The quarter pool is somewhere between the fourth and the fifth game, so let's just kind of look at where the Steelers are and what you think they are.

I think they're capable of beating just about anybody.

on any given Sunday, and I think they're capable of losing to just about anybody on any given Sunday or Thursday, as we saw with their loss to the Browns.

I think what really separates the better teams, I don't think they're one of the best teams in the league.

I don't think they're one of the worst teams in the league.

I think they're in the middle.

I think what separates the better of those middle teams and the ones that do have a chance to sort of escape from the middle and find some success in the postseason, the ones that are able to be consistent.

But, nonetheless, I mean, the kid played pretty well in all things considered against the Cowboys, didn't he?

football.

Absolutely.

To me, you look at the Steelers and you're like, there's nobody here to scare you.

The offensive line isn't – maybe they're good.

Maybe they're better than we thought, but they don't have pedigree of being great.

Right.

Okay? So, I mean, it's really he's doing it on his own, but also I just think – I think it's a real credit to Mike McCarthy because I think this is a team that has sort of found its identity on the fly and, you know – He hadn't been a coach that's had a running back on this list, even when he had really good running backs.

He's like, we're fine right now.

Is it going to keep being primarily zone defense? And if so, doesn't that hinder the pass rush? I think we saw an element of that against Cleveland's.

It makes them predictable, that's for sure.

I mean, I think you can still rush the passer against what was zone coverage behind you.

I thought they were passive to a fault, though, against the Browns, where it sure seemed like they were holding back from rushing Deshaun Watson, who has time and again proven that he's capable of throwing the game away.

I felt like they should have pressured him a little bit more, and it's certainly possible that a lack of faith in their ability to keep things covered up on the back end is a reason they didn't.

I do think Everett can be a pretty good man corner.

He has the size and the speed and all the tools to do that.

I'd probably give him a solid B, but every time he's in trouble, I just cringe.

Exactly.

Well, if you're having success on first and second down, to get to third and manageable you sh- there's no, like, there's no reason you shouldn't be having success on third and manageable.

Those two things don't make any sense.

And so I think it's, I think part of it also is just right now I think this is a very inconsistent offense.

Like, we have seen them do things well in spurts, and I think we've seen them do everything there is to do well, at least in some spurts.

I mean, look at the, the la- Look at the fourth quarter of this Browns game.

That's the best we've seen them in a must-throw situation.

Yep

So I'm just going to let you just take the floor and just be like, I told all you people out there, this is the guy.

You know, I was standing in the locker room after the game, and I was standing right next to Jalen.

He was doing his little group interview, and he's talking to Brian Batko, Steelers.com, about his ability to break tackles.

And he's talking with his hands.

He's got his hat in his hand, and his braids are flipping all over the place.

And he's got a gash on one side of his head.

He's got a goose egg on the other.

Big

Alan, before we get to the grades, what do the Steelers need to do in your eyes to get this passing attack going? If they're not going to run the ball, if it's just going to be more and more pass, pass, pass, what needs to happen for that to find any rhythm?

Well, I think they've got to throw the ball more on first down.

Aaron Rodgers has an 81 passer rating on first down, and that's not great, but it's 59 on third down.

Woof.

So, yeah, I think they've got to throw more on first down.

I think they've got to find a way to... use some of the bigger playmakers.

Getting Pittman will help this as well.

What do you need to see from the offensive line for it to improve? What has to change? Is it simply the communication that will help things get better, or do you think this offensive line is just going to be in for a long haul of a year where it's going to be week after week of Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers needing to scheme around their problems?

Right.

Like, because that's what, like...

If you're looking for a coaching difference, we know of the 22 Steelers starters, 19 of them were on the field, were on the team last year.

So the, the, the, the character of the individuals, some guys get older, maybe a little better, maybe at the end of the curve they get a little worse, whatever, it's not gonna change that much.

If you're looking for differences in the way the team is being coached, look at the intent of the execution.

DK Metcalf catches that post and takes off for a touchdown if, if they accurately call the defensive pass interference on Metcalf again, th- that was Terrell.

Uh, Roman Wilson makes what would've been a very difficult catch, but a makeable catch in the end zone.

Do you think this is something that could come back to bite them this ye- th- this year if they continue to pursue this aggressively against maybe some better teams?

How do you feel for if when this offense is up and running, Mike McCarthy, Aaron Rodgers are doing what they want to do about how the Steelers deploy their wide receivers and who become the priorities this year?

Well, I think it's pretty clear DK Metcalf is the priority.

I think that was obvious in training camp.

I think there were days where Rodgers didn't throw to anybody else.

I mean, it was pretty clear.

And I think that was probably the case last year.

I think what the Steelers have this year is they have options to deal with teams trying to take that number one option away.

What have you seen from how this defense, at least how they talk about their communication, that gives you any hope that it will be better than where it has been the last few years?

Allen, what's your takeaway as far as how Omar Khan and his front office has been handling the rebuild of the offensive line? We've generally been impressed by the talent of some of the guys they've drafted, but obviously there's some missteps and questions about how they're going to move forward.

Yeah, I mean, I think Omar's right.

It is different things.

I think there's a difference between deciding that a specific position is the best spot for a player for your team, even if that position is different than where he's played in the past.

That happens all the time.

whether it's because of what you need or you looked at the player's game and said, you know what, Jennings Dunker, sir, you're not a tackle at the NFL level.

You've got to learn how to play the guard.

Like everyone relax.

So I just wanna ask you about Aaron Rodgers going into this season, how he's been looking at camp, and then going into next year, who do you think will eventually take over the reins?

Yeah, Rodgers looks great.

I think there's been a real energy between him and Mike McCarthy.

Obviously, those two guys are really familiar with one another from their time back in Green Bay.

But I think i- i- it's more than the familiarity.

It's, uh, the way they think about the game is very similar.

And, you know, I, I felt like there was some tension last year, where Arthur Smith was the offensive coordinator, and y- you know what he wants to do.

Did you like the hire at the time, and what have you seen from him that maybe stands out as the new head coach?

So I just wanna ask you about Aaron Rodgers going into this season, how he's been looking at camp, and then going into next year, who do you think will eventually take over the reins?

reins?Yeah, Rodgers looks great.

I think there's been a real energy between him and Mike McCarthy.

Obviously, those two guys are really familiar with one another from their time back in Green Bay.

But I think i- i- it's more than the familiarity.

It's, uh, the way they think about the game is very similar.

And, you know, I, I s- felt like there was some tension last year where Arthur Smith was the offensive coordinator, and you, you know what he wants to do.

Did you like the hire at the time, and what have you seen from him that maybe stands out as a new head coach?

Yeah

...

Alex Highsmith contract.

Look at the Nick Herbig contract.

Well, if you're gonna be high guarant- high salary, low guarantee, then you're probably gonna be on the high side of that split, right? I'm not saying it's gonna be 26, 27.

I'm figuring, like you are, 27, 28 million.

I feel like that has been Joey Porter's sweet spot for value the whole time, and I don't think Devon Witherspoon getting 33 million a year changes that.

That's a-

So h- how do you feel personally about the McCarthy hire?

Uh, I didn't like their process.

I felt like if they were s- truly considering a coach like Mike McCarthy, they should have brought in other more experienced head coach candidates.

He's the, I think, the only guy with any experience they interviewed.

Every other person on their candidate pool was what they've normally brought in is young coordinator types.

And so I thought if you wanna hire an experienced coach, why not talk to McDaniel? Why not talk to Kliff Kingsbury? Why, I mean, I don't know that those guys are better coaches, but I think I'd feel better about the choice of Mike McCarthy if they had interviewed them as well and said, "You know what we like? Why not interview Harbaugh? Why not interview Stefanski?" Like, th- there, there were plenty of opportunities to go get an experienced coach, and he was sort of the only one they looked at.

Um, I think in the short term he will fix a lot of things that did not go well at the end of Mike Tomlin's tenure, but I think it's a sh- it feels like a short-term fix, right? I mean, he's gonna improve the passing game, that's almost without question.

Um, yeah, well if you didn't love the process in hiring the head coach, [laughs] how do you feel about the quarterback process, where you didn't really look around too much, you just sort of waited till everyone else had found a seat at the table, and then you're like, "All right, fine, 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers, [laughs] you come back."

Yeah.

And I think this year was all about working on the physical.

I think that's why when you saw him out there in the preseason, he was running the same play over and over again.

And, and I don't think it's because he can't run more than that.

It's because they're focused on one thing at a time, and it's get the footwork right, get the, get the ball delivered on time where it's supposed to go.

And he did that in that preseason game better than I've seen him do in any single camp appearance, to be honest.

Like, there's been way more up and down in every camp practice than we saw in that preseason game, which was very good.

Right.

Yeah.

Man, when the Steelers drafted Will Howard, that's what they hoped they were getting.

They, you know, they knew that their plan was, hey, we need a first rounder in the future here somewhere, but let's get this guy and, and maybe he can become another Mason Rudolph for us, another good backup quarterback for us.

And I have not seen readiness in that area yet.

I think he's had some good moments, but the thing that you hope to get in a reliable backup quarterback is a high floor, and I don't...

I, I, I've seen too many mistakes from Howard, too many interceptions, too many balls on the turf that really make it hard to say he's, he's ready, he's there.

And, and maybe he'll improve in that area.

Yeah.

[laughs]

And that would be fine.

And, uh, I think he's, he's really built strong relationships.

And I think the, the sort of reaction this week to the comments he made on the Pat McAfee Show, externally, you know, very, you know, divisive in, in the public sphere.

Locker room loves the guy.

A- and I think that's such a, a, a rare thing in our society today, where we find people that are able to sorta come together despite differences.

I think it's what makes sports special.

Yeah.

Right.

And it hasn't been in his first couple years.

Even though he's definitely exceeded expectations as a mid-round draft pick and become a pretty solid starter, I would not say that that has been his thing.

And I thought he really looked like a guy- Who has worked on his craft and has really improved.

Where he did not stand out as a player who was a weakness in pass protection, if anything, I thought he looked like a strength.

And I thought him and Frazier together have become such a solid unit, that like, for the f- I, I don't know that the Steelers are gonna have the offensive line they wanna have left to right all the way across one through five.

But I feel darn good about the left guard and the center, and putting those two guys right next to each other should give Aaron Rodgers a lot of faith.

Mm-hmm.

Hmm.

If at all.

I think this is a very...

I, I think this is a thing that we talk about that doesn't actually happen.

I think most of the time, coaches coach how they wanna coach.

They either coach what they're good at, you know.

You, you're not gonna go hire, uh, you know, uh, some, some coach who has exper- experience in one scheme for his entire career and then say, "Oh, well, actually, we're gonna have you do this instead." Like, that, that doesn't make any sense, okay? You're not gonna hire, uh, an air raid head coach and then have him go run the wishbone.

And it's those little things that I think maybe Patrick Queen will be a little bit more comfortable to see for himself and help his teammates see in this defense that I think he might agree with a bit more.

Right.

There were some.

There, some people took some stuff, but it wasn't like there's a whole branch of the offense named after Todd Haley the way that you're talking about Mike McCarthy.

And so these are, like, pretty tried and true principles that are pretty popular around the NFL that are designed to be easy on the quarterback.

And I think that to me is the real shift that is the positive, is that this is an, a, a, an entire team scheme that is designed to go easy on the quarterback.

And even though Mike McCarthy has always had good quarterbacks, I think there's the potential for that to work better when the Steelers do not have a great quarterback than the Mike Tomlin approach, which was largely try to win with the defense and the running game and, and play the game in spite of the quarterback, right? So, like, when you know you have a weakness, there are, there's, uh, two fundamentally different approaches.

The Tomlin approach was avoid it, right? Try, put the strengths to the other part of the game and try to win without the quarterback, and McCarthy is sacrificing from those strengths to try to build the quarterback up.

What is a con that you have as far as the difference between McCarthy and Tomlin?

Mm.

When you look at Joey Porter's 2025 season, and the numbers are very impressive, don't get me wrong, but also I think f- his four worst games are all at the beginning of the season, when the Steelers were playing Darius Slay outside opposite him, and they weren't allowing him to play his game because he had to accommodate the player on the other side of the field.

Dean is a much better fit next to Porter so that they can, they can play man if they wanna play man.

They can play cover three if they wanna play cover three.

They can play cover two if they wanna play cover two.

There's no weakness that you're im- you're, you're importing from the other side of the field into Porter's game by having Dean there.

So I think Dean can make Porter better.

And I think if the Steelers defense is going to revive and get back into that top 10 category, I think these are gonna be two big players that help them do it.

But where are some of the areas that you're looking at that, like, these are the big questions this coaching staff have to fill, uh, this, this year?

Well, I think there's a couple different things there.

First, like, what players maybe just won't be as good of a fit for what the Steelers are doing going forward.

I think there's a list of those.

I think there's, like, what players might just be in trouble because of coaching change.

Uh, I think there's a list there.

And then there's like, what are the things that I think this coaching staff is probably not going to do as well? Like, there's different...

Are there other guys that you're looking at that you're like, "Mm, you should not feel safe, my friend"?

[laughs]

Uh, a- and, like, that's the, why he's in the third round, right? But I think if you're going to take a chance on a quarterback, I would much rather take a chance on someone that has the physical tools that needs work than someone who probably is going to forever be limited in their potential upside.

Because there's this trap at quarterback, right, where you end up paying for pretty good, and I think those deals really hurt teams.

Like, look at, like, Miami with Tua, and Jacksonville with Trevor Lawrence, and, and don't me wrong, Trevor Lawrence has all the tools, but he just hasn't been great yet.

And they're paying those quarterbacks like they're elite.

Until his deal, both those guys were making more than Patrick Mahomes, and that to me is the worst place to be.

I would rather be starting Aaron Rodgers than paying Tua $50 million a year.

What's your global view of the Steelers heading into 2026?

And even though they have a great record against Lamar Jackson, and against Derrick Henry, we'll get to that in a bit, you still gotta be prepared to handle things a bit better.

Yeah.

And I think, you know, the, the thing with Harmon, yeah, he's good.

There's no question.

And he can be even better.

Uh, I thought he had a really good rookie season.

I, I think people probably aren't talking about Derek Harmon enough when it comes to this team this off-season because, you know, the standard for a good year for a r- rookie big guy is n- is not very high, and Derek Harmon pretty clearly exceeded that.

Cam Heyward, you take him out of this run defense, what do the Steelers need to do to prepare for that day? Do they have the personnel ready to handle that day? Do you think Derek Harmon could be, and Keanu Benton could be a duo if both are kept moving forward, that they could handle it, or do you think this is a position that immediately becomes, "No, they need another high pick here and soon"?

[laughs]

Like, can we just, can we just...

I'm, I'm happy for that I'm glad, I'm glad me and Jerry are cool again.

Um, all right, let's, let's start.

The one thing you can't have in a competitive venture that is meant to be entertainment is valid questions about the motivations of the participants.

You can have almost every other thing and it still works, even if some of those other things are objectively heinous.

Like, you could go to death row at Fort Leavenworth and create a football league, they made a movie about this, out of the worst people in the universe, right? 11 on 11, they're gonna suit 'em up, and that would be fine, but you would still have to throw out the people to bet on the games.

That was the whole point, yeah

I think it's more so about l- it's less about what Aaron Rodgers does now, it's more so about what does this team take from him into building the core and the future that they're establishing for theirselves.

Yeah.

And I think, to Aaron's credit, he's been very transparent about his willingness to do those things and to be that guy.

I, I don't...

Like, he's been a great teammate.

Uh, he's gone so far above and beyond what would be required of a player of his stature when it comes to working with young teammates, guys who are on the second and third team that, you know, probably aren't gonna play.

He's had no problem, you know, pouring into guys and helping coach guys up and, and not just the guys behind him at the quarterback position, either, everybody in that entire offense.

Mm-hmm