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The Pittsburgh Steelers have given fans a lot of reasons to be excited with their drafting
and their setting things up in the offseason.
But are we overlooking potentially one of the better parts of the team that we already
knew was great and might even be in a better position because of how they've handled this
offseason?
That's the defensive line.
We'll talk about that and take some of your questions.
You're in the Lockdown Steelers podcast.
I'm your host Chris Carter.
Let's get into it.
You are Lockdown Steelers, your daily Pittsburgh Steelers podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast
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Hello and welcome to the Lockdown Steelers podcast.
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We'll get to more of that later.
But hope everyone had a great weekend.
We are here in May and OTAs start this week.
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, the Steelers are holding their practices where we'll get
to see the guys, all the team finally coming back together and us getting a chance to talk
to them about their offseason.
We'll get to that later.
I still want to talk about something that I think has been overlooked as we have talked
about all the things that have happened this this offseason that strengthened the offensive
line, not just with Broderick Jones and Isaac Suellum.
The potential potential stepping up of Kenny Pickett in the offense and Darnell Washington
and Pat Fryer-Mouth and Zach Gentry as a tight end group and Joey Porter Jr along with Patrick
Peterson, what the corners could look like.
There's a lot of excitement there.
But I think one thing we may be not hyping or harping on enough is the Steelers defensive
line which last year was a vital part of the Steelers success.
And you're getting basically the same starters back from last year with Cam Hayward and Larry
Hogan-Jovie of two of your inside pieces.
But one of the biggest things that were the concerns for the Steelers even going back to
the start of last year and maybe even kind of the year before that when we didn't know
well, I guess the year before that we didn't know that Stavantu's career was done.
But once Stavantu announced his retirement it was an immediate concern to find who were
going to be the next guys defensive line.
We knew last year when they drafted Demarbon Liao, there were some things we liked about
him and then he showed a pretty decent rookie season when he wasn't injured.
And then they went and drafted Keon Ben who I had, if you've followed this show throughout
the draft process leading up the draft in the months and I had as one of my top defensive
linemen.
Even over guys like Mazzi Smith who went in the first round.
And they got him in the second round at 49 and now they have a situation where the defensive
line sets up to be still your top two guys, Cam Hayward and Larry Hogan-Jovie.
Your top two guys from last year.
And now your next two guys can be the young guys that you're hoping will take the torch
from the old guys in a few years.
And that's Demarbon Liao and Keon Oubetin.
And you still have veterans that you brought in like Armand Watts, like Braden Fogo and
you still have Montrevious Adams to kind of fill out the bottom of this.
There's also Isaiah Lautomilk still around.
But now you're in a position where last year after those top guys you had Chris Wormley,
you had Tyson Lulu who was on the last legs of his career, you weren't so sure about the
depth of defensive line.
This year there's a lot more reasons to be excited.
And I think this goes to when we talk about the entire Steelers roster.
They have filled in so many more holes.
You're so much more excited about different guys stepping up.
Keon Oubetin when you looked at his time in college, he had like six and a half I think
sex in his final year at Wisconsin but he's still more of a run stuffer and he's developing
his skills as the pass rusher.
But that's just fine I think for what the Steelers are right now.
If you go and look at the rated, how many times players were charged with a hurry last
year from from pro football focus when it came to the Steelers defenders.
Of the top seven guys who created the most hurries on quarterbacks and pass rushing,
five of them were defensive linemen.
Excuse me, four of them were defensive linemen.
Sam Hayward was number one with 36 hurries.
Behind him was Alex Highsmith 35 and TJ Waddell 20.
But then behind him were Larry Hogan, Jobe, Chris Wormley and then Robert Splame had the
sixth most and then Tyson Alulah was next.
And Wormley and Alulah, Wormley I think was a solid occasional pass rusher who could occasionally
win some one-on-one matchups.
But he wasn't the guy that was going to consistently take on double teams being more physical player.
You didn't have as much flexibility as some as a other player who projects to be like
to Marvin Leal.
There were things there that you wanted to be better.
And Tyson Alulah, back I think a few years ago before his most recent injury, Tyson
Alulah was that guy.
He was a great depth piece and even a starter if you wanted a nose tackle.
But he aged out of that, things happened.
He was a good veteran for a time and they need someone else to step up there.
That's why I think they went and got Brayden Fajoko and Armin Watts in the off season to
say, hey, here's two veterans.
They'll come in.
They'll compete.
We'll see how they do.
But you know you have two young guys, especially that you drafted on the second day of the draft
and back to back years to Marvin Leal is a third round pick in 2022.
And now Keanu Benton is a second round pick in 2023.
And Benton to me could even be a starter at nose right now with you just say, hey, clog
up holes, take on double teams.
Don't let our linebackers get hit in the middle of the field.
Keep the line clean, keep the linebackers clean so that they can make plays against the
run.
And if they run your way, use them long arms, use that big body, take that, take the play
out.
And if you look at where a lot of the success and stuffing the run last year came from,
again, it was a defensive line.
You go to Pro Football Focus, the most run stuffs went to Kent run stuffs or plays considered
stops against the run by Pro Football Focus.
31 of them, the most on the team was to Cam Hayward.
Next up was Og and Joby with 21.
Devin Bush was next with 20 and Alex Huy Smith and Miles Jack came after that.
But then Chris Wormlin was there.
And I think again, you're probably going to have Hayward and Og and Joby there.
But now you're hoping to have Demarvanly Al for the whole season and maybe he'll eat
his way up into that.
You'll also have Keanu Benton playing.
And I think that that's where his strength is going to be.
And you don't need Benton to necessarily be a premier pass rusher right away because the
Steelers are going to get that pass rushing from Hayward, from Og and Joby.
You're also going to get it from your Edge Rutgers who we know everyone's excited to
see fully healthy for a year, TJ Watt and Alex Huy Smith.
And the Steelers are still going to be throwing their different blitzes and we're probably
going to see different ways to create pressure.
But there's not as much pressure from these two guys, the younger defensive lineman,
Lial and Benton, to be able to be the guy to create the most havoc.
They can develop.
And that's where I think the Steelers are in an advantageous situation on their defensive
line right now.
It's not just that they have the really good starters.
They may have the future already on this roster at this position, which was something that
was a concern for the past couple of years, who would be those guys?
Can they find those guys because whereas you're confident, Cam Hayward can do it and
you were happy with the Lery Hogan Joby signing last year.
You know that the time for that isn't, these guys aren't in the prime of their primes anymore.
I think that Cam Hayward is still going to be a pro bowl player this year and still going
to be a dangerous guy.
I think Lery Hogan Joby has some really good years ahead of him.
But you know that they are not in their mid 20s.
You can't bank on them like you're banking on TJ Watt and make up its Patrick and other
guys who are veterans, but much into the prime of their career where they have several years
ahead of them to be these top players.
These guys probably only got a few of those left.
And last year behind them, you know, in tomorrow and now was there when he was playing, it
looked good.
But then he got hurt and you saw that the depth of the defensive line take a hit.
You saw it hurt the run defense at time.
You saw it hurt the past Russia times and they didn't, they couldn't generate much of
a pass rush when TJ Watt was out.
But now this year, I do think you're looking at a unit that could get back to being one
of the best in the NFL, which is where it was in 2019 and even in 2020.
Step on into it was a big part of that defensive line.
I think that's something that Stilo's fans forget that his absence in the past few years
is a huge hole in this roster.
He was signed big money to be him to make for him and Cam Hayward to be too coal, also
just powerhouses in the middle of the defense that could cause havoc in the run and the
past and make life easier for everybody else.
And they went to it, went down, they still had Hayward, but it wasn't the same.
And that was something that to step onto its contract finally just got off the books.
And another reason why they're able to spend a little bit more money.
And I truly think that with the drafting of Benton, the development of Leal, the keeping
of Og and Joby and the consistent presence that Cam Hayward is there as well as your
option for deaf guys on that defensive line, the Steelers might be back to having not just
a strong first wave of a defensive line.
They may have the rotation to tire you out the same way.
Andy Weidel tried to help help Howie Roseman's the GM of the Philadelphia Eagles set up the
Eagles defensive front with a consistent way of defensive lineman who could create pressure,
keep getting your face, be physical and stay fresh all game long so that eventually when
it's crunch time in the fourth quarter, your starters are rested because you were able
to trust some of those younger players to win some of those matchups.
I really think that this is something that we haven't talked about enough and that when
the pads come on in August and we start seeing in training camp, I'll be really eager to
see how these guys line up against the Steelers offensive line and some of the battles we'll
see when we start to see those one on ones because the trenches are going to be a very
important part of the Steelers season this year.
We'll get to more questions.
We got to more things here.
We got some questions from you callers here on the lock done Steelers podcast that we'll
get to in just a minute here.
So stick with us.
We still have a lot to talk about on today's episode.
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We're going to get a little bit more up to the next one.
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We're going to get a little bit more up to the next one.
Back here on the lockdown Steelers podcast, I'm your host Chris Carter.
We're continuing our show here on Monday.
Now, just a reminder for those who might be new to show or might be coming back because
they're excited about something.
We've been doing our campaign more raising money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation where
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you can click on that link or use this QR code to go to my donation page and donate money
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We appreciate any donation that you can.
If you are a person who likes to call in with questions, we have a lot of them.
If you donate $10 and ask a question, we will be guaranteed your question answered on the
air within a week of that donation.
Thanks again to everyone who calls in at 412-223-6644.
Let's actually get to one of those questions because we have a lot of questions that have
been piling up and someone who recently donated.
I got a question in, so I wanted to get them on the air.
There's Andrew from Plains PA asking a question that was sparked from an episode that we had
last week.
Hello, Chris Carter.
This is Andrew Sinanski from Plains, Pennsylvania.
Now a happy contributor to your good cause that you have on the show.
Let's talk football.
I like what you brought up about the tight ends being cheaper options, but I am wondering,
should we keep two tight ends?
What do you think that will do to our wide receiver room?
Will you see as long-term Steelers?
I would really love to hear what you have to say about that.
Thank you.
Love the show.
Keep up the great work.
Thank you very much, Andrew, and thank you for your donation to the SISTI
to the QR code on-screen or using the link that's provided in the description of this
podcast.
We appreciate you not only calling with a question but donating to such a great cause
that we're helping for here in the Lockdown Steelers podcast.
Let's get to answering Andrew's question.
For those who might have missed it, we had on NFL Draft expert and host of Lockdown NFL
scouting, Joe Moreno on the Wednesday episode of last week.
Joe was brought on because they recently hit him and his partner Kyle Krabs did a review
of the Steelers roster and the strengths, weaknesses, and what they thought the state
of the Steelers was.
And when we talked about it, he was very excited for what the potential could be with Pat Fry
McQueen and Darnell Washington moving forward.
And he also talked about the longevity of it and what might be something in the works
for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
And that's that tight ends when you look at the numbers in any NFL, do not get paid
like top tier receivers.
And Pat Fry McQueen is a guy who in just two years in the NFL has put up decent numbers
with so, so quarterback play and has kind of been a guy who's who's shined.
And if Kenny Pickett does take off and at least is a solid to above average quarterback
in the next few years, you could see Pat Fry McQueen's numbers take off and him getting
the conversation with the top tight ends in the league.
And that could be something exciting to see.
And with the drafting of Darnell Washington, you could have another guy who if he takes
steps up with the offense, you could have multiple guys at the tight end position getting
numbers.
And what Joe Marino's point was, and this is to Andy's question, the Steelers, if they
wanted to pay Pat Fry McQueen and Darnell Washington, it would be a way of not having
to pay wide receivers big money.
Because if you look at the different positions in the NFL wide receivers, the top guys are
averaging like 30 million, 28 million, you know, you'd have to go down tens, even like
the 10 spots down like guys like Deontay Johnson are averaging $18.3 million per year
in how much they're making Chris Godwin and Mario Cooper making $20 million a year.
But switch that to tight end.
The top guys at tight end like Darren Waller, George Kittle, Travis Kelsey, George Kittle
is making average of 17 million a year, Kittle 15 million, Travis Kelsey 14.3.
So you look at guys like that, and if you could sign Patrick Fry McQueen to a 13, 14,
15 million dollar year contract, and maybe you signed Darnell Washington, if you wanted
to keep both of them, say, let's say in the long run here, to maybe like another $8 million
contract, that's how much that's a little bit more than what John who Smith is making
for the Falcons.
You could see a way to make to have to be paying your tight ends, have serious passing
threats and blocking threats, and kind of keep doing what the Steelers have been doing it
wide receiver, which is just drafting and not paying a bunch of guys.
It seems to be the Steelers model of especially in recent years to mainly pay one big receiver
and then draft around that guy and then develop how they are.
That's what they're doing with Deontay Johnson.
Now, he got a big payday and Jujus Boussouster went elsewhere, James Washington went elsewhere,
and now they've drafted guys like George Pickens, like Calvin Austin, other guys to fill in
the roster here, and then they signed guys like Alan Robinson for smaller deals and see
how it works.
I can totally see, now, to get Andy's question here, I can totally see George Pickens being
that guy.
As long as he continues to rise, he had a really good rookie season.
If he continues to take steps up in three years time when his contract is up, I can
totally see him being the guy that Deontay Johnson is now money-wise, getting the big
money contract and the Steelers just keep drafting wide receivers early and trying
to hit here and there so they could still have a strong wide receiver core while only
really paying one wide receiver.
That was actually their plan with Antonio Brown.
You go back to when he started with the Steelers, when he got his big contract, it was when
Mike Wallace passed on his deal and went somewhere else, so Antonio Brown got paid in that situation.
Then over the years, you think about the guys that they brought around him.
They didn't pay Mark Taylor's pride, big money to stick around.
Marcus Wheaton didn't stick around.
They kept drafting guys and that's why the Steelers were drafting so many guys early
was to say, hey, we had that pillar piece in the wide receiver room.
Now let's not over invest in that position.
Let's pay the number one guy in Antonio Brown as he was for many years and then let's invest
in the position around him.
Andy, I think you're absolutely on point here with what you're saying.
The Steelers' plan is probably to pay one wide receiver and invest everywhere else and
draft here and try to put in guys here and there.
But I truly think if you're looking for long-term Steelers, unless Deontay Johnson goes ballistic
in the next few years.
I will say this to be fair to Deontay Johnson.
He's also not had the best quarterback play.
You go back and you looked at the years that he's been on the team.
He was drafted in 2019.
That was the first year that Ben Roethlisberger missed the entire season and he had to work
with Mason Roeth and Deontay and Devlin Hodges.
Then 2020, he had good Ben Roethlisberger for a little bit there.
But then Ben Roethlisberger's needs kind of started to get weak and he couldn't put up
as many big numbers.
And then in 2020, you had the old man version of Ben Roethlisberger which was the worst
version of him.
He's still good.
He's still good enough for them to make the playoffs.
But still, that wasn't prime AB Ben Roethlisberger.
Mid-2010s when Ben Roethlisberger could throw back to back six touchdown type games and give
him that chance.
Deontay Johnson, we have not seen him operating in offense that's efficient in passing the
ball and we still may not this year.
But still, I think it could be better.
You think back to his best season, he had 1,100 yards and he touched downs in 2021.
Let's say can he pick a take to step forward and Deontay Johnson does get the chance to
be a star.
By the end of his contract, he should be 28 years old, I believe.
When you look at the way he's paying out for the Steelers, the Steelers will have a
choice then to say, hey, do you want to pay Deontay Johnson?
Do you want to stick around into his 30s or do you want to pay George Pickens and see
who's the bigger name why I receive it right there?
I think that's a good problem to have or not even necessarily a problem, but a good thing
to have there for the Steelers.
So I answered Andrew's question.
I think George Pickens is your guy long term, but I wouldn't be shocked if they paid Pat
Frym with him.
He found a way, if Darnell Washington is the guy, if they found a way to keep him around
and because it was less expensive to do so, because also you have to remember by that
time, if we're talking Pat Frym with him, we're also probably talking about what are
they doing with Kenny Pickett.
If Kenny Pickett is ascended to being one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL, his payday
is going to be coming around the corner.
So they're going to have to think of smart ways to spend their money because then the
benefit of having the rookie contract quarterback those days are going to be over and they're
going to need to figure out how to spend smarter.
So back to Joe Mourinho's point, could be that the tight end position could be the way
to save money on that.
And the Steelers just kind of stick to the plan of paying big money to one live receiver
and drafting around them so that they don't have to pay big money to multiple live receivers
there while making maybe tight end a featured position on the roster.
We got a few more questions here on the lock down Steelers podcast.
Thanks again to Andy for the question and the donation to the Cystic Fibosis Foundation.
We'll get to those questions and more here on the lock down Steelers podcast and a bit
don't go anywhere.
I'm Chris Carter, your host, we'll be right back.
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Back here on the lock down Steelers podcast.
I'm your host Chris Carter.
We're wrapping up the show here but we want to get a few more of your questions in here.
So let's go to this question that kind of got answered last week but our friend Will
from Holliday's Berg had a question about Mr. Bisky and I think it taps back into a
conversation I had with Jenna Harner on the Friday episode but we'll revisit it just for
a second because Mr. Bisky's extension is still kind of fresh in our minds because it
happened late last week.
Here's Will.
Good morning Chris.
This is Will from Holliday's Berg.
I know I've kind of beat this issue to death but I was hoping next time you and Ray are talking
about the Steelers roster.
Mason I personally like Mason a lot but here's the problem I have that I wanted your opinion
on.
A team like Arizona last year or somebody that loses their quarterback and needs an emergency
mercenary kind of guy, someone's going to call Mitch's agent.
He's still a starter in many books and he could easily leave if he got a chance to start somewhere
else and I really think Omar should move him along when he has value and keep Mason at
number two and get that $8 million off the books.
Just wondering if he looked at that angle about how he's viewed by the rest of the league
and his chances of leaving suddenly.
Thank you.
Thank you Will.
Now I want everyone before they jump down Will's throat.
He made that call before Mitch Tribisky's extension.
So there's a reason why he was talking about that different things.
I think it's a much taller task for them to move him now.
He's on a three year deal but who knows?
Maybe not.
But when we look at what Mitch Tribisky is getting there also, Jerry Duly from the Pittsburgh
Post Gazette did some reporting and we got some more numbers on the deal with Tribisky's
three year deal according to Jerry Dulyak from my partner at the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
He reported with the, he gets a three year deal worth $19.65 million, $8 million that
is guaranteed.
Part of that is the guaranteed money that he already had on the books with the $8 million
comes at $6.92 million signing bonus veteran minimum salary of $1.8 million in 2023.
And basically he's going to, he's going to be freeing up a little bit more money this
year.
So again, go check out Jerry Dulyak's article on that in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
But in looking at the numbers there, I think the Steelers are in kind of a position where
they can look at the books and say, okay, Mitch Tribisky signed a bit of an extension
here.
Now there's going to be a little bit more money freed up and maybe they want to keep
them around.
So the answer will is question.
I do think the Steelers, they're never going to turn down a situation where if a team comes
offering something that they'll just say, no, get out of here unless it's like TJ water
a player that they're absolutely in love with.
There's absolutely the chance that someone loses their quarterback in training camp.
Someone gets desperate and they're like, oh man, we need a veteran quarterback here
at Pittsburgh.
We like Mitch Tribisky.
Let's work something out here.
But again, I think the Steelers, you know, paying Mitch Tribisky to stick around for a
few more years shows, they like him for that.
And maybe Mason Rudolph could be the number two quarterback again in Pittsburgh.
But I think with a new deal, it's just hard to see that happening unless someone comes
in with like a third round pick or something like that.
And then you're like, okay, well, you know what?
We'll part ways with our backup quarterback for that because that can be a really good
draft value.
So to answer those questions, I don't think it would happen unless someone came in offering
something.
And I think that would be a steep price for someone to pay.
So I don't think it would happen.
But hey, we've seen crazier things happen like Chase Claypool going for the first overall
pick of the second round.
But anyways, let's get to another question here.
This is more of a scheduling question, which the schedule was released a few weeks ago.
But I'm going to get to our friend RJ out in Michigan who asked a question about when
the Steelers might have a more convenient part of their schedule.
Here's RJ.
Hey, Chris.
This is RJ in H from in Michigan.
A long time listener.
My question is on the surface, what do you think is the easiest part of the Steelers schedule
this upcoming season?
Depending on who you ask, everyone seems to have different responses.
But I'm curious as to what three four games stretch you, Dean, probably the easiest part
of the schedule for the upcoming year.
Appreciate it.
Thanks Chris.
Bye.
Thank you RJ for your question here on the lock on Steelers podcast.
Remember, if you want to ask a question, all you have to do is call 412-223644.
Leave your name where you're from and keep your question under a minute.
We'll try to get you on a show.
And if you donate $10 to the Seacistic Robosic Foundation, your question will be answered
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We'll try to get that out as fast as possible.
We do apologize to those who do call and sometimes don't get their calls on because
there's a lot of y'all that call all the time.
But let's get to his question here.
Let's pull up the schedule here on YouTube.
So if you're watching, you can look at the schedule on your screen.
If you're listening, I'll break things down a little bit here.
I truly think what could end up really working for them schedule wise is they have a period
right after the buy where they have an away game against the Rams and then three straight
home games.
That could be the time when the Steelers make a really strong push.
Now, we got to see how they start the season, right?
They start against the Niners, the Browns, the New Look Browns.
You know, with DeShawn Watson, you have a full year to kind of settle in.
The Raiders on the road, the Texans on the road, the Ravens.
If they come through that stretch four in one or even three in two, I think they put
themselves in a position with the stretch of the next four games after their buy week
and week six where right after the buy, they're on the road Sunday afternoon against the Rams.
Then right after that, they have, they're back home against the Jaguars, 1 p.m. and then
right after Thursday night game against the Titans.
But then after that, they get a long break to just have another home game against the
Packers.
Now, we talked when their schedule was released with General Hunter about this two weeks ago
about how, yes, two Thursday night football games, that stinks.
No one likes that.
But the benefit could be the weeks after those games, you get kind of that longer week off.
And if the Steelers can use that with their early week six buy to rest some guys, it might
be the perfect time to be able to score some big wins.
And you look at before and after both of their Thursday night football games, well, actually
afters, the last one isn't a way game against the Colts.
But these aren't matchups that terrify you this year.
You know, there's no chiefs waiting for you right after Thursday night football.
Thursday night football.
Again, the four game stress that I think to answer the question here from our friend RJ
is the Rams in week seven on the road, then at home against the Jaguars in week eight
at home against the Titans in week nine and then at home against the Packers in week 10.
And then right after that, you're on the road in Cleveland.
And again, who knows how Cleveland is going to be this year?
I'm one who just believe I'm sorry until until they actually do it.
I don't think the Browns are the thing to fear in the AFC.
I know they got to Sean Watson, the Cubs still obese, my Mal's Garrett still obese, but until
that organization proves that they can put it together for more than half a season.
I think that they're one of the more beautiful teams in the AFC.
And I think that that's a matchup that the Steelers, you know, maybe not saying that
they should look me looking at their chops set, but they can look at and say, you know
what, that's just like everybody else, just got to come and do your part and you're going
to win.
That's kind of what the Steelers approach every game.
They, you know, when they talk about nameless gray faces, they mean it doesn't matter who
they play.
They have to do their job to beat their opponents.
But that's the stretch that I look at could be the most beneficial for the Steelers because
you look at a lot of other parts of the schedule and there are some really challenging moments.
You know, I, you could look at and say, you know, maybe the stretch of week 13 and week
14 on the, on, at home against the Cardinals and then the Patriots and then right after
that you're on the road against the Colts.
But that's book ended by an away trip in week 12 against the Bengals and a home game against
the Bengals in week 16.
So if you're looking for four weeks, that's a tough stretch there, but 13 through 15 could
be a three game set for the Steelers to work out for them.
But I think the sweet spot for the Steelers season this year could be if we're looking
at the schedule to answers.
The third J question is right after the bye week on the road against the Rams playing
a Rams team that I'm not sure what their identity is right now because they're now they're
two years removed from their Super Bowl championship run.
How healthy will they be?
They, they, they're missing pieces from previous years.
I don't think they're going to be the Super Bowl threat that they were two years ago.
I think that Sean McBade's kind of spent, I think they're dealing with the impact of
spending all the money that they did in free agency and making the trades that they did
to kind of win, win, be in the win now mode and they're coming down from that.
Then you play a Jaguars team that, yeah, sure, you're excited about the Jaguars with Trevor
Lawrence and Travis ATN, but I think they're a team that just like the Steelers, they're
up and coming and they're trying to prove something.
Then you play a Titans team that who knows what they're trying to do at quarterback right
now.
Ryan Tannehill got, you know, you know, as, as, as, as clearly two successors behind him
and Will Leves and, and Malik Willis, that's a different situation.
You got the Packers, you know, again, with Jordan Love, a quarterback that we need to
see how he's going to play for the Packers this year.
And all of this can change with how good teams actually are this year.
You know, there's always those teams that, you know, you don't expect to be really good
and then it turns out they are really good and then they, they're, they're games on the
schedule that you looked at back in August and you said, Oh man, that's an easy dub.
And now you're looking like, Oh, wait a second.
That's actually a really tough game for the Steelers.
But again, I'm looking at that middle stretch here.
Let's say again, let's say, let's give them three wins in their first five games that
they, that they, that they pull off in those first five games.
If they're able to come through that next, then that next week, four week stretch after
the buying week with another three wins, you're looking at six and three in a decent, decent
position there heading into the second half of the season.
And then it could be a matter of win four out of your last eight games and you have a
10 win season and that might get you to the playoffs in the AFC this year because as much
as people are talking about how good the AFC is and this that in the third, these teams
are going to beat up on each other.
I don't think it's going to be like five 13 win teams.
I think there's going to be like two or three that could be, they could have 12 plus wins.
But I think there's going to be a lot of teams with 10, nine wins that are hovering
around there.
And if the Steelers can, can do enough damage to some of those teams on their schedule, like
the Ravens, like the Jaguars, like the Titans, I think they could put themselves in a position
where they're playing, they're playing themselves into a strong playoff wild card position and
maybe even competing for the division.
If the Bengals maybe have an off year a little bit there.
So all that being said, if I'm picking a sweet spot of the schedule to expect maybe the Steelers
to build something up, it's right after the buy week for the next four games lining up
those opponents, three of those games at home.
And one of those games coming off a Thursday night football game to get them more rested
to play the Packers at home there.
But one thing that I always tell people, you can never tell how tough a schedule is in
what month is it?
May.
And you can't even really tell that in August or even really September sometimes.
So we'll see how that plays out.
But we think RJ and we think all of our callers who called in with questions and we still
have quite a few more than I could get to on the show.
But we'll save those questions for another episode.
Thanks again to everyone who checked out the lockdowns, the Steelers podcast.
I'm your host Chris Carter.
Follow me on Twitter and Instagram at Carter critiques.
You can also read my work at the Pittsburgh Post Gazette and check out our podcasts over
there at the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, post-gazette.com as well as the North Shore Drive podcast
for that.
But if you want to find me every day here on locked on Steelers, just search locked on
Steelers, you can find me on your favorite podcasting app and on YouTube.
Like this video if you enjoyed it, subscribe to this YouTube channel for all your daily
Monday through Friday episodes.
I'll be back Tuesday with more talk on your Pittsburgh Steelers giving you a pre look
at what OTA's is going to be like this year because they start Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday
of this week.
It's going to be an exciting line of the see the guys back on the field and working together.
Again, we'll get to that later this week.
I'm your host Chris Carter.
We'll see you then here on the locked on Steelers podcast.
To best quote the photos are site, better lies a papa macarata in schlevian.
Just as we definitely all predicted the 8 seed Miami heat are one win away from the NBA
finals.
The 2023 WMBAC season is officially underway.
And 4 teams are left battling for 2 spots in the Stanley Cup finals.
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