- 9 minutes ago
Chris Mack joined Shan and RJ to discuss the Joey Porter Jr. trade. Mack broke down Porter's fit with the Cowboys, his contract expectations, Pittsburgh's fan reaction, trade compensation, and more.
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00:00How do you think he remembered the Pickens trade? How do you think he judged it?
00:04I believe Chris Mack was one who said that he didn't want George Pickens gone.
00:11I believe. I think that was the case last year.
00:13I know he celebrated and laughed at us over the Broderick Jones deal.
00:16Right now, they got early lead on the scoreboard as Broderick is still not playing any.
00:21Good morning, Chris. Where are we on the Cowboys-Steelers scoreboard?
00:24As Chris Mack joins us from Westwood 1 and Y108 in Pittsburgh.
00:27I feel like everybody's a loser here, guys. Seriously.
00:33Kind of insulting the man Bobby.
00:35No, yeah. Well, actually, you know what? I should take that back.
00:39Choppy isn't here today, so not everyone's losers, right?
00:43No, seriously. It feels like the Steelers got strong-armed into selling low on the first corner.
00:52They were actually able to draft and develop since Ike Taylor.
00:55It feels like the Cowboys, who are struggling in the front seven still, I know there's corner issues, but, you
01:05know, two sacks getting gashed in the run game week after week, and they go out and get a corner.
01:11I have my questions about that.
01:12And another David Mulligetta guy. Good luck with that, Jerry.
01:15And, oh, Joey Porter Jr. doesn't get paid.
01:19All this, faux back injury included, to not immediately get paid.
01:26I don't feel like anybody walks away from this feeling like a giant winner.
01:30What type of player is he?
01:33He's a very good corner.
01:34I'm not going to sit here and tell you guys that Joey Porter Jr. is not a good man corner.
01:39He's very physical. He has cleaned up some of the DPI stuff that was an issue when he was at
01:45Penn State the first couple years in the league, but he is a physical corner who can play press man
01:51if that's what you want him to.
01:52I don't know if that keeps Zay Flowers from catching a ball with seven seconds left last week in Rio.
01:58I don't know if that keeps them from playing man in that situation.
02:03It doesn't fix a situation like last Sunday in Brazil, probably, but he is a very good man corner.
02:09I'm not going to say he isn't, but I don't think he's quite at the level that he and his
02:15representation valued himself at.
02:17He was in a spot where he may be almost as good as the Christian Gonzalez's and Devin Witherspoon's of
02:25the world, but he's not quite good, not quite as good, pardon me, as them.
02:31And, oh, by the way, he wasn't a first-round pick.
02:33I know he was drafted 32nd overall.
02:36It was that year I think the Dolphins had a pick rescinded, and so he was the first pick of
02:41the second round, so he did not get a fifth-year option picked up.
02:44He didn't have that negotiating leverage that Witherspoon and Gonzalez had, so he was not going to get the guaranteed
02:51money on this deal for two very big reasons.
02:53He didn't have that leverage, and he's not quite as good as those guys.
02:56Very good, but not great.
02:58Chris, I'm glad you brought up the money.
02:59What were you thinking was the fair number to land on?
03:04Because now we're going to have to have all those discussions and factor that into the cap and George Pickens'
03:10future here,
03:10and where do you think it was going back and forth with the organization?
03:15Or was the Steelers' policy of no in-season contracts just a non-starter?
03:20Well, they did negotiate some over the spring and summer, but the Steelers are one of those old-school hardline
03:28organizations that once week one kicks off, we're done talking.
03:31You can get out on the field under your current deal or not, but I thought somewhere in the neighborhood
03:37of 25, even as it dragged on, maybe 27 per year with a guaranteed number somewhere in the 40s.
03:46I think everyone could have lived with, except apparently Joey Porter Jr. and David Mulliguetta, who were looking for more
03:54like 30 per year and at least 50 guaranteed.
03:57So that's the number I would suspect, especially if Joey comes in right away, not this Sunday, but Thursday against
04:03the Bucs, and starts playing right away and plays well, then that's what he's going to be looking for.
04:08Chris Mack joining us here from Pittsburgh to talk about the Joey Porter trade the Cowboys made last night.
04:14What's the—so obviously we all knew the reputation of George Pickens leaving Pittsburgh.
04:18Even people who liked him, there was universal thought of like, yeah, this is not personality match working right now.
04:25What's the temperature been on Porter as a personality during this whole—are Pittsburgh fans saying we sympathize with what he's
04:32going through?
04:33Are they angry at him and side with the team?
04:34How is he viewed in Pittsburgh?
04:37So it's a unique dynamic.
04:39Joey grew up here, right, while his dad was playing for the Steelers.
04:42He played at a large high school in the northern suburbs, North Allegheny, went to Penn State, right?
04:48So he's got a lot of emotional cachet with Western Pennsylvanians and Pittsburgh Steelers fans because he's played for—he's been
04:56one of them.
04:57He's been one of us.
04:57He's been a yinzer as much as he can be.
05:00So, you know, I don't know if he eats fries on his sandwiches or not.
05:03I don't know if he goes to Minio's with McCarthy.
05:06But nonetheless, he's a Pittsburgher.
05:08And so there was a little more willingness to look around this summer when all these other extensions were getting
05:14done.
05:14Don't forget, they gave their third edge rusher, Nick Herbig, $100 million this offseason.
05:19They gave Darnell Washington, the massive tight end, Mount Washington.
05:23They gave him an extension.
05:24They handed out extensions like Skittles this offseason, but Joey never got done.
05:29And there were some people, and there will still continue to be some Steelers fans that say, I don't get
05:33it.
05:34I don't know why they weren't willing to play ball with a guy who is a much better guy in
05:40the room than George Pickens was.
05:42Joey's a great dude.
05:44I'm going to have a hard time as a Steelers fan not conflating, and I think a lot of Steelers
05:49fans are going to feel similarly, not conflating my feelings of, he's kind of one of us.
05:55He's a Pittsburgher.
05:56He should go out and get paid with the feelings of, dude, you faked a back injury so you can
06:01try and gain leverage over the team.
06:02What the hell are you doing?
06:03Because, you know, it's still Pittsburgh, still blue-collar in a lot of ways, even though we don't have steel
06:09mills around anymore, really.
06:10And people are like, listen, you've got a deal.
06:12You've got to show up for work, brother.
06:14And he didn't show up for work.
06:16And so, you know, it's going to be hard for Steelers fans to not conflate those feelings.
06:21There are a lot of people who, as soon as this started to drag on into the preseason, especially once
06:27week one hit, said, man, I get it.
06:29You don't like the deal, but you're under contract, man.
06:32You've got to show up and you've got to play.
06:34And they don't like the way Joey handled this at the very end.
06:38But he's no George Pickens.
06:40I'm going to be clear about that.
06:41He is no George Pickens.
06:43Joey Porter Jr., I still believe, deep down in my heart of hearts, is a good dude.
06:49He just, I think, got really bad advice on what he would be able to fetch from the Steelers financially
06:54in this instance.
06:55Are you looking at GP here and saying, who is that guy?
06:59Or you're like, no, it's just an act until that money hits.
07:02Yes, to both.
07:05Why is he behaving so well?
07:08But yeah, I think, you know, if George thinks that there's a way to maximize his value, whether it's in
07:17a possible extension in Dallas, if that can work out.
07:20Although I think the cap makes it difficult with all the money being spent on offense already.
07:24Or thinks he can just continue to behave, have another big year statistically.
07:29Maybe CD misses a few games again and he's the man for a few weeks and could go out and
07:34cash in on that.
07:35Then yeah, he's going to continue to walk the straight and narrow.
07:39I still believe, as I told you guys a year ago when we talked to Pickens' deal, that there is
07:44a turn.
07:46Maybe he doesn't go full A-B at some point in the future, but he is going to veer into
07:52that A-B lane at some point, whether it's somewhere else down the line or if he remains in Dallas
07:57and gets paid there.
07:58That is the voice of Chris Mack, Westwood 1Y108 in Pittsburgh on the Fan Camp Twitch YouTube SiriusXM here on
08:07Sean and RJ.
08:08What were you guys speculating as to the pick return for Joey Porter?
08:13And do you think Steeler fans will be happy, thrilled, less than thrilled that it was a 20-28 second
08:20and a six?
08:21What were you thinking for pick return?
08:23I was thinking second and maybe fifth, right?
08:27I would have been satisfied with that.
08:30I lose a lot of my contentment with the return when you tell me it's a second in two years
08:35and it's a conditional sixth that I would imagine.
08:38Nobody knows, but I would imagine the conditions on that probably include Joey re-signing in Dallas maybe or a
08:46certain number of snaps down the stretch.
08:48If it's a sixth-round pick conditional on Joey staying in Dallas, you're not going to see that, I don't
08:53think.
08:54And also, the second-round pick being two years off is, like I said, it's underwhelming.
09:01So a lot of Steeler fans and a lot of people who pay attention to the organization, myself included, feel
09:06like they did get somewhat strong-armed here.
09:09I would have walked a harder line if I were GMO Markhan and said, okay, fine, I get it.
09:14You've got a quote-unquote back injury.
09:17Well, then go get a second and third opinion.
09:19Let's get all the imaging we can.
09:21Let's figure this thing out.
09:22And until then, you're on IR.
09:24And I would have saved myself the roster spot because they could be somewhat thin at corner tonight and maybe
09:29next week as well.
09:30They're dealing with issues there.
09:32Brandon Eccles, who's one of their slot corners, is just coming out of concussion protocol, may not play tonight.
09:37Jalen Ramsey has a broken something in his wrist.
09:40So that's an issue in the secondary for them as well, even if he does play.
09:43I would have saved myself the roster spot.
09:45I would have walked a hard line.
09:47I would have kept him around all year, even if it meant leaving him on IR, and then tagged him
09:52in the offseason and worked with it from there.
09:55Because I think there's a chance, once you get to the offseason and everybody's desperation maybe increases, oh, we've got
10:01to have this, and the free agent market is this.
10:03Maybe we're interested in Joey Porter Jr.
10:05You could have done better than a 20-28 second and a conditional sixth next year.
10:11Chris, I don't know if people within Pittsburgh view it this way, but I feel like outside of Pittsburgh, everybody
10:18has always looked at the Steelers similar to the way Belichick used to run the Patriots.
10:22Where it's like, man, they always seem to be just getting out on these guys right before they have their
10:27downfall.
10:28And, man, Antonio Brown, you all were right about that.
10:30You were right about Chase Claypool.
10:31You were right about getting out of these guys.
10:34Did the Pickens fall out from that?
10:37Has that shaken at all any confidence within Pittsburgh of, like, do they know what they're doing with Joey here,
10:44then?
10:44Because they didn't know.
10:45It doesn't look like what they were doing with Pickens.
10:47Why is that working and it didn't work here?
10:49Yeah, it's definitely shaken the fans' confidence.
10:52You know, Omar Khan, the GM, had a couple of really nice moves, like trading Chase Claypool for the pick
10:59that got them Joey Porter Jr. a few years ago.
11:01And everyone started calling him the Khan artist.
11:03They're like, oh, this is great.
11:05He's pulling a fast one on these other teams.
11:07But now, with the way the Porter situation was handled, and then in retrospect, the way the Pickens situation went
11:14down, a lot of people do look at it and say, okay, wait a second.
11:17Do we really know what we're doing here?
11:19And then, even though Makai Lemon hasn't really done anything in Philly yet, you layer on top of that what
11:24went down at the draft where the Eagles kind of swooped in and took Lemon out from under them.
11:28Even though Max Ahanichor has looked really good in his limited time at right tackle so far, the guy who
11:33they ended up picking there, a lot of people are looking at Omar Khan and be like, eh.
11:37Is Omar really the evil genius that we think he is?
11:41Organizationally, though, I think they're sold on this idea of, we don't want guys who are going to be any
11:47level of problem or distraction.
11:49And so, that was their line when they decided to deal Pickens.
11:54Joey, again, is not a problem, per se, but not being able to use his roster spot, him continuing to
12:01go back and forth between, oh, my back hurts, oh, my back doesn't hurt, I just need to get in
12:06shape.
12:06All this, you know, again, trying to gain leverage at the negotiating table, which they decided was closed three weeks
12:13ago.
12:13So, I think the organization looked at it and said, you know what, it's time to get out from underneath
12:19this thing and move on.
12:21We'll deal, Joey.
12:22But I think sometimes, you know, for an organization that proved for a long time that they could handle problem
12:27children, like Antonio Brown, this is definitely a step in the direction of, we don't want to be bothered with
12:33it anymore.
12:34And at times, it may cost you some talent.
12:36God, Sean, it's like whenever you add Mike McCarthy to your organization, it crumbles you.
12:40The first place Pittsburgh Sears with Mike McCarthy.
12:43McCarthy, look at our coaching issues that we have right now, Jack.
12:45We have a positive point differential, sir.
12:47Chris, how is McCarthy working out?
12:50First two weeks were rough.
12:51He tried to throw too much at the wall to see what would stick and counted on Aaron kind of
12:55being a player coach on the field.
12:58And it was too much for the offensive line.
13:00They were playing at, like, 80% because nobody really knew exactly what they were supposed to be doing on
13:05some plays, and you could see it in the offense.
13:08Last week against Cincy, Sunday, it looked great.
13:12Not only did they put Brock Hoffman, who has history with McCarthy, obviously, from down in Dallas, but they put
13:18Brock Hoffman and Max Ahanachor in on the right side of the line.
13:21And those two guys were physical.
13:23They limited Dexter Lawrence to just two quarterback hits.
13:26No sacks.
13:27No big plays.
13:28If they can do the same thing to Mason Graham on the Browns defensive line tonight, then I think they'll
13:34win in Cleveland, which they never did under Tomlin.
13:37This organization is 0-4 on Thursday nights in Cleveland somehow.
13:42Because Mike, I think, has pared things down.
13:45He has said, listen, I brought in all these physical dudes on the offensive line.
13:49I have a 6'7", 295-pound mammoth of a tight end.
13:53I have Michael Pittman Jr., who loves to go downfield and block.
13:57DK will, yeah, get flagged for holding one out of every six times he runs downfield to block, too.
14:02But he likes to block.
14:03He likes to stick his nose in there.
14:04Let's be physical.
14:05Let's see if we can play a little bully ball.
14:07We have Jalen Warren, who I think is fourth in the league in yards after the catch out of the
14:12backfield, right behind B. John Robinson.
14:14That's a pretty good spot to be on the leaderboard, who's like a bowling ball with razor blades when he
14:19gets going downhill.
14:20Nobody wants to tackle him, especially in the fourth quarter.
14:22So if they can lean into that, this offensive line's ability to be physical and nasty and get downhill, Warren's
14:29ability to do that, Darnell Washington, who's just, you know, safeties and DBs.
14:34Because they're making business decisions when he catches a ball and starts rumbling downfield.
14:39If they can lean into that physical side of things on offense, I think it's going to open up a
14:44few more of the deep shots that they hit on last week against Cincy for Aaron.
14:48He won't be running for his life.
14:50And I think this offense, it might not hit 30 every week as it did Sunday against the Bengals, but
14:54it's going to look a whole hell of a lot better than it did the first two weeks.
14:57Chris, this was fantastic, man.
14:58Thank you so much for joining us on Short Notice with the info and the fan cam.
15:02Enjoy the rest of your day and tonight.
15:05Great to talk to you, boys.
15:06Thank you very much.
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