Aaron Rodgers Joins Steelers: Impact and Odds Analysis

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00:00Scott, first of all, let me put this out right now because I've been looking at the odds, the divisional odds on the books.

00:09The Steelers are still plus 600 to win your AFC North.

00:13They're still, Scott, we'll get more, we'll break this down later.

00:17But when you really look at their situation, Scott, they're still not expected to have over eight and a half wins.

00:22They're still not expected to have a winning record.

00:24Now, I know things could change for the next 24 hours.

00:27I get that, but everyone expected Aaron Rodgers to sign with him.

00:31He's going to sign with him, and he's going to help them.

00:34They're going to be better.

00:35Now, let's kind of look at how they can be better.

00:38You know, Russell Wilson, you and I talked off of the air, you know, you and I kind of see Russell Wilson the same way.

00:43He did well for a while, then he completely fizzled, and they should have benched him, as Arthur Smith wanted to do.

00:50But Russell's not benched.

00:52He finished the season out, and it didn't work out for them.

00:54They still have not won a playoff game since 2017.

00:57So they bring in Aaron Rodgers, right, at 41 and a half years old.

01:00Rodgers showed tremendous toughness.

01:01He played through two injuries last season.

01:04I'm told a moderate hamstring strain and a knee sprain at the same time.

01:07Did not miss any games.

01:08I know he didn't play great.

01:10He still had 28 passing touchdowns in a dreadful season overall for the Jets.

01:15But here's a guy who's been there and done that, okay?

01:18He wanted to play this season.

01:19Very clearly, he told people he needed a little downtime to deal with some kind of personal issue in his private life.

01:26He's playing, okay?

01:27He's told them that.

01:28He's going to be in.

01:29They have a three-day mandatory camp next week.

01:31He's going to be there.

01:32That's a good thing.

01:33But when you really look at it, he elevates this football team.

01:37They need more stability, at least for one season.

01:39They'll figure out down the line in future drafts what the quarterback position is going to look like.

01:43But the one big difference, Scott, between Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson is, Aaron Rodgers will make his offensive line better.

01:50How's he going to do that?

01:51He gets rid of the ball faster.

01:54Wilson runs around, scrambles around.

01:56It doesn't always get rid of the football.

01:58And I know that this has been a problem with the teams he's been on.

02:01And now the Giants have to deal with it.

02:03But Aaron Rodgers, he may not move like he used to.

02:07But he's better than Russell Wilson at this point.

02:10And that's the bottom line, and he's going to help them.

02:13Now, are they going to be a playoff team?

02:15Highly unlikely.

02:16Could they have more than eight and a half wins to go over the total?

02:20Yes.

02:21Yes.

02:21But it's not a lot.

02:22They're not making the playoffs, Scott.

02:24They're just not.

02:25They're not going to be good enough.

02:26Their defense will be very good.

02:29I said some positivity about Aaron Rodgers.

02:31But, Scott, physically, I just wonder.

02:34They won 10 games in that ass quarterback room last year.

02:40I know.

02:40Listen, now, I thought Fields was way better than Wilson.

02:44And Wilson went 500, lost every game in December.

02:48He was pathetic.

02:49But they won 10 games.

02:50Yep.

02:50They never won from December on.

02:55They had 10 wins before December.

02:57How is it that this guy, Tomlin, always,

03:01that they always end up going to the playoffs and losing?

03:04But saying to me that they're winning under eight games is insanity.

03:08And saying they don't have a shot at the playoffs, to me, as a wild card, is insanity.

03:13All this guy Tomlin does is win.

03:16And now he's got a guy that gets rid of the rock.

03:18They got talent.

03:19They got Metcalf.

03:20They got running backs.

03:21They got a great defense.

03:22And now, all of a sudden, they suck?

03:24I'll say this.

03:26The eight and a half win total, the over is plus 100.

03:29I do like them to win nine games.

03:31The under is minus 120.

03:33Now, these numbers I love.

03:36To be the third place finisher in the AFC North, the Steelers are minus 135.

03:40To me, that's exactly where they're going to finish.

03:42Okay?

03:43They're going to be better than Cleveland.

03:45Cleveland's a nightmare quarterback.

03:47You know, they've got four quarterbacks, but they don't know who their starter is.

03:49That's a disaster.

03:50We know the Ravens are going to finish in first.

03:52That's a lock.

03:54We know number two, Scott, we know that the Bengals are going to be right there.

03:58They'll finish in second.

03:59Your Steelers are going to finish in third.

04:01That's why they're minus 135.

04:03But they're not a playoff team to me.

04:04The Chargers, that's my team.

04:07I missed on them last season.

04:08I've learned better.

04:10We'll talk more about them in the second segment.

04:12You can't discount them.

04:14Denver came out of nowhere last year and became a playoff team.

04:17Denver's got a better team right now than the Steelers.

04:19But you're right, that Tomlin somehow gets there and they don't win.

04:24It's going to be harder this year, Scott.

04:26The AFC's pretty strong.

04:27It's a little bit stronger than you think.

04:29Rodgers gives a better chance than Russell Wilson did.

04:31But I don't know if they're any better.

04:33Yeah, they got DK Metcalf instead of Arthur Smith, who's got to do a better job of scheming

04:36and designing.

04:37They don't have Najee Harris.

04:39The run game's going to look a little different this season.

04:42Cornerback position, it's sort of a challenge there.

04:44They're an above average team.

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