Steelers Insider Previews Jets Game, Aaron Rodgers vs. Justin Fields, Key X-Factors

BONUS EPISODE: Boy Green was joined by Pittsburgh Insider Alex Kozora of @SteelersDepot1 to preview the Week 1 #Jets vs #Steelers game!

It’s time for a bonus episode of Boy Green Daily, baby. New York Jets Pittsburgh Steelers week one. It’s time to talk to our main squeeze. All things Steelers ahead of this game. Our buddy Alex Gazora of Steelers Depot next. I’m going to lose my gosh darn bananas. Boy Green Daily starts now. Joints. Baby, let’s go. [Music] Put your seat belts on. Get ready for the ride. We’re the freaking New York Jets. We’re built for this [Applause] [Music] God bless everybody. How you doing? I’m Paul Eston Jr. aka Boy Green. I’m the New York Jets digital reporter for heavy.com. Welcome to a bonus episode of Boy Green Daily. Boy Green Coffee Club members are getting early access to this interview before the general public. Appreciate you guys. So, let’s do it. Without further ado, we’ve been talking about this for months. So, let’s dive into the deep end of the pool with my main squeeze. Every time the Jets play the Steelers, I put up the Alex Gazor bat signal and I and I hope that he arrives and he always does. Let’s bring them in from Steelers Depot, baby. What’s up, Alex? And here I am. Thank you, Paul. I appreciate it. I saw the signal out my window the other day. I saw it go up and I said, “I must be here.” So, I appreciate that. And that intro, man. I got to get me one of those. That’s really impressive. Okay. Yeah, I know. You’re doing all kinds of podcasting all over the place. So, okay. Your people talk to my people, we’ll make it happen, baby. That’s uh that’s for dang sure. We’ll start off with the unfortunate news as we’re well for us on our side, I guess. Great news for you guys. Uh Elijah Vera Tucker has suffered a season ending injury. It’s another tricep tear, unfortunately. And this one to the other arm, uh which is brutal for ABT. That’s his third season ending injury in 5 years, and he was set to be a free agent in 2026. He was just voted a team captain. Uh he is arguably their best offensive lineman. So, this is a real swift kick to the loins. But uh from the Steelers side of things, Alex, I’m curious who will and would be lining up at right guard to take advantage uh of this situation for Steelers in week one. Well, it’s funny. The match up was supposed to be Vera Tucker versus Derek Harman, the Pittsburgh Steelers first round pick. Neither will play in this game. Now, fortunately, Harmon is not likely out for this season the way it seems to be the case for Vera Tucker. Harmon will not play the way he’s an MCL sprain suffered in the preseason finale. So it’ll be a committee approach with Mike Tomlin’s ward in terms of how Harmon snaps will be distributed behind that. Probably a combination of veterans like Isaiah Loudmill who’s a high floor low ceiling run defender noting off much against the pass but playing those base three four snaps. Ya Black the rookie. So from one rookie from Harmon to the other in Black the fifthrounder who really came on strong in training camp. He’s an old school rugged is the word to use for him. He’s big, he’s long, he’s more athletic, showed more juice than I thought he would on the perimeter. He He made an impact and we’ll certainly see playing time in this game. So, mix of old, mix of new, louder, black. Those are the most two likely guys to face. I assume Joe Titman will play at right guard for you guys. So, we’ll see how that battle shakes out. Yeah, I’m glad that you brought it up because now we’re all of a sudden making audibles here at the line of scrimmage. I’ve seen a lot of Steelers folks cuz I I was checking out how you guys perceived uh the injury and I see a lot of people going, “Oh boy, Max Mitchell, Xavier Newman.” I’m like, “Whoa, I don’t think so. I don’t think those are the guys going, I think the Jets are going to make a shuffling of the offensive line.” And we already sort of got a sneak peek at this heading into the preseason opener for the New York Jets. The other guard, John Simpson, was hurt. He had a hurt back. So, the Jets, what they ended up trotting out was Olu Mui Wa Fashionu at left tackle. John Simpson was not available. So the Jets kicked Joe Tipman from center to guard and that’s how they did the preseason outfit with Josh Meyer stepping in at center and the rest of the offensive line was the same with ABT at right guard and Armano at right tackle. So I think that was a sneak peek of what would happen if a guard got hurt. And actually this one while it stinks for AVT Joe Tipman has experience at right guard. During his rookie season he played 199 snaps over there at right guard before he ultimately took over the center job. So that’s even a guard spot he’s even more comfortable with with some NFL experience. So that would be my gut would say that the Jets are going to shuffle the board and not play a Max Mitchell, not play a Xavier Newman. Instead, try to put the best five on the field. I think that’s going to be the gut choice. It’s not official yet, but I believe that would be the gut choice by the Jets heading into week one. I think the other interesting component is obviously the right guard spot, but then Meyers at center. He’ll see now Keu Benton the nose tackle and Benton’s got a really critical year three for him coming up. He’s athletic. He’s got good hips. He loves that club over move. If there’s something that Josh Meyers has to get ready for in this game, it’s that club over to Benton’s right, Meyers left. He uses it early, uses it often. Has not really developed a secondary move to counter well off of that. It’s why he only has one sack in each of his first two years. He’s a better pass rusher than that indicates, but he’s got to be more pass rush production this year. And with Harmon out and Cam Hayward snaps being managed to some degree, assuming Hayward plays, which I’m pretty sure he will, then Benton snaps and his play will be really critical to the health and strength of this defensive front. Yeah. Let’s go to Derek Harmon. So, I I was going to ask like how big of a loss is it? But how do you lose something you never had? It’s one of those and the tree falls in the forest. Did anyone really hear the tree? Harmon’s a rookie, so I guess you don’t know what you never had, but what is the loss there? not having Harmon available who was a first-round draft choice uh by your Pittsburgh Steelers. Well, to try to stick with your nature analogy, maybe like a tree falling, it may be like the wind where you don’t necessarily feel the effect until of what it moves is kind of how the wind works there. So, you know, the loss of Harmon, you may just feel the the domino effect there. And it’s hard to say. Obviously, with Harmon not playing a regular season game, he looked good in the summer. You know, when you go from Harman to Loudok, the pass rush juice really decreases there because Loudok is a run stuffer, you know, backup rotational guy. is not going to offer much in that regard. And Mike Tomlin made the point of, you know, in these early games, you need to keep your defensive lineman fresh. Their legs aren’t under them. They haven’t played a ton of snaps this year. They aren’t really in 100% football shape yet, especially when you’re chasing Justin Fields around for half this game, which he probably will have to do. So, just in terms of having the the fresh legs and the bodies, the ability to rotate. Pittsburgh can still do that. YA Black, like I said, is impressed this summer. And so, he’s going to see some action. But just from a, you know, logistical standpoint, making sure guys stay fresh wire to wire in what probably will be a close game. I think that’s one of the biggest impacts you lose when you lose a guy like Derek Harman. Alex, you know, normally when Jets and Steelers are coming to town, we’re the drama queens. All kinds of storylines and this and that, but you mentioned with Cam Hayward earlier, he’s this team captain. He’s this leader on the squad. And now all of the sudden he gave that cryptic answer on his podcast. We will see if I’m going to be out on the field. And I’m like, we will see. Oh, okay. Take your time, big boy. Getting back. That’s all right. If you have some sort of situation there. So, he was sort of cryptic like suggesting that maybe he won’t. Mike Tomlin at his pressure said he’s playing. So, what’s the truth here? What’s really going on? I’m expecting to see 97 suit up in this game. I’d be very surprised if he didn’t. I know he’s being koi as some sort of leverage ploy as he looks for a revised tweak contract. believe he’s underpaid, which he is, but don’t know if a contract adjustment will get made with him before week one. But it’s just hard to see your defensive captain with Harmon already out for a guy who just needs to win. The one thing he hasn’t done in his Hall of Fame resume otherwise is have playoff success. He’s one playoff win in his entire Steelers career, which isn’t all on him obviously. It’s majority on other aspects of this team, but it’s still certainly that one, you know, black mark on his resume. So, hey, we’re not being out there obviously hurts those chances to win in a very significant fashion. So, you know, he may not like it, but I have to think he’s going to suit up and play in this game. So, you mentioned that his snaps could be somewhat limited. He did not participate in appears in a lot of the offseason stuff. I’d love to hear the specifics from you. And also, Tomlin has sort of said that in general that they’ve sort of managed him at the ripe age of 36 of the last couple years. So, that isn’t atypical uh from that perspective. So, uh, let me let me throw it over to you on Cam Hayward. What kind of limitations could you see? Is that a normal week one sort of thing getting him into the, you know, getting him into the flow, so to speak? Yeah, in terms of the off season, his off seasonasons are never very active anymore. Even last year, which wasn’t a contract sit, well, it was a contract situation, but but in a normal year, quote unquote, he wasn’t going to see a lot of work because he doesn’t need it. when you have these young defensive linemen, these new people, Harmon, Maya Black, even some free agent signings like Daniel Aquala, you want to see what those guys can do more so than than a Cam Hayward. So, it kind of made you question. Everyone called it a holdin, but what is a holdin for a guy who wasn’t going to do a whole lot anyway? And he even practiced basically fully the first four days and then he kind of sat out the team period. So, the concern was never about, you know, how much practice did he need? He doesn’t need much practice time this summer. Terms of week one snap count. I mean, it’ll certainly ramp up, but he played a career low. I think it was like 71% of the snaps last year, which for him he used to play about 90% at his peak. And Pittsburgh trying to find ways to to ramp that number down a little bit in his in his mid to to now late 30s. So, he’ll still play a lot. He’ll still start of course, but they just want to make sure he’s not playing the 90 plus% snaps he was before cuz that’s not sustainable. A media member brought this up again. We’re speaking with Alex Gashard Kazora, baby of Steelers Depot here as we’re previewing the Jets Steelers week one contest. A media member brought this up to Tomlin that the Steelers struggled against mobile quarterbacks andor slash quarterback run option sorts of plays. Uh is that true? And I love these Tomlin isms. You guys get to enjoy him all the time. I only get to enjoy him on a week toeek, you know, on a once a year basis when I’m getting ready for these games where he’s like, I don’t tote the bags from last year. And he’s got all these great comments and quotes which I find very funny. But uh what about it? Is that true that the Steelers defense sort of struggled there? because it seems like uh from some of the player comments, they seem to think they have a plan for how to try to contain Justin Fields. Yeah, everyone has a plan this time of year. Everything looks good on the whiteboard until they get out there and do it. Yeah, Pittsburgh had some issues last year, but that that came down the stretch when the whole team collapsed. They had issues on on every side of the ball, every aspect of the game. That’s why they lost their last five games of the season. But Jaylen Herz had 45 yards and a touchdown late in the year. Lamar in the playoff game had 81 yards. And so it’s always a struggle for any team to have to defend mobility at quarterback. You have to rush differently. Pittsburgh, they want their front to be aggressive and be attacking. Now it’s focusing more on contain and keeping fields within the pocket. Kind of take some of the teeth out of your defense a little bit. Pittsburgh wants to play a lot of man coverage this year. It’s why they go get a Jaylen Ramsey and sign Darius Slay. But can you play man coverage against a mobile quarterback? Your backs are turned. If he takes off running, there’s room to run there. So it just messes with your game plan some in terms of run responsibility. You have to account for him in the run game. an extra guy to deal with. And so Pittsburgh is certainly no strangers to dealing with mobile quarterbacks. They face Lamar Jackson twice per season and generally have had more success against him than most other teams have had. So this is not new to Pittsburgh, but it’s never easy to do. Who has the advantage? The Jets say we know Aaron Rogers. The Steelers say they know Justin Fields. And now these two quarterbacks for the first time in NFL history start on start on opposite teams one year and on the next year freaky Friday switch to the other one. So I ask you, Alex Gazor, who is the advantage? The Steelers knowing Justin Fields or the Jets knowing Aaron Rogers? Aaron Rogers, Lindsay Lohan in this scenario. I don’t know which way he comes in on. We’ll talk about that maybe post show. Yeah, it’s it’s a good question. Obviously, it kind of washes out to some degree because both sides are familiar with another. If I had to give the edge to one, I think Pittsburgh has more of the edge because the coaching staff remains the same. The Jets have a new regime and so Aaron Glenn was not coaching Aaron Rogers last year and same with that whole staff over there. It’s a complete turnover. Pittsburgh did not make many coaching staff changes. The head coach is the same. The DC is the same. Of course, they had Justin Fields. They know him, you know, inside out. The quarterback coach is the same, the way he was coached last year. And Pittsburgh developed Justin Fields. He’s a better quarterback exiting Pittsburgh than he was entering this time a year ago. So, how much will that matter when the ball gets kicked off? Probably minimal overall, but if there was somebody who had an edge, you got to give the edge to Pittsburgh. And what about uh you mentioned some of the uh old faces and new places here. DK Metcap, Jaylen Ramsay, Darius Slay, you got all these new players all over the place. It seems from an outside perspective like whoa, this seems like the anti- Steelers off season here. So, how turbulent are the waters expected as they’re working in all these pieces because there’s some big names. J Rams big name, Daryl Slay big name, DK Mecha, big name, and I imagine expected to have massive roles on the Steelers team in 2025. They will. And in terms of how turbulent those waters will be, it’s just hard to say. It’s one of those unknowns that you can take some guesses at and we can sit here Paul for the next two hours and talk about how we think it’s going to go and we just don’t know until the ball gets rolled out. Now the good news is you have a bunch of veterans there. Jaylen Ramsey, Darius Slay, Aaron Rogers, DK Metaf. They’re not new to football and so there’s some continuity that can be made by veterans that have been in different systems and schemes and have changed teams before overall and this is not going to be brand new or, you know, to to them or to the Pittsburgh Steelers. But you’re right. I mean, there has been so much change. Pittsburgh turned over about 10,000 snaps from a year ago, offense, defense, special teams combined. Their leading passer from a year ago is gone. Their leading rusher from a year ago is gone. Their leading receiver from a year ago is gone. Their leading interception leader from a year ago is gone. And Dante Jackson, their second or third leading tackler, Ma Fitzpatrick, is gone. So, you are doing things that Pittsburgh has ever done before, but historically few teams have done before to this level. Oh, and this team that won 10 games last year, went to the playoffs. This is not full rebuild Pittsburgh Steelers. two four two two win season whole new regime when you typically get those giant full-scale tearowns. So it is uncharted territory, but for a franchise that has not won a playoff game since 2016, gone eight years without a playoff win, Pittsburgh needed some radical change and they sure got it outside of Pittsburgh land, which is where I reside. Hello everybody, I’m Paul EDA Jr. aka Boy Green. When the make of Fitzpatrick thing happened where he was gone, I’m like, whoa, where the hell did that come from? That felt like a shell shock cuz he felt just so integral to who the Pittsburgh Steelers are again from the outside. Was it as shocking to you? And how big of a loss is that that Minka Fitzpatrick is no longer patrolling that secondary? It was shocking. The news of acquiring Ramsay himself wasn’t a shock. There were some rumors going around that for the past couple weeks before that trade happened on June 30th, but you thought, okay, what mid round pick next year is Pittsburgh giving up for Jaylen Ramsey? And it wasn’t a pick. It was Minkov Fitzpatrick and and getting Johnny Smith as well which certainly was a surprise because the team was always espoused confidence in Minkovitzpatrick who’s just a couple years removed from being a pro bowler all pro one of the best safeties in football. I think overall Paul the calculation was he did not think M Fitzpatrick would return to form in his you know heyday in his prime they offseason mantra for Pittsburgh this year was uh physical playmakers offensively and defensively DK Metap offensively Johnny Smith offensively Jaylen Ram Ramsey defensively and so that was kind of the real focus to load up on those guys as much as possible and to be really strong at corner even if that means being a little weaker at safety so you can go face the Bengals with Chase and Higgins and have the horses to to match up and play that man coverage I talked about earlier. So, you know, the net benefit we’ll see. I think Pittsburgh will hopefully be stronger for it. Juan Thornnehill at safety’s going to have a big role. Um, but Jaylen Ramsey still the guy and he’s going to play nickel in in he’s going to play nickel in in subp package situations, play that slot corner spot, play safety in your base three, four. I imagine he’ll play on the outside some whenever it’s third and long and big- time moments and and to shadow and to face Garrett Wilson, but he’s going to play all over and it’s going to make Thorn Hill more that true 50B coming on the field in those sub packages. What’s the batting average for Pittsburgh when they do this kind of thing? Because the first team that comes to mind is New England and during the Bill Bich era, he would always get rid of a guy perhaps one year too early, but that’s how he felt about getting rid of one of those guys before some big decision was to come. What is the Steelers history with choosing to do something like this where they don’t project Mah Fitzpatrick to be the same player he was and they’re like all right we’re cool swapping the deck here in this case getting a Jaylen Ramsey and you know the Steelers h are captain continuity but I looked it up in the old dictionary I imagine continuity boom Pittsburgh Steelers with the three head coaches over the last a thousand cajillion years so I turn to you here Alex Kazour with that continuity they don’t do this thing often what has been the batting average historically when making decisions like this, it’s really hard to cite that history because you’re right, they just haven’t done that that often. So, it’s hard to find that precedent. I mean, Troy kind of got pushed out maybe a year before he wanted to retire, but that wasn’t a trade. It was just, you know, we think it’s time to to move on and did that really work out? It’s probably hard to think back in time and really judge that super well. So, this is the uncharted territory where it’s really unique for Pittsburgh to make those kind of big radical moves. is not just trading away Fitzpatrick but trading for DK Metaf and you know the quarterback situation they’ve rolled through this will be the fifth different week one quarterback in five straight years so continuity gone away at quarterback after having been Rothsburgger as your quarterback for so many years and probably have six different quarterbacks in six years come 2026. So there is a lot to learn about this team I think this year and next year in terms of how well these moves will pan out. Someone that’s given the Jets a lot of problems is Jon Smith. He’s coming off obviously that crazy year with the Miami Dolphins and again there was a lot of problems that John Smith gave the Jets but I’m curious with already an established tight end again from the outside perspective and Pat Far you know happening over there. How does he balance with John Smith are is it Aaron Hernandez, Rob Gronowski all over again and now two tight ends are going to be wreaking all hell all over the Jets defense or how does he fit into the puzzle or does he have a much lesser role in Pittsburgh than he had in Miami? Well, he won’t put up the 80 808 touchdowns he had Miami last year, but Pittsburgh will certainly use their tight ends as much as possible to probably lead the NFL in 12 personnel and 13 personnel, too. Darnell Washington is for my money, he’s the best blocking tight end in football. And at 6, seven, probably 300 lbs. He’s certainly an asset in the passing game, throw a jump ball to him, that’s hard to stop. Zarth Smith’s always been a multi-tighten. He’s a former tight end’s coach himself, a former offensive lineman. So, his style is still ground and pound, multi-tightend personnel, but not always. is just to play tight. He can go 13 personnel and even 14 personnel. They run some four tight end sets this year in training camp. And so that really puts the defense in conflict. Do you go heavy? Do you stay in your base defense with your run stopping linebackers? If you do that, Pittsburgh may spread the field and go empty and force those guys to now play in space and cover, limit your coverage menu, really stresses those guys. Or if the defense wants to go play maybe a big nickel or some sort of sub package, don’t worry about the pass game threat of Fryouth, Johnny Smith, and others. You’re going to go tight, pack things in and go run the ball. So that’s a real good opportunity for Pittsburgh to have some schematic wins, which they certainly need. So Smith and Frymouth, they’re going to vulture some receptions and numbers from each other, but they’re going to play a lot. Smith is is the most athletic and the physical guy, that physical playmaker is run after catch ability, even some backfield carries. Don’t be shocked if Johnny Smith gets a a toss to him or two in this game or throughout the season. So they’re all going to work well um when you have DK Medaf and and those tight ends are going to be the real guys they lean on in this passing game. What have you guys seen from Aaron Rogers this off seasonason? Because you know he doesn’t show up to a mandatory mini camp. We don’t see him playing the preseason games. Uh Ritzini throws up the Nugget on Sunday that and Aaron Rodgers starts over like the week one starts of like the last four years. He has sub 200 yards passing and has like a one touchdown four interception ratio and has struggled to like get kind of get going in modern times to start seasons. And then I lay out all those stats and nuggets I just said that seems to indicate it’s leaning more towards that direction of some early struggles. What have you guys seen from Aaron Rogers in these practices and training camp sessions? He’s looked good. I mean, everyone looks good when you can’t get hit and when it’s it’s early in the season, so ask me November. But the arm is certainly still alive. I’m sure even Jets fans would say the arm was not the issue with New York last year. I know he played hurt. The mobility’s been been sapped. So those are some of the other things to focus on. But what what it really just comes down to is the the play of this young Steelers offensive line. I think I told you before last time we talked, I’ll tell anybody, I’ll tell guys on the street, the Steelers offensive line is the group to watch for the headliners of Metaf Rogers and Ramsay. The litmus test of success for the Steelers team is Rodick Jones and Troy Fon, your tackles who are third and second year guys. Mason McCormack, second year, right guard Zack Frasier ascending second year center, facing not just the Jets, but you’re facing some really good pass rushers this year. So I don’t mean to stray from your question too much. Rogers has looked good. I would have liked to see him play in the preseason a little bit for that instadium perspective, but it’s not going to be the reason why Pittsburgh has a successful or unsuccessful season overall. Tomlin wanted to make sure he stays healthy and I think that joint practice they had against Tampa Bay was good as kind of his little preseason tuneup to face another opponent and that probably gave Tomlin some comfort to not put him in stadium action this preseason. Who’s the starting five offensive line for Pittsburgh left or right? Roderick Jones left tackle, Isaac Smallley left guard, Zack Frasier at center, Mason McCormack at right guard, and Troy Fanu at right tackle. So, it’s a young group overall. Jones is in a big make or break year after a tough sophomore year. Say Malu’s the one vet. Frasier had a really good rookie year. McCormack first time full-time starter at right guard, but played right guard mostly last year. And then fought basically his entire rookie year with a knee injury. looks really good, but it’s got to be played out on on on uh on on the field, I should say, because you’re facing some really good fronts. The Jets have a good front. Pittsburgh’s facing five of the top 11 highest paid pass rushers at some point throughout the season, including Trey Hendrickson twice, including Miles Garrett twice, and then Kyle Vanoi, who’s outside of that group. You’ll face him twice this year as well. So, there are just no days off with the Steu’s offensive line that begins in week. Oh, by the way, facing some defensive-minded coaches, coaching staffs, too. and Aaron Glenn in week one, Mike McDonald in Seattle week two, Mike Rael in week three, and then Brian Flores in week four, the Ireland game. So, you’re facing defensive minded coaches with good schemes that put a lot of stress on the Steelers offensive line. What’s the rep experience at left and right? Because Jones, he hasn’t always played left, right? And the same thing for Troy. So, what’s the what’s the rep experience at the respective positions that they plan on playing obviously for this season? Sure. Jones was a college left tackle. Drafted as such in Pittsburgh, but never really played there. He’s played about a game and a half at left tackle. His rookie year, he’s been primarily a right side guy. They had Dan Moore at left tackle who was durable. Did not like playing the right side. He left for Tennessee this off seasonason. So, Jones flipped back over to left tackle, but pretty new in the NFL at left tackle. Bonnie was a high school right tackle, played left tackle at Washington. Some will say Michael Pennix was his quarterback there and so the whole blind side got flipped thing. But I I care more about the sides than I care about the left-handed or right-handedness of the quarterback. So point is fought new college left tackle, flipped over to right tackle last year, but again barely played, got hurt in the preseason and then started one game or played one game at right tackle in week two last year, dislocated his kneecap, did not return the rest of the season. So he’s looked comfortable at right tackle, but he’s he’s pretty inexperienced on that side. All right, give it to us straight here. Uh, Alex, what’s the floor ceiling? In a best case, it’s an oblong shaped football. That thing bounces all over the place. I got two kids running around. The ball’s bouncing all over the place in the living room. I never know where it’s going to go. So, I ask you this. In a best case scenario, where does this offensive line rank for the Pittsburgh Stewarters by the end of the 2025 season? And absolute worst case scenario, everything goes wrong. They place what among the best or worst offensive lines in the National Football League? I think there’s a a symmetry there in a sense, top five or bottom five. The talent is there. There’s no question they can play really well. Fatanu looks like he can be a stud. Frasier had a good rookie year. I like McCormack’s progression at right guard settling in. Broadick Jones talents never been the issue. Just kind of about staying healthy, staying locked in, knowing your assignment, being detailed, improving his technique and say Molly is a consistent guy at left guard. So the talent can be a top five group. There’s no question about that. They could crash and burn too if they can’t stay healthy. If they can’t live up to that potential, depth on the offensive line is really weak. It’s one of the weakest parts of the Steelers team right now. They cannot afford the injuries. They had a season ago where they lose Fatani for the season. They lose Sealu for a month. They lose their right guard for the season. They just do not they cannot sustain that kind of stuff. But in terms of the starters, it it to me it’s boom bust. With all due respect. So again, Alex, I’m allowed to say that then say anything else after that because that’s the rule. I know Steelers fans that listen to this are going to be or watch us are going to be incredibly offended by this question and I guess it just is what it is. Okay. So, people keep trumpeting to me the TJ Watt thing in his final three or four games. He didn’t have a sack uh to end to end the run. And is this contract that he received this off season that put him temporarily until Micah Parson said hold by beer on the highest paid pass rusher thing, is that more a lifetime achievement award contract or what is to come? Because I always go back to Kobe Bryant, God rest his soul, when he got that crazy two-year, $50 million deal at the time from the Lakers that was sort of like, “Hey, man, you’re the best. We’ll see whatever you end up giving us on this contract, but you’re you’re a Laker.” And then TJ Watt, he’s a Steeler. So, long story short, how much gas is left in the tank there for TJ Watt? Because some people keep trumpeting that stat to me of like, I don’t know, how much more is left there for TJ? I will not take any disrespect of the question because you specifically said no disrespect, but I do not see this as the gold watch. Here you go, TJ. Thank you for your service. I don’t see that as the contract that was handed out. Pittsburgh is still very confident TJ Watt will return to form. And I I am too. I think he’s going to go back and and beat TJ Watt again. He was for three quarters of last season. Now the the end was terrible for himself and for the rest of the team. I think there’s a lot of factors in that. A he had some health issues. He had an ankle sprain, a thumb injury. Pittsburgh played from behind instead of playing with the lead and so teams were running the ball and taking deer out of the football and Pittsburgh struggled to stop the run. I think be better at stopping the run this year. Teams were getting the ball out really quick. I watched the Christmas Day game against KC last year. Mahomes held the ball for about 0.5 seconds on every single pass and Pittsburgh could you just can’t get to the quarterback that way. So, and I think Pittsburgh also can do a couple schematic wrinkles. They didn’t blitz as much last year. They didn’t stunt as much last year. They want Watt to move around more this year instead of just playing that left outside linebacker spot. He is going to float. He’s going to play on the right side a little bit, play some off ball on backers. So, you combine all those things, the infusion of help this off seasonason with Derek Carman and Pton Wilson in his second year, a really key player for them. I think that front’s going to be better, make TJ Watt that much better. But, yeah, I think he’ll bounce back in a in a very clear and noticeable way. Thank you for not taking offense because that again was my intention at the beginning of that question. Uh, Alex, who’s a straw that stirs the drink for Pittsburgh that we haven’t talked about yet that’s going to have a big impact on this game? Well, hopefully have a big impact. But in terms of a guy we haven’t talked about that’ll play a key role is Patrick Queen. That inside linebacker, that hub of communication, the every down linebacker signed over from Baltimore for 2024 and just had an okay season. I the big question on Patrick Queen is can he play well whenever he’s wearing the green dot and has to be that communicator. He struggled in Baltimore in that role until Roan Smith came over and assumed that role. Then Queen returned to form and he wasn’t great in Pittsburgh last year just okay. Okay. So, I think Patrick Queen’s a guy that really has to step up, not just in terms of of communication itself, which Pittsburgh really lacked late last year, but then his individual performance, his own playmaking ability. You want to see more of that this year. So, I think Queen’s one big guy to talk about. All right, Alex, I won’t ask you for a score prediction because that that’s not the kind of guy I am, okay? I’m not going to put you in that position. However, I’ve heard a lot of people describe to me what they believe the game is going to be and they say slam the over field goal fest. It’s going to be the under on all the statistics and everything uh that’s going to be for this game and that’s what it’s going to be for everybody. Would you buy that narrative that has been sold to me over the last couple of days that it’s going to be a field goal fest and think it’s going to be lowcoring ugly and uh you know maybe whoever’s kicker had their cleats tied on a little bit better is probably going to win this game in week one. Yeah, I have to really kind of sit in that a little bit more and think about the style of game. Week one is just such a grab bag with so much in known especially for I mean both sides really. It’s a new regime. It’s a rookie head coach. Pittsburgh has not had great success in recent years against the rookie head coach. And yeah, you can know about Aaron Glenn from Detroit, but you never really know exactly what that plan’s going to be in week number one. So, it’ll probably have some week one feel a little bit sloppy, a little bit messy. Will it be super low scoring 10-7 slugfest? Probably not. But probably in that it’ll probably be a 2017 game because every Steelers game is 20 to 17. It comes down to the final two minutes. So, why not why would it be any different this time around? Well, Alex, I love connecting the dots. Every time the Jets and Steelers play, there’s just a special sauce here. There’s no question about it. Undeniable, quite frankly. And uh I love it when you’re able to hop on the program from the wonderful Steelers Depot, baby. Thank you, Paul. I appreciate it. All right. Well, thanks everybody for tuning in to this episode for some Jet Steelers Talk. Make sure you guys like the video, hit subscribe, and we’ll see you next time. Take care.