Drive9.10.26DeFabo: Mike DeFabo from the Southside

0:00So we heard Amanda is off to school? Yeah, big step. More independent. She's not going to call every week asking for more money for books, is she? With smart start banking from S&T Bank, she gets budgeting tools, scholarship opportunities, and can send money using Zell. Wow. I guess college is about getting smarter, right? Give them financial independence and yourself peace of mind. Stop by your local branch. Call 835-2265 or visit STbank.com to send money with Zell. Both parties must have an eligible checking or savings account, terms and conditions apply. S&T Bank, member FDIC. Want me to get to and so little time as we continue to get ready for Steelers, Falcons

1:05on Sunday at Acrochure Stadium and to the phone lines we go to talk to our buddy Mike the FABO, who of course covers the Pittsburgh Steelers for the athletic. Mike, thank you for taking the time as always. I guess we don't have any any reasons to bury the lead here. We saw the reports in the news that Joey Porter Jr. was at practice today. We also all know that he is the only guy that was listed on the Steelers injury report yesterday with that back. Are you getting any clarity on his status for Sunday or is that just going to continue to be a wait and see development? Yeah, I mean, he's been a limited participant from what we've been able to see. There are very limited viewing windows. I just have to think that Joey is going to be out there. I think that, I mean, he's an important piece of this defense. He could be put him on some type of a pitch count just because of the fact that he's only had a handful of practices under his belt over the last week and a half or two weeks. But I would think that Joey will be out there in some capacity.

2:08And I would assume if they do put him on a pitch count, that'll be more reps for Samuel, wouldn't you guess? Yeah, well, and he's really earned it. Yeah, yeah. Boston all of this is how low a Sunday Samuel Jr. has played. I've thought often about how we keep talking about Joey Porter Jr. And is Joey going to get done? Is he going to be in the starting lineup? And never mind the fact that if some day Samuel Jr. had a tremendous opportunity with Joey sitting out during training camp and he absolutely maximizes opportunities. He did it on the practice field at St. Vincent College and he did it in the games in the preseason games. So I think that so long as this doesn't reach a bad outcome with Joey, I think the feeling should feel pretty good about their cornerback depth. They've got two guys that they can trust at starters and a third that's starter capable. However, the safety situation is a little more tenuous. How do you think they fill in for Elliott being out? To use something like Tomman since he did such a great job on Sunday night football or

3:11Wednesday night football, whatever it was yesterday. He used to always say it's not just one guy and I think that's what you're going to see. Okay. We already thought that Jalen Ramsey made sense as the post safety in the base defense. Now especially with Elliott down, that seems like a very likely deployment. And then when they slide to the sub packages, that's where I think that you're going to see more of Ray Sean Jenkins followed by Robert Spears Jennings potentially. But I think it's going to be more on Ray Sean Jenkins a little bit more on Jalen Ramsey's play. But you do think Spears Jenkins will see snaps with the defense. I think he could. I mean, yeah, seems to be pure really high on. Yeah, they seem to like him. And then truly we haven't gotten to see a lot of practice. This is then Mike McCarthy has talked about how this is the one game where an opponent has no film on you and he was talking today about how about 35% of the snaps you see are unscouted looks.

4:12And he very much wants to be part of that and keep the element of surprise going. And so we will have to wait and see on some of these things. Know that. Well, stay in with that, Mike. Wait and see and surprise element. Who do you think starts at right tackle for the Steelers on Sunday afternoon? Yes. They put out the depth chart. And I think that even though Mike McCarthy joked initially that it was both Lawton, the TR director's depth chart when it first came out all the way back during training camp, this one felt more like a Mike McCarthy depth chart. And truly the biggest factor for Max has just been his help. I think that we saw him two days in pads and a trope really perform well and look like a guy who's going to be a starter sooner than later. Unfortunately, those two days in pad were the only time we saw him until very, very recently in that preseason game in Buffalo. So there's things that a young player has to learn. He has to learn Aaron Rogers cadence. That's not the easiest thing. And beyond that, they're big into the chemistry and the continuity along the offensive line.

5:16And the fact that he's only had a limited number of snaps next to a guy like Spencer Anderson who's going to be the starting right guard. I think that all goes into the conversation. So again, don't divulge secrets. And I know you guys don't see as much practice as you used to. I kind of have a feeling that the six offensive line approach is probably a thing of the past. But the three outside linebacker approach is a thing of the future. Absolutely. We saw the stealers under Mike Tomlin and Terl Austin kind of tinker with that, especially in one-dimensional situations. And I think that that's something that you're going to see Petrogram really lean into. I found it interesting that they listed Nick Herbig as a starter on the depth chart. And I don't think that that was an accident. I think that they view him as a guy that's going to be part of a rotation with those other guys and often trying to find ways to get them on the field together. I mean, we saw some different looks, maybe not with TJ Watt out there, but even in the preseason games with one defensive line man, three outside linebackers.

6:20So I think that they're definitely going to lean into that and try to use Nick Herbig in a variety of ways. Really, it test him in a couple of different ways. Because in some instances, you've got a lighter leaner type of outside linebacker who's going to be rushing over a center or a guard. That's one of the things that he's going to have to do if he's playing in that package. The other part is going to be lining him up off ball in some sort of a way. I don't know what they want to call that. What they want to call that, you know, four three, or if they want to call that, I think there's like a mint front is another name for kind of an iteration where you still have similar guys in terms of their spacing and their techniques on the defensive front, like you would have in the Oki front that they run. But just the one guy is off the ball. And that leaves him opportunities to disguise where he's coming from and kind of hide his rush a little bit, maximize his speed. We saw him at least on one instance in the preseason rushing through the B gap on a blitz in that situation. So I'm really curious to see just as this season unfolds and we get more looks, how many

7:20different ways can they find to get Nick Herbig on the football field? It's going to be a lot of fun seeing how Patrick Graham deploys this defense starting Sunday against the Falcons. It is our buddy Mike DeFable of the athletic with us here on the drive. Mike, I wanted to ask you, I had this in my notes and wanted to make sure I get to this before I forget. We heard the first in season regular season press conference from Mike McCarthy on Monday. And one of the things he mentioned was I believe it was Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, four days a week. How they have all the rookies come in early for the purpose of development. And we all know that's been a real onus with this coaching staff. It's a word that we all heard a bunch out in the trobe and have heard a bunch since. Do you have any kind of information or clarity on what that looks like? Is it Mike McCarthy addressing the rookies and then they go with their position coaches? Is it is it all film based stuff? Do you have any kind of insight for us on what exactly goes into that extra development time for these young guys?

8:22You know what, Wes, I think that you should be a beat writer because that would make a great story. How they are choosing to develop these guys. I know that they have played. We were talking about it on Tuesday. We want to want to inquire in minds. What I want to know. Just tomorrow and get back to you. But what I can tell you from what I've seen specific to the quarterback position, there was a lot of questions about can you actually develop two guys in Will Howard and Drew Aller together at the same time? Are there enough snaps? One thing I talked to the quarterback coach Tom Arth about in La Trobe is it's not just about talking about developing the quarterbacks. What McCarthy does is he really carves out time to make that a priority. And so when they're doing special teams work, the quarterbacks are then going through their QB school drills. When they're doing individual drills, obviously, they're going through their QB school drills. And so a lot of the same things that we've seen in La Trobe, a lot of the emphasis on the footwork, the exaggerated footwork, then throwing on the run into nets, doing the build a drop

9:23drill where you do the punch step and the punch reach, then the punch reach heel toe. All of this just kind of building the drop one step at a time, focusing on the fundamentals. And the big thing in McCarthy's coaching style and his beliefs, especially with the quarterback position, they talk about it being about fundamentals over skiing. There are even specific periods within Steelers practices that are just football fundamentals. One of the periods we watch today, they're focusing on doing that torpedo tackle, the tackle where you tackle a guy and you kind of spin them to the ground with a hawk tackling, I think they call it too. That kind of thing, focusing on not just tackling, but how are you tackling? So I think all this is part of the process with these young guys. Mike, if you had to put a chip down on who plays more snap Sunday, Roman Wilson or Jeremy Bernard, where would you put that chip? I put on Roman still. I really would, but I think that it could change over the course of the season. And look, both of these guys are going to play and they're also different types of

10:26wide receivers. Yeah, very much so. You know, McCarthy has talked about how he likes it. Roman has that, you know, four three speed. He could take the top off the defense. He's a guy that can hurt you on those big grocers. You know, I think that that's going to be an area that he's going to need to continue to develop and earn some trust. And I think that's an element that he brings. It's different. And then with Jeremy Bernard, I mean, he's six foot two. He's more than 200 pounds. He's a rugged type of player. We didn't see it in La Trobe when there was no no tackling there, but in those preseason games, a lot of his explosive plays came after the catch because he's running through arm tackles. He's bouncing off of tackles, spinning out of tackles and all those types of things mesh with a West Coast philosophy where so much of it is about getting the ball into the hands of the playmakers and allowing them to create yards after the catch. I think something like 40 something of his 64 receiving yards in the preseason came after the catch. So he could be a different type of asset for you. And I think they're going to maximize, you know, they're going to use him as well.

11:29Mike DeFabo of the athletic Mike, last one I've got for you is, how important do you think it is for the Steelers to come out with a victory around 4 p.m. on Sunday? It is only week one. There are still a ton of football ahead, championships are not one in September, all that stuff. But at the same time, man, the Falcons have some key absences on defense. The Falcons have some key issues at quarterback. And you could maybe even be seeing Cooper rush on Sunday. You're at home, the front half of the portion of the schedule for the Steelers, I think, is much more manageable than the back half. It is obviously not a must win. It is still only early September. But is it maybe a can't lose for the Steelers? How important do you think Sunday's result is? First of all, it's what you talked about. It's because this is a very winnable game on their schedule. And when you look at what happens after the by week, they play a lot of playoff teams, they play a lot of prime time games, they play a lot of road games, a lot of very difficult

12:30opponents. So I don't need to make, hey, early in the season, if they're going to be a playoff team this year. So that's one part of it. The other part of it is just, I think, the emotional side of things and the sentimental side of things, and just getting Mike McCarthy off on the right foot. I think he's talked about how he really feels the responsibility that comes with being the Pittsburgh Steelers head coach. And especially because he's from here, he understands the magnitude of this. And I think that he really wants to make a good first impression on the fan base. And I think that coming away with a decisive win would really jumpstart his era and kick things off the right way. Yeah, I couldn't agree more. And last thing I got for you is kind of piggybacks off the Bernard Wilson conversation. I would expect that they use a lot of bodies on Sunday. You know, just keeping guys fresh, especially along the D line. Do you think that's a safe bet that there would be rotating guys in as they get their football legs under him? Yeah, it makes a lot of sense.

13:33You know, one thing McCarthy talked about this week is even with a guy like TJ Watt, he doesn't want him to play 60 snaps of games. He wants to keep him fresh. And when you've got three outside linebackers, you can do that. They've talked about how this defensive front, the defensive line man is maybe the deepest, defensive line group. The most talented defensive line group that McCarthy has ever been around. And I think that they are going to want to use everyone because it's early in the season. And because this is a very veteran-laden team, you know, you look at the roster and a lot of these guys are on their second and third contracts that are going to be key contributors for you. You need them to be at their best in November, December, January if you're going to achieve what you want to. So I think that having a big picture plan in place makes sense. And McCarthy also, you know, he's an older coach, but he's not old school. And you know, we saw that training camp. He took a very calculated approach in terms of how much hitting there was going to be, how much he was going to expose these guys to risk of injury. And so I think that all that's going to factor into his decision in terms of who plays

14:35and how much they play. Yeah, well said and take it even a step further. And I talk about this. I feel like every show, but their fourth quarter defense was so bad that, you know, you talked about staying fresh into December into the playoffs. I even look at it on a per game basis. Stay fresh into the fourth quarter. Yeah, I think that TJ Watt is such a high energy player that you would rather have him out there for, I don't know what the number is, 50 all out snaps than 65 when maybe he's sucking wind at times. And when you have the luxury of having such a talented edge trio and you have depth of these conditions, then I think that absolutely makes sense to tap into it. And I think they are. I like the FABO of the athletic. Make sure you're checking out all his coverage this week, this weekend and this entire Steelers season. Buddy, great stuff is always thanks for taking the time and we will see you on Sunday. All right. Sounds great, guys. Thank you for having me. There he goes. Always fun to get some boots on the ground insight there from Mike the FABO and plenty

15:38to kind of chew on. I'm very interested. It's maybe something that we haven't talked about as much as we should. I know we've referenced it and kind of discussed it, but just what you alluded to there at the end, keeping these guys not only fresh for December and January, but for the fourth quarter and you've got the bodies, you've got the depth to do it. Yeah. And I don't know if the front office would ever admit this, but their off season moves imply that they're very aware of the fourth quarter defensive structure. They better be. Yeah. As much information is out there today and as big as these staffs are and all that. And what are you doing the off season? You take a look at your biggest, biggest weaknesses. How do we fix these? How do we address these? That's the depth and time of possession. You know, right? And very interested to see how that all begins to play out game one of 17 Sunday afternoon on the. That's the first thing I thought of whenever I heard that quote about we don't want T.J. Waplay in 60 snaps. Little less could be more guys. Little less could be okay. Sometimes less is more. That's not just a cliche. Sometimes it's a reality. Plenty more to get to here.

16:39I want to take a look at some more of Matt's stats as we get ready for Sunday and we will, of course, get to your reactions, your questions, comments, concerns. Before we get out of here as well, plenty of ground to cover. You'll learn Williamson. It's the drive. Steelers Nation Radio on the Steelers Audio Network. And now a word from our sponsor, Bud Light. There's nothing better than the clean crisp. There's nothing better than the clean crisp. What if we just got out of here and grab some Bud lights? The man we're on air for four more hours. I'll figure it out. Sounds good to me. Anything for the clean, crisp taste of Bud Light. Stock up now. Bud Light. Easy to drink, easy to enjoy. Enjoy responsibly, copyright 2026 and has a Bush Bud Light beer St. Louis Missouri. I used to have cable internet, but I'm a 100% kind of fan. So I switched to Verizon Fios. It's 100% fiber internet that's super reliable. So I streamed 100% at the NFL Draft Live with ultra low lag. And after woke me down in the first round, still getting video calls from my best friend

17:39robbing it in that he called all the pics. I told you they were building their own line. I win the bet. Get 100% fiber internet with Verizon Fios because when it comes to your team, it's 100% or nothing. Call 1-E-3-3 Verizon to switch today. Get that hot dog, Austin Reddy. Bra. So we heard Amanda is off to school. Yeah, big step. More independent. She's not going to call every week asking for more money for books, is she? With smart start banking from S&T Bank, she gets budgeting tools, scholarship opportunities, and consent money using Zell. Wow. I guess college is about getting smarter, right? Give them financial independence and yourself peace of mind. Stop by your local branch. Call 800-325-2265 or visit STBank.com to send money with Zell. Both parties must have an eligible checking or savings account, terms and conditions apply. S&T Bank. Member FDIC.