Welcome to Episode 7 of the The Season: 2008 Steelers podcast, featuring Steelers' 2005 second-round pick and two-time Super Bowl champion Bryant McFadden, who will be your weekly guide on the 10-year anniversary of the Steelers' improbable run to their sixth Lombardi Trophy.
Each week, McFadden will talk to different players and coaches from that Super Bowl-winning squad. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you'll never miss an episode.
The Steelers entered the '08 season with the league's toughest schedule and the preseason prognosticators didn't expect this team to make it back to the playoffs. Here's a quick recap of the episodes to date:
- Episode 1: McFadden and former teammate Ike Taylor revisit training camp, preseason and the first half of the 2008 season;
- Episode 2: Hines Ward joined the show to talk about the Week 11 matchup against the Chargers;
- Episode 3: LaMarr Woodley was the guest to discuss the Week 12 game against the Bengals;
- Episode 4: Dick LeBeau spoke about the greatness of this squad, and James Harrison in particular, and recounted the Week 13 Patriots game;
- Episode 5: Deshea Townsend joins the podcast to remember the Week 14 win over the Cowboys;
- Episode 6: Nate Washington recounts the Week 15 matchup against hated division rivals, the Baltimore Ravens.
And this week, former Steelers linebacker Larry Foote, now the Cardinals linebackers coach, joins McFadden to talk about the Week 16 matchup against the upstart Titans, the last team to beat Pittsburgh during the '08 campaign.
Some of the highlights from Episode 7:
- Foote, who played at Michigan, hosted McFadden during his recruiting trip to Ann Arbor, and offers his theory on how McFadden settled on Florida State in the 11th hour; (4:00)
- Foote talks about the Steelers culture that preceded him, and what it was like to play for Bill Cowher; (5:45)
- Why the Titans matchup was a trap game; "We tried to talk it," Foote said, "but physically we weren't there." (8:00)
- Why, historically speaking, no other defense ever did what the '08 Steelers did; (10:00)
- Foote explains why the defense was so good down the stretch, and the difference between Steelers fans and everybody else; (11:30)
- Foote reveals the defense's motto for the Steelers offense; (18:00)
- The give-and-take relationship between the defense and offense during a time where Pittsburgh's D dominated; (21:15)
- Foote talks about Hines Ward, one of his all-time favorite Steelers players; (24:30)
- Why you should never disrespect the Terrible Towel. (32:00)
You can listen to the entire podcast below:
