Well that was a swift kick to the Gonads.

No one drew up the home opener that way.

Seahawks thirty one, Steelers seventeen.

You know, a damn ski from the trib.

My co host here on the Steelers Blitz, Tom Opfreman on the Steelers Audio Network, Chris, if they you tell me two weeks ago, three weeks ago, they're gonna be one in one after their first two games, I think I'd take it right.

I'd be like, yeah, okay, I might theorize that you stub your toe right out of the gate up in New York against the Jets on the road, and then you come back pissing vinegar and you get out there and you beat the Seahawks up in.

Your home opener.

So you know, let's start by saying it's just one loss, Pittsburgh, and I know it gotta Jet the way that that loss played out, it's just one.

And your quarterback even said something to the same effect after the game, when he was like, this is the league man, and he doesn't even have that twang about him every time, like he's just so cool.

It's the league man.

It's up and down.

So no reason whatsoever to hit the panic button at all.

But Chris, you as a fan in your mind create these paths to the seat through the season.

And you're going, yeah, go one to one here and you know, probably lose this game.

But then you get to the game and it's like, oh, you should have won that game, and it still hurts you, even though you might have been expecting.

You'll be about five hundred headed into New England.

So again, it's not a huge deal.

It's not like the sky is falling.

This team could still win ten games.

This team could still go to the wild card very easily.

But that was just a tough, tough way to go down in a game that was pretty winnable.

I would say, you.

Have a lead in the second half at home, you know you're you're up by a touchdown in the third quarter.

Enough said, right, Yes, no.

Matter what the almost, what the circumtances of our what opponent is, or whatever it is, that's a winnable game.

Obviously, that's a game you like to be able to hold on to the lead in the second half.

Now there's things you can break down about the game, of course.

There.

I guess you could use the term you'd be lucky they were, they were fortunate to have the lead in the third quarter.

The way the first half.

Played out definitely was one of those where you're like.

A game, you know what I mean, and watching the game flow, you're like, oh, the Steelers are by a touchdown.

It's almost like you wouldn't even have thought that by watching it play by play, even.

When you were down by just a score or less than a score, you were like, I can't believe we're in this game.

At some points, like Seattle's doing us just as much of a favor, and that first half, Seattle's offense was not doing anything at all other than the first.

Drive and the turnovers.

You're you're plusing the turnover if you're the steel there, Donald Donald seemed he was making some good throws and they were making some third down conversions, but then he has the you know, the two interceptions also contributes in terms of the how the Steelers were in the game, and then you know, it's kind of like Donald being Donald almost there's kind of like, you know, Browns of the Browns or something like that that you know, Donald over the except for last season, uh just kind of has a has a history of that.

And It's like we had first half Donald Jets, you know, Norman, and then we had second half Donald Vikings with Kevin O'Connell because Chris.

Other than that first drive, which we'll get to that, I mean, you can't start that way for the defense.

Interception, missfield goal, punt, interception punt.

I mean that looks their drives in the first half, so the defense didn't allow them to you know, jump out to some crazy leave even though the team the Steelers were really just stuck in neutral in that first half and that carried over throughout the second half sometimes too.

It was and getting two splash plays from the defense the way Jaylen rams interception, which is which is part of the formula I think for the Steelers, and an interception or a you know, interception caused by the pass rush however you want tournament almost credit Cam Hayward as much for that one, and herbig of course made the play actually, but having the splash play from the pass rush and from the secondary each that's a formula I think for the Steelers, yes, to win.

So you got both of those things and you have a goal to go situation in the third quarter to take the lead, and of course that happens, and it's almost I don't say flukey, but it wasn't if it was a Aaron Rodgers bad pass or something.

It was I mean, Calvinators, Kevin Anderson, well, Calvin Austin took fell on.

The sword as he apparently should have.

Aaron Rodgers pointed out to and everybody, he said, I scrambled drill, which is something that I don't think I wouldn't even have known, you know what the what the responsibility is in the scrambled drill.

But apparently Calvin Austin said, I did the wrong thing.

I was supposed to stay at the goal line and I didn't.

I tried to make a play on a ball that wasn't for me.

And as you said, Rogers said that yes he did.

It wasn't exactly Mike Williams because a lot with Cal's a great best friend, basically Henie out there.

But and I didn't even see at that point.

I don't know if Rodgers had talked yet or not, but I talking to Calvin Austin he said, yeah, I shouldn't have done that.

I know I know better than that.

And uh so that so it wasn't flukey.

But yes, that that little mental gap.

It's crazy, how how big that you mean, how they do scrambled drew all the time?

Right they wrapped that.

I said, I don't first didn't know that Austin made the air there, but they he knew it.

They knew it, they rep it.

They know what they're doing, and it's just something that he's trying to make a play there and he you know, pass defends him to from his own player to the opponent.

And that might have been a big turning point in the game itself.

I mean, it's seven points that the Steelers, oh yeah, could have gotten after.

Their biggest splash play of the game with Jalen Warren just pinballing his way down the field.

I mean, Kyle Brandt, I think the scepter should be coming to Pittsburgh this week for angry runs.

Good lord.

Yeah, although Skatibo is his.

Buddy and gave it to him in week one and he had another amazing run this week.

I mean Warren I one of the I think certainly the positive from the offense was that Warren I feel as good about him being a featured back every some of his powerful runs on first down after contact type runs of course that was a reception, but that splash play was all based on the yards after the catch.

Yeah, so there was a lot of for me Warren showing perhaps certainly with thought because it's only game games ever play without Naugy Harris, but without Naugy or showing in terms of his being a quote unquote first and second down or feature back however you want to put it.

If Steewards did get a lead and I would have had.

A lead for a while in that game, that I would have felt more comfortable in the future when they get a lead, that more can be that the closer or whatever you want to call it.

The Naugy Harris, the element that you missed of that you think you might miss out of Nagy not be in here.

So that's part of the biggest positive on offense.

But that might be the only parts.

It might be one of the only ones.

Now you labeled the interception where Calvin Austin did the wrong thing as a mental gaff.

Clearly that's the biggest mental gaff in this game, right, there was no other laps in Gudger here.

Yea.

So we're like seven minutes in and we haven't mentioned what Caleb Johnson did.

And I bet people are at the radio and be like, what are you doing, like just to talk about that, But I did that purposefully.

And we'll get to Caleb Johnson probably in the second segment.

They lost this game in so many other ways than just his rookie mistake, and all bold underlined and rookie when it comes to that, because that was one of the bigger rookie mistakes ever.

The tribute to Barry Foster.

I saw everybody on the X timeline, Barry Foster, Barry Foster, Barry Foster, Barry Foster.

Somebody your age?

You did you were you familiar with that?

I wasn't even alive when it happened.

I mean I was a younger, I remember, and I did.

I saw it yesterday a lot.

In my mind, I was young enough watching it.

I remember distinctly remember watching alive.

I didn't understand because in my mind, I mean, but I was like eight or whatever.

That wasn't Barry Foster's age.

And I was like, oh, cause, I'm thinking a punt, a punt.

I've seen enough punts and kickoffs at that, you know whatever.

That's what I remember saying.

I distinctly remember that for some reason, watching that very Foster game and your dad.

Just spitting mad for some reason, like why is that so angry?

Why does he keep rumbling?

I could have done that to himself get to go down the ball.

So that was very remissing a rookie, rookie mid round picked running back, and Barry Foster became a NFL what leading rusher became Marry Foster.

So to hear from rush for fifteen hinde yards, I'll forget about this right.

It'll be a footnote and a funny little thing you look back on.

But yeah, that was, uh, you see you saw that.

I don't know from the press box, I don't know what there.

And the announcers if I watched it on I've seen, I've seen.

I guess I've seen the clip replay.

Yeah, and the announcers notes, you're watching on TV, I imagine what you're thinking.

I'm like, that needs to be And I thought maybe the momentum of the ball was more than I thought, in case it would just get to the end zone and go back of the out.

And he knew what he was doing to a point.

No, the kinger was almost apoplectic on the broadcast, so he was like, someone's got to get on it.

Like he was immediately like I know the rule up here with the headset on.

Yeah, that's tough, and we'll get to it.

But again, that wasn't the reason why they lost the game.

It didn't not help.

It made it a two score game for Seattle, and then the Steelers really had to start chasing a game in which their offense was just not clicking at any point.

But there were just so many other areas that I point to first and foremost, and that happening.

The run defense was again below the line.

I mean, there were improvements I guess you could say from the Jets game to this game, but you still had a team go over one hundred yards rushing.

You still had a team that averaged four yards per carry, so you know they were at least having on average successful downs running the football.

You had some chunk plays from Kenneth Walker in that offense as well, and Chris just like Week one, even though you were able to overcome it, you had pass protection problems.

Your forty one year old quarterback just got hit way too much and got sacked three more times.

He's got seven sacks on his body already in just two games.

So you know, I look at those two things first and foremost as the main ingredients to a home opener loss is you didn't protect your quarterback and the short stuff was not working as effectively, because frankly, I think Seattle's a better defense.

They were tackling the catch a lot better, they were schemed up a lot better than the Jets were, and they get a lot more pass pressure on the quarterback than the Jets did, although the Jets did a pretty good job in that department last or two weeks ago in Week one.

So you know that we talked about sustainability last week and can you get that from Rogers more.

Often than not this year?

And we reached the obvious conclusion, no, you will not if protection doesn't improve, and protection did not improve at all in this game.

And then again running stopping the run on defense, just cutting that head off the snake.

You weren't able to do that successfully.

And you allow the Seahawks to do what they're comfortable with, right Chris.

They sill a fullback out there like ninety nine percent of the time, like they want to run the football very Sam Donald in Seattle isn't gonna be Viking, Sam Donald, spread it out.

We're gonna throw the ball all over the field.

This is now a We're gonna control everything.

I'm not gonna try to turn the ball over.

You know, if I could throw two touchdown passes a game, that'd be perfect and will win on the back of our defense in a strong running game.

It's it's a throwback kind of of offense and a throwback kind of style.

It's kind of Steelers this year in a way.

So that's what they want.

To do, and they were able to do that successfully enough to keep their offense on schedule.

And then Sam Darnell makes some big plays, so you know, I start with those two things right there.

The first drive of the game even was disappointing because it was again, yeah, it was the same.

It was the same cut of feel, and you get a touchdown, allow a touchdown.

It was wide open at the end of it.

But even up to that point, there were two third down, third and long conversions during that drive.

Right off the bat.

You had a thirteen yard run by Kenneth Walker during that drive.

First, at least the first play wasn't eighteen.

Yards so so they get him in third and six right away.

Yeah, yeah, they stopped the run.

They stopped the run.

One yard towels are going crazy, right Yeah.

We had a whole week of emphasizing the defense, and these guys hurt it and they were mad and they weren't just paying lip service, and they came out there and they're gonna put up in this game.

This is going to be that elite Steelers defense.

And then you get a nice little three yard past the cup whatever you're in third and six, Donald hits a fifteen yard pass to Jackson Smith and Jigba gets him into Pittsburgh territory.

Then that very next play was that thirteen yard run that you reference from Kenneth Walker.

So that's mojo right there.

Right now.

That offense is starting to feel themselves, and you know they.

Just then there were two again.

You got a third and ten after that, stuff them pikes like you feel good.

He's stuff them twice.

Then it's a twelve yard pass for a first down two Jackson Smith and Jigba, which which we said all week.

He he's going to Jackson Smith and Jigba.

There's no one else really, oh except for the next play where there was nothing else and Tory Horton, the rookie cut the touchdown.

So yeah, third down was a huge issue for the Steelers defense, and it turned out that that first drive ended up being a bit of a premonition for the game on how they'd handle third downs.

Yeah, that's what I mean.

It's it's consistency there because even in that first drive there two carries for no game on one for one yard.

Okay, you're feeling good, Jayalen Ramsey on that first passing play makes another one of those hits sort of.

I mean it was a catch, but it was what a three yard catch to top Yeah, and he stuck and it was like the crowds going, and you know t J.

Watt talked last week about or Cam Hayward talked about it too, about that energy that the Ramsey brings with those types of hits even and it was just a short gain and a catch.

So then you all of a sudden you feel like you're cooking with gas.

And then two third, the third medium, the third third and six is roughly third and long at least a third medium certainly not a you feel as a defense, you don't have to feel there, and a third and ten later on, and then the wide open play after that, So that did not that was not of And again another team that hadn't scored.

They had been longer than the Steelers had been so last week scoring a touchdown the first drive, it would have been their streak of non doing that.

So sort of deflating there.

But again you end up having a lead later in the third quarter.

But I guess you could say that.

I mean the run defense where there are four carries in this game of at least ten yards or at least thirteen yards after the Jets had what six carries of at least twelve yards, So I guess you could say there at least some of the splash was there.

But one of those carries was a touchdown at Kenneth Walker.

We talked about the other Kenneth Walker long run.

There was a twenty yard run by Kenneth Walker.

Another point crazy how Kenneth Walker he had what fewer than twenty yards the whole game last week against the forty nine ers, and Charbonnay was more of their more effective back in there.

Yeah, and I was wondering if that was a bit of an anomaly and it proved to be that in this game, Walker just says it's the better back, you know, higher pedigree, seems to be the guy they want to kind of flow this offense through.

Wo Charbonet is just a good compliment.

Really, Sharon Fife, If Sharpay had more touches than Kenneth Walker, I didn't realize that.

Fifty carries for ten yards.

That shows you how impactful Sharbeny was versus Walker.

But Walker's impact was undeniable in the game.

Yeah, he ended up with one hundred and eighteen yards of one hundred and five rushing and one catch for thirteen yards.

So he got one hundred yards rushing.

Huh yeah in thirteen carries.

Yeah, so that's he had five touches that at least ten yards from your running back, one of them back to back weeks.

Now, Yeah, and that's it.

You get the rush touchdown too.

So yeah, there wasn't I mean, you didn't have the plus one element.

And I just like that term talent saying the plus one element.

We talked about that last week.

It should be easier on you because there's no plus one so.

Pretty much if you subtract that, I don't know if it was any better.

I mean the numbers were a little bit better.

There wasn't the splot one of those splash carries from or the explosive runs of ten yards that that's kind of a benchmark there one justin Fields had one of them last week.

So if you subtract the quarterback runs, it's almost like a mirror image performance.

You just subtract the quarterback yards from last week.

In terms of the rushing yards, it was fewer rushing yards this week, but there was no quarterback rushing and a lot of plays over the middle from Sam Darnold to a lot of passes that, yes, you know, is that becoming a concern?

I mean Fields had a lot of a decent amount of those last week.

I think eight of his sixteen last week were over the middle from Fields last week.

I think it's concerning because you have coverage linebackers, right, Like, if your linebackers are going to be deficient in stopping the run, which they are, they got to be great at coverage.

They themselves they're great in coverage, and they haven't been in the first two weeks.

Like they're they're.

Clearly a like to your point, Chris, like the Jets did it last week and that they made a point this week to attack the middle, especially on third down.

So like they're seeing on film, like this is our attack point in this defense is the middle, and.

That's you know, Shaun Elliet is not there, Okay, I mean he's a guy.

There's a deterrent.

Yeah, So that's probably you could say you're starting strong safety hasn't played the last game and a half or game in.

Three whatever it is.

Game fair thing to say, So that might be that's part of it.

But supposed you know, they build up, they're supposed to have depth in the secondary.

It's supposed to be.

You know, the Peppers didn't play on defense at all, and you know, maybe just because you just showed up five days ago whatever, Chuck Clark played what every snap I.

Think, Yeah, Peppers didn't get on the field.

That was something he played specials.

So yeah, so Clark, you're supposed to be.

That's where you're supposed to be deepest.

That's where you're you're supposed to have the On paper, Queen and Wilson are supposed to be dynamic or supposed to be, you know, impact players in the middle of your field.

There in the middle of your defense.

They both left with injuries at some point too.

I don't know if that effected, but it maybe affect him later.

It was crazy the see where's already down an inside linebacker from last week and Malie Harrison's on ir and at one point there both it was it was like a revolving door.

Queen was in the tent getting looked at, and then Peyton Wilson was on the field get looked at and walked over the tent and was like, this is this is getting this attrition?

I mean, how many players of this years here had four defensive players go off the field at some point.

Two of them are walking boots after the game.

Uh, you know the high high Smith.

Now we'll see and it's very early.

I don't think anything reported.

I haven't heard anything yet definitive about it that that looks early indications are a Loudermilk might be a longer term thing for sure.

High Smith might not be long term, but even if it's a game or two, that might be something.

It was good to see Jack Sawyer make a play and make a get, especially pass rushing.

Whereas you know the book on him is his strengths against the run, so that was good to see.

I thought he played a really good game.

I thought he might have been one of the better definitely defenders.

He had two tackles for loss too, like he.

Had an impact for sure definitely.

Hey, Jack, I don't know if you notice, but Alex Heismith's ankle is hurting again, So I think you're gonna need to step up a little bit more.

As far as your playing time is concerned.

It'll be Herbig first, though.

Herberg first, but as we've talked about, although again he made a play in pass rushing too, so they seem to compliment each other well, her Big and Sawyer.

And I saw a few times where her Big, Sawyer, and Watt were on the field at the same time, and in fact, the sack that Sawyer had, all three of them were out there to gain.

I didn't even pick up on that yet, so that that is something yet that that happened more.

I wanted to see the breakdown of how many snaps that happened.

Is that a function?

I don't think that's a function of you know, Derek Harmer not being available.

It could be part of it maybe, but I think there's even like a quote unquote six man front there for a player too, depending how you define it.

And it seemed, you know, everything's fluid now where one of those guys is usually almost kind of playing in the middle of the defense, is kind of almost taking a role as an inside linebacker when they'd line up that way.

But I thought even one time they almost had the three edged players.

They had quote unquote outside linebackers and three defensive linemen on a field for plays.

And part of that might be the function.

You're playing a team that is playing a full back, which won't happen very too often.

I don't think it'll happen again, might I mean the forty nine ers use a fullback that they're not the schedule this year.

I don't even think like the rail much of the Ravens are our.

Forty nine ers use a fullback.

But you chicks different than that dude.

That dude's Dan Krider.

Like that dude's like the old school, like I'm just another guy blocking.

He's kind of rakardish, but he's more traditional fullback.

We're not, whereas the Ravens just said, we're going to put a right guard in our backfield and call it a full back.

That's kind of like it used to bother me again to date myself.

I guess although Mike Alstott would go to the Pro Bowl every single year because he was a full back, but he was essentially their feature.

Was a running back.

Yeah yeah, I mean he was big, and I guess they listed him as full back.

What a beast.

But I mean he was a ball carrier.

I mean he was essentially their tailback or their half back or running back or however you wanted to find it then.

But that's neither here nor there.

He had to use a full back in the old sense of actual where he's the lead blocker and line them up and still, you know you do that twenty one personnel and the running backs that you're in the running game used the full back an extra blockers.

It's certainly something different, but so that might be part of the game plan for that or whatever.

By the way, Cole Holcom getting back on defense another kind of landmark for him, or a milestone for him, I should say, coming back from a significant injury.

Just getting on the field was you.

Know, making the team or not, you know, being able to practice was one milestone.

I don't want to overplay or talk about too much.

But that was something that people thought his career might be over for sure.

That was definitely a fear.

And and him to gradually get himself back, take a practice last year, take a full part in camp, then getting in the game and special teams, getting a preseason, all these kind of milestones.

To see him on defense is a good little story because there was reason to believe his his career might have been over after his terrible knee injury in twenty twenty three.

Yeah, a little upticking snaps this week two for him.

He had thirteen defensive snaps and he's going to be a big time special teams contributor throughout the season.

We didn't even really touch on pass protection.

We were focused a lot on the defensive side of the ball.

There.

Do we spare Caleb Johnson for another segment, Yeah, I think we do.

Let's talk about pass protection.

It's just such a problem for that offense and it really wasn't allowing them to find any rhythm, allowing them to get any splash plays.

Yesterday.

We'll talk about that next.

It's the Steelers Blitz tom op Froman and Chris Adamski on the Steelers Audio Network.

Well, I'm not right all the time, Chris, but I think I was pretty spot on, and you were spot on, and shoot, pretty much everybody who gets paid to talk about the Steelers and football for a living was spot on.

And they said, this is a good pass rush from the Seattle Seahawks.

They're going to get a lot of pressure on Aaron Rodgers in this game, and that's exactly how it played out.

I think that was one of the main themes of this football game is just Rogers was under duress again, wasn't able to overcome it.

They were trying to do a lot of short stuff still.

Because you just can't get anybody downfield, and that wasn't working.

Seattle did a much better job tackling the catch in this game.

That was probably an emphasis from the coaching staff this week for Seattle showing dk metcalf against the Jets and all the yards after catch they were able to get and saying we have to avoid this and if we do, I don't think this passing game is going to be very effective.

So kind of played out exactly how I was worried it would play out, and.

The protection of Aaron Rodgers was just below the line again.

But let's start here, Chris, because the offensive line needs to be better as far as just straight up pass.

Protection is concerned.

But once again, not able to establish a running game in an ineffective running game.

And that's the other thing we talked about.

If you have a shaky offensive line and you're going up against one of the best pass rushes in the NFL, which Seattle is run the football.

You can't rush the passer if they're not passing.

So keep that defense respecting the run all game long.

Make that kind of your focal point of the offense, and I think you would have had a lot more success on certain downs, play action rogers, drop it back and shotgun and he'd have a little bit more time to operate because they're not just you know, pinning their earback and getting Rogers.

But there was just not an effectiveness to the running game.

Once again, there was no reason for Seattle to worry about it.

It was kind of just a hey, keep in mind, stop the run if they go to the run, but just kind of do your job there and then it's back to rushing the passer and trying to get this old man on the ground.

I mean, he got sacked three times.

That's less than the Jets game.

But he got hit one more time than the Jets game.

Eight quarterback hits for Seattle and seven for the Jets game.

So I mean, he's just getting He's taking a beating right now.

An all off season, all training camp, it was make sure that guy stays upright.

The key, one of the biggest keys to this season is making sure that Aaron Rodgers stays healthy.

You're not gonna see Aaron Rodgers stay healthy much longer if he can, and he used to take this much abuse.

Right now, he next gen stats has the lowest average completed air yard, so his completed passes of all quarterbacks in the NFL have gone fewer yards down the field, exact less deep down the field, shallower down the field, hover you would have put it and using English like I can't do than any other quarterback in the league.

Which and by the way, how about that throw he made as a forty one year old on the run.

Speaking of being on the run, he threw that ball and that could have been caught.

It was like sixty yards in the air.

Do you remember what I'm talking It was the first quarter he scrambled out to the right, and he almost looked like it almost threw from his hip.

Although you do watch it, it's almost as if that's all impressive too.

That he was running not a full speed, but he was being chased and he cocked up his arm and threw this bullet as he scrambled right to I believe it was Friarmuth.

It's one of the tight ends way downfield and it was from his own thirty he was at standing at and it landed like at the twenty five of the like, but it was in it, yes, and he he Friedmuth could have made that.

It would have been an amazing play anyway, just shows his arm strength.

I'm getting at, Chris, and then I've got two more examples to back you up there.

The pass he completed to Friarmouth was a dazzler, I mean down the sideline.

Yeah, it's right.

I think one of the.

Most impressive low key passes of the game, though, was the one to Jalen Warren that he took sixty five yards.

I know it didn't travel downfield, Chris, but he was running to his left.

He turned his body, flicked that wrist and then led Jalen Warren into it kind of on his inside hip.

That was just an insane spectacle of body control and arm strength, all of the above.

So, yeah, the arm talent is still there, but he can't throw the ball down field very often because he's forty one years old and has no time.

Yeah's you're not taking advantage of one of his assets.

I mean, we know he's known as I mean, Russell Wilson was led to al rightly, not the Steelers.

I've had him now that a deep heat that the hail Mary's he's had over his career.

He could do those type of things, and to have him have lowest completed like I talked about last week, that was a fear after watching Game one for Steelers fans and reminds you of Ben Roethlisbergers last year with the entire offense was just like slowly, it was like it's like a it's painful like struggle, Like they could get there a lot of times and they were still winning enough games, but it was just every drive you just have to almost be art.

That's been talked about this last week last season a lot, and it was a good point.

I never really thought of it framed this way.

I mean, it makes sense.

It's just it's just obvious, but that if you're not getting splash plays, big plays, more can go every time you throw that the old Woody Hayes saying that you throw the ball, three things could happen.

Two of them are bad.

Right, there's a risk every time you have you have to run a play.

If you can score on a seventy yard play, then there's no rit that's one play.

There's something to go wrong if you have to score a twelve yard drive, a fumble, whatever it might be, a twelvela a play makes up bats, a ball down, or whatever it might be.

That there's all these bad things that can happen.

So you almost have to be more perfect if you don't have splash plays or big type plays.

And if you're throwing to the shortest degree downfield of any quarterback in the league, that's hamstringing you.

And that's not because Aaron Rodgers can't do it.

That's why I started this whole discussion by referencing that play that he made through a ball sixty yards in the target.

It's that he was on the run doing that, so but he couldn't even still imagine if he had time to set up and the design a play that was going to go deep downfield, and that's a whole those arrows in his quiver?

Is that the right word?

The quivering?

See?

I like introducing these words, or at least referencing these words.

I don't think you can take credit for introducing the word cliver introduce things not the right word.

It just made up a new word, Tom.

It's called cliver.

Really, yes, it's not like not the one with your lips yes or something anyway.

Yeah, So that that that is missing from it, and I don't know what how.

The running game is a part of it for sure, and Jalen Warren still doesn't have as much as I've been complimenting, and I think rightly so is his bigger plays were in the in the receiving game.

He does doesn't have a carry of at least ten yards this season.

Steelers only have one all season long so far in two games.

That is again the free first downs.

How many times Kenneth Walker got them a thirteen yard carry the first and ten or there were carries like that and the Jets did that too the week before.

It's I don't say it's almost like free again.

You're you're not risking much.

You get a running play of that you're going down the field, and the Steelers haven't had that yet.

As much as getting things blown up or anything.

There hasn't been any sort of you know, explosion in the running game either, and that's something that needs to be needs to be fixed in some way or another.

It all leads back to the line, right, offensive line both.

Yeah, I do think that they have a lot to a lot of I don't want to say blame, but they have a lot to say when it comes to this problem, both in pass protection and being able to generate anything on the ground.

Although I do think, you know, Jalen Warren is certainly a good player, but we're kind of seeing out of him through the first two games, like his effectiveness as an RB three right as like a guy not RB three a third down back.

Excuse me, a guy may be more effective out of the back in the passing game, as you just said, Chris, like he had more of an impact in the passing game in this game than he did in the running game.

His big play, his big, the big splash play for the Steelers was a Jalen Warren pass from Aaron Rodgers.

So I don't want to just say, you know, oh, it's the offensive line.

If once they start to getting gear and move some bodies around and create some holes, and these running backs are going to just excel.

The running backs have been less than impressive too, Like there's not really a guy there that you fear right if you're on the opposing team's defense.

Like, sure, Jalen Warren is a good back, but he's not you know, a top horse that like you know he can.

The other thing with the running backs too, is it's like, yeah, your offensive line is below the line right now, but great running backs, good running backs make plays even when there's no hole there, right, Like, even when the offensive line fails them.

A running back makes a guy missing the backfield, cuts up field for fifteen yards, bounces outside.

You don't see any of that kind of spectacular play from the running back position.

And that goes back to Nause, Like you never saw Nause really be capable of doing that.

Yeah, and then you know gainwell had I was wondering because I was trying to think, I'm like, wow, game on a thirteen yard carry.

That's the that's the only carry.

And it was when I stopped watching when it was Mason Ruolf was in the game and it was the final draft.

That's why I was like, what did that happen?

I was trying to go through.

You can't admit that you stopped watching.

I was very in tune to this two touchdown game with forty six seconds, Yeah, yeah, Steelers calling timeouts and Mason Rudolf comes into.

Mason Rudolf two for two, by the way, one hundred percent completion percent.

It was a quarterback, just saying that's there it is.

I mean, you can't deny what the stats right, one hundred percent that that gets heered all year.

Imagine what the steearers could do.

But yeah, and that that kind of for the Steelers' fourth biggest player of the game, was that that that Gamewell carry at that point whenever you know it was a drop play.

I'm sure again I apologize anyone.

I wasn't paying attention at that point for that, but that again, that shows even more so than the running games if you take away that carry from gainwell stats because he was getting again in there and first and second down a few times, so we had and game, will has three catches for sixteen yards.

You combine that with the other than the one carrying the final drive of the game, that's what four touches for about twenty yards or I'm not I mean no, yeah, you're not getting much splash, not.

Get any splash there.

Yeah, so other than the run with Mason Rudolph.

Yeah, yeah, so that was the final drive of the game.

So Warren I thought at times ran hard.

I thought it was it was okay, you'd like that again.

See and we got the you got gave him a splash play in the receiving game, So that's fine.

But there hasn't been the long runs like like you've seen the Jets and the Seahawks to that sustained drives that led to scoring drives that that even kept drives alive in some cases was really kind of embarrassing when you whenever you have a third medium and a running play gets your first down as a defense.

So those are things from the running game you like to see.

And yeah, I don't know again, I I it's they haven't used game well the way I thought they would use They're using game on a lot more, but not necessarily the way that that they showed during Camper I thought they would and maybe even to his strengths in terms of you.

Know, maybe you know a wide receiver sometimes right.

Yeah, yeah, things like that because again now again referencing late in the game, Roman Wilson as first NFL catch.

Yeah, so he's on the board now at least, but he out snapped Ben Scronick in this game.

So Ronic did not even have a target.

Still no targets for Scotty Miller through two weeks.

So Roman Wilson kind of we said last week, how there's maybe like in the coaching staff size more of a cloudy image on wide receiver three as opposed to wide receiver two based on snap counts, Like those three guys split the wide receiver three reps.

Roman Wilson was kind of your quote unquote wide receiver three in this game.

Yeah, but there still wasn't too much usage at all from them, true and Covin Austin the one catch.

So what was it was?

It have twenty two snaps, which is a.

Big crazy because it was ten it was ten or something last week.

That's twelve four.

There you go, and Scotty Miller had nine Saronic three.

So so Roman Wilson started taking the lion show there.

Going there, and Covin Austin was played ninety two percent of the snaps Covin Austin fifty seven snaps, so he actually out snapped became metcap by one snap, believe it or not.

So yeah, Calvin Austin for sure is a stamped in written with magic marker number two wide receiver at this point, and they're still looking for because if you go away from those two guys, now you have the one catch from Stronic last week and the one catch from Roman Wilson late in the game this week, and so you're still pretty much a two wide receiver team in terms of production or targets or catches.

And you can't really even use those receivers effectively enough because your quarterback has no time.

You know, I just think the easy solution right now, as your offensive line continues to try to gel, continues to try to realize their potential, Broder Droones keeps trying to get comfortable with that left tackle position.

You know, I think running the football is just so obvious of a way to make it easier on yourself, to make things go a little bit smoother, And if they can't start to find an effective running game soon, then I worry that this offense is going to indeed really look like that you know, twenty twenty second half of the season Ben Roethlisberger offense where you kind of throw to run, you know what I mean, Like they would have a lot of high percentage like quick hitters on first down just to be our running game, Like you know, we'll get three yards here by just zipping it went out the DK or zipping it right to Pat.

But that's not the same, Like, that's not the same as you know, moving a defensive line around, being physical with the team, you know, the deflating nature of a run.

And if they can't figure it out, then the effectiveness of the offense is going to be sorely limited and you're not going to be able to get the most out of Aaron Rodgers, who by every sense seems to be showing signs that he's going to have a very nice little swan song here, a very solid type of season, and he looks healthy right now.

It's just you have to keep that, you have to keep that a thing.

You have to make sure he stays healthy.

He did look like he was moving pretty well too early in the game.

Like he seems like he is nimble.

But again, it's it's just as much of a quarterback status as an offensive line stat Sacks.

I truly believe that.

I just don't think it's the case here, Like it seems to always be the offensive line just getting beat badly and he has no chance.

Yeah, that's I think Washington Rodgers through two weeks now.

Like we talked about, the arm strength is still there as good as you know anybody up there in the league in terms of an elite or maybe it probably isn't what it was teny.

I didn't watch every Green Bay game whatever to say.

I'm sure he's lost a little bit of zing, but whatever whatever he did lose, he's still, like I said, in the top quartile of a pastors, I'd say, in terms of arms strengths by some of the throws we've seen so far.

Uh, and the release his course is still there.

And you're right, I think watching him, he's moved.

He's not a He's not just a statue back there.

I know he's never been a mobile quarterback in terms of rushing yards and those type of things.

A rushing quarterback.

But he was always good at I mean Tom Brady was Tom Brady was smart.

It's moved moved, not faster, but moved smarter.

And Brady late into his career in his mid forties wasn't getting sacked that much because he knew how to move around in the pocket.

I feel like Rogers.

I don't feel like he's so immobile that it's a total liability.

But yes, if you combine a high pressure rate for the opponents, which of course we've seen through two weeks, and his age and things, it's almost like it's a ticking time bomb here.

At some point you'll see I mean, look, I mean we even we'll get in a league a little bit more.

But I mean Joe Burrow that torpedoes the Bengals season something and I don't even know or does it now apparently I'm not gonna tease that or anything like that, but Jake Browning now, so all it takes is one.

So again, same thing as if you have to have a twelve play drive to score every time, there's just simple math means something bad might happen over the course.

There's twelve plays.

If your quarterbacks getting hit this many times a game, or getting pressured this many times a game.

There's a ticking time bomb that you're playing with fire here that at some point something's going to happen.

And you know, the age has to play the age.

It's just against simple physiology, right, You would think that a forty one year old getting hit, the odds are higher that something back could happened than in a twenty six year old getting het.

So it's on the watch list.

And I'm not breaking any news to everybody is talking about it.

It's something that Roger.

The offensive line needs to be better in both areas, the run game, in the passing game.

I was it better?

I guess it was better than it was week one.

I don't know.

I didn't.

I didn't feel like it was the left tackle was the left tackle was better because he wasn't as bad as week one.

I guess if you want to go go there.

So maybe you hang your hall that there wasn't three sacks on one player, So I don't know.

You gotta find improvement, right, you got to.

You gotta look for what you can here, and at least the arrow of pointing more up than dow I suppose.

Let's get into Caleb Johnson.

Next, we'll talk about the gaff on the kickoff.

I'm glad we didn't to this point though, Chris, because I feel like every show is starting there right, like.

That's the thing.

They're going right out of the gate, and this costs us the game.

But it did not.

What Chris and I are talking about is what truly cost you this home opener.

It's the Steelers Blitz.

He's Chris am Scam, Tom Opferman Caleb Johnson talk next on Steelers Audio Network.

Chris, have you ever done something real.

Embarrassing on the field, on the field of athletics, just something that you really just have no explanation other than like, yeah, I messed up real bad.

Yeah.

I could probably think back to a few.

I have one.

So everybody plays soccer growing up, right as a kid, Like that's like the first sport you get into because you just run around and kick the ball.

But I in eighth grade Saint Bernard's decided that's eighth grade.

I want to have some fun.

Only ever played with the basketball at this point, Let's play co ed soccer, right, we had a co ed soccer team?

Why not?

And you know, I'm just you know, I'm kind of messing around out there.

So one time I'm like, yeah, I'll play goalie, like I need a goalie for a game.

So in soccer, I'm sure everybody knows this as I do.

Now, there's a box for the goalie, right, and if the goalie is outside of that box, they cannot use their hands.

They can only use their hands if they're in the box.

So me not really watching soccer especially back then, although now working for the Mark Madden Show, I've quickly gotten educated in the beautiful game.

Or is this sorry?

I want them to win?

Let's say that because it creates a happy work environment.

So the ball way outside of the box like comes screaming into the corner and I just come like running out as I can scoop it up like it's a fumble, like Jack Sawyer scooping up the fumble against Texas, and I based just like almost like running up the field with it.

And then I just like, after like another like ten yards of running, just launched the ball downfield towards like my attackers, and I'm like, you know, I'm strutting back and everyone was dumbfounded, Like the ref was like what like have you ever seen semi pro when they do the alley oop and father Pat's got the whistle like half hanging out of his mouth and he like gives it that half blow like no foul, two fouls.

Like That's basically what happened.

And then the ref explained to me you can't use your hands outside of the box, son, and I was like official, Like I was like, I never played soccer before.

I'm is that Billy Madison where it was official like we are now dumber for having watched you.

We all of us here are now dumber for having They weren't.

Dumber, no, but but it was quite the display already.

Is you just talked about that.

You just referenced not to make you feel worse about it or maybe I am laughing at but you just referenced playing as I have six year old twins.

And the other day the goalie stepped outside and there was a discussion like, hey, you can't remember the line.

So the six year old made that gaff and the very first time playing goalie, the first time in.

The thirteen year old eighth grader did not there.

Well, So it was with the it was the confidence that I did.

Oh yeah, you like, like at least if I like kind of like did it.

And then the wistle blue and I was like, I didn't know.

I'm sorry, I just I think there was a song Shan Lynch running down the sideline.

For a brief second, I thought I was playing actual football, like the Olympic anthems playing in your head, like you think you're the hero.

You know, in slow motion You're like, you're like you think the low and people are staying kicked in the corner.

This is easy.

It's easy for me.

He makes it easy for me.

I'm sweep out here and just get get out of here.

Not in my house.

Sounds like you were like combining soccer with like football that I imagine you like cocking your arm on the run like you're you know, Aaron Rodgers, I.

Guess or something.

And then I got bench.

Yeah, well, I mean probably deserved it.

I did deserve it.

Caleb Johnson, he had an embarrassing moment.

He did his on an NFL stage.

Though mine was at the Saint Simon and Jude's Field in the park and there's like a parking lot of ten people there, so I'm cool I skated by there.

He did it in front of an NFL stadium full of almost seventy thousand people, and then obviously it goes viral all over the place.

I love that he talked to you guys after the game in the locker room.

He stood up and owned it.

You really have no choice, I mean, you have to do it.

But his answer I thought was appropriate.

He didn't go as far as to say he forgot the rule or didn't know the rule, and I kind of respect that, like, don't just put it out there like, yeah, I had no idea.

But I like the way he framed it instead, where he was like, whether I didn't know the rule or whether I didn't know the rule, it was just this stupid, inexcusable thing.

That I did, and I got to get better.

Yeah, it was just a big, you know, get better kind of theme to his scrum.

But hey, at least he took the questions and at least he talked to the microphones, because some guys, as you know Chris will not do that.

Yeah, there's no yeah, and every game you don't know sometimes and he did it.

Yeah, he was obviously he knew what message he was either told to get across or was coached up to get across.

Or knew what he wanted.

He knows already.

Yeah it was, and that's fine.

It's the right thing to say.

He didn't.

I mean if if you say you don't know the rule, then then you're almost like, I mean, you're taking accountability, but it's almost like you're depending on somebody else.

Or so he said the right things.

It's obvious.

I mean, it's the heat of the moment.

I get.

I mean they obviously just you know, talking to all the other Steelers special teamers, even casually after the game.

I mean they are told the rule.

I mean it makes sense.

They practice rep it enough, they practice enough, they understand the rule.

You know, the college game is a different rule.

There's probably a moment of frustration.

I mean I make mental gaffes at work all the time.

I you know, I'm not you know whatever, people are mad.

I get it.

But he probably I think it was sort of like, how did I not feeld that ball?

It took the walkward hop like the footballs are bound to do, and he didn't.

I don't think he touched it.

I guess if he touched it, it would make it almost worse.

They didn't go back to get it, because then there's like almost no excuse, like you touched the ball.

You know, it's a lot everybody we should know that.

I would imagine, but I don't think he did touch it.

There's no the official record book says he didn't touch it.

There's no you know, reference to a fumber, a muff or anything.

So it didn't do that.

He probably was sort of like, I can't play.

It didn't feel that cleanly in that moment.

Then it was like you're watching this low motion though he's walking slowly and everybody you see Seahawks sprinting the other way, and everybody's like like I see the crowd is sort of like you know, you know.

So the new rule is if it lands in the landing zone, it's live.

If it's not in the landing zone, it's a penalty on the kicking team, or it's a touch back.

So it has to be yeah, between has to land between the well, has to land beyond the twenty.

I guess it can go into the end zone and.

If it spikes into the end zone on the air, it's a touchback.

If it lands before or the landing zone, like if you kick it too short, it's penalty, yes, yes, if it bounced right in the landing zone over Caleb Johnson settled.

It was almost perfectly settled right into the back of the end zone, like here, silver platter, Seahawks, please come and get it.

The Seahawks looked like those birds and finding email my mind, like eight.

Of them were just running towards the football.

Reference that it was.

Actually, I don't know how intentional it was.

What's his name, George, I'm sorry for Lottie.

It was a really if he did it this on purpose because that ball was sitting there, I'm like, he's going to get himself out of bounce because he was running for too much momentum.

Yeah, and the ball was within a few, you know, less than a foot from there, out of bound slide, and somehow he got there, covered the ball, made himself down and then let go of the ball to get up so he wouldn't fall out of the end zone with the ball and therefore be out of bounce and not count as it would be a touchback at that point if you fud had one foot on that white line.

So I don't know how.

Maybe it was just sort of luck.

But if he did intentionally.

It was actually really brilliant.

He should say as well, yeah, but yeah, you know.

Let's just be honest here.

Okay, he didn't.

Remember the role.

I think that's very clearly no moment.

Also think a little bit of college being different came into the account here, because in college, if that thing happens and he does that just a.

Touchback, Yeah, the ball shoots, the ball goes in the end zone.

In college, it's it's dead as dead ball.

You can call fair catches in college too, up until like the ten yard line, I think, or fifteen yards.

I don't know, because this was bouncing, so I don't think he could have called a fair catch there.

But yeah, you get it out to the twenty five, you can catch it the one or whatever exactly.

So college being different, I think is definitely something that you have to take into account since this is a rookie.

But I mean, Mike Tomlin said, they asked Mike Tomlin in his press conference, do you drill that?

He said, every day of our lives, of our lives, Chris, not even the season, that's all and sixty five day Danny, these guys on like June tenth, He's like, I get.

Outside of the high school stadium.

We're gonna drill this.

It doesn't every day of our lives, back back to childhood, whatever.

But I think he was extreme there and dramatic there in a sense because he wanted to emphasize like, yeah, Danny Smith talks about this all the time, like yeah, trust me, we are very up up on the new kickoff changes and making sure our players are up on them too.

And it is because as much as and everybody people they were.

It was universal support across the room.

Aaron Rodgers came out and talked about and you know, hey, it happen.

You know, kyleman Johnson talked about mouse killer Brew anybody either associated with the with the Special Teams and Jalen Warren or running backs that would that are you know any in any way associated with with you captains on the team, calebm Johnson all had his back.

But it is kind of a delicate because then if you say, well he didn't, then you're then you're almost tacitly throwing the Special Teams coach under the bus or something.

If you do that so and and we all, like you said, every day of their lives.

Trust me, if you ever one if you ever watched the Steelers practice, the one takeaway you get from is Danny Smith yelling things that people over and over and over and over again.

So those cecil teas periods every third period or however i however the rotation goes a certain times of practice, you noticed Danny Smith yelling things and drilling things into people's head.

You know, Caleb Johnson hadn't didn't return kickoffs last year for Iowa.

He only had two the year before, and he did as a as a true freshman twenty twenty two, he had thirteen kick returns.

Listen, he made him a mental guy in my mind, I'm just speculating.

He was sort of annoyed himself for not feeling the ball, and he sort of like was dejected in that moment and thought and probably thinks, I mean, there's a million things going through his mind.

I'm sure now going forward.

It's funny we're talking the press box because of course the immediate social media reaction is take him off kickoffs, bench him, cut him, yeah, yeah, yeah, all these things.

So and you kind of get that, and that was kind of the intuitive like, well, he's not going to return kicks anymore.

But It's also like, I guarantee you if one person in the NFL does not make that mistake again, it's gonna be Kyler Johnson, right, I mean if he did it twice, then then yes, you actually, I mean legitimately think about cutting this is the same gaff twice.

He's gonna know that rule.

I promise you that from now on.

Now a bigger issue might be he remember he fumbled against the Jets and they got the ball.

It wasn't a lost fumble.

So that's now two weeks in a row when he's been part of the kickoff return, there hasn't been a splash play.

So maybe just Bubby, you should take him loft.

Yeah, my performance in other ways and you know, and and I don't know, I mean, Jalen Warren, how much you want him getting hit and things like that, if that's an issue, or put somebody else back, yeah, even have that's true, Yeah, yeah, yeah, so I would imagine you don't see him back returning kicks for that for other you know, that's a big part of it, yes, but in the end, you know, I don't think it cost them the game explicitly, like some people are making the connection.

Even though the Steelers lost, Teddy KGB is waiting patiently to hand out his moneymakers, so we will do that.

Next it's the Steelers Blitz on the Steelers Audio Network with Tom Oppermann and Chris Damski