Drive9.25.26Missi: Missi Matthews on Bengals Test

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Steelers Nation Radio.

Good afternoon, Steeler Nation. It's The Drive on the Steelers Audio Network, fired up here on a Friday as we get ready to rock and roll into a big football weekend. Wes Shuler and Matt Williamson with you here. Well, Matt, I should say for the next two hours, but if you want the full show today, you're going to have to be locking into the podcast or the YouTube page because.

Fill me in.

I don't get it.

5 30, the Steelers hall of honor dinner starts.

Ah, yes.

I'm going to be there with Mike Pursuta.

Nice.

So if you are someone who just listens to Matt and I on SNR proper, you know, on the stream or on the website, wherever the case may be at 5 30, it's going to get turned over into the Steelers hall of honor.

That's cool. Which is, yeah, I don't mind getting dinged for that.

We're going to talk to Kevin Colbert and the Wolfley family and a lot of fun stuff, but just wanted to give everyone a heads up that if you want the full gambit podcast or YouTube, today for this Friday show. Okay. Unless you're listening back into the loop on SNR.

Yeah, that'll all be on there, right? If you want to get it live, okay.

I'll be fine and normal.

Roger, okay.

Because it is a big night tonight, because it is the Steelers' annual Hall of Honor dinner. JT Thomas, Kevin Colbert, and our guy, Craig Wolfley, all officially becoming enshrined in the Steelers' Hall of Honor. This evening, Pursuit and I will have a short little broadcast from down there at the facility. as we'll kind of tee that whole thing.

Is that what you're doing from? It's from the south side?

It's from the, it's from Aksher Stadium.

Oh, okay. Yep. Yep.

Right there at Aksher Stadium. Big dinner. It's a really nice event. Matt sees I've got my suit hanging up over there that I've got to change into later on and we'll rock and roll and we're going to have a big Friday that's going to lead into a big football weekend. And Matt, this is a big one for week three, man. This is about as big as it is.

It is all of a sudden. Yeah.

And don't get me wrong. If the Steelers go out there and they play great and they win, that doesn't mean that it's going to be smooth.

Sailing the rest of the year. No, it's not like, oh, don't worry anymore, but right.

If the Steelers go out there on Sunday and they struggle, that doesn't mean that they're going to go 4-13 this year and stink up the joint. But this is a big early season test here on Sunday at home against a division foe.

It is.

I think it'll be very telling, especially for, well, both sides. But I was thinking about especially for the defense, because I think all of us are really high on the defense, really excited about the defense. I think Patrick Graham's done wonderful things. But you did play Cooper Rush and an A.J. Brown-less Patriots.

Sure.

This is different. This is not Cooper Rush, and they do have Jason Higgins. So, I mean, just even from a passing perspective, you're facing as tough of challenges you're going to get in the league as opposed to getting some favors. The other side of the ball, I don't think the Falcons' D-line is particularly good. I do think the Patriots' interior is very, very good.

Very good.

But this one's good across the board. We know the Steelers' line has not thrived to this portion of the season. If they play like they have, they're going to get whipped up on pretty good. They're going to have to play better up front to win this game. I think they're capable.

I think they're capable. I think that's where it starts. And, Matt, I think we might see a little bit of a line change on the right side of that offensive line.

Sure getting that feeling, isn't it?

Just getting that feeling. Could be completely wrong. Could be some smokescreen stuff there.

But I'm hoping for it just because my love for on a chore and I want to see him. I want that to start now.

No doubt. And I think you and I have discussed this, too. But if you're not going to make any changes to the offensive line now, it's probably week five before you can.

You wouldn't do it before the Browns game. That's for sure.

This without any practice. This upcoming week, you're going to spend Monday recovering and going over the film and all that stuff. And Tuesday, you're getting ready for the Browns. And Wednesday, you're busting to Cleveland.

Yeah.

So I mean, I guess you could do it the long week after the Browns.

You absolutely could.

But still, that's two game difference.

But it's it's it's almost like a like a pooper get off the pot moment in that regard now, because I I can't imagine that they would make that change on a three day week.

The only reason why I think that they should consider not is there's been enough change with the O-line and the continuity clearly is an issue with blitz pickups, stunts, things like that. One thing, I'm not defending this O-line, but I mentioned it on Monday. When you watch the five of them isolated, one-on-one matchups, except for Anderson, who suffered an injury in that game, by the way. Let's be honest with you what happened there. It wasn't as bad as it looks, but collectively it was in terms of where's this blitz coming from or stunts or passing things off, which I think continuity would go a long way to Help iron out. You're not going to get them all fixed. And their defensive coordinator deserves some credit, too,

for dialing up the right stuff.

Absolutely.

But, you know, switching who's out there is not going to help continuity. I'm still in favor of the move, of course, because I want to haunt a shorter career start now.

We have an agenda. You especially have an agenda. And that's been to get Mad Max on the field as soon as possible. And this is, Matt, I don't know. I'm sure some people would look at it and they would say, maybe this isn't the matchup to get max out there with how good that front four has been, but it's, I never look at it that way. It's the national football league.

Yeah.

As you and I've talked, you know, I make this reference probably a dozen times a year.

Yeah.

It's not Ohio state versus Akron.

No.

So even if it's the quote unquote worst defensive front in the NFL, whoever that may be.

And that might have been Atlanta.

It might have been Atlanta. They're still going to have some talented guys.

Yeah, there's still a third-round pick, a fourth-round pick, the best guy on Oregon's front.

Someone making $ 20 million a year.

Yeah, exactly. It's just not maybe Miles Garrett and Micah Parsons.

Right, right. So I'm fired up, Matt. Like I said.

I rarely look at that even with when to make quarterback changes. Oh, this game's too hard. Well, if this game's too hard, they're all hard.

Exactly right. As last night might have proven, as the Falcons go into Lambeau and just stomp a mud hole in the Packers' chest.

I don't know if the Packers are getting any better either. I mean, Parsons comes back, but they got fundamental problems.

Matt, I'm very nervous about my pick of the LA Chargers winning the AFC West.

I don't blame you. Their next seven games?

I'm feeling very good, though, about both of our picks for the Packers to finish dead last in the NFC North.

I'm kind of proud of us for that one. I am, too. I feel very confident about that.

I do, as well, because, oh, my goodness. As you and I like to say sometimes, it might be getting early-late up there in Green Bay. So it is such a week-to-week league, and I don't know. This feels like the week to make some changes on that offensive line.

I think it's getting late-early.

Right.

No, not getting early-late.

Dang it, you're right.

We've done that a couple times throughout the last week or two.

I always mess that.

Up.

TV's pointing at me. Guilty as charged. It's getting late early.

I was sitting there going, which one?

Not early, late. That wouldn't make any sense. It's getting late early there in Green Bay. And you know what? At the same time, though. they're three games into the season and they could turn things around. They're just so banged up and they're missing so many key players.

They said no running game. I think they have the worst offensive line in the league. I mean, it's just, they put so much on love shoulders. I mean, that doesn't go well with, Looks like last night.

Exactly right. Exactly right. So, Matt, a big one Sunday on the North Shore that we are, of course, in full anticipation of. We will have Five Star Friday today. We'll give all of our predictions. We're going to talk to Missy Matthews.

It's a pretty good slate of games across the league, too.

It's a really good slate of games. I'm looking forward to it. Huge, huge weekend of football in the collegiate landscape and the NFL landscape. over the next few days here that we're always fired up and excited about. And yeah, man, I tell you what, might not be many of them with more on the line than Steelers and Bengals Sunday, one o'clock at Accresure Stadium there. on the North Shore for an early season AFC North matchup. Something we haven't seen a ton of lately, by the way. It feels like these have always been in the back half of the season.

Yeah, that's true.

Early AFC North.

I guess sometimes there's like a Cincinnati game. There's like one of them. There's one.

And then five others always.

Around the holidays. But you're going to get two. We're getting back to back, yeah. Yeah, you're going to get two here in the span of, what, five days.

Yeah.

So you better.

You basically have to get one. I hate have to in September. But if you lose, do you judge both these?

If you're one and three, yeah.

With two losses in the division and three in the conference.

Three in the AFC.

Right.

All your losses are in the AFC. That is just math I'm talking about here.

And it starts to feel late, early.

Very early, yeah. Closing time.

I got it right that time, didn't I?

It's closing time already? I just had my first beer.

Oh, man. This is why we love it, though. This is why the NFL is so great, is because it's only week three and there are already.

Very important- There's some consequences, yeah. There's some consequences- I mean, how confident would you be if you're the Bengals and you're 3-0? I mean, the Ravens could easily lose to the Cowboys, too.

If we're Bengals Nation Radio, we're like, what an opportunity.

What an opportunity.

You can go into Pittsburgh. You can get that win on the road. You can drop them down a peg. You can move to 3-0. You can get another AFC win, all that stuff.

Baltimore loses in Brazil, and all of a sudden it's like, Yeah, absolutely.

So that, I mean, Hey, that is life in the national football league. It is such a week to week league. Every game feels like it's got a real magnitude to it, but I think especially this one for a September clash between two AFC North rivals, Matt, let's get to our first break. A little bit of a shorter start here on this Friday, but that's because we're going to talk to the queen of the sideline, Missy Matthews. When we returned, she's been on the sideline for a lot of these AFC North battles. She'll help us paint the picture of, As we get ready for Steelers and Bengals on Sunday, Euler and Williamson just getting started here. 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.

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.

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

Steelers Nation Radio.

Really starts to feel like a Friday when you hear that bounce and you know what that means. We are going to the phone lines to talk to our friend, the queen of the sideline, Steelers sideline reporter, Missy Matthews. Missy, thank you for taking the time here on a Friday as always. It's a big one on Sunday. It's still only week three, but it feels like there is a lot on the line, and you have been on the sideline for many of these important AFC North clashes. I got to imagine it feels a little different down there when it's the Ravens, when it's the Browns, and like on this Sunday when it's the Bengals.

Oh, yeah. Yeah.

I would definitely put the Ravens and the Bengals in a higher up category than the Browns. No offense. But it's true. You kind of feel it. And you know who sometimes the main big energy characters are when these two teams are going to clash. Everybody knows Jamar Chase likes to talk, remember some things that maybe or maybe didn't happen last year at Akershire Stadium. So, yeah, it's always exciting. And it is week three, but it is a big deal because the Bengals haven't lost yet. And you don't want them.

To be 3-0.

And then you start this game where you're looking at the schedule. Okay, where are wins going to pick up? How will we get close to them? So you don't want to do that just yet. It's still a long season. A lot of things can change, as we know. But yeah, needless to say, you want to come out of the gate swinging for sure.

So Missy, this is by no means an indictment on the new coaching staff. They've only coached two games here. But just doesn't this feel like the type of game Mike Tomlin would win? You know, division game at home, everyone's counting you out. They would block a punt in the fourth quarter or something goofy to win 13-9, you know?

Oh, jeez.

Aw, thanks, Matt. Well, you know.

You know, Pitt's homecoming this weekend. I'm meeting up with my friends tonight, so you're just like, you're starting my Friday off right.

Perfect.

Sorry there, Wes.

It's okay. Kind of.

Sorry. It's all right.

I'll hang on to last year.

I haven't pulled that out in a while.

I'll hang on to last year.

Yeah. Yeah, no, but I agree with you, Matt. I do feel like it was like being a home underdog under coach Tomlin, like meant like, Oh boy, we're bringing, we're bringing our a game. So it's kind of that weird unknown. Cause you don't know how they're going to rebound or perform or whatever they're going to do under head coach, Mike McCarthy. But this is a guy who has been a head coach at two other places. This isn't his first rodeo. So I feel good at least he knows kind of what buttons to push or not push or how to kind of get everybody on the same page for sure.

Missy, obviously we know a big part of this Cincinnati Bengals team is kind of that– I would say three-headed monster on offense, but I feel like Chase Brown deserves some credit in there too. So maybe a four-headed monster, but of course, Burrow, Jamar Chase, T Higgins kind of being the big three. And those guys have had their moments.

They've had times where they've struggled against the Steelers. Absolutely. But they've also had moments with a lot of success, you know, some, Thirty five, thirty eight type point performances. Those guys, when when you see those Cincinnati Bengals stripes and chase and Burrow and Higgins kind of makes you sit up straight in your chair and pay attention and, you know, have to suddenly just really be on your P's and Q's and details when these guys come to town.

Oh, yeah, for sure. I mean, it's like you know automatically one of them, if maybe both of them might score a touchdown. And I think just look at what those two wideouts did last week against Houston. Both had 75-plus receiving yards.

It's not uncommon.

So I do think there is something about the swagger that Joe Burrow and that offense brings. But I think the thing everyone's been talking about this week because it's new is is their defense and just how much it has improved that we have been used to from last year and even years past. And that's where you're starting to be like, okay, can I, can I still talk myself into this? Why will this work? Is there going to be changes along the Steelers offensive line? How is that going to go against this new revamped Bengals defense?

So it will be interesting to see not a shortage of storylines. That is for sure.

So, Missy, it sounds like there's a chance or maybe it's inevitable that there was at some point in the near future, maybe as soon as Sunday, right side of the offensive line changes. You know, I mean, it's seems like Ohana chores, you know, they're chomping at the bit to get him out there. Anderson struggled a little bit at right guard. Is that a move you'd condone now or do you think that's the right move to do it for this game?

I mean, I don't know if there's ever a good time in the season, especially when you're talking about, you know, even just think about what Coach McCarthy said after the game. Like, you know, we actually, in hindsight, didn't get them that many reps as a unit. I guess better late than never if that's the change you want to make. But I also don't want to get into this, like, back and forth of, like, swapping players in and out of the offensive line. Absolutely. throughout the season unless you know god forbid barring an injury or something like that so I guess if they feel strongly about this now then yeah I guess I condone doing it you know ASAP and getting everyone back on the same.

Page and that's going to be important this week Missy because I think one of the real keys to this game is that Cincinnati Bengals defensive front this is not the Cincinnati defensive front that we've come accustomed to the last couple of years. In fact, they took what was probably their biggest weakness and turned it into a great strength with those four new guys that they brought in this offseason. Of course, headlined by Dexter Lawrence from the Giants for the 10th overall pick. Missy, if ever there was a week for the offensive line to take a step forward, this Sunday would be a great time to do so.

Heck yeah. And it is crazy when you think about it and how happy Joe Burrow and that offense must be like, guys, we've been doing so much. Like they were losing shootouts and like the thirties and forties because their defense just couldn't stop other teams. But for obviously us, other people in the division across the AFC, it's not what you want to see, but those were some big time moves. And, you know, if there are changes among the offensive line, Brock Hoffman, somebody who's played against Dexter Lawrence before, when he was with, I almost said Cleveland, but the Cowboys. So it'll be interesting to say the least how not only do the Steelers, as Coach McCarthy said, clean up their own house, but then how do you

clean it up and prepare for what is going to be a very major test for them?

So if Rico Dowdle can't go, do you think the organization is comfortable really making Warren a workhorse back for an entire game?

I do. I mean, just think about the different things that Jalen Warren has done to get to where he is and how long he's stuck around. I definitely do. I think even, you know, last year he was different than Kenny Gainwell and Kenny Gainwell was used in a different way. But they both still had really pretty remarkable seasons.

So I do think, you know, if Rico can't go and, you know, a toe injury, he came out of the game, he went back in and he came out again. I'm not sure what that's going to lead to until we get that, you know, infamous status report. But I definitely think Jalen is one of those guys that could definitely do it. And I think he would thrive in that opportunity to really get the run game going to help the offensive line and just help the offense in general move the ball.

All that being said, if Dowdle is inactive, I would think a Lou Nichols call up is probably the right move. I can't imagine Heidenreich or Homer trying to do the Dowdle role.

No, I mean, you saw Travis Homer some, and I think, you know, mainly he was caught up maybe for special teams last week type deal. But I agree. Why would you not, you know, call him up for sure? But I definitely think, yeah, I don't know if it's the right time for Eli Heidenreich and guys like that to kind of take on a massive role in terms of the offense just yet.

Missy Matthews with us here on the drive, helping us tee up Steelers-Bengals, of course, Sunday, 1 o'clock at Accresure Stadium. Missy, one of the things that Matt and I discussed yesterday was just how differently the game plan looked from Patrick Graham week one versus week two. That's something that we expected and kind of previewed coming into this season, you know, to to use a line that the former head coach would have used. Patrick Graham is kind of the definition of if he's got red paint, he's going to paint the barn red. If he's got green paint, he's going to paint the barn green. And we saw kind of the juxtaposition in the aggressive game plan against the Patriots and Drake May and not as much against Cooper Rush

in the Atlanta Falcons. This is a Bengals team, surprisingly, that has been blitzed a ton, despite kind of the acumen of Joe Burrow. He was sacked five times last week against a very good Houston defense. Is this a kind of big data point in and kind of, you know, we're going week by week here. What we expect from Patrick Graham. Could this be another kind of, you know, what what tricks does he have in his bag? Tricks does he have up his sleeve for this Cincinnati offense?

Heck yeah. And I love seeing, you know, what it is week to week and just the different things that he's doing with this defense, which still has a large number of the same parts, right? It's a lot of the main characters still. And I do think, you know, it will be interesting to see how he defends Joe Burrow.

I feel like even Kim Hayward was talking this week. It's like, you know, we have to stop the run. You know, you have to do that because of what their wideout can do. But I still think, you know, it feels like their offense is humming a little bit and it's not going to be enough to just make them one dimensional because of the pieces that they have, not to mention some of their tight ends as well.

So it'll be interesting to see, you know, how he makes Joe Burrow uncomfortable. What is, you know, the, the plan of Patrick Graham.

And who knows?

I mean, I feel like probably by the next time we play the Bengals, it could change again. I think It's just a matter of who's available to him and then how do they best utilize all of those guys to come up with a scheme that works. So I'm definitely intrigued to see, you know, I would love TJ Watt to add to his interception total and, you know, get more than two that he already has against Burrow.

So I'm here for that.

Missy, last thing I have for you is when we covered it kind of on the matchup show, but would you expect this to be a somewhat tight end centric passing game for the Steelers?

I do.

I mean, why would you not do it? Uh, even Pat Friermuth knew what happened last week with Dalton Schultz, uh, from the Texans and what they were able to do. And I think for the Steelers, it's worked now, granted, you can't just plan for just that.

I think just.

Because the offense has been so, um, wonky, uh, as you know, I don't, I can't remember how herky jerky is what coach McCarthy said. Um, it feels like just for themselves, they have to get the run game going and just like make it look like it is something and not just like, man, we're really trying to get this going and the train's not going on the track.

But I agree. Like, why would you not utilize Pat Fryer move Darnell Washington? I think those two guys have been extremely reliable and dependable for the Steelers offense, even though they haven't been able to do a ton, but those are definitely some guys that, you know, I think Aaron Rogers is very comfortable with. And I think, you know, understand what this matchup is all about too.

Missy last one I've got for you before we let you go Friday night. Tonight is the Steelers annual hall of honor dinner and enshrinement. And, of course, three very deserving candidates going in, JT Thomas, Kevin Colbert, and our dear brother, Craig Wolfley. Going to be an emotional one down there tonight. I know I'm going to see Faith, his wife. We're going to see CJ, one of his sons.

And I think this is– I just think it's so fitting. I obviously wish Wolf was still around to get his flowers. But when you kind of think Hall of Honor and all that that encompasses– And all that Craig Wolfley gave to this organization and to this city, just an incredibly fitting honor for our, for our former colleague and our dear friend.

Oh yeah. I mean, absolutely. And, you know, I don't know if I made the cut, but I did, you know, do an interview for the video production team talking about him, which I kept putting off. I kept saying, I'll do it. I'll do it next week. I'll do it next week. And finally they're like, you have to do it. And I'm like, Okay, fine. But I just think, you know, I remember when Tunch went in and what that meant to Wolf to see Tunch go in afterwards. And I just think, you know, those two guys are probably having a cigar, having a good time right now, looking down and thinking about everything that's happening and the funny stories that will be told. I saw, you know, Coach Power was stopped by practice today. He's obviously in town for

the special night and you know, love Kevin Colbert. Can't say enough good things about him. Uh, actually the originator of paint the barn red, by the way.

Yeah.

Yeah. Um, he stole it from somebody, but Kevin brought it to Pittsburgh. Let me just say that. So, so yeah, I think for Wolf, it's just, it's so fitting. Um, just so happy for, like you said, faith, the family and everybody, because it wasn't, you know, a hall of honor, just player was human broadcaster friend, uh, you know, Somebody that we all could just sit there with for hours and never get bored and laugh a lot.

No doubt. No doubt. Miss that guy often and certainly every Sunday when we walk into the broadcast booth. And it'll be an incredible honor for him to get enshrined forever in the Steelers Hall of Honor Museum tonight. And then, of course, that ceremony at halftime on Sunday. The great Missy Matthews, queen of the sideline, kind enough to give us some of her time here on this Friday. Missy, thank you so much. And we will talk to you this weekend. All right.

Thanks, guys. Have a good one.

There she goes. Yeah, Matt, I've been kind of trying to put off those emotions too, like Missy, but I have a feeling at some point tonight it's just going to hit me like a sledgehammer.

And I'm sure Sunday it'll hit you probably as soon as you walk in the booth.

It still does every time we walk into the booth on game days and Wolf, because he was so omnipresent. It was hard to imagine the Steelers without Tunch. It's hard to imagine the Steelers without Wolf. It's both of them now. But it is also pretty cool that they'll both be in that Hall of Honor together for forever.

Yeah.

Very, very, very deserving. Maybe we'll talk a little bit more about that. Swap some wolf stories. Um, we do have some funny, uh, our guy, our guy, Justin, of course, who has produced this show in the past produces, uh, in the locker room now with Rob and Max and Willie, uh, he went through and cut out some, uh.

Oh, we should play those.

Those are good.

Some wolfisms. Maybe we'll do that when we return on the other side.

I got a kick out of hearing the ones yesterday.

It's just some of those. The dude just had a way with words, words that he quite often invented and pulled out of the ether. No question. But could always paint the picture with them. So we've got plenty of ground still to cover here on this Friday as we, yeah, we'll celebrate our buddy Wolf and we will continue to get ready for Steelers and Bengals this weekend. A whole bunch more ahead. Euler and 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.

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.

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

Steelers Nation Radio.

Matt, big weekend on the docket. Of course, Steelers and Bengals. A big week three showdown here early on in the season. But it's also Hall of Honor night tonight as three members of the Steelers family will be enshrined forever. We mentioned Kevin Colbert, JT Thomas, and of course our dear brother Craig Wolfley. And those guys will officially become enshrined tonight at the ceremony. And then they'll have the little halftime celebration out on the field. And I know that there'll be a big outpouring for all three of these guys.

But of course for our buddy and our brother Craig Wolfley, And, you know, like, as, as we kind of said with Missy, Matt, it's, it's one thing to be a great football player. And if that's the legacy you leave, that's fantastic.

Yeah. Right.

But Wolf not only, you know, was, was a, is, was a great Pittsburgh Steeler on the field, but just the impact that he left in this community on this town around this organization.

Yes.

That holds maybe even more weight.

Yeah, I think it does. I mean, especially, I mean, let all the stuff he's done for charities and things like that is remarkable.

Yeah.

But even all the things he's done from a football perspective since he played the game, is immense. I mean, in itself, I think, deserves that honor.

Mm-hmm.

He's such an interesting dude, too. Like, I mean, the more I met him, the more I found out about his history, too, about like owning gyms, fighting Butterbean.

Yep.

World's strongest man. I mean, like really crazy stuff that he got to do in his career or in his life. That's not even, you know, it's just awesome.

It really is. He was a he was a unique cat. He was a just a special individual. And as we mentioned, our buddy Justin cut up some some different wolf.

These are great, if you will.

And let's just, you know what? It's like a, it's like a 42nd gambit here. Let's just, let's just run through the gambit here.

And this is like the grand finale on 4th of July.

Here's the wolfism fireworks.

Oh, I got to tell you, as soon as he turned the corner and went wang dang doodle down that sidelines, you knew nobody was going to catch him.

Oh, that's sweeter than that.

Nelly's blueberry pie, baby.

You got a little three-card money again, a little Houdini-ism going on.

Sweet Marie.

Oh, baby.

Yeah, Zooks, let's just get after it. That was a slobber knocker. You had everybody on the sideline screamed as one. Oh, great googly moogly. Was that a beautiful moment?

It was always a beautiful moment.

It was always a beautiful moment when Wolf was around. Oh, just an incredible. And you know what, too? You know, what's really cool about Wolf? And it was the same thing about Tunch was that for so many of our listeners and so many members of Steeler Nation, they actually met the guy, whether it was a training camp or one of the million shows that restaurants or the coaches shows that they would do at Giant Eagle or Light of Life or the different ministries, the walks for charity and for the homeless that him and Tunch used to do.

So Wolf is Wolf's one of those guys that there's, there's like 10,000 people in Pittsburgh that think that they don't think they were great friends with Craig Wolfley.

You know what I mean?

Like so many of our listeners, not only do we have Wolf stories from working with him and being around him, but these people that met him at training camp or at giant Eagle or wherever and have their own memories because he had time for everybody.

So, I mean, just a side note, but an example of exactly what you're saying is, My mom, her sister, my aunt, and their two best friends, who are also sisters, when they were younger, they're up in age now, they don't travel anymore, but they've traveled all over the world. My aunt used to take round-the-world trips. So they did a ton of traveling. The mother truckers. So anyways, they used to go to a Steeler game on the road every year. And one game, it was when Wolf was doing this, they went to a Titans game, Steelers-Titans game.

Okay.

And went to the bar before.

In Nashville.

In Nashville, I assume. Yeah. And went up to Wolf and, you know, my aunt's very outgoing. Went up to Wolf. Hey, how you doing? You know, never mentioned my name once. You know, meanwhile, Wolf and I were hosting a show every Wednesday. I don't even know if my mom knew that. Embraced them to no end. You know, she's like, never even brought up that they had any relation to me whatsoever during the entire.

They were just Joe.

Schmoe off the street.

Right.

And she's like, he was the best. He was so great to all of us. It wasn't a favor to me.

It was just.

Four older ladies that were having fun with terrible towels, you.

Know, it's fantastic mother truckers. And you know, that even if you never met Wolf, if you weren't fortunate enough to spend 10 seconds around them, there's someone in your life that, you know, that's like that.

Yeah.

And, uh, and I think that's.

Not because he's a celebrity or, you know, I mean, he was just a good person that really, you knew as soon as you walked in the room and, you.

Know, cares about his fellow man, you know, and, uh, and, and that was Craig Wolfley. And, He's just one of those guys that the world was a better place with him in it. Pittsburgh was a better town with him in it, and we are certainly– we miss that guy, but we're very excited for him to rightfully get his honor.

I have one other secondhand story about Wolfe that I got a kick out of. My kids went to Upper St. Clair. I live in Upper St.

Clair.

Wolfe lived in Upper St.

Clair.

So it was my son's senior year at a St. Clair football game, and Wolfe just in the stands– And unlike my mom, he went up to him and said, hey, I'm Matt Williamson's son. And Wolf's like, nice to meet you, brother. And then he's like, do you like all those stats too? My son had no idea what he.

Was talking about.

Do you like all those numbers and stats too? He's like, I don't know what you're talking about, Mr.

Wolfley.

He came back after the game and told me all about it. I'm like, oh, that's great.

That's fantastic. You're not a dork like your dad, are you?

He's like, no, Mr. Wolfley, I'm cool. I'm not a nerd like him.

So good. So good. My first, I know I've told this before. I don't know if necessarily here in the last, you know, 14 months that you and I've been doing the drive. I know I did at some point with modes. I've told this story on this network before, but I've, I've laid out to you kind of the crazy timeline of when I got hired for this job in 2018, I was living in Philadelphia, working for WIP, which is the Eagles and the Phillies station there in Philadelphia. And I had two weeks to get a place to live back home and move back home before training camp started.

And my first day on this job was the first day of training camp. Like I literally, wow.

That's day one.

Okay. I think it was like a July 26th. I literally moved from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh on July 25th.

And on the 26th, you were sleeping in the dorm.

And on the 26th, I was sleeping in the dorms. Like all my stuff was just in the garage.

At our townhouse.

For three weeks. And so obviously I was very- For.

Your wife to deal with.

For my wife to deal with. Yeah, because she didn't start her new job for like another month. So she was like, thanks, honey. And she's in a city where she had never lived and didn't know anybody. And I was like, goodbye, sweetheart.

I'll see you in three weeks.

I was obviously, I was very giddy. I was very gung-ho. I was very anxious. I was very nervous.

To start that job.

And work with all these people.

That's a tough first day, too. I mean, it's just a different environment.

It's not just here in the studio. Right, right. It's a lot of moving parts out there.

Our buddy Brian saying, okay, this is how we do this. This is how we do that.

And at that point, we were still doing our SNR training camp broadcasts out in the fan area. Yeah.

Much better now.

So it's like we're setting up under a table in a tent that's hundreds of yards away from everything.

Yes, yes.

Where a lot of connection issues and stuff like that can happen. So I'm nervous. I'm excited. I'm anxious. I'm fired up. I'm all those emotions. I'm all these people, you know, Tunch and Wolf and Matt Williamson and Dale Lally and Mike Pursuta and Tim Benz and all these people that I had grown up listening to and reading their work and all that stuff. I'm now going to be working and, you know, bumping shoulders and elbows with all those guys. The first show of the day that I would have to engineer was always Tunch and Wolf.

So they were on.

I think from like nine to noon. Cause yeah, they were normally 10 to noon, but they did like a bonus hour for training camp type thing. So they were on from nine to noon. It was only like the second or third day. And we're in the middle of, they're in the middle of taking phone calls. Cause they would always do like some phone calls. They're in the middle of taking phone calls. And I look over and Tunch is leaned back in his chair, hands behind his head.

And he is just out.

Totally asleep.

Tunch is zonked. He is totally asleep. His mouth's like half open. He's got the hands behind his head. The person is talking on the phone and Tunch is just out. He's just out. And so I don't know what to do. I'm like, should I?

You don't know these guys.

Does he do this often? Should I wake him up? Should I let him go?

Big scary alignment.

And so my kind of quick judgment decision was, all right let's make wolf aware and see what you know what wolf tells me to do you know like what does wolf want me to do so i kind of like you know i kind of like tap on the table in front of wolf yeah and wolf looks because wolf's like listening intently to what the call is saying doing his job doing his job and i'm like you know i kind of get wolf's attention like kind of tap on the table in front of him and i point over to touch at the other side of the table And Wolf like turns red, like trying to hold in how hard he's laughing.

Right.

He's thrilled with this.

And I'm like, what do you want me to do? What do you want me to do? And Wolf keeps going. If you're watching on YouTube, you can see me. Wolf's like doing the elbow him motion. You know what I mean? He's like, give him an elbow. Elbow him in the ribs.

Elbow him in the ribs.

And I'm like, no, no. And so I kind of try. tapping on the table.

Like yeah it's kind of gentle yeah.

He's not he's not moving i mean he is just out touch and wolf's like wolf's his face is getting redder and redder because he's trying harder not to laugh and he's like now he's like doing like wwe he's like elbow drop him come on And so I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Cause I got to wake this dude up.

Just wants me to tee off on him.

Right.

I'm like, if I do that, I've touched, you know, it's just started working with me three days ago. He's going to strangle me and kill me.

Right.

And so finally we got Tunch awake and Wolf just, Wolf laughed about that for like the next three weeks. The funniest thing ever. But I'm like trying to tow that line of like, what do I do here? And Wolf's like, WWE off the top rope. Just give him an elbow drop.

If it had been a couple months after you were in, it'd be a different story.

Totally.

Tunch, get up. What are you doing?

And I just, I still remember when I brought that to Wolf's attention and when I'm trying to wake Tunch up and Wolf is just, his face is getting as red as an, you know, how.

He used to moments where he was giggling, but he was trying to hold it back and his.

Face is turning red. And, oh man, that's good. Fantastic memory and miss that guy. And you know, what would really be a, uh, a honor that I think Wolf would appreciate.

Steelers ran the ball.

As if the Steelers offensive line started moving. Maybe that's just what they need, a little influence from Wolf above this weekend. This is the Sunday to get that offensive line and that run game moving in.

The right direction. Yep, start moving some bodies. Start putting Dexter Lawrence going backwards.

Great googly moogly. An hour in the books, another hour to go. When we return to kick off hour number two, it's our matchup segment. It's time for a little five-star Friday. 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 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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Get that hot dog costume ready.

Bruh.

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