I wasn't buying what Spencer Anderson was trying to sell me, so I went for the bully approach.
Any butterflies, I asked after the Steelers' practice Thursday at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, about suddenly being the starting left guard in the season opener Sunday in Atlanta?
"Nope," he came right back. "I'm pretty calm."
Seriously?
"Yeah, I mean, obviously, there's a lot that goes behind the opportunity that's about to come up. But you've gotta stay calm in these moments and just lean on the fundamentals and technique and, you know, not, not make the moment bigger than what it is."
Well, I wasn't having any of this. So I tried, in fun, colorful terms, to paint how it might feel to emerge from that tunnel at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. I even tossed in the thousands of Towels that'll be there.
A small smile came, then, "Yeah, I get that. Obviously it, it won't hit you till it's time. But as of right now ... pretty calm. Love the game plan. Love what we're doing."
I know better than to poke and prod anyone about an NFL gameplan, so I wasn't about to bother. But I did ask several other offensive lineman, most of whom aren't far from Anderson's level of inexperience -- Zach Frazier's making his NFL debut, Troy Fautanu would do the same if he sees a snap, and Broderick Jones'll see his first season-opening start -- why they all seem so confident. And within that, why they've all seemed so confident all summer long.
"It's simple," Dan Moore would tell me. "Keep it simple."
Yep. Like James Harrison used to admonish: Beat the man in front of you.
"That's it," Moore responded to that reference. "Win that battle."
Here again, no details were divulged or sought. And yet, the picture that emerged from all of these couldn't have been clearer: They're going to run.
And when they're done running, they'll run some more.
Then even more.
Which would explain not only how the linemen are envisioning this event -- they'll tell anyone, to a man, they'd prefer run-blocking to pass-blocking -- but also the equally bubbly moods of Jaylen Warren, who told me he's "never been more excited" for a game, and Najee Harris, who at the other end of the room was holding court with local media for what must've been a personal-record 15-20 minutes.
Makes sense, too, doesn't it?
Why bog down the youngest members of the offense with clever motions and spur-of-the-moment adjustments to pass rushes when they can go full-on playground ball?
What could be more academic?
• All of the above might be doubly relevant, I should add, if Russell Wilson's wonky-again calf won't let him start. Because now the blocking wouldn't just be for the running backs. It'd be for Justin Fields a few times, as well.
• For what it's worth, Wilson walked by me in the locker room yesterday after practice with not a trace of discomfort. Doesn't mean he isn't hurt. Just observing and reporting what's observed.
• There remains no firm indications of a wide receiver being added from the outside, even as there remain very firm indications Omar Khan's not aborting the mission.
• Minkah Fitzpatrick's prepared to be blasted from a cannon, based on a brief chat we had. That's how ready he is. Mark this down. Then repeat it after each of the next 17 games.
• Neat thing Montravius Adams shared with me: "If you look at our defensive line, what really makes it exciting is that we've got a lot of guys who can do everything. You know, play all the position, fill all the roles." He paused and laughed before adding, "Everyone except for me. I've been all nose for 3 1/2 years now, and it's my home now. But the rest of us ... you'll see."
• I'd mentioned to Cameron Johnston, punting/preseason god among men, that I'd heard from plenty of fans that they're looking forward to seeing him in action. To which the pride of Geelong, Australia, grinned and replied, "I'll bet they won't want to see very much of me, mate." See, he doesn't just look like Bill Burr. He's funny, too.
PIRATES
• Wish I could augment the original reporting I offered from Cleveland over the weekend on the statuses of the people running the team in the front office and at field level, but, alas, I've got nothing new since breaking that Derek Shelton's in mega-trouble barring some big September reversal, and that there's deafening silence as it relates to Ben Cherington.
Other than maybe this: The sharks are swirling.
When I covered Bob Nutting's firing of Dave Littlefield, some of the first people to know it was coming were outside the Pirates. In the industry, but outside the team. Similarly, when I covered Nutting's firing of Neal Huntington, people on the outside knew more than anyone.
Why?
Because there are only 30 of these operations on the planet. Nothing more to it than that. And there are professionals across the sport who desperately covet these jobs, who make known what they can bring to these jobs even while others are still holding these jobs, who never stop pushing. That's contrary, of course, to the insane misperception I'm commonly hearing that no one would want to work here, if only because precious few can afford to be picky.
Let's just say I haven't seen the waters like this in quite some time.
• If just Shelton goes -- or, say, just Shelton and Andy Haines and a couple other coaches -- nothing will change. Not. One. Thing. Cherington will find clones, essentially, to follow his approach and to fit into his process.
• Only because I get asked this a lot: Yes, Nutting watches the games. Yes, he's around the team for nearly all home series plus a couple on the road. (Washington's a favorite spot.) Yes, he's at 115 Federal, reporting there almost as if it's a 9-to-5 job. His issue isn't that he's aloof or removed. Rather, it's that he's grossly risk-averse.
• He also isn't a billionaire, for crying out loud. If anything, he's among Major League Baseball's least capitalized owners. Now, if he sold the team today, he'd be a billionaire and then some. But that wouldn't meet anyone's definition of a billionaire.
• One last one of these, as long as I'm on a roll: Mark Cuban suggested -- repeated, I should say -- the following on X:
If someone offered you a job, that paid 25m or more per year, to stand in Market Square and let the entire city of Pittsburgh yell at you, would you take that job ?
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) August 29, 2024
That job is owning the Pirates.
Why would they sell ? https://t.co/PI8se807lH
It's a tremendous line, albeit one he'd used before, and custom-made for the social-media and radio-talk-show carp segment of society
One problem with it: He couldn't be more off.
It doesn't take 'Mr. Wonderful' to grasp that $1.5 billion -- which I'm positive Nutting could get in selling the Pirates right now -- is infinitely more valuable than collecting $25 million a year. It'd take him 60 years to amass $1.5 billion if he collected $25 million annually. Not to mention, a one-time payment of $1.5 billion can do a lot of bonus lifting through interest/investments. Not to mention ... nobody's yelling at you in Market Square or anywhere else!
Come on, everyone. Everyone's free to hate the guy's stewardship, but this required middle-school math.
• Nutting owns the team because he wants to own the team.
PENGUINS
• So cool hearing from so many inside the organization who are so stoked about this Rutger McGroarty trade. It's almost as if it all finally makes sense now.
• Congratulations to Kevin Stevens and Matt Cullen. Not just on being richly deserving selections -- and in Artie's case, grossly overdue -- to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame yesterday. But more just on being excellent human beings, both of them. It'll be awesome having that ceremony right here in the city in December.
• Craig Patrick, Herb Brooks' assistant coach for the Miracle on Ice, took immense pride in the Penguins' presence in American hockey, and he did so way back before an Auston Matthews could emerge from Arizona or a Jake Guentzel from Nebraska. Stevens and Cullen will now join those two, plus 'Badger' Bob Johnson, Joey Mullen, Tom Barrasso, Bill Guerin, Eddie Olczyk, Scott Young and others who've spent significant time in Pittsburgh.
• My God, I need hockey. Two weeks.
• Thanks for reading our franchise feature.
• Chris Halicke and I fly to Atlanta this weekend for Steelers-Falcons, Greg Macafee drives across Ohio for Pitt-Cincinnati, Taylor Haase packs up for a week in Buffalo, N.Y., at the NHL Prospects Challenge, and José Negron ... yeah, he keeps drawing the short straw.
• And for listening:
