Steelers vs Patriots Week 3 | Gruden’s Preview

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Coach Gruden breaks down the matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots. There’s a lot of history between these two teams. Who ya got?

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Okay, Sunday in Foxboro, we got a big game. The Pittsburgh Steelers at one and one heading to Foxboro to play the one and one Patriots. Two great defensive coaches. Aaron Rodgers versus Drake May. Somebody’s going to be two and one and somebody won’t. [Music] This game preview is presented by Game Time. The NFL is back. tailgates, pack stands, and that buzz before kickoff. But getting in, it’s a nightmare. Long lines, price jumps, getting logged out midclick. All you want is to be there losing your voice with the crowd. The Game Time app gives the advantage back to the fans. It’s the Hack to unlocking amazing tickets in just a few taps. It’s incredibly easy to use. Plus, the fees are always included. So, what you see is what you pay. I was looking for tickets for the Patriots game and I saw an amazing Game Time deal for great seats only $158. Take the guesswork out of buying NFL tickets with Game Time. Download the Game Time app. Create an account and use code gruden for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Create an account and use code gren to get $20 off. Swipe tap ticket. Go. Download the Game Time app today. This top of mind is brought to you by Chevrolet. Football season is here. And whether you’re grinding through the week or gearing up for kickoff, there’s one ride that’s always game ready. The Chevy Silverado. Built for the hustle, ready for the game. Silverado is America’s most dependable full-size truck. Head to chevy.com to learn more and build your own Chevy Silverado. [Music] All right, Sunday 1:00, Pittsburgh Steelers at 1-1 travel to New England to play the Patriots who are also one and one. Two defensive coaches go head-to-head. Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Mike Vrabel of the New England Patriots. Both of these coaches obviously are at different stages of their regime. Vrabel, he’s trying to establish something, a culture, an identity. He’s trying to put together a team that can once again return the Patriots to the top of the NFL. And Mike Tomlin, he has made multiple changes on his offense, on his defense, and it’s been up and down. It’s been kind of eyeopening. I can’t wait to see what happens in this game. Both of these teams have a lot of new players. I don’t recognize a lot of the names in New England. They’ve made massive overhauls on their roster and so have the Pittsburgh Steelers. And one of the big wild cards in this game is the Patriots offensive coordinator is Josh McDaniels, former head coach of the Raiders, out of football last year. He returns to New England for the third time. And I tell you, that’s tough because if you’re the Pittsburgh Steeler defensive coaching staff, what are we looking at? Do you got to go back to 2022 film when Josh McDaniels was with the Raiders? What the hell? Do you got to go back and see what he did with Tom Brady? That is interesting. The Patriots defensive coordinator, Coach Williams, has some health problems. So now calling the defenses is Zack Cerr. That’ll be interesting. He doesn’t have a lot of experience calling defenses, but that’s a little bit of a wild card in terms of preparation for the Pittsburgh Steelers. What do we expect? And if you’re the Patriot coaching staff and you’re watching this Pittsburgh defense, they have a great coordinator. Coach Austin over the last several years, he’s done a great job. But when I look at the Steelers, I don’t even know where they got all these players. I mean, it’s a completely new roster in the secondary and the schemes, they’re not the same, at least based on what I’ve seen so far. And they also have Arthur Smith. He returns as the offensive coordinator for the Steelers, but they got a brand new quarterback named Aaron Rodgers. They got a new go-to receiver, new feature back. They shuffled their offensive line around. So, there’s a lot of unknowns, man. So, when we get into this game, you got to concentrate, man. It’s a big one because Pittsburgh, this is a Mike Tomlin type game. He is pissed. I could tell by his press conference. They did not play well last week against Seattle. I don’t think they played particularly well yet. And the Steelers need to go two and one because they have the Vikings, the Browns, and the Bengals. And the Vikings and the Bengals have backup quarterbacks. So the Steelers, they got to put the wheels on and get rolling here. And it starts on Sunday. And the New England Patriots, they want credibility. They want to beat the Steelers. They want to get on with their season and put together a two-game winning streak. That is a momentum boost for a young football team in New England. The Steelers, a lot of pre-season hoopla. You like that word, Jake? I do. Hoopla. A lot of excitement and hysteria. Aaron Rogers press conference. DK Metaf press conference. Darius Sllay. Jaylen Ramsay press conferences. Hence, hoopla. You got it, Clay. That only takes you so far. They talked about having this historic defense, all these acquisitions. Well, right now the results have been troubling and very eyeopening and concerning. They got to get it going. Last week, the Steelers lost 31-7 at home to Seattle. And it really was an ugly home opener. They had the special teams gaff. We understand that. But they had a lot more problems than that. Had it not been for the two interceptions, one by Darius Slay, one by Nick Herbig, this would have been a blowout. The Steelers got outplayed. They blew coverages. They had bad run fits. They didn’t get lined up properly. They had a third and goal at the 19 and Kenneth Walker walked in for a touchdown. It was an uncommon Pittsburgh Steeler performance. Aaron Rogers had two interceptions. They couldn’t run the ball and that was their home opener. Very unsteeler-like. So, I assume Mike Tomlin is on their ass this week and I know they have some great veteran leadership there. They’re ticked off and they’re going to prove that it’s time to get started here. Ugly home loss. The New England Patriots after an ugly home loss on an ugly Foxboro day against the Raiders, they came back, went down to Miami and got a very big win. They jumped out to a 12 to nothing lead. And they kind of screwed around a little bit. They lost the lead, but Drake May, their young quarterback, made some critical plays late in the game. Harold Landry, their new pass rusher, had a signature sack and they had a big interception to win that football game. That’s the first time New England has beat Miami in Miami since 2019. So that’s a huge win for Mike Greybel and his young football team. The Patriots, they still have a lot to clean up. They had 12 penalties last week, three false starts on their right tackle, Morgan Moses. They had a defensive lineman jump off sides, negated an interception. Plenty for both of these teams to clean up. So, let’s get into it. The Patriots and the Steelers have quite a history. If you remember in the 2000s and the 2010s, three times these two teams played each other for the right to go to the Super Bowl AFC Championship game. All three times, 2001, 2004, and 2016, New England beat the Steelers and went on to go to the Super Bowl and win it. I will tell you, in 2001, that was We should have been in the AFC Championship game instead of this stinking Patriots. Boy wasn’t for that tuck rule. But that’s for another day. Oh god, what was I saying again? I start talking about that tuck rule and I just want to You know, the whole reason for instant replay was to overturn a freaking play that’s obviously incorrect. You think that was obviously an incomplete pass? That’s why there is no tuck rule anymore. Oh god, what was I saying? Anyways, they have a long history. The last time these two teams met was 2023. Patriots won that game 21-8. Believe it or not, Bailey Zappy threw two touchdown passes to Hunter Henry. And that’s the story. Mike Tomlin, as great as he is, he’s only 3 and 10 all time against the Patriots. Think about that. But he’s 3-0 all time against Mike Vrabel. Let’s get familiar with Mike Vrabel. Hell of a coach. Formerly a Pittsburgh Steeler. He was drafted by the Steeler in the third round. He played outside linebacker. He played special teams for four years. Pittsburgh let him go to New England. He won three Super Bowls as a Patriot. So Vable’s probably got a lot of emotions when he sees the Steelers coming out of the tunnel. This game has two quarterbacks. I love to watch. Aaron Rodgers, we’re gonna say this. 265th start is coming this Sunday. That’s a lot. He’s 41 years old. We don’t need to talk about all his yards and touchdowns. He’s a historic player in this league. He’s done an unbelievable job for a long time. But it’s not what he has done. It’s what will he do for us this year, especially today. That’s what we need to see from Aaron Rodgers. He is a shortterm answer for the Steelers. And this is my biggest concern. Is he coming back next year? Does it sound like he is? We’re never going to know. But he is a shortterm quarterback for the Steelers. So when he goes home at night, when he comes into the building, is he with us for the long haul? Probably not. And that can be taxing on a team. It really can. Whereas Drake May, who’s only going into his 15th start, he is going to be here for the long haul. There’s our quarterback this year, next year, and for years to come. So, this is very important, I think, for Aaron Rodgers to maintain his status as one of the great quarterbacks in the league right now and to take the Steelers to Foxboro and get after their ass and get this win. And for Drake May, we all know he was two years old when Aaron Rogers got drafted in 2005. Two years old. He grows up idolizing Aaron Rogers. He’s walking around with his cell phone when he’s 14 years old. Aaron Rogers is on the cover of his phone. He’s like, I love Aaron Rogers. I love Now you got to go beat his ass. You got to take the Steelers out. You got to get this win. Drake May and it’s up against your idol that you grew up looking up to. It’ll be really cool. I love Drake May. 23 years old and he’s doing a lot with his arm and his legs. Here’s what I love about Drake May. Ask me, Jake. What do you like? I like the way he responded. Okay. Did not play particularly well against the Raiders. Heard some booing and ticked off New England people. Anyways, he responds. He goes down to Miami, 19 for 23, throws two touchdown passes, runs for 31 yards, a touchdown. He’s learning a new offense. He’s got a lot of new teammates and he responded to adversity with a huge win at Miami. I love that. And I can’t wait to see what Aaron Rogers does. Normally when his back is against the wall, nobody does it better. One of the quickest quarterbacks I’ve ever seen. Quick mind, man. He sees something, his mind fixes problems. Quickest arm I have seen. And he’s got a quick body. He’s like a boxer in the pocket. He’s like Tommy Hearns or Sugar Ray Leonard. He’s always a continuous moving part and he can make all the deliveries. I love Aaron Rogers. There is a lot of rumors out there about how Rogers is descending and Drake May is ascending. There’s a big difference. Both of them got to prove where they are with this season. some key statistics that you got to think about in this game. Tackling, these are two of the worst tackling teams in the NFL through the first two weeks. If you’re interested in pro football focus and all these shows, statistics are what they are. Both of these teams have missed more tackles than anybody in football. I know it’s early in the season and a lot of times these veterans haven’t played much in the preseason, so keep an eye on that. Who’s going to pick it up when it comes to tackling? Important. Pittsburgh right now is 30th in the league in rushing offense. They can’t run the ball. 62 yards a game. Pittsburgh Steelers, hell’s bells. And they’re going up against the Patriots who are third in the league in rushing defense. So, that’s something you got to keep an eye on. The Pittsburgh Steelers have the 28th rushing defense. They have been gashed by Bree Hall of the Jets, Kenneth Walker of the Seahawks. Both over 100 yards. The Pittsburgh Steelers, man. And they’re going up against the strength of the Patriots is their running backs. Stevenson 38. The rookie Henderson 32. And Gibson, he can do it all. Number four, those three backs against this rushing defense. That’s what the stat says. Advantage Patriots. And finally, it’s the New England Patriots pass defense. They’ve had a lot of injuries in the secondary. They might get Christian Gonzalez back, their star corner, but they are 32nd in the league defending the pass. They have been ripped. And I want to remind you, Aaron Rogers is in town and DK Metaf. were waiting on both of them to deliver some blows. So, those are some key stats to keep an eye on. The kicking situation really favors the Pittsburgh Steelers. Chris Boswell, did you see what he did last year? 41 for 44 on field goals. 13 out of 15 from 50 or more. Hey, he made all 35 PATs, too. And this year, he’s already five for five. Jake, he made it from 56 to beat the Jets. He’s also made 48,48 and 45. We should just shorten the game when Boswell comes out. Screw it. It’s good. Move on. Let’s just kick off. Now for the Patriots, they got a young kicker who has been a concern. Andy Boragalis, the young kicker of the Patriots. He’s already missed two extra points. And I can see the head coach over there going, “Oh he missed the landing zone on a kickoff against Miami.” Your coaches really get upset with that. He did make a 53 yard at crunch time, but I think he’s on notice. He’s got to start being consistent for the Patriots. This is the Patriots, man. This is where Adam Benitary used to kick. You remember that kick he made in the snow? Forget about the tuck rule. That son of a How did he do that? Anyways, injuries in this game, there are some significant ones for the Steelers. Starting corner Joey Porter has a hamstring. He’s not going to play. Deshawn Elliott, enforcer, safety man, not going to play. Isaiah Louderdermilk, defensive end, defensive tackle, out for the year. That’s a big loss for Pittsburgh. And Derek Harmon, their first round pick from Oregon through Michigan State. Hasn’t played yet. Questionable for this game. They need him back desperately. and their outside linebacker, defensive end, Alex Highmith is out, hurt his ankle. That puts a lot more pressure on TJ Watt. That is a significant group of defensive players and a big reason why the Steelers are struggling on that side of the ball. Defensively for the New England Patriots, Christian Gonzalez practiced full on Thursday. That’s a great sign. Will he play? If he plays, will he play the whole game? He wears number zero. He will be the right corner. And that is a position that has really hurt New England in the first two weeks. Keep an eye on that. Harold Landry, good news for New England. He was a full go. He’s going to be ready to go. The Patriots are healthier than the Steelers. And lastly, the special teams could be the winning edge. You know, the Pittsburgh Steelers, they had that well-known play last week where the ball bounced over the rookie’s head and the Seahawks got a touchdown. Well, now he’s not going to be returning kicks. Johnson is out. Will it be Kenny Gainwell? The ex Philadelphia Eagle returning kicks. We’re going to have to find that out. For the Patriots, their kick returner is Antonio Gibson. He’s a badass. He returned one 90 yards last week for a touchdown against the Miami Dolphins. Keep an eye on special teams. Lot to unpack here. Steelers, Patriots. Let’s get into it. This offense and defensive match is brought to you by Fox One. On Fox one, you can stream your favorite live sports so you never miss that. Did you see that moment? That means Fox NFL Sundays are now on Fox One. It’s NFL Sundays, all streaming live, the way it was meant to be watched. I can’t stand watching things on delay. I got to see it live with my own eyes. Start your 7-day free trial today. Offers are subject to change. Go to Fox One for complete terms and conditions. [Music] Okay. The Steelers offense against the New England Patriots defense. I’m already sweating. I got to put my hat on. I get enough criticism about my hairstyle. I just get it dry and let it fly, Clay. Anyways, the Steelers offense led by offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, who’s in his second season. You would think there’d be a dramatic improvement. The repetitions, the familiarity would all add up. But in fairness to Arthur Smith, he got a brand new cast of characters that are still on the go learning this system. So far through two games, the Steelers are ranked 26th in scoring. They’re ranked 30th in rushing the football. That’s uncommon in Steeler history. They’re throwing the ball to Decent Clip. They’re 18th and they’ve given the ball away two times. Aaron Rogers had two interceptions last week. This offense is a run playaction attack. That’s what Arthur Smith was well known for as an offensive coordinator when he worked for Mike Greybel in Tennessee. But in Pittsburgh, he’s had to change along the way. Different quarterbacks, different receivers, and now different feature backs. But I know deep down Arthur Smith would love to run it and set up some playaction passes. But being 30th in the league, that’s a statistic. Let’s look at the runs and see why they’re 30th. Would you like to know, Jake? I would. This is what I see. They miss some blocks. They’re not hitting on all cylinders up front. They’re missing some blocks. They’re having some poor identification. A lot of times the center, he has to mic over there, Mike over there. Perhaps somebody doesn’t get the call. They’re not on the same page. There’s poor combination blocks at times. Sometimes a guard and a center are working together. Sometimes a tackle and a guard. Sometimes a tackle and a tight end. The combinations are failing. There’s some penetration. I mean, there’s some penetration and pad level issues. There’s no cohesion right now. Nobody’s in a rhythm. They’re using three different backs, and it’s honestly, it’s hard to watch. There aren’t a lot of repeat runs. You don’t see the same running back run the same play three or four times. How many times did you see Le’Veon Bell run a duo in Pittsburgh? He would almost stop. Do you remember his running style? Boom. He would stop and bounce it. I don’t see any rhythm or repetitive plays. And right now it’s a problem. And when you can’t run it, it’s hard to run play action passes and it’s hard to move the ball. You fall behind in a down a distance and now you got a lot of pass rushers heating up your young O line. That’s really what’s happening in Pittsburgh. Knock on a greaseboard at home if you’re with me. You see that? What personnel grouping are the Steelers going to use? I mean, right now DK Metaf has seven catches and I see him throw the ball a little bit to Calvin Austin. He got in trouble last week because of the end zone interception. He ran the wrong route on a scramble drill. But is there a third receiver? Roman Wilson. I thought he was going to be a big part of this. He’s got one catch. And I don’t even know if they have any other receivers on the roster. They’re using their new tight end, John Smith. He’s got the team lead in receptions, but he’s only got 42 yards. They got Frier Mouth, a very good tight end. Are they a three tight end team, a two tight end team, an 11 personnel team? Are they going to ever be a two back team? We really don’t have an identity from the Steelers yet, but they made the decision to go with Jaylen Warren as their number one guy. Hear that? Hear that? That’s all the fans clamoring for Jaylen Warren. Listen, we want Warren. They wanted Naji Harris out of here. They wanted Warren. And guess what? You got Warren now. Let’s get Warren going. That’s my recommendation. For whatever it’s worth, I would give Warren a lot of work. I would treat Warren just like Charlie Garner. Yeah, he’s not the biggest guy. Finally, the 49ers figured it out and they made him the go-to guy and they gave it to him. I think Warren needs to get 20 carries, 17 to 20 carries, and I think he needs to be featured in a passing game. He is the best player skill-wise on the Steelers right now. He makes our offense go. He had a checkdown last week for 65 yards. He ran through Seattle. I fell out of my chair. There he is. Get him the ball. Warren, I love Warren. They got to get number 30 going. Knock on a greaseboard, Jake. I mean, Naji Harris touched the ball more than any man in the NFL over the last four years. 1277 touches. Jake, are you with me? He’s gone. Where are all those touches going? And for 50 years, the Pittsburgh Steelers have had a well-known trigger in the back field. I mean, they’ve had some great backs. I think it’s Warren’s time to be featured, and I think we’re gonna see that this Sunday in Foxboro. Aaron Rogers, I’ve already talked about the quickness. He still has great arm talent. I mean, a couple of the touchdowns he throws against the Jets are like, it’s just freaking awesome, man. He could still rip it. The protection has not been great. He is, I think, in a position this week against the 32nd ranked Patriot pass defense to start going off. You’re going to see a lot of motion before the snap. They’ll move a receiver across the formation and land him. They’ll move a tight end across the formation and sit him down. And all Rogers is doing is just peeking at the coverage. He’s researching the defense. He wins a lot of the time in the pre- snap. He recognizes coverages and matchups. I think Arthur Smith is going to lean on A-Rod and cut him loose in Foxboro because the Steelers got to have this game. They got to turn their season on right now. So, I look for more from Rogers throwing the ball this week. A lot more motion, a lot more shifting so far in the first two games. Let’s see if that continues. Metaf, the Metaf factor. Here’s a guy we trade for. We give him $30 million right now. He has seven catches for 100 yards. I don’t know where he is. We have really not thrown a route to Metaf yet over 10 yards. And with this Patriot secondary struggling, I think we got to turn it up with DK Metaf. He’s got to be a bigger part of this game plan. We have to create our identity. And right now, number 30, Warren, number four, DK Metaf, and our quarterback, Aaron Rogers. We got to lean on these three guys in Foxboro. The offensive line has struggled, been very concerning run blocking, pass protecting. Right now, they’ve given up a number of sacks, quick pressures, and they’re on pace to give up 60 sacks this year. They got to play better, man. The Patriot Dline is the strength of their outfit. They have nine sacks already in two games. The Patriots on defense again. New defensive coordinator Zack Kerr calling the shots while Coach Williams is coming back from some health problems. And it appears Coach Williams is back in the office. That’s a great sign. But Zack Curl called the defense right now. They’re 19th in scoring defense, 25th in total. They’re third against the run, 32nd against the pass. And I know it’s only been two games. Look at Mike Vrabel’s history as a head coach when he was in Tennessee. They blitzed the fewest amount in the NFL. Uncommonly in the opening game against the Raiders, they blitzed Gino Smith 44% of the time on drop back passes. Gino ripped them. They had nine gains of 20 yards or more in a passing game. So last week in Miami, they only blitzed 3% of the time against the Miami Dolphins on dropback passes. This is an obscure defense in New England. A lot of no-name players. You have to familiarize yourself with some of these players. That doesn’t mean they’re not any good. They’re really good. They’re just obscure. They’re first year players. They’re rookies. They’re second year. They’re coming from other teams. They’re putting together this roster in Mike Greybel’s image. So, you get to know some of these new Patriots. It might help you later in the season. You guys dig it, Jake? They did spend a ton of money on some free agents on defense. They gave a lot of money to Robert Spolain to play linebacker. They gave a lot of money to Milton Williams. It’s a good thing they did. He came over to play defensive tackle from the Philadelphia Eagles. They brought Harold Landry in from Tennessee. Harold Landry played for Vrabel. He had a closeout sack last week and Carlton Davis was brought in to play left corner. So, they spent a lot of money to get four legit starters. Tackling big issue. We’ve already talked about it. Their two linebackers, Spalain, as much as I like them, and Christian Ellis, they lead the league in miss tackles. Spalain has eight. Ellis has six. They got to tighten up their tackling. They’re shoulder tackling a lot. Shoulder tackling. Shoulder tackling. They got to wrap the guys up. They got to deal with Metaf. I know this. I’ve already said this. Metaf needs to see the ball. Pittsburgh knows it. You know it. And so do the Patriots. And if Gonzalez plays, that’s very good for New England because last week backup corner Alex Austin, he got beat by Wadd for a touchdown. He got beat deep by Tyreek Hill. And that’s where Metcap is going to be looking. They’re going to be looking at the right corner of the New England Patriots. They’re looking for number 28. So they got to have a plan to limit DK Metaf in this game. They’ve given up 13 explosive plays already in two games. 13 pass plays of over 20 yards. So DK Medaf and Aaron Rogers are licking their chops. This is a good run defense. They play a three four defense. Three down linemen, four linebackers. Clay, you got me. In their base, they have good run defenders. They play a big nickel. What is a big nickel? Well, it’s five defensive backs, but three of those defensive backs are safeties. You see Kyle Duger, number 23, come in as the big nickel. So, now they play with three safeties, Duger, Hawkins, and Woodson. So, the Patriots do a good job of matching up by down at distance with different personnel groups to stop the run. The biggest improvement in the Patriot defense is the pass rush. Man, I love to see it in this business. You don’t stay the same. You either get better or worse. Last year, the Patriots were the worst pass rush team in the league. 28 sacks in 17 games. That’s last. That’s not good, Clay. This year, I know it’s only two games. They have nine sacks in two games. number one in the NFL because of Milton Williams, because of Harold Landry, and because of Kavon Chason. They’ve got some guys that can heat you up. That’s a big different from last year. And the key to a great pass rush is, can you close games out in the fourth quarter? And what’ they do in the fourth quarter last week with their pass rush, Jake? Big sack. Big sack. You know, I’m gonna give Harold Landry a nice big chain. Money pass rusher. You got to have money pass rushers in closeout situations. Let’s take a look at the matchups. It all starts up front in this game. The Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line, I know they’re young. Remember, they move Brick Jones, former first round pick, from right tackle to left tackle. and number 77 Jones. I love his athleticism. Love his makeup, but he’s wild in his pass sets. He’s given up four sacks. He’s given up a lot of quick pressures. Jones has got to play a hell of a lot better because he’s going to go out there and see this Kavon Chson guy number 44. Say whatever you want. This guy plays his ass off. He’s got a sack and a half already. He’s got a good inside move. He can recover. They got to get more out of Jones fast. really fast because he struggled at right tackle, now he’s struggling at left tackle. The other tackle is a former first round pick, Troy Fatano, formerly number one pick out of Washington. He hurt his kneecap last year. He was out for the season and now he’s playing and he’s had some consistency. He’s also had some growing pains and he’s going up against this Harold Landry guy, man. He’s got three and a half sacks. And Harold Landry leads the NFL right now. He’s tied with Miles Garrett and Carl Granderson. Landry gets off the rock, man. So, Fatano and Jones are going to have their hands full. You know what I’m saying, Jake? Big time. Zack Frasier is the center. He’s in his second year out of West Virginia. He’s a good player, but he’s going to have his hands full when the Patriots are in their base defense. They have a nose tackle number 95 named Tonga. He’ll play defensive tackle in the sub package, but in the base, Tonga is good with his hands. He can play two gaps and keep the linebackers clean. Isaac Seamalo got a lot of money to come over to Pittsburgh from Philly. And he’s been good. He just hasn’t been great. They need him to turn his game up as well. And the young Mason McCormack at right guard just in his second year, he’s had his moments where he needs some help as well. McCormack and Seamalu can play better. And the strength of the Patriots, as I said, is their pass rush. They have Landry and Chason on the outside. And you better keep an eye on Milton Williams if you’re McCormack or if you’re Seamalo. Milton Williams got $105 million to come to New England. That’s why he left Philadelphia. He’s already got two sacks and he’s tied for the league lead with nine pressures. This guy has a great motor and he has great stamina. He did not tire in Miami last week. Hell, I get tired sitting in the stands drinking a beer listening to Jimmy Buffett. This guy’s a badass. 97 Milton Williams. Better watch out. The other guy is Christian Baramore, the ex Alabama Crimson Tide. He had some health issues last year, but Barammore is healthy, man. He has nine pressures, tied for the league lead. He’s a good run defender. He’s playing his ass off. And I worry about these guards a little bit against these two defensive tackles based on the first two films we have seen. Right now, advantage New England Patriots with the individual matchups up front. So, it’s important that Pittsburgh collectively gets their offensive line going in the running game and in pass protection. Outside, we’ve talked a lot about DK Medaf. I mean, he hasn’t run a route beyond 10 yards from what I have seen. Let’s take a look at this route tree. I mean, so far, I’ve seen him run a one-step slant, a bullet slant, a three-step slant. I’ve seen him run a snag route two to three yards where he starts in and comes back out. I’ve seen him run one fly stop at about 10 to 12 yards. That’s the deepest I’ve seen. I’ve seen a few shallow crosses four to five yards deep. I saw one over route at 10 to 12 yards deep. And that’s pretty much the extent of it. hasn’t spin anything down the field. They got to get him going and they got to get him in the game early. They got to get his hands on the ball, get him some confidence and get him into a playing rhythm. The right corner over here for the Patriots is one of the best kept secrets in America right now. That’s the Patriot way. Is he going to play? Is he not going to play? I don’t know. I mean, hell, in their base defense, Marcus Jones, number 25, plays right corner. and Marcus Jones can play, but a lot of the times they force you into a nickel defense and Marcus Jones comes into the slot. So, who comes in and plays 75% of the plays? Well, it’s been Alex Austin. That’s been a big problem for the Patriots. They would love to have Christian Gonzalez number zero. You know how much I like that number. I hate that number. But anyways, they hope he can come back and play. I do too. He’s a good player, but I got to see him play week in and week out. You know, he got hurt, missed most of his rookie season. He hasn’t played yet this season. I remember this Tai Law. He played 10 years in New England and he only missed nine games. Then they had this other corner named Asante Samuel. Asante Samuel missed five games in his first five years. Man, why do you think the Patriots have all these rings? Have you seen the size of those freaking rings? They had great corners. and Gonzalez is supposed to be the next one. So, he’s got to get over this hamstring. He’s been hurt since July 28th. He’s got to get out there and shut down these guys so they can do some things on defense. But that matchup, if Gonzalez doesn’t play, is a big problem for the Patriots over here. I don’t know what the Steelers are doing at wide receiver. Calvin Austin to me is better in the slot. Calvin Austin very fast, great punt returner. He’s better in the slot. And if he’s in the slot, he’s going to see Marcus Jones in their pure nickel number 25 for the Patriots. A good nickel corner. But in their big nickel package, Kyle Duger plays over the slot. So it all depends on down a distance who’s inside and who’s not. Got you got that, Jake? All right. At the other corner, Carlton Davis comes over. The ex Tampa Bay Buccaneer, ex Detroit Lion. Now he’s wearing number seven. Good player. The Steelers just don’t have a receiver that they go to often over there. I mean, I want to find out about Roman Wilson, the ex-man Wolverine. He was hurt all last year. Only one catch for seven yards. I saw him in the preeason run to the post, make a big catch. I’m like one of these fans. I want more Wilson. I want to see this guy, man. I don’t know why we haven’t. We haven’t seen anybody really other than Austin and Metaf at the wide receiver position, but the corners, keep an eye on who the right corner is for New England. The safety men for the Patriots are both young. The starting safeties will be Jaylen Hawkins. He’s number 21. And they have a rookie, Craig Woodson, a third round pick. He’s wearing number 31. A lot of inexperience in their secondary on the back end. And the Steelers, I think, with their tight ends are going to try to exploit that. The Steelers have four tight ends on their roster. We all know Connor Hayward plays a little Hback special teams when he’s active, but Pat Frier, he’s a hell of a tight end. He can block the C gap. He can pass protect. And let’s remind everybody, he can run a lot of routes, man. They got to get Fri going. He’s got six catches for 58 yards, but he’s been very quiet in the first two weeks. They got to look for him on third down in the red zone. Perhaps increases route tree because he’s a game changer in my opinion. Janu Smith came over from the Miami Dolphins. He has been with Arthur Smith in Tennessee in Atlanta. Now he’s back with them again in Pittsburgh. He leads the team with nine catches but just 42 yards. So Smith and Frier Muth will be parts of the passing game and let’s see some Darnell Washington number 80. Let’s bring this big tight end in here and let’s let him block for Jaylen Warren. We might need some help against these edge rushers anyhow. But the Steelers do have three good tight ends I expect them to use. The linebackers for the Patriots, Ellis 53, got hurt last week late in the game, perhaps dehydrated, and the game was finished by Marte Mapoo. He comes into game number 15 from Sacramento State, has an interception. He freaking wins the game. Credit to him. But Ellis 53 and Spalain, I look for Spalain to turn things up this week. He struggled to me tackling consistently in the first couple weeks. He’s a very good player. But here’s the matchup. Remember, you heard it here first at the FFCA. I saw Han, the running back of the Dolphins, run a couple choice routes out of the back field and shred New England. I mean, he shredded them. I really think number 30 Warren, number 14, Kenny Gainwell. They got to have a big role in this week’s passing game. They got to get these backs out of the back field running choice routes against Ellis and Spolain, especially if it’s a lot of split safety coverages. I mean, last week a change shredded New England on a 28 yard touchdown on a choice route. Look for this Jaylen Warren catching 75 to 100 yards of passes in this game. I That’s how confident I am in Warren against the underneath coverage of the Patriots. I think that’s what we have. I think the Patriots got to really rely on their run defense. Get them in second and long, third and long. Cut this pass rush loose against these Pittsburgh Steeler linemen that are struggling. And if you’re the Pittsburgh Steelers, let’s give the ball to Warren. Let’s give the ball to Warren. Let’s get some rhythm. Let’s reduce the number of schemes. Let’s come off the ball and let’s get some freaking identity. And then let’s fake it in there to Warren. And let’s look for DK Metaf down the field. And finally, let’s throw the ball to Warren against these linebackers. I’m getting tired. Let’s go. Okay, the Patriots offense against the Pittsburgh Steeler defense. A lot to consider here. New England Patriots welcome the return of Josh McDaniels to the offensive coordinator position. I got a lot of respect for McDaniels, man. This guy’s a hell of a coach. This is his third stint with New England as the OC. He was the head coach of the Raiders, as you know. Last year, he was out of football, but it’s not like he was at the beach. I know McDaniels. This guy’s been working behind the scenes, readying himself for a return, and he’s made a huge impact already. You know, McDaniels, he had the number one offense in football three times. And I know he had Tom Brady as his quarterback, but he deserves a lot of credit. Every year the Patriots are in the money and one of the top offenses in the league. Right now the Patriots are 19th in the league in scoring. They’re 14th in the league in total offense and they’re 23rd running it and 10th throwing it. They’re improving. When you watch New England beat Miami last week, that’s the first time the Dolphins have scored over 30 points in 46 games. Man, that’s unbelievable. So, what I feel is a lot of confidence that came from that game in Miami. I mean, they got a young quarterback in Drake May. They got a rookie at left tackle, a rookie at left guard. They’ve got a lot of new receivers, and they’ve got a new running back, Trayvon Henderson, playing key snaps. It’s a rookie. So, scoring 30 points, winning on the road against a divisional foe, and enjoying the plane trip home with your coaches, celebrating the win can go a long way. Confidence is booming. This is a sophisticated offense. McDaniels does a lot of different things. Schemes, protections, audles. He puts a lot on his players, and they change on a weekly basis. They’ll come out and play with three tight ends, no tight ends, no backs, two backs. They have a lot of stuff, and they can change based on who they play on a weekly basis. It’s an offense that has always been balanced. Even though Brady threw for a lot of yards, they’ve always been able to run the football in critical situations, short yardage, goal line, end of game, they can run out the clock. They’ve got three different backs right now that they can use creatively, and it’s fun to watch. What I love about McDaniel’s system is they’re underneath the center. I mean, back in Las Vegas in 2022, his last full year as a play caller, they were underneath the center 50% of the time, second most in the NFL. I like the way they can get underneath the center and really accommodate these running backs. Get it to them deep back here. Let them read their cuts. Let them generate some force. Come up with some different blocking schemes and set up some great play action passes and bootlegs. a lot of underneath the center offense. The other thing that’s always been noticeable in watching Josh McDaniels offense is I call it the help system. The tight ends, the receivers line up right next to the tackle at times and they’ll nudge the defensive end before they release. The running backs, they’ll check their assignment and if there’s not a blitz, they always chip the speed rushers. They’ve done a great job over the years helping offensive linemen in pass protection and that’ll be a huge thing to look for against TJ Watt, number 90 of the Steelers. They throw a lot of quick game here in New England. They’re going to help this young offensive line by shortening the routes and getting rid of the ball quickly. They do a nice job of moving the pocket so the defensive line can’t zero in on where Drake May is going to be. three-step. Move the pocket right, move the pocket left, extend the drop. They change the launching spot consistently. I love that. Are they a 12 personnel team or not? I know we’re just getting started with this season, but last year the Patriots with Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper were in 12 personnel. One back, how many tight ends, Clay? Two. How many receivers, Jake? Two. 500 plus snaps. And I think right now with all of the newness in terms of McDaniel system, they’re trying to find out what to do with Stefan Diggs. Is it M. Hollands over here? Is it Bouty? I mean, they got to figure out who belongs on the field in all situations. So, they’re a work in progress. The big thing I look for is McDaniels to attack the underneath pass coverage of the Steelers. What’s very important, I think, in this game is ball security. The Pittsburgh Steeler defense took it away 33 times last year. One of the best in football. And under Mike Tomlin’s leadership, the Steelers have always taken the ball away. Nobody better than TJ Watt punching it out. They’ve got to emphasize ball security, particularly Drake May in the pocket and blind pursuit plays. If you’re a receiver running down the field, it’s always the blind pursuit you don’t see with the Pittsburgh Steelers that punches that ball out. Ball security is going to be big. And that’s what I like about the development of Drake May. He’s doing a lot of things better already. In 2024 and 12 starts, he turned the ball over 16 times. He had 10 interceptions. He lost the ball six times on fumbles. So far this year, he’s just had one turnover in two games. That was an early interception against the Raiders, but his pocket fundamentals are better. He’s holding that ball much more consistently. A lot more motion in Josh McDaniels offense last week against Miami. He motioned 36 times, only 12 times against the Raiders. Both touchdown passes were on motion. Point is, on a weekly basis, McDaniels has something coming out of the hat every week. He’s known for that. They have three distinctly different backs. And I think the strength of the Patriot football team are these running backs. They have 38 Stephvenson. What a player he is. He can run the ball. You know, a couple years ago, Stevenson had 1,400 yards of allpurpose yardage running and receiving. He had a 55 yard catch last week. He ran hard between the tackles. They drafted Tayvon Henderson, number 32 out of Ohio State. He can really run. And you’ll see Stephvenson and Henderson in the game together in two back rocket backfield sets. They also have Antonio Gibson, number four. All he did was return a kickoff 90 yards. So all three running backs very explosive. And I look for McDaniels to have a creative plan to use his two tight ends, to use his three running backs, and figure out how to get Stfan Diggs rolling, man, with a little more bouty and a little bit more M. Hollands. We don’t know what’s coming out of the back, but McDaniels is famous for the wham play. You’re going to see it against the three four defense where they’ll have a nose tackle and they’ll have one of their tight ends off the ball wham that nose tackle. It’s awesome. And then they’ll have a playaction pass off the wham. McDaniels runs the one back power play. We call it punch. They’ll run it repeatedly and then they’ll run a trap pass that looks just like it. So McDaniels has always done a great job setting up his play action passes with some common runs that you’ll see throughout the game. The Pittsburgh Steeler defense led by Terrell Austin. We all know they’re struggling right now. Through two games, it’s uncommon that they’ve given up over 30 points in back-to-back weeks to start the season. That hasn’t happened since 2002, Jake. That’s a long time. You know, how old were you? Three. Yeah, that’s just a long time. The Steelers have the highest paid defense in the NFL. I mean, they’re paying guys a lot of money. They’ve got six former number one draft choices. High expectations, but so far they haven’t delivered. I think the big thing Mike Tomlin and coach Austin are doing is they are addressing their run defense because right now it’s not good at all. They got gashed by Bree Hall for 107 yards over five yards a carry in week one. And then Walker comes in from Seattle. 13 carries, 105 yards, 8.1 yards per carry. They can’t stop the run. So I think what we got to remember is this is a 34 defense right now. Their nose tackle number 95 Benton, he’s struggling. He is struggling and they don’t have a lot of depth behind him. So when he gets a little tired, he’s not real effective right now. But he is struggling at those. We all know Cam Hayward. He is 35 years old. still a hell of a player, but he only plays 70% of the plays. So, when he comes out of the game, they got to pick it up. And Cam’s got to play better, too. That goes without saying. 99 is their rookie, Harmon. He hasn’t played yet. The guy that backed them up, Louderm Milk, number 92, is out for the year. So, they have Black number 94, a rookie fifth round pick out of Iowa, and he’s not playing great. They’re struggling inside big time and it affects their linebackers. Payton Wilson, Patrick Queen, guards, fullbacks, linemen are pulling, getting up on these linebackers and it hasn’t been pretty. And they’re missing Hi Smith, one of their outside linebackers. But I want you to think about the Steelers. If you’re TJ Watt or you’re an outside linebacker for the Steelers, you play outside linebacker in the base defense. And when we go to nickel, you become the starting defensive end. Are you clear with that, Clay? If you’re a defensive end like Cam Hayward or Benton, the nose tackle in your base defense, when you go to nickel, they become defensive tackles that rush the passer. The problem with Pittsburgh is their starters aren’t playing at a high level and they have very little depth right now because of the injuries. Are you guys clear? Hence, we’re having a hard time stopping the run. But they got to get back to stopping the run. I mean, the Steelers, You never run the ball against Pittsburgh. And they are getting gashed right now. And I’m sure coach Tomlin has their attention. They got to deal with a mobile quarterback again. I thought Justin Fields hurt Pittsburgh in week one. Scrambling design zone read keeps. Drake May can do that. Do you know in week six through 18 last year, Drake May scrambled for 395 yards. Jake, that’s number one in the NFL, more yards than Jaden Daniels or Lamar Jackson over that time frame. So, the Steelers, not only do they got to deal with the great running backs of the Patriots, they got to deal with Drake May’s variable here as a scrambler and as a keep guy on the zone reads. They have to tackle better just like the Patriots. You know, right now the Pittsburgh Steelers are missing tackles 18.2% 2% of the time according to this pro football focus. Last year they were the best tackling team in the league. Right now they’re one of the worst. Hence we’re not going to get very good run statistics. Are we Jake? I think their confidence is shaken and they got to break out of this spell that they’re in. In their last nine games, including the playoffs, Pittsburgh has given up 27 points or more. That’s incredible. So, I think they’re shaken up a little bit. They’ve not had a lot of success on defense, and it’s uncommon to these guys. They got tremendous history and tremendous pride, but it’s time for this group, okay, to start the season over, and it starts in Foxboro. They got to play better against the run. What are we going to do with TJ Watt? That’s a big question, I think, for the Steelers. Alex Highmith, his partner, is out. And Nate Herbig is a good player, don’t get me wrong, but Watt 90% of the time lines up on the left of the Steelers defense. He lines up against the right tackle 90% of the time. And right now when I look at the tape, he’s getting chipped. He’s getting nudged by tight ends every single time. I think it’s time to move Watt around and go get this rookie from LSU. Let’s put Watt over here against Campbell and see what happens. Watt 90% of the time lines up in the same spot. He had no sacks in his last six games. They got to have a huge impact out of Watt. Got to force a fumble. Got to get some impact splash plays from TJ Watt. This year in two games, the Pittsburgh Steelers haven’t made any splash plays on defense. I mean, Jack Sawyer, their rookie from Ohio State, has one sack, but he was unblocked on the play. And then Payton Wilson, number 41, has a sack. Well, the Seattle running back blew the protection. No one blocked him either. And Highmith has another sack, but he’s on the bench. He’s hurt. So, we need some plays, man. We got to stop the run and we got to do a hell of a job creating some pass rush and some negative plays. I know there’s a number of injuries and injuries can limit the scheme. And there’s a lack of confidence I think right now for the first time in a long, long time with this proud Steeler defense. They got to jump out of the bus. They got to stop the Patriots early in this game. Get the mojo back and hopefully that’ll light the fuse for something great for this defense. Let’s take a look at the matchups up front for the New England Patriots. They only have one player returning on their offensive line. It’s their right guard number 71, Mike Owenu. And with that said, four new players have come in. They said goodbye to David Andrews, their longtime center, and now it’s Garrett Bradberry. He came over from the Minnesota Vikings. At right tackle, it’s Morgan Moses. Three years, $24 million, the ex- New York Jet. He’s been a good pass protector. I think his conditioning came into play last week a little bit in the heat. He had three false starts. But on the left side, they’re going with opening day starters that are rookies. Will Campbell is the left tackle from LSU, the number four overall pick, and Jared Wilson is the left guard, a number three pick out of Georgia. Uncommon that you see a rookie playing at left tackle and left guard next to each other from the jump. These are two good players. Wilson had a holding call last week in a key situation and Campbell had a false start against the Raiders in a critical moment, but they’re on the rise. This is one of the few teams I’ve ever seen, New England, that has three offensive line coaches. Hell, we had one offensive line coach for the most part. They have three. So, obviously, they’re isolating their teachings, trying to fasttrack this new group to come together fast. The big thing up front is right tackle Morgan Moses. If everything stays the same, it’ll be Moses versus TJ Watt. That’s why I think it would be smart to give Watt some at bats over here against the rookie Campbell. But Moses will see TJ Watt in all probability. The veteran right guard Owenu will probably see Benton number 95 or he’ll see Cam Hayward number 97. And I think Hayward, he’s played okay, but he had the contract squabble. Nothing was really solved until the opening kickoff a couple weeks ago. I think Hayward is rounding into shape. He’s going to play 70% of the plays, but he’s going to play those plays with extreme effort. He had a batted pass that caused an interception last week. Hayward is a problem for New England. Watt is a problem. But who else is it going to be? Is it going to be Herbig number 51? He had an interception on the ricochet by Hayward last week. He had five and a half sacks in 13 games last year. He’s going to have to play big in this game because Highmith is gone. And Jack Sawyer, rookie out of Ohio State. We all know he has one sack. Got it last week. He was unblocked against Seattle. This guy is a player that they like in Pittsburgh. his playing style, his size, he can set the edge, and he’s got some pass rush. But who else is it going to be that comes in here and stops the run? Is it going to be 94 Black? I don’t know who it’s going to be. The Pittsburgh Steelers got to get more inside stopping the run so they can get some at bats against the pass. And on the outside, the New England Patriots are using a little bit more number 13, M. Collins. He was with Josh McDaniels in Las Vegas. Hollands is a good blocker. Not really involved in the passing game very much yet. But the right corner of the Steelers is an issue. At right corner on the left side of the offense, you’re going to see Jaylen Ramsay number five in their base defense. But most of the time the Steelers are in nickel and that would be Joey Porter. But Porter is out. It’ll be Brandon Eckles playing at right corner number 26 in the nickel. It’ll be Jaylen Ramsay in the base. So, you’ll see two different right corners for the Steelers. On the other side, Bouty, the former LSU Tiger, had a great game against the Raiders. He had six catches for 103 yards. He had almost 600 yards last year. This is a young receiver that’s on the rise. He wears number nine. Keep an eye on Bouty. I like that name, too. Bouty. He just sounds like he’s from Louisiana. He can run routes and get out of his breaks quick. And he’s going to be going up against Darius Big Play Slay, the ex Philadelphia Eagle. Slay’s only been targeted five times. You remember the mesh cross the Jets ran where Garrett Wilson ran away from him for a touchdown. But all in all, Slay’s been very solid. It’s the safety position of the Steelers. It’s just I don’t know who’s coming and who’s going. It’s a new secondary when you look at them. Hell, they lost four players that played over 300 snaps. Juan Thornhill leads the Pittsburgh Steelers in tackles. That’s not a good sign when your free safety leads your team in tackles. He’s been solid the ex Cleveland Brown. And over here at Strong Safety, the Steelers really missed Deshawn Elliott. Deshawn Elliott’s a badass. He’s out. He’s going to be back, but he’s not going to be back for this game. So, they replaced him last week with number 21, Chuck Clark. And now they’ve signed Jabril Peppers, who missed most of last year with hamstring and foot problems. Peppers is an ex Patriot, by the way. But they signed him because I think they have some issues with who that opposite safety is to Thornhill. The Patriots have Stfan Diggs. I think he’s a big X factor in this offense. Where is Diggs going to play? I see him in the slot. I see him playing outside. Right now, he’s got 10 catches for 89 yards, but they didn’t give him this $69 million contract to catch 10 balls for 89 yards. Right, Clay? I look for Diggs to be more and more involved as the go-to receiver. But the key for the Steelers is how are we gonna stop these three running backs and the creative plan that Josh McDaniels is going to use. He’s gonna rely on his two tight ends, I think, and his three backs to really give the Pittsburgh Steelers some fits. I love Stevenson, number 38. He ran a choice takeoff for about 60 yards last week against Miami. Put it on a training reel. His receiving skills are a lot better than advertised. You better be careful with Stephvenson. He’s a really good running back. He can run inside. He can push the pile. And he’s a hell of a football player. They also have second round draft choice rookie Trayvon Henderson, a personal favorite of mine from Ohio State. Now Henderson, he ticked this off last week, Jake, in pass protection. He got run over by Jordan Brooks on a sack and there was some confusion in spider protection. I don’t know who blocks the end, but two of the sacks Henderson was involved and I’m sure Josh McDaniels is cleaning that up. But Henderson can haul ass. He had a 100 yard kickoff return in the preeason. You’ll see Henderson on these jet sweeps and he’ll be a diversion on these jet sweeps while they do something else with play action. So keep an eye on Henderson, Stevenson, and don’t forget Antonio Gibson. This guy’s a good back and he can be used creatively in the passing game. So I don’t put it past McDaniels to go with some no back sets here pretty good because his tight ends Hooper and Henry can line up in a lot of spots, do a lot in the passing game. So can these three backs and they can really use Diggs and his experience. You know, Stfan Diggs has six 1,000 yard seasons in a row, and he’s just now getting healthy. So, this is an emerging young skill set on offense, a young offensive line against a defense that’s struggling, particularly up front. And I haven’t felt Patrick Queen or Payton Wilson yet. They got to ignite themselves and make some splash plays. We’ve had some uncommon busts in run fits. a third and 19 at the 19 yd line, a walk-in touchdown. They’ve got to really get on their P’s and Q’s and play their best game. This has a lot to offer the Steeler defense against this Patriot offense. What gives? This is a tough one to pick. Tough one indeed. But I’m going to go with the Pittsburgh Steelers. They have a better kicker. They have a lot of experience. quarterback Aaron Rogers and TJ White is gonna force a fumble. Boswell’s gonna make a kick. Pittsburgh 23, New England 20 in a thriller.