That 365 is paying out before the final whistle. Check out Bet365's unrivaled early payout offer. When you bet on the team to win and they take a 17-point lead, you get paid no matter the final score. Forget the final whistle and start counting that cash. Hold up, you get early payout on parlays too!
Download the app and see why it's never ordinary at Bet365. Gambling problem? Call 1-877-718-5543 or visit morethanagame.nc.gov. Must be physically located in North Carolina. TNC Supply.
You've built a great podcast. That content's solid. The audience is growing. But the money, still not where it should be. That's where the Odyssey Creator Lab comes in.
We host your podcast for free so you can keep doing your thing while our experienced sales team does their thing, finding advertisers and bringing in revenue. No fees, no stress, just real monetization. Apply now at creators.odyssey.com and let us show you the money. Did you know Tide has been upgraded to provide an even better clean and cold water? Tide is specifically designed to fight any stain you throw at it.
even in cold. Butter? Yep. Chocolate ice cream? Sure thing.
Barbecue sauce? tides got you covered. You don't need to use warm water. Additionally, Tide Pods let you confidently fight tough stains with new ColdZheim technology. Just remember, if it's gotta be clean, it's gotta be tide.
It is the JR Sport B show here with you coast to coast. on the Infinity Sports Network. Last night the Steelers pick up a victory. They move their insects. Listen at the top of the AFC North.
Aaron Rogers looked good. I guess people are quieted down on what happens with Mike Tomlin, but the Steelers still have some issues. We know about what unfortunately took place with TJ Watt last week. To get an update on the Steelers and whether things have calmed down just a little bit in the Steel City, joining us right now is someone who covers all things. Steelers is an AP National writer who's based in Pittsburgh.
Welcome back to the show, Will Graves. Will, how are you, man? I'm good, JR, man. Appreciate you having me on. No doubt about it.
I mean, over the past couple of weeks, given where the situation was with Mike Tomlin about a month ago, have people in the city quieted down just a little bit? Yeah, just a little bit. I think he had me on a couple of weeks ago after the Buffalo game and things were pretty bleak. Funny how beating your rivals on the road and then looking like a competent football team for maybe forty minutes against a team that's obviously Not, you know, not formidable, but a team that had been hot lately in Miami last night and beaten them pretty handily. I would say things are calm.
Now, if they get rocked in Detroit on Sunday, I'm sure we'll be back to DEF CON 1, but that's just kind of how it goes. You know, Aaron Rodgers. early in the season talked about, hey, let's not ride the roller coaster, it's a long ride. It has been an eventful one here for sure. over the last three months, but they're sort of Look, they're exactly where they basically always are in December and Mike Common.
They're in the mix with Christmas coming. It's the same as it ever was. The same that it ever is. Will Graves is here with us on the JR Sport Re Show. You mentioned Aaron Rodgers.
We know at this point it's kind of crazy to think he's a. He is already in. 42 years old, just had his birthday on December 2nd. What is your overall evaluation on his play this season, how he's been embraced, not embraced by the city, the community, you guys with the media? What's it been like?
You know, as a player, I'd say he's been a little erratic. I mean, one of the reasons. That they had trouble in that two and five stretch. I mean, he got hurt a little bit, obviously, you know, fractured his wrist. uh a month ago and missed the game, but like you know, he has been sort of up and down against the Chargers on Sunday night.
looked every bit his age. And then you look last night, it's cold, it's seventeen degrees. the field is sort of it's a frozen tundra esque And he's going twenty three to twenty seven for two twenty four two touchdowns and only one really bad pass out of the the whole mix. And a couple of real darts. I mean, the DK Metcalf touchdown, we can talk about what a great play DK made after the catch.
But Aaron also threaded it in between two defenders to make that happen, right?
So He's been a little bit up and down. And as far look, I think he's um you know, ho very popular in the in the locker room. Very, very popular in the locker room. I think. And then I mean, it's something that and I heard about this before he got here.
I talked to some guys that had covered him, you know, previous stops in his career. And he's a guy that is, I mean, this sounds kind of corny to say, but he's sort of like a man of the people. You know, I spent a a couple of weeks sort of just watching him interact in the locker room and he will talk to anybody. He'll talk to a practice law guy, an undrafted rookie free agent. He'll talk to, you know, T T Wadding and Cam Hayward.
And I mean, the he gets around and he seems to have a a pretty good rapport with everybody. I mean, I you know, Mike Tomlin talks a lot about Aaron's, quote, love affair with the game. And I can, you know, whether he looks like there's a couple of times this year he's kind of looked like, oh man, that's getting kind of old to get knocked around like this. But he certainly invited he's definitely embraces the team aspect of being a football player. Part of it knowing that that chapter of his life is coming to a close very soon.
And even I saw NFL Film shared a cut up this morning. He was mic'd up. a little bit or some of the Dolphins players were, and he was on the sideline after he'd run out of bounds, and he's jawing with the Dolphins players and he's loving every minute of it. I mean, they were calling him old man and all this stuff. But I mean, he really, really is sort of leaning into this sort of, for lack of a better phrase, Indian summer.
Um this twilight era of his career.
Well, Will, you talk about the Twilight Era of his career. He made a point last night of referencing some of his teammates as being outcasts. You know, thinking about Gainwell and Thielen, who just joined the team. DK Metcalf here in his first year away from Seattle. He didn't include himself in that category.
But what do you think about this roster construction and just how they're put together now? A lot of criticism as to who he can throw the ball to. Do they have enough of this? Do they have enough of that? What are your thoughts on how they're put together for now in the future, too?
Well well, I I think when when they made a trade for Jalen Ramsey and they signed Rogers, there was a lot of this, hey, the Steelers are all in for twenty twenty five, which isn't really the case. If they were all in, they would have found a way to keep George Pickens. And look, I understand why they had to trade him. I was around him for his three years. His teammates had just grown tired of his act.
And when that happens, no matter how talented he is, you can't have him around. Same with Antonio Brown, to be quite honest with you. But they've got some solid pieces in place beyond this year. The idea was. Hey, we're going to bring Rogers in and try to stay competitive, and we're going to find our quarterback in the draft next year.
Now, the problem is. the draft mark doesn't look nearly as stacked as we thought it was going to be twelve months ago, right? Um you know, so the future is still kind of like who knows, uh, you know, who believes their starting quarterback is going to be week one next year. As far as this year, I mean, they've been okay. They've patched some holes The the issue that I have is you know, and it's curious, You know, they got four tight ends.
But all do different things, and you know, they're paying Pat Fryermuth top 10, tight end money, and he can barely get on the field sometimes. And then last night, they kind of dust off the Cobwebs and he, you know, catches three passes late to kind of keep him going. It was John New Smith was MIA for a month. And then he's running a four. He's running, he lines up a tailback and he runs a 14-yard touchdown for a 14-yard touchdown.
I mean, like.
So, I mean, like, it's interesting. Like, they have an interesting mix of players. Are they as talented?
Some of the teams that they might face in the playoffs. I mean, on the surface, I would say no, but I mean, if you look at the AFC, In a weird way, it's everything's sort of breaking the way that they kind of hope. Like, the Chiefs are already out of it. If they can beat the Ravens to win the division, the Ravens will be out of it. There's no Joe Burrow.
Um you know, the the teams that they've would face in the playoffs Like there isn't going to be a massive You're going to have young guys like Drake May in their first real playoff mix, right? You're going to have maybe CJ Stroud coming in for a second time, but we're still not sure kind of where he's at in his development. You know, we've got Bo Nix in the playoffs for the first time, and then you've got a 42-year-old guy with four MVPs in a Super Bowl. And I think that if they get in the playoffs, they would like their chances. Whether I like their chances will sort of depend on the matchup.
Um but The thing is, with this team, like literally, you do not know what you're going to get on a given week. as down as it was two weeks ago when we talked I'm not saying people are playing in Super Bowl trips, but there is a I would say it's calmness. right? Like they didn't boo Renegade last night, right? Like Ben Rothensberger, who was very vocal in his comments about say let's clean let's have it let's maybe they need a clean place, a fresh start.
And well, he was inducted into the Hall of Honor last night along with Marquise Pouncy and Joey Porter Sr. And I asked then, I said, you know, what's it like to sort of be Vocal, you know, critical of a team you're so closely aligned with. And he said, Well, I didn't say that Mike T had to leave. I just, you know, I'm like sitting there thinking to himself, that is kind of exactly what you said. And maybe it, um, but he said, and he, you know, Ben included in his comments, like, you know, he could coach for another 10 years and that'd be fine here, and that would be fine.
So. I mean, let's just say that that's sort of indicative of sort of the mood of Steeler Nation at the moment, right? Like, it's pretty volatile. Like, if they beat Detroit, You know, I can see there will be stories on Monday. Hell, I might write one of them.
Oh, they're in the place where they want him where Ben Ru Rothelsberger wanted first Super Bowls, you know, twenty years ago. they've refound a spark that's going to carry them into the playoffs. I I don't think so. I mean, I really think this week is a bad matchup for them. But the irony is These next two games actually don't matter.
Like they could lose the next two, and if they beat the Ravens in in week eighteen, they win the division. And as long as the Ravens win at least one of their next two, They will have a chance to play for the division, and the division won't be decided until week 18.
So it's sort of this weird. They're sort of in a weird spot, but I would say that when the Steelers play from the end of the second quarter yesterday when they had a long touchdown drive and then the what we're calling the Pittsburgh plunge instead of the tush push for Connor Hayward through the beginning of the fourth quarter when they score touchdowns on four straight drive. and they helped the Dolphins to two, three and out. The Dolphins had minus twenty yards in the third quarter. It was the most competent stretch of well-played football that they probably had since September.
And I think everybody was like, oh. But temperature what the the temperature you know, went from simmering back to sort of just a Nice little lukewarm room temperature.
Okay, well this is this is normal. uh kind of Steelers football.
Well, we gotta wait and see. Listen up, football fans. You won't want to miss this. Right now, new Bet365 customers bet $5 and get $150 in bonus bets, win or lose.
So you could turn that $150 into something bigger. When you bet on money loss, spread, totals, player props. $150 in bonus bets when new customers bet $5. I know where I'm gonna bet from now on. Download the app today and see why it's never ordinary at Bet365.
Gambling Problem, call 1-877-718-5543 or visit morethanagame.nc.gov. 21 plus only. Must be physically located in North Carolina. TNC's apply an app only. Make money from your podcast with the Odyssey Creator Lab.
You create the show. We bring the advertisers. Apply now at creators.odyssey.com. Beginning first finally. On January 9th, the sequel to Greenland is so massive you have to see it on the big screen.
A promise to safety. Starring Gerard Butler and Marina Bakerin. Oh my god, hang on! Greenland 2 migration. Ready to PG-13.
How things bear out over the next three weeks. AP Ryder, National NFL based in Pittsburgh, Will Graves is here with us on the JR Sport Brief Show. One guy who we don't know if he's going to return, when he's going to return. Is uh TJ Watt, who we know he got that dry needling procedure, and it. Punctured his lung.
Is there any update on that, or is we can we count him out for the season unless it's a deep playoff for him? What are you hearing? Um, well Mike Tom went today, you know, when we got him Today, you know, twelve hours after the last time we talked to him. um said that he had no, quote, no new information TJ, he will return, I believe, you know, by week eighteen, if not before week eighteen. I w it's hard to see him playing on Sunday in Detroit.
But the reality is, you know, for the first, look, their record without TJ in his career was one in eleven. and then they got the win last one and they looked pretty competent doing it.
So I don't know if it's quite the And and knowing, like I just mentioned, that you know, they don't have to you know, like basically it's going to come down to week eighteen no matter how this goes. Maybe there's no need to kind of rush him back. I mean, like, I have a good friend of mine who is a licensed physical therapist, former elite athlete, now treats elite athletes, including NFL players. I texted her. On Friday, after JJ said, Oh, by the way, this is why TJ's in the hospital and this, you know, with the tri-needling thing.
And I asked her, I said, You know, how bad do you have to mess up for this to have this happen? And she said, pretty darn bad. I'm not let's let's not pretend that, look, I'm not going to say that TJ was on death's door or anything, but like, this was a really odd, odd. injury. And look, you know, they they have been sort of mom about, you know, there's basically two types of procedures you can do to correct it.
One which is m more invasive and one which is less invasive. And if it's less invasive, there's a chance. You know, th she said, look, there's a chance he could be back in two weeks.
somebody that does that, has that the lesser of the two procedures could be back more quickly. But I think we'll see him again this year. Again, he's going to be in a great mood when I got a you know, hey, dude, what's with this dry needling thing? And to be honest with you, look, it was a freak accident. He's been doing this lots of NFL players, lots of athletes do this procedure.
It was just kind of a weird you know, one in ten thousand, you know, freak thing that happened. And hopefully, you know, who knows what's gonna happen with the poor employee that that stuck that needle in him. But, you know, it's gonna I I would say they they avoided disaster. But yeah, it's certainly jarring when, you know, a guy that's going to the Hall of Fame is standing in the cafeteria and he can't breathe and he's talking about discomfort in his chest and then the next day he's having lung surgery.
So You know, scary, not as bad as it could have been, but certainly. A sobering thing for TJ and his failing in for the Spielers. We'll see. I think the Steelers are a pretty status quo, as you mentioned, for what it stands for right now. I know we've had this discussion, and I don't think it's changed too much, but given where we are this season, and we talked about the draft, I mean, even the Heisman came and kind of went with a whimper.
Not as much excitement in years past. What can we expect from these Steelers? in the off season, outside of everybody feeling like it's the same old, same old with no movement.
Well, uh, you know, I they've been pretty active in free agency in making trades, I mean, in bringing DK and let's remember signing Russell Wilson and trading for Justin Fields in twenty twenty four. I mean, Omar Khan and Andy Widdell, the new front office regime, is they've been there's been some unstealer like stuff that they've done since they've been partnered up. But, you know, I I sat there and for months, it was, well, Rogers is a bridge quarterback. They're going to get their guy in the draft next year. And you know, then they'll sort of then they'll be then we'll really get to see like Yeah.
Can they have success with a young quarterback like New England is, like Denver is, or Are they going to kind of do make another mistake like they made with Kenny Pickett? And then the real sort of maybe Mike Tomlin needs to go find a fresh start like that's when I think we'll really have an understanding of whether Mike T is going to be here until he's eighty years old or not. Um but the reality is I think that their their needs might be shifting. You know, I think I remember last time we were on here, I you know, we chatted, you asked me about Rogers and I told you I'm pretty positive Rogers is going to retire. I'm still pretty positive, but I mean, look, he's been, you know, the wrist thing was sort of a freakish injury, and he's look, he.
Has he's playing through a fair amount of pain still. Let's remember one of the touchdowns last night to. The Marquez Valdez scantling was when he was under center, which is something that he couldn't do the first couple of weeks playing with that brace on his wrist. And they ran a little play action, and MVS got open running across the field. You know, he's.
You know, he still looks like he can play, right?
So is there like a I've gone from a a 0.5% chance to a 1.5% chance that Aaron Rodgers is the quarterback for the Steelers next year. But I do think there's going to be it would be another bridge type situation when you look at the free agent That are available. Like, there's really nobody that jumps off the page. They're not going to go and get, you know. Daniel Jones.
They're not going to go spend money on Daniel Jones or anything like that. I think that they're You know, they might try to find another bridge guy. You know I I don't know. I mean, like, the only way to for them to get a maybe a surefire bona fide starter would be to trade well, I mean, to trade TJ TJ Watt. I'm not saying they're going to do that, but I'm saying they would have to make a big move with one of their personnel.
And I don't really see that happening.
So I think we might be treading water for another year here, whether it's with Aaron Rodgers or for me personally, I would love a Jameis Winston. I would I would watch the Jameis Winston experience as a guy in the media. What a fun guy to cover. But they might have you look, Mason Rudolph is under contract. Let's remember they do have Will Howard, their rookie from out of Ohio State, who They like Excuse me.
You know, I think he's a bit of a project guy, but you know, maybe that's what they roll with next year. I mean, I think it's Sort of an unknown. That's why everybody's sort of leaning into this moment. They are. Look.
They're exactly where they want to be in December. They're in first place in the division with three games to go, and they control their own destiny. Look, they don't look a lot. I've written this several times this year. The only place they look like a first-place team is when you look at the standings.
But I think last night what we saw, especially in the middle part of the game against the Dolphins. If they can somehow replicate that, I think it's going to be a tough ask against the Detroit team that's going to be playing for its playoff live. against Cleveland on the road the week after that and then home against the Ravens. I think You know, it's I think there's a pretty decent chance they're going to have a home game in the first weekend of the playoffs. And if it's against you know, a quarterback that doesn't have a ton of playoff experience.
And Aaron Rodgers is on the other side of the ball, like, you know, they have a puncher's chance, and I think that's all you can really ask for. Hey, we're gonna we're gonna see. The same old Steelers. We'll we'll wait and see how this one airs out. Hey, Will, always a pleasure.
Thank you so much. Tell tell everybody where they can follow you and your work. You can follow me on Exit at Willgraves AP, but please go to APnews.com. We've got a lot of great journalists working for this venerable organization. We do it the right way.
We kind of stick to the facts, which Kind of gets on my nerves sometimes, but at the end of the day, I appreciate it. We do it the right way, and I'm grateful to be a part of it.
So please follow our work at apnews.com. Appreciate you. We'll enjoy the holidays, okay? All right, same to you, take care. Hmm.
That 365 is paying out before the final whistle. Check out Bet365's unrivaled early payout offer. When you bet on the team to win and they take a 17-point lead, you get paid no matter the final score. Forget the final whistle and start counting that cash. Hold up, you get early payout on parlays too!
Download the app and see why it's never ordinary at Bet365. Gambling problem? Call 1-877-718-5543 or visit morethanagame.nc.gov. Must be physically located in North Carolina. TNC Supply.
I want you beginning first volley. On January 9th, the sequel to Greenland is so massive you have to see it on the big screen. A promise to safety. Starring Gerard Butler and Marina Baker in Greenland 2 migration. Ready to PG-13.
You've built a great podcast. The content's solid. The audience is growing. But the money's still not where it should be. That's where the Odyssey Creator Lab comes in.
We host your podcast for free so you can keep doing your thing while our experienced sales team does their thing, finding advertisers and bringing in revenue. No fees, no stress, just real monetization. Apply now at creators.odyssey.com and let us show you the money. Welcome to Radio Rental. The scariest stories you've ever heard in your life.
All told by real people. And off we go. This wasn't a human being that I saw. There's something here in this house.
Something out of this world. There was a woman moving through the hall. I stepped back and I was completely alone. Radio Rental is available now. Listen for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Crimes of is a weekly series that explores a new theme each season, starting with the true crimes that inspired Hollywood's most iconic horror villains. Listen to and follow Crimes of available now wherever you get your podcasts.
