GBag Nation
Steelers Beat Writer for The Athletic Mike DeFabo joins the Nation to preview Cowboys vs Steelers
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Or check other massive inventory in person at the sharpest rides. Located 2250 South Sea Home Street in Englewood. Either way, you will fall into savings. Don't miss out. Head on over to the sharpestrides.com today and explore the deals that make every season better. And tell them that your girl, Tasha McKia sent you, the sharpest ride, affordable, sexy, sharp. - Presented by T-Mobile, the official wireless partner of Odyssey Sports. With an awesome network and great savings, there's never been a better time to join T-Mobile. Visit your neighborhood store to make the switch today. - Yeah, buddy, it's hour five of the G Bag Nation on 1053. The fan here on your home of the Cowboys Sunday's pregame at four o'clock with Chia Follow and Broadus. The kickoff at 715. It'll be a great NFL Sunday here with you on the fan. We have play-by-play. We have talk shows and we have the pregame show again starting at four o'clock. And for more on this matchup, Mike Defeibo writes for the athletic they're covering, the Steelers and Pittsburgh joins us now here on the fan and a good evening, sir. How the heck are you? - Hey, I'm doing great. Thank you so much for having me on the show. - Well, it's great to talk with you and get your insights about this team. What kind of weather are we looking at Sunday night? We're seeing possible thunderstorms. - Yeah, that was actually something I was going to bring up. My wife, coincidentally enough, works with the local NBC affiliate. And so she's a huge weather hound and news hound. And she was telling me, look, there very well could be a weather delay in this game, not just rain, but possible thunderstorms that delay things. So that definitely can impact things when you've got a passing team like Dallas coming into town, a team like the Steelers that wants to run the football and then the uncertainty of the possible weather delay. So that's definitely something we'll have to keep our eyes on. - Yeah, now speaking of run of the ball, are the Steelers prepared and capable of taking advantage of this Cowboys run defense? How determined are they to make sure this comes off right? - Yeah, the way I've been describing it here in Pittsburgh is the Steelers are committed to run the football and they've run the ball, they have more attempts than any other team in the league right now. But just because they're running the ball a lot does not mean that they're running the ball effectively. If you look at some of their per carries numbers, they're actually near the bottom of the league and a lot of metrics. And especially when it comes to running the ball on first down, it's been like ramming their heads into a brick wall. And that was especially the case in Indianapolis. And this is a team with Arthur Smith, new offensive coordinator in his first year. He definitely has a personality and an identity and a reputation for running the football that meshes well with the Steelers' grounded pound roots. And there's old school matchups with the Dallas Cowboys back in the day. A lot of Steelers fans, Jinsers here in Pittsburgh were hopeful that this was going to be a team that was going to be able to lean on a great defense and effective running game. But to this point, the yards per carries just not there. So I look at this as another real opportunity, especially with it banged up as the Dallas defenses and with some of their numbers statistically in their struggles defending the run, this could be an opportunity for the Steelers to get their ground game back on track. But until they do that, there's going to be a level of skepticism. And they're also dealing with number of injuries on the offensive line that could impact things. Yeah, one more can you share with us about the offensive line? Because I think that's been one of the things from a Cowboys standpoint, how banged up they are. But maybe the Steelers are also pretty banged up on their line. Yeah, definitely. I mean, over the last two years, the Steelers have made a concerted effort to bolster the offensive line. They brought in Andy Weidel as their assistant GM. And he was kind of how he roseman's right hand man in Philadelphia, helping to build through the trenches and build that offensive line to be kind of the anchor of the team. So the Steelers took a very similar approach. Last year, the first round pick was tackle Broderick Jones out of Georgia. This year, the Steelers spent first round pick on a tackle in Troy Salton, his second round pick on a center in back Frasier, and a fourth round pick in a guard in Mason McCormick. The disappointing thing for the Steelers has been both of those first round picks have been disappointing in different ways. Broderick Jones last year's first round pick. He's now at right tackle. And he's really weathered ups and downs and inconsistencies. And then this year's first round pick Troy Salton, he's out for the year with a knee injury. So that's caused some moving pieces on the offensive line. The Steelers also lost James Daniels, one of their starting guard. So the good news from a Steelers perspective, I know I just threw out a bunch of names at you. Isaac Sayamalu, who's probably their best offensive lineman. He plays left guard. He's going to come back after injuring his peck in the preseason. So this will be his season debut. And he's a significant difference maker for the Steelers. The Steelers have been missing his veteran leadership. They've also just been missing his physical dominance and the ability that he has to open up the run game. So they're going to left guard, get one stud back, but at right guard, they're going to be starting a rookie in Mason McCormick. So one guard in, one guard out for the Steelers, and we'll see how it goes. Mike de Fable here from the Athletic Talk and Steelers with you in the G bag nation. Health has been a big factor for the Cowboys. How big of a role is it here for the Steelers going into this one? Yeah, I mean, it's significant. And I talked about the injuries on the offensive line, and that's an ongoing thing. But on the defensive side of the ball, one key piece that they're missing is out high Smith. Everybody knows about TJ Watt and how he can wreck a game. He's Batman and his Robin is Alec High Smith from the other side. And now with him going down, some Steelers fans were actually excited because they had a second year guy in Nick Herbig, who has been pretty promising when he's been given the opportunity. Unfortunately, he injured his ankle in the last game as well and has been limited throughout the week. So that's one big question for the Steelers is like teams love to double TJ Watt. They love to chip him. And Shane Spike and the head coach of the Colts did a fantastic job of game planning to completely take TJ Watt out of the equation. He didn't have a single tackle in any form, let alone a sack or a negative play. So if I'm the Dallas Cowboys, I kind of follow that similar script. What can you do to limit TJ Watt, don't allow him to wreck the game, double him, chip him, give him plenty of attention, and make some of these other edge rushes that the Steelers have that are less proven beat you. One thing that really troubles the Cowboys are teams with a defense that can get home with four. They stop the run with the light box and play coverage. It's actually been kryptonite for Dak. How's that aligned with Pittsburgh's defensive scheme? Yeah, that's kind of the way the Steelers like to do things. And that was a big point of focus when the Steelers played another veteran quarterback in Kirk Cousins, week one. And that's really been their approach is if they can, they want to try to generate pressure with four. So that's going to be a little bit different, a little bit challenging now with some of the injuries that they've had. And we'll see if they're able to do it. Last season, Cam Hayward, interior defensive lineman, very beloved here in Pittsburgh. He was injured throughout the season. And even when he was on the field, he wasn't 100%. He's back and has been generating a pass rush, which helps that you're not just getting it off the edge, but you're getting an interior push as well, especially with a mobile quarterback like Dak. That's always an important factor here. So we'll have to see how it goes. But that definitely is very much the Steelers identity. And then in terms of pass coverage, I look at that as one critical matchup because the Dallas Cowboys near the top of the league in passing yardage, passing attempts. And the Steelers have made a number of changes in their secondary. They did it in a personnel standpoint, bringing in a guy like Dante Jackson, who now plays opposite Jilly Porter Jr. at Outside Corner. And then they brought in another safety into Sean Elliott. And what that's allowed them to do is play make a Fitzpatrick one of the stars, their defense more in center field. And so to this point, the Steelers had cleaned up their explosive plays that plagued them last year. And it looked like they had taken a significant stride. And that was one reason they went from six best scoring defense last season until last week. They were number one in scoring defense. But that big play problem rear to its ugly head for the Steelers against the Colts, they hit on a number of chunk plays. And so this will be a big test now and a bounce back opportunity for the Steelers secondary. And they had all those moving pieces. They had the changes that should be better from a schematic standpoint and a personnel standpoint based on those changes. But we're gonna have to wait and see if the Steelers are able to do it against the Cowboys. - Hey Mike, I was looking at the Steelers film and getting ready for our pregame show here. And I was curious, they seemed to, there was a game where they had where Porter and Jackson were playing opposite sides, like 50% of the game. And then maybe the next game it wasn't so much. Was there any rhyme or reason why that they flipped these corners? 'Cause usually in college you play boundary corners or field corners. Is there anything that you can give us in the idea of why they do, why the corners play opposite sides or flip sides? - Sure, so Joey Porter Jr. is their best corner. So it was interesting last year where it took until about mid-season for him to start playing. But he quickly proved himself to be the top guy. - The seasons may be changing, but the deals at the sharpest rides are unbeatable as ever. Hey, what's going on? It's your girl, Tasha McKia. And I need you to join the sharpest rides for their fall into savings events where they're offering incredible prices on their massive inventory. That's right, everything is on sale now. Shot from sleek sedans to rugged SUVs and sporty convertibles. The sharpest rides has the perfect ride to match your fall adventures. Plus with their exclusive financing options, getting behind the wheel of your dream car has never been easier. Log on and shop online at the sharpestrides.com right from the palm of your hands. Or check out their massive inventory in person at the sharpest rides located 2250 South Sea Home Street in Inglewood. Either way, you will fall into savings. Don't miss out, head on over to the sharpestrides.com today and explore the deals that make every season better. And tell them that your girl, Tasha McKia, sent you the sharpest rides, affordable, sexy, sharp. Doors take us to summers away, or winter adventures, and afternoon getaways. 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Now it's mostly a cover three type team. But when there have been instances when the Steelers have asked Joey Porter, Jr. Basically, look, this is your guy. You're going to try to take the opponent's top receiver out of the game. And I don't think that's going to be the game plan this week with CD-LAM. But there are going to be a number of opportunities. When the Steelers are in man coverage, that's going to be the matchup. They're going to put Joey Porter, Jr. their best guy on CD-LAM, the best receiver from Dallas. He's healthy right now. And that'll be a five-star type match-up every time those guys go head to head. Mike, the athletic had the anonymous player poll. And one player was quoted as saying of the Pittsburgh locker room that it smelled like you're in. Can you confirm? Well, see, I think he was talking about the visitor's locker room at Akrasher Stadium. So I haven't been in there quite as much. I cannot confirm that. And I was trying to figure out maybe that's a good thing. Like if the Steelers are scaring their opponents so much that they're peeing down their leg before they even get out there, you know, maybe that's a positive. But I found that comment to be quite humorous as well. Has this really just become Justin Fields team? It's a fascinating subject because the way I looked at it, the Steelers kind of gave themselves two options. And I was a bit skeptical on both guys, wondering if either one could be the answer. And the way I look at it is like you have to examine the trajectory of both guys' careers right now. You know, Russell Wilson, even if he is maybe a little bit of a better passer, right now he has an injured calf. And twice over the last five seasons, he led the league in sacks. So you put into mobile Russell Wilson back there who's still recovering from an injury. You know, that's a recipe for disaster. And on the flip side, you know, Justin Fields is only 25 years old. Obviously, things did not go the way that anyone had hoped in Chicago. But Arthur Smith has really called a conservative type game plan. I think he's giving Justin some easy reads. He's highlighting his mobility in a number of ways. He's throwing easier, completeable passes to the sidelines. And as a result, Justin has the best numbers in virtually every stat, completion percentage, passer rating, interceptions are down. So the way I look at it is like the Steelers needed a long-term answer at quarterback. And these two guys were kind of like a band-aid solution. If you could find out that one of these guys is the answer in the long-term, I would keep rolling with them. And I'm not convinced either one is that. But if there's going to be one of these two guys, I think it's probably going to be a 25-year-old Justin Fields rather than a 35-year-old Russell Wilson. Mike, I know you live with this team. But just watching and watching your tape, is Patrick Queen struggling a little bit with some of his play? Yeah, I mean, he was an interesting guy because coming in here, this offseason, the Steelers aren't a team that's known for spending big in free agency. And he actually broke records in terms of an outside free agent that the Steelers brought in. And so with the tradition of linebacker play in Pittsburgh, there was a very high bar for him. And I don't think he's cleared that to this point. And I think he's been OK in coverage and not quite as impactful when it comes to the run game. And I just wonder if maybe more time within the defense, he'll get more comfortable, or if maybe the Steelers getting their hands on him a little bit more, understanding his skill set, they can help him play to his strengths. You know, one thing he hasn't done a lot of right now is blitz. As we were talking about earlier in this conversation, the Steelers tried to generate pressure with four. You know, he's known as a very, very good blitzer. That's part of his DNA. I wonder if maybe that could be a way to kind of get him going. But you're saying actually exactly the same things that radio host and Pittsburgh are saying. You know, they spent all this money on a guy. We'd like a little bit more splash. OK, it's Mike DeFable here of the athletic talking Steelers out of Pittsburgh here. Does Pittsburgh, the city, hold Mike McCarthy as one of their like football sons they're proud of? They do. They do definitely. You know, I think Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh is not that dissimilar, I think, than Texas, where like I remember growing up, it was like I played a football game in junior high on a Thursday. I went to my brother's football game on a Friday. I went to a college football game on a Saturday pro game on a Sunday. So it's all football here and anyone who is raised in that atmosphere, who goes on and does good things, Pittsburgh will always call them one of their sons. So it'll definitely be a nice reunion for him to come back to Pittsburgh and people are very proud of what he's been able to accomplish. There's a cowboy fan going into enemy territory there in Pittsburgh. How venomous is this hatred towards the Cowboys from Steelers fans with the history there? You know, I think it depends. Like if you ran into an old yinzer in the parking lot, you know, he might have some choice words for you, but people of a younger generation, I think that that rivalry has kind of died down. You know, these two teams don't see each other quite as much. I think it's almost like a respect thing. Like, hey, we're a franchise that, you know, prides ourselves on Steelers nation and we feel like we have fans all around the world and you go to any opposing stadium and you see the terrible towels. And I think Dallas is very much the same way. You know, they call them America's team for a reason. You'll find Dallas Cowboys fans probably in Pittsburgh just because of the strength of that brand and and what that team means to the whole, you know, United States. So I like this matchup in the sense that it's two premier historical franchises, tons of fans. So there'll be tons of people watching and hopefully it'll be a great game. And is this word you've used? Is this yinzer? Does that mean old guy? Yeah. Oh, let me educate you guys. This is perfect. So y'all say y'all. Yeah. Like the plural you. So in Pittsburgh, it's like the plural you. So yuns, yins, y-i-n-z. And then it's kind of like a joke because basically everybody has like an old uncle who says yins seriously, but then everyone here who's younger says it kind of ironically is a joke kind of tongue in cheek. So yeah. Right. Yeah. Kind of. Yeah. Yeah. Kind of along those lines. Would you want Mike McCarthy as the Steelers coach speaking of a yinzer? You know, maybe, maybe at some point. I would, I would have liked him as an offensive coordinator here. But you know, I think Steelers, the Steelers love their reunions. It seems like this is a place that you can always go home. Like Ryan Shazier is now back as an assistant coach. Ike Taylor is, is, is around the organization. Ryan Clark stops in. So it seems like if you're from Pittsburgh and you know, you've ever been in the city, you have a place with the Steelers. So, you know, things ever went poorly for him or he decided that, you know, he wanted to change the scenery. You know, I'm sure that the Steelers would open, would welcome him with open arms. Thank you so much, Mike. Enjoy the game and we'll look forward to catching up with you another time. Sounds great. Thank you guys so much for having me on the show. You got it. Yeah. Maybe another four years or so. Still our Super Bowl would that be something? Yeah, it would be. Maybe not this year, but then not too distant future. Thanks to Mike DeFable of the athletic for stopping by, talking Steelers football with us. It's good to know Mike's respected, you know? Yeah. Hasn't spent a lot of time in Pittsburgh as a professional, but definitely a guy that is known as a Pittsburgh dude and in football country indeed. Sean Lee's out of that part of Pennsylvania, right? Sean Lee is massively different than Philadelphia, you know? Yeah. That's Micah's Philadelphia, right? Yeah, yeah. We're Micah's from Pennsylvania. Yeah. We got to do all the Sixers jerseys he wears at math games. Do you guys like if they called themselves to a coaching swap? Tom only comes to Dallas and Mike goes to... He was talking about, he was talking about, you know, he must not have watched Dallas play much offense, you know? Oh, he's a coordinator. He's a coordinator. He's a caller. That's why he's speaking his language. I kind of used to bad offense. I kind of threw up my mouth a little bit. Yeah. It'd be an improvement probably. The seasons may be changing, but the deals, the sharpest rides are unbeatable as ever. Hey, what's going on? It's your girl, Tash and Micah. And I need you to join the sharpest rides for their fall into savings event, where they're offering incredible prices on their massive inventory. That's right, everything is on sale now. Shot from sleek sedans to rugged SUVs and sporty convertibles. The sharpest rides has the perfect ride to match your fall adventures. Plus, with their exclusive financing options, getting behind the wheel of your dream car has never been easier. Log on and shop online at the sharpestrides.com right from the palm of your hands. Or check other massive inventory in person at the sharpest rides, located 2250 South Sea Home Street in Inglewood. Either way, you will fall into savings. Don't miss out. Head on over to the sharpestrides.com today and explore the deals that make every season better. And tell them that your girl, Tash and Micahia sent you the sharpest rides. Affordable, sexy, sharp. Presented by T-Mobile, the official wireless partner of Odyssey Sports. With an awesome network and great savings, there's never been a better time to join T-Mobile. Visit your neighborhood store to make the switch today. Now, with the MLB app, you can get baseball your way. Pick your favorite team, your favorite players, and get customized highlights, stories and breaking news right on your home feed. Follow the action with Game Tip, where 3D replays add another dimension. Plus, notifications can keep you connected to every pitch. Every hit, every game. The MLB app. Baseball, your way. Download it now for free from the App Store or Google Play. Block out another restriction supply major league baseball trade parts used with permission.