Drive10.6.26Hr1: Cleaning Our Own House

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Good afternoon, Steeler Nation. It's The Drive on the Steelers Audio Network. Wes Shuler and Matt Williamson with you here for the next two hours on this Tuesday as we have plenty of ground to cover as always.

But we are going to continue.

It's kind of become a fun biweekly tradition around here, Matt Williamson, of leading off with a guest here on Tuesdays.

Yeah, strange.

And of course, it is different, but it's kind of fun.

It's just a different tone to start the show here, and I enjoy it. And we always enjoy catching up with our buddy, Mike DeFabo of The Athletic. Mike, plenty that we want to get to with you. Thank you for taking the time as always. I want to start with you on just kind of the temperature of the locker room. You know, we all saw those heated exchanges.

Aaron Rodgers, Mike McCarthy, TJ Watt on Thursday night. Mike McCarthy talked about that yesterday. Pat Friermuth. I thought had some good things to say in that regard too. What do you think is just kind of the overall temperature gauge of the locker room here? You know, frustrating loss on Thursday night, no doubt, but you're still two and two with a ton of football ahead.

Yeah.

I mean, you know, when we talked to Mike McCarthy, he tried to downplay it to some degree. He was saying that leading into the game on Thursday, he told them he wanted them to play with emotion, but obviously there's a line involved there and you don't want to be, you know, Getting into arguments or heated situations with each other.

I mean, I chalk a lot of it up to just it's football. It's an emotional game. Things aren't going well for the Steelers.

Frustrations are going to bubble over. I don't really see it as some major problem that they need to fix. Now, what I think they do need.

To fix are some of the results on the field. Things like tackling, of course.

Things like, you know, sustaining drives and having consistent offensive success.

So, apparently... They think they need to fix their cornerback room. And it sounds like over the last two days, they've added two corners off other teams' practice squads. Can you tell us anything about the players themselves and or just the situation as a whole? And obviously the whole world knows Joey Porter is a Dallas Cowboy now, too.

I mean, I think you just, you have to temper expectations when the Steelers are signing players off of other teams, practice squads. I think the disappointing thing, one of the many disappointing things with this whole Joey Porter junior saga is that going into the season, I think you looked at it on paper and with Joey and with Jamel Dean, it looked like you were going to have maybe two of the best corners of Steelers have had in years.

And stylistically, it would have allowed you to play a lot of man coverage, you know, now with Jamel Dean, you know, he's been injured throughout his career. He missed 12 games over the past three seasons. He's about to turn 30 years old this year already. He's dealing with an ankle injury. You know, now that that position group is starting to look a whole lot different for the Steelers.

And I think that it's going to have to change at least to some degree, the philosophy in your defense, you know, I know Patrick Graham wants to be more of a zone centric defensive coordinator. That's kind of the way the league is trending here. But right now, I don't know if you have the horses to even play man when you want to on third down situations when you want to bring pressure.

And so, you know, this I'm.

Sure there's a lot of hard feelings and rightfully so with the way everything ended with Porter. But now that the Steelers turn the page and move past the emotional part of it and start thinking about the depth chart, they're definitely going to feel that loss.

So I think everyone's focusing on the corner room these last couple of days. And understandably, you think they're happy with the safety room?

I don't think so.

Yeah. I mean, this is, this is, this has been a revolving door really since Minka Fitzpatrick was traded. And, you know, unfortunately, you know, Deshaun Elliott, um, you know, I still don't know whether he's going to be even able to come back this week to this point. They've yet to even open his 21 day window. Um, and so I think that the young guy, Robert Spears Jennings is going to get some run and I mean, I give him credit. He's a seventh round pick a guy that you typically don't expect to contribute a lot, or at least early when you're drafting that spot. And he has some traits. He ran the fastest 40 of any safety at the combine. You know, he's big, he's long, but he's also still learning the position. But I think

at this point, you know, you have to throw him into the fire and see what.

He can do.

Mike DeFabo of the athletic with us here on the drive. Mike, unfortunate news for Derek Harmon. He is going to head to IR, so it'll be at least a few weeks before we see him. Do you expect with that this weekend at home against the Colts, we will see either the rookie debut of Gabe Rubio or Kevin Jobity Jr.

Yeah, I would think that Gabe Rubio, I think that everyone bumps up a spot on the depth chart. So, you know, Gabe Rubio, he's been inactive the last couple games. I think he gets a helmet for the first time. You know, mostly he fits as an interior guy. You know, he could play some nose. He could play one of those interior positions in the sub package, you know, a little bit of the four eye when you're in the base defense, but I'm not sure that's where he's best. But, but more so, I think this is going to be a test of why a black and Sebastian Joseph day, you know, when, when Mike McCarthy came in, he's spoken glowingly about the depth of this defensive line and talked about how maybe it has the best depth of any

team he's coached at least recently and We're about to see the test of that depth because, I mean, the numbers with Derek Harmon on the field versus off when it comes to stopping the run are striking. And now here they're about to welcome Jonathan Taylor, somebody that I've been a fan of since I covered Purdue back in the day in the Big Ten. You know, I saw him as a Wisconsin runner and just thought that he was electric. He still is that same electric back. And, you know, now it's going to be up to some of those other guys with Y.A. Black and Sebastian Joseph Day to help try to slow him down.

Could you see Michael Pittman Jr. 's snaps, targets, role overall getting reduced a little bit?

Well, I think it could if the Steelers do what I hope they do, which is use a little bit more of 12 personnel, two tight ends on the field. I just feel like when you look at the numbers and the splits between when they go three wide versus when they go with two tight ends, they're a better two tight end team.

They just are.

They are.

I think that getting under center a little bit more, I think that establishing a personality and a tone by running the football a little bit more, I think all those things are going to.

Help alleviate a lot of different problems.

And so I think that maybe the ripple effect from that could be cutting into Michael Pittman Jr.

's snaps a little bit.

But right now, they don't have a lot to feel great about or consistent about on offense.

And so as much as you'd like to.

Maybe give the ball to Roman Wilson a little bit more, he's also had his up and down moments.

Speaking of up and down moments, there have certainly been those for DK Metcalf through the first four weeks of the season, Mike. But I think the kind of last look that we got at him in that fourth quarter in Cleveland on Thursday was the best he's looked all season. Do you think that's something to build on for this offense that, hey, you got to have in those got to have it moments, you got to have your got to have it guys step up and perform. And while it's been a rocky start to the season, DK did do that in the second half on Thursday.

Yeah. That's the DK Metcalf that the Steelers need consistently.

I mean, when you're basically paying twice for a guy once in the form of draft pick compensation, and then second in the form of a 33 million per year contract with some guaranteed money that, you know, reportedly they weren't willing to give Joey Porter jr.

You know, you expect that guy to perform.

And through the first couple of games, he was not playing like a guy that deserved that paycheck or that spot on the roster. You know, that, that, you know, certified wide receiver one spot is what I'm trying to say. He wasn't playing like a true wide receiver one. And, you know, for this offense to be consistent.

They need DK to make plays.

When they're thrown to him and then also force the opponent to game plan and dedicate coverage his direction. You know, that's just going to be such a big piece of this offense opening up. So, you know, if there's anything to feel good about after that Browns game, I think DK's performance down the stretch was one of those things.

So yesterday, Coach McCarthy said something along the lines of using this long week to get the house in order. And I think that's a good, it's a good phrase. Yeah, okay, exactly. And my first two thoughts when I heard that were, all right, we got to figure out this defensive back situation. And you already addressed that. But I was also just kind of hoping and thinking, maybe it's time to get the run pass percentage a little closer to 50-50 and not be the top of the league in pass percentage.

Yeah, I completely agree with you there.

You know, I think that they're throwing the ball 68% of the time, a little bit more than that, which is, you.

Know, third most in the league.

Yeah.

You know, Aaron Rogers right now is dropping back 41.8 times per game. You know, that is putting this young offensive line on their heels way too often. And I just think you look at the hits, you know, for a number of different reasons, you got to change that. You know, you look at the hits that Aaron Rogers is taking and, he's not going to make it through this season. If he's continuing to get sacked four and five times a game, like he is right now, you know, right now the Steelers are giving up some of the most sacks in the league, some of the most pressures in the league.

That's not a formula for success.

And then I think you look at the production on the ground and the Steelers, you know, they aren't running it a lot, but they are running it fairly effectively. And I think just for that young offensive line, if they're able to, you know, get into more of a, an aggressive type of posture and get themselves, uh, you know, playing downhill and establishing the run, you know, I think that that's just going to start to, you know, give them some confidence and just put them in a better spot because again, you know, asking them to pass protect 42 times per game, which is what they're doing right now.

And that's a big ask for a young group.

Mike sticking with that offensive line.

Is that kind of the, would you think that that's one of the Steelers best chances to take a step forward to really improve this offense is to just get that unit settled, get them cohesive, get them looking more like we saw against Cincinnati last than what we saw against Cleveland. Like you look around and the quarterback and the wide receivers and a lot of the pieces, key pieces on defense, they're just at a certain age where they are what they are at this point in their career.

But that offensive line still like 24 years average age now since Ihanachor started. It feels like if there's going to be one element of this team that can really be a high tide that raises all ships, it's got to be that offensive line.

Yeah, definitely.

I mean, coming out of this season, by the end of the year, if the offensive line is playing like one of the better units, you know, in the league or in the division, you're going to feel like this season was successful in some way, in some sort of a way, because like when you consistently draft offensive linemen on draft night, they're not going to throw you any parades then.

It's kind of like throwing money in your 401k.

Rather than buying yourself something flashy to show off right now, not a wide receiver for today, but something for tomorrow. Well, here we are years later. The Steelers have been investing in this offensive line. It's time to start seeing some return on that investment. And that really is the group that If you're thinking ahead to like, what's this team going to be next year or the year after, that needs to be the foundation of this team. They've invested in it enough that it should be. And so really, I think that that's the key area going forward that you want to look to and hope to see continued progress.

So Mike, this is a tough question and I wouldn't be happy if someone asked me because I just don't know the intricacies of special teams, nor do I expect you to. But I think it is safe to say that Hey, Boswell's missed three kicks in a league in four weeks that everything's going between the uprights across the league.

You draft a returner only in the mid to late rounds and your return games below average, I would say, especially on kick returns. I haven't seen great coverage teams. Special teams as a whole has been more of a negative than a positive, I guess.

Yeah, no, I completely agree with you. I don't know if they got to get the bubble gum out.

Yeah, there you go.

Lord Danny Smith back here to Pittsburgh or better answer. I would add, um, I completely agree with you.

Um, I mean, it's, it's disappointing on a number of levels. you know, especially cause you look at the players that the Steelers paid and Chris Boswell was one of them.

And, you know, he's a guy that's won so many games for this team.

I mean, he's going to be the all time.

He's if he's not already, he's already the best kicker, you know, in, in Steelers history. But right now it's not going through the uprights. And I completely agree with you with Caden Legion pick. I mean, that felt to me like a luxury pick that felt like a team that thought that they had every box checked on the roster and And they didn't need another wide receiver or a safety or an inside linebacker. They could just go ahead and spend it on someone who was going to fair catch punts. And, you know, right now, because of that, the bar for Caden Legion is incredibly high. And that bar is basically needs to be Devin Hester. If you're going to be giving up a fourth round pick, you're right.

He's not close to that right now. And meanwhile, you know, the inside linebackers aren't playing well. The safeties aren't playing well. You know, there's other positions that you could have drafted a wide receiver that can also return, that can contribute when Michael Pittman Jr.

Is injured.

So I don't dislike the player. I don't dislike the person. But I don't really like that pick in that spot.

Yeah, I just don't know if it's the best allocation of resources. You know, they're keeping four quarterbacks and a returner only. That's basically two spots that doesn't help you block and tackle or do football stuff. You know what I mean?

Yeah, absolutely.

And the four quarterbacks part, you know, where that's going to hit you the most is going to be on special teams.

Yeah, yeah. You're taking a body away there. So, yeah, you're absolutely right.

Mike DeFabo of The Athletic, kind enough to lend us some of his time here on this Tuesday. Make sure you're checking out his coverage this week and every week throughout this Stillers season. Mike, great stuff as always, dude. We appreciate it, and we will see you on Sunday.

All right. Sounds good, guys. Thanks for having me.

There he goes, of The Athletic, Mike DeFabo. Always a lot to ponder with him, Matt. He's an intellectual on the beat, you know?

Yeah, he's even keel about it.

Even keel, always got some fun ways and perspectives of looking at things. And we always appreciate him for his time. There's a couple things that he talked about there that I want to piggyback off of, Matt.

I like the 401k analogy about drafting O'Lyman, too.

I thought that was fantastic. In fact, if anybody hears me steal that in the future, just mind your own business.

Yep, I might do it, too.

Let's piggyback off of a couple of those things there, and we also have some NFL, some important NFL news of the day to get to on some injury front updates.

We've got to discuss the Atlanta Falcons.

How about it?

Are they for real all of a sudden? Was that B.

John Robinson or Barry Sanders out there last night in New Orleans? All that and more as we roll along here in the first hour of The Drive, Steelers Nation Radio on the Steelers Audio Network.

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

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Back on the drive here as we roll along on this Tuesday. We've got some news of the day to attend to. Before we get to that, though, Matt, I did, if it's all right with you, I wanted to play you a quick little sound bite here.

Cool. All right.

I referenced this with Mike DeFabo when we just opened the show and we're kind of talking about some of those you know, house cleaning comments and some of the emotions and flying on the.

Sideline to piggyback off a little bit of that.

And, uh, you know, today, Tuesday is kind of open locker room day.

That's when the media gets to get down there and talk to those guys, uh, throughout the course of the week. And I'm sure as you can imagine, Pat Friermuth was one of the guys who spoke and he was asked about that. And I thought he gave honestly a really good, really level-headed answer. Here's what Muth had to say earlier today.

Yeah, I think people got that, uh, you know, not accurate from what I've seen. It was more so of us going over the first four weeks, what we can get better at, get on the same page, going these.

Next four games before the bye week. Everything is good in the locker room. We are working to win. I mean, we're 2-2.

We wish we were obviously better, but there's some stuff on film that is correctable that we're able to fix coming up, and we'll be fine.

I thought that was well said.

Yeah, yeah.

You know, the locker room is fine. We're 2-2, but we got a lot of football ahead of us. We got things on film that are correctable.

We'll be fine. That, I think, is the reality.

It's easy to see some of those emotions. It's easy to take that cleaning the house, you know, kind of comment. But I also, Matt, when you have time to kind of sit back and think about it, that's what you do at this point in the season.

Yeah.

You don't have your bye week until week nine. That's late. This extra few days is really the only time here in the front half of the season.

Yeah.

A little extra time where you can kind of breathe.

And instead of game planning for your opponent and all that for a couple of days, you can do the self scout thing and where are we struggling and how do we get better?

I thought that was laid out well by move.

Yeah.

I think it's dead on. I'm glad you played it. I don't know if coaches think this way as much as they used to, but I, I tend to think they do. And the fact that the game or the league is 17 games or 16 games really doesn't change the math. But they often break the season into quarters.

Yes.

These first four games, the next four games, et cetera. And I think that they try to do a little more self-scout after each quarter. You know, did we accomplish like. Four weeks from now, okay, we had a self-scout period after that long week.

Did we get better at third and intermediate situations?

Yeah, yeah.

The things that we worked on, did it work or not? And if not, why? Well, we had 10 injuries or whatever, you know. So I do think that works out well in terms of the timing of the season, especially with the bye week being a little down the road, as you mentioned. I want to ask you this because you're around these guys traveling, et cetera. I get the impression that Friar Muth, like if you look at the construction of the team, frankly, there's some very old guys.

Yes.

And there's a lot. Right. And there's some very young guys, you know, the old linemen, the recent draft picks, et cetera. And the Friermuth age group isn't as prominent as some teams, but I get the impression that he's very well spoken very well liked very well respected and not that he could be a future leader but is becoming more and more of a leader every minute he's here you know.

I think that's well said yeah yeah i he um.

He is one of those guys that when he walks into the room, I think people are happy that he's there.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

He's got time for everybody.

He.

I always see him with a smile on his face.

And I think some people might kind of roll their eyes and who cares, just win football games.

But you have to remember, this is a workplace, man.

Oh, yeah, right. They're on the road for long road trips.

Think about the people that you work with that come in like someone peed in their Cheerios every day.

And you're like, I don't want to be around you.

And then you have the people... Like, you know, like Craig Wolfley was, you know what I mean? Every day you see that guy and you're happy to see him. Cause you know, he's going to put a smile on your face. He's got weather times are great or whether you're down, he's going to have the right words to say.

He's going to be able to guide you through it.

Yeah.

He is at that kind of, he's not a rookie.

He's not an old guy.

Middle stage of his career where he's seen everything yet or where he has seen everything.

Pardon me. Um, and he's had.

Some success he's making a little money you know right.

I think i think he's definitely become a real leader in that locker room and amongst the organization i know tv would back me up on this like the people the people that spend time around him um he's just one of those guys that you want he is as tunch would have said you know he's an adder and a multiplier not a subtractor and a divider and i think at times like this it's important to have those.

Guys yeah yeah and you can just tell by his tone in that interview too you know that he's on top of things level headed, but also optimistic, but for the right reasons though, it's not blowing smoke. I, and I sit on both sides of this fence, Matt, you've been there.

I've had these arguments. I used to have them with Dale.

I've had them with pursuit of those guys would get so honked off when they wouldn't get.

A bunch from media availability.

You know what I mean? Oh, nobody wanted to talk.

And this guy doesn't want to talk.

And, And I would always say that makes your jobs harder.

Right.

I'd be like, guys, I understand that it makes your jobs harder. But when you publicly complain about this stuff, fans don't care.

Oh, they don't care.

Yeah.

In fact, fans think it's.

Kind of funny when players blow you off and dunk on you or whatever, because in general, most people don't like the media. That's just kind of the culture that we unfortunately live in. And I there's some reasons to it, but I think a lot of it is also BS. But that's a different conversation for a different time. But at the same time, as much as I think you always make the joke, it's not riding with Babe Ruth on the train, you know, through Brooklyn in.

The 40s and 50s.

There is still something to be said for that guy that will stand up and be counted in the tough moments. And Muth, I think, is one of a couple of those guys for this team.

There's been a lot of them over the years. Like they say to Castro and a lot of those dudes. Obviously Cam and guys like that. But I'm getting that feeling more and more about him.

I think that's well, because I hadn't really thought about it like that, but it's well said by you. He really is.

You need your veteran leaders. You need your Cam Haywards and guys like that. But you need the kind of younger next generation who comes through And I think Muth is definitely developed into that guy.

And I have no idea what his future holds, but he could be a one-helmet Heath Miller, all-time favorite Muth. The Heath successor type guy that last year, 10 years, 12 years, you see even more Friar Muth jerseys floating around the stadium. No doubt.

No, but he's an easy guy to root for. Again, TV would back me up on this. he walks through the facility. He says hi to everybody.

I've noticed him more than others.

He gets on the plane. He's got time for us.

Jabroni's at the back of the plane, you know, slumming it in a, in a, what's the, the, the old boat term where the bottom of the Titanic, something mast class, something like that.

You were even saying like, you know, when you went to Buffalo or whatever, he was telling you all the good spots to go to.

Exactly right.

Exactly right. Yeah, no, he's, he's a good dude and easy to root for. And, uh, and I thought that was just well said by him in.

A moment where everybody.

Could just breathe and take a little step back. And yeah, it was really disappointing and frustrating what happened Thursday in Cleveland. We still got 13 games to play and a lot more to say about this season.

Matt, big news.

We kind of talked about Lamar Jackson and that ankle yesterday. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson dealing with a sprained ankle that gives him an outside chance to play Sunday against the Falcons. Jackson could end up missing multiple games based on how his rehab goes. The injury is not considered long-term or surgical.

So I blew it off a little bit when it happened. Does it sound great? No, it doesn't. I mean, they had a commanding lead at halftime. He never went back in. Huntley's capable. They can hand the ball to Henry and be efficient without Lamar. Lamar's played great. I'm not implying that they're a one-for-one swap. They're not even close. But that game was in hand, and why put your star in jeopardy? I assumed he'd be, ah, maybe he doesn't practice Wednesdays, back Thursday, good to go. Doesn't sound that.

Way at all. No.

So they have Atlanta, who we all watched last night on the horizon in Atlanta.

Boy, did the Steelers get them at the right time.

Yes.

And it sounds like Baltimore is getting them at the wrong time.

Boy, is Baltimore getting them at the wrong time.

Yes.

But if I'm the head coach in Baltimore, those NFC games don't mean quite as much. And I would probably shy or. Error on the side of caution with him.

It's a coin flip.

Yeah.

I need him in January, not October.

If he takes another hit or does something to it and he does need surgery, now our season's in a lot of jeopardy. If I happen to drop one in Atlanta, it doesn't hurt you quite as bad. I'm betting he doesn't play. It sounded unlikely, I think was the word that I've heard.

By some of the insiders, slim chance has been thrown around.

How often does that happen when we hear those things on Mondays and Tuesdays? That's when coaches already know.

They just don't want to give the team their opponent that much of a heads up.

I know.

You kind of use this analogy or this reference a lot. If this was a gotta-have-it game in December, I bet you Lamar would play.

It's the AFC Championship game.

We're still a couple weeks away from Halloween. There's a lot of football left.

Again, NFC opponents, I would be shocked if they rush him back.

Matt?

Bad news for the Eagles as both of their running backs are going to miss some time.

Really?

Saquon Barkley, week to week.

So I guess there is a chance that he could play, but he's dealing with that hamstring injury.

They ruled him out pretty quick when he went out.

They ruled him out pretty quickly.

It didn't look great.

It sounds like he might be doubtful at best for Sunday.

And then their backup, Tank Bigsby, is heading to IR with a core muscle surgery that is required. And so they are saying he will be back in around six weeks.

Okay, so I assume that leaves Shipley is basically the only option.

That's it.

He's okay. I mean, he's a little bit more of a receiver, does some special team stuff.

Maybe a guy you could pick up for a couple weeks in your fantasy football leagues.

That's what I was thinking. I mean, he's going to get a lot of touches, I would think. Just watching that Eagles game, they were 0-4 on third downs. I mean, that's rare.

It was bad.

And when Barkley went out, Lane Johnson was already out for that game. Devontae Smith was already out for that game. It was like Wicks and Cooper and Lemon and Bigsby for a while and Shipley. These are not the skill position players we're accustomed to the Eagles having.

No, not at all.

Neither one of those teams, Eagles or Rams, played particularly well.

No, they didn't.

It was not a playoff-type matter.

Both the quarterbacks did not have their best days.

Stafford's on has been great.

Stafford turned the ball over a couple times. Hertz had 91 yards passing. neither of those guys really bathed themselves in glory.

That's for sure.

Marcus Mariota has an MCL sprain. That's the bad news for the commanders.

The good news.

Oh, I thought it'd be worse than that. That's the first I've heard some of this.

The good news is Jaden Daniels is set to practice as a full participant this week, according to Dan.

Okay.

I know when they boarded the plane for England, they thought Daniels had a chance and then ruled him out once they got there.

Okay.

That's somewhat promising.

I think uh matt that is uh about oh the uh joe mixon uh was rumored to be signing with the seattle seahawks after his physical seattle has decided not to sign.

Him implies he has some serious injuries that are i mean he's been banged around a lot yeah yeah i bet his.

Career is probably he was obviously there was a time where he was very effective when he was in cincinnati but yes the last the last couple years that is.

Uh kind of reminds me like the end of nick chubb's career you know like kind of hanging on any way you can, but not close to what you once were. And that happens a lot with running back.

It does. It's, it's one of those short shelf life.

Yeah. Bring them in.

It happens quick. There's not usually that steady.

You don't really, you, you very rarely get the Derrick Henry where, yeah, he's not what he was four years ago, but he's still, still very good.

It's usually like from the top of the mountain to falling off a.

Cliff, especially because those guys were stars since they could crawl. You know what I mean? Like, So they never did any special teams. You know, like Najee's dealing with this. You know, he just kind of latches on with the Giants. And he was a five-star recruit. Bam, a first-round pick. I'm not running down on kickoffs. I've never done that.

He's not going to learn to do it at this age, you know. And so once you're not the guy, you lose value pretty quick at that position.

It's a unique position in this league for sure.

So that's kind of, I think, Matt, the news of the day here in terms of injuries and some other stuff going on and that Pat Friermuth audio that I wanted to play for you, as it's always happening quickly this time of year across the National Football League.

Let's get to a break here.

There's some more things that I want to get into with Matt here to close out the first hour of the show.

Hour number two, we'll.

Do our weekly Tuesday power rankings and kind of take a look at the other 31 teams across the NFL. Euler and Williamson, it's The Drive, Steelers Nation Radio on the Steelers Audio Network.

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Rolling along here, Matt, on the back half of the first hour. Let's stick with a.

Little fantasy football conversation, if you don't mind here, to close out this hour. We got a little extra time this week.

We will.

hit, I think, on plenty of the tweets in hour number two. We've got, again, a.

Little more time than usual with the Steelers having played on Thursday instead of Sunday.

This is that point, too, where fantasy owners are like, oh man, I did not judge the season right at all, or I did not draft well, or boy, I'm in the driver's seat here. I might have some depth. In my main league, it's really hard to pull off, but I'm trying to sell two good starters for a stud. To a team that's kind of thin and beat up.

And you know, it's kind of that point where I'm like, I'm pretty good. I'm going to try to go all in on this thing as opposed to just survive.

My, uh, my cousin Jaden was trying to do a similar thing with me this week. He was offering me all these different three or four starter packages for Bijan Robinson. And I said, brother, you could offer me the earth. I said, unless you're, unless you're offering me Josh Allen and Jameer Gibbs.

Which I'm not trading.

That's the only way I'm trading Bijan is if you give me Gibbs and Josh Allen back.

Cause I'm pretty good. I'm three in one to start the season.

And you're not in the mood to be dumping.

And he's, I mean, I'd probably be one in three without Bijan and do just another unreal performance by him last night.

He's just something to watch, man.

And it's incredible.

Brian Robinson comes in and does a lot too. I mean, that game to me was so much about who could stop the run, who could run the ball. And Atlanta was at the top on both phases, you know, they, they.

Have really led by him.

Of course they with him really getting going and, and especially Michael Penick since he's been into the fold. That Falcons team is a different team.

Yeah, well-coached group too.

We've kind of talked about some of that stuff over the years of sometimes you get teams at the right time, sometimes you get teams at the wrong time. It's just a luck of the draw, and I think the Steelers certainly lucked out with where they got the Falcons in the schedule. Matt, I was thinking about you said this on the show, and we were kind of laughing, but also it's not that far-fetched, and especially now when Merrill Hodge leading up to the Falcons said, B. John Robinson kind of reminds me of a mix between Barry Sanders and Walter Payton.

Yeah.

And we were all like, what?

Of course that's Steve, but he's like an all-time great.

He is an all-time great.

Yeah, yeah.

Did you see his, it was like total scrimmage yards in primetime games. The primetime stuff's crazy. And he has, Barry Sanders is number two all time.

And it's a distance.

And he's like 25 yards a game ahead.

Of Barry Sanders.

Like O.J.

Simpson's third.

And O.J.

Simpson's third. And he was like.

40 behind.

In primetime games in terms of their yards from scrimmage.

I think the Falcons are now like 9-1 or 10-1 on Monday Night Football, too.

They got the Mike Tomlin thing going on.

Never would have thought. Walking into that environment last night, too, with all the 20-year anniversary and all that stuff, that's not an easy place to win, and they blew them apart.

It is not, and I think that lengthy rest advantage really played well for Atlanta, and hopefully we'll see the Steelers do the same thing on Sunday with that type of momentum. Matt, let's take a look. As you kind of mentioned earlier, But B. John Robinson, via the desk of intrepid video producer Mr.

TV, B.

John Robinson now has averaged 145.5 scrimmage yards in primetime, the most ever for a running back with a minimum of five games. Yeah, and it's like 20-some yards ahead of Barry Sanders.

That's nuts.

Who's in second place.

And it's not two games. I mean, it's a big sample.

Yes, it is.

And they could have powered it on with him. They saved him and put Brian in there, you know.

Matt let's talk about some uh some guys who might still be available in some of these leagues to help salvage some seasons.

Shipley is interested from interesting from last you know if you're just a number one back it's kind of like uh what what's his face um the dolphins back from last last week that uh ollie gordon gordon right yeah i mean like if you're gonna get the ball you should be in every league.

Is ollie gordon you think gonna be their number one now.

I don't know for sure um One thing I was telling you at the break that I don't love, especially if you're putting in fab money and you've got to use it, if you're going to pick up a Shipley or a Gordon a week ago or something like that because you're light, and that's noteworthy too. We've got bye weeks coming this week too.

We sure do.

So that's a big deal. So people probably are light. Then it's worth it. But if you're just grabbing them to be your fourth running back and you're starting the top two for two weeks and then Barkley comes back, you didn't really gain anything.

Sure.

You know, then he's a cuttable guy again.

Sure.

You know, be careful with your fab money.

Yeah.

You might regret spending what you need to get some of these top dudes. If you're not going to play them.

Sure.

No, that makes sense. I was telling you, I, I mean, I've breeze hall being out last week and then doubtful for this week.

I've had, if you're looking for a spot and I might spend on them.

Spend on them. And if you end up using them for a week or two and it helps you survive, so be it. That's the name of the game.

Cause this doesn't mean to talk out of both sides of my mouth, because if you do need them, Be aggressive because don't forget, this is a week-to-week game that we play of fantasy football.

Yes, it is.

Just get the win.

Matt, a couple quarterbacks who are still out there and not rostered in even 50% of the leagues.

Kirk Cousins, C.J. Stroud, Deshaun Watson. Any interest in any.

Of those three?

They're all playing very well.

Yeah.

Yeah, I mean, all of them.

Stroud just had an outstanding game.

No one's really talking about it because they lost and fell to 0-4, but Stroud just played really well.

I think he's had a really good year, too. I think, you know, quietly, he's not the problem at all, why they're 0-4. Cousins is playing great, but those two don't run at all. I don't know if Watson's a mirage or not, but he at least runs, and even if they kind of fall apart, they should be playing from behind, and I don't think he's getting benched anytime soon, so.

And even if it's a week-to-week thing, they got the Jets upcoming this weekend.

Yeah, there you go. I mean, I think all those guys are viable.

I think so, too. Those guys, you could do much worse.

You could do much worse. I mean, you could win games with those guys.

Yes, yes.

There are some intriguing running backs.

We talked a couple weeks ago about Emmanuel Wilson, who at that time was owned, I think, in less than 10% of leagues. He's up to about 50% now. He had himself a good week on Sunday, so I would imagine that number rises soon.

He's a true one.

I was going to say, if it's a, I need to go all in for a running back this week, would you prefer Emmanuel Wilson or would you prefer Shipley from the Eagles?

I would have to really see it. That's so injury related because I don't know exactly when Charbonnet comes back and I doubt they'll throw him, you know, 80% snap share right off the bat. Sure, sure. Price is out for a little while. Barkley sounds week to week, but unlikely to play this week. You're probably going to get more out of Wilson in terms of weeks.

Longevity potential.

Yeah, probably.

I think you're right on that front. But I tell you what, I think both of those guys, after this week, you might not be able to get them.

Yeah, I don't think you'll be able to get them. And maybe you'll regret it, maybe you won't. But they'll probably be in people's starting lineups in your league this week.

Other names mentioned, Tyler Algier, Jags backup Chris Rodriguez, Austin Eckler. Not a lot of appeal there, I don't think. Not a lot of appeal there.

Real deep leagues, but yeah.

Let's see here, Matt. Let's talk about some wide receivers who are still available. Hey, Keon Coleman still owned in less than 10% of leagues.

He really had a breakout game.

My goodness, he looked good.

I don't know how DJ Moore's injury situation sits on a Tuesday here, but I would kick the tires on Coleman. I mean, he certainly has ability.

Some people are starting to jump ahead of the equation here, Matt, and saying that now, if you've got the roster space, to go out and pick up Tyreek Hill.

I didn't know if he'd be on your list or not, because I definitely wanted to say, I would kick the tires. My main league, my last roster spot, isn't anybody I really care about. I don't think Tyreek's going to win you leagues or go back to being the player he once was. I just don't think he's the cheetah anymore. But...

He also has name recognition. If you store him a week before everybody else and then he has one good game three weeks from now and you trade him and you're like, I turned 10 cent investment into a dollar.

You don't even have to use any fab or anything.

Yeah, right. If he's a super cheap, right. I think he will be in the league sooner than later. And that gruesome Chiefs injury, I think, could really set him up with them. Whether he produces or not almost doesn't matter. If he goes back to Chiefs, someone's going.

To want him off your roster.

How about uh a lot of people too this week starting to pick up dante myers of the bangles he of course the former canadian.

Football league star cool story.

Very cool story he's still only 26 years old and you know jamar chase and concussion protocol t higgins with that abductor thing going on You know, maybe he's in for an uptick in target share here the next couple weeks.

That's a big leap of faith for me.

That is.

For a guy that was a borderline roster player, you know, good story's great. But if Gusecki's not in your league, I would think he won't leave the field anymore. Just in terms of.

Gusecki's one of the tight ends listed here of, you know.

I think he's more of where you focus on.

That makes sense. Also, Bretton Strange listed there after a really good performance against Cincinnati.

Yeah, he's kind of one of my hot young tight end guys. I just think there's a lot of ability. He's been sitting at the bottom of my roster all year.

Okay.

All right.

That's an interesting one.

That was kind of an odd game fantasy-wise, just because Parker Washington, for the first time in forever, hardly did anything. It was everybody else. It just shows how good the Jags are. They can do things a lot of different ways. But I bet the squeaky wheel goes back to getting a lot of targets next week.

That would make sense. That would make sense.

I'm sure Brenton Strains is going to have some big performances, but they have so many mouths to feed in that offense.

It's a tough one.

It's like, from just a pure fan perspective, you would love to have that.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

That's a champagne problem, as you would say. But from a fantasy football perspective, perspective it's you kind of want to avoid.

I think washington's still clearly the one even after that week and then then there's just not quite enough to go.

Around fantasy football focus there yeah heading into week five already in the national football league season hour in the books another hour to go power rankings to kick us off all right and hour number two euler and williamson halfway home it's the drive steelers nation radio on the steelers audio network.

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.

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.

Get that hot dog costume ready.

Bruh.

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