Drive10.30.26Hr1: AFC North Showdown

You're tuned to The Drive on your 24-7 home of the black and gold.

Steelers Nation Radio.

Good afternoon, Steeler Nation. It's The Drive on the Steelers Audio Network. Wes Shuler, Matt Williamson with you here on this Friday as we are fired up for a big weekend of football here in the Steel City. Matt, I got a statement for you right off the jump.

All right, let's go.

We can be hyperbolic in this business, right? No, it's the greatest catch I've ever seen. He's the best wide receiver.

Wow.

I've never seen this. I've never seen that. That was the, we do it every time the Steelers go somewhere like Tampa Bay. That's the most I've ever seen. Steeler nation take over a stadium, right?

Until six weeks later or whatever.

Yeah.

We can be very hyperbolic in this business.

This is the worst O line in the league.

No, it's not.

But Matt, Am I saying a little too much? I was thinking about this driving. You know, I'm always thinking about the start of the show driving in and where we're going to begin. I think this is the most anticipated I've ever been for a Steelers-Browns game in my lifetime that's not a postseason game because these teams have met twice in my life in the playoffs. Of course, the famous game in 2003, first year, Hinesfield, Akershire Stadium, Steelers with the comeback win. That was the game where Renegade was born, right? Chris Fumadu Malafala to complete the comeback.

I believe you were there having yourself a good time.

Yeah, before I became a Browns employee. Before you became a.

Browns employee, I was 12 or 13. That's one of my first real, you know, sitting down and watching this, like truly emotionally invested and knowing what's going on and that kind of stuff. And then unfortunately the COVID game here that was the disaster for the Steelers in the empty stadium where the Browns and Baker Mayfield got their only victory, you know, here in the, in a long time.

If you take those two playoff games out of the equation, I think this is the most hyped, the most excited I've ever been for a Steelers-Browns regular season game. And I don't think that's being hyperbolic. When was the last time?

I was going to say, I don't think that's crazy.

When was the last time the Browns were this good that 2020 COVID season? But again, that was always a little different because you're playing with 5,000, 7,000 fans in the stands.

Yeah, yeah.

This is going to be two five and two teams, two teams tied for first place, two teams that have been exchanging some words publicly this week. two fan bases that don't like each other. You know, one fan base that is determined to continue to push little brother down the mountain. Another fan base that finally wants to deliver a haymaker to big bro and beat them up in a fight and sweep them for the first time in forever. Yeah.

I think this, I don't think I'm being too hyperbolic to living in the moment to say this is the most excited I've ever been for a Steelers Browns regular season game.

I think that's an excellent call. Um, I'll be honest. Like I don't remember games well. Like, my mind just doesn't work that well. And I've told you this. Like, when I'm on the air with Tim Benz, I'm always blown away. He's like, remember back in 82 when they did this on third down? I'm like, no.

No.

I hardly remember last week. After, I'm on to the next one.

I remember the details of the heartbreaking losses, and that's about it.

Yeah, yeah.

That's about it.

But I can't go back 10, 20 years and tell you what I thought going into the game very often.

No.

And you've got to tell me, like, oh, that's the Woodson team. Okay. But my mind just doesn't work that way. But I think you're dead on. I mean, especially I'm older than you. So this version of the Browns. Yes. I mean, like the post moving to Baltimore Browns. I mean, certainly in the 80s, I was a kid. That was a big week. You know, I mean, that was a hated rival. They were equal battles at that time. Bernie Kosar, Kevin Mack, those type of teams. It's funny. I do that Thursday night show with Pursuit and Merrill Hodge. And I think Pursuit have brought something up along those lines.

Tell me about what you think of the Browns, Merrill. He told a pretty funny story. He said it was the strike season. Okay.

Okay.

I think that's what it was. And the commissioner and the head of player union wanted all the teams afterwards to To shake hands at midfield.

I think I've heard this story too now that you mention it.

And the Steelers were playing the Browns that week. It just is like, we're back. It was a sign of, it was after the strike or something like that. And he said 15 out of 16 games went to midfield and shook hands. Steelers-Browns did anything but. Now those were different times. That was even a different, they turned into the Ravens. I mean, that's a different organization. You know, the history of the Ravens is that Browns team is.

you know, auto Graham and you're going back to that year, but this version, the, the, the team that I worked for and that as currently constructed, you're probably right. This is probably their biggest or most anticipated regular season game.

Let's see here. The strike season and handshake references regarding Steelers Brown's rivalry. Okay. The famous 1987 NFL strike season.

That would add it up with Merrill's career.

Yup.

Uh, that, that's what it looks like here. According to, uh, According to, um, you know, a quick AI search. So yeah, that's, uh, that's it.

Every team did it and they, you know, showed up solidarity and we're back except sealers route. Yup.

And apparently according to Google here, Chuck Knoll was none too pleased with the way that the Browns acted in that game and his postgame press conference, accusing them of targeting players. You know, I tell you, Matt, sports is theater. Sports is entertainment. Yeah. It's, uh, It's much more like the Desperate Housewives and Keeping Up with the Kardashians than we would like to admit.

Oh, yeah.

And this stuff is what makes it fun.

I'm sure I had a Browns conversation with Tuncher Wolf, but I would think they were really high on the naughty list for them. Oh, no doubt. I mean, just that 80s era. Because at that point, the Browns might have been better than the Steelers.

Wolf used to tell stories about both teams, their fan bases would load up on buses.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

They drink on the bus for two hours to the opposing city.

Put a keg in the middle of the bus or whatever.

And then they get off the bus sloshed.

Hating each other, yeah. Who wants to fight? Yeah. I always respected the Browns fans while I was there. And still do. I mean, like, you were there Thursday. They deserve better. I'm not rooting for them. I don't want them to have success. I don't want everyone to win the Super Bowl. But they deserve better. They're a good fan base.

They are.

A lot of other fan bases would have checked out many moons ago and the team would have probably left town again. You know, if they, if they played in some of these Southern markets or some of these not so diehard football, you know, kind of outside of the Midwest and the, in the Northeast quarter where we live, where football is religion, where football is everything.

And Pursuit was saying last night, he was saying, boy, going back to old Brown stadium. He's like, that's like Lambeau, dude.

Yeah.

I mean, especially for someone a little older than me, like Mike, I mean, he's like, Jim Brown was in there and Otto Graham and like, I mean, before Superbowls, you know, like he's like, that might be football heaven. You know, he's like with the wind and the nastiness and it's on a really nice stadium. You know, he's like, that's football heaven.

And the crowd and everything. Yeah. And Sunday certainly feels like a, like a taste of it as it, I think is going to be football heaven there. Looks like it's going to be a beautiful day once again. We've mentioned a few times. What's going on with the weather? It's been an awesome, I don't know, but long may it stay.

Yeah, it's unbelievable.

I don't think it's going to, but we've been saying that all week because it's true. It's been like high 60s and sunny all week here, which for this time of year, if you would have told me October 1st, hey, on October 30th, it's either going to be 60s and sunny or there's going to be a couple inches of snow on the ground, I would have been like, Well, I'll get my shovel ready.

I'd say we've all trick or treated with winter jackets underneath our costume or whatever.

Right.

Yeah, absolutely. And, uh, and I think that will, that'll make it some fun to between, uh, between two teams that are going to want to play a physical style, two teams that are going to want to assert themselves. We've talked about some of the backdrop of it yesterday, Matt, um, with, where the Steelers have been really strong in the second half on defense, where the Browns have been really good in the final two minutes of each half. I also, I was talking with our, our buddy Chad Tyson who hosts afternoons on DVE and he kind of brought this up.

The last time these two teams played was the last time that Patrick Graham was up in the booth for the Steelers.

Oh, okay. Cause remember that there was the, the, the two and two together on that, but yeah.

There was the, you know, there was all the, The footage of yelling on the headsets and, you know, communication stuff and all that. And then you get a little bit of an extra long week there. Patrick Graham goes to the sideline where he has since stayed now. I never know how much stock to put into that stuff, Matt.

Pardon me.

I didn't put much stock in the bickering.

Right.

Oh, no, absolutely.

That's just professional athletes and professional coaches and a lot of pride and a lot.

Of stress and tension and.

Ego and all that stuff that comes with it. But I wonder if, you know, things do go much differently for the Steelers defense this time out. And I mean that in a good way against the against the Sean Watson and the Browns and those talented young playmakers that they have. If we'll kind of look back and say, OK, thanks, Cleveland.

We needed that Thursday night to kind of get our ducks in order.

And we figured we're all new around here.

We were after that. And then we and then we really started playing ball.

And it has been really good since then. It might have been just as good or better if he stayed up in the booth. Who knows?

You and I always say with these things, if there was a perfect way to do it, everyone would do it the same way.

Like, on offense... changing the right guard and right tackle makes more sense to me getting good than bringing a.

Coach from the booth.

But I'm sure it's paying off. They all seem happy with it. Great. You know, but that is interesting that that's when it happened. One note about that too. And I can't remember, Oh, Rob brought this up. So we've probably heard it, but it's kind of stuck with me that, Really, in my whole life, or at least from the 90s on, or certainly this version of the Browns that we've talked about, there's been a big brother and a little brother.

Yes.

I mean, clearly.

Yes.

I mean, clearly, clearly, clearly. I mean, they've won here in eternity. They've got a series from the Steelers in eternity. But Rob had a good point. I mean, these two draft classes are so good, majority of their players are 2-1 against the Steelers.

Yep.

Three and one's a different world.

If you're Carson Schlesinger, you're like, no one's a little brother in me. I've got a winning record.

Against these guys.

Right, right, yeah.

I mean, you've got some work to do to teach this group how it used to be.

Exactly right. As we mentioned yesterday, this is one of those crazy, would-not-believe-it statistics. The Browns are the only team in the AFC North that the Steelers don't have a winning record against since 2020. They're 500 against each other since 2020. They have a winning record 10-3. Against the Ravens in that time, 7-6. Against the Bengals, 7-7. Against the Browns.

We could actually have a losing record on this conversation on Monday.

I don't want to live in that world.

Not sure if they will, but you know, right.

Death, taxes, and the Steelers owning the Cleveland Browns.

Especially here.

My 35 years of life, Matt, those three things have been staples.

I bet, though, and I'm starting to concede that it doesn't apply in Cleveland anymore. It better still apply here, though.

To be fair, I don't know if it's applied in Cleveland since one Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger sailed off into the sunset.

He owned Ohio.

Boy, did he.

Boy, did he. I think his name's on the lease of that stadium there, actually. He should get some– whenever the Browns, whenever it will be, two years from now, three years from now, move into their new stadium, they should– you know, like Ben Roethlisberger should get some commemorative– He should.

Be on the ring.

Yeah.

He should be whenever they honor the old stadium.

No one's allowed to wear seven.

Yeah, exactly. They should erect a little placard for Ben Roethlisberger there whenever they demolish that place next to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Here Ben rocked and rolled the Cleveland Browns for 20-some seasons. We're just getting started today. A lot of fun to get to, as we typically have on our Friday shows.

It's a really good slate of games this week, too.

It's an awesome slate of games. We'll talk about those in hour number two. But who better to kind of paint the picture for the sidelines in these AFC North matchups than Steelers sideline reporter? Our friend Missy Matthews will join us to lend to the conversation, help paint the picture of what she expects in what could be a nasty one Sunday. on the North Shore. Just getting started here on this Friday. Wes Shuler, Matt Williamson. It's 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....

Uh, what if we just got out of here and grabbed 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.

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% of the NFL draft live with ultra low lag. And after what went down in the first round, still getting video calls from my best friend, rubbing it in that he called all the picks.

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Bruh.

You're tuned to The Drive on your 24-7 home of the black and gold.

Steelers Nation Radio.

Now it feels like a Friday. You hear that bounce. You know what that means. It's time to go to the sidelines and talk to the great Missy Matthews, of course, Steelers sideline reporter, the queen of the sideline. Missy, thank you for taking the time for us on a Friday as always. I kind of opened our show in our previous segment, and I told Matt, you know, the Steelers and the Browns have played twice in the playoffs in my lifetime. But if you take those two postseason games out, this might be the most excited, the most anticipated I've ever been for a Steelers-Browns regular season matchup. Both 5-2, first place in the division on the line, an opportunity for the Browns to sweep the Steelers, something they haven't

done since Aaron Rodgers retired. was four years old. Is that, is that a little too far? Or do you think that that, that energy is being reciprocated by both of these teams?

Oh, heck no.

I think it's the trash talking the, you know, it's not that far away.

It was week four. This is week eight.

I totally think it's, it's what we've seen. Similarly, similarly, when we've played in Cleveland first and perhaps lost on a Thursday night and then, you know, got them again in Pittsburgh and, They think it's going to be the sweep and.

It doesn't happen.

I just, I don't know if it's the nice weather, what it is. I just, I feel like the Steelers are going to give it like handed to them and make them wish that they didn't say, you know, Jared verse that we're going to go into Pittsburgh and dominate. It's like, you didn't even have a sack last time. You don't have a sack on the season, but I'm here for it. Cause I think that energy rubs off not only on all of us, but on the fans and it's going to be a perfect Pittsburgh fall day on Sunday. So, you know, fans are going to go wild for this game.

I should probably know this Missy, but how many or what percentage of Browns fans show up here for, road games for them? And do you think that's more or less than usual? I know the division doesn't ever get really taken over by the opponent, any of the divisions.

No, I do feel like sometimes Browns fans, you'll see some of those in like pockets. Obviously the way team does get tickets, but I think, you know, typically I feel like this game is like week 17 or like it doesn't matter.

Yeah.

So that maybe sometimes some Steelers fans are like, well, you know, I want to save up for playoff tickets.

So maybe they sell them or whatnot.

But I think, you know, it's a two hour drive.

Yeah.

So yeah.

Two hour drive.

You know, it's still closer than Baltimore. It's closer than Cincy.

And I feel like.

I bet they show up.

I think, oh, I think they're going to do everything they can to show up for sure. I just, hopefully Steelers fans, no one gave their tickets away or sold them. And, you know, we're going to see very little spurts and little pockets of orange or brown or whatever color they're wearing.

I will not wear that gaudy orange. I won't do it. Yeah, Steelers fans.

Oh, all my stuff went straight to eBay when I got fired.

Yeah, Matt.

I mowed the lawn in my orange shoes.

Matt has some great stories, Missy, about his year with the Browns. He came home for Christmas with a bunch of Browns stuff, and his family members were like, we're not wearing that. What's the matter?

I sent all my buddies Browns Christmas cards. They burned them.

Yeah.

And those are good yinzers.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

Exactly right. So, yeah, let's be good yinzers on Sunday. Don't put your don't put your tickets up there on StubHub or SeatGeek or whatever for those thirsty Browns fans.

All right.

Hold on to them or give them to somebody in your family or your neighborhood that you know is wearing the black and gold.

Somewhere I do have a brown sweatsuit that says Williamson on it, though, that. What am I going to do with it?

What you should have done is bring it to the studio today and we could have burned it in our final segment.

That could have been my Halloween costume. Put a voodoo.

Curse on Todd Munkin and company. Missy, I feel like I ask you this every time we play an AFC North opponent, but part of what we do in our jobs and radio and sports coverage is cyclical. But there is just a different, with Cleveland, with Cincinnati, with Baltimore, I know you can just feel a different energy on the sidelines for these AFC North matchups.

A hundred percent.

I mean, you know, there's obviously certain Steelers Browns games, whether it was in Cleveland or here that stick out for good and bad reasons. But like, I just always go back to Ben's last game against the Browns. It was at Akershire stadium. He was a Browns killer his whole career. He never got over the fact that they passed him up, you know, being an Ohio kid and was just absolutely torching them until Baker Mayfield came.

He had the most wins in their stadium.

Um, it was just like an emotional night.

His family was there. You know, I know Carl Roser.

The team photographer got like this awesome shot of him and his family.

He's still in his uniform, like walking into the tunnel.

And how could you, you know, not love that knowing that he carried that, um, that not pettiness, but like kind of, I proved you wrong.

You guys with him.

Yes.

And I love that. I'm so here for that.

So the Browns are. Actually, one of the worst first-quarter teams in the league. They start really, really slow. Do you agree that it's really important that the Steelers get up early in this game? Especially to stick with the run.

Yes, and I think some of the players talked about that in the locker room this week, too. Because historically, through this beginning part of the season, the Steelers' defense isn't allowing.

touchdowns in.

The second half of the game. So you really need, you know, they could kind of work with each other and, you know, make this in unison and hopefully special teams takes a step this week as well. Cause I think that's the unit we're really waiting to have that splash play per se. But I do think that, you know, they had that long drive in Cleveland.

They got on the board first and then kind of all went haywire.

I think that's, you know, you need to be scoring on every drive, especially in the first half of just stacking those points and not taking your foot off the pedal because a, you.

Don't want them to come back.

Like they had 21 unanswered points in Cleveland, but be like, you know, they want to hand it to this team. They wanted to make them go home and just be miserable on that bus ride.

Steelers sideline reporter Missy Matthews with us here on the drive on this Friday as we get ready for Steelers Brown Sunday, one o'clock on the North Shore at Accresure Stadium. Missy, one of the things that Matt talked about in our open Matt and I discussed in the open was how, you know, ever since that Thursday night game in Cleveland, we saw some of the we could just call it communication stuff on the sideline between the defense and Patrick Graham.

Longer week to prepare for Indianapolis. Patrick Graham moved down to the sideline and he's now been there for the last few weeks here and having a lot of success doing so. The Steelers defense. Hey, maybe it was just that was the time it was going to take. And you always need a few weeks to learn your personnel and new coaching staff and all that. But it does feel like they've turned a corner since that moment as well.

Whether it's... directly related to Patrick Graham moving from the booth to the sideline or not but have you noticed um any smoother lines of communication any just what changes that you've picked up on since uh since Patrick Graham moved from the booth down to the sideline these last few weeks I.

Love Patrick Graham's energy just as a person, even when he talks at the podium, seeing him on the sideline, um, interacting joyfully and, you know, exuberantly with the players has been so cool. I know there was a clip that came out of after Pete Wilson's interception. He's like, Hey, first interception in Paris. Like you have the first interception in Paris. You know, like you can just tell that the guys gravitate towards him and it's just, it seems like he has a touch point, you know, quick meeting with every person. leader will say of like Jalen Ramsey for the secondary, he will touch base with cam.

He'll touch base with TJ and it's every drive and just having them ready.

And I think, you know, the players have just talked glowingly about how it is so much better for them to communicate with him on what they're seeing. And I do think he is very open-minded.

He flat out said he prefers to be in the booth. Um, but this is what needs to happen.

And I think too, he, every week, it sounds like, especially if it's a team, the Steelers have, you know, a division rival or Indy, for example, who we played last year.

It's always, Hey, I went back.

I wanted to see what they did successfully against Jonathan Taylor. And then I talked to the group about it to see what we can incorporate for this season. I just think he's collaborative like that. And it, it's so much more magnified and you can just visually see, you don't even have to hear it. between him and his defensive players.

So that was a solid, you know, self-scouting week for loss move by Mike McCarthy and Patrick Graham.

So I think it's pretty obvious, especially if you really watch the All-22 or if you're down at your vantage point on the sidelines, that the Steeler O-line has not only a lot of talent, but a lot of nastiness and a lot of finish to them. I mean, there's no doubt about that, especially those guards.

Right.

But I think it's also translated. I know it has. I've talked about this for weeks and I'm super impressed by it. The tight ends and receivers blocking to the whistle, downfield, putting people on their back. And it's not just Darnell Washington. Is that something they gloat about and get super excited about on the field and on the sidelines to the non-offensive line blocking?

A hundred percent.

I was going back through some like week four notes and I was like, Oh, Pat Friermuth got Jared Burse pretty good.

On one of those plays, you know?

And it is one of those things, you know, we know DK's physical, obviously Darnell can just like stiff arm anybody with like one of his fingers.

He doesn't even need his whole hand. But I do think you see that from them. Even Jeremy Bernard.

I just, I'm so impressed by him being a rookie wide receiver gelling so well with Aaron and And continuing to make a step, it feels like, every single game into what they obviously thought of him when they drafted him and what he could be, maybe sooner rather than later.

But I still think that, you know, you see that. Just that energy from them. And I agree with you.

It a hundred percent starts with the offensive line, um, because they're just crazy. Uh, you know, even after Aaron Rogers ran for that first down, Mason McCormick was like in his face celebrating before Aaron.

Even stood up, you know?

And I think, you know, Jalen Warren's pretty quiet. Even Rico, uh, is quiet, but you still see that energy from them. It's just like a, a silent, um, celebration whereas the offensive line is like you know has party streamers and whatnot going because they're just jacked up on every play.

Smash bash and crash as Craig Wolfley would have said and they have certainly been doing that these last few weeks and hopefully it continues against Jared verse and company on Sunday queen of the sidelines Missy Matthews make sure you are listening to her on the call of course with our guys Rob King and Max Starks on Sunday Missy great stuff thank you for taking the time as always And we will see you on Sunday.

Sounds good. Have a great weekend, guys.

You as well. Enjoy Halloween. Oh, wait, real quick. What are the boys dressing up as for Halloween?

I didn't know what your girls were dressing up as, too.

One of them is being Bart Simpson.

I love it.

This is not my doing.

Oh, that's so good.

This is my husband's I'll have to, it's actually pretty, it's a pretty good costume. And I found him a Bart Simpson hockey Jersey, which like really put it over the top.

That was, you know, like the icing on the cake, love Amazon.

Um, and my oldest is, I think he's being a gangster. He hasn't asked for anything. He said, just watch. Uh, so I'm like holding.

My breath, like, what are you wearing? And like, where are you getting it from? And should I be scared?

But he's going to make you an offer you can't refuse.

Yeah, that's what I feel like. And I'm like, also, does he know what a gangster is?

I'm very intrigued on seeing how this turns out. But at least I know Bart Simpson, all of the pieces are here. We got the yellow face paint. We got the hair, yellow sleeves, yellow leggings to go under the shorts like he's he's ready to go. The other one that could be hit or miss.

Missy, I'm not allowed to talk about what my kids are dressing up as at the University of Kentucky as we speak, but I need to know what Wes's girls are doing. what are we.

Doing youngest the three-year-old is dressing up as elsa she's got the you know from the disney movie of course she's got the full gown and and white hair braided wig and all that stuff and kind of the duality of my daughters all right i know missy definitely won't believe me on this one but i swear scouts honor my daughter picked my oldest olivia who's five it's not wvu stuff is it she's being a wvu cheerleader.

Uh well at least it's Oh, I can allow that. I respect that.

I swear she picked it herself. And here was the cutest part. She said, Dad, can you dress up as a WVU football player and go with me? And I said, I sure can. So I said, sweetie, I've been dressing up as a miserable WVU football fan for Halloween now for like the last eight or nine years. I can certainly do it one more for you.

So yeah, you're like and I can walk around with a beer.

It'll be perfect. Exactly.

Exactly.

Put some face paint on and walk around. And yeah, so so a princess and cheerleader, the best of both worlds.

Wes, along those lines, I told you I went to my wife's niece's wedding Saturday while you guys were in Paris. She's obviously grown up and a woman now. She's a stalker. But she dressed up as a Pitt cheerleader as like a three-year-old. We still have pictures of. For the first bowl game, I was at Pitt. That's awesome. We played against Phillip Rivers.

I mean, that's how long ago that was. That's a long time ago.

He had kids at that point.

Yeah. Missy, awesome stuff. Thank you for taking the time as always and enjoy Halloween tomorrow with the boys. We'll see you on Sunday.

Yes.

Happy Halloween to everyone. We'll share pics on Sunday.

Sounds good. Can't wait. There she goes. Queen of the sideline. Missy Matthews. Awesome stuff with her on Sunday and are looking forward to the awesome stuff with her as always on Sunday. We got our IFB transmitter all fixed.

Oh, did it? You're not going to burn the house down?

We're not going to burn the house down at Accresure Stadium. We're going to leave that to the Steelers offense and defense to burn the house down and get a big win there over the Browns. I wonder how many people will still be in their Halloween costumes on Sunday now that we're kind of talking this out.

I flipped on the Pens game last night. It looked like a ton there.

I would think so.

I think there was a fair amount at the Thursday night game. Yes.

Yeah.

Yes.

In Green Bay.

Oh, man.

If you're a college student, too, and you got a home game tomorrow on campus.

Yeah.

That's a nice dress up. Go to the game. Keep the party going. Stay in costume all day. Stay in character all day.

By the way, how cool was it? I don't know if you were watching at the point, but the Brewers showed up at the Thursday night game with the trophy.

I did see that.

That's pretty cool.

And they were zooming around the crowd. How many people at Lambeau Field were wearing Milwaukee Brewers? Yeah. You win the World Series and then you come back home and you get dropped right into Lambeau.

Right.

And the Packers are running riot on the Panthers. So everyone's partying.

Perfect.

You couldn't have written that script better. One more segment to go here in the first hour of the show. We obviously will begin talking some matchups, talking some Steelers and some Browns, some key things to keep an eye on as we roll along here in the first hour. Wes Shuler, 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....

Uh, what if we just got out of here and grabbed 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.

Louis, Missouri.

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 1-833-VERIZON to switch today.

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A five-star matchup because we're in.

Final segment of the first hour of the drive here on a Friday and feel like much like asking Missy Matthews about the energy in these AFC North matchups I always say yeah you know it's a Friday at this time when It's time for five star Friday. We get very a cyclical in season here.

Oh yeah.

Yeah.

Kind of, you know what to expect at every moment and what we're doing here. And of course, this is the time that we talk some matchups with a little five star Friday. I've got a couple that I want to run past you, Matt, but I think we have to start. And I know this is actually, this is one you wrote about in your math stats packet as well.

Two guys who are at the top of their craft, some of the best doing it in the league right now, Jalen Warren and And Carson Schlesinger.

Yeah. And I'd take it a step further and even say they're linebackers versus Steelers running back. Because obviously, Rico Dowdell is heavily involved now. And I think Williams or other linebacker can't be slept on just because he's not the best linebacker in the league. But I mean, he flies around the field. But the headline, of course, is Warren and Schlesinger. And I think the Steelers will try to be very dedicated to the run game. I mean, to me, some big keys, as I mentioned with Missy, is if the Steelers can get up early, which is definitely a Browns trend, and we've talked a lot about how they want to be a nickel all the time and you want to be a big physical unit, and I think they're going to lean on their running backs

as much as ever, but also as receivers. I mean, that's a good pass rush. You can slow down the pass rush with the screen game. And these linebackers are good in coverage. They're good against the run. I mean, it's a good versus good matchup. They're second-level guys versus your linebackers.

Oh, it absolutely is.

Or versus your running backs.

It absolutely is. And two groups that don't shy away from contact and physicality.

No, right, right, right. They're not finesse groups.

There's going to be some car crashes in the phone booth in this game.

I mean, you can say this all the time, but I do expect this to be a very physical divisional game.

I certainly do. certainly do as well uh Matt staying uh with the Steelers offense against the Browns uh defense here you expect Denzel Ward to basically shadow DK Metcalf.

Yeah I do I mean they don't shy away from that and Campbell's a really good number too you know we've mentioned Ward a little bit um I don't know if we've talked about their safety line we just talked about the linebackers but I think the middle of the field is a much better group than people realize.

You kind of mentioned the spine of that defense yesterday.

Yeah, yeah.

So, I mean, it's not like, oh, we'll just go to the tight ends over the middle against their safeties and linebackers. That's not a great place to attack them either. Campbell's a great two. He'll probably be on Bernard a lot, and I think that favors Campbell at this stage. I think Ward, if you're ranking all the corners and you're ranking all the wide receivers, Ward would be higher on his list than DK is on his list. I mean, so back seven versus you're receivers I think favors Cleveland.

I will say though I would agree the one caveat though is in that fourth quarter in that Thursday night game in Cleveland It feels like they found a little something with DK Metcalf.

Yeah, I'm curious.

In that fourth quarter.

If they could keep that going. What do they, you know, found a weakness?

Can they pick up where they left off? Because it was a slog for the Steelers passing game for about the first 50 minutes of that game Thursday night. But the last 10 minutes.

Did Rodgers find something? Did McCarthy find something that you can continue to grow on?

Did DK find something that he thinks, you know what, if I'm going to beat Denzel Ward, it has to be this way.

We're going to do it this way.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

That's a great point. At least last we saw, it was going well.

Certainly be something to keep an eye on. And maybe this isn't a direct matchup, but to piggyback off of that, this feels like a big week. It would mean a lot if Jeremy Bernard took another step forward this week.

Yeah, and I'm not saying you're implying this, but he didn't take a step back last week. He just didn't get used as much or as featured or as targeted as much. And a lot of those are screens and short hitters. And frankly, the running backs got... 50% basically of your catches, so there's just not that much to go around. But yeah, I think he should continue to assure us that he's a legit No. 2. Yes.

Yeah, yeah. Yes.

Any specific, before we spin the block to the other side, any specific matchups for the Steelers' offensive line against the Browns' defensive front?

First in particular. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, yeah.

Mostly against Faltano?

I think that's probably the majority of his snaps. Yes. I mentioned safeties versus tight ends. They play three safeties a lot and a nickel. They're all good. There's not real discernible weaknesses with their defense. I mean, they might not have the Miles Garrett anymore, but they're good at every position. Yes. Yes.

I mean, they really are.

Yeah.

There's no doubt. There's not a lot of weaknesses there. You've talked about, I think actually it was this week, kind of Troy Faltano's style.

Yeah.

And how some tackles with a one-arm kind of punch, some like to get both paws on you and just stop you in your tracks. Against a physical guy like Jared Verse that wants to use those hands and wants to strike blows, is that like a stylistic you think that might favor Faltano? Is it going to be easier for him to get his two paws on Jared Verse because that's going to be the same way that Verse is going to want to play?

Hadn't thought of it, but I think as we're just kind of kicking that around, yes. Because... Where Faltano can get in trouble is he's overly aggressive. I mean, he could learn to be a little more patient. You know, like, let them come to you. And it works great for him in the run game, but sometimes.

Like a.

I don't know a lot about judo, but judo, you, like, use the other people's acceleration and movements against them. Well, they can do that with Faltano, where he's lunging or trying to knock people into next week. You know, it works. It's great to see.

But.

Versus kind of a run through the middle of you guy you know like a lunger might take Faltano and move his you know momentum to the left or the right or pull him forward or swim over him or whatever where maybe this is a good matchup for Troy in that if verse is trying to go right through the middle of me and you're I'm trying to go right through the middle of you but I'm bigger and stronger than you yeah that's a good.

Call Matt it sounds like Titus Howard is not going to play He's in concussion.

I didn't think he would.

In concussion protocol. Hasn't practiced this week.

He hasn't checked any of the boxes yet.

That means DeJuan Jones in like, let's say has a good chance to be the Browns starting right.

Sounds like he probably will be.

Starting right tackle. Does that feel like a potential for a vintage TJ Watt Sunday?

Yeah.

Jones is better than Joe Blow backup tackle. He's played a fair amount in his young career. He might be the biggest tackle in the league. I mean, just wait. I mean, he's, I'm curious if you see him in person, what he looks like. So it might take an extra step to get around him. He's hard to go right down the middle of him, but he's not real fleet of foot. I think he'll have a real hard time, like in the run game, reaching Watt, getting to his outside, beating him with any kind of quickness. And he can be had, especially with double moves or across his face.

I would think Watt, and we've seen a lot more of it with this coaching staff, isn't just going to try to beat him high side over and over and over, you know, not that he's quick out of his stance, but it is a little bit longer distance that if you can get him leaning and then cross his face and, you know, beat him on the inside, he doesn't recover.

You know, he's just an enormous human being.

How, uh, from a matchup standpoint, do you go about, uh, trying to limit, trying to slow down, trying to frustrate those two talented Browns, rookie wide receivers that we talked about yesterday?

I know I, I kind of am under the, I'll probably eat these words because I know Graham is really, really good at changing week to week, et cetera, et cetera. But really the blueprint of how the Steelers are playing are like one of the only numbers that they're not great against in advanced stats are the short passing game.

I mean, they're like 23rd in EPA in the short passing game, which totally adds up when you watch their games. They allow a lot of short completions.

We get a lot of tweets about it.

Yeah, and I understand that it is frustrating to watch. Can you get in that way? That's another easy completion, another easy completion. And Watson showed me on Thursday night A month ago. Can he recapture it? I don't know. He played that way really well. And that's not who he used to be. I mean, the ball came out really, really quick. The Steelers had just played Joe Burrow the week before. And I remember previewing the Browns game going, he's not going to Joe Burrow you to death. That's not who Watson is. He kind of did. And that's exactly what he did with Concepcion against the Titans last week.

And that's kind of how they want to play. I mean, I know Watson's playing better. But down-to-down quarterbacking still is questionable. I mean, his highlights are nice. It's more moments, right?

It's moments.

Yeah, it's a great way of putting it. So they're trying to make his life a little easier, too, and just get him quick hitters that aren't tough throws. And that's not Steelers' specialty. But he's still going to drive the way down the field and get to the red zone, and then things get tough in a real Belichickian manner.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

Absolutely. So I guess that's the last one to ask you about there is the quarterback, Deshaun Watson. What can you, from a Steelers defensive standpoint, is it we're going to make this guy have to paper cut us to death down the field?

Yeah.

You can't let him have those moments and hit those explosives. If they're going to score points, it's got to be an 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 play drive.

I would say so. And his legs make that a little easier on him, too.

Sure.

Because he'll probably scramble for two or three first downs to break your heart.

Cheat code you and I have talked about so many times.

But he's also not super patient either. I mean, he'll push the envelope. Just about every game this year, he's thrown three interceptable passes.

He's got a handful of turnover where he plays just about every game.

Exactly. And not to mention, you're probably going to hit him in the pocket quite a bit. He takes a lot of sacks. He's getting better at that.

He knows.

He loves. Not as much as he loved. He really loved it early in the season. He still kind of likes it, though. But run after the catch is going to be huge, too. Fannin and Concepcion, in particular, are really good quick hitters. Extend the plays with your feet. I do think the Steeler front, I'm impressed with the Browns O-line. We haven't talked enough about that. I mean, they totally rebuilt it in the offseason.

Line change.

Kudos to them. That's hard to do. And it's also like the Steelers, but in much different ways because they're a bunch of free agents from all over. Well, they have two rookies they're playing. It's starting to gel pretty well. But I still think the Steelers front should definitely win that matchup in the trenches.

Last thing that we haven't mentioned yet this week that I just want to make sure to get out there. You did not have the Sean Elliott in the first go-round against Cleveland.

Good point.

You do have him this time. We saw him on a little bit of a pitch count.

Yeah, I wonder what he plays.

A little bit of a pitch count in Paris. I think he said this week that he expects to be out there more.

Okay.

Some of the tackling stuff, some of the explosive play stuff. Evan 25 on the back end goes a long way.

Yeah, it absolutely does. So this will probably, hopefully be his first full-time game.

Yes. That's what it's, again, you never know until you see it.

It sets up that way at least.

It sets up that way. That's kind of what the messaging has felt like this week. But you never know until you see it. But hopefully we will see plenty.

Yeah, that'd be great.

Plenty of Deshaun Elliott. In a game like this, where tackling is going to be so important, where keeping a lid on that Browns offense is going to be so important. Hour in the books. Another hour to go when we return on the other side. You guys know the drill. It's the same thing on Fridays. We'll run the gamut.

Not the gambit. We'll run the gamut of Notre Dame. Notre Dame.

Old Miss.

You know, it's funny. Someone I don't know if you saw this, but someone tweeted us last night and they were like, Wes, don't let Matt give you crap about mispronouncing things in places. All right. He's the worst of the bunch of everybody. Oh, so good. So good. We love we love the participation that you guys that you guys bring here on the program. Halfway home on this Friday.

Hour in the books. Another hour to go. We'll go around the league. We'll talk more Steelers Browns. And we will, of course, make plenty of predictions before we get on up out of here for holiday weekend. Euler, Williamson, it's The Drive, Steelers Nation Radio on the Steelers Audio Network.

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