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Brian Batko's Steelers chat: 01.03.21
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Brian Batko
1:32
Hey folks, on a bit of a time crunch today for the chat because there's a game tonight, so let's just start a little early here and we'll go until ... well, we'll go until my son wakes up from his nap and I have to be back on dad duty. Fire away on Ben'sDay Night Football
E
1:32
I have an opinion and am curious to hear your thoughts.
Brian Batko
1:33
That's an excellent start. Let me know when you're ready.
Nate
1:34
Hi Brian, Happy New Year to you and yours!  I'm sure you've been asked this several times - would you 1) go with Mason as the starter next year (including a lower priced veteran to mentor and even push him for playing time), 2) find a mid priced veteran QB as your starter or 3) trade for someone like Russell Wilson?  Thanks!
Brian Batko
1:37
Same to you, Nate. I haven't exactly reached total consciousness on this topic just yet, maybe after I caddy for the Dalai Lama, but here's where I am on it as of the third day of 2022: Start with No. 3, but if the ask is too high, go with No. 1. Mason Rudolph and Dwayne Haskins can battle it out with a cheap veteran. In the meantime, draft the pieces to give your next franchise QB the right infrastructure to make it work.
Paul from Sacramento
1:37
I hope you had a great holiday season. Loved your podcasts with Ray last week. What is your take on Tomlin? I know they had the toughest schedule in the NFL. Most of the losses are to playoff (or in the hunt) teams.. and the tie went was with the back up QB who put us in position to try a game winning kick if not for a fumble (punch out ball) by Dionte J. Aside from time management questions and offensive play calling (questionable at best)... what do you think?
Brian Batko
1:39
Hi Paul, thanks for that. I thought Friday's podcast with Ray was a good one, in light of all the news last week. My take on Tomlin? Well, I pretty much laid out the whole case for and against the job he's doing this year in my mailbag last week. Spark notes: This ain't his best coaching season, but some of that is explainable, and if I were ownership I'd tell him I need to see real improvements in a few different areas next year before any further extension talk happens. Someone emailed me recently, presumably about that mailbag, and told me I need to stop spewing ignorance about Tomlin or else I'll be fired before he is. Not sure if that person thought I was too high or too low on him, honestly ... https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2021/12/30/pittsburgh-ste...
STLRAA
1:40
Why do some Steelers fans cling to the ridiculous notion that Rodgers or Wilson will waive the no trade clause in their contracts to go to a rebuilding team with no offensive line?  And also believe the Steelers would give up multiple first round picks when it’s clear they will need them?
Brian Batko
1:42
Few reasons: sustained success in Pittsburgh, organizational stability and a head coach who's widely viewed among the league's best. But you're right, I assume that if either of those guys bolt, they'll do so for a much better offensive situation (Denver, New Orleans, MAYBE Washington, to name a few).
Big#66
1:43
Brian, is this the worst group of blocking wrs the Steelers have had? This would help to explain the poor running game. Do you feel we need a change it wr coach too?
Brian Batko
1:45
David DeCastro, is that you? I think Chase Claypool has all the makings to be a good blocker, and he himself has said he loves pancaking DBs, but it isn't translating. Not sure if that's a result of his effort (lack thereof) or what he's being asked to do. You raise a good point that this group hasn't exactly developed as anticipated in two years under Ike Hilliard. Wouldn't be surprised to see a change there.
AZ Stiller
1:45
Hey BB! Happy New Year. In your opinion / best guess.........the 2022 starting QB for the Steelers is........the 2022 backup QB for the Steelers is......
Brian Batko
1:47
Hey there. I'd say the field of guys not currently on this roster is so muddled/murky that I'd go Mason Rudolph as the starter, Dwayne Haskins as the backup, but not sure I'd have either one with a higher than 50% chance. Just reading into the contract extension for Rudolph and how the Steelers seem to be intrigued with Haskins.
Elwood P Dowd
1:47
If the Steelers lose tonight, does it change anything with regard to next week’s game planning and prep?
Brian Batko
1:48
Part of me wonders if they'd let Rudolph start that game. I know, I know, it would be almost sacrilegious to let Ben Roethlisberger end his stellar career with a loss, but you could argue that it's an extra game to evaluate a guy who will be here next year. Ultimately, I don't think the competitor in Ben would allow for that, but if the postseason is out of the question...
Sunner in Orlando
1:49
Steelers are basically done with no playoff possibility since the Colts will not lose to the Jags. Do you take Ben out of the game in the 4th quarter tonight so he can have his final curtain call or does he play the whole game? I definitely think he should not pay against the Raven and he should let Mason start the final game to give us a glimpse to next year's qb.
Brian Batko
1:51
You can't just assume the Colts won't lose. Obviously, the Steelers know as well as you and I how unlikely it is, but as an NFL organization, you just can't take your playoff chances for granted like that. The only way I don't see him playing the whole game is if it's a blowout one way or the other. And even then, it might be tough to yank him in a lopsided loss. Clearly the best-case scenario would be a blowout where you can set up a curtain call situation you're describing, but even then, I think the huge ovation will come pregame in introductions.
STEEL72
1:51
Bats... Happy New Year and thanks for the chats that kept us going last year. Do the Jags even play their starters last week of the season? The number one pick at stake? I watched all of the games yesterday that had playoff implications and aside from the Steelers needing to win out, this seems like the worst possible requirement to get in. Arrrgh.
Brian Batko
1:53
It's entirely possible they'll pack it in, play young guys, etc. Even the coaching staff are lame ducks, so yeah, that's why the Colts are favored by a whopping 15.5 last I looked. I'll say this much, we've had some extremely wacky results this season, but the Colts don't strike me as a team capable of falling on their face to that degree. Their desperation combined with the Jags' morale probably does make this the absolute worst possible help needed for the Steelers.
ev
1:54
Hi Brian, Happy New Year to you!  I can't help but wonder how AB remained a Steeler for so long?  Is Mike Tomlin the true AB whisperer over, say, Tom Brady?  Or was Tomlin a cultivator of AB's behavior?  I had a good laugh watching the TB game here locally.. (Florida).
Brian Batko
1:56
Ah, I don't know ev, that question's been asked so many times and was kind of reignited with the events of yesterday. Not trying to take the easy way out here, but I fall somewhere between "Tomlin deserves credit for keeping him relatively quiet for so long" and "Tomlin created a monster." In reality, it's probably a lot more simple than that. Underdrafted guy who was talented but mercurial to begin with works his butt off, earns his NFL stripes, becomes a superstar, lets it go to his head. Not exactly a novel story, but in this case, AB just keeps taking it to new levels. Tom Brady, Bruce Arians and the Bucs managed to do one thing with AB that Ben, Tomlin and the Steelers couldn't: Win it all.
Brian in CA
1:56
How much difference (if any) would Munchak have made in the performance of the O Line this year?
Brian Batko
1:58
It's extremely difficult to project how much of an impact a position coach would've made in a hypothetical like that. But it's inarguable that Mike Munchak has more of an NFL track record than the past two Steelers OL coaches, and thus entirely reasonable to believe he would've had this group playing better than they are. But it's also the NFL, and if your players aren't that good, then your players just aren't that good.
Steelers515
1:58
Do you see any secnario where Ben plays for another team next year?
Brian Batko
1:58
To quote Mike Tomlin: "Never say never, but, never."
SW Steel
2:00
Any word from Steelers players or mgmt regarding the AB fall-out in Tampa?  While everyone is probably concerned for the "man", I'm sure no one is surprised..
Brian Batko
2:01
Nah, they buried that a long time ago. Even last year I don't think anyone was asked or brought up unprompted what AB was doing with the Bucs. Easy way to sabotage a press conference if you're a reporter and you ask Ben/Tomlin/Cam Heyward about Antonio Brown, good or bad.
David
2:01
Do you think KC was pressured by AR so much he had to draft Harris in the 1st round to improve the running game? I am shocked someone like KC would ignore to address OL thinking a 1st round RB can solve the issue.
Brian Batko
2:04
No, that's not my interpretation. I think Kevin Colbert, and Mike Tomlin, saw a player they very much liked, a person they loved and a position of need. In retrospect, sure, you can argue they screwed up and should've done more to get the OL in place. But keep in mind that outside of Creed Humphrey, whom they also could've picked in Round 2, is probably the only linemen they had a shot at who's looking like a clear NFL-caliber starter so far this year. There's no rule that they can't go invest more draft capital in the OL this year.
Cliff
2:04
After this season’s dust clear, how many on this team will not be back because they are not producing—-#34, #55, #24, #29, #13,
Brian Batko
2:06
Tough to answer that in this format Cliff, but of those five you list, I'd predict that Terrell Edmunds, Kalen Ballage and James Washington hit free agency. Devin Bush and Benny Snell are still under contract, and I don't see the Steelers cutting them. But you could easily convince me that it's Edmunds who should be back and not Bush, contracts be damned.
MikeM65
2:07
Some friends and I were talking about Ben's greatest play of all time and they were mostly saying the throw to Holmes in the super bowl is his greatest play.  However, I feel it is the tackle in the 2005 playoff game against the Colts.  I believe if he doesn't make that tackle the Steelers lose that game (and don't win a super bowl that year) since they would have been down by 4 with just over a minute to go.  If he doesn't make the throw to Holmes they still had a third down to try and score a TD and they could have tied the game with a field goal on fourth down.  Seems to me the odds were better in the super bowl to still win the game if that play isn't made.  What do you think Ben's greatest play is?
Brian Batko
2:08
The Holmes throw. But no doubt, that tackle on Nick Harper is a legendary play in Ben's career. One of those moments that just sums up how, first and foremost, dude was just a "football player." He probably embodies that cliche more than most elite QBs in NFL history. But in the grand scheme, lots of players could've found their way into that tackle. Not many humans who have ever lived make that throw, especially on that stage.
J
2:09
Hey Brian, there's lot of talk about the mediocrity in the NFL this year- because there are a lot of mediocre teams. A really good reason for that seems to be the salary cap dropped by about 16 million dollars. That's a few good players on each roster. In the Steelers' case, we lost Bud Dupree, Mike Hilton and Steven Nelson. The previous year we lost Javon Hargrave. That starts to add up, and it adds pressure on the star players that remain, making them more likely to be injured or ineffective.  Does that make sense, and does added cap space next year mean we can be better?
Brian Batko
2:10
Sure, and I think it also magnifies QB play. If you're a Patrick Mahomes type making huge money, you better be really good (and he's been really good again lately). Alternatively, if you're a team like the Bengals or Chargers with a dynamite QB on his rookie deal, you have a much better chance of building up the roster around him and making a run. Which is exactly what the Bengals are doing, and we'll see about the Chargers, who have to beat the Raiders next week.
Zu Zu’s Petals
2:11
After seeing how each developed, if you had your choice back in 2004, would you pick Manning, Rivers, or Ben? If the Steelers got Rivers or Eli would they have won more Super Bowls? If the Chargers got Ben, would they have won one?
Brian Batko
2:11
Ben Roethlisberger. Maybe it's just because I've watched his whole career, but I think he turned out to be the best of the three.
2:13
OK friends, the soon-to-be 2-year-old has spoken, so as promised, we've got to cut this short. But that's a good question to end on. It's going to be a night and a week and probably a month of discussing where Roethlisberger fits in among his contemporaries and even all-time greats. Don't let anyone trigger you. It's all in good fun. Whether you're there in-person or following along from home, enjoy tonight. We'll talk next week.
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