suck.

Alex, what was your welcome to the NFL moment? My welcome to the NFL moment? I would probably say it's...

It's got a little Danny Smith in it as well.

So COVID was my rookie year and didn't get no preseason games, nothing like that.

And we did a lot of special teams throughout all of camp and whatnot.

And I'm getting ready to play.

New York Giants, week one, 2020, I think, if I can remember.

How has pass rush really evolved as your

Yes, sir.

It goes to, uh, making an impact off the field and, um, knowing that I don't have this platform for, for long, that I gotta use it for good while I have it.

And so for me, I just wanna be known for someone that made an impact while I was here.

Um, and whether that's, you know, in my community, you know, around the guys in the locker room, you know, I know that, you know, people won't always remember what you do, but they'll remember how you made them feel.

What would it mean to y'all? What would it mean to you?

I mean, it would mean, you know, everything in regards to this game.

You know, that's the pinnacle of, of what you do.

It's, it's what you work for every single year.

Yes, sir.

It goes to, uh, making an impact off the field and, um, knowing that I don't have this platform for, for long, that I gotta use it for good while I have it.

And so for me, I just wanna be known for someone that made an impact while I was here.

Um, and whether that's, you know, in my community, you know, around the guys in the locker room, you know, I know that, you know, people won't always remember what you do, but they'll remember how you made them feel.

What would it mean to y'all? What would it mean to you?

[sighs] You know, I mean, it would mean, you know, everything in regards to this game.

You know, that's the pinnacle of, of what you do.

It's, it's what you work for every single year.

Yes, sir.

It goes to, uh, making an impact off the field and, um, knowing that I don't have this platform for, for long, that I gotta use it for good while I have it.

And so for me, I just wanna be known for someone that made an impact while I was here.

Um, and whether that's, you know, in my community, you know, around the guys in the locker room, you know, I know that, you know, people won't always remember what you do, but they'll remember how you made them feel.

... what would it mean to y'all? What would it mean to you?

I mean, it would mean, you know, everything in regards to this game.

You know, that's the pinnacle of, of what you do.

It's, it's what you work for every single year.

We got to use our platform to create a change here.

Yeah, absolutely.

I think something that is we're actually pushing on this new initiative now calling the Alex's locker room and basically going to.

be able to tackle food insecurity in different schools that we partner with.

So we're choosing a couple of schools to partner with to do this, one in Pittsburgh, one in Ashley.

And we're just very excited to do this because we both have a heart for student athletes.

We're both athletes.

What about you, Alex? Is there anything you remember specifically?

I would love to know how do you approach this year with Mike Chico?

Mm.

Yeah, it's definitely, it's definitely different.

You know, I, I think when, uh, you know, we all heard the news that day, that, that day after the Texans game, the team meeting, you know, we were all just, you know, in shock and we were shook.

Obviously, you know, you've been with him for a long time.

I've been with him my, for my whole career, and so it's like, you know, you really feel that whenever, uh, you know, whenever he, he, he said that.

And like I said, I was super grateful for everything he's done for my career and, like, for not only on the field, but also off the field as well, like pushing us to be better men.

Speak on your foundation.

Is it the culture of the organization or is it the guys they bring in? 'Cause you have it-- Like I've seen your speed to power, I've seen the ferocity with which you play, and I always wonder, do Steelers just do a better job of drafting guys that are like that out of college, or is there something about that Steelers culture? 'Cause like I played against Joey Porter, and Harrison, and uh, James Farrior, and like all those guys, and you guys are all the same in terms of that mindset.

Yeah, I think it's a little bit of both.

Um, you know, obviously the culture, uh, this, the Steel Curtain culture that, um, that's, that's kind of, I feel like, what the Steelers are, are made about.

You know, when you think of Pittsburgh Steelers, you think of the Steel Curtain, you think of those teams that won all those Super Bowls, you think of-Um, like you said, those teams in '08 and '09 are winning Super Bowls as well.

So I think it's al- the culture, but also guys they draft.

I feel like they do bring in good guys who, um, who play physical, and ultimately, you know, to be a Pittsburgh Steel on that defense, you gotta play physical, and that's where it starts, especially playing the AFC North, you know, all those matchups are physical with the Ravens, uh, Bengals, Browns.

So, you know, you gotta be, you gotta be physical to be a Steeler, and, you know, that's something we pride ourselves on for sure.

Where does that come from and what can you tell us about the great work you do?