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Brian Batko's Steelers chat: 01.08.24
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Brian Batko
2:00
A playoffs chat? Playoffs?! Who said anything about playoffs?!!
Stairway to seventh seed
2:01
Well we reached the top of the stairway!  Any chance we bring in a new punter/holder for the playoffs?  Harvin has been awful particularly in bad weather.
Brian Batko
2:02
Ha. Your chat name has been prophetic all along. I do not think they’ll make any chance there in an effort to climb toward that seventh “sticky Lombardi”
Tom
2:02
Is Buffalo the toughest draw/test for the Steelers in the AFC? Chiefs are broken, we can battle the AFC North Foes, and Miami collapses in cold weather. Can we get by Buffalo and make a run?
Brian Batko
2:02
Maybe but I don’t think it’s clear-cut. You couldn’t get me to voluntary play Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in Arrowhead in January, for instance.
Zach
2:03
Is there smoke behind the Schefter report regarding Tomlin taking a break ?
Brian Batko
2:05
Ah not that I know of. Far be it from me to question the inside intel of Adam Schefter but I did raise an eyebrow at that little spiel about how Mike Tomlin is “from Washington” and his wife “loves LA.” Tomlin is from Newport News, Virginia, and my wife also loves Los Angeles!
Gary - CA
2:06
If Mason is able to lead the Steelers to a playoff victory, how do you think that will affect the QB situation in 2024?
Brian Batko
2:06
Significantly
LYM
2:07
Brian thank you for the time and the chats. Great weekend for the Steelers. Have to believe Rudolph gets another start, huge mistake if he doesn’t. I may be foolish but optimistic they will beat Buffalo and be impressive in the Baltimore game; not sure they can beat the Ravens but think they open eyes and make the pundits question how good the Ravens are. If I’m right, does that price Rudolph out of PIT or will Omar make Tomlin swallow his pride and sign him to starter money. Thanks.
Brian Batko
2:08
I don’t think anyone would need to swallow any pride in that scenario. It’d be more of a time for serious offseason evaluation, of the aforementioned significant variety.
BigAlT
2:08
Good morning.  Any update on safety Minkah Fitzpatrick?
Brian Batko
2:09
Not yet. He was leaving the locker room as we were entering this morning, probably busy trying to rehab and get ready for this week of practice. I think he’ll be back.
Tomlin Too Late
2:10
Can you imagine where the Steelers would be right now if Tomlin started Mason all season?
Brian Batko
2:10
I’ll try
Steeler MD
2:10
Bats...what would you say the odds are that Pressley Harvin is the Steelers punter next season?
Brian Batko
2:11
Hmmm my gut says 29%
Big Bri
2:11
If the Steelers do happen to beat Buffalo, do you think that would be enough to keep the current coaching staff intact?
Brian Batko
2:11
Nah. Would be an epic win, but nah.
Art
2:12
Brian, thank you for the great work and the chats.  Happy for Mason and all his success. Hope he's able to continue with his success and helps the team advance in the playoffs. This presents an interesting problem in my opinion.  I think he resembles Neil O'Donnell; good enough to get you there and, with the right help, good enough to win it. Has Mason played himself into starter money ($20M+) and how do you see ownership and the FO handling an obvious oversight by the coach on assessing his QB talent.  Thanks.
Brian Batko
2:13
That estimate is a major stretch. He’s been good, but it’s been three games, against two suspect defenses and a patchwork one.
Mason
2:14
BB, your colleague by the name of Starkey still has his doubts about my transformation into a legitimate signal caller. Can you please remind one Starkey that my utter lack of mobility is the trait fueling my new found back account potential? In other words, if you can’t run, stand like a statue and complete a freaking pass. Thanks for your time.
Brian Batko
2:14
Should I call, text, email or tweet him?
MikeM65
2:14
If Mason plays well, whether we win or lose, do you think the Steelers would be able to retain him?  I would think he'd get top money backup offers and maybe even chances to compete (for real this time) to be the #1 QB.
Brian Batko
2:16
They’ll have a little bit of a head start given that he’s in the building, they know him, he knows them, and teams can re-sign their own before the market is fully open. But if he has his mind made up on testing the waters, I assume you’d just wait and see what’s out there unless the Steelers blow you away.
STEEL72
2:18
By Odin's scepter ... who woulda thought?!? Brian, thank goodness for Nick Herbig. With TJ sidelined, is there more pressure on the offense to deliver or more pressure to attempt to fill a monstrous void on defense? Obviously, we want to play well in all phases, but which side of the ball do you feel will be our ace in the hole?
Brian Batko
2:20
In theory, yes, but it'll be interesting to see what Nick Herbig is able to do in this particular matchup. Bills right tackle Spencer Brown is particularly mountainous, checking in at 6-8, 311. Does that play into Herbig's quickness or will that length keep him at bay? Juicy stuff. Don't forget about Markus Golden, too. I still think there's more pressure on the offense to keep up with Josh Allen and Co.
Jay
2:21
Hello Brian.  Excited to see them make the playoffs, but very pessimistic about their chances.  All 7 losses were horrific and half the wins were extremely lucky with circumstances.  A ton of questions going into next season.
Brian Batko
2:24
It's OK to be pessimistic. Understandable, even. But I think a lot of teams probably feel that their losses were ugly, and a lot of teams probably had to win their fair share of close games to still be standing.
Jud
2:25
Do you think the Steelers can contain Josh Allen, perhaps playing dime most of the time with a spy?
Brian Batko
2:26
That could help contain Josh Allen, sure. Just don't overlook a Bills running game that saw James Cook go over 1,000 yards this year and now has "Playoff Lenny" Leonard Fournette at its disposal, too. They aren't one-dimensional.
fredward
2:27
From a schematic/personnel standpoint, how will the Steelers compensate for Watt being out? Will we see more d linemen rotated in or stunts?
Brian Batko
2:28
Yeah, I'm curious myself if we see the Steelers get more creative or just play it straight-up and trust in their OLB depth with Herbig and Golden stepping into more snaps. To my previous point about Herbig facing a lot of length on the left side this week in TJ Watt's usual spot, do they experiment with putting Highsmith over there at all? Does DeMarvin Leal resurface in any meaningful way? A lot to consider in the defensive game plan.
Ken
2:30
Good afternoon Brian and thanks for your time. With TJ out, but the defense appearing to be back to health otherwise, should we see "Blitzburgh" return to pressure the Bills QB? There is now a ton of experience at the OLB, ILB and saftey positions to be used to create confusion.
Brian Batko
2:32
Good afternoon, Ken, and you're welcome. Throwing a bunch of that at Josh Allen and trying to create chaos might not be a bad approach when you're going on the road and might need an early jolt, not to mention the chance to play from ahead. Go down swinging, right?
Lou
2:33
Hey Brian!  Is there any magic that gets TJ Watt into the Bills game?  Or after that one?
Brian Batko
2:35
Sorry, Lou, I highly doubt it. I know it's tempting to say/think/wish these things when it's win-or-go home, but you don't want a guy playing on a bad knee and injuring it even worse than it already is.
Yates
2:36
Hi Brian-  Lots of injuries for most playoff teams.  If 39 and Kazee return to line-up what do you expect to see with backfield rotation?  Will Eric Rowe still see some snaps?
Brian Batko
2:38
I think you have to keep Eric Rowe involved to some degree. He's been making an impact. And will there be rust to knock off for the other two? Someone like Minkah Fitzpatrick probably plays and plays a full complement of snaps if he's healthy, but Damontae Kazee could shift into more of a complementary/rotational role. And a three-safety package is viable again now, too. They were basically running a one-safety defense these past few weeks.
AK
2:39
Do you think the Steelers will pick up Harris’ 5th year option?
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