I have a thrill-of-a-lifetime excuse today for being able to drop the name Jack Ham, the greatest coverage linebacker in football history.
With all due respect to Payton Wilson, of course. But that's another story.
Anyway, Ham called me the final Wednesday before camp began. It was just a business call, but you still rise to attention when The Hammer calls. So I asked him to wait a second while I turned down the TV.
"You're watching TV in the middle of the day in the middle of the week?" he asked.
I said yeah but I'm tired. I told him about driving the handicapped and elderly every Monday and Tuesday, and that I was enjoying a rare free Wednesday.
But that absolutely did not befront the great linebacker. He continued jabbing me all the way until we hung up. So, in honor of my first free Wednesday since then, I sat down on the couch today to watch podcasts. I started with Ben Roethlisberger's.
I had seen Ben talking to Aaron Rodgers during Thursday's joint practice with the Bucs, and sure enough Ben discussed that practice on his Footbahlin' podcast. First, he talked about how excited Rodgers is to be with the Steelers. "He's 100 percent dialed in," said Roethlisberger.
As for watching Rodgers on the field: "He threw one pass and, as he started to walk over to me, I was like, man, one thing that doesn't stop working is his arm. That arm looks good."
Roethlisberger might've been more impressed by DK Metcalf.
"DK Metcalf is an absolute animal," Roethlisberger said. "We haven't seen a receiver like him, in terms of physical stature and being able to take over a football game, since T.O. He is an absolute animal. I've had big receivers, but he is thick. He is a monster."
I recall the day I turned to another reporter on the sideline and said, "Now, explain to me why you can't throw wide receiver screens to Metcalf every play."
He's that physical. And that's exactly what struck Ben.
"He looks different, and he works," Roethlisberger said. "Watching him practice ... it's very easy for your stars to get a rep here, there. He was in line with the receivers (saying), 'I'm going. I'm getting reps.' There was a time when they needed a receiver in the huddle and he ran in. During a run period? You don't see that stuff. He's all in, too.
"And I'll say this about him," Roethlisberger said, "He has not had a quarterback of Aaron's caliber. I don't think we've seen -- I know we haven't seen -- what DK Metcalf can do on a football field."
Roethlisberger tempered his remarks by saying the passing combo will only become special if the line protects Rodgers, but that, "I don't know how you don't think about going to DK every single play."
So, we're pretty pumped here in Couchtown that the eagle-eyed Roethlisberger saw what I had been seeing. It gives me confidence in my continuing ability to stand on the sideline and watch football for a living.
Of course, what is Rodgers' mentality here as he comes to the end of his long and winding road?
For the answer I've suspected, I turned to Cam Heyward's Not Just Football podcast, featuring special guests Aaron Rodgers and DK Metcalf.
I've been bullish on Rodgers, as you might know if you read my recent pieces - here and here - for Steelers Digest. But Rodgers to Heyward was even better than expected. First off, Rodgers "coached up" Metcalf.
"The great ones practice the right way," Rodgers said. "When this guy catches the ball, he finishes every single time. It melts my heart because it's the love of the game. Not everyody loves football on the same level. The way that you demonstrate how much you love football is the way you do things when you're not expected to. It's the professionalism that he shows."
Metcalf sat by humbly as Cam smiled in approval. Rodgers went on.
"As a quarterback looking for guys to lead alongside you, you want guys who lead by example. And I just love the way this guy practices."
Rodgers began coaching up the rest of the team by name, seniority level, by position, in general telling them what he expects to see in what he thinks could become a great team. His leading through the media reminded me of the way Bill Cowher used to pump up his team -- and sometimes me -- via his mid-week press conferences.
I was feeling that inspired.
Metcalf nodded in agreement as Rodgers named players such as Zach Frazier.
"He can handle anyone," Rodgers said, as Heyward raised an eyebrow as if to say, well, not me.
"It's all about you," Rodgers jabbed, "and money."
Whoa! It was a jab. At first, Heyward was stunned. But he took it in stride as Rodgers and Metcalf laughed. (And guess who dressed and practiced the next day?)
For a guy whom I've long admired as a leader, Heyward seemed to happily take on the mantle of underboss to Rodgers.
Yes, the leaders were here. At this table. And the alpha of the alphas was speaking.
Rodgers pointed out that players such as Metcalf and Frazier have earned the right to criticize teammates who are lagging, that he approved of the way the young O-line has taken on the role of protector for its brothers, and he also discussed his plan for even more cohesion.
"We gotta do a lot of parties," Rodgers said, and then dubbed Metcalf the party planning commissioner.
Metcalf said that wouldn't be a problem.
"I've never been a part of a team with so much cohesion on both sides of the ball," Metcalf said. "We're going to play hard for each other. That's going to get us out of a lot of stadiums."
"In 2010," Rodgers said of his only championship, "we really loved each other and we hung out. The road was always dinner with the boys, and it was intermixed. It was O-line/D-line, it was DBs/receivers. Everybody was always hanging out. When we had get-togethers, everybody went. 'The team that drinks together, wins together.' That's what we used to say.
"We had so many guys who just played their roles," he continued. "Guys just said, 'I'm going to do what's right for this team.' ... The whole root of it is we just loved each other. ... And as DK said, I see the makings of special chemistry. I see guys who actually enjoy hanging out with each other."
So now I'm checking my phone betting site for the odds on the Steelers winning the title.
I didn't bet the 26-to-1 odds, but I might. As you know, I've been high on this team, so it's not as if these Wednesday conversations I so enjoyed from the comfort of my couch are influencing me. They are simply confirming my suspicions.
Rodgers, of course, didn't stop with the podcast. It wasn't a performance. He did it again after the final practice this week when he was asked whether Roman Wilson can become his much-needed second wide receiver.
"He's improving every day," Rodgers started. "You can't skew the results from the details. You look at his game that night, he made a couple splash plays. But we're going to coach him hard -- his receiver coach, (offensive coordinator) Arthur (Smith), myself -- on the details, because the details are what make the difference. Even though he had a couple big plays, there's some room for improvement there. I wouldn't say anything if we thought he was just any guy that you could throw in, but he has a chance to be a big-time talent. So, we're going to hold him to a high standard. I'm really happy with the way he's played, but we're going to hold him to a standard of excellence that he's capable of reaching."
No, this guy's no joke. He might crack one every now and then, but Rodgers knows what he wants, and, judging by a subsequent answer at his post-practice presser, he's getting what he wants.
"The road games are really good opportunities to connect with the guys," he said. "We had a big group that ate in Jacksonville together. It was like 37 of us, shout out to Trent for picking up the tab. I believe that was a nice gesture by him, but that was fun. We had like four different tables, but there's like 12 or 13 guys at our table. Then guys hang out snack time, or after snack, and those are good opportunities. We'll try to make the most of this trip as well."
"Trent," of course, is T.J. Watt.
Kinda the way Roethlisberger used to call Heath Miller "Earl."
Yep. Real leadership is back. So I'll say it again: I'm excited.
Aaron Rodgers walks the sideline (Photo: Doug Engle, USA TODAY Sports)