📅 Published on: 2024-12-22 01:22:04
⏱ Duration: 00:43:30 (2610 seconds)
👀 Views: 6868 | 👍 Likes: 111
📝 Video Description:
Post-Gazette sports writers Adam Bittner and Paul Zeise react live after the Steelers’ NFL Week 16 matchup with the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium.
Did Najee Harris, Jaylen Warren and the running game bounce back after a tough outing against the Eagles? How did Russell Wilson, Mike Williams, Pat Freiermuth, Calvin Austin III and the passing game perform without the injured George Pickens? What kind of a factor was T.J. Watt defensively after the injury he battled over the past week? And how well did teammates including Cam Heyward, Minkah Fitzpatrick and Patrick Queen execute in slowing down Ravens stars including Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry and Zay Flowers?
The live stream will begin 10-15 minutes after the conclusion of the game on Fox. A replay will be available immediately after the live show.
🎙 Channel: Post-Gazette Sports
🌍 Channel Country: United States
📂 Tags:
Pittsburgh Steelers,Steelers news,Steelers rumors,Steelers podcast,NFL,NFL Week 16,Baltimore Ravens,Steelers-Ravens,Steelers-Ravens recap,Steelers-Ravens reaction,Steelers-Ravens highlights,Najee Harris,Jaylen Warren,Russell Wilson,Mike Williams,Calvin Austin III,Pat Freiermuth,T.J. Watt,Cam Heyward,Minkah Fitzpatrick,Patrick Queen,Lamar Jackson,Paul Zeise,Derrick Henry,Zay Flowers,M&T Bank Stadium
🕵️♂️ Transcript:
good evening everybody it is Saturday night in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania my name is Adam bner assistant sports editor from multimedia at the Pittsburgh Post cazette joined for our Steelers postgame show by Post cazette sports columnist Paul Zeiss after a 34 17 Steelers lost to the Ravens um I’ll fix that graphic in a second um Paul I I think this game was closer than the final score indicated but the Steelers also were not particularly close to winning made some huge mistakes that uh cost them points um you know both ways what’s your reaction to to this game um that I think a lot of I think people were willing to give up that game last week thinking you could win this week win the division get the Good Vibes going again now that they’re not they’re in a dog fight to win this division um and if they don’t win the division then they’re possibly looking at a a playoff Road game now uh yeah for sure I I would say one thing it’s very clear they got to get healthy I I thought their defense is is beat up and I know TJ watt played but he didn’t look like TJ watt at all for most of the game uh so their defense was beat up and I think that that showed uh just basically if you if you watch how uh the game unfolded but I I thought one of the one of the interesting things was the the Steelers actually were moving the ball and making some plays on offense and then you know they they just uh the pick six basically changed the game completely um and after that it kind of felt like the Steelers almost sort of gave up um they they just got outplayed in this game and and I thought you know again nobody wants to hear about injuries um you know but not having pickings obviously is a factor not having uh you know three of your four secondary guys basically after Joey Porter goes out not having water 100% uh you play a really good team the Ravens are a really good football team and guess what you play a good team like that you’re not at full strength you end up you know with the result that you get you know that you had and you know I think uh they gave up 48 yards of of offense to the Ravens you know Derrick Henry ran pretty pretty much at will I thought one of the dumbest decisions ever was you know Derrik Henry started really getting going and was running downhill and had that like 50 yard run or whatever it was in the very next play they throw the ball and it’s a it’s an interception I thought right there you have the Steelers basically on their heels you should just keep pounding them you want the clock to move and at the very least you come out of that with three of course didn’t matter because the Steelers ended up throwing a pick six but overall you play a good team you’re not at a 100% And you know what you make some mistakes you end up losing yeah excited to dig into it Paul um lots of things to get to tonight before we do just want to thank our primary sponsor for this episode of the podcast it’s p Windows IND doors of Pittsburgh there’s no better place to get new windows and doors installed in your home then Pella who can help you save on energy cost year round schedule a free inhome consultation with your local Pella windows indoors to find the right product for your home and budget give them a call to 866 5931 1560 to discuss your project further that’s 8665 93560 to get started planning on your new windows and doors installation with P windows and doors of Pittsburgh Paul uh Russell Wilson fumbles down near the goal line in the first half throws the pick six in the second half um arguably a 21-point swing and and you know regardless of anything else we’re going to talk about tonight Paul you don’t usually overcome 21o swings in the NFL in any game against any team let alone in a game basically for the division against your rival that that has arguably the MVP of the league as their quarterback um could we just go through Russ’s performance a little bit and and your thought on you know how he was able to move the ball but but made these critical mistakes and it’s not the first time in the last handful of weeks that that’s happened well the fumble was a terrible terrible terrible decision you know that’s 100% on Russell Wilson you’ve got to know when you’re getting down there um you you you know you’ve got 25 yards or 30 yards you’re down near the goal line there you know what slide make it easy on yourself slide you know don’t try and be a hero so there was that um the pick six I didn’t think was a bad decision I just thought it was a bad throw I I mean he threw the ball behind it behind uh uh was it was it uh was it their 15th string tight end what’s his name the guy that scored a touchdown puit or whatever his name is um you know I thought that was a that wasn’t a great how did you I hated the decision to go for it on Fourth and whatever it was five or six at like the 45 46 yard line and I hated even more the fact that they went you know tried to throw a deep ball down the field um that being said the throw to Kelvin Austin again uh on the sideline uh the throw to um uh curell per Patterson in the end zone there’s still a lot of throws that he makes that he’s the only guy on their roster and one of the only guys in the league that can make it so uh hopefully he you know he doesn’t make bad decisions he’s he made a few in this game and so it cost the Steelers but by the same token um you kind of feel like the Steelers have a chance to win in these kind of games now because they can move the ball because he can throw the ball you know because of Russell Wilson’s presence so um I I I Pro I know this is probably not what people want to hear but I I I strangely kind of thought thought this game was going to play out this way when I found out who was out and who wasn’t and the fact that the Ravens had a lot more riding on it than the Steelers I kind of thought this might be the way this game plays out a little bit Yeah Yeah I think that’s that’s a fair point Paul um just a little more to to Russell Wilson um was that that Scramble Play where he fumbled an example of why we have seen Justin fields at different points because I think we’ve we’ve had these conversations about the Justin Fields package and is it just a matter of getting him in there and keeping him engaged um is it appropriate is his athleticism different enough from Russell Wilson’s to justify it um did you see on that play why maybe they they trust Justin fields on some of those plays a little bit more and that that’s why they’ve not really kind of let Russ run loose for much of the season um just for the simple fact that he may may not be as athletic anymore as as he thinks he is yeah but he moves around really well he does move around for a guy his age he moves around pretty well uh makes plays on the Run makes throws on the run I like him I do like him um in some of the things he does I just think that that scramble was one of these things where he’s sted running and started running downhill and started smelling the idea that he was GNA be the hero and he tried to make a play that probably he shouldn’t have tried to make and that’s always you know gonna get you in trouble when you’re a quarterback you know you get down there they tell you basically unless you’re Josh Allen you know we’ve even seen Lamar Jackson now started to to slide you know more than he used to um unless you’re Josh Allen when you get into traffic there just slide you know the Steelers that had first and goal to three at the very least you know you get a field goal out of it as opposed to what happened did you have an issue with uh Arthur Smith’s play calling I think he’s starting to get the uh I think a lot of people have been generally satisfied with him but I’m looking at the comments and um there’s there’s beginning to be some unrest there Paul um what are your thoughts on on Arthur Smith in the game that he called given you know the constraints he had without George pickings in there well the only the only play that I didn’t like really was the was the Deep shot on Fourth and six I thought at that point you are really you have if you’re gonna go for it on Fourth and six there right it you have to get a first down like that has to be your real priority getting a first down and I thought when when you throw it deep like that you know it’s basically a 50-50 ball and and and at that point you’re leaving a little bit of it up to chance so um I think his play calling was fine today you know I didn’t have a whole big problem with many much of anything they did um I thought they could have got uh Pat frith involved a little bit more maybe a little bit earlier um still not in love with some of their sideways pass you know and and toss plays and stuff but that’s a that’s just sort of a part of the offense and I I kind of feel like you know the play calling was fine that wasn’t the problem the execution was the problem Paul you mentioned Pat Fri Muth um largely taken out of this game you know certainly in any um any of the weighty Downs as might Tom Tomlin might call them he finishes with three catches for 16 yards in this game I think this is one of the rare games Paul where you can say that whatever problems the offense have had did not seem to on on the receivers you get four catches for 65 yards from Calvin Austin van Jefferson made a couple plays two for 27 Ben scronic made a couple of plays two for 25 Mike Williams um same thing three for 24 not huge numbers individually but you add them up um they did a lot was it a matter of the Ravens saying we’re g to take pat frith away and make those guys make the plays to beat us no I thought there was plays that he was open I just think that you know um Russell Wilson was was maybe looking down the field a little bit more than than he wanted to and you know if you look at it it’s pretty much every single game it’s the same even when Pickins plays um I mean if you look at what what Russell Wilson does I mean let’s see one two three four five six seven eight nine 10 different guys caught passes I’m sorry nine different guys caught passes 10 were targeted that’s just sort of the way that he does it right and uh to me I’m okay with that on some levels but the flip side of that is you want to get the ball to your best players more than the other guys you know and right now Pat futh is one of your best players I just thought that they left him on the shelf for far too long in this game uh Paul the running game got going better than it did last week they finished 24 carries 4.9 yards uh Jaylen Warren had 48 yards on 12 carries he out touches Naji Harris interest inly uh Naji has nine for 42 um so they were able to run the ball I feel like they ended up in the Trap somewhat that they were in last week Paul of um there the game script just did not go their way to to do more than that on the ground um you know they’re playing from behind much of the game um certainly in the in that fourth quarter uh you know those guys weren’t able to be as involved um what was your your read on how the running game bounced back today and how Baltimore was kind of able to neutralize it with you know the game script well I think one of the things that happened with the running game is you know they they they you know they fell behind and so they weren’t able to use it to dictate you know what they normally like to dictate um this was one of those games and I got to look at the numbers to see if the numbers sort of back it up yeah I mean I I thought Jaylen Warren ran really hard today I thought nazy Harris ran really hard today um I I really really actually um was encouraged by the Run game and again as we always talk about the Run game you you kind of can’t dictate when you’re going to use it because if you fall behind it’s hard to you it’s hard to really go hard you know heavy with the Run game especially in the second half and I think one of the things that the the Ravens did really well um is outside of the play to Calvin and Austin for the most part they didn’t give up a big pass or a big play like that and so they were they were able to you know basically minimize the Run game a little bit but forced the Steelers to try and throw um you know underneath and I just thought it was actually a very good game plan by Baltimore um you know the Steelers have proven at times they can run the football uh they can do it where they can average more than four yards a carry and you know they can they can even be more physical maybe sometimes than the other teams they’re playing and all that good stuff but there are times when it stalls and and so you know the idea that you have Russell Wilson now is that you should be able to throw the ball down the field a little bit and open things up for the Run game uh and vice versa Paul uh you mentioned Michael puit catching that that touchdown um I wasn’t super convinced you there’s some athletes that I hear their names a lot Paul and I i’ I’ve always said I forget the guy’s name from the Penguins during their one Stanley Cup run but I always say I’m not convinced that they exist Michael pu got involved today uh Ben scronic um mentioned him earlier um do you give Arthur Smith any credit for how he’s found ways to make these guys at least vaguely useful um with Russell Wilson at quarterback um I think scronic has been you know more useful than a lot of guys they’ve had playing on that fourth and fifth receiver role in the last handful of years well I’ll say this um I get a little nervous when the one play I think Russell Wilson took a sack but Tom Brady was saying um that Scotty Miller was the the they had Scotty Miller going deep but he couldn’t you know he wasn’t open but that was what they were looking to do and I’m thinking to myself um maybe we should not be relying on Scotty Miller getting deep to create you know to create a big play and so I think one of the things about it is to your point puit think didn’t Conor Hayward had a had a catch uh uh uh uh Cordell Patterson had a catch Scot Scotty Miller and then we we actually saw we had a Mike Williams sighting too I think if if I’m not mistaken right I think he had three catches on the day yeah so so my point is um I I think that people that are attacking Arthur uh Arthur Smith people that are attacking Arthur Smith I I don’t think that they’re fully understanding how hard it is to call plays when you’ve got Pickins hurt and not a a whole lot else to work with I think he’s done a pretty good job of getting Guys open and getting guys you know uh giving them opportunities to make plays and stuff how much does um George Pickins if he plays you know in this abbreviated week against the Chiefs if if you see him by the end of the season how much does he change the Outlook how much does he fix within this offense we’re going to talk about the defense here in a minute I think there’s a lot else going on there that George Pickins cannot fix in individually but at least in terms of of the offense and the way um you know it’s it’s kind of been knocking at the door of success for the last couple weeks but hasn’t been able to to put it together um is George Pickins is it as simple as he’s not there and he will fix things when he comes back I mean you know him him not being there obviously when he listen he’s he’s your best receiver he’s probably your best player on offense really I mean if you think about it and so you take him off your team and you’re not going to be the same uh what he does do is he makes teams deal with the ball getting pushed down the field he makes teams deal with him you know taking the top off the defense or whatever that stupid cliche is he makes teams you know guard you know they have to guard him and and not only that they have to basically usually use two people or more than one PE you know more than one guy to try and take him away and if you do that guess what it opens things up for your other guys it opens things up for some of the other guys you have that you have the ability at that point then to dictate hey if you’re going to D you know commit more than one guy to uh uh George Pickins down the field now you know what we can do a whole lot of other stuff you know underneath or whatever on the other side of the field so I think when you lose a guy like him it changes everything for you I really do I think it changes everything Paul uh we’re going to wrap up on the offensive discussion here with the fourth down calls you mentioned them earlier you did not like the fourth and six I know there are a lot of people that did not like the fourth and six um and then there was the fourth and 12 that they decided to punt when they obviously needed points um that they weren’t probably weren’t going to get the possessions they needed to tie the score by kicking um I didn’t like the last one I didn’t mind the first one the fourth and sixth as much you’re in a game where your defense is suspect you’re missing guys in the backfield you’re playing Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson were both cooking in this game um I I think if you kick there you’re you’re basically conceding the game in the same way that you were um with the fourth and 12 later on um so I liked I liked it I liked the aggression and saying we got to score touchdowns to win this game if you’re not going to score touchdowns you’re not going to win um but explain your your your thoughts on on that matter well let me say one thing if you’re going to go for it on Fourth and six you absolutely have to go for it on Fourth and 12 I mean it made no sense at that point you went you know so um I hated the decision to punch is because the the time before you basically on Fourth and sixth said well we’re we’re playing to win or we’re going to try and win what I did not like was the fourth and sixth call I don’t like going for it like that D you know there’s some some situations I I say okay yeah if you got fourth and third fourth and three or fourth and four and you have a one-on-one match up go for it but fourth and six at that point in the game against this team if you’re going to go for it you needed to go and and get seven to eight nine 10 yard make sure that you get the first down keep the drive going and I thought you know a highrisk I guess it’s a highrisk high reward type play is probably not the way to go there you know you want a more a lower risk you a lower reward but all you’re really trying to get is a first down uh I I didn’t necessarily hate the fact that they went for it on Fourth and six but man I hated the play call because I thought it was unnecessary to to take that chance if you know what I mean yeah and I mean I think the the big problem is a he wasn’t open and it seemed like Russ wanted to throw that ball anyway um and B you know I didn’t see but where were the checkdown options um you know it didn’t seem like he was really considering any of them at all and and so you’re kind of telegraphing what you want to do in that circumstance and I think that makes um you know converting a play like that more difficult than it already is uh Paul we’re going to get to the defense now I see people champing at the bit uh in the comments to do that before we do just want to thank another couple of sponsors um if you were diagnosed with misoo and lung can lung cancer call your local attorneys at Goldberg perski and white for over 40 years their firm has represented thousands of lung cancer and misoa victims call 1800 complex or visit gpw law.com for a free consultation also want to thank Archies the game is always on at Archies on Carson Pittsburgh’s best place for food drinks and sports to open Sundays for the game 12:00 p.m. to 2: a.m. be sure to check out their daily drink specials and stop in for 80 cent wing nights Monday through Thursday say tell them Paul Zeiss sent you um Paul I’m going to start with the secondary because we talked about it last week um I think we’ve talked about it at different points on on different shows on this channel um they chose not to address their lack of depth they knew that they did not have um you know great guys behind Joey Porter and Dante Jackson that even Dante Jackson himself was a guy that was gonna have to prove himself um and and I think it you know their lack of success today was was as simple as that that these guys Corey tce Darius Rush that where we’re in the drags of of you know April and June we’re talking about these guys and and their length and their ability to contribute in exactly these types of moments was it as simple as they missed the evaluation on those guys um and they weren’t as good as they thought that they were and did not develop the way that they hoped they would um or or is it just a matter of you weren’t aggressive enough to go out and get some more proven options I’m not talking about going out and getting Champ Bailey as Prime I’m just talking about serviceable you know Mike Hilton types reliable guys um that can make some plays and and not lose you games like some of these guys did today well I mean I hate to be like this Adam but you and I basically talked about the uh you know the pieces the secondary pieces you know beyond basically maybe Dante Jackson was very scary I I I was never in the in the in the uh camp that these guys that they got basically off the scrap Heap or whatever that these guys were going to be good enough and I and I said you know one of the things before the season started I thought their death their depth in the secondary was not good enough and and listen I mean correct me if I’m wrong did we have James Pierre out there or was he hurt I I I can’t I can’t remember if you I’m looking at the guys they had out there but you know we’re talking about some beanie Bishop you know I know he was a little bit of a folk hero after the first week when he had a interception or whatever uh oh James Pierre was out there uh Corey t as you uh so eloquently uh mentioned I mean these guys just aren’t good enough I is Cam Sutton hurt I forget or is he playing he’s another guy remember they they signed him and it was like oh well he’s gonna be um he’s gonna be some sort of a uh uh Insurance he’s been border line a healthy scratch Paul I mean he’s been he’s been dressed but they just haven’t been even last week they I think he only played nine snaps when I was looking at the snap about think about it you’re you’re cam Sutton and you can’t break in on this lineup I mean that’s you know and believe me Jo Joey Porter Jr I mean I’m looking at cam Sutton he did nothing if he played I don’t he has no stats for me to look at to find figure out if he played or not I’m sure we could get this snap count if we really cared but my point is you’re Cam suton and you can’t break into this you know what are you doing at this point and so Joey Porter Jr I think is flawed obviously he’s got a long way to go he’s got a lot to do but you know what he’s Dion Sanders compared to anybody else they have on this team Dante Jackson isn’t great I think that there’s some things that he you know he doesn’t do great but you know what he’s he’s Rod Woodson compared to the rest of the guys and so when you take those two guys out of the equation couple that with the fact that TJ watt was wasn’t really 100% so you lose something off your pass rush which means Lamar Jackson has more time to look you know to pick you apart it’s a recipe for kind of a disaster in many many ways uh Paul I don’t want to let the safeties off the hook here either um I think Devonte KZ had a rough night um there was we finally get a turnover from Minka Fitzpatrick but um I think he was in on some of these busts as well um man it just it just reinforces the value of desan Elliott to me Paul and and um you know it’s Al It also says a lot about how far they’ve come defensively the KZ was playing Major Downs for this defense last year was kind of a key piece um man it just it just seemed like he was chasing every time I saw him on the screen tonight yeah um and I thought it was hilarious on the you know on the chat and on social media there are certain people that are big make of Fitzpatrick home you know uh uh fanboys and you know he makes that interception and of course they all come out of the woodwork to tell us all that we’re all idiots and I’m thinking to myself he that was a play that any average safety makes that’s not a star play that wasn’t like some big time play I mean Lamar Jackson basically threw him the ball um they got to get more out of him there’s no question and he’s good against the run but they got to get more out of him you know especially in against the pass I think he’s a guy that he hasn’t made nearly as many plays as they need him to for what is he making1 189 million a year and then you’ve got you know the the touchdown was really kind of to Mark Andrews was really kind of remarkable uh when you consider that your safety was more concerned with whoever was on the outside who was actually covered than one of their biggest weapons down the middle of the field wide open that was just a bad play by him yeah the the Minka fans and there’s there’s I think I see you Justin in the chat you guys love to tell us that he’s not the problem and you know if he was making five million bucks Paul I’d absolutely agree I think the way he takes away uh the middle of the field very often you know when this defense is at full strength is certainly an asset to to this defense but you’re not paying him to to just do that and that’s the problem you’re paying him to make Transcendent plays you’re paying him when you’re in a game like this where you’re banged up and you’re missing some of your guys in that secondary um you know to to be a a pro bowl Hall of Fame level player and and I think the the bar is just so low for him with with a lot of people including in that you know front office in that um you know with the coaching staff it’s that they’ve they’ve put pigeon hold themselves so more into saying yeah he does these things well that we’re not talking about that in the context of of what he makes and that’s my big problem with Fitzpatrick um you know is I think he’s a good player but is he worth what he’s what he’s being paid and I think this is a game you know where that maybe shows up the most even though he I agree with you I mean I think that’s you know it’s all about expectations you know and and when I look at a guy like KY I mean what are we really expecting out of him you know it’s a different level of expectation you know just like um you expect a lot more from TJ watt than anybody else you know that’s gonna play that position because he’s TJ watt um he’s got it but but he’s got to show up more than he does he’s gota make more plays than he does he’s got to be able to be one of their best players on defense and I just don’t know that he is why is he the only this is my qu why is he the only person on this defense other than you know maybe watt Hayward like who just gets a p we everyone in the comments you guys want to tear apart this defense but we can’t do it on any individual level except like saying the guys who are supposed to be not great suck right like the best players got to be held accountable and I’ll even say it today TJ watt um they have as a group they had one sack so high Smith herbig watt come up with one and I think that’s a big reason that they lost and I won’t put too much on TJ watt individually because of the injury but as a group they didn’t get the job done today how can why can’t we why can we not say that about about M Fitzpatrick why is it verbot it’s amazing he is he is like the protected guy on this defense among a number of people for some reason uh um and I I look at uh you know even a guy like cam Hayward who I think is having a fabulous year uh there’s always criticism of him at times you know and and there’s criticism of him and his contract at times I mean to me I I think he’s played really well I I think I think I agree with you when it comes to makea Fitzpatrick it’s amazing that he’s the one guy you’re not allowed to criticize more than and usually the rebuttal is usually the rebuttal is well if you’re criticizing them it’s because you don’t know ball yeah no I mean it’s it’s it’s frustrating that you you can’t say that yes he is a good player his his Baseline um floor is is higher than almost any safety in the league and and everyone recognizes that that is not the issue the issue is is he are you getting enough out of him what could you have for another $18 million or let’s say another 10 million if you’re paying him less you know you got to you got to fact that in it’s a salary cap there’s only so much so many resources you can allocate if you’re allocating to the them to him you’re missing things in other places and especially going into an offseason where you’re gonna have to pay Russ um you’re gonna have to pay some other guys it’s got to be a conversation that you have to have on a week in week out basis if they continue to lose these games against these types of teams um Paula move on a little bit um do you have anything else to say about the pass rush and how they you know weren’t able get home today and and how wattt looked to you and your level of concern about him uh moving into these last couple of games I I’m I I I’m confused why he was out there he was clearly not 100% and he actually at times looked like he was hurting this steal or was not helping him and so to me he’s your franchise guy why put him out there in a situation where he could get more injured and if this thing becomes a lingering thing thing I mean you got another game in like four days or whatever it is to me I get it you’re trying to win and you want to win but the thing about it is the most important thing at the end of this year is that you’re healthy going into the playoffs yeah you want a home game yeah you want to win the division yeah I get all that stuff but as I’ve asked people in the past who’ve had made this argument with me I’ve I’ve said would you rather play I don’t know the Broncos at hinfi without TJ Watt and without Pickins or would you rather play you know at Houston with TJ Watt and with Pickins I don’t think it’s any question that you you know what I mean you want your guys healthy so to me he looked like he wasn’t healthy he looked like he was actually at times hurting them not helping them why put them out there risk even further injury you got another game four days from now you want to be healthy for the playoffs I I don’t know that’s just me Paul what is your outlook for for this team you know considering they’ve got another quick turnaround against the defending champs um you know they’re close to clinching that number one seed I wonder how many risks they’re going to take with Patrick Mahomes this week um I expect he’ll play but but will they um will they run stuff that that is risky that that’s going to risk his health I don’t know I how are you looking at this game that usually we wait a little bit longer to preview but they’re such a play turnaround I want to get your thoughts now well I’ll tell you my I think one of the things about it is uh um I think the the Ravens and the Steelers are going to be in a tough situation on Christmas day you know this is always a physical game an emotional game it’s hard it’s a tough game you know what I mean um they both have to play good opponents I think a quick turnaround is probably not going to be good for either team um so to me you know if I’m G to play it like I think the Ravens might lose to the Texans I think the Steelers are winning the division I think what’s going to happen is the Steelers probably lose to the Chiefs Ravens probably lose detections and then the Steelers can beat the Bengals and win the division and you know at that point they’ll be rested they’ll have you know the extra days uh because they play Wednesday they don’t play again till the next Sunday you know I think honestly it’s not time to panic you know they I I think they probably played a little bit above their head early got some you know fortunate bounces and a couple of games and you know and so now there’s a little bit of a regression and you know injuries are catching up and all that other stuff but um I think honestly uh the Chiefs are going to be a tough assignment the Chiefs defense is they’re really really good it’s Patrick Mahomes he’s Patrick Mahomes uh they seem to be playing better football as of late uh their last two weeks now they they really haven’t had to uh do that thing where they they you know pull out a miracle win at the end um so I think it’s going to be a tough assignment for this Ste especially if they’re not healthy their secondary doesn’t get healthy Paul last question on the Steelers before I I do want to get a few thoughts from you on the college football playoff um that did did unfold today um Deontay Johnson the rumors have been floated uh that he may come back to the Steelers he may go to the Chiefs he may go X Y or z um any any thoughts on that given given the state of the receivers room do you consider bringing in a guy that that you unceremoniously dumped to the worst team in the league because he’s familiar and because he can potentially be a little bit of a a late fire cracker for your lineup and and you’re no one’s saying sign Deontay Johnson for a three-year contract but can you live with uh the things that that you don’t love about him for a month I never thought I would be saying this but at this point do you think Deontay Johnson’s actually better than the two guys that they have not named Pickins I don’t know if he’s better than Calvin Austin at this point that’s what I mean and he’s and if he’s not are you is he G to be happy coming in and not being the second guy is he gonna be happy coming in and maybe being the fourth guy you know and not getting targeted and all that other stuff I just I don’t know if I’m bringing him back and putting him in the locker room career I mean is his career not on the line at this point does he not has anyone had less leverage to to like complain than Deontay Johnson yeah that’s what I mean though but my point is I’m just looking at it and saying I I just don’t know if I want to put that guy in your locker room I just don’t I think the Locker Room’s good I think they’re very much um you know good chemistry and all that other stuff I I don’t know that I’m I’m bringing him in I just don’t everyone’s in the comments is screaming at us that this we’re very wrong about this listen I listen I empathize I understand the dis through if you told me you’re gonna get Deontay Johnson the last couple of years then then sure he’s better than Calvin Austin I believe that I don’t know that that’s the guy that you’re getting at this stage given what’s going on with his career over the last two months um and given that this is a different offense than he was in a year you want to bring that guy into your locker room knowing what he’s been through this year number one number two knowing he’s not gonna be your number two guy so which means he’s probably not gonna be happy do you want to bring that guy into your locker room the answer is probably not if they do wonderful maybe he’ll help them win I just think he’s a guy I would avoid if uh if the receivers hadn’t had a decent day today maybe I’m s singing a different tune but you know coming off this performance you know and if you do get pickings back I think the group is not enough quote unquote but um yeah he’s not the guy I’m clamoring for Paul uh let’s wrap the show with this Penn State blows out SMU um in the college football playoff they are now advancing to the Fiesta Bowl James Franklin um I don’t know if you believe that this is a big win but it’s bigger than most of his wins uh he he did not choke today he won the game he was supposed to get win and now of course the bleeding has begun about did SMU belong in the playoff did Indiana play belong in the playoff uh Clemson they were going to be in because they were ACC Champions but there’s a lot of complaining about the format any thoughts on on what you saw today in the college ranks well the first the thing about the first round that makes it really difficult is that The Underdogs are have to play on the other team’s home field and I don’t care what anyone says in college football that’s a huge Advantage you know I’m not saying Penn State would have lost but it’s a different game if they’re playing down at SMU and 35,000 fans or whatever that is and it’s you know the the weather’s warm and SMU isn’t being asked to do something they’ve never really done before um that I’m not saying it that but that’s a huge Factor that’s a part of it um you know uh Indiana even though it’s only three hours away you’re playing at Notre Dame that’s a difficult assignment Clemson going going all the way to Texas and playing in Austin you know these are you know I I I think that the one thing I will say is that I’ve always said this that the results of what happens in a playoff or in the NCA tournament does not validate or invalidate a team being there it just doesn’t the you’re you’re put into the playoffs or you’re put into the NCA tournament based on the resume that you have and I’m sorry if you’re South Carolina don’t get blown out by Old Miss and guess what you’re in the playoffs if you’re Miss don’t lose to a horrific Kentucky team and you’re in the playoffs right and if you’re Alabama don’t how about score a touchdown against a horrific Oklahoma team and then you’re in the playoffs I mean they all had opportunities to get in the playoffs the bottom line is Indiana and and say whatever you want to say Indiana won 11 and one and I guess a kick out of people who were saying well the Big 10 took care of them well they had to play Michigan it’s not did the Big 10 know Michigan was going to be terrible this year no they just they played both team they played Washington they played both teams that were in the National Title both teams that were in the national championship game last year Indiana did and they beat them both where you know now obviously neither team is as good as they were last year but the reality is what the big 10 had the they when when they put the schedule out they had the the foreshadowing that those two teams were going to be terrible I mean it it is what it is but to me if you go 11- one or 11 and whatever you know what I mean uh you’re you’re you’re worthy of being in a playoff field of 12 teams at the end of the day there’s probably four or five teams that legitimately can win a National Championship okay the other thing we’re talking about nine or t teams that we’re we’re probably going to choose six or seven of right that are all good teams but not great teams so at that point I’m sorry who you lose to has to matter it just does I I know that there are people that say that well you know you’d rather have good wins and avoid bad losses you know what Indiana did when they played against all the teams they played except for one they won by 30 which is what good football teams do they blow out mediocre and bad teams and they did it consistently every single week so to me you know what the outcome of these games it doesn’t sway me one way or the other because the reality of the situation is I look at the resume the right teams got in Period and then you know one other thing all this like revisionist history about well you know the the the look at the blowouts and this that everything have you paid attention over the last 10 years of the Playoff most of these games are blowouts right including like I said to Alabama well let’s see the the last time you guys played in the playoff you lost 44 to 18 okay I’m sorry no you lost 2720 last year to Michigan the year before that you lost 44 to 18 there’s blowouts in these playoff games all the time for a for a number of reasons so I I I I it’s it’s been it’s just a bunch of SEC Fanboys whining and crying is what it really comes down well and and I tweeted I I tweeted this earlier Paul I said you know they believe that they have the at least the six best teams in the country in that conf there is no format that is going to Plate these SEC fans there’s no format that they’re going to think that they were treated fairly in because they think they have all of the best teams they fundamentally reject the idea of a national playoff they don’t think that they should have to prove it against anyone else in any particular season they just think you’re supposed to Crown you know whatever SEC team is the Champion by whatever means they determine I mean there’s just there’s just no way that these people are ever going to be happy because there’s always going to be eight or ten SEC teams that believe they belong in the playoff no matter what when I heard people from the SEC Fanboys talking about Missouri you know legitimately late in the season and Missouri should be in that’s when you just start saying okay now we’re just being ridiculous um but reality is the pecking order of those three teams that you know is South Carolina were they the next team out well you know it’s hard to make that case when miss miss Old Miss is also in that category and they beat they beat the the the hell out of South Carolina but like Mississippi they lost to Kentucky who by the way Kentucky didn’t beat any other SEC teams and the last game of the year they played Louisville and got boat raced so you know and then Alabama I I mean they have the weakest case of the three if you ask me you lost to a garbage Vanderbilt team and you couldn’t score a touchdown against the terrible Oklahoma team please sit down shut up thank you well the way they’re their favorite network last night had sea McDon like lecturing everybody about how Alabama belonged in that spot but I would have loved to hear what sea McDon had to say after that Notre Dame team beat Alabama substantially would he be saying the same thing Alabama didn’t belong absolutely not so I’m kind of sick of that stuff as well um everyone who’s stuck with us through the college conversation uh we appreciate it me and Paul love the college football it’s a big day um we talked for 40 minutes about the Steelers so um if you liked what you heard we do plenty of college football talk as well uh subscribe to the channel uh pop a like help us out in the YouTube algorithm Paul um I believe you’ll be back Monday Monday we’re juggling the schedule a little bit this week folks we’re gonna have the Northshore Drive with Christopher Carter on Sunday uh because we won’t be doing it on Wednesday because the Steelers will be playing so we’ll have the Northshore Drive um Sunday Monday Brian Becka will have chip tamam and football to get you ready for Steelers Chiefs on Tuesday Paul will be back on Christmas day to break down Steelers Chiefs um then we’ll have the Northshore Drive on Thursday even though that’s usually a Friday show um so a lot more coming your way uh please subscribe and join us for the ride we look forward to talking to you all again next week thanks Paul all right we’ll see you thank you for checking out this content from Post Gazette sports if you watch this video on YouTube please like the video and subscribe to our channel for all of the sports coverage the Post Gazette has to offer visit postgazette.com [Music] oh
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