Deebo & Joe - Part 1: Aaron Rodgers Nearing Steelers Return, Darius Slay RIPS Pitt Defense, Browns QB Battle

24:17If that's the case, then I'd rather think that— Why not sign it now and get it off the way? That's what I'm saying.

24:25James Harrison:If that's the case, like— Maybe because he doesn't want to—just because he doesn't have to? He knows it's on the board. He doesn't want to go to OTAs, maybe? You know what I'm saying? Just being a— Okay, but the Steelers aren't saying anything. Like, oh, he ain't gave it for sure. yeah I'm coming I'm going to be there at the training camp don't y 'all worry about nothing like what are you my thing is this if he's not signed before we get done before you get that's what I'm saying yes and training and training and right before training camp starts I don't think they're going to sign him unless they don't like what they see in Will Howard and and Allard but that's what why would I slow down their progress to bring you in and halt it When I know, especially if I feel like I, if Mike McCarthy feels like I have the guys that I need here right now, and one of these dudes can be the guy that I need, I just need to develop him.

25:21Why would I halt his development by stopping it and bringing somebody in? You got to learn by fire. You got to be put into the fire. You can't sit back there and just fight. You got to be put into the fire.

25:32James Harrison:Debo, I'm saying the same thing that you're saying, but that's when we have to put our mind up in A-Rod. A-Rod don't give a damn about the Steelers for real. He's really on his time. So that's why I'm looking at it where you're saying. If A-Rod signs, instantly get in there, work with your receivers, get it done. We got May 18th. OTAs are starting to come. OTAs are going to be here. If you're not going to be there, then we got to move on. You know what I'm saying? He says, I'll chill. I'll wait until July 28th. If the contract is still there, he signs July 28th right before training camp. he can still, I'm still putting A-Rod in over those dudes because you got A-Rod.

26:12Not if I'm seeing what Kurt Werner was talking about and he can control that big arm and he could place that ball. Why would I stop that? I'd be a damn fool.

26:28James Harrison:I feel you. I feel you. I'm with you, Debo. Aaron Rodgers is holding the team hostage in a way there where I'm respecting him at the very beginning where I'm saying all of those accolades and respecting him as a whole. I understand that. And we also got a guy in Mike McCarthy as a head coach that's a quarterback supposed to be guru of developing quarterbacks. That's what I'm with you. I'm saying that all A-Rod got the team still, if they can pull, they put up the unrestricted. If he wants more money, Debo, I'm saying there's no way he's going to play for the Steelers then. For sure. They're going to give him that$15 million, and that's what it is.

27:11James Harrison:And if you think you're going to go play for somebody else, you're going to have to go sign that contract. Go find you a better team. You don't think he can squeeze another three or five out of him? No, no, no. No. No. No, it's 15 or you got to go. Because the same way with like when you're getting old, Patrick Peterson, my good man, they gave him no. He had to go sign forward. They were talking about practice squad. Like there's a point where as soon as you get out, it's like, no, you went from$10 million a year to practice squad. I went from the same thing,$10 million a year. I couldn't find a deal.

27:43James Harrison:They're like, no, how about five? They're like, no, peace squad or you're not going to be able to sign here. Like your time is done. So I'm feeling like A-Rod, love him to death. You're going to be first by the Hall of Fame, but there's no that middle tier where dudes are making 60 million dollars. They don't care. I'm giving you 15 million dollars to come play quarterback. I don't give a damn what everybody else is making. That's not you. You're going to get this 15. You know what I'm saying? Come get it. Come take it or not. Because if you don't, we got Will, we got Drew, and we can put that 15 to other talent.

28:13James Harrison:We can come help out some more. That's not just zero dollars. That's 15 million. you can go get some really good players that look at 15 like, okay, yes, sign me today. I'll take that 15. I'll take four of that. You can go get three good dudes, you know what I'm saying, at$4 million apiece. We don't need that many. I know, but I'm just saying, when you talk about$15 million, it's easy to say. If Aaron come, we already got one, two million. I feel you, but I'm just saying, that$15 million, you got two other quarterbacks. If you think those are the dudes and they end up showing you, like you said, like Kurt Warner, then they might pull a joint.

28:53James Harrison:Can you pull it? You can't pull it, but I'm just saying. I don't know. Maybe you could. If they're looking good, Debo, and he still comes back and signs the contract. If they're looking good, I'm pulling the offer off the table. If they're looking like that, if he ain't signed it, yeah, you can pull it, I think, dude. I'm saying. Goodness. Yeah, we're going to check that out and find that out. The door is open. I'm just, dude, I'm just. We need. We need. Every time we get on here, we got to talk about this. I know, because it keeps on happening. And he's supposed to be catching. I'm like, you know how we feel.

29:30Listen, bro. Your boy, Darius Slate, he had some comments about the still a defensive scheme. He said, I ain't going to lie to you. That Pittsburgh stuff, that is backwards over there. That ain't Tyrell Austin's ish. T.A. ain't teach none of that ish in effing Detroit. We played outside leverage every effing play. That's why when you see Jalen Ramsey ever got scored on, he's chasing someone that's running away from outside leverage. Slay added that the Steelers were coached to play outside leverage because the defensive line was expected to bat balls down if passes went inside. I don't know. This is what these coaches were telling me.

30:31You play outside leverage, and if they catch the ball inside, it's on the D line because they're so good at batting the ball down. I'm not banking on that. That's the only thing I did not like about the Steelers. Bruh, this can't be real. Huh? I ain't never heard that we counting on the D-line to bat the ball down. I ain't never heard that. No, man. I mean, no.

30:58James Harrison:I talked to Slay, and I'm saying when I asked about the outside leverage, because we play corner, and I'm like, Slay, did they tell you to play outside leverage on everything? Like, was it no alignment splits? He said that was only in the red zone. In the red zone, you had to play outside leverage on everything. So I'm going to put that out there. You did play splits with the stuff. It was in the red zone. Everything in the red zone, you play outside leverage. So that is one thing that he did say. With the batting. Why would I do that? That's crazy. With batting the ball down, I can see how when you're saying rush.

31:34James Harrison:Dude, that's not on the D line. That's not on the D line at all. No, that doesn't make any sense. I'm saying that, yes, that part didn't make any sense. But rush and coverage does work together. When we're saying that, if you got to catch and tackle, some things like that, but I completely— I'm telling you, you don't have to cover nothing inside, play outside leverage. And the D-line is supposed to back everything down. That is goofy. That is not—that is goofy. That is goofy. And that's not—he didn't say that. He said that they had to play outside leverage only in the red zone. I can't give you that either.

32:15It's too much inside. Just goal line. I understand. It's still 52 yards wide. So you're telling me I'm playing outside leverage and let everything else go in? That's crazy.

32:29James Harrison:Yes. Thank you, Ustros. Yes. I never. When I played outside leverage as a corner too, that means not everything. Were you ever taught to just play outside in the red zone? Well, you didn't play under them, did you? You play. Who did you? Did you play under? Under T.A.? Yeah, I did. He was my cornerback coach, but then the next year he went to defensive coordinator. So I played with him as my DB coach. Where were you taught as a DB coach? I mean, it wasn't always. It was more alignment. It was leverage. If the receiver was lined up outside of the numbers, it was more you, your inside. You know what I'm saying?

33:05So who was your, oh, you had. And he had GA too. Dude, let's stop playing, bro. Nobody did a job that was actually titled to him. That was ran by somebody else. Everybody got a title and got paid for it, but very few people did the actual job of the title. We're going to move on from that, man. The Steelers, blocks from the London game, Jaguars are reportedly protecting their matchup against the Steelers because they know it's guaranteed to be a sellout because of how well Steelers fans travel and gobble up seats in opposing stadiums. Of course. They know what we do. We go be there. We take over stadiums, Joe.

34:03We, meaning me, in the chat. Not you. You. Stay over there. With all that Cleveland stuff you've been talking about. The basketball team.

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37:41James Harrison:You think the Steelers don't want to go to the London game? I went last year. That just was fun. Right. I went to Ireland. That just was fun. Did you play over there when you played? Did you play overseas when you played? Okay. You didn't play overseas when you played? Okay. Well. I know for the players, that wouldn't have been good. No, no, no, no, no, no. You know you get taxed there and in the States? I see you. Taxes. Players have to play taxes over there. like they got the similar taxes that we got over here like they got a jock tax over there too and you end up paying taxes over there in the United States so you play in the country that you played in and here I know I played NFL Europe I did NFL Europe dude like real talk I was over there in Dusseldorf Germany bro like no way so it's like dude it's not because of the taxes it's because you getting taxed The turnaround is crazy, bro.

38:39You talking about you flying all the way over there. What is it, 8, 10, 12 more hours? Depends on where you're going. And then you got to turn back around. And then they talking about, what is it now? It ain't even a short week no more. They trying to get it cut to where a short week means if you get four days, it ain't a short – or five days, it ain't a short week no more. So they trying to get you on like two games where they can hit you on a Monday and a Thursday – or, I'm sorry, a Sunday and a Thursday, and that ain't a short week. Yeah. Huh? Stop playing. Bruh, when I played over there, bruh, and of course we were over there like the whole time.

39:15So the longer you're over there, the more you get taxed. That's why all these teams that go, they try and be over there as little time as they can, because the amount of days that you are over there, you get taxed each day. So cats that go over there and they like, they there for a week or they stay there for two weeks. And because they got to play a back to back, man, they getting cracked over the head over there. and here dude i was getting about real talk about 40 of my check back then bro i was making yeah bro i was making i was making like 450 500 a week doing nfl europe dude because they were hitting you so hard with taxes dude and that was for like eight or ten weeks bro like I don't know how the dudes that had families I don't even know how they were over there for like two months bro two and a half months taking care of their family and all that yeah and everybody got paid the same thing except for the quarterbacks the quarterbacks might have got like three or five hundred dollars more a week but that was it like you walking like they walking away with maybe seven eight hundred dollars everybody else for fifty five hundred dollars thank you okay

40:29James Harrison:question though if you was when you're doing it for the league and you went over there are you still getting what what how much are they taxing you for from the nfl checks when we go play over there because i didn't go play i did a whole nfl europe season so i don't know what they tax them it's different in different countries too however they do it but and then some of them will give your tax credit back so you don't get double taxed or however that works. I was thinking about mostly for me, I mean, I was saying, is it just the tax purposes or I wouldn't really like, when I went out, I don't want to fly over there and then have to turn back around.

41:05James Harrison:It was for the, I went out there last year as a fan, watching the game, got to see, and I was thinking if I was going to actually go play, it's a completely different time thinking about being in the season and like everybody else is on vacation when they come visit you. They ready to have a good, Hey, what you got going on? I'm like, I am locked in right now. Because I really, like, I got to go all. I just flew 12 hours. Now they go straight to practice. Yeah, no, no, for sure, for sure. When I went, it was more fan-wise. I would think just traveling during season prep, being able to get to the stadium the night before.

41:38James Harrison:Boom, sleep. You got your routine. Knocking out a routine during the season is a reason why that would be the biggest thing. about I'm not tripping on going over there for the, I'll go during my off season where I can go travel and actually go enjoy it, go see the stuff. When you're going out there to go play in a game, if you're going to go see stuff, you're out there for the wrong reasons. We got a game to play. Like everybody should be locked in, curfew, chilling, because end of the day, it's only during the season. This is one week. You can go see that seriously. After we win the Super Bowl, we don't make it.

42:10James Harrison:We losing the playoffs. You got an off season. You got those good little months, like when the season's still going on, You could travel, still get your work in, but your time where you can really actually enjoy yourself. So it's like a business trip for me, like when you go out to that stuff. So my biggest reason why I wouldn't want to go is like, I'm not tripping because I got a job to do. But for games and for tickets and for business. Oh, yeah, for sure. They want to still is you'll sell anything out traveling crazy out there because they want to see you. You're talking you lose in six hours.

42:39James Harrison:It's easy. For sure. Player-wise, schedule-wise, you're really just trying to stay as routine as possible. You talking about not a routine. I'm not doing that, bro. Yeah, I'm not trying to do that. Hell, I don't even like going all the way west, bro. And they keep the time. Keep the schedule the same. As long as they don't take us out early. Clock don't change. When I was with Cincinnati Duke, we went out there early. I'm like, why in the hell are we going out here a whole day and a half, two days early bro for what we gained three hours that during last minute keep the schedule keep the time what it is we just changed it in my mindset every clock i see should be like we're still in the east coast bro right and then we get there bro and they want a curfew you go try you go curfew me on a wednesday and a thursday bro i don't have that what did you talk about no don't bring me out here bro no no i could have stayed out don't bring me out here man all you doing is upset Facts, facts.

43:42So your boy, what's his name? Defensive lineman, Malik Collins. He said, man, he said, listen, I've seen the type of player Deshaun Watson is. He said, I've seen how dynamic he is in the past. He said, I think he has a lot to prove. I think Shador is super talented. I think he also has a lot to prove going forward. I think they said it was going to be an open competition, so may the best man win. So he was talking about the two quarterbacks battling it out for the thing because you had somebody that wrote an article saying that Deshaun had the edge. And he's like, nah, Deshaun ain't got the edge.

44:35It's open competition. They both got what they got. And then you got some cat, the Browns, that is some writer that believes Todd Monken has already made a big mistake by not naming a starting quarterback. I'll say that.

44:55There doesn't need to be a quarterback competition resulting in a young quarterback. There doesn't need to be a quarterback competition resulting in a young starting skill player position practicing with a quarterback who isn't going to start. Anyway, he thinks there should be a quarterback there practicing with the guys who go start. Who the f—who is this dude, dude? I listen to him.

45:24James Harrison:Listen, D-Bo, you know how that is. Everybody won the rush. Bro, I don't even—tap this article. Why did y 'all even put this in? Who is this dude, man? So long story short, and I'm going to go off Malik Collins. Malik Collins is making sense. It is going to be a quarterback competition, and I believe that Shador Sanders is probably going to win the competition. When they're saying early on right now he was getting more reps, it is what it is. That's what happens in the competition. They still haven't been to OTAs yet. He's going to have to split the reps, and by the time we get to training camp, Ty Monk has said that he's going to have a starting quarterback that he's going to name.

46:03James Harrison:Right now, Debo, you know how it is. When you don't have a quarterback, everybody's going to bring up every single situation. And then we're going to come on here and talk about it every single day and literally feel like we're being repetitive in what we're talking about. Because people just, everybody got something to say about the quarterback position. Everybody got something to say. But when I listen to Todd Munkin and he's telling me, end of the day, it is going to be a quarterback competition, Deshaun Watson and Shador Sanders. I believe both of them are going to be able to get their chances in OTAs to show how good they really are.

46:35James Harrison:And I think Shador is going to still be able to continue the ball. He did not play unbelievable last year. He has footwork things he can work on. He has timing things he can work on. He has awareness things in the pocket that he can work on. So there's so much growth. But I like to think that now when you have a quarterback coach, you have a head coach that are also trying to help you out. they're giving you, you're getting an equal opportunity. You're getting first team reps. You may be splitting them with Deshaun, but back in the day last year, you didn't see the first team. You didn't see anybody.

47:08James Harrison:They didn't give you a chance at all. So at least right now, Deshaun coming in healthy, making$46 million a year, was a franchise quarterback. I've seen him, he's coming off two ACLs and he still didn't perform too well back in the day. But when you're making$46 million, you're going to get the benefit of the doubt. You're going to get an opportunity because that 46 gives you just do. And you've been doing your job. You've been rehabbing. You've been staying out the way. You haven't been making any mess. You haven't been trying to do any noise. You've been trying to play football and do the best you can do.

47:38James Harrison:So for him, Deshaun, I hope the best. And for the reasons I state, the 46, you're staying out the way, and now you're healthy. You get an opportunity, obviously. Shador, you coming off of last year, starting basically half of the season, knowing that you need progression steps, being able to get a wear in the pocket, not retreating. There's things that you can get better at too. You're off now. You have a line that can block for you. We're going to have a situated running game. Our receivers are getting better. We drafted what we needed. We drafted receivers. We drafted protection. Boom. Now, both of you guys are going to be able to see what you can do during OTAs and training camp, see who plays better, and let's get to it.

48:20James Harrison:I still look at your door. as a first-round pick quarterback. Other people look at him like a fifth-round pick. I look at him like he should have been picking the first. They didn't like him because of his personality. He rubbed people the wrong way. But statistically, on the football field, what he did at Colorado, what Ken Ward did at Miami, was not too different from me. So I'm like, give him a chance. Give him a shot out there with real legitimate weapons. I want to see it. And if he's not, I was wrong. I take that on the chin. But I want to see Shador be able to be out there with weapons and a legitimate team and a legitimate coach coming off a whole season and reps.

48:56James Harrison:Boom. That's all I ask. So I'm going with Malik. I'm going with his open competition. I'm going with Deshaun Watson. You deserve that because what you've done before previously in the NFL, that is what it is. That's what got you that guaranteed contract. That's why you still have one more year here. You're not going to sign. The Browns are going to sign you next year. So it's either going to be you. This year we're going to find out. I think two quarterbacks are going to play. If Shador ends up starting, I don't think Shador is going to lose that job. I think he might go the whole way. If Deshaun Watson gets the job and plays amazing, that would be great.

49:29James Harrison:But I don't see that happening just because from my previous experience, just him coming off the injuries, and it was speed. He was able to run. He was able to move. It wasn't just his arm talent, which made him Deshaun Watson. He was fast. He was explosive. He was dynamic. He can throw and run. He was a dual threat. He started slowing down a little bit and then coming off of two surgeries. Let me see how explosive you really are. You know what I'm saying? Not knocking them, but once you lose that step, the league is fast. These dudes are not playing. Nobody's getting any slower. Dudes are only getting faster.

50:02James Harrison:The league's only getting younger. So we're going to see what happens. I'm here with Malik. So let's go. Okay. Yeah, for sure, for sure. this person this so-called beat writer this so-called beat writer is a fucking comedian don't put this stupid ass shit in the doc no more thank you he looks like a damn delusional Eagles fan too it's just like you said don't do that no more please thank you oh my goodness Let's go Browns. Let's go Browns. Cocksucker time. I got to speak my piece on my Browns. I got to speak my piece on my Browns. Yes, you did, sir. Yes, you did, sir. I'm U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

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