still valuable veterans get more draft picks for future years their map for success has never been hard to figure out and many teams are starting to follow we need to stop being so insistent on our way when the decision is ends up hurting us for years to come and puts us in deeper holes than we were in to begin with, all i will say there is pickett and devin bush and possibly soon added to that list broderick jones. Also jaden mcmillan, hats off for that one i said it on here months ago when his name came up and noah didnt sound so sure but if you really watched him last season, he had td first game then caught few passes over first 8 weeks but missed 4 out of first 10 weeks then caught 7 tds in last 5 games. He can play wr2 or slot and is really effective out of slot cause he can catch ball few yards from LOS, and make moves forcing miss tackles as well as burn passed most players on the field and great change of direction and change in speed, finds open spaces in zones, makes contested catches in coverage, only worry is he will put himself in harms ways catching passes where he is gonna take big hits which isnt bad just for him many times he ends up injured taking those hits and missing games,but they kept Godwin and Evans, drafted egbuka, so wondering how jalen fits into that picture with egbuka being added i think tampa is looking at almost always either godwin or evans end up missing games so one goes down they still have strong 3 but we possibly could get him for the right price definitely worth the call but doubs would be your more consistent wr2, and fits that role perfectly then use calvin as a slot the same way brady loved himself some small speedy reliable wes welker then julian edelman, think calvin would be more effectively catching short passes, he plays bigger than he is and can play all levels short medium and deep
Desean Elliott was our best player on defense last year, not TJ.
Fields should have been given a shot. I’ll stand on that hill. He was great in the red zone as a dual threat. If we lose week 1 to him I won’t get over it.
The offense will be fine I believe.. seems like this year more than ever we’ve forgotten that training camp is the place for mistakes and to get the chemistry down, especially when you have new players! We’re not a finished product yet.. have some faith and patience
Fart
Is McMillan in Tampa and option
There will always be injuries in training camp. But as long as they’re not serious or season ending, those guys should be fine. And when it comes to the offense, this could very well be a LONG season.
Tackle has to happen as priority 1
I hate to say it. This offense will struggle. We need a #2 WR and a left tackle. The defense will wear out towards the end of the season. One and done in the playoffs if we make it.
Hope i am wrong.
The Ravens won a SB without an offense. You're already judging that the Steelers will stink. its way too early. Play 5 games in the regular season first. But I do agree that players getting hurt super early is not a good sign. Players don't keep themselves in shape.
You can’t really give a good assessment of the offense or defense during training camp and even pre season. They’re still installing the offense especially considering you have a new quarterback, multiple new receivers, different running backs offensive lines being shuffled back-and-forth, and the defense is very vanilla . I think everyone will be pleasantly surprised how good they are this year and I believe that Will Howard will be a franchise quarterback not this year but later down the line
Monday overreaction! Love yall guys keep the good work
God is great
I got a autograph from Calvin Austin I asked if he is alright he said he was good so I think he was just resting
Rodgers loved Kuhn back in the day. Need a FB
I thought Andy Weidl was responsible for our scouting, not Pat Myer.