The Standard (S6, E2): The Dog Days | Pittsburgh Steelers

The Standard (S6, E2): The Dog Days | Pittsburgh Steelers

It’s prime time football. The Pittsburgh Steelers taking on the Tennessee Titans tonight at Acure Stadium. Number 55, Cole Hulcom. Felt like I was, you know, really starting to get a grasp of the defense. Um, really coming to my own. First and 23 from the Fives. Fires a pass down the field and that’s going to be a first down pickup up over the 25 to 30. It was wild. I knew I messed it up pretty bad. [Applause] [Music] It’s a long 13 practices to start training camp. [Music] DK, what up? Beautiful work day. We take care of that ball, RBs. It’s going to be a great day. Yes, sir. The rest of it just get better. The days are meant for improvement. Tedious repetition of routine things, man. No shortcut to what we hunting. Tedious repetition creates muscle memory and you going to do it. Put hands on people today. We suited, man. Don’t get beat to the flat. Tell them, brother. Skills relative to your position, man. Don’t be afraid to try something new. Grown man rep right here for the youngster. Mhm. Seeing the same men lining up across from you can become mundane. The Steelers first preseason game in Jacksonville offers a break from the dog days of camp. Fresh faces on the other side of the ball. Simultaneously, the Steelers have a familiar face in the new role of color commentator. My name is Max Starks. I was drafted in 2004, round number three, pick 75 for the Pittsburgh Steelers. [Music] Let’s go. I need you tonight, baby. I need you today. I think one of the best things when I think about my time with the Steelers, you know, it was fun. We were successful at the same time. The Pittsville Steelers have won the Super Bowl for a sixth time. You look at that sustained success and just the lifetime friendships that I made over that time are invaluable. Especially as a young man, you feel that familiar atmosphere for as much as competitive sports can be. And to be there as long as I was to see a lot of the different evolutionary changes with the team, uh it’s been pretty cool. you know, as a kid, you know, you get in front of the TV and watch games with your family. It was like cool. I was like, I want to be there one of these days. I didn’t know what there meant as a young kid, you know, cuz I remember one of my earliest like really most vivid football memories was actually Super Bowl 30. I just remember there was something about watching that game on television and saying, “Man, I want to do that one day.” Now, childhood fantasy, you could say, but like when I looked back on it and then I got the opportunity to be drafted to one of those two teams I saw that day, that experience that they were going through, I would literally be going through it exactly 10 years later in Super Bowl 40. It’s pretty crazy to think about that. Like, I I get goosebumps just still thinking about that moment. Now, I could potentially be that guy calling those type of games for the Steelers. I had the opportunity when I was a player to go to the NFL’s broadcast boot camp. And so it was really eye opening to go through game calls, to go through sideline reporting, to work from a radio perspective. And so that gave me really the first inkling to know that there’s a lot of opportunity out there. And so came back to Pittsburgh. Then Steelers TV, obviously we know as Steelers.com, and I had a show on there called Maxed Out. And so I got to take a teammate um every week, interview them, and we do some type of competitive competition. There it is. And it was just really cool to kind of get to interact with my teammates in a different sense. Interviewing was was a fun process to kind of learn. What else would you be doing with your free time? I would probably be working at home somewhere probably. So once I retired, I was like, man, I really want to get into this. This is the profession that I feel like I kind of have a niche in. I was able to connect with a company in Chicago called 120 Sports at the time. And I applied for an internship, not in front of the camera, not behind a microphone, but actually behind the camera. And so I worked as a cameraman. I worked in the sound engineering booth. I cut clips and I learned how to how to edit. Just one day they were like, “Hey, you know, our talent didn’t show up to do this PFF segment and it was on the top five o offensive linemen ranked by PFF.” Well, I’d already cut the slides for that segment cuz obviously offensive linemen, I knew the guys they were going for. They were like, “Hey, Max.” you know, they radioed me in in the headset like, “Hey, he’s not here.” Um, like, “What are you wearing?” I’m like, “Well, I got a polo and jeans on.” All right. Okay. Hey, can can you do this segment? Because we haven’t seen talent. He hasn’t showed up yet. I’m like, “What?” And so, I remember the first time I got to jump on in front of the camera. And I liked it. Who’s the toughest guy to go against? He’ll say, “Hands down is Joe Thomas.” Yeah. And I think from there, Starks would begin his media career from calling high school and college games to radio and television appearances. Who can run the football? Got to put some faith in him. The more balance. With the retirement of Tunilen following the 2020 season, a position had opened up with his former team. The Steelers elevated Craig Wolfley up to the booth and there became an opportunity on the sidelines. like this is the job of a lifetime. Now we get here 5 years later. I’m now in the booth for the Pittsburgh Steelers and I couldn’t be happier with the opportunity to be in this position. I you never like the circumstances that things happen at times, but I know God never makes any mistakes. the man that I’m quote unquote walking in the footsteps of um paved such a wonderful lane and I look at what Tonillin and what Craig Wolfley have meant not only to Western PA and to Steeler Nation but what they’ve done for the position as a whole in the entire league. The esteem, the prestige, and the integrity that these men walked with allowed for offensive linemen to really have a lane in here. To be in that line, in that vein can be overwhelming at times, but I hope to live up to those ideals that they lay before me. [Applause] [Music] In a preseason game in which a lot of regatives won’t play for the Steelers, what are Mike Tomlin and his staff looking for tonight from the guys who will play? Max, he wants to see the hunt. He wants to see the hunger. It doesn’t matter what they do. It’s about how we go about our business, the Steeler way of doing business. Are you going to be physical? Are you going to be technically sound? And are you going to play to the echo of the whistle? No day like today. Let’s go out there and be dominant offense and defense. First impression of Mason Rudolph in the offense’s first impression was a good one through the middle of the field and it is complete. It’s Roman Wilson all the way down to the 46 yd line [Music] been there, done that, still doing it. Scotty Miller fires over the middle of the field complete to Washington. Touchdown Pittsburgh Steelers right up the left seam. And I hate to say this, bud. Tyson Campbell, you’re not tall enough to ride that ride, son. Yeah. The Steelers were on a joy ride. Going to throw over the middle of the field. Oh, big hit. Juan Thornhill. Hello. Hammer meet nail. sliding grab and the Steelers with 24 seconds left in the first half have their second touchdown. The second half would be a back and forth tilt. The throw by Mullen. It is a touchdown for Irwin and they take the lead. setting up the screen as Surman wide open with blockers in front and Surman will rumble into the end zone for a touchdown. Great job on that and Tuton straight up the middle of the field and Toutton stays on his feet and now a big scrum. Second effort, third effort and fourth effort all combined in there for Basil Toutin. Back lofting right towards the end zone and brought down. Touchdown Pittsburgh Steelers. Keshan Williams makes the grab. That was an amazing play. Skyler Thompson blips on by Jaguars. He’s getting a guy right in his face. Still not afraid to deliver. [Music] Unbelievable. And the Steelers win the preseason opener by the final score of 31-25. It was a good night through the air, which in return made it a good night to be a wide receiver. It’s been a group that has gotten a lot of buzz during camp. But to coach Zack Azani, he isn’t worried about the noise. His main focus is on his room. The room is really good to coach right now. It’s a really good culture. There’s a bunch of pros in there. Um, they have a good camaraderie, a good brotherhood. We had a rain day the other day. We were in the gym. You can tell a lot about a group when there’s a lot of distractions and you’re in a gym and it’s loud and you know, but they were pros. I called my wife that night and I said, “You know what? I really, really enjoy coaching these guys. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] One of the guys Asani gets to coach is DK Metaf. But that’s not new news. Neither is the kind of stress he can put on opposing teams. You know, obviously physically size, speed, all the things you’re looking for on that front. Um, I think everyone can see that. But just as a human, he’s a fantastic human being. He’s a humble guy. He wants to learn. Uh he wants to improve his game. So those things coming in jumping on a moving train are very very important. So he adds to the room in in a lot of different ways. And obviously his experience, he’s caught a lot of balls. He’s got an impressive resume. So those things also add to the room. Metaf is an established commodity. A player that is trying to get to that point is secondyear man Roman Wilson. Wilson missed all but five snaps last season. For him, this preeason is an important one. Roman’s been great. Roman worked his tail off all winter. Did the extra. Understands last year was a bit of a disappointment for him. You know, he’s not naive to that. He knows that. [Music] And I’m I’m very pleased with where he’s at. He’s worked his tail off. He doesn’t say a word. He just wants to prove everyone uh that he belongs here. Luckily for Wilson, he doesn’t need to look very far to see a similar path. Obviously, Calvin uh rough rookie year, a lot like Roman, right? Uh gets hurt uh second year kind of flounders a little bit and then really took off last year. Calvin Austin beating the pants off of his cover man. Really started becoming a wide receiver rather than just a a fast slot guy, punt returner, uh which is what a lot of people view him as. But he’s growing into a legit wide receiver, not just a fast slot guy. Way to come through. Regardless of who’s catching the ball, getting on the same page as the new quarterback is paramount. He’s a lot like me. Very demanding on receivers in a good way. It’s important that those guys are on the same page. [Music] He’s not going to mince words. If he wants a route a certain way, he’s going to let him know. That’s the good part. We’re not going to be guessing with Aaron. He’s going to let us know how he wants it, what he wants, when he wants it. He’s seen every defense. He’s seen every route. He’s seen every coverage. Let’s just get on his same page. Um because at the end of the day that that’s what it is. It’s about those guys quarterbacks and wide outs being on the same page and Aaron’s going to let them know. So it’s been great working with you know a first ballot hall of famer. I’m blessed and so are the white outs and and I told them that like this this doesn’t happen all the time so take advantage of it. [Music] I was walking down here and I was thinking about this man. These are the mundane days, man, where if you really want to work on your habits, one of these things, whether it’s a route technique with eight, whether it’s a certain way that you decide to come out here and get better at one little thing, may translate this season. Ben Scoronic is one of the players working to stand out. I forgot my armbands today. Key, he doesn’t want to be known as basic. I’m back to the base grade to play two five. What up, B? You got to be nice to me today. What? You got to be nice to No, I’m miked up, bro. Just act nice. My mom watches. Oh, my bad. What’s up, mom? What’s up, man? You’re not miked up. Yes, I am, bro. See, look what you guys did to me. Nobody will talk to me now cuz I’m miked up. Now I got to talk to myself again. All right. Would you rather have Would you rather have hot food and hot drinks the rest of your life or cold food and cold drinks? Yeah, Mike. You don’t even know. I don’t even know what you’re talking about. You can only eat hot food or cold drinks. You can only eat hot foods and drink hot drinks or cold or cold? What? Cold cold food. Ice cream. Cold pizza. All right, guys. Let’s go to work. No, you didn’t. Cuz look at my hands now. Look at my hands now. I I’ve been watching football while you still in pampers. Bro, I’m really I’m really a DB, bro. That was my best rep in cam, huh? Wait, what was that? No, no, no. You be one of the best agent in the league. Oh my god. Thanks, bro. That was that’s really nice of you to say. Yeah. Man, Clavin live had a golf outing down the fairway. And now he has a 79 yard shot for birdie. What a chip. Hey, what’s your step count? 70,000. Holy. Thanks for working hard for us, man. Would you rather only have hot foods and hot drinks the rest of your life or cold food and cold drinks? Hot food, hot drink. So on a on a hot summer day, you just gonna have a hot hot drink. Does it never get cold? Never gets cold. It’s hot. It’s always hot. You’re going to have a hot a hot glass of milk. Yeah. Okay. You can only eat hot food and drink hot drinks or eat cold food and drink cold drinks. I know your situation. I’m about to know I’m about to entertain you. Come on. I know that cold water felt good. Hey, hey, the tight ends are getting a pick. Should we get one? We should. Thank you. Can you get one of me and my uh twin DK? Good afternoon. uh really excited about this preseason matchup against the Bucks. Equally as excited about the work that we get an opportunity to get done here today with them uh in a practice setting. The work that we do will be normal work that we do. We’re following a normal practice schedule, but it’s just good to do it against some unfamiliar faces. just seeing our adaptability both as players and coaches and as a collective. It’s just a lot of really good work that you get when you get an opportunity to work with a practice partner. I expect it to be a highly competitive and highly productive day. I’m also excited about getting an opportunity for some preseason ball in our home venue. All right, here we go. Not changing up gents. Routine things routinely all day long. Win all three. One, two, three. It’s been said that a player makes his biggest improvement from his first season to his second. Tonight, there are a number of students hoping to make a similar leap from the first preseason game to the second preseason game. And I think the entire offense is actually looking for more sustainability, more explosive plays in the run game. [Music] The Steelers may have been hunting for more explosive plays, but the Bucks found them first. Picked off at the 40 yd line of the Bucks, weaving his way back into Steelers territory, lofting right towards the end on Fort Irving and he makes the grab. Beautifully thrown football. Touchdown Tampa Bay Bucks. Tampa Bay now with the ball at the 5 yd line. Bridgewwater back looking left. Loftton towards the corner of the end zone for Ibuka and it is complete touchdown. It wasn’t the start Pittsburgh was hoping for but they were one big play away from opening the game back up. Rudolph gets a snap back to pass. Looking looking. He’s going to loft deep. Has a man out there. It’s Ruben Wilson makes the grab right down the middle of the field and deep into Tampa Bay territory. Sweet Marie. Did you see that? These are the explosive plays we didn’t see a week ago that we’re getting to see here tonight. That was a great job to kickstart this offense. Looks right now dances out to the left in trouble throws and it is complete in the end zone and it’s Johnson and it’s a touchdown Pittsburgh Steelers. Six points on the board for the Steelers. And now we are back into the ball game. Tr back to pass now flushed and now down he goes and it’s Harmon with the sack. Mama, there goes that man. First round draft pick, Mr. Derek Harmon, the 99 comes in and absolutely just barreled the left guard all night. He can’t stop that. He can’t stop that. The first round pick got the pass rush going. Now it was on the third rounder to get the ground game humming. Caleb Johnson bursting through. He’ll cut it back to the right and picked up almost 10 yardds. Johnson gaping hole to the right. Starts back to the left. Lowers his shoulder. Steam is building right now with this Steelers run game. And Caleb Johnson finding his vision, pressing up into the line again before making the decision to cut out to the right. Keep going KJ. Run it back on corner. They don’t want to keep that corner. Surman off right guard and barrels into the end zone. Touchdown Pittsburgh Steelers. Body shot. Body shot. Body shot by the offense there. When you talk about wanting to see the run game, these are those type of moments. Good job. Good job. You know, if we playing three packs in a game, right, you got to be like Kenny. You got to be KJ the microwave. We’ll call you, you know what? We’ll call you the um air fryer. Vinnie the Microwave Johnson would be proud. Caleb was firing on all cylinders, but the Steelers pursuit of victory would stall out. And the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will win the second preseason game of the season here. Some positives here. Some things that Mike Tomlin is going to want to see cleaned up. A big second game of tape put out there by players trying to make the team. Preseason game number two is in the books. And if you’re looking for a roster spot, it puts an emphasis on these final days of camp. Mike Tomlin will use the Carolina game as a dress rehearsal for most of his defense, which will offer fans their first look at the new secondary. With a lot of added veteran pieces on the back end, it’s the job of defensive backs coach Gerald Alexander to put the puzzle together. Ultimately, it just takes me as an educator and getting them to understand what the responsibilities are, what their roles are in the 11 piece puzzle that we have on defense. Uh the communication that’s associated with those things and that’s really the most important part is just making sure that you know although we are new um and we are building chemistry, a lot of it just comes down to all being on the same page. And that starts with uh streamline communication. you know, getting uh guys who are communicating uh the terminology and the context in which to use certain words and uh the receivers of those communication to understand and also confirm so we can all be on the same page and give ourselves a chance on any given snap out there on the field. One of the players that will be taking a majority of the snaps will be the newly acquired Jaylen Ramsay. That part is certain, but where he will line up seems to be ever changing. Well, you think about just from a play call standpoint, you know, you have a guy who can be a very versatile piece and and can be anywhere. So now when you look at it on the flip side offensively, they got to worry about where he is and he can be on the field and we can have a variety of different personnel groupings and he won’t be a changing piece in regards to subbing in and out of the field, but he can be a changing piece in regards to what piece of the puzzle he’s playing. It makes you good on defense in regards to the amount of versatility that you can have within a package when you have one player who can play multiple roles and really play them with minimal error. For Alexander, it’s not just utilizing his veterans. It’s also about developing the young talent such as Joey Porter Jr. Well, there’s a lot of things that Joey has experienced and there’s so much more football that he continues to have in front of him and so many things that he can get better at. And so it’s really just focusing on the things technically that are going to allow him to be the player that he’s going to be. What I think he does well is he does a great job of disrupting guys at the line of scrimmage with his patience and his ability to press. Now it’s really beyond that. What is the next things that can help him? You know, creating consequences for targets. And those things come in the form of getting your hands on the football and creating turnovers and getting interceptions. And so those are the things that, you know, I’ve identified with him to challenge him throughout the 2025 season to better his play as we go forward. [Music] I love the competitive foundation that each of these individuals have, u myself included. And so now it’s just how everything is just coming together, understanding the next layers of conversations that we need to have throughout this journey. Because if we’re just talking on a surface level, then we’re not maximizing what this group can potentially be. Even though we have guys who have incredible football intellect, um their individual knowledge might not necessarily equate to the betterment of the group, unless we all come together and we have that understanding and detail to be able to go out there on Sundays and do what really matches my vision, which is to be a hell of a group out there on a Sunday. It is the final dress rehearsal for some and it is the final curtain for others. Come on boys. Hey be assignment focus. Play physical basketball. Have some fun dog. Come on defense on two. One two. Joey Porter Jr. Darius Slay and Jaylen Ramsey all making an appearance. And to Shawn Elliot at the safety position as well as the green dot. So, the first group got ample work. Chuck Clark lost his footing. Ramsey came all the way across the form to make that stop after a gain of one. He came off of a blitz off the edge then finally got Rimfro down. Even if they wanted more off that. Not off that. No, not off that. No. Ta. No. But the game was for those making a case for the 53. Touchdown Pittsburgh Steelers. And a beautiful back shoulder fade thrown in the back left corner of the end zone. The dog days have come to a close. The preeason is in the rear view mirror. By late August, the roster will be cut down, taking 90 men and turning them into the 2025 Pittsburgh Steelers. [Music] [Applause] making the team is a big deal. But for linebacker Cole Hulcom, it’s more than that. To him, it’s a return to the game he loves. You know, it was a normal day for me. Just going about my business and uh getting ready pregame, talking some smack to to Vel a little bit. O’Neal can track him down and Cole Hulen is shaken up on the play. You know, hurt hurt bad. Um you know, they they were coming out running their tests and I was just wanting to get off the field. You know, I knew it was a bad injury. So, you know, I was just telling them, “Get the card out here and and get me out of here so we can do it not in front of everybody.” Hulkcom would have a long road back being sidelined for the remainder of the season and into 2024. Yeah, some days were tougher than others, but you know, it wasn’t necessarily a uh not looking at the finish line, just getting lost in the process and trying to to take the small wins each day and not get too caught up in, you know, the big picture or like the final product. I don’t think I ever questioned being able to to return. It was always the goal and not just make a comeback. I wanted to come back and and prove that I uh you know can be a top linebacker in this league still. On December 31st, 2024, Hulcom made a return to practice but remained on the physically unable to perform list for the playoffs. Finally in Latro, Cole could get back to a sense of normaly. By that point, I felt like I was, you know, was back to myself. So getting to practice, you know, definitely felt great to get the pads on, get going again. I’m happy for him as an individual. The way he’s worked, you know, how long he’s been away from the game on the field, uh, just rehabbing and coming back. And I’m just happy right now he’s in a spot where health-wise he can go out and and execute and use those physical talents that he’s got. I’ve learned to embrace the moments and um take in the moments and not get caught up in competition or anything like that. I mean the Jacksonville game I was I was pretty nervous. Back throws to the right flat incomplete intended for Bsby. Nice job closing there by Cole Hulk once we got that first drive out of the way. You know, it felt good again. Got to make a good play. You know, at that point it was like, okay, I can just I can let it loose. Stuff’s going to happen to you and you can sit there and you can reflect and and feel sorry for yourself or you can do something about it. Cole Hulcom jetting through great instinct, diagnose and then deliver. For me, it’s like I I never not once in my mind didn’t think I was going to be able to come back. And anybody can tell me what they want, but I’m I’m going to I’m going to do what I got to do, you know? I’m going to keep pushing and I’m going to control what I can control. [Music]

Get an exclusive look at the Steelers wide receiver and defensive back rooms, new radio color commentator Max Starks, Cole Holcomb’s return to the field and more on The Standard, presented by @hyundai

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