Drive9.10.26Hr2: More Matt's Stats, Around Campus

0:00You're tuned to the drive on your 24-7 home of the Black and Gold Steelers Nation Radio. We're going to drive on your 24-7 home of the Black and Gold Steelers Nation Radio. We're going to drive on your 24-7 home of the Black and Gold Steelers Nation Radio. Want me to get to and so little time as we continue to get ready for Steelers falcons on Sunday at Acro sure stadium and to the phone lines we go to talk to our buddy Mike the FABO who of course covers the Pittsburgh Steelers for the athletic Mike thank you for taking the time as always. I guess we don't have any any reasons to bury the lead here. We saw the reports in the news that Joey Porter Jr. was at practice today. We also all know that he is the only guy that was listed on the Steelers injury report yesterday with that back.

1:05Are you getting any clarity on his status for Sunday or is that just going to continue to be a wait and see development. Yeah, I mean he's been a limited participant from what we've been able to see there are very limited viewing windows. I just have to think that Joey is going to be out there. I think that I mean he's an important piece of this defense. Maybe they put him on some type of a pitch count just because of the fact that he's only had a handful of practices under his belt over the last week and a half or two weeks. But I would think that Joey will be out there in some capacity. And I would assume if they do put him on a pitch count that'll be more reps for Samuel wouldn't you guess. Yeah, well, and he's truly earned it. Yeah, yeah, Austin all this is how low a Sunday Samuel Jr. has played. I've thought often about how we keep talking about Joey Porter Jr. and is Joey going to get done is he going to be in the starting lineup. And never mind the fact that the Sunday Samuel Jr. had a tremendous opportunity with Joey sitting out during training camp and he absolutely maximizes opportunities. He did it on the practice field at St. Vincent College and he did it in the games in the preseason game. So I think that so long as this doesn't reach a bad outcome with Joey.

2:16You know, I think the Steelers should feel pretty good about their cornerback depth that they've got two guys that they can trust the starters and a third that starter capable. However, the safety situation is a little more tenuous. How do you think they fill in for Elliott being out. To use something like Tom and since he did such a great job on Sunday night football or Wednesday night football, whatever it was yesterday. He is going to say it's not just one guy and I think that that's what you're going to see. I think that we already thought that. Jalen Ramsey made sense as the post safety in the base defense now, especially with Elliott down. That seems like a very likely deployment. And then when they slide to the sub packages. That's where I think that you're going to see more of Ray Sean Jenkins followed by Robert Spears Jennings potentially. I think it's going to be more on on Ray Sean Jenkins a little bit more on Jalen Ramsey's plate. But you do think Spears Jenkins will see snaps with the defense.

3:20I think he could. I mean, seems to be pure really high on them. Yeah, they seem to like him and then truly we haven't gotten to see a lot of practice. This is then Mike McCarthy has talked about how this is the one game where an approach. One game where an opponent has no film on you and he was talking today about how about 35% of this. Now she see our unscouted looks and he very much wants to be part of that and keep the element of surprise going. And so we will have to wait and see on some of these things. Well, stay in with that, Mike. Wait and see and surprise element. Who do you think starts at right tackle for the Steelers on Sunday afternoon? They put out the depth chart and I think that even though Mike McCarthy joked initially that it was both lot in the Fjr director's depth chart when it first came out all the way back during training camp. This one felt more like a Mike McCarthy depth chart and truly the biggest factor for Max has just been his health. I think that we saw him two days in pads and the trope really perform well and look like a guy who's going to be a starter sooner than later.

4:26Unfortunately, those two days in pad were the only time we saw him until very very recently in that preseason game in Buffalo. So there's things that a young player has to learn. He has to learn Aaron Rogers cadence. That's not the easiest thing. And beyond that, they're big into the chemistry and the continuity along the offensive line. And the fact that he's only had a limited number of snaps next to a guy like Spencer Anderson who's going to be the starting right guard. I think that all goes into the conversation. So again, don't divulge secrets and I know you guys don't see as much practice as you used to. I kind of have a feeling that the sixth offensive line approach is probably a thing of the past, but the three outside linebacker approach is a thing of the future. And I think that we saw the dealers under Mike Tomman and Terro often kind of tinker with that, especially in one dimensional situations. And I think that that's something that you're going to see Petro Graham really lean into.

5:27I found it interesting that they listed Nick Herbig as a starter on the depth chart. And I don't think that that was an accident. I think that they view him as a guy that's going to be part of a rotation with those other guys and often trying to find ways to get them on the field together. And I think that we saw some different looks maybe not with TJ Watt out there, but even in the preseason games with one defensive lineman three outside linebackers. So I think that they're definitely going to lean into that and try to use Nick Herbig in a variety of ways really to test him in a couple different ways because in some instances, you've got a lighter leaner type of outside linebacker who's going to be rushing over a center or a guard. That's one of the things that he's going to have to do if he's playing in that package. The other part is going to be lining him up off ball in some sort of a way. I don't know what they want to call that what they want to call that. You know, four three or if they want to call that, I think there's like a mint front is another name for kind of an iteration where you still have similar guys in terms of their spacing and their techniques on the defensive front like you would have in the the okey front that they run.

6:28But just the one guy is off the ball and then that that leaves him opportunities to disguise where he's coming from and kind of hide his rush a little bit maximize his speed. We saw him at least on one instance in the preseason rushing through the B gap on a blitz in that situation. So I'm really curious to see just as this season unfolds and we get more looks how many different ways can they find to get Nick Herbig on the football field. Going to be a lot of fun. See in how Patrick Graham deploys this defense starting Sunday against the Falcons. It is our buddy Mike DeFable of the athletic with us here on the drive. Mike, I wanted to ask you. I had this in my notes and wanted to make sure I get to this before I forget. We heard the first in season regular season press conference from Mike McCarthy on Monday. And one of the things he mentioned was I believe it was Wednesdays Thursdays Fridays and Saturdays four days a week. And then the rookies come in early for the purpose of development. And we all know that's been a real onus with this coaching staff. That's a word that we all heard a bunch out in the trobe and have heard a bunch since.

7:31Do you have any kind of information or clarity on what that looks like? Is it Mike McCarthy addressing the rookies and then they go with their position coaches? Is it is it all film based stuff? Do you have any kind of insight for us on what exactly goes into that extra development time for these young guys? You know what Wes, I think that you should be a beat writer because that would make for a great story. How they are choosing to develop these guys. I know that they have played. We were talking about it on Tuesday. We want to want to quiet minds want to know. I can tell you from what I've seen specific to the quarterback position. There was a lot of questions about can you actually develop two guys in Will Howard and Drew Aller together at the same time? Are there enough snaps? And one thing I talked to the quarterback coach Tom Arth about in the trobe is. It's not just about talking about developing the quarterbacks what McCarthy does is he really carves out time to make better priority.

8:32And so when they're doing special teams work the quarterbacks are then going through their QV school drills. When they're doing individual drills, obviously they're going through their QV school drills. And so a lot of the same things that we've seen in the trobe a lot of the emphasis on the footwork, the exaggerated footwork, then throwing on the run into nets. And doing the build a drop drill where you do the punch step and the punch reached and the punch reach heel toe all this just kind of building the drop one step at a time focusing on the fundamentals and the big thing in McCarthy's coaching style and his beliefs, especially with the quarterback position they talk about it being about fundamentals over skiing. And there are even specific periods within Steelers practices that are just football fundamentals. One of the periods we watch today, you know, they're focusing on on doing that torpedo tackle the tackle where you tackle a guy and you kind of spin them to the ground for the hawk tackling. And I think they call it too. You know, that kind of thing focusing on not just tackling, but how are you tackling.

9:33And so I think all this is part of the process with these young guys. Mike, if you had to put a chip down on who plays more snap Sunday, Roman Wilson or Jeremy Bernard, where would you put that chip? I put on Roman still. I really would, but I think that it could change over the course of the season. And look, both of these guys are going to play and they're also different types of wide receivers. There's a lot of different ways. You know, McCartney has talked about how he likes it. Roman has that, you know, four, three speed. You know, he could take the top off the defense. He's a guy that can hurt you on those big grocers. You know, I think that that's going to be an area that he's going to need to continue to develop and earn some trust. And I think that's an element that he brings is different. And then with Jeremy Bernard, I mean, he's six foot two. He's more than 200 pounds. He's a rugged type of player. We didn't see it in the trove when there was no no tackling there, but in those preseason games, a lot of his explosive plays came after the catch because he's running through arm tackles, bouncing off of tackles, spinning out of tackles.

10:37And all those types of things mesh with a West Coast philosophy where so much of it is about getting the ball into the hands of the playmakers and allowing them to create yards after the catch. I think something like 40 something of his 64 receiving yards in the preseason came after the catch. So he can be a different type of asset for you. And I think they're going to maximize, you know, they're going to use him as well. Mike DeFabo of the athletic Mike last one I've got for you is how important do you think it is for the Steelers to come out with a victory around four p.m. on Sunday. It is only week one. There are still a ton of football ahead championships are not one in September, all that stuff. But at the same time, man, the Falcons have some key absences on defense. The Falcons have some key issues at quarterback. And you could maybe even be seeing Cooper rush on Sunday. You're at home. The front half of the portion of the schedule for the Steelers, I think is much more manageable than the back half. Just how it is obviously not a must win. It is still only early September. But is it maybe a can't lose for the Steelers. How important do you think Sunday's result is?

11:45First of all, it's what you talked about. It's because this is a very winnable game on their schedule. And when you look at what happens after the by week, they play a lot of playoff teams, they play a lot of prime time games, play a lot of road games, a lot of very difficult opponents. And so they're going to need to make hay early in the season. If they're going to be a playoff team this year. So that's one part of it. The other part of it's just I think the emotional side of things and the sentimental side of things and just getting Mike McCarthy off on the right foot. I think he's talked about how he really feels the responsibility that comes with being the Pittsburgh Steelers head coach. And especially because he's from here, he understands the magnitude of this. And I think that he really wants to make a good first impression on the fan base. And I think that coming away with the decisive win would really jumpstart his era and kick things off the right way. Yeah, I couldn't agree more. And last thing I got for you is kind of piggybacks off the Bernard Wilson conversation.

12:45I would expect that they use a lot of bodies on Sunday. You know, just keeping guys fresh, especially along the D line. Do you think that's a safe bet that there would be rotating guys in as they get their football legs under them? Yeah, it makes a lot of sense. You know, one thing McCarthy talked about this week is even with a guy like TJ what he doesn't want him to play, you know, 60 snaps of games. He wants to keep him fresh. And when you've got three outside linebackers, you can do that. They've talked about how this defensive front, the defensive lineman is maybe the deepest defensive line group. The most talented defensive line group that McCarthy has ever been around. And I think that they are going to want to use everyone because it's early in the season. And because this is a very veteran late in team. You know, you look at the roster and a lot of these guys are on their second and third contracts. They're going to be key contributors for you. You need them to be at their best in November, December, January. If you're going to achieve what you want to. So I think that having the big picture plan in place makes sense in McCarthy also.

13:48You know, he's an older coach, but he's not old school. And you know, we saw that training camp. He took a very calculated approach in terms of how much hitting there was going to be, how much she was going to expose these guys to risk of injury. And so I think that all that's going to factor into his decision in terms of who plays and how much they play. I think that's what he said. And taking even a step further. And I talk about this. I feel like every show, but their fourth quarter defense was so bad that you talked about staying fresh into December into the playoffs. I even look at it on a per game basis. They fresh into the fourth quarter. Yeah, I think that TJ Watt is such a high energy player that you would rather have him out there for. And then he's going to have a number of the number is 50 all out snaps than 65 when maybe he's sucking wind at times. And when you have the luxury of having such a talented edge trio. And you have depth of these positions. And I think that absolutely makes sense to tap into it. I think they are. Mike DeFabo of the athletic. Make sure you're checking out all his coverage this week, this weekend. And this entire stealers season.

14:56And the time and we will see you on Sunday. Sounds great, guys. Thank you for having me there. He goes always fun to get some boots on the ground insight there from Mike DeFabo. And plenty to kind of chew on. I am very interested. It's maybe something that we haven't talked about as much as as we should. I know we've referenced it and kind of discussed it. But just what you alluded to there at the end, keeping these guys not only fresh for December and January, but for the fourth quarter. And you've got the bodies. You've got the depth to do it. Yeah. And I don't know if the front office would ever admit this, but their offseason moves imply that they're very aware of the fourth quarter defensive structure. They better be. Yeah. Yeah. Right. As much information is out there today and as big as these staffs are and all that. And what do you do in the offseason? You take a look at your biggest, biggest weaknesses. How do we fix these? How do we address these? Depth and time of possession. You know, right? And very interested to to see how that all begins to play out game one of 17 Sunday afternoon on the first thing I thought of whenever I heard that quote about we don't want to J. W. I play in 60 snaps.

15:58Little little less could be more guys. Little less could be okay. Sometimes less is more. That's not just a cliche. Sometimes it's a reality. Plenty more to get to here. I want to take a look at some more of Matt stats. As we get ready for Sunday and we will of course get to your reactions, your questions, comments, concerns before we get out of here as well. Plenty of ground to cover. You'll learn Williams and it's the drive. Steeler's nation radio on the Steelers audio network. And now a word from our sponsor Bud Light. There's nothing better than the clean Chris. There's nothing better than the clean crisp. What if we just got out of here and grab some Bud lights? But man, we're on air for four more hours. I'll figure it out. Sounds good to me. Anything for the clean crisp taste of Bud Light. Stock up now. Bud Light. Easy to drink, easy to enjoy. Enjoy responsibly. Copyright 2026 and has your Bush Bud Light beer St. Louis, Missouri. I used to have cable internet but I'm a 100% kind of fan. So I switched to Verizon Files. It's 100% fiber internet that's super reliable. So I streamed 100% at the NFL draft live with ultra low lag.

17:04And after what went down in the first round, still getting video calls from my best friend rubbing it in that he called all the pigs. I told you they were building their own line. I went to bed. Get 100% fiber internet with Verizon Files because when it comes to your team it's 100% or nothing. Call 1-3-3 Verizon to switch today. Get that hot dog costume ready. Matt, we are getting closer and closer to Sunday and with that I think one of the things our regular listeners came to expect last year.

18:09And if you're a new listener, you should expect this year is Thursday is Matt stats day. Now we did live on Sears.com. Good. We did dig into some of this yesterday. But it's the first week. It's always a little work on these for a while. Well before trading cap. We're kind of you shoot from the hip a little bit the first week as you figure out the ebb and flow. And so we did dive into some of this and I'm not here to rehash the stuff that we talked about yesterday. But there were tears for a sicko. I am though. I'm going to start the Patriots one tonight. Tonight. Well, you got to get a game of luck. Right. Yeah. I don't even know if you're sicko that he working smarter not harder. Exactly. Give yourself. Give yourself more time. You never know when life happens. You might not have as much time as you thought you would next week. So mind as well. Get ahead of it. Matt two more things from that packet that I wanted to fly by you here. Okay. The first is. And I think this was something that we that we've discussed in the offseason and shouldn't surprise people. But just for a refresher.

19:09The Steelers faced blitz. So the Steelers offense. Oh, I'm glad you picked this because I was wanting to talk about today or tomorrow. Perfect. I want to play and comes together. The Steelers offense faced blitzes at the league's lowest rate last year. Just 19.5% of the time. So essentially that means that on five or more past. Five or more past rushers only happened to the Steelers a little less than 20% of the time. One out of five. Dropbacks. The lowest mark in the league. And I think some people instantly were reacted at and say, well, yeah, Aaron Rogers was getting the ball out so quick. No one was going to blitz. And that was definitely hard of it. Yeah. But I think there's more more meat on the bone of that conversation too. There is. So I would expect the Steelers to be one of the least blitz teams again. Again. Yes. Because of their quarterback. And it's not necessarily an indictment or anything about Rogers. Yes. The ball comes out very quick. Why send five guys that can't get home or six guys that can't get home. Instead, I'd rather. You know, all these guys are paid well, these defensive coordinators.

20:09I'd rather if I know it's coming out quick, the average of the targets on to be as high. So if I can flood the short passing lanes a little bit more with bodies as opposed to ones that can't get home. Why wouldn't I try that approach? That makes all the sense in the world. The other part of it. Then you could look at as a negative the Rogers. I mean, there are certainly times where he should. It'd be nicer in the hold the ball and push the ball down the field more. Sure. Sure. And I hope that happens this year. And if the offensive line is better, I think that'll be a big part of that equation too. Absolutely. And the weapons are better and all those things too. The other part is frankly, Rogers has seen every blitz and has diagnosed them. You know, if you're a rookie out there, you're going to get blitzed like crazy. Or when Drew Lock came in the game, we're going to blitz them like crazy. You know, so you're not going to fool them with blitz. I mean, any of the pre-stab looks or whatever from the neck up, he's going to handle all the time and get you know, he's going to move the back over to pick it up and you know, things like that. It's a combination. I think it's an easy kind of combination of those two things. Yes.

21:09Where it makes all sense in the world why you wouldn't let's let's Roger as much. Not only is he one of the more cerebral above the neck quarterbacks in NFL history. Yeah. He also is at a point in his career where he's getting rid of that thing pretty quickly. He's not doing as much freelancing and. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And the ball and extra second or so. So I'm going to speak for you here, but I assume this is where you're going is where I wanted to go was Jeff Olbrick is the Falcons defensive coordinator. And they retained him. He did a very, very good job with so, so talent last year. And they finally got a pass rush and you can attribute that to well, they drafted two ed rushers in the first round. Yes. That certainly helped. But he also was only behind Brian Flores, I think it's in there. It's it's in a different section. It's when the sealers have the ball. Okay. That he was either number two or number three. I think he was number two in Blitz percentage. They blitz a ton. So thus the conundrum.

22:09Does Olbrick want to blitz Rogers the general consensus as shown is evidenced most decordinators say no. But he especially without those two ed rushers, there's nothing defense coordinators hate more than a quarterback just sitting there patting the ball looking around waiting not getting hit all day. If he's not getting home with four missing his two best guys, does he buck the trend and start blitzing Rogers knowing in the back of his head. That's the worst thing to do. That's quite the conundrum. And then Rogers is going to look over the sideline at Olbrick and be like, ah, that I got to start blitzing and now you got a guy short and I'm going to tear it up. And you know, or they may get home and blast Rogers and the ball comes out and bad things happen. But no coordinators going to let you sit back there patting the ball. And if they can't get home with four, they're going to have to do something that no other defensive coordinator really does against you.

23:11Yeah. You know what I mean? So it's a clash in styles. Yeah. It's one of those game within the game like styles make fights. Right. Type things to really keep an eye on on Sunday. Now, I'm sure if you have Pearson, you have Walker, even though you're basically the blitz heaviest defensive play caller, but we're not going to do that this game. But now like if I got two average dudes that the Steelers tackles are handling pretty well. I might have to. I might have to. Yeah. I can't. I can't give them all the time in the world to sit back because even though that's not what he does a lot of anymore. If we give it to him, he'll take it. Oh, they'll sit back. Yeah. Right. Right. Roger three and a half seconds to throw the ball. He'll sit back there. Oh, yeah. They also have five new starters in their front seven and not to be disrespectful to the opponents. They're not upgrades. No, there wasn't like they were in free agency spending big money to upgrade was because they lost some dudes or guys are injured. And you know, not like oh, they put a first round pick at middle linebacker. And they're kind of worse in the front seven. They are secondary a lot though. So maybe though blitz and trust their secondary.

24:15I think that's really interesting cat and mouse. I certainly do too. And that's why I wanted to just get some more in depth thoughts from you on that one. Yeah. The other one Matt that stood out to me that I wanted to just talk about for a few minutes. The Steelers last year ranked second and running back target share. Yeah. Do you expect them to be highly ranked there once again this year? I kind of hope not. But I understand it. That's also a Rogers thing. He part of short average depth target or first reads out there, dump it down. Now I think you're receiving running backs got worse. You swap out game well for yeah, game well is exceptional at it. And we know Rogers was infatuated with them in a good way. So Dowdwell's not as good as game well as a pass catcher. And another stat in there, which I also found interesting, which is almost the exact same one. But I have it up top because the Falcons are involved in terms of percentage of touches that was trying to find that.

25:20Yeah, I remember reading it last night. There's percentage of touches that go to the running back position. The Steelers were only behind the lions, the Falcons and the Niners. Well, the Lions, Falcons and Niners have like the first three picks in every fantasy draft. I mean, it's Hall of Fame level. They're the three best running backs in the league. The Steelers don't have the best running backs in the league, but they have a good room. And I kind of did a podcast about yesterday. It's like, do you want. You know, the target share things hand in hand with this. But at the end of the day, are you happy being one of the most heavy running back usage teams in the league? A few beach on and Gibbs. Of course you are. Totally Christian McCaffrey. Right. And in a way, the answer is yes, because I'm getting the ball quick hitters and Warren and doubt or are capable receivers. Warren's a very capable receiver. Or you want to drift or you're or you're running the ball really well. You're getting a lot of carries.

26:20You know, so I'm not saying there's a writer or wrong way. But of the four teams that had the highest running back touch percentage, one of them's not like the other. No, I mean, it's not Gibbs McCaffrey. You know, right? So here's the here's the lineup only the here's the right up pardon me. Only the 49ers and lines utilized their running backs at a higher percentage of the time in terms of offensive touches. Then the Falcons who were third and the Steelers who were fourth in 2025. Now, brand new coaching staff for both the Falcons and the Steelers too. That's important to note in this conversation. Sure. New coach you staff Atlanta is going to have a different quarterback. I have no doubt that B. John is still going to touch the ball. A lot. You know, as much as any back in the league. Do we want the Steeler running backs to be high on that list collectively at the end of the year. Right. I'm saying like 10 or 12. I was just going to say if they are in the if they're in the eight to 12 range. That's with me. Maybe not quite top four.

27:21That's not the as reliant on because you also better receivers. You have better receivers this year too. I hope we're going to get those tight ends involved. I think fire moves. Percentage should go up. Yes. You know, collectively, I think the tight ends percentage goes up. Pitman's going to demand the football more than your number two receiver last year. That's something somebody has to fall off. And then Matt finally, and you said the, um, the line, the statistic. I think it was yesterday or earlier in the week that Steelers offensive lineman have the fewest combined starts in the NFL. Falcons have the most. You gave us that fact. But the actual number behind it is startling. It's crazy. Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman have the league's fewest number of combined starts with 91. Which you think about it. I mean, Falton who's got 30 years. Something got probably about 39. Right. Right. You can get 90 pretty quick. I mean Atlanta's offense has the most that number is 490.

28:23Yeah. That's a 399 start difference between the two offensive lines. If you scroll to the bottom of when Atlanta has the ball section. Jake Matthews has a consecutive game streak. It's a lot longer than the Steelers entire offensive line. I mean, like, like his dad is uncle all the Matthews. He's a complete iron man. Yeah, they never ever come off the field. I mean, it's an unbelievable trait in the Matthews lineage. But he's started more games in the whole. Steeler combined. I mean, it's not even close. Um, I think I think he's well over 100. That's a, that's a, that's a startling difference there. Now that that matters week one man. I think it matters right away. Yes, absolutely. Just in terms of being in stadiums offensive lines, jelling all those guys have started for a lot of years. Whether it's with the same five or not, there's a lot of collective starts. They know how this thing works in week one. They understand road games. They understand. Oh, this is a new quarterback. This is a new coach. I've been there. I've done it, especially at that position.

29:29That's that is one of those, but that is wild. How does his game? 197th consecutive start left tackle. It's pretty crazy. Dude, that is why he has double the amount of starts that everyone the Steelers offensive line room at more than done. Right. And so again, Matt, we really like the Steelers chances. We think this is a great opportunity for them to start one and oh at home. But if you're looking for areas where the Falcons are obviously as you and I have talked about, there's never Ohio State verse, Akron in the NFS. No, no, it's a good. Oh, line. The other team has dudes too. That really kind of drives home. The not only do you feel like maybe aside from crazy turnovers and injuries and stuff like that. The way that you could really lose this game is B. John Robinson going wild. I think there's a more realistic path. The B. John Robinson going wild with that offensive line. Yeah, they don't blow any blocks. They know exactly where they're going to be. No M.A.s. No misdessignments. They're on the same page. There. They've just got more continuity than the Steelers defensive line does. Yeah. Yeah.

30:29This time of the year, you could sub in and out. The stay fresher on that defensive line. But again, maybe they start leaning on you with B. John. That's that's what you really need to nip in the bud on Sunday. And that's the area that I think if the Steelers can have success, then you really start to run out of paths for Atlanta to win this game. And I don't know how much you folks watch O'Line when you're sitting there with a cold one watching the game, but they're right guard. Chris Lindstrom's fun to watch. He's definitely their best offensive lineman. He's a perennial pro bowl or type guy. Really, really good movement player. He's not his. He's not built like a giant thick widebody guard. He's kind of more like a big tight end type of build, but he can really move. And he's one of the best guards on lead. Matt, I'm getting excited, man. Yeah, yeah. I think we got a lot of the hay in the barn here and and certainly plenty of key elements to keep an eye on for Sunday. That's one of my favorite things of accumulating these stats. You know, like, but how does it work with the other team and how can it play out on Sunday? You know, sure.

31:29We'll have obviously some matchup conversation tomorrow and more thoughts on this game. But I think we've got a pretty good baseline of how the Steelers win, how the Falcons win. And now, obviously, too, we'll be keeping a, if you missed it earlier, a lot of questions about the health of two attack of Iola now, today's practice. We'll be keeping an eye on updates on that tomorrow and certainly on Sunday as well. But one more segment to go today before we close this thing down, you know, what that means, questions, comments, concerns, reactions, you got them. We'll get to as many as we can before we get out of here. West, you alert Matt Williamson. It is the drive Steelers Nation Radio on the Steelers Audio Network. And now a word from our sponsor, Bud Light. There's nothing better than the clean crisp. There's nothing better than the clean crisp. What if we just got out of here and grab some Bud lights? The man, we're on air for four more hours. They'll figure it out. Sounds good to me. Anything for the clean, crisp taste of Bud Light.

32:31Stock up now. Bud Light. Easy to drink, easy to enjoy. Enjoy responsibly, copyright 2026 and has a bush Bud Light beer St. Louis, Missouri. I used to have cable internet, but I'm a 100% kind of fan. So I switched to Verizon Fios. It's 100% fiber internet that's super reliable. So I streamed 100% at the NFL Draft Live with ultra low lag. And after woke me down in the first round, still getting video calls from my best friend, rubbing it in that he called all the pigs. I told you they were building their own line. I win the bet. Get 100% fiber internet with Verizon Fios because when it comes to your team, it's 100% or nothing. Call 1-8-3-4-Raising to switch today. Get that hotdog costume ready. Bra. You're tuned to the drive on your 24-7 home of the Black & Gold Steelers Nation Radio. Final segment here on this Thursday of the drive. And you already know what that means.

33:42It's time to get to your questions, comments, concerns and reactions. And tomorrow we will be one day closer. We're going to go up the week. We have another NFL game to discuss. I couldn't imagine going to an NFL game at 10 in the morning. I mean, that would be, yeah, that'd be a little bizarre. And you know that there's diehards in Australia that have been waiting for this. And what do you do? Start tailgate at 6am? I should remember this. Eggs and eggs, like I said. Yeah, there you go. What time Dublin time was kickoff? Dublin time kickoff was like two or three because we're six. I think we're five or six hours ahead depending on the daylight savings time. Okay, so it was 9am here. It's 9am or 9.30 here. But it was 10, 11, 12, 1. I think it was 2.30 there. Okay. I think it was 2.30 there. 9.30 here. I think it was a five hour time difference at that. Gotcha. So I assume Paris will be the same. I would assume Paris will be the same. Yeah, and they might be in one different time zone. But yeah, I would imagine the Paris game will start sometime around 2.33.

34:42Early afternoon. Yeah, because it will be a 9.30 AM kickoff here. Yeah, yeah. So all all how that that correlates in that regard. Matt, fun question here in the YouTube comments from Matt. He said, I've got a scenario. There's an alien invasion where the aliens come to earth and they abduct all 32 starting NFL quarterbacks, forcing teams to try out their backup for the rest of the season. Okay. Which teams would rise versus fall the most in the power rankings? And you know, the followers are the easiest. It's the teams with the bonafide, the bills. The bills I think are the first one that comes to mind. I think Kansas City would be bad. Kansas City. All those people. Angles were good with. They were good with lack. I don't think they can be alright. They're alright. Like San Francisco, I think would be alright with Mac Jones. Yeah. Some of these teams with like, because you could technically argue, then the Raiders would turn to Fernando Mendoza. I think they'd be fine. Tampa would fall drastically. I forget who their backup is.

35:42Kyle Trask. Oh, I don't think he's an elite anymore. Like Atlanta might not be that affected. No, because it's kind of the same. Yeah. The Raiders might not be that affected. Giants would probably be okay, because they'd turn to Jamis. Seattle handled themselves just fine. I think my team's with really good defenses. Seattle, Houston, Philly. I think that'll be okay. Yes. They could withstand it and play tight to the vest. And Davis Mills isn't the worst guy out there. Or McKee or Warren. I think the Rams would really plummet. They'd go for Stafford too, just an unscrupulous rookie. Yeah, that'd be a bad one. That would be a bad one. Detroit would really fall. I don't know their backup is off thawed my head, but they don't have any kind of defense to lean on. Yeah. Jalen Daniels. Tampa. Yeah, I say somebody. I don't know much about. Yeah, Kansas. Yeah, that's right. A lot of these teams too, like the jets going to K-Club Nick. Oh, we can get disaster. Not that we expect good things from the T-Rex. Right, right, right. Dolphins going to Quinn-Uers.

36:44I mean, like the jets went to Craig Cook. Or whoever got Cook character was last year. Like, oh boy. Yeah, there would be a lot more teams that would fall. I think there'd be a lot of teams that would be able to kind of tread water. Dallas would be in trouble. Oh, yeah. Big time. Yeah. Like the Browns could probably continue to do what they do, because there's not a huge variance in what they're kicking out there. I mean, the Browns are kind of in that falcons mode. Yes. You know, yes. That's an interesting. I'm sure we're missing one or two. I'm sure we are. I don't know Jordan Loves backup is off top of my head, and now that Willis is gone. But it can't be great. It can't be great. No, I'm not sure. I think it's, uh, they played here. It was Tucker. Oh, was it? Uh, Tyrod Taylor. Tyrod Taylor Taylor. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's unhorrible, but it's a drop. Not horrible, but it's, uh, it's not Jordan Loves. Yeah. There would be some that's a good call on Flacco though. Like they were good to flacco. They might be the one that would. They might be the best team to lead. They might be the best. They might be the best team to lead. They might be the best.

37:44Even though they lose an awesome quarterback. They really might be the best team. Yeah. The best team in the league. RJ asks, who are we going to be talking about on Monday as the biggest standout better or worse for the Steelers? I don't have a crystal ball, man. I mean, you're hoping it's not like a Drake May lost us the game scenario. I'm hoping it's better not for worse. Right. Like what was he thinking? Yes. Or like a Caleb Johnson type. When I see Adel last year. Bosses. It just comes of mind because the last time they beat the Falcons was Boswell fuel goals only. What if he's like over five? Oh no. You know, like you can't imagine that happens. Don't you put that evil on me, Ricky Bobby? Stand out for better. I hope it's one of those two wide receivers not named Metcalfe or Pitman Jr. We're talking for the better. That would be fantastic. You know what, too though? I mean, my biggest fear is B-Jones for the better. Yeah. Yeah. If you look at the opponent. What if it's someone like a San Taisaaml Jr.

38:45though? Yeah. If he gots out there a fair amount and plays as well as he has. Wouldn't hate it if it was one of the two starting linebackers either. That'd be a good development. Yeah. Like boy, he made a lot of a couple tackles for loss on Robinson. They really limited B-Jones. Jeremy says, do you guys think Joey Porter Jr. could use the caliber receiver in the AFC North as a bargaining chip as to why he should be the highest paid at his position? Um, I mean, with all respect to Chase and Higgins, I think they have the best receiver room. The other two aren't. I don't know that the division player. But yeah, is this the best division for Whiteouts in the league? We could be saying really good things about the Cleveland Whiteouts in another year or two. New year conceptions and Boston develop. But I mean, and I and I've seen North as really good receivers too. I mean, I know. St. Brown, James and Williams, Watson, you know, the young guys in Chicago, let alone Justin Jefferson. I mean, like, that's some good. Well, you're pretty good, right?

39:45I also, Jeremy, and I don't know if this is what you were absolutely alluding to. But I still continue to think that Joey Porter Jr. is not asking to be the highest paid corner in football because again, I don't think he'll get that one. It said you might have asked. I, I also said earlier in the week that I like how mum it has been around this. There have not been the public spat and back and forth. Like we saw with Baker Mayfield and Tampa Bay between, between ownership and management and the player. I use that line of how I like, you know, loose lips, sink ships, and that has not been the case with this. It's been very quiet. It's been very professional. It's been very buttoned up. Now having said all that, if Joey Porter and his agent had been pounding the table since training camp of our guy has to be the highest paid in the league, that would have leaked out and been reported by somebody. Shifter or rap a port or Jerry Doolack or Mike DeFabo or somebody would have reported. You've said that before and I think you're right because that would not have stayed quiet and hush hush and that would, I think, be something that would be used publicly as a as a bargaining

40:51ploy as a negotiating attack. Right. Because I think a lot of our listeners would be like, you can't make them number one. You know, right. Now he might be saying the highest paid is what? 33 and change now. Joey and his agent might be saying the conversation starts at 30. But I continue to think that's an insane thing to bring to the table. And I think I even said this to you and on the show like two weeks ago, I continue to think that if Joey was asking for the moon, that information would be reported by somebody very credible at this point. I don't think that would have been kept under wraps this long. They agreed. I think that's fair. And by all accounts, he's happy here. He's from here's father played here too. I mean, I think those things matter. Yeah, absolutely. And it's not a losing organization. It's not like I have to get out. Hey, yeah. And when Mike McCarthy had his introductory press conference back in the winter, there were two Steelers that were there. Joey Porter, Jr. was one of us. Yes, he was. Smooth Dave. Which again, I think just speaks to his level of want to be here. Yeah, yeah. The definition of the organization. Smooth Dave says any interest in the newly released Darius Slayton or Jalen Hyatt.

41:55No one Hyatt. He's just kind of a fast guy that, sorry, it's looking at this real quick from TV. Hyatt's one of those Tennessee receivers that was asked to do Mickey Mouse stuff and never learned to do anything other than Mickey Mouse stuff rather than run fast. Slayton is tough. Dale and I brought him up three years ago, I think. I mean, like he seems like a part of the same time as Christian Kirk. Yeah, yeah, like is a number three, number four. But he kind of always falls out of favor with the giants and he is sort of a downfield guy that is the mold I'd be kind of looking for. But doesn't do a lot for me. You know, fine. Few years ago, different conversation. Yeah. Speaking of which, Sudez says Bernard is almost a lock for the number three wide receiver, right? I don't think so. We just talked about that, yeah. Especially not this Sunday. Not this. He isn't to lock great this minute.

42:55That's for sure. I'm hoping by October, we're singing a different tune and he's clearly that guy. But right now they're both great and you're happy with both. Yeah, that would be yeah, champagne problem. But right now, we talked about that. If you missed it earlier with Mike DeFabo, he thinks and I think we both agree that Roman Wilson will be the one that has not by leaps and bounds, but the higher the higher snap count on Sunday. It might now that they're very different styles. I mean, what are you asking from that particular route on that particular down a distance, I think is important. Peggy back and off of that. Steelers Nation 920 says, if all else fails, do you see a scenario where the Steelers could trade for a wide receiver three during the season? Also, do you think we'll have more snaps when the season ends, doubt or warrant? All right, let's start with the first one. Yeah, sure. Absolutely. At the trade deadline every year or recently before, you see a lot of receivers move. And it's one of those things too. You're obviously not going to get a superstar or anything like that. But you can quite often get a very viable wide receiver for a fifth or sixth round pick. From a bad team whose contracts up at the end of the year, right?

43:56No, no, no, that's a position that moves a lot at trade deadline. I'm going to pick a warrant on snaps. I think so too. I think so too. Yeah. Not by leaps and bounds. No, I think it'd be really close. But I think my hunch is they want it to be 50-50, but it's all said and done. I think the better receiver gets a little more run. I was just going to say warns the better receiver and he's the better pass protector. Yes. And I think that makes I think that makes a difference. Yeah. I think to me that is a and I'm first in 10 to they split or is it 60 40 doubt? Even so when you when you accumulate snaps over the course of the year, that's still a hard way to win that. I am very intrigued as to when the Steelers offense takes the field for the first time, whether that's after the opening kickoff or after the Falcons opening possession. Who's the first running back on first in 10? Yeah. Might be doubtful or every person can freak out if it is doubt. No, or every first in 10 of the entire game. Are they five to five or I don't know. Six to four. Yeah. Yeah. Kyle says is the Steelers 2027 starting quarterback on the roster?

45:01Or will they play on Saturday? I think there's a chance it could be neither too, because there could be one on Saturday who's on the roster, but isn't the starter. I mean, even if you trade up to nine and you pick a guy does not mean you're up when they start. I wouldn't hate him having some time to sit. Yeah. I mean, it could be Rudolph resigned and he played the first month and that guy is out there. I'm going to say the human being that starts the most games a quarterback for the 2027 Pittsburgh Steelers is not on the roster. I agree with you on that because I think there's always the possibility of another veteran guy being out into. Yeah. Yeah. That's a that's I think probably the safest bet. Yeah. I think that's fair. Maybe not this week one, but I bet that person's not on the roster. Matt fired up, man. Another day closer. Yeah. Another game tonight. Tomorrow on the show, we will welcome the great Melissa Matthews, Missy Matthews of course, Steelers sideline reporter back to the program after the off season.

46:03We will have plenty of thoughts on what transpires tonight and we'll continue, of course, to get you ready for Steelers and Falcons on Sunday. But that will do it for us today. Big thanks to our buddy Mike DeFabo for joining us earlier and is always a big shout out to Mr. TV Tyler V for producing on the video side of the program for Matt Williams and I'm Westpular. Take care. Everybody will talk to you tomorrow as always. You know where to find us. It's on your 24 seven home of the black and gold Steelers Nation Radio on the Steelers Audio Network.