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Brian Batko's Steelers chat: 02.13.23
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Brian Batko
2:01
Hi everyone, hope your Super Bowl viewings were comfortable and enjoyable. we can chat today about that game, the draft, the Steelers, Rihanna, what have you. What’ll ya have?
Flash Thompson
2:01
Is there any other team that can realistically compete with the chiefs, bengals, and bills in the afc for the next 5 years??
Brian Batko
2:02
Sure, it’s just gonna take a lot of shrewd moves in roster construction AND once you get on the field against those guys. Eagles did pretty much everything right as far as high draft picks, middle picks, low picks, free agent signings and even trades. Got themselves to the promised land. Then the Chiefs happened. So, it’s possible, but not easy - clearly.
putinbatch
2:03
to add to your list of Steeler connections to the Super bowl. Did you know that Alejandro Villanueva is on the Fox Deportes broadcast team? I decided to watch the game last night in Spanish and was surprised to see that AV was the main color commentator. He did a good job; it was really fun to listen to those guys!
Brian Batko
2:05
I did not know that, but it is interesting. Kind of surprising to me that Villanueva wanted to get into media. I figured we’d never hear from him much in retirement. He was always a reluctant celebrity to a large degree.
Darnell
2:05
Hi Brian.  I’m curious as to what you thought about the Fox broadcasting tandem that called the game yesterday.  Thank you.
Brian Batko
2:07
They sounded good to me. Then again, I’m not someone who has a super high bar for broadcasters. They’re like refs in that they take a lot of unfair and misplaced criticism. But Greg Olsen has been really good this playoff run I think. Poor guy had to make QB sneaks interesting like 20 times.
Joe
2:08
The Steelers must have know CB W. Jackson was not 100% when they made the trade.  As such, they must have had something longer term in mind.  Do you know what that is?
Brian Batko
2:09
not sure I viewed it that way. To me it was just a chance they saw to potentially upgrade their defense in the short term with a player they’ve liked for a long time going back to the Artie Burns pick. It didn’t work out but he basically came for free, and Levi Wallace stabilized the other outside corner spot after that move anyway.
Ed in Carrick
2:10
So watching the game last night I realized that the Steelers are not even on the same planet as those two teams. If the had to line up against either of those two the score would be 75-9 with the Steelers only getting 3 field goals because of their annoying habit of advancing to the red zone and only coming away with a field goal. This team has a long, long way to go.
Brian Batko
2:12
Well that’s a bit over the top, Ed. But yes the Steelers saw firsthand last year at Arrowhead how far in front the Chiefs are right now. And it’s not just Pat Mahomes or, in that game, a set of eligibles that no longer includes Tyreek Hill. It’s a coaching staff who always seems to be a step ahead on offense.
Johnny U
2:13
I hope Mr. Rooney and MT paid close attention to the playoffs and SB.  Offense is the key to success.  The rules now on offense make it difficult even for very good defenses to win consistently.  Why is this so hard for them to grasp?  Thank you.
Brian Batko
2:14
Hmm. Hopefully they saw an offensive scheme that makes great use of pre snap motion and misdirection. They oughta go hire a guy who does a lot of that. See if that works.
yumac44
2:15
Its a shame that  the refs once again helped decide the outcome. The NFL needs to hire full time officials once and for all.Could the guy upstairs reviewing share his thoughts on a play like that?
Brian Batko
2:17
I’d be all for hiring officials full time, mostly because the NFL has more than enough money to do it, not so much because I believe having these guys working year-round on the craft would markedly improve their job performance. As for the review upstairs, do we really want to live in that world again? Are we gonna examine every penalty? Every first down? Every play?
HELP!!!
2:19
After watching the two offensive coordinators for the Eagles and CHIEFS, it really slams home how elementary our offensive scheme is. For the life of me, I CANNOT believe that they kept Matt Canada. Is there a support group I can attend that will help me understand this decision? Thank you in advance.
Brian Batko
2:21
Saw after the game Andy Reid basically advocated for OC Eric Bieniemy to get a chance to run his own offense somewhere. And this isn’t the first time Reid has thrown his weight behind that idea. Bieniemy might end up getting that opportunity as the Ravens OC. I think it’s very fair to wonder why the Steelers wouldn’t have considered such a move, but I suppose the answer would be that they didn’t feel drastic change was needed on their offense.
Ernie Lazelli
2:24
Batsy, Can you riddle me this Sir? Whycome the Stankers or Stinkies as i like to call em why are they so stubborn? Youd think they'd see change is needed and act accordingly and they just dont. Very odd
Brian Batko
2:26
No. 1, I don't know that they see two straight decades of .500 or better football with numerous playoff appearances, two Super Bowl wins and one other AFC title as necessitating change. Now, that being said, obviously the more recent window hasn't been that successful. But philosophies are philosophies for a reason. They don't change easily. It's long been their way to look around the league, see teams firing and hiring coordinators - even head coaches - in droves and lean on stability.
Jim D
2:27
What do you think of the “ modern” QB sneak technique?
Brian Batko
2:29
The push from behind? I kind of hate it. Obviously, it's successful, and you do need a pretty dominant OL/QB combo to be as good at it as the Eagles are. But let's be honest, it's a boring play to watch. There's just no way to litigate "the push." That'd be too subjective. If the NFL wants to take that out of the game for any reason - safety, entertainment purposes, whatever - you'd probably have to make a rule that the player who receives the snap in yard-to-go situations can't carry the ball. Or something.
6 31237 56175 2
2:31
I believe the Eagles got jobbed by a 100% BS call for holding on JuJu. Doesn't mean they would have won but it also wasn't a given that KC would have got the FG from there. I have come to not enjoy the NFL... sad to say.
Brian Batko
2:33
Eh, I wish that official would've kept his flag attached in that moment. It was a ticky tack call. But these refs do the best they can making split-second decisions, and obviously he thought that contact rose to the level of a penalty. So, I also wish James Bradberry would've kept his hands off JuJu Smith-Schuster in that moment. Credit JuJu and the Chiefs for execution that forced the corner's hand, literally.
Tom in Dallas
2:35
I know it's rare, but shouldn't Jalen Hurts have won the MVP?  He had quite the overall game.
Brian Batko
2:37
I was kind of thinking that, too. But as pedestrian as the overall numbers were for Mahomes in the end, he was lights out in the fourth quarter and was doing it all on a bad ankle. Beyond the box score, it just felt like a performance in which he elevated everyone around him and willed those guys to a win as much as a player could. Though if coaches could win MVP, I'd probably give it to Andy Reid.
Tom
2:38
Time for Fox to put Terry out to pasture?  I thought his post game interview with Coach Reid was in bad taste.
Brian Batko
2:39
Didn't see it, but read about the crack he made re: Andy Reid. Maybe a little much, yeah.
CoachJyro
2:40
(Joining late, so you may have already touched on this)  Do you have any sense that the gap between "Elite" and "Good" teams in the NFL is wider than say - 5 years ago?  Or is it always about the same?  (I'm thinking John Facenda...There are 27 teams in the NFL... and then there are the Pittsburgh Steelers)
Brian Batko
2:41
That's a tough one to kick around off the top of my head. Gut feeling is no, because I see teams such as the Bengals and Bills who were laughingstocks not all that long ago. The Rams turned things around quickly with a pretty unique approach. Even the Eagles, no one viewed them as elite last season let alone coming into this one.
Grampian Guy
2:43
How can the NFL not have a problem with the Chief's fans and their 'Tomahawk Chop'?  In fact, bigger question here, I guess, why is the Chiefs' (or Braves) name ok, but the Cleveland Indians name was not?  I guess hearing that chant took me back to a bad place when the Braves beat the Pirates
Brian Batko
2:45
I don't know, and am not really interested in engaging that debate/discussion right here and now. But what I am interested in is what if the Chiefs did have to change their name? I'd go with the Kansas City Sides. When I think Kansas City, I think BBQ. And what's the most enjoyable part of BBQ? Probably the sides. Little bit of alliteration, too. Let's Go Sides!
2:46
Their logo could be a corn muffin or mac and cheese or really take your pick.
Spjack
2:46
Come on people. Ref’s are damned if you do, damned if you don’t. The db tugged juju’s jersey twice, is that not holding or PI?
Brian Batko
2:48
Yep. It's a way harder job than people realize. Ideally, you want officiating to be consistent throughout a game, so teams at least know what they can and can't get away with. But if that official - again, in a split second - deemed that he would've called that early in the game, you have to call it late.
Alan in Hoover, Alabama
2:48
This widespread feeling of hopelessness from fans is so silly. I guarantee that Cincy fans felt like there was no way to compete 5 years ago. Steelers fans need to take so
e advice from Aaron Rodgers…R-E-L-A-X…Enjoy this new “core” group for a while. It might be a good one!
Brian Batko
2:49
Hold on, I need to go on a four-day darkness retreat before I can respond to this one...
Silly in Philly
2:50
Sup Bats.  Lots of doom n gloom today, in City of Brotherly Love.  You think the Steelers are even in the Top 5 of AFC w/in the next 3 years?
Brian Batko
2:52
Projecting out, I would not place them above the Chiefs, Bengals or Bills anytime soon. If Lamar Jackson stays in Baltimore and harmony returns to that situation, I'd put them fourth. And dammit, I might be the last person left on this hill, but I still believe in the Chargers. But could the Steelers crack the top five in individual seasons between now and 2025? Absolutely. Of course, so could the Dolphins, Jaguars, Jets and many other teams if things break right.
Steeltown
2:53
Hey Brian, Any chance we could see development in Pickett the way the Eagles did with Hurts?
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