The NFL officially kicked off last night in Philadelphia.

The Steelers will do the same Sunday in lovely East Rutherford, New Jersey at MetLife Stadium as they take on the Jets.

It's a one pm kickoff.

Tom op From and Chris Adamski with you here on the Steelers' blitz.

It's the first Friday, official Friday of NFL season.

It feels great.

I got a little extra pep in my step on this Friday.

We had a good game last night too, to kind of tee us off, Chris.

But when it comes to this Jets game, I gotta be honest, I'm having a lot of trouble really making heads or tails of what the Jets are going to be.

And how could you not.

It's a new head coach, it's a new offensive and defensive coordinator, obviously with the new coach coming in.

It's new front office personnel, it's a new starting quarterback.

Like it's just a lot of new in in a lot of ways, not the coaching staff and the coordinator side of things, but on the field player wise, Steelers have a lot of change as well.

But man making heads or tails of what the Jets are going to.

Want to do.

That's a little bit confounding for me, right now.

Yeah, you would think that, I mean Aaron Glenn, he's a defensive coach.

Obviously there's Tea leaves there.

Yeah, you can kind of read into it.

But it's almost like, are we just sort of you know, almost like stereotype and the defensive coaches want to repound the ball and run the ball.

But when you go out and make justin Field your quarterback, it's telling a little bit.

Yeah, and you have two I think people believe are kind of starting collub or running backs, and it's just you would would think that would fit right, And they also if they have a strength you could say the defensive front, so it would make sense it.

Would behoove them.

I knew it.

Yeah, yes, I like throwing in words every once in a while, but so you would think that that was what the kind of the butt.

I mean.

It's also week one, and it would also be I suppose any team in week one to pull out some surprises, right, So it is kind of hard.

It's like we'll make our picks later in the show for the week, and it's hard at Week one is hard for all of us.

I mean, you know, obviously I'm not a head coach looking at pouring through film hours a day.

Yes you are.

Don't say that.

Don't say that out loud.

I'm not gonna make my five dollars free.

Bet.

You know, I would make sure I research it properly.

But you know I love good running football.

It's one of my favorite watches.

Kyle Brants one of my favorite personalities.

Think he's spot on.

I love stealing from him.

Just to be honest with you, he loves to call Week one a liar.

That's his big thing is Week one as a liar.

It just lies about everybody.

It lies about teams being good, it lies about teams.

We've bet Chris last year the Saints put up forty plus points in Week one.

That's right, Like it's just a liar, like it just it doesn't always tell the full story and made.

The narrative all week like wow, at least say David Carr, you know, wow.

Derek Carr.

And so maybe you know this on the Steelers side of things, maybe the offense kind of looks a little constipated at times in this game.

Hopefully that's a liar, and hopefully come Week four, week five, it looks really fluid, and it looks a lot better than it has with the Jets.

I don't know, you know, if they come out and just do exactly what we all think, they're gonna do what you were alluding to, where they're just gonna run the hell out of the football and very rarely pepper in the pass, go deep to Garrett Wilson every now and again, but stick to their strength and try to win this game with defensive football and controlling the ball really similarly to how the Steelers like to win football games.

Or are they going to kind of be that liar a little bit in Week one and they're gonna come out and say, hey, the Steelers are very familiar with Justin Fields.

I think it's very painfully obvious to everybody what we want to do as a team.

Let's see if Fields can whip it around the ball yard a little bit for this first drive.

You know, it's some nice, easy, controlled passes that a starting NFL quarterback should make.

If you're a new head coach, especially one you're familiar with that organization.

Eric Glynn was a Jet.

He knows New York, he knows that market.

Overthinking it here.

I don't am not saying this for sure, but making a splash and you know, beating the Pittsburgh Steelers, you know, a brand name and whatever, how good we think the Steelers will be?

Sure not is certainly one of the you know, flagship franchises.

You're the Jets, a cornerstone.

You're kind of a punchline a lot.

Making a statement in week one by beating the Steelers and maybe be a little bold, right, you know, if you're Aaron Glenn, you have some capital, you have the honeymoon period, right if things go wrong when you lose the Steelers in week one, you're your underdog anyway, who cares?

Right, So maybe you do sort of go, you know, off the map a little bit and I think outside the box and do some things, take some chances.

Whatever.

You can't do a fake kickoff Aaron Tech kick anymore.

But whatever it is, trick curation something like that, or at least, you know, be bold in terms of your game planning.

Maybe a little more aggressive defensively too.

And I think being bold is really letting fields throw, because that's that's what the Steelers want to have happened.

So if you come out it's kind of like, I don't want to do this.

This is a bad comparison, but it's kind of like how the Steelers in O five.

You know, they go to Indianapolis in that playoff run and everybody's like, they're just going to run the hell out of the football because they A they don't want Peyton to have the ball, and B it's a tough environment for a second year quarterback.

Ben Roethlisberger go in there.

You remember they're pumping in fake crowd noise at that RCA doing back then, Like it's just hectic in there, like you'd be nervous.

And instead of the series come out and they bomb the ball all over the field, Ben just marches them right down the field.

They passed early to set up the run.

Maybe that's what the Jets do in this game, is they throw early, kind of get that out of the way and make you go, WHOA, he's actually playing quarterback a little bit.

We got to respect that a little bit more, and then that's when he can hurt you on the ground.

I mean, I mean, Garrett Wilson ain't no joke either as a very good receiver.

Yeah, I mean I was looking at you know, just going through the some of the stats and the game notes here, and he has a chance, you know that the games of all Then I get and sometimes I don't like that he's you know, if he's there in the first two seasons so many you know, third all time and catches or whatever it is, And I get it doesn't mean it's the third best, but it does show.

And that's what I mean.

Remember Zach Wilson for one year or whoever who was their quarter to Mike White.

I don't even who is.

He only had a real quarterback one year and Aaron Rodgers, and he had over one hundred catches and he had over a thousand yards with Rodgers.

Yeah.

Yeah, So that shows.

And so it's not as if you know, these the Jets are this plotting uh uh.

You know that wouldn't be able to do that.

And you know Fields has, like we've talked about yesterday, this is Fields is i'll say last chance saloon, but last chance to be a franchise quarterback, no doubt.

And if he doesn't get to do it here, you know, he W'm not say it'll never start again, but it'll probably be the backup or probably be the fill in or the or the placeholder type situation if you if you can't get it done this year in this tenure with the Jets, so you know, maybe you know he wants to show some things.

It is, you know, Week one is such a you know it's going through like doing the picks.

You don't know who what to think of it, and.

You're right the lot every year you start like, remember last year's head scratcher and you thought it was a head scratcher, but or two years ago the Texans beating the Steelers early that was Week four, but you get the idea.

Early in the sea and everybody was kind of like, how did the Steelers do?

How do they go to Houston and lose a game like that?

Fast forward?

Houston's one of the better teams in the AFC.

Yeah, and then and last year the Patriots beat the Bengals, which we've thought Bengals always start slow, but oh the Patriots and they were and they were.

They were small.

Last year, they had they had signs because Drake May was the quarterback, but like they fired their coach.

I mean, they were abysmal, but it was it was a case of showing I mean eight Saints level, I forgot about that.

That was the biggest liar last year.

Yes, that was two weeks they put up like forty point two.

Yeah they stunk because Saints are back and or Saints or whatever, and yeah, they were just horrible down the stretch last season.

So it is, I mean, there's the one known for everybody.

Mike Tolman talked about it too, and he downplayed a little, but he brought up first.

And this is the second year in a row the Steelers are facing a week one up with a new staff up and down, and ironically enough, there's been a significant tie both times where Arthur Smith came from the Falcons with the former head coach and faced them and justin fields of course, and of course Aaron Rodgers of course too, So that there's there's that.

I don't know if that probably doesn't really play much into it in terms of strategic People always asked, what do you can you tell me about this?

You know, maybe a little tidbit here and there, But I don't think that's a real big factor.

But it is.

It does create the Uh, it's intriguing.

Yes, it would.

Probably more talk about more.

We talk about it more, but it's yeah, it's it's a lot.

I like that.

Week one's a liar, and so no matter what we do see and I'm sure if the Steelers do louse, everybody will take it.

Oh, it's just week one, you know.

I don't know about that.

I'll take it that way, you'll take it that way.

It'll be the right way to take it.

But I don't know about the hoy PELOI out there.

Here's one thing I know that Jets will be the same in but it's gonna look different.

I'll explain.

The Jets threw the ball at a sixty four point one percent clip last year.

Only the Browns, Bengals and Raiders threw the ball at a higher percentage.

It was Rogers he aired it out.

A mistake, by the way by the Jets to do that.

They should have relied on Breeze Hall.

They should have relied on Braylen Allen a lot more.

But they didn't.

They relied on Rogers's arm.

And then last year they also had the league's fewest rushing attempts with three hundred and sixty three.

Crazy.

That kind of gap between how much you pass and how much you run, the GAP's going to be the same, Chris, But it's gonna flip.

They're gonna run the ball at such a crazy high rate and they might pass the ball fewer than any team in the NFL.

So I do think there is going to be quite a juxtaposition of this Jets offense.

But it's not gonna be last year where it was we were pass heavy and barely ran.

It's gonna be We're gonna run the ball a hell of a whole lot, and we might be at the bottom of the league as far as pass attempts are concerned.

That's that's the one thing I think I'm pretty sure about when it comes to the Jets.

But like we were just saying, maybe that's just kind of when you look at the macro of the season how things played out, maybe Week one looks a little bit different.

It's maybe a little more balanced.

Maybe it's a little bit of let's let justin fields air things out a little bit, because I know that they know we're gonna run, so let's kind of and throw them a curveball here to start.

And with the way the Steelers are set up in their secondary it is sort of interesting because you know, if Jayalen Ramsey we'll see how that plays.

A lot of there's a lot of fascinating things.

I don't know how they're gonna deploy the secondary, especially in this game, Like does Ramsey follow Wilson?

Do you need to do that?

Yeah, it's like that.

You figure if assuming the Jets, do you know, Shure run looks the big person Snell tight ends that, then you probably be in base defense.

Now you're down and you're starting nose tackle essentially in harmon.

But if you do that, then Ramsey isn't supposed to be an outside corner with what we saw in camp.

At least now we'll see what they cook up for week one when when the game starts starting here, but when you're gonna take Slagh off the field or take a quarter off the field, and if Ramsey's your safety, then all of a sudden.

But now, but I mean, Mike Tomon has talked a lot about you know, we have coverage guys that would it's almost as if he's portraying that we're not going to fear any player we have.

We think we have enough coverage guys.

Remember, no safeties, there's no dbre no corners, there's no you know, slot, there everybody's a coverage guy and that's it, and we'll match up with anybody, now, you know, do you want?

I mean, I don't know.

I mean Darius lay I's been a pro bowler, been a All Pro at age thirty four.

You know, matched up on getting on the top receiver won't make a man in every play.

Not every play.

But if the Jets kind of move some chess pieces around and the Steelers kind of stay static on their side of things with how they deploy, I don't think it would be, you know, a death sentence every now and again if Slay sees Wilson lined up across from him.

The base defense thing, I know what you're saying.

They could definitely be playing a lot of bass.

But I also think they've upgraded their beef enough where they're comfortable being in nickel against run heavy teams too.

And I think they're comfortable with Jalen Ramsey and his ability to tackle.

Yeah, if they are in that nickel last year in the playoff game against the Ravens, you know, they were in nickel the entire game.

Basically, sometimes they were in dime and just two hundred nine nine yards was put up on them.

On the ground and they didn't didn't have the big bodies.

Oh god, his name's Preston Smith.

Didn't get a helmet in that game, and he was just like such a prototypical run stuffing edge.

I thought that was a bit of a head scratching move.

But this year I think that they are are more suited to if they are in that nickel package, have bigger bodies still on the field capable of stopping the run where they don't sacrifice too much there.

But I could see them in base a lot in this game, more so than we will come to see them deploy that defensive scheme throughout the season.

They'll live a nickel against most teams.

I mean, that's what usually the NFL base or standards, but jetson two games against the Ravens, I don't know.

You might want to toy with that based defense a little more.

And one thing, we'll see how Nick Herbig will find out here, you know, soon this afternoon about the.

Practicing as we're speaking right now, so we won't know.

The Drive will fill you in on that later today.

So if her Big is I'm guessing, but yeah, so we'll see how it plays out.

But if he can't play.

And I'm not saying that's a good thing in any sense, but if.

You're talking about big bodies, if her big can't play, that's more snatched for Jack Campbell Sawyer.

So did I always do that?

You're in Detroit, Detroit, Yeah, okay, yeah, Campbell was Cambell and Iowa boy or something like that.

You're in the big ten around.

Big ten linebacker, you know, Jack Sawyer.

And then also Malie Harrison, who I almost forgot about, plays the d he during camp, he didn't he didn't rep.

There much practice yesterday, right, yeah.

So he was playing on the edge and he I never thought he is the fourth, he would be the fifth, and now he could be the fourth.

In this game, he'll be more.

And they gave him a lot of money for being a special teams guy and kind of a reserve.

But and that's one of the reasons he could.

He can rep.

He can fill in at both places, especially against the run team.

His his mo is an inside guy has certainly stopped the run.

He's good at that.

You probably don't want him in coverage too much.

Put him on the edge and against the run heavy team especially you know, justin fields type offense.

What we think we see that.

I think he can be an effective player.

So you know, if there ever was a game maybe where her Big, I mean her Big, as good as he is at pass rushing, if there's a game you're gonna miss him, this might be one of the games where it might not be so bad if considering the alternatives.

I agree, And you know, Sawyer, I think they wanted to see a little bit more out of him in the training camp, preseason portion of the schedule, not to say that he's like way behind the eight ball and he can't contribute at all, and he will He'll be a scratch on Sunday.

I don't think he will be.

But even if her Big is healthy throughout the year, Chris, I think Sawyer jumps in front of him in games like this.

I do a good point.

Maybe not in week one because it is a rookie and he's still trying to get his feet wet.

But you know, the Ravens first Ravens games isn't until what like December, so like maybe that game comes around, Sawyer is up to speed, He's he's an NFL player at that point, and you see him get out on the field ahead of her Big sometimes because it's just about stopping the run against a team like that.

Her Big is such a real savant when it comes to rushing the passer.

I mean, his production is insane, like the yeah, like sacks per snap is like it's it's unsustainable, obviously, but it's just crazy for a start of a career like he is, without a doubt the prototypical pass rush specialist.

Put me in on third and longs, I'm gonna get home to the quarterback.

That's what I do.

But I think he lacks in a lot of other areas when it comes to playing edge rusher.

That's why you can't really see him take on that every down edge rusher kind of player like Kai Smith and like Watt can and honestly like Sawyer probably could when he fully develops into an NFL player, But there's just something missing from her Big game there.

And I also think when he has to play more and he has to play against heavier personnel, he gets injured.

So you're able to avoid that, I think even when he's healthy this year, and that's a big thing that I think the Steelers were looking at when Sawyer was on the board, when they were picking in that fourth round and they were saying, Man, Nick's great, but if we can kind of get Nick and Sawyer to kind of fill both of those roles with our quote unquote three A and three B ed rushers, I think we're set.

They really do compliment each other well, I mean, Sawyer kind of the book on him and what we saw up at camp and her practice and everything.

Yeah, he isn't he doesn't this past he needs he needs more pass rushing polish and we saw of course in the College Football Playoff.

You can do it.

But as you're saying, I mean, you don't need that this year.

Yeah, this year.

And if that's what they are right now.

And obviously Sawyer, of course he's a rookie and even her big, he's still young enough.

I'm not saying this is there necessarily what they be long term, but for twenty twenty five, if they compliment each other in that way, I think they really are too.

To have your three A and three B depending on opponent, depending on circumstance, things like that, maybe there's better what you can deploy one or the other.

Because I think Sawyer is really solid for an edge guy against the run.

And of which we talked about with the Jets, and you know, the rate whatever it is against teams or situations where that happens, I think he can be an asset.

And and you know, seeing him play more again, we'll see what happened with her Big again or maybe even her Bigs on a little bit of a pitch coun snap count because even if he does play well, it may playhim a little bit less than he would have otherwise.

And and you know, Sawyer gets in there a little bit, little bit more and.

They seems like they're really starting that contingency plan right now exactly.

Yeah, So that that was something like I said, I don't know how I come.

I knew about it, but he had I can't be pretty much at all inside, and I almost kind of forgot, and I was like, wow, he's not on the edge.

And then you talked to him and he he said, yeah, I pretty much practice.

You know, I'll go back and forth and I've done my whole career, and you go back to the snap counts.

You know he's gonna want to get on the field anyway.

Well, yeah, yeah, four in the pecking order when it comes to the inside back exactly.

So yeah, yeah, and they got a pretty good you know, when your number three is a long time story.

Yeah, the trios real solid.

Yeah, So as long as that that'll be fun to watch or you know, gratifying for for Cole Hookam.

I mean the injury he had and you know, I think anybody can relate to that, or anybody can you know, on a personal level, think of how how grueling that would have been for him, how how got wrenching it was to suffer an injury, how to rehab for over a year and you know, have your kind of lovely we've done your whole life.

And you know, people were at the beginning, We're like, I know, you know, there was legitimate talk that that he might never play again and are to make it back in the regular season.

The game is one of the little you know, there's so many storylines and so many things to talk about in week mom, but that's one of those those cool little things that that you know him coming because I didn't even know, you know, leading into this camp, I was like, is he gonna is he back?

Is he you know, is he hundred easy?

The player he was and he might not be the exact player he was, but he's good enough, certainly to be at your third inside backer.

Well, I thinking about a Harrison rushing off the edge in a Steelers uniform.

That's making me feel all nostalgic up in here, Chris, I like it.

I don't think he's going to be as effective as that other high bark.

Yeah, yeah, probably not.

When we come back, I'm going to give you a disturbing trend that the Steelers must break this year if they want to have success week one, if they want to have success in the twenty twenty five season.

It's Kris a Damski, It's Tom Opferman, It's the Steelers Blitz on the Steelers Audio Network.

All right, Chris, are you ready for this damning trend?

Ready?

I'm scared.

I think you should be scared, because I'm scared every time I read it.

It's like a horror movie.

Pittsburgh.

Okay, your Pittsburgh Steelers failed to score a touchdown on any of their seventeen opening drives last year.

I'm probably not breaking any news to you there.

On their opening drives last year, the Steelers averaged just twenty two yards.

Maybe some mild breaking news to you there, but we all have it fresh in our mind of how abysmal those opening drives looked last year.

Only the Patriots and the Bears were worse, by the way on your it's per average on their first drive.

Here's what really scares you.

If you go six years back, the Steelers have played exactly one hundred football games.

They are thirty second out of thirty two teams during that time span with just ten opening drive touchdowns.

Only ten percent of their opening drive touchdowns in the past six years have found the end zone.

Six teams have thirty plus touchdowns, so they're doing it thirty percent of the time, and no other team has fewer than fourteen.

So this has been a problem that predates Rogers Smith Canada's Toner.

I mean, Ben's in there for a part of this, Like this is this is getting to be an epidemic, Chris, I think we can use that term, and it's got to change this year.

It just does.

When you're a team that wants to control the ball and play great defense, that's the missing part of the formula for them.

They're never getting out to earth early leads.

You have to do that to be the type of team that they want to be the Eagles get last night.

You saw they can come back too, because they're maybe the best team in football.

But teams like that who are built on running that football, they get up fourteen to ten and then they just bowa constrictor you.

They just suffocate you to death.

They play great defense and they run the hell out of that football.

And the Steelers want to run the hell out of that football.

They do play great defense, but they're never getting up first.

They're never starting strong.

They're never you know, ten minutes or six minutes into the game, other team looks up at the scoreboard, it's seven to nothing already, It's like we already got to play from behind.

Like they've never had that factor aside from ten games over the past one hundred, and that just that has to be something that's a lot different this year.

In my eyes, they have to score early and often not.

You don't have to go seventeen for seventeen, but get closer to maybe that thirty percent twenty five percent clip this year that teams have been clicking on for the past six years.

I mean, I think Rogers helps you out in that aspect.

I think that he and Smith can really put together a nice script.

And that's the other thing that really bothers me is like these should be scripted drives, Like these are drives that are installed all.

Week long, theoretically reflects more.

I've heard Charlie Batch say, you know, these are the drives that you know, on Saturday night in the hotel ballroom, the quarterback and the coordinator and maybe Mike Tomlin meets and it's like Ben just looks at the sheet and he's like, this worked really well in practice.

I like that play a lot.

We ran this one really well.

Let's do that.

This one not that great.

Let's scrap that this week and you build that opening drive and it should be not only things that you think are going to be successful getting the ball down the field and scoring a touchdown ultimately, but it's also a little bit of a feeler, right, Like it's like that box are kind of just taking a couple of punches to see how the defense is going to react, how they're going to play.

And the Steelers have failed at both of those things in the past six years.

They haven't been able to score the touchdowns and they haven't been able to really collect the data, only averaging last year twenty two yards on that drive of what this defense might be throwing at us.

Yeah, you wonder if it's funny.

I'll make the second reference, twenty year old reference to the five Steelers playoff run and that was sort of even a rookie quarterback or second year quarterback obviously at that point.

But they but they it was they they all three of those AFC playoff games.

They came out early and got a big lead and then they were able to you know, construct exactly they did it.

They were aggressive early on and maybe that did take those teams off guard or because at that point of Roethlisberg, it wasn't the star and he wasn't the future.

It wasn't a super Bowl winner yet obviously you know, it wasn't a team build around that.

It was still like the the Deruome Bettis and Willie Parker and you know, the Pittsburgh Steelers of the the great defense of that era.

So but that's just one example.

But that just because you brought it was fresh in my mind talking about the Colts game and the Broncos game after that, and the Bengals game before that that season where that's what the Steelers did is that they could play that style, but it's so much easier and more effective in everything if you get the early Now.

Obviously, I guess you could say that in an ideal world, you know, you have a fourteen play drive, you've methodically marked on the field.

Hours, you're seeing a bunch of different type of substitutions, different packages from the defense that you're like, Okay, they're gonna do that when we do this, when this guy's out there, it seems like they're deploying this safety.

They're like, yeah, exactly.

You get the information and then you finish it with the touchdown.

You eat a lot of time off the clock.

It's it's the ideal thing.

Yeah, But I do think Rogers has a a is enough cachet and capital build up that that I think in sort of a you know, whatever you want to do, this is last year or whatever it is and sort of is nothing to lose, sort of uh kind of approach.

In a lot of ways that this sort of that they might be very aggressive.

They do take some shots or winman and I don't know if that you know, if it doesn't work, then you know, oh what they doing?

You know they're three not because they you know, second and ten, all of a sudden, they don't run at third and eight.

Whatever it is, I get it.

But the same shot, we have one hundred games of data now that that whatever has been happening through various different coordinators and schemes and quarterbacks.

Right, but like you can't even use the data because it's like so many things have changed.

So but but but to me, that's almost like is it a top Is it coming from higher than that?

If it's survived that long?

Right, is there a systemic mindset that the needs changed.

I don't know what you're saying, but I can't get my head around the head coach being like, we don't really yeah, yeah, yeah, you know what I mean.

Like if I have this data in front of me, they have this data in front of me, and I bet you he's been founding the table, Like gosh, we gotta start better in these football games, especially in the playoff games.

I mean the playoff games.

For the five game losing streak playoff wise that they're on lately, I mean, they just hit theirs and they're just like whoa, They're always trying to play catch up.

Yeah, so it is, And you would think Kevin Rod again, going back to Week one, you kind of don't know what are you going to do?

And I talked about the Jets maybe being a little more you know, coming out and the element of surprise and doing it doing it that way.

But yeah, that, I mean, that has to change on so many levels.

You're right, you just can't be It's obvious, right, you can just you can't be falling behind every game.

You can't be starting slow every game.

You can't be either chasing it or trying to get in the groove.

And and we I mean it was that was a much bigger storyline under Canada.

I mean just because there was so much anti Canada sentiment I think all around the fan base and everywhere.

So that that was but you kind of almost, I would say, forget about it.

But we didn't talk about it that much last year.

The First Drive thing, that first Drive thing was a well, it was the streak for a while there.

It was up to eighteen or so games without a touchdown.

They went all seventeen games there.

You go the entire year, and you could say and early on, as we talked about yesterday, because you had the backup quarterback the first few weeks there, and I mean the backup was as we see as a starter now, but so it wasn't that, but you know, you then you had your depth nutrition and they played that field goal game in Atlanta and to a point, So some of it is maybe kind of again though it's never your game plan to not score touchas Yeah, exactly.

So, I mean, no matter what your game plan is, even if you are kind of playing, I don't know.

You'll use the word conservative however you want to put it.

It should, But I think Aaron Rodgers, I don't think he wants to play that game as we as you referenced earlier.

I mean it was yesterday.

Now everything runs together when you said it that Rogers through more or the Jets through what the third most pass is?

Yeah, in the league last year, I feel like sixty five percent of the time.

Yeah, so I and we'll see how much.

You know, the quarterback theory doesn't have the power, But I think when you're forty one years old in a four time MVP, you do have some you do.

And you know what's really bothering me right now, Chris, I'm gonna get on my soapbucks a little bit here, people, are already starting to pit Smith and Rogers against each other.

I'm already seeing I'm already seeing like, well, if Smith decides to get super conservative like you did with Rus last year, Rogers is just gonna tell him no.

Or Mike Commins says, hey, we got to stop using the middle of the field, Rogers is just gonna go up to him and be like, yeah, sure, coach, I'll do that, and then still just go use the middle of the field and be very defiant.

I think Arthur Smith and Mike Tomlin knew what they were doing when they brought Rogers in.

I don't think they're going to try to put him in a box.

I think that maybe what happened with Russ last year was as this season played on, they were like, you really don't have your superpowers anymore, do you?

Maybe we really should be more conservative, and Russ acquiesced to them.

And I'm not saying if it does get to this point, Rogers might not be a little bit more prickly when it comes to doing stuff like that and kind of tamping down his game.

But I just don't think we're ever going to cross that bridge.

I think that Smith and Tomlin and no offense to Russ because he's probably going to the Hall of Fame too, But they see Rogers in a completely different light, Like they see him as like a Brady a Manning, Like this is someone that you kind of yield too for his expertise on the offensive side of the ball.

And I think Arthur Smith recognizes that.

I think Mike Tomlin obviously recognizes that to be willing to wait all the way up until the end of June to bring him in and have him be your quarterback.

So you know this people that are just so worried about like they're going to butt heads eventually because Arthur's going to try to tell Rogers what to do and he's not gonna like it.

No, I think this is going to be a very mutually beneficial relationship, and I think a lot of the deferment is going to go to Rogers, Like I think a lot of If Rogers comes to Smith and says, hey, I think we should start doing this a little bit more, take back on this, he's gonna have Arthur's ear.

And you also look at what they did this offseason.

You know, on June thirtieth, you know, acquire John new Smith and I mean John new Smith is the book on him, right.

It's it's not like you're going three He's don't know, Washington, where you're gonna line up with three tight ends and you know doing that right?

Johnnoy Smith's a receiving tight end.

He'll be outside.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And even a little thing like Kenneth Gainwell, I mean, we saw how many routes he runs.

If that's the running back you're bringing in from in free agency.

I know it was a small you know, it wasn't like it was a big time move or whatever, but but it also I think that's another signaling.

And even paying a wide receiver at thirty million plus dollars a year and bringing in Deacons tending a second round pick to get him, there's a lot of other signals with this that that I don't you know that Rogers, I mean, somebody's on board with Obviously, in March whatever when they saw traded for Metcalf, wasn't he wasn't part of the team yet or even.

Even even that.

However much it was telegraphed, how much was uh known?

It wasn't nearly March when they traded for dk back, But there's enough there that that's what's follow you know, if you follow their actions, I guess.

I mean, I think there's the I'll tell you one that I think is clear.

I think getting Pickens out of here was a clear he ain't going to drive with Aaron Rodgers.

Yeah, I think that was a big I don't know if they needed extra motivation to move on from him.

He was giving them a plenty of ammo just in their own last night even more amazing.

Yeah, it was like chef's kiss.

It really was the fact that they were going into the end zone too, like it was like first and goal at the ten, and he has that personal foul Poney puts them back like the twenty five eye lines.

So it was beautiful.

It was exactly what the Steelers knew what happened.

It happened in week one week.

But you know Rogers, Like everything I hear from people about Rogers now is this guy's p's and q's have to be on when it comes to playing for him.

Your details have to be perfect.

There's there's really no room for freelance when it comes to playing receiver under Aaron Rodgers.

And I just don't think that that personality would have jived with him, like there there needs to be a level of professionalism to play for Aaron Rodgers.

If you're a wide receiver, that room has it in spades right now.

But if Pickens was in there, let's you know, we're not going to sugarcoat it would have been a very unprofessional person in the middle of a lot of professionals.

Yeah, and that's what he said.

And not only that, I mean, DK is just what's his face that he's an upgrade on the field.

As a number.

That's the other thing.

Chris, like everybody was like, he has never proven that he's a number one wide receiver as far as his production is concer He said, like what one yard game or a couple.

Of one touchdowns in three seasons three plus not number one star.

That's fringe number two material, especially when the type of receiver he is.

Maybe if he had his yards was down, but he was scoring touchdowns or receptions were in the fifties or sixties, but he was giving you eight or nine ten touchdowns a year, that that would be it.

But that's his that and it actually I heard this morning.

I think it was our friend Mike Pursuit.

I know, but it made an excellent point that that the narrative again this year, and rightfully so, is that the Steelers still ideally would have a better number two receiver where ideally would have acquired another receiver whatever means necessary over the past few months.

And that's the same last summer.

And that's true.

However, that and there's all the other things too, Johnus Smith and the tight ends and things may Ron Wilson a year later and whatever.

But more importantly is that last year they didn't have the number one probably right, everybody talked about George Pickens.

They just tucked him into being, yes, exactly, and you get it because you are tantalized by history.

You watch him in a practice field or some of the even some of the catches he does make, and I understand that, and he does have the pure talent that he could have been that.

But maybe last year, after two years, it's going to his third year, and he didn't have Deiontay around anymore.

I could see.

While we talked ourselves into that too, his observers and fans and whoever, but especially after another year of data now another year on.

Yeah, Like as we were going through that season last year, it was just like he's not a number one, he's just not being a number one receiver exactly.

And so DK has the resume a long trick, right, no doubt.

And the Devil's advocate would be look at the quarterbacks that were thrown at George Pickens.

That's why he's not a number one receiver.

Get him a real quarterback and watch he'll cook.

Why did Garrett Wilson cook with Zach Wilson with crappy quarterback play before Rogers got there?

And Rogers was probably the worst he's ever been when he played with Zach Wilson last or eXeem me Garrett Wilson last year.

You know, why did Larry Fitzgerald put up a career that was second most receiving yards of all time playing for Ara freaking Zona And like Kevin Cobb one season as the starting quarterback, he had a year of or a couple of years of Kurt Warner and a couple of years of Carson Palmer to hang his hat on.

If that was it.

It was terrible quarterback play up until then, until those two guys were there.

And you know, there's so many countless examples of Elik Neighbors.

Last year outstanding season.

Who the hell was throwing him the football?

Tommy DeVito a couple of games like if you're a number one, like a dog dog, you get yours, you just do, and Pickens never did.

It's a derivative that we talked about yesterday with you know, about the quarterbacks, and people made, you know, always making it, well, he's playing for the Bears, or he's playing for you know, whatever, the Jets or who you know, Zach Wilson, he's played for the Jets or whatever it might be.

And when justin fields is how we reference it to begin with.

And you know, and Caleb but like I said, ce D Stroud came in and the Texans were a dumpter fire for several years there and we're still pick him the finish last this rookie year and in the convision he was And the same thing with you know, and some of the I think maybe running backs, you could say that the.

Scheme that the offensive it can affect them, no doubt, that can definitely.

And you've seen plenty of examples over the years where a backup and keeps the same production or whatever it might be, or the free agent leaves and goes to a team it's not as good, or or a team that is has a better situation for him.

But generally, yeah, the receivers number one receive is going to be wide open.

Even a bad NFL quarterback should be able to complete five passes to the new game.

So, and I've been watching last night.

I did underscore a lot more how much of an upgrade the stee Wars did make it Wide receiver one, no doubt.

So even if wide receiver two still is your question mark, and I think objectively across the roster it probably is the biggest.

And I'm about to you know, you can talk yourself into it, but I certainly think that they're so much better served with the John new Smith and with with the better water receiver one, and of course quarterback and everything else around.

And I get I don't know, I'd say that yesterday that the gain well, maybe I'm overplaying it, but I'm really excited to see gain well in the passing game.

And maybe they'll do nothing at all, And I look stupid saying that.

No, I'm with you on it, but I think there will be something there where he'll be part of part of the passing game.

If you look stupid on it.

Now look stupid with you, because I think Gainwell will be a big part of this game.

When we come back, we're gonna unveil our Totem pull of confidence.

It's very exciting, it's huge, it's massive, fairly fits into the studio right now.

Yeah, I don't know.

It's like the Christmas tree when it starts to bend over at the top because it's still high.

It's the same thing there.

So we'll do that when we come back.

It's KRISA.

Dampski, It's Tom Opferman, It's the Steelers Blitz on the Steelers Audio Network.

Back here on the Steelers Blitz with Tom Opferman and Kris Sadamski.

All right, it's time for us to lay down our level of confidence in each position group offensively and defensively.

It's time for our Totem pole of confidence.

We have a giant totem pole here in the studio.

It's huge.

We're gonna slap a sticker onto each level based on radio props like very it's it's creating a visual and it's like carrat Top lives inside of the studio to be honest with you, but no one can see it at the bottom.

Let's start with offense at the bottom.

My least confident group is going to be the wide receiver room.

I'm confident in Dee, but I just the depth concerns me.

If DK goes down, there's just no one that can step up and be that number one for a couple of games right now.

No offense to Wilson, no offense to Austin.

That just ain't who they are, and that's probably not who they'll ever be if they become the greatest version of themselves in the NFL.

So that to me is the least confident group that I'm rolling with here on offense because I just I see that injury coming.

You know, it happened last year with Pickens and we saw what just completely derailed the offense.

I worry that something happens to DK and their passing game just goes to shambles.

Yeah, I don't.

It's it would be almost shocking to say any other group, and that's almost number five.

Yeah, it's a compliment to the other position groups, and it's and I you know, yeah, DK, I mean it's probably the best since I mean, I don't think it's any doubt the best receiver since Antonio Brown one the Steelers, which is which is good.

It's obviously a good I can't believe you would say that about Juju Smith Housday team.

With t M v P H give you do that.

But it's and you know, and I love Calvin Austin as a person.

I like him as a player, But if he's your I think you're really cooking with gas.

If he's like if like an ideal world even like a four like you're preaching to the choir.

Yeah, like and it's great.

It's just it's just like, that's what what kind of stinks about is if they did somehow by hook or crook get that that that other receiver just everything fits together so perfectly, then you know, Bruman Wilson could be you know, situationally, and Calvin Oscun be such a great you know, I don't say gadget, but that would be part of it.

The gadget plays this.

Then John Smith becomes a huge X factor.

Yeah, and the tight ends in general and just become even more useful.

And it's just like they just missing something.

Yeah, and and and every team has there as you know, just the nature of salary cad nature of sport, nature of roster building.

And it's like, but if you had that one extra guy every you'd feels so much better about everything with the off.

But they might be my number one in this little exercise here, they might be at the top of the totem pole if they had a legitimate number two, Like I'd be the most confident.

You teasing the top we even we gotta get the scaffolding up yet and the ladder.

I'm just saying, I'm just proving your point, damn it, Chris, about how it's like right on that edge there where it's like, if they just had that person, you feel so good about that.

Yeah, you're right, You're right.

Everything everyone's in place except for number two.

Yeah, and it would just every bit because people would slot perfectly in the roles.

I feel like, So you have people kind of playing out of the role now, and and well, you know, as much as you know the Roman Wilson thing, you could, you can you can look at the perspective that you haven't maybe you know, we haven't seen him play in regular season games, and maybe we'll see it.

And Aaron Rodgers has been caught out of his way and I don't know enough about Rogers, but he's telegraphing or not if it's like his way of of you know, the old like motivation, like some players need a pat in the backs on me to slap and slap in the butt or whatever you say.

And maybe that's it.

I don't know.

If he's gone out of his way multily.

What do you say he can be a special receiver.

He's targeting Roban Wilson over and yeah, over again.

So we'll see if if that and and you know, you know, you'd like what you saw in college when it was the draft picked.

You know, I think everybody liked in terms of he could be uh you know, but again again a great number three is but everybody probably thought I think so too.

So even if that happens, then you're still lucky that door too.

And Austin we saw growth.

I think he's probably I'm more bullish on him than I was maybe after I mean, he misses rookie york Is of injury and and I always thought he'd be a nice piece for an offense because if that speed is something for sure, and we've seen him make big, big catches, can he pick it and.

Lost he makes good plays in the pie return game too, return touchdown point.

Yeah.

Yeah, so there's not there's enough there, But I just don't know, you know, there there's not even I mean, Scotty Miller at this point is who he is in his career, which is fine again as a number four or whatever, four or five.

Sure, yeah, and I think he'll probably you know, he's had a lot of overpoort with Rogers.

But yeah, it's just it's just if you're ranking a month through five, you gotta get the totem pole.

It's got to be at the bottom.

Right on top of that, I'm gonna go with the offensive line.

It needs to be at the top by the end of the year because I think if they're gonna have any success, this thing has to gel and they have to realize their potential now.

But until I see them realize that potential, I'm still going to doubt.

And you know, we had a really good preseason in training camp with these two left, with these two tackles, Broderc moving to left and Fetanu at right.

But I got to see it in a full sixty minute game first before I'm ready to exhale completely and say Proderc's gonna make this switch, okay, And they are right about Fotanu.

This guy's a stud.

So I'm a little bit nervous still, so I'll put them at four.

But I'm not, you know, overly concerned about it.

I'm not.

Just it's five and then a big gap between the rest of the units on the defense wide receiver is the one that I'm extra, extra extra concerned.

Now do you want I have a line at three.

My fourth is the running back, that's my three, so we're yeah, yeah, but it's really the same, and it's symbiotic relationship exactly.

Yeah, Yeah, it's yeah.

And you could talk me into either one of them.

I just feel like there's there's still and for all.

I think it was the right moodal naugy go.

I think they're need to.

I think they're better off without them.

I'm Caleb Johnson came out like Gangbusters over OTAs in the first like two or three practices.

Then the pads came on.

I don't know if that's coincidence or not.

I don't I think it's a coincidence.

I don't think it necessarily like, oh, we can't play in the pads.

But I think around that time then I'm a lot more question.

I don't know how much we might not see.

He might even get a couple two.

You might only play, you know, eight to ten snaps in week one is kind of my prediction.

So and and maybe down the road he still is, you know, great, but I have I said my questions.

I need to see it first.

Jalen Warren is is excellent for playing half the snaps and if you deploy him correctly.

So there's still questions to me about you know, if you talked about the believe the Bote constrictor if that if the Steelers do take that early lead, they would say they actually do get a first drive.

I've touchdown and got fourteen to nothing.

Is Jalen Warren able to do what Nage did in terms of carry it twenty two times and even if you only gained eighty four yards and there's twenty two if it's what you need.

I don't know if he's the guy necessarily that that that.

We haven't never seen him do that again.

So until you see it out there, I have questioned marks and like that's excited I am about gaining Well, he's you know he's gonna be still kind of a you know, a bit player in the offense.

So I the offensive line, I feel the reason I feel a little bit more confident with it is, I mean, they've devoted this is the time to shine, right, it's put up I don't say put up or shut up time.

But they devoted all these resources, all these high draft picks and signing, sayem the biggest garden free agent, biggest free agent guard to contract two years ago, three years ago, now, three seasons ago.

They voted all the all the you have what two first round picks, a second round pick and and a fourth round pick, And if.

You know that that look like, I mean they should be good.

Yes, that's what he's saying all offseason is like the outcome that should happen is that they're a good offensive line.

These are first round picks, a second round pick.

Like, we shouldn't be surprised that they pan out.

We shouldn't be like, oh man, that the surprise should be if they bust, that should be like, oh crap, how did that happen?

But it feels like more people are kind of expecting not a bust, but like this is going to be a bit of a struggle, and I don't know how good they're really going to be when the expectation should absolutely be they should be a top fifteen, top ten offensive line sooner or not later.

And it's also the whole second year jump thing that Tom One always talks about it.

That's just natural, right, they're ascending.

They're all still young enough and still in their experienced tracks in the NFL.

It's crazy say, i'malu still has significantly more games played in the other four combined, and it starts and everything the other four combined, so they were still in what we saw.

It wasn't like they were.

It was a bad offensive line last year, right, And you're adding Fatanu, which by all in occasion again, I mean, I guess I'm sort of conducting myself that I'm saying, I need to see it out of Ruin Wilson.

I need to see it out of Jayn Warren being a you know, in every down type back whatever I might.

But but Fatanu, I just feel like I'm just like the coaches are just infatuated and nambored with.

Them, and that's how ye.

So it's got to be something there.

Yeah, So if I feel confident that that's you know, I guess there'd be an upgrade over Dan Moore, depending how you want to define you know, the starter.

You know, I know you're moving in.

So Broderick is I think everybody believes.

I mean Zach Fraser.

I don't think he's going to be any sort of We know he's not going to be a bust, right, I mean, at worst, maybe he play.

I guess there's a fear he could platau, I guess or something, or maybe be like the conninventing version of this this year.

Last year, we thought he'd really take off.

I think that's what the expectation is and what you expect, and you know, maybe you have to wait to see it play out.

I think Mason McCormick is going to be the letter day, Ramon Foster be a starting guard for a decade.

You know, to think about it, just meet potatoes.

You might want to make a pro Bowl, might not whatever, But he'll be fine, and he's good for the room, and he's good.

You know, make good money.

Yeah.

Yeah, he'll get a nice second country.

I certainly will.

So I think you can feel secure in those things.

So I mean the X and say I'm all loose.

Injury situation is is something to watch.

He and Away has sneaky become the most concerning part of that offense.

You thought it was Broderick, and maybe it still is Proderick, But I don't know that injury is can.

I think Spencer Anderson's pretty solid though, if he does have to play behind him.

Is your number two group quarterbacks?

Yes?

And then number one is the tight ends?

Yeah.

I mean the tight ends are just it's maybe the best tight end room top to the bottom in football.

I mean, I don't know a team that can go down to their third tight end and boast the talent that the Steelers do with Darnell Washington.

So I think that was pretty obvious.

And I like that you're as confident as the quarterbacks as I am, or the quarterback as I am, because I think he's going to have a pretty good year Chris.

I think if he stays healthy and if the line, as we were just talking about, can protect him, I think he's going to be more effective than he was in New York.

I just I get this weird vibe that he's going to have that kind of last renaissance.

If you will to his career.

He's going to write that final chapter more appropriately than it's been written recently in the two years in New York.

Yeah, and this might be almost you know, damning with praise or whatever that this phrase I'm trying to stay is with faint praise, Yeah, something like that.

But I don't I fully expect him to give this seehers the best sustained full season other than Mason Rudolf's three games.

I think of quarterback places twenty eighteen, which is wild to say seven years, but if the twenty nineteen was Ben got hurt and you had to you had young Mason and the doc and you and then the twenty twenty Ben was when he started to become flip it out to the.

Yeah so weird.

Yeah, And then it's certainly twenty twenty one that was what that was the quarterback play and you know, and then we.

Moved fin ye yeah, yeah, and it was and it was fine and.

They made the playoffs, but it was it was definitely a there was a dyantasism was missing from the passing game in that last Ben year.

And then I went on and talk about mister Bisky and and you know, and as much as know that story like the Kenny Pickett store.

I don't need to go down.

Don't do this to pit.

Uh but uh, there's three games a Mason Rudolph were our the best quarterback play we've probably seen here.

And it's crazy to think that if you could.

But I just went through it, and I, you know, maybe Russ Wilson for a couple of games, you know here and there, but I'm talking about if he plays the whole seventeen games.

I don't think it's unreasonable back that you have the best quarterback play and maybe I'll you know it, it's definitely you know, it's no slam Donke.

He's forty one years old.

He's coming off his worst statistical year, certainly, and when when lost record year he's had.

So it's with the the stense of the Jets, though, but it's but I still feel confident, you know that that you're gonna have a good, good enough quarterback play out of him.

For sure.

I do too.

We'll switch over to the defensive side of the ball when we come back, and that's appropriate because after we establish the total pull of confidence on defense, I want to talk about that defensive line too, and how important their performance is going to be in this game.

On Sunday, it's Chris Damski's Tom Offerman, It's the Steelers Blitz on the Steelers Audio Network.