[00:00:22] And welcome to episode 601 of the Pittsburgh Nerd Podcast. I'm Sean. And I'm Ian and this is the only podcast that says... This is a 1981 Honda! How dare you! Nice. It's from a horrible movie called Employee of the Month. Oh, okay. That was back when... Oh, God. What was that dude's name?
[00:00:52] He was a comedian. Dane Cook. That was like the height of Dane Cook's popularity. I mean, it had Dane Cook, Jessica Simpson, and Dax Shepard in it. Oh. Yeah. But it was just... It wasn't like a good movie. It was fun. I laughed. You know, but... I just never forget that.
[00:01:21] This is a 1981 Honda! How dare you! That always stuck with me. Whenever somebody fucks with my car, like, This is a 2017 Kia Soul! How dare you! Yeah. You will respect it. So, how are you, sir? I'm good. Yeah. Yeah. I'm not running around today. Hiked today. Yeah. Getting... You finally got over the... The sickness. Most of it. Yeah.
[00:01:50] And there's a little remnant cough left, but not bad. So, yeah. Went to the old hollow. Yeah. Old Dead Man's Hollow. That's a... I made the joke, because, you know, but I was serious in a way, too. Like, that's a much more stressful hiking situation. Oh, it is. Because of, you know, if you don't know, we've been experiencing snowpocalypse. Yeah.
[00:02:19] It's like, it snowed, like, every fucking day this week. I know. Yeah. So, like... And I'm sure, like, it wasn't, like... Like, we had gotten a... Like, probably when you went, we probably had a good, fresh three inches of snow. Yeah. So, like, trying to hike through that... Yeah. Is... Has it set some challenges? Yeah. It's a much more challenging hike. Yeah. Because of... I mean, you're not... You just can't, like, walk.
[00:02:48] You actually have to, like, lift your foot. Yeah. Like, way up off the ground. Yeah. It's different. Yeah. It's definitely different than woods. Yeah. Like a regular hike through Dead Man's Hollow. Yeah. As you're trying to Dead Man's Hollow in the snow. You don't see everything. Yeah. Yeah. It presents its own challenges. I got these new boots for Christmas, and they're waterproof, so... Yeah. And they're warm. Yeah. So, of course, you had to give them a try. Yeah. Yeah. Break them in. That was good. I went right through a stream.
[00:03:19] Of course. You probably couldn't see where you were going. No. But, I mean, from the standpoint of, like, you couldn't see what a trail was, and then, like, all of a sudden, like, there's a stream. No. You saw... The trails are nicely marked with the trees. Are they? Okay. And there have people been walking on them. Yeah. So, there was definitely footprints and everything like that. So, there's definitely... Yeah. You know what I mean. Yeah. So, that was nice. Um... And... But, the...
[00:03:45] That trail and through Dead Man's Hollow, you go over the stream, I think, three times. Yeah. The stream cuts through the trail three times or more. So... Yeah. It's the way the trail winds. Yeah. And then, um... But, like, during the summer, you could... Yeah. You know, spring or whatever. Whenever there's no snow on the ground, you could find places to cross, but it was all snow covered. Yeah. And half of it, parts of it were ice. Yeah. You know what I mean? So, it was... It had its challenges, but it was fun. That's good.
[00:04:15] It's fun to get out. Yeah. All suited up. Actually, I didn't... It was nice. It rose to about 27, 28 degrees, so it wasn't really that cold. I thought it was going to be a lot colder. I dressed for cold. Yeah. I dressed for, like, 15 degrees. Right. Um... But, I didn't even put gloves on when I was out. Really? Uh-uh. So, it wasn't that cold to me. Uh... But, I had multiple layers on. And then... Yeah. Yeah. Uh... Fleece pants. Bull socks. Yeah, I'm getting soft, because I was wearing gloves today.
[00:04:46] Oh, were you? Yeah. Well, like, I... You gotta get up, and you gotta, like, sweep the snow. Yeah. You know, like, it's not enough that you could... It wasn't enough that, like, I needed a shovel, so I got, like, a nice street broom. Yeah. And I used that to, like, you know, kind of, like, sweep the sidewalk of the snow and everything. Yeah. But, like... Yesterday, I went out, because I hadn't... I haven't left my house.
[00:05:15] You know, people would be like, what the fuck is wrong with you? But I haven't had to leave my house all week. So, like, yesterday, I thought to myself, well, like, I gotta take, you know, Nancy's daughter, Brittany, and her two girls. We're gonna go shopping. I should probably go out on Friday and clean my car off. Yeah. So, it's not a problem, like, when we're ready to leave. Yeah. You know, it's ready to go. Yeah. Well, I didn't realize we were gonna get another, you know, two to three inches of snow overnight. Right.
[00:05:43] So, this morning, I go out there, and, you know, I'm like, motherfucker, my car's covered again. Yeah. You know? So, you gotta do that. And, like, it's that thing of, like, you know... I know that the South is going through this. You know, places in Texas are getting snow that never gets snow, and Alabama, and, you know, people in Florida are upset because it's 40 degrees. And I get it. You're not prepared for this. Right.
[00:06:13] Like, you're not built for this. Right. And so, like, they always say, oh, it's so pretty, and look at all the, you know, look at how pretty it looks. And they've got, like, a covering. Yeah. Like, it's almost enough to build a snowman. No, it's not even close. Yeah, but I'm not gonna ruin your dreams. You know? But it's funny. Like, they're done, and, like, meanwhile, like, I'm like, I'm fucking sick of it already. Right. You know? Like, this is...
[00:06:40] I've gotta go out and sleep every fucking day. Right. You know? I don't want to do that. No. So. So, yeah, you know, the snow has been... But, like, I go out now, and I'm like... Like, back in the day, like, I'd go out with, like, a T-shirt and my slippers. I'm like, okay, I'm gonna shovel snow. Now, I'm like, you know, I got socks.
[00:07:08] You know, I'm throwing on my good hoodie that's a little thicker. Throwing on my gloves. Like, even the drive today. Like, I was driving to Walmart, and I'm like, you know, better put on gloves. You know? Right, right. You know? Like, fuck, I'm getting old. You are. Horrible. So. So, yeah, so that's basically been my week. It's been, like, you know, work and snow.
[00:07:39] Work and snow. Yeah, work and snow. The worst. That fire in California is crazy. That is nuts. Uh-huh. Like, it amazes me that, like, it is so dry in California that that could happen. I know.
[00:08:04] Like, it's like that thing of, like, you know, you, like, they were showing, like, it was, like, there was, like, an ash falling in, like, an area. Like, it was, like, far away from the fire, but now a fire's starting there because ash is falling and it's igniting. Like, it's like, how fucking dry is it here? Yeah. Like, it's unbelievable. Like, it is just shocking to watch.
[00:08:34] And in, like, the aftermath, it looks like something out of, like, a war movie. It is. It's crazy. And it's that funny thing of, like, where it's happening, it's affecting rich people. Yeah. And people are like, ah, fuck them. You know, they can afford it. Well, there's still people. Yeah. Like, you know what I mean? Like, they've built a home.
[00:09:03] They have a life there. They have memories there. They, you know, they are, even though that, yes, they're wealthy and they can afford to rebuild. You know, there's still people who, like, I feel bad for from the standpoint of, like, maybe you raised your kids in that house. Yeah. You know, or, you know, you've lost precious memories or photographs or, you know, whatever it was. Like, that's lost forever.
[00:09:32] And I mean, it's just like any other person. Like, no, I don't feel bad for them financially because they can afford to recover. Right. But I feel bad for them from the standpoint of they're a human being who, you know, probably had precious memories in that home. And now that home is gone. Right. You know, and those things that you look forward to seeing aren't there anymore. Like, it's amazed me how jaded we've become.
[00:10:02] Like, it goes back to, like, when that guy shot that CEO from the medical insurance company. Yeah. Like, people are like, he's a hero. Well, no, he's not. Right. You know, like, this guy, he's a scumbag.
[00:10:22] You know, I know, like, that guy had a wife and he had kids and he's not, you know, his wife and his children aren't going to see their husband or father ever again. Right. Like, way to fucking go. Yeah. Like, is the guy who's the CEO, is he a bit of a scumbag? Yeah, probably because of, like, you know, how the health insurance system works. Right. You know, and he's a major cog in that system.
[00:10:49] So, I, but at the same time, he's still a human being and so is his family. Right. Like, there were people who loved him, you know, and he's gone. Yeah. Like, you know, no, you're not a hero. Like. Right. And it's the same thing here. Like, you know, like, I see people kind of like, ah, fuck them. You know, no. Like, I feel bad for you because you lost something. Right. You know, it's a traumatic experience that you're going through.
[00:11:18] To have somebody tell you you have to leave your house. Right. Because of these wildfires. Even if your house is undamaged. Even if you were, but you're, to have somebody knock on your door and tell you, you have to leave now. Right. Is a traumatic experience. Right. No, I get that. You know, something I don't wish on anybody. Right.
[00:11:40] But man, I mean, you look at like the devastation and you look, I mean, it's like LA, like Southern California is a thing I don't understand because it's, it's like I said, like, I mean, you know, how dry is it that like those fires just pop up out of nowhere? Right. You know, like, that's what baffles my mind. And this could have been a backyard barbecue going awry. And it just fucking torched everything.
[00:12:09] You know what I mean? Right. Like, I remember one year we went camping. We went up to Laurel Hill State Park here in Pennsylvania. And we were in the middle of a drought. Yeah. And they would not allow campfires. Yeah. Like, it was like, now, I mean, what they did in place of that was like, they had like a building and they invited everybody down.
[00:12:38] They had like popcorn and pop and stuff like that. And like, they were like showing like, like really shitty, like public domain movies. Like it was like, they had like Walt Disney's Paul Bunyan cartoon from like the fifties. Yeah. I just, I remember my parents being, let's just say they were in an intoxicated state. Yeah.
[00:13:07] And my dad really enjoyed singing about Paul Bunyan. Really? Yeah. Yeah. You know. Embarrassingly so. But, but it was like they were trying because you couldn't have campfires. And so it took a little something off of, because that was something like when I was a kid, I looked forward to was like, you know, having s'mores around a campfire. Like that was a big thing, you know.
[00:13:37] And, but. Did you go camping a lot with your parents? We did. Yeah. Like I, I went, I went camping a lot. Like it would be like my parents, Graham and Pap. Uh. And, um, like Uncle John came a couple of times. But like we, we would do that. We would, we would get like, cause like Graham and Pap had like the setup. Yeah.
[00:14:04] Like they had to like, you know, my parents had a Coleman stove and like, I mean, they had like a decent little setup. But like Graham and Pap, like they had been doing it for years. Like they had like that, that, that portable, like, um, pantry. They would set up and everything. They had a whole hadoo, a whole thing. Yeah. Going. And, and, uh, like I remember one year, like going up there and, um, at the time there were like two levels to the campground. I was like the lower level and the upper level.
[00:14:34] And the upper level was like all shaded and stuff. And the lower level, there weren't many trees. It was like a big field. Yeah. But they were working on the lower level, like the, the plumbing, I think. So they shut it down. So you can only park in, or you can only camp in the upper level. And we took my, my green machine and it was like a little hill, but it was big enough. Like, you know, I get to the bottom of that hill and it was like all like gravel at the bottom.
[00:15:01] And, you know, you're doing spin-offs and all sorts of crazy shit on a green machine. Like that was, that was like the best ever. Yeah. You know, we went camping quite a few times. And then, um, we also, we had that summer where we went for two weeks. My parents had a friend who had a cabin in Deep Creek, Maryland. Uh. And, uh, we went down there, they rented a boat. Oh. Yeah. They went, they went water skiing and everything. Really? Yeah.
[00:15:30] It was, that, that was, again, being in a state of intoxication. Uh-huh. Be it via alcohol or leafy plant. Yeah. Um. We, like a scene out of the great outdoors. Like, there was like this sailboat race that my dad just went flying right through. Right.
[00:15:56] I didn't even know, like, people, their air horns are going off and people were booing us. And, like, just went flying right through this sailboat race, knocking over sailboats and shit. It was like. Really? Holy hell. Yeah. Like. It was a good time. Oh, wow. Yeah. That's quite cool, isn't it? Yeah. It was like something of the, I guess it was something of a John Candy movie.
[00:16:26] And, again, there's my dad. You know, big Chuck at the time, like, you know, he had a beard down to his belt buckle. You know, he's shirtless. And when he takes off his shirt, he looks like a fucking wookie. Yeah. You know, and he's just, you know, hair, hair down to the middle of his back. And he's just, you know, smiling and waving as he's just destroying the sailboat race. Like little sailboats. Yeah. They were little, like, yeah, little ones. Little ready, like remote control ones.
[00:16:56] No. No. I mean, there were people on them. Oh, shit. Yeah. Yeah. Like, there were people on these sailboats. They were small boats, but they were still. Yeah. Like, people in them. I guess that's what I'm saying. Like, we were. He was going so fast and creating such a wake behind them that they were small enough that they were, you know, being tilted and people were, like, flying off of them and stuff like this. It's like something to have a fucking John Candy movie, you know? Nice. Yeah.
[00:17:30] He was on a boat? Yeah. Nice. Yeah. Yeah. It was like this, I don't want to say it was a speed boat, but it was like, you know, it was a recreational vehicle with a nice-sized engine in the back. Right. You know? And, yeah, we, good times.
[00:18:02] Crazy. Yeah. Oh, that was a sight to behold. I could just imagine it from, like, the ground. Like, being, like, over on shore watching this maniac of a man, this Viking of a man, like, just, like, plowing through this race. You know? That's funny. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I didn't know you went camping that much.
[00:18:32] Yeah. We went camping quite a bit up until, I guess by the time I started playing high school football. Oh, really? Yeah. Because, like, at that time, like, before that, like, summers were free. Free and clear. I had no problems. But once you get to, like, playing high school ball, like, we were having two or three times a week. Yeah.
[00:19:01] Camps. Plus weightlifting. You know? So, it was like, and I didn't want to miss because it was like, you know, I want to be in the coach's good graces. Wow, that didn't help. Yeah. But, like, you know, at that time, especially as a freshman, not a freshman, a sophomore, my first year. Like, I, you know, so it kind of, like, ended around that time. Like, we, you know, because my summer was no longer free. Right. Right.
[00:19:30] And then after that, I ended up getting the, you know, I got a job. So, now I'm working. And, you know, it just never, it's not the same after that. You know what I mean? Like, trying to get that time off. No, you're right. Yeah. So. When did they stop camping? Around that same time. Oh, really? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, because, I mean, it was like, it was a family where it was nobody.
[00:20:00] I see. You know? Like, they weren't going to leave me at home and go camping. No? No. I mean, not that anything would have happened. Like, you know, I would have had the boys over for a hearty night of Dungeons and Dragons. Yeah. You know, I wasn't throwing any parties or anything, but, you know. Yeah. It was still like, you know. Do you trust your 16-year-old son at home alone for a week? Yeah. No. You know? No.
[00:20:32] I mean, even, they ended up going, they ended up going camping. Like, after I graduated, I was maybe, I think I was 19. Mm-hmm. And they ended up, like, going with their friends who had a boat to Raystown, Raystown Lake. Mm-hmm. And, like, I threw a party that weekend. Oh, you did? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Because, like, I didn't throw the party.
[00:21:00] I was like, my friends were like, well, your parents are out of time. We're throwing a party. I'm like, I don't know. You know. I was a bad boy, but it wasn't a bad boy yet. Yeah. You know? Like, I was like, oh, I guess this is a good idea. You know? I got people coming over doing blow off of my kitchen table. Wow. Yeah. Like, what the fuck is going on here? Like, I scrubbed that table so fucking hard. Did you?
[00:21:29] Because I'm like, there's a trace of cocaine on this table. I'm dead. You know? Yeah. Yeah. That's funny. Like, I'm like, what the fuck are you doing? Like, you cool? I'm like, no, I'm not. That's funny. Yeah. That was a fucking disaster. It was? Like, yeah. Yeah.
[00:21:58] Anyway, watch anything this week? Um, not really, no. Just the stuff I've been watching. Creature Commandos season one ended. Okay. I liked it. You know? Yeah. For what it was. It was fun. Um. Watch a new episode of Skeleton Crew. I forgot there was a new episode. Yeah. It's funny.
[00:22:26] Like, people were pissed at, like, Jude Law's character. Like, oh, he's a dick. I'm like, he's been a dick the entire show. He's a pirate. Right, right. Like, what did you think? He was a pirate with a heart of gold? You were expecting Jack Sparrow to come on here? Yeah. Like, no. He's a pirate. This is exactly what a pirate would do. Right, right. You know? So, like, that's made me laugh. Because, like, I guess I think of, like, well, who's the villain? Well, you know, well, Jude Law's the villain.
[00:22:56] He's been the villain the entire time. Yeah, yeah. You know. But you'll enjoy the episode because it's Jude Law basically being a dick to the kids. Really? Yeah. So, you'll enjoy it. That and I watched a new episode of Silo, which I think is a fantastic show. Like, if you have Apple TV, I highly recommend watching it. Yeah.
[00:23:24] I think the season two finale is next week. So, I'm looking forward to that. Yeah. But it's becoming that thing. It's like, it's that show. Like, the only thing that holds me is, like, I know there's a series of books this is based on. I think it's three books. Okay. So, it's like, it keeps pulling back, peeling back the onion. And there's more questions. And there's more questions. The more you peel, the more questions you get. Yeah. That's fantastic. Fantastic.
[00:23:54] I love when a show does that. Yeah. Like, lost. But, like, I'm hoping, like, well, are all these questions going to be answered? Yeah. Because there's a lot of shit that's going on here. Uh-huh. And, you know, like, I'm not expecting answers at the end of season two. But, like, by the end of the series, whatever that is, I'm hoping, like, oh, okay, well, that explains that. And that explains that. And that explains that. You know what I mean? Right. I'm hoping that comes.
[00:24:21] But I am, like, I'm at a point where I may end up, like, ordering the three books just to, because, like, I'm that invested in the show. I really enjoyed it. Huh. So, you want to read them? Yeah. That's cool. Yeah. So, big game tonight. Yeah. Yeah.
[00:24:45] It's that weird thing, like, we were talking about, because you invited me over for dinner, which, by the way, thank you for dinner. It was delicious. Mm-hmm. Um, but it's that thing of, like, the Steelers are nine and a half point underdogs to the Ravens in Baltimore. I just feel it's disrespectful. Yeah. Like, it's the Steelers-Ravens. Like, these games are always close for the most part. Right.
[00:25:12] Like, you know, these are two teams that know each other very well, hate each other. Yeah. You know, like, this is one of, if not the best rivalries in the NFL. Right. Like, there aren't, and it's always, and I think what makes it so special is both teams are always good. Right. So, the games always mean something. Yeah. And especially this game, because it's the playoffs.
[00:25:43] But it's that thing of, like, and I get it. Like, you can sit there and you can say, like, well, you know, the last four times the Steelers have been in the playoffs, like, you know, they've been completely blown out. Mm-hmm. And you're right. And you could even point out, you know, the Ravens are just a better team. And you're probably right. But it's Steelers-Ravens. You know, Mike Tallman, over the last ten games against the Ravens, is eight and two.
[00:26:13] Right. Lamar Jackson is two and four against the Steelers. Right. You know, he has never had a good game against the Steelers. Like, even people were, like, giving the pound to the old data boy for the last game because he threw three touchdown passes. But, like I told you, Derrick Henry was more of a reason why they won that game than Lamar Jackson. That's who I fear. Yeah. Like, I think we can.
[00:26:42] Like, if you can contain Derrick Henry, if you can contain that running game. Right. Lamar Jackson's going to shit his pants. Yeah. I just, honestly, I feel that way. Like, he's going, if you put him in a position where he has to go out and win the game, he can't do it. Especially against the Steelers. Yeah. And, but if you can't contain Derrick Henry. Yeah. You know. That was a problem. That was.
[00:27:10] If you compare the, like, the first game, for some reason, Baltimore forgot they had Derrick Henry in their backfield. Yeah. And they didn't give him the ball. Yeah. And they put the ball in Lamar Jackson's hands and he couldn't get it done. Right. The second game, they said, well, we're going to give it to Derrick Henry because, I don't know, we didn't do it the first time. Right. And he runs for 168 yards. Yeah. You know. So, yeah.
[00:27:38] If you can figure out a way to contain that running game. Yeah. I feel like, and especially, Zay Flowers is out. Yeah. I heard that. Yeah. So, I mean, like, there's no deep threat. Right. You know. All you got to worry about, really, is Mark Andrews. Yeah. So, like, I honestly do. I feel like this is. Let's just put it this way. I will not be surprised if the Steelers win.
[00:28:08] Okay. Okay. Like, I'm not counting on it. Like, I wouldn't bet the house on it. Yeah. But I wouldn't be surprised if they win. But I would. I would feel comfortable taking the nine and a half points. Yeah. You know, I mean, if I was a gambler, like, I would say, like, yeah, give me this nine and a half. Because I think that could be covered. Yeah. Nice. Yeah. We'll see. We'll watch it. Yeah. Yeah. We're going to watch the game. But it's just, it's an odd thing of, like.
[00:28:40] It's an odd. Because you look at the season. You start off 10 and three. You lose the last four. 10 and seven. And, like, at 10 and three, it was like Mike Tallman's the head coach, you know, coach of the year front runner. Yeah. You know. And then at 10 and seven, you're like, yeah, Mike Tallman needs to be fired. Okay.
[00:29:08] And, like, I understand it to a certain extent. Like, there are things that Mike Tallman has done since going to Super Bowl 45. Like, we're talking, like, almost 15 years now. Yeah. Where you can say, like, there have been a lot of missteps. Yeah. Like, there have been a lot of coaching decisions that I've disagreed with.
[00:29:36] There have been a lot of player management decisions I've disagreed with. There have been a lot of, like, clock management decisions. Like, what the fuck are you doing? Like, there have been just a lot of things you can sit there and say, man, this all rests at the feet of Mike Tallman. Yeah. You know. But then I see something like, watching hard knocks this year has been interesting because
[00:30:00] you see something like, Joey Porter Jr. had that game where he had, like, six penalties called against him. Right. Four of them were accepted. Like, he had one play where he had two penalties against him in the same play. Like, unbelievable how you could do that. Yeah. But after that game, if you watch hard knocks, you see Tallman.
[00:30:26] It's not even like a, it's like a casual thing where he kind of coached him up a little bit. All right. Like, it wasn't like, you need to stop fucking getting all these penalties. It was like, you think you should be great right now and you're not, but you're going to be. You have to follow the process. You have, you have to, you know, you don't start off great. You get to be great. Yeah. And it was like an interest. And since that game, Joey Porter's played very well. Yeah.
[00:30:56] I don't think he's had a single penalty called against him that I could think of off the top of my head. I could be wrong. Right. But my point is, like, it's like a one to two minute conversation he has with Joey Porter Jr. And it's impactful because he's not saying stop it. Yeah. He's just telling him, he's like, you have, you, you're trying too hard to be great. Greatness will come to you because you have the talent to be great.
[00:31:26] Right. You know, you have to work at it and everything else, but it's going to come. Yeah. You know, you just have to allow that to happen. And it was like, it's just a great conversation of him coaching that guy up, but not doing it in a way where you're like. Where it's destructive. Or like, not so much destructive, but like, like, you know, you need to get your shit together. Right. You know what I mean? Like, that's not what he said to him.
[00:31:52] He's like, you know, do, do your job, you know, but greatness will come. You're trying. Yeah. You know? And I thought that was a great, cause like, when I say like, wow, like maybe they need to move away from Mike Tomlin, but then you see like that moment, you're like, man, that's why you keep a guy like him around. Right. You know? And you just hope the pieces of the puzzle can come together finally. Yeah. We'll see. Yeah.
[00:32:21] I mean, like, I think their biggest problem is going to be for a bit here, like their tenacity to be over 500. Yeah. Like, I mean, this is fast. Mike Tomlin got to 500 with Duck Hodges. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like, but when you're picking that high all the time. Yeah.
[00:32:47] And now your, your, your biggest glaring need is a, you need a young quarterback. Yeah. Like, I don't know. Like, I like, I've liked what Justin Fields showed. Yeah. But there were clearly flaws in his game as far as, like, I don't know if he's a starter in the NFL. Yeah. Like, Russell Wilson's old. Yeah.
[00:33:16] You know, I like what Russ has done for the most part. You know, he's, he's made some mistakes where I'm like, eh, Russ, come on. But like, he's a veteran guy and I like his leadership. But at some point you need a young quarterback. At some point you need to go get that guy in the draft. You need the next Ben. Yeah. And drafting at 17, 18, 19, 20, 22. Like, you're not getting there. Yeah. You know what I mean?
[00:33:43] Like, it's not, that guy's not coming to you there. He's going to come to you. Like, you drafted Ben when you drafted, he was the, I think 11 or 12. Yeah. Overall. Like, and that was a year where there were three quarterbacks worth taking and not everybody needed a quarterback. Right. Like, if, if you had been in a year where like everybody needed, you wouldn't even got a quarterback at 11. You know what I mean? Like. That was the year of Manning.
[00:34:13] Yeah. Eli Manning, Phillip Rivers. Rivers. Yeah. Because the Chargers took Manning, the Giants took Rivers, and then they traded. Yeah. And that left the Steelers. With Ben. With Ben. And all three were good quarterbacks. Yeah. I mean, all three. Like, I can sit there and I can make a case. Like, maybe Eli Manning shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame, but he's going to be. Yeah. You know?
[00:34:42] I could probably make a case that Phillip Rivers shouldn't be, but he probably will be. And I bet absolutely should. Yeah. You know? Yeah. Yeah. But I mean, like. But all three of those. Like, I mean, it's probably the best draft class at that time since 1983. Yeah. When you talk about like guys who were taken that are going to the Hall of Fame. Yeah. Like, you know, 83 had Jim Kelly, Dan Marino, John Elway. Right.
[00:35:11] All three of those guys went to the Hall of Fame. Yeah. And if you look at the number of quarterbacks that were taken in that draft. Like the number of. That's what's funny. Like, it's that. It's that draft that like people talk about like, oh, wow, there's so many quarterbacks taken. Yeah. But how many of them were busts? Yeah. Like, how many of them were Todd Blackledge? Yeah. You know what I mean? Like, there were a lot of bad quarterbacks taken in that draft. Right. Right. You know? But like, it was like everybody needed a quarterback. Even the Steelers. And they chose not to.
[00:35:41] They went with Gabe Rivera. Did they have a shot at it? I guess they did have a shot at Marino. They could have taken Marino. Oh, can you imagine? I mean, that's. That is one of the greatest what if stories in the NFL. Yeah. Well, that explains the pick it too. Yeah. It does. I mean, like. People are always like, well, that was a Tallman pick. And it might have been. I think that was more of a rain pick. I think. But I do.
[00:36:11] I do think it was like, we're not going to let another pick quarterback go past us. Yeah. You know. But. Has he played at all? Yeah. He played. I think he played in two games. Oh, really? Yeah. Because Hertz went out. Oh. And then they. Like, it was the one game. And I. They got it to a big lead. Then they blew the lead. And I think it was Washington that beat them. Huh. And then.
[00:36:39] I think he played the next game. And they. They played well. I can't remember. Nice. Yeah. But I know he's played at least in two games. Hmm. All right. So. Howard Palco was the quarterback I was thinking of. I can't remember if we were talking about that before. We hit pause or after. Oh, well. Hmm. Anyway. Um.
[00:37:12] Speaking of. College. Um. The long national nightmare is over. The. Uh. Penn State has fallen. In the. In the playoff. Yeah. So. Penn State. Yeah. You got a lot of work to do? Yeah. I'm sorry. It's quite all right. Um.
[00:37:42] Yeah. So. Uh. Yeah. They lost to Notre Dame. And then Ohio State beat Texas. But both games were very, very good. Yeah. I can't. I still can't believe Notre Dame won. Like I was just saying. Like. I'm not surprised. Just because I feel like. Them and Penn State are like on the same level. Yeah. Yeah. Like. Do you think Penn State's ever regained. From when. They got in trouble. Oh.
[00:38:12] Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But. Here. So here's the thing. So even before. They got in trouble. Uh. They. Like. They weren't. Ohio State. No. Like. They weren't a national title contender. Yeah. Like. They. They would be a team. They would go. 10 and 2. 9 and 3. Yeah. Get to a. A decent bowl. You know.
[00:38:41] But they weren't going to contend. At that time. You know. For the BCS. You know. They. They. Weren't anywhere near contention for something like that. Right. And. And. You know. Like. You even look like. Okay. So they get in trouble. They have the sanctions placed on them. Um. Um. The head coach that they had. I can't remember his name. He ended up. You know. He was from the Patriots. Yeah. Like.
[00:39:10] He did a really good job of keeping that team afloat. You know what I mean? Like. They. They. They. They still had a winning record. They didn't. You know. They didn't fall off that far. Yeah. And so. When he leaves. And James Franklin comes in. And. You know. I feel like. Like. They've reached. As high as they're going to reach. Yeah. You know. They're going to be. Again. They're. They're a. A 9-3. 10-2 team. You know. With a 12-team playoff.
[00:39:40] They're more than likely going to get in now. Yeah. You know. They. Maybe. They make some noise. Sure. You know what I mean? Like. Like. This is what Penn State's going to be. Yeah. And. Like. It. They're just. And. It's the same thing with Notre Dame. Like. Notre Dame has gotten into the 14 playoff before. Yeah. And got waxed. Yeah. Like. Like I said last week. Like. There's like. There's.
[00:40:08] Those elite programs. And then there's like that next group. And that's like Penn State. That's Notre Dame. That's. Teams like that. I mean. Pitt's below that. Like. I'm not going to sit here and like. Tell you Pitt's in that second group. They're not. They're in a third. Like. Everybody else group. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like. And I'm. I'm fine with that. Penn State's. You know. Up here in this. This second tier group. But that second tier group is never going to compete for. Like.
[00:40:38] They're never going to be. A national title winner. Yeah. Notre Dame's in that group. Like. I. I honestly feel they're going to get. The shit kicked out of them by Ohio State. Like. As good as that team is. Yeah. And I mean. And they show like. Grit and determination. And everything else. And. But they're just their second tier. Right. You know. The top tier teams will have a down year. Alabama had a down year.
[00:41:08] Michigan had a down year. But they're going to be back. You know what I mean? Like. They're. The programs are just too. Too good. You know. Yeah. No. I agree. So. It. At some point. Penn State fans will get frustrated. Yeah. Yeah. Like. I mean. If you keep going to the playoff. Like. Like. The Steelers. Like.
[00:41:37] I said last week. James. James Franklin is. The Mike Tomlin of. College coaches. Yeah. Yeah. You're going to keep going to the playoff. But you're never going to reach the ultimate goal. Right. And Penn State fans will eventually get fed up with that. Yeah. You know. I mean. And what do you do? Right. Nothing. Right. And especially like. In this era of what is essentially.
[00:42:06] I'm a free agent every year. Yeah. You know. So. I can go in the transfer portal. I can go someplace else. It's going to pay me more money. Right. It's. You think it's ruining college football? I think the fact that it's been the wild wild west. Is what's put a damper on college football. I feel like if. If.
[00:42:34] If you pull college football out of the NCAA. Yeah. Which is what needs to happen. The NCAA. Has. Nothing to do with college football at this point. Yeah. They're just a governing body. Yeah. You take. The top four conferences. I mean. You take college football. You put. And you like. Yeah. You anoint a commissioner. You. You have to treat it like. A league now. Right.
[00:43:05] You know. Like I. I'm all for. Getting rid of the conference championship games. Like. Let's just. Skip that. Let's go straight to the playoff. You know. It's. But there has to be like. Guiderails. NIL has to have some sort of. Guiderail. Because. Like you. A prime example.
[00:43:35] Like. They. They said. The guy. Who played for Miami. Cam Ward. I think was his name. Yeah. Like. He played the first half of his bowl game. And sat out the second half. Okay. And he said. The reason he played the first half. And he didn't just. Opt out completely. Was because. His NIL contract. Required him to play. Wow. Like. You know what I mean. Like. It.
[00:44:05] There's. There's so much. Shadiness. Like. And that's the problem. Like. You've got these shady people. Who are trying to take advantage of. 18. 19 year old kids. 20 year old kids. Who like. Don't know any better. Yeah. You know. They're getting. They're signing into these. These strange contracts. They're signing with agents. Who. Like. The NFL. Like. You have to be a league approved agent. To represent somebody in the NFL. Yeah. College football. Like.
[00:44:35] Your uncle Joe. Could be your agent. Yeah. You know what I mean. And. Uncle Joe. Could be taking money from you. Left and right. Right. It. There's just. There's too much shadiness in it. And there has to be like. A governing body. That's going to look over this. And set the guide rails. And. And set like. Okay. The transfer portal doesn't open. Until the day after. The. The championship game. For the college football playoff. Right.
[00:45:03] That's when the transfer portal opens. That's when you have to declare. Whether you're going to the draft or not. Like. There. There are all these things that you. You can kind of take into. Like. Rules that you can put in. Yeah. To. To fix what college football is. Including. NIL. Like. You know. It's. Like. I don't know what the fixes are. Like. I. Watch enough. Stuff.
[00:45:32] I look at enough stuff online. Where I can say like. Okay. This is definitely broken. And there have to be ways to fix it. But like. Like. NIL money is just. It's. It's. It's outrageous. When you like. Look at it. Because it's like. Technically you're making money off your name. Image and likeness. Right. Well if somebody's paying you just five million dollars. To show up at their. Uh. Like. You know.
[00:46:01] Their automotive dealership. Their car dealership. Yeah. To. To sign autographs. You know. But the real reason they're paying you five million. Dollars. Is because they want you to. To attend. Southern Cal. Right. Right. You know. That's. Yeah. I know. I get it. Yeah. What do you do on the side? Like. What's your name? It was like. Well. I sign autographs once a week. At this car dealership. Really? Yeah. You know. Like. There is. There. There. But.
[00:46:31] But also like. You know. It also becomes that thing. Like. I remember back in the day. Like. There used to be like a. It was like a. A post game show. It was called the fifth quarter. Mm. And it was. It was like. Local broadcaster. Sam Nover. In the Steelers locker room. Right. Like. It was like. He stood in front of this like. Pillar. So you couldn't see like.
[00:47:01] You know. Guys shaking their wiener. At the camera or anything. Yeah. But then like. You're like. Oh. Let's have Terry Bradshaw. On. Yeah. And Bradshaw. Come on. With like a. A babe. Shrap. Ford hat. You know. Because. Because they were paying him like. You know. A few thousand bucks to. You know. Wear the hat on TV. Like. The NFL had to put a stop to that shit. Yeah. Like. It was like. No. We can't. We can't have this. So. Like. I can imagine it going back to like. Stuff like that.
[00:47:30] Like these quarterbacks are showing up with like. You know. Local car dealership ads on their hats and stuff. Yeah. You know. Like a NASCAR driver. He's like. You know. This is. Being represented by the local. You know. The pancake house here. And you know. It's like boxing. Oh. Yeah. Maybe there. You know. Body. Yeah. I know. UFC banned that. Did they? Yeah. Yeah. Because. I mean. It was outrageous. It was like. You know.
[00:47:59] They were selling ads on the trunks. On their back. Like. Everything. Like. It was like. And. I'm like. No. You can't do that. We're outlawing that. Yeah. Whatever it takes. It is. Like. I mean. And it was like. Funny. Like. I was watching. I watched the. The debut of Raw on Netflix. And. For years. Like. The mat. Like. If you watch a boxing match now. Or if you watch like a UFC fight.
[00:48:29] There's ads everywhere. Right. On the mat. Like. Everywhere. Yeah. And. And for the first time ever. A WWE ring. They had mats. All. Or. They had ads. All over the mat. Really? It was shocking to see. Yeah. Yeah. Because. For years. That was taboo. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Even when they went. Earlier this year. I think. At WrestleMania last year. Was the first time. They. They. Prime. The.
[00:48:59] Logan Paul's. Energy drink company. Or. The. Sports drink company. They. They bought. The exclusive rights. To have their ad. On the mat. For pay-per-views. Okay. So. Even seeing that prime ad. In the middle of the ring. Was. Kind of like. Shocking. Yeah. But like. On Monday. It was like. This is like. The Dubai. Uh. Tourist council. Yeah.
[00:49:28] They had an ad in. This corner. And this corner. Um. Fortnite. Was in the center of the ring. Which is like. What? Yeah. You know. And then like. Hulk Hogan's. American beer. Had. Had a couple of ads. I was like. This is. Too bizarre. I've never seen it. And. WWE has pimped themselves out. Like. Like. They have like. The LED boards. Like. On the. The camera side. Right. Where. The guardrail is. Right. And they'll. They'll throw.
[00:49:58] Any ad up on that fucking thing. Really? Yeah. Oh yeah. Like. It's like. This match is sponsored by Slim Jim. This. This match is sponsored by. You know. Cricket Wireless. Like. They have. They will pick the shit out of that stuff. But Vince. It was like. Nothing on the mat. Yeah. That's. You know. But now. We're in the era of it. You know. Anything goes. Yeah. It's crazy to think about. But like. It's also like. Like.
[00:50:27] How much money could you charge for that? Right. Like. Like. I know like on a NASCAR race car. Like. It's millions of dollars to be the hood sponsor. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like. To get that prominent piece of real estate is like millions of dollars. I'm sure. For a UFC fighter. For a top flight boxing match. Again.
[00:50:54] That's probably hundreds of thousands of dollars to get your ad on the mat. Yeah. You know. I can't even imagine like. Like. Net. Raw on Netflix. Like. The possibility of having. You know. 80 million people watching your product at one time. Like. What could you charge for that? I don't know. But like. It's smart on their standpoint. Because it's like. Yeah.
[00:51:24] You know what I mean? Like. This is creating more revenue. Yeah. You know. It's like a Super Bowl commercial. Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. That's exactly what it was like. And they're just taking it to the next level. Yeah. Yeah. Crazy. Well. I mean. And you heard like. You know. Hulk Hogan showed up at that show. Oh yeah? Yeah. Well like. Like. That American. American. I can't remember what it's called. But it's his beer product. Like. I'm sure it's.
[00:51:54] Something like. You know. Somebody like. Some brewer in. Tampa was like. Hey. You want to endorse our beers? We're going to call it this. And you go. Hell yeah brother. What you're paying me. You know. Yeah. Yeah. But anyway. So he shows up on Raw. And. Got booed the fuck out of the building. Really? Yeah. Now. Conservatives are all. Because it was. This was in Los Angeles. At the Intuit Dome. Right. And the conservatives were all like. Oh.
[00:52:23] It's because he endorsed. You know. Trump. And. Spoke at the. The. The Republican National Convention. And stuff. And. What they don't know is. Hulk Hogan. Is like. Public enemy number one. Amongst wrestling fans. Fans. Oh. Especially wrestling fans of color. Because. He was recorded. Oh God. Like. In the locker room.
[00:52:52] Dropping the N-bomb. Really? Yeah. Talking about how much he hates. Really? Yeah. I mean. Recently. This was like. Seven or eight years ago. Okay. And it was like. One of those things. Where it was like. And even like. He came into the. The locker room. Like to apologize. He never apologized to the fans. But he didn't even apologize to the locker room. He came in. He was like. Hey brother. You know what? You gotta watch that.
[00:53:22] Gotta check to see who's recording you. When you're. At all times. Like. I thought I was in a safe space. What? When is that ever in a space. Safe space. Yeah. No. It is never okay. To just. To just. You know. Yeah. And be racist. Yeah. I mean like. Like. He's like. Yeah. Just. Watch your backs brother. You never know who's gonna. Stick a knife in it. What? Yeah. Cause.
[00:53:51] Like at the same show. The Undertaker showed up. The Undertaker endorsed Trump. The Undertaker had Trump on his podcast. Oh yeah. But still beloved. Yeah. Still got a big cheer. Hogan comes out. Not boot out of the building. Is cause he's a racist scumbag. Yeah. You know. Has nothing to do with politics. Everything to do with the fact that you're just a racist. You know. Right. On top of everything else you've ever done. The amount of times you've screwed over people in this business. Plus you're a racist. Yeah. You know. So.
[00:54:21] But it was like so funny. Cause he comes out. And he's at Jimmy Hart with him. And Jimmy Hart's. I mean. And Jimmy Hart's like a hundred. Yeah. But he's. And his hair. Looks like hay. Cause he's still like. Is like dying it black. Yeah. You know. And it's like. Oh you look. Jimmy Hart you look horrible. Right. And he comes out. Like a hundred and ten. And he's waving the American flag. And he can barely do that. Like he ended up like stopping. Like he's just like. Oh. Like he pooped out. You know. And Hogan's cutting this.
[00:54:50] This promo. And you couldn't hear him over the booze. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. Wow. That's crazy. And you always think like. Well maybe. You know. Cause wrestling fans are forgiving. Yeah. Like. For the most part. And. This is one of those times where they're not. Like you know. You can still go fuck yourself. Yeah.
[00:55:20] He's like a dick. Yeah. Yeah. Fuck. Get out of here. You racist fuck. Yeah. What an ass. He is. I didn't know about that. Oh yeah. Yeah. I mean between that and the whole. Bubba the Love Sponge thing. See. He was friends with a guy named Bubba the Love Sponge. Who was a shock jock. He used to be on Howard Radio. On a. On Sirius. Yeah.
[00:55:51] I thought he was highly entertaining at the time. Um. But. Him and Hogan were tight. Cause he was out of Tampa. Hogan's out of Tampa. Yeah. And. Apparently he did a deal where. Like. Hogan was like. On the brink of divorce with his wife. And he's like. Ah. I'll tell you what you can do. You can fuck my wife. And Hogan agrees. In the meantime. Bubba has the entire house wired.
[00:56:21] For video. No way. And recorded it. Wow. Yeah. And then it gets leaked. Yeah. Now Bubba says the footage was stolen. Uh. From his house. But. Still. The footage gets leaked. So I've seen. You know. Hulk Hogan in action. Yeah. You know. It's like. Man. You know. So I mean. There was that. And I mean. And that's when.
[00:56:49] He won that big lawsuit with Gawker. Because I guess they. They. They put up the footage. Mm. And. He sued Gawker. For invasion of privacy. And won that case. And that was a whole big hadoo. But I mean like. The guy steps in shit. On a regular basis. Yeah. You know. And. He wonders why he's getting booed out of the building. It's because people are tired of your horse shit. Yeah. Right. Yeah. That's crazy. Yeah.
[00:57:19] I didn't know that. Oh. Yeah. I mean. Between that. And like. In the 90s. With WCW. He had creative control. So like. The big joke. Is always. You know. If you. You pose something to Hogan. Like. You know. Hey. Why don't we do this? Like. It doesn't work for me brother. You know. Because he had creative control over his character. Oh. I see. So like. You know. I think it was the 1997. I think it was the 1997. Starcade. Uh huh.
[00:57:48] He's supposed to drop the belt to Sting. Uh huh. And. I guess they had a meeting. And Hogan was not happy with. With things. And. They. So instead of having a clean finish. They had this wackadoo finish. Where. And the referees. Like. I'm getting told. By three different people. What the count is supposed to be. Yeah. And it's supposed to be a fast count.
[00:58:18] But it wasn't. And Bret Hart comes down. And says. He's not letting that go. Because it was a fast count. And he restarted the match. And then Sting wins it. So it's like. Convoluted. Yeah. Like. It was like this whole. But it was all because Hogan didn't like things. You know. Yeah. So Hogan causes. Just. You know. It's like. Again. One thing after another. After. It's like. He's always. You know. And finally. Like. Him being like. Just complete racist. Was enough. For people who were like. You know. Yeah.
[00:58:47] This guy can go fuck himself. He's done. Yeah. He's dead. Yeah. Anyway. Indeed. So let's. Real quick. Cover some nerdy shit. Lucasfilm has announced. They have. They're replacing.
[00:59:21] Ray Stevenson. Who played. Balen Skrull. In the Ahsoka series. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. He passed away. Unfortunately. And. They. They needed to replace him. So after. So for season two. The character of Balen Skrull. Will be played by Roy McCain. Who played the hound. In Game of Thrones. Nice. Yeah. I'm glad they're replacing him.
[00:59:50] I like the guy. I like Roy McCain. Being the next guy. To play that role. Yeah. Because I feel like. Whatever that character was doing. Was very important. And that storyline. Still needs to be. Worked on. Right. You know. It needs to be resolved. You couldn't just drop it. Right. You know. So I am glad. They're bringing Roy McCain. In to do that. What. You. That. That sound good to you. Yeah. It does. Okay. Yeah. That's real good.
[01:00:22] All right. So it's a. Let's go ahead and jump in the old mailbag here. Okay. So. Thad writes in. And he says. Sean is actually right. Penn State. Will always be very good. With a high donor base. I donate to Penn State. Like Sean. Donates his money to Scientology. I. I don't. Donate to Scientology. Um. Who the fuck is Luther? Is it Lex Luther?
[01:00:53] Is it Luther Vandross? No. It's just. Just Luther. He's a fan of the show. Yeah. There are other people who listen to the show other than you, Thad. And who is Jimmy Pulvich? Is this another made up name? Sounds fake to me. Yeah. Well. Okay. Another. Another fine listener of the show, Thad. Not. Not. Is. Is you. Right. He says. I am sick of picking shit.
[01:01:21] I would scratch him in a wild card game. And send him packing in 2025. Right. I know he'd be against me on this. But. Regardless of his talent. We will never win with him here. Yeah. Too much of a cancer. I hate to agree with Kenny Pickett. But he is right. The Eagles have each other's backs. The Steelers have players that are in for themselves. That will never win playoffs or championships. Well. I hate to say it to you, Thad. But I agree with you. Like I. I think his contract is up at the end of this year. And I would let him go. Yeah.
[01:01:51] Yeah. Yeah. Like. Yeah. I. He's extraordinarily talented. Yeah. But he's too much of a head. Like too much of a head case. Like I can deal with a head case. Yeah. I can deal with a pre-medicant. But he's too much of a head case. And. Like. Those. Those four drops last week. Ugh. Were just dumbfounding. Like. In a game that you had to win.
[01:02:20] Like. Not. Not that it gets you anything. I mean. It got you. It would get you to 15. You would go. You would go on to Houston. Instead of playing. The Ravens. But. Like. Just like a game. Like. You know. We need to get out of this slide. You know. Right. Yeah. Plus. You would have had a chance to play spoiler. To. To a division rival. Right. Like. Let's knock them out of the playoffs now. Right. Let's not let them have hope going into Sunday.
[01:02:52] And. You're dropping balls. And you're blaming everybody but yourself. Like. You know. Handle your business. Right. So. So no. Like. I agree with you. Like. I would. I would not renew his contract. I would let him go. Because. I mean. But the problem. The problem does become. This. Your wide receiver room is. Is in jeopardy. Yeah. Like. You are spending this draft. Drafting wide receivers. Yeah. Because. There's nobody in that room.
[01:03:22] No. There's no one. Um. I watched the movie Carry On. That was featured on Netflix. It is now my favorite Christmas movie. Oh. Good for you. I can't wait for the Steeler game. I watched it too. Did you? That's the one with Jason Bateman. Yeah. Yeah. Very good. Very good. Okay. Najee Harris will have played his last game as a Steeler.
[01:03:51] Thank you Najee for your contributions of two yard runs when we needed three. I don't get the Najee hate. I'm not a fan. I know you're not. I. I know you're not a fan. But. At the same time. Like. Okay. Like. Here's a prime example. Why on God's green earth. On fourth and one. Did you give the ball to Jalen Warren? Yeah. I mean. That is the. To me.
[01:04:21] That is the equivalent of. Giving the ball. To. Oh. Willie Parker. When you have. The bus. Yeah. Like. Najee Harris. Like you're. He would have gotten you that yard. I feel. Like he. His lean forward would have gotten you that yard. Right. You know. Jalen Warren. And. And like. And the thing is this. Like. I feel.
[01:04:51] Najee and Jalen are a fantastic. Combination. Like. There aren't many backs in the NFL. You sit there and you say. That's the only guy we're giving the ball to. There's not many Derek Henry's. Right. You know what I mean? Like. Not anymore. No. Not anymore. Like. But. I feel like Najee and Warren. Are a fantastic. Backfield combination. And. You get rid of Najee. Next year.
[01:05:20] Your top two running backs are Jalen Warren. And Cordero Patterson. Yeah. And. That is a recipe for disaster in my opinion. Yeah. Now. There are some who will tell you. Well. If they would just modernize the offense. And stop running on first and second down. You don't need a Najee Harris. You can win with a Jalen Warren. And you're probably right. Yeah. But that's never going to happen. No. Agreed. Yeah. Um.
[01:05:50] Cam Hayward had a great year. I'm glad I was wrong. For at least the first of his three year. Contract. Watt is also on the decline. He put up goose eggs in multiple games this year. Including the last three. I think the Steelers should trade for Miles Garrett. Well. That is never going to happen. I would not want that piece of trash anywhere near my locker room. Yeah. But also. I'll disagree. Like. Because you're also going to say this.
[01:06:20] I. I could have swore he said something. He said he wasn't happy with Minka Fitzpatrick this year either. Somehow I'm missing that somewhere. Um. Yeah. Minka. Okay. Here. Says I am the primary shareholder of the PNP podcast. And the primary shareholder for the Steelers.
[01:06:50] Well you are not a primary shareholder of this podcast. Or the Steelers. It's time for the Steelers to move on from Minka. Minka was absent all year. And he is the player Cam Hayward called out as playing for himself. Um. I don't know who Cam was calling on. I'm not going to pretend like I do. But I. I feel. Minka Fitzpatrick. First off. Put it to the Pro Bowl. But I think he's playing in his system. Yeah.
[01:07:20] This. The thing you have to understand. Is this is no longer the Blitzbergs. Steelers. Like. This defense is no longer. That. That defense. Right. The Dick LeBeau defense. They're not playing zone blitz any longer. They are playing a Tampa 2. Yeah. And I feel like Minka is playing his role in a Tampa 2. Yeah. Which unfortunately does not lead to as many splash plays as you are used to from him. Right. Like I.
[01:07:50] He's made tackles downfield when he's needed to. But he's not as heavily involved. Because he's playing. He's forcing teams to throw underneath. And for us to make the tackle. Because of the way they're playing. Right. It's meant to not give up the big play. Also he's not. He's not playing the same role. That like. Polamalu played. Right. That's actually being played more by Deshaun Elliott. Right.
[01:08:19] Deshaun Elliott is playing more of that role than Minka is. That they're. They're. Letting Minka kind of play center field a little bit. Right. And. I. I. I. I. I feel like. If people who have bad mouth Minka. And I understand why. Because you're used to seeing something different from him. That you've seen this year. Yeah. I. I just. I feel like he's playing the role. That. The defense is dictating that he play. I think he's done it very well. But it's just hasn't created the.
[01:08:49] The. The splash plays. The big interceptions. Everything that you're used to seeing. From him this year. Right. As far as. Like. Talking about TJ Watt being on the decline. He may be on the decline. But I'll take 90% of TJ Watt. Over 100% of Miles Garrett any day of the week. Yeah. I'm sorry. Like. Like. Miles Garrett like. Everybody talks about him. And like. I feel like his. Like he just gets overblown. Because.
[01:09:21] People like him more. Yeah. Like I honestly do. Like. Like there. There was a play like pro football. Like. And that's what I'm going to point out. Like pro football. Analysts. Like. Pete. PFF. Or whatever it's called. Um. Like. They rate him very high. Based upon plays where like. He got close to the quarterback. Right. Like. There was. Like a run. Like. And it's like. You know. Well that's. That's a plus for. Miles Garrett. Because. It was like. Lamar Jackson.
[01:09:51] Ran away from. Miles Garrett. Well. Miles Garrett wasn't anywhere near the play. But they're like. Well. Because Miles Garrett was here. And. And Lamar went this way. That's a plus for Miles Garrett. Wow. How? He didn't influence the play at all. Right. Right. You know. So it's shit like that. That. Like. If you look at stuff like. Like. Like. I feel this way. As long as TJ Watt is. Is. Is. Is. Is drawing. The double teams that he does. As long as the protection is being.
[01:10:20] Going towards TJ Watt. As long as. The. The. The team that they play. And you heard it a number of times. If you watch Hard Knocks. We have to know where 90 is. Yeah. You have to know what 90 is doing. Yeah. You. You have to have. At least. A man and a half. Which means like. You got. The tackle blocking him. But you get like. The tight end chipping on him. And a running back. Coming out of the backfield. Giving him a chip. Yeah. Like. You have to. You have to influence him.
[01:10:49] And so as long as he's the focal point. Kim Hayward can have a better game. High Smith can have a better game. You know. Everybody else can have a better game. Because TJ Watt. Is drawing. One and a half guys. Yeah. Or two guys. Or three guys. You know. Like. That's cool. Yeah. All right. Just there. Anything to add to proceedings then? I'm good. All right. Well remember. There are a number of different ways. You can reach out and touch us.
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[01:11:46] We can't thank you enough for your support. And on that note. The Dreamer. Has awakened. Peace.