Steelers' Kenny Pickett's Leadership Shines Early in OTAs | Markus Golden: Omar Khan's Edge Depth?
It's the lockdown podcast network, your team every day.
I'm going to talk about the
show, and I'm going to talk about the show.
I'm going to talk about the show, and I'm going to talk about the show.
I'm going to talk about the show, and I'm going to talk about the show.
I'm going to talk about the show, and I'm going to talk about the show.
I'm going to talk about the show, and I'm going to talk about the show.
I'm going to talk about the show.
The Pittsburgh Steelers started their OTAs Tuesday.
We'll break down what Kenny Pickett said and what other players have been saying about him
that is different in year two.
Also, the Steelers brought in Ed Rush or Marcus Golden, what could be happening there.
Alex Heisman talked about his potential extension, and we have a lot more to cover in just the first day of OTAs.
I got Jeff Hathmore from 93.7 The Fan.
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 network, your team every day.
Hello and welcome to the lockdown Steelers podcast.
I'm your host Chris Carter.
Bring it to you daily, those of all things on the Pittsburgh Steelers.
As always, you can find this show on your favorite podcasting apps.
And on YouTube, like this video if you enjoyed on YouTube, subscribe to this YouTube channel to get all of our daily Monday-Friday episodes, as well as our bonus content.
We thank you for making us your first listen every day because we're your team every day.
And as I said before, we're joined by Jeff Hathmore, who's at PNC Park right now, setting up for a Pirates game that he's about to cover.
This man has no days.
He's got to be outside.
It's beautiful.
Sorry about the occasional traffic outside, but hey, I mean, we wait for these days.
We beg for these days.
We finally get these days.
And you know, one of these times, Chris, we're going to go outside of studio.
We're going to have a field day and we're just going to go outside and do it.
I feel you, man.
It is also a really nice day.
Like it is a really nice, the weather is awesome right now in Pittsburgh.
So let's get to what was, I think, really awesome for people to see with day one of OTAs.
Of course, this was the day where everyone was back, not just the rookies, but we got to see Kenny Pickett.
And there was, of course, that huge crowd around him.
Everyone was asking about Ben Roth, this burger and the stuff that was set on the podcast.
But I think the biggest note that came from all of this was how Kenny Pickett was talking about the improvements that they've made
and how much further along they are.
And also across the board, you talked to Pat Fryer and Ruth Cowell.
Even players like Calvin Austin, we didn't even play last year.
Calvin Austin was like, Kenny was like, hey, man, either you stick up, either you keep up with us
or you're going to get left behind.
And it seems across the board, Kenny Pickett is stepping up as a leader in his second year
and challenging his teammates to be better this season.
So the offense can be better this season.
Yeah, and there was no question walking in today.
And I think the quarterback was none of that stuff, none of that.
Oh, how many snaps?
Who was with what?
You know, it was a clear, no, your role.
You know, as Kenny, you know, as Mitch, you know, as Mason, none of those games.
And I tell you what Kevin Dodson was saying, it's like, man, the confidence that he walks in.
Not cockiness, but confidence that he eludes.
And when your quarterback is confident, when your leader is confident, you're naturally going to be more confident.
And I don't think it's an act.
I don't think it ever has been.
I mean, Chris, we've seen a week we cover Pitt.
We saw it with the Panthers.
He just has this thing that factored that guys talk about, you know, being the son of a linebacker, I'm sure helps.
But he is just, it's that part of it.
You can see how if you're a coach you fall in love with.
And he takes the first step to hopefully seeing an offense is going to be a lot better than what we saw
and be a lot more consistent than what we saw last year.
One thing that Kenny Pickett talked about was the comfort level.
He said when he actually went back and not only, like, you know, people talk about studying film,
he said he went back and watched the OTAs of last year.
Not even training camp, not practice, but the original OTAs that he had.
He said, quote, it's a different team, honestly, player-wise, but in terms of how many plays
and how much we have in already, credit to the coaching staff being here working hard,
guys showing up when they don't even have to be, being here and knowing what they have to do
and to be able to go out there, put six installs in or five installs,
and wherever we are right now, where we only really need one or two,
we were only able to do one or two installs at a time last year.
He said just that everyone's working hard and it was a good day today.
But I think Kenny Pickett's point is they're able to move at such a faster place
in how many plays and how many concepts and how many things.
And I think this is what we're talking about and how the Steelers offense has a really good chance
to be a lot different from last year's offense.
Yeah, and I expect them to take some more chances downfield.
I mean, I don't think that they have this incredible receiving core this year,
but I think Alan Robinson is intriguing.
I mean, we saw Pickett's make some catches that remind me of training camp last year,
like some of the things that he can do.
If he's more consistent, if Darnell Washington's able to play,
they can move fire move out a little bit more.
What does Calvin Austin bring to your point earlier about Austin?
I mean, and we haven't even talked about the auntie who said today,
oh, by the way, yeah, I'm going to be a pro bowler and I'm going to be top five.
And he didn't mean that in a cocky way, but in a like, hey, those are my goals.
That's what I set out to do.
And if those things happen, it starts at the quarterback position.
I really think there is a whole difference.
And listen, it makes sense because you're in year two of a system where almost everything has remained the same
with the exception of a couple offense and you should see that type of advancement.
Absolutely. And he talked about mastering the offense and other quotes.
He said, you know, master the offense and being the extension of the coaching staff.
He wants to echo things and how he wants it, how he likes it and how the coaches have been great helping him get there.
He said the communications from players to coaches has been great.
And he said it's spreading out, not just with him, but at the receivers,
the running backs of the tight ends of the offensive line.
And he said everyone's on the same page.
I really again can't express enough that when we're hearing these types of things,
what the biggest thing about these OTAs isn't just how people are throwing or running at these things.
It's what we're hearing back from these guys about what's different from before,
especially with where they're at.
The Steelers, one of the biggest things that's going to be the story point this year.
It's not just Broderick Jones and Joey Porter Jr.
It's not just, you know, is TJ Watt healthy?
It's just can Kenny Pickett make a legitimate second year leap at quarterback because if he does,
if all this, all this stuff that we're seeing, he's saying the right thing.
People, people are saying the right thing is about him.
If all of that proves to be true, it puts the Steelers in a much different situation.
They can ask more of Kenny Pickett. He can do more.
I think it opens up the offense and we're talking about for the first time in several years,
maybe a Steelers offense that puts points on the board and backs up its defense
and if the defense lives up to its hype, this becomes a really competitive football team.
And, you know, once it starts rolling and if that offensive line is what they think it is,
at least with the improvements they've made, it'll be amazing how many of these plays
that people criticize Matt Canada for are going to work and they're going to say,
wow, great jet sweep. I can't wait for that day.
Hey, big call on that jet sweep.
I'll tell you, it is coming.
In a way we saw it with, remember at the end of the year that Hayward inside handoff,
that was a big success. I think it was on a third down too.
Yeah, it was a third down to close the game against the Raiders.
Type of plays will work when your basic offense is working and your line is moving people.
And I think they can really be a little, a lot more aggressive with Kenny because of the way he stepped in.
To this system. And he's gained their trust. We've discussed this before.
Yes. You know, Kenny had to earn that trust from his team because of what Mike Tomlin put him in.
He earned that trust last year. And then what he's done in the off season, he's gained some more muscle.
He's come in with that swagger that you need at quarterback.
Like they're feeling it and you're right. If we go off what we see in OTAs,
I mean the Steelers will be 17 and O. You're not hitting anybody. Everything is perfect.
But it's those, it's those little things that guys say about other guys,
whether they're rookies, second years, leadership positions.
When you start hearing that stuff, that's when you know that you have at least the makings of a football team,
then they obviously have to go prove it. But until they can prove it on the field,
we're hearing those things that you need to hear from winning teams.
Absolutely. I want to talk more about the offense in a little bit,
especially with the offensive line. Also, what does the visit of Marcus Golden and Ed Druscher
formerly last time with the Arizona Cardinals? What does that mean for Omar Khan's plans and free agency
and some secondary talk here? All in the lock done Steelers podcast stick with us.
We'll be right there on it. But first, I want to tell you guys about our great sponsors at FanDuel Sportsbook.
Now, FanDuel Sportsbook is the number one sportsbook in America.
And with the NBA playoffs on fire right now, there's no better place to get on the action
than FanDuel America's number one sportsbook. The NBA finals are right around the corner.
They begin June 1st as of this recording. The Miami Heat select the plate at Celtics.
We'll see if they finalize it. They sweep out the Celtics and we know it's nuggets heat.
But either way, you can make money on the NBA playoffs and the NBA finals by going to FanDuel America's number one sportsbook.
And if you miss on your first bet and you're a new customer, they have what's called the new sweat first bet,
which gives you up to $1,000 back in bonus bets if your first bet doesn't win.
Just go to fanduel.com.com.
You can sign up today for your No Sweat First bet.
We can bet on anything from who scores points, who wins the series, who wins it all,
right on FanDuel Sportsbook and app that's safe, that's safe, secure and super easy to use.
Don't miss your shot at a No Sweat First bet up to $1,000 back in bonus bets.
When you join FanDuel today, go to fanduel.com.com.
To sign up, make every moment more with FanDuel America's number one sportsbook.
The first one to find a home-grained kinder effect.
Ah, I'm going to say it's a very good moment.
I'm going to say it's a good moment.
I'm going to say it's a good moment.
I'm going to say it's a good moment.
I'm going to say it's a good moment.
I'm going to say it's a good moment.
I'm going to say it's a good moment.
I'm going to say it's a good moment.
I'm going to say it's a good moment.
I'm going to say it's a good moment.
I'm going to say it's a good moment.
I'm going to say it's a good moment.
I'm going to say it's a good moment.
I'm going to say it's a good moment.
I'm going to say it's a good moment.
I'm going to say it's a good moment.
I'm going to say it's a good moment.
Back here in the lockdown Steelers podcast.
I'm your host Chris Carter.
We continue our discussion here on the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Jeff, you spoke with Kevin Dodson today and he's in a peculiar situation
because the Steelers brought Isaac Somalo
who was just on the Super Bowl.
The Super Bowl appearing Philadelphia Eagles,
MMC champions who was part of an offensive line
that was highly revered.
He is highly, highly Jason Kelsey was just on his podcast
saying like, man, the Pittsburgh Steelers got a steal in that guy.
And obviously that puts pressure on Kevin Dodson who along with Dan Moore Jr.
gave up among the most sacks on the Steelers roster last season.
What was Kevin Dodson's response when you guys asked him about the pressure
on the game?
A guy being added to the roster like that.
Yeah.
I give him a lot of credit because he talked about it.
He didn't go hide.
He didn't say no comment.
He said, you know, when they signed Herbig, he got a call from his offense
line coach saying, hey, you may have seen this.
Don't worry.
We're bringing him in for depth.
We need, you know, we need a guy that we can plug and play in case of an injury.
They signed Simalo.
He still hasn't heard from anybody.
Hey, they haven't talked to him about his role.
They haven't said anything to him.
Like they went silent on him.
Wow.
He walks into OTAs.
He still doesn't know what the coaches were saying.
He told us, you know, that Pat Meyer, he didn't have an exit interview with Mike
Tomlin because Tomlin scheduled it.
He couldn't work, but he had one with Pat Meyer and they said, hey, you know,
you need to decrease the penalties, but we like your game.
He had no idea that they were going to replace him.
And he knows like you don't spend that kind of money on a guy that's going to be a bench
player.
Like Simalo is going to start.
And you know, he's not sure what to do, but he said this.
All I can control is what I control.
It's go in there and work hard every day.
And if I do that, either this team or some other team will see what I'm doing and I'll
get an opportunity.
But it's a really tough, I mean, it's the human side that it's easy for us to be very
callous about and be GM since they all replaced this guy or put one.
There's a guy who grew up a stealer fan, got drafted by the Steelers, finally was
healthy for a full season, played every snap, seemed like he improved during the
year.
The line definitely improved during the year, had no idea.
And all of a sudden someone's taking your job.
That's tough.
And I thought he handled it well and he's going to be key.
I mean, injuries are going to happen.
They're not going to have what happened last year.
But right when he got hurt on that O line, how does he buy into being a swing?
What that role is or does he do well in preseason and he become trade bait for a
draft pick?
That could be a thing.
And, you know, one that depth is very important.
Like you said, I think that, you know, karma works in cycles where like sometimes the
Steelers haven't beat up on the offensive line.
Maybe this past year was some payback just to give them a year where they didn't
have to worry about it at all.
But that also is going to swing right back.
There's going to just be bad luck that comes your way.
And it's good to have depth that's ready for that.
And Kevin Datsen, I think definitely fits the bill as a guy who started for them.
But I'm sure he's looking at the position.
Yeah, the next time I set foot on a field in a regulation game, I'm looking to
prove myself.
And I think that the way that he's at least talking right now is the approach of a
guy who understands he has to make the best of this next opportunity, which could
make him a better player.
And Chris, it was a grown man response, which again, sometimes we don't see.
But he faced it.
He answered questions about it.
I talked to Dan Moore as well.
And more, you know, more understands.
You don't draft a guy in the first round to sit.
I mean, maybe it doesn't happen right at the beginning, although I think we both
probably think it will.
But he knows the long term that he's not going to be the answer.
But he said, like, hey, I'm just going to go in.
He admitted to that on Tuesday.
He was the first guy with the first left tackle.
So he was with the first team that likely could change, but he's just going to
deal with it.
Like, hey, there's nothing he can control about it.
He's going to be a good teammate and he's going to come in and work hard.
So, you know, it's, I think for the fans to know that there's a personal side to
this, these guys develop relationships and how these things are handled, not just
by the staff, but internally is big for a team.
And it seems like both of these guys, it could be really bitter and sour and
skipping voluntary workouts.
They both were there, went through all the drills and handled themselves very well.
Absolutely.
I want to move on real quick to the aspect that was reported.
Marcus Golden, Edge rusher, most recently with the Cardinals, came in for a visit
with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Golden has spent several years with the Cardinals a little bit of time with the
Giants.
He's a 32 year old Edge rusher who'd be coming in and it's a wonder, you're
wondering what could he bring to the Steelers?
You know, he's six foot three, he's more of an outside linebacker type that
would fit in there, less of the defensive end, bigger type of guys like Alex
Heismith, and it makes you wonder, you know, the Steelers have not signed him as
the time of this recording.
And so it's not official yet.
They brought in Juan Alexander recently as well.
What is their priority in finalizing this roster?
Is it getting another Edge depth guy to go behind these guys?
So there's less pressure on a Nick Herbeg or Quincy Rochet or did they go
line back?
And I like those two guys because I think there's two guys you can build with.
But we're talking about a team that got off to a slow start yet last year that
is determined not to get off to a slow start this year.
Well, how can you do that when you're going to put a rookie or a guy in
Rochet who you didn't believe in what two years ago and you're going to put them
into key snaps and games because there'll be times when both of those guys at
certain points will be off the field and you're going to have them come in and
sub in.
They need to have a veteran.
Maybe because Malik Reed didn't work.
Maybe because the fact that the one before was a disaster in terms of how
that whole mesh together.
Yeah, it could be influenced in this.
But less 11 sacks two years ago.
Last year wasn't a big year.
But the guy can get after the quarterback.
I think it's got to be somebody whether it's him, just a Houston, whatever
name you want to throw out.
They've got to have a veteran in there that can play some snaps and most
importantly knows their role.
Absolutely.
And like you said, he had 11 sacks two years ago.
He had two and a half last year, but he's a guy that it is career.
He's been used to coming off the bench and playing when he had when he had
11 sacks in 2021.
He only started five games, but he played in 16 so that this is a guy who was
used to that backup role and stepping up when needed to be.
And Marcus Golden, I think is an interesting, you know, guy that fits into
this because like you said, the disaster that the situation was a few years ago.
That was Melvin Ingram and then bringing him think that he was going to be able to
fit in and he said all the right things.
And when he wasn't getting enough playing time, he had a problem with it and he
needed to be traded away.
The Steelers don't want to go through that again.
But then again, you look at some of these guys they're talking about Marcus
Golden, 32 years old, you know, is Marcus Golden going to be complaining like that?
You mentioned Justin Houston, Justin Houston is 34 years old.
He's, you know, Justin Houston is a guy that I think that he's resigned to like,
hey, I'm just the guy that's going to be, you know, filing in or filling in here.
And he was a backup for the Ravens last year.
He only started one game played in 14.
I think that if they can find a veteran in any of these circumstances that fits
that role, that would be very key to what they're doing right now.
And maybe Chris, I'm keen to Justin Houston because of the Ravens.
I mean, I thought it worked out really well with Chris Wormley and him coming
over from Baltimore, he gets it.
He gets what the Steelers want to do.
He gets the division.
He gets the intensity.
He's just as long as he gets his role and he knows who TJ is.
Like he's seen him up close.
He's seen Alex up close.
I just think it's a perfect fit.
Now, as far as we know, as we're talking right now, they have not brought him in,
but well, that's a guy if he stays out there and they can afford him.
I mean, right now the salary cap is anywhere from 10 to 11 million under.
So, I mean, you could fit into Justin Houston at that price.
I mean, that would be around the range.
I think that they still have to sign some of their rookies as far as finalizing that.
But they also have guys that they can work with their contracts,
get some of their bigger paying guys and create salary cap space with.
And Justin Houston, a guy that in five of the last six seasons,
he's had at least eight sacks.
It's ridiculous what he's been able to do even in his 30s.
It's funny, Chris, because a lot of times you say, well, they can just cut Trebiscu
and save eight million.
Well, they're not going to cut Trebiscu now.
No, they're not doing it.
Sure a sec isn't going to happen.
It's not going to nor should it, because another thing that Kenny Pickett said,
he was excited about the quarterback room being back.
He's like, I love these guys.
And Trebiscu is excited too.
And I think he's genuine.
Like he knows his role now.
He understands it.
And I'm sure in the back of his mind, he's thinking, can he went down twice with concussion?
Like, this is a chance.
I'm still preparing that I could be a starter someday, even in black and gold,
but it fit very well for me.
I mean, you saw it from the time he came in, he meshed with these guys last year.
And they liked him.
He reacted well and responded in the community.
Like there was a lot of good vibes.
And I think all of that played in Trebiscu's decision to like, hey, I could try it somewhere
else, but this is still a good spot for me.
And I'm making some pretty good money.
Absolutely.
He's going to be making pretty good money as a backup quarterback in the NFL.
And again, I think that his presence, you know, this was a guy who didn't mope, didn't complain.
He kept focus and even when after he got benched, he was ready, came in.
He didn't have a good game against the Ravens, but was huge for them and the win against
the Buccaneers coming into that game.
And then for the Panthers, both of those wins needed to get to the nine wins that they got
last year to keep the winning record.
No, I know winning record.
And Chris, sorry, you know, Anna Feltak, Tom did a story.
They rated the top 100 quarterbacks from last year.
They rated Trebiscu 33rd.
Wow.
As I go through it, that would mean he was the best backup in the league.
Yeah.
And if you start to look at it objectively and you think, okay, who are the other backups
in the league?
Like, he's pretty elite when it comes to having that type of guys, your backup quarterback
and he gets along and him, you know, pickets, fiancee and his wife are really good.
Friends now, like, I mean, they, Steelers are in good shape in that quarterback room.
I agree, man.
I agree entirely.
I want to ask you some questions about the secondary because we have a clip from the Monte
KZ from what he, when he spoke to us in the locker room, this on the first day of OTAs.
We'll keep doing that right here on the Lockdown Steelers podcast and Chris Carter, he's
Jeff Hathorne, we'll be right back.
There's no offseason for true NFL fans.
Listen, every day to the Lockdown NFL podcast.
Our expert hosts keep you up to date daily in 30 minutes or less on the latest breaking
new training camp fadels and player moves that will affect your favorite NFL team.
Available now on YouTube and wherever you listen to podcasts.
Part of the Lockdown podcast network, your team, every day.
Just as we definitely all predicted, the eighth seed Miami Heat or one win away from the
NBA finals.
The Heat have the urgency.
They have the focus.
They smell blood in the water.
They punch the Celtics in the mouth and the Celtics folded.
The 2023 WMBAC season is officially underway.
Alia Boston made her W.A.
debuted against a Connecticut son on Friday.
The number one thing for me is that she's really good.
And four teams are left battling for two spots in the Stanley Cup finals.
The Florida Panthers in Vegas golden nights found ways to win in overtime in dramatic
fashion.
For more on all these stories, check out new episodes of Lockdown Heat, Lockdown Women's
Basketball and Lockdown NHL all free and available wherever you get podcasts.
Back here on the Lockdown Steelers podcast.
I'm your host Chris Carter here with Jeff Hathorn, a 93.7 the fan.
Jeff, I want to talk to you about the secondary a little bit here because we've talked a
lot about how it's going to be made up with Joey Porter Jr. and Patrick Peterson at the
corner back position.
But we've all started with the flexibility that's going to be needed.
You know, who's going to fit in the slot?
Who's going to fit here?
And when we talked to DeMante KZ, I think like a good re-signing by the team to keep him
around, you're pretty open about it.
Here's DeMante KZ responding to some of our questions earlier on Tuesday.
How important is flexibility to you guys and especially this year and being able to fulfill
different roles in the secondary?
I mean, that's every year.
So it ain't, you ain't just looking at wolf position.
You're looking at all types of positions on the football field, especially as a DB.
So it's going to be new, new everybody.
So it's going to be some new looks out there this year.
Not new MEGA.
What's the name of MEGA?
Not new MEGA.
You got to let MEGA be MEGA.
You don't move him too much.
You got to just let them be MEGA.
Yeah, what is the key to working with him and communicating with him to make sure you guys
can maximize what you do?
It's actually good.
This year was the first time I actually did like out of the facility workout with MEGA.
So I see what type of stuff he does.
So I see why he's that type of player.
So he's really good leader.
So MEGA's going to be MEGA after today.
How much is it?
It's funny when you say his eyes and he's like, I got to work out with MEGA.
Am I get it now?
Get why he's great.
I thought that was pretty funny.
And by the way, if y'all didn't recognize that, that was just voice asking the question.
And yours as well.
And by the way, it's like you hear the penguins and they, man, I worked out with Chris Lutang.
Damn.
That guy does a lot.
I'm good.
I'm good.
But the point I think we're both making is the communication is going to be huge back
there because there's going to be a lot of different bodies.
Some guys that are going to be in different roles that they either haven't played or haven't
played in a while, like getting that communication right away, which is why it was great to see
MEGA there for the first day of OTAs, even if they're not in live drills, even in some
of the drills that they do for those guys to kind of understand where the other person
is, that's going to be critical for this defense.
Could you think about MEGA from two years ago, like no one's back there that he knows.
Yeah.
Hayden's gone.
Sutton's gone.
Yeah.
Edmunds is gone.
Yeah.
It's gone.
Like they're just, it's just a whole different room for him.
And you know, he needs some time to try to figure some of these guys out and they need
to figure him out.
They do.
And I think that that's going to be something huge here.
But I think one thing that's important is the Steelers have brought in other NFL veterans.
They're not just leaving it up to young guys just to figure this out.
Yes, they have Joey Porter Jr. in there.
But you think about the Monte KZ and how quickly he worked with MEGA.
And another thing that he said that I didn't include in that clip was like, you know, last
year, he came in at the middle of the part of the season and he was excited.
Then his first game, MEGA was out for the first game that he played.
And so like, if, if like they didn't have a chance to really get going together too
much and now they're going to be the group that's back there, but you add in Keanu
Neil, you add in, you add in Chandon Sullivan at the slot corner position.
We talk about Patrick Peterson and as a veteran at the corner position, there's going, there's
going to be a lot of, I think, expectations for these guys to be flexible to take on different
roles in KZs.
And it's no different than last year, but Tara lost to the defensive coordinator, the
former DB coach of the team.
This is a guy who I think when I look at him, they all 22 of the Steelers, they are moving
chess pieces all the time.
They're trying to confuse you, but to properly confuse quarterbacks while sticking to your
details and not giving up the easy big plays because one guy went to the wrong spot at
the wrong time, it takes attention to detail, studying and chemistry to know how to play
off of each other in the right moments.
And I want to see what Keanu Neil is.
Yes.
Is he going to be kind of a hybrid linebacker?
I mean, he's a guy who can absolutely run support.
He can hit you.
Like, there's so many different guys that can move around.
And here's one other thing that you know well, like they've got to work in concert with
the middle linebackers.
And those guys are new too with the exception of Robinson.
You know, though Robinson's not expected to start.
So Roberts is in there.
Holcomb will get in there at some point going through drills.
But yeah, that's another piece to that puzzle.
But you know, the one thing that makes those secondary guys better when Wadd and Highsmith
are playing at a high level.
Absolutely.
And then being healthy too at the same time there because that's another thing that we
talked about.
And you know, I think that's going to be, you know, I talked a little bit to Alex Highsmith
about this.
And I mentioned, you know, like, you know, last year, Nick of Fitzpatrick was saying,
like, this is going to be a top five unit.
And you know, and then of course TJ Watkins hurt.
And then they have to kind of take a step back.
But I get the feeling that talking to these guys, they feel the same way.
Like this year, like they still have Kim Hay, where they still have make up his Patrick.
They still have TJ Watt.
Alex Highsmith, they reinvested it inside linebacker.
The Marvel and Leal is excited to be back.
Hogan, Joey.
This year, Hogan, Joey's back this year.
They're excited about Keanu Benton.
There's a lot of really good pieces here that I think veterans that you know and you trust,
but also new exciting pieces that can fit into the puzzle.
And if it fits the right way, maybe they are one of the best defenses again in the NFL
this year.
And again, with what we're talking about, just making improvements on offense, plus that
I get why this team feels really excited right now about what they've gotten this locker room.
I mean, the AFC is so good.
I think if it were a downtime or the AFC were just average, I think a lot of people will
be talking a lot higher of the Steelers.
But it's become because there's that guy in Kansas City who's really damn good.
There's that guy in Buffalo who's really good.
And oh by the way, a Hall of Famer just went to the Jets.
Miami, you don't know about.
Lamar Jackson is back, happy with a new contract.
What is Deshawn Watson and Joe Cool is pretty good too.
And yeah, you know, we haven't even mentioned a few of the teams down south that we really
don't know what they're going to be this year.
It's Trevor Lawrence going to kind of pick up where he left off as Tennessee going to
bounce back after a down year last year.
I mean, and what if the Colts get quarterback play?
I mean, it's awesome.
But I think the Steelers are in the mix that last two years, I think it was more living
on their reputation.
I think this year, this is a legitimate playoff team.
How far they can go is going to be how some of these questions are answered.
But if you're thinking postseason or looking at teams in the postseason, you don't include
the Steelers, you're not looking right because this is a team that absolutely has playoff
potential and a playoff roster.
I agree entirely.
We'll see how they continue their their OTAs.
Jeff Hathin will be there.
I'll be there just covering it, getting, getting, getting, talking to players, seeing how things
are playing out.
And that continues Wednesday as they too continues here.
Jeff, thanks so much for joining us here on the Lockdown Steelers podcast and doing so
for PNC Park.
Geez.
Yeah.
And by the way, the sun comes out for us right now.
So I mean, the sun has a clue.
They know they want to be if you want to be illuminated on Steelers talk, it's locked
on Steelers.
Absolutely.
We thank you so much.
Let me know.
You can find you and get more of your work.
Yeah, you could you could find me at 93 seven the fan dot com all of our stories with Josh
Roundtree and you can get me on Twitter at Jay Hathord.
Only if it's nice though.
Only if it's nice.
You can find me Chris Carter at Carter critiques on Twitter and Instagram.
You can also find me at the Pittsburgh Post Gazette where I cover pit athletics and do
the North Shore Drive podcast.
You can also check me out here on the Lockdown Steelers podcast Monday through Friday, bringing
the Pittsburgh Steelers talk every single day.
Donate to our Cystic Prebosis Foundation campaign.
You got the QR code on screen and there's a link in the description if you want to donate
to our campaign.
We'll be back tomorrow with more on your Pittsburgh Steelers talking about OTAs and how things
are going.
We'll see you then.
Just as we definitely all predicted the eight seed Miami Heat are one win away from the NBA
finals.
We have the urgency.
We have the focus.
They smell blood in the water.
They punch the Celtics in the mouth and the Celtics folded.
The 2023 WMBAC season is officially underway.
Oliya Boston made her W.A. debut against Connecticut son on Friday.
The number one thing for me is that she's really good.
And four teams are left battling for two spots in the Stanley Cup finals.
The Florida Panthers in Vegas golden nights found ways to win in overtime in dramatic
fashion.
For more on all these stories check out new episodes of locked on Heat, locked on women's
basketball and locked on NHL all free and available wherever you get podcasts.