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Brian Batko's Steelers chat: 06.15.20
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Brian Batko
12:00
Howdy, folks. Thanks for stopping by. We'll talk about whatever's grinding your gears on this Monday afternoon.
John Strange
12:01
The world is ending but .... who will be the Steelers 18th string safety?
Brian Batko
12:03
Ah, yes, that's the great thing about these late-offseason chats. Only the most ardent Steelers fans here, the ones who never stop thinking about the run game or the 7th-round pick or how to stop Saquon Barkley in Week 1. Anyway, John, after some very thorough calculations, I think the 18th-string safety at this point would be wide receiver Saeed Blacknall
RJT
12:04
Will Ryan Switzer’s relationship with Big Ben be enough to keep him on the roster?  I can’t think of any way he fits on this team.
Brian Batko
12:06
If I had to bet on it, right now, I'll say ... no. JuJu Smith-Schuster, James Washington, Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool are clearly your most talented. Johnson can handle punt returns and rookie Anthony McFarland (or Kerrith Whyte) do more for me than Switzer as a kick returner. Which means it would come down to the No. 5 receiver job, and Deon Cain is more of an asset, in my eyes. Especially when you have two guys who can play the slot in JuJu and Johnson.
Dave
12:07
Brian,   Thanks for being here for us who are bored out of our minds.
Brian Batko
12:07
You're welcome, Dave. Also a good time to note that if you have any off-beat questions, this might be the best chat for it!
ALB
12:08
Brian, do you moderate these chat questions yourself or does someone help you do it? Really not sure what kind of volume you’re dealing with.
Brian Batko
12:09
Case in point: Oh, heck yeah, let's get meta about these chats on June 15. Yes, we all moderate them ourselves. The questions come in and we choose which ones to publish/answer. The volume is usually quite ... voluminous. More than we can keep up with, especially in-season and on draft night. And for that, we thank you all.
Buster
12:10
Fo you think Jake Ryan someone the Steelers might want to take a look at, if he’s healthy?
Brian Batko
12:11
The guy from Sixteen Candles?
12:13
My bad, you meant the inside linebacker out of Michigan who got signed by the Ravens then let go by the Ravens in the last month or so. I feel bad for players getting canned during a pandemic. What did he do wrong? OK, it was an injury thing, but still. Sure, the Steelers are probably doing their due diligence on any available linebackers at this point. Can't hurt to look at him.
Tom in Dallas
12:15
Every so often, a historical event changes our lives permanently.  For example, in the early 80s, the contamination of the Tylenol bottles changed packaging for many products.  911 changed travel and we instigated security measures and secured areas at airports.  Now, a pandemic will change sporting events, at least until we get a vaccine.  And on top COVID, we have the current protests, and we are seeing more athletes vocalize their opinions and support for change.  Question: do see this having long term impact to how athletes get involved and how they use their platform to call for change?   It seemed like the taking a knee lasted a season, lots of discussion and contrevarsy, but a year later, little news/impact.  Thanks,
Brian Batko
12:17
Yes, Tom, I do think this will be a turning point, so to speak, for athlete activism. And assuming the state of things in this country does improve, then you'd hope that such activism won't need to be at the forefront any longer. As for COVID-19, you'll likely see some changes in everyday life, not to mention at athletic events, but I'm not expecting any major shifts in how the sports world operates. Kind of tough to put the toothpaste back in the tube when it comes to 100k people in stadiums, etc.
Ted Tucker
12:19
I realize the athletes are in good to great shape and i have seen the pics of Ju Ju and Conner working out and they appear to be in great shape, but, without "normal" routines and activities, do you expect injuries to play a big part in the upcoming season?
Brian Batko
12:21
Not necessarily. Ask me again though if training camp and/or preseason is shortened or significantly altered. That would make me nervous about injury risk, rust, and whatnot.
GSMP
12:22
Do you ever foresee a time when the Rooney's might sell the Steelers? The new partners seem awfully wealthy and could make the Rooney's an offer that would be extremely difficult to decline.
Brian Batko
12:24
No, I honestly can't envision that. I get what you're saying, but the way I see it, it's not just about the money for the Rooney family. Never has been and I can't imagine it ever will be.
Jimmie
12:25
What is your assessment of James Washington?  For a second round pick, he was a disappointment, wasn't he?
Brian Batko
12:26
So far, yes, I'd say he's had a disappointing career. But might I remind you it's only been two seasons. He's going into Year 3. Drafting Claypool in Round 2 though is a signal to me that they want to put some pressure on Washington to take a great leap forward, sooner than later, and I don't fault them for that.
rman
12:28
Thanks for the "inside baseball" info on operating these chats.  I want to give attaboys to yinz who run these chats for patiently answering the same questions week to week......month to month...and so on.  No question, just admiration.
Brian Batko
12:29
Our pleasure, rman. I like the reader engagement (for the most part).
Guest
12:30
Do you have any updates on how Heinz Field will be limited to fans this fall? Will there be a lottery possibly and will ones who don't get to go be assured of refunds?
Brian Batko
12:32
Nothing new at the moment. I'm sure the powers that be are still working through those contingency plans themselves. When it comes to coronavirus, increased testing, a possible second wave, et al, we don't even know what we don't know. A lottery might make sense, considering that's how they've handled situations with limited tickets in the past, like a Super Bowl. But it does sound like the Steelers (and the NFL at-large) is doing the right thing as far as offering fans full refunds rather than just rolling over payments. I can understand why that would rub people the wrong way.
RJT
12:33
I think the NFL should avoid the anthem issue by playing it with the players in the locker room or not playing it at all, and maybe have a video about social injustice. What do you think?
Brian Batko
12:36
I wouldn't mind that, personally, but I'm sure many would. You'll never be able to make everyone happy, that's for sure. And on this particular issue, you'll never be able to not make a lot of people very angry. There's simply no way to avoid it, is what I'm saying. Perhaps the idea within your question is to play both the anthem as well as a video, PSA, whatever you want to call it about the various murders and systemic racism players are trying to address.
ALB
12:37
Ed B. was always adamant that he was a reporter and not a fan. I’ve seen you say the same thing. My question is as a Pittsburgher, how do you go from rooting for a team your entire life to a totally non-partial observer? Or is that the PG company line?
Brian Batko
12:40
It's not just a company line, ALB. It's pretty much a requirement that goes without saying, as it shouldn't even need to be said at any venerable institution of journalism. Personally, it hasn't been hard to be objective about the teams I've covered, regardless of my beat. Going back to when I reported on high school sports, I tried to never show any favoritism to my alma mater (Shaler). I then wrote about Pitt football as a Pitt grad. Didn't root for them to win and didn't hold them to an unfair standard, either. It's just part of doing this job professionally.
Wayward
12:40
Which position concerns you most as it relates to depth? Safety, DL, ILB, etc..?  i have got to admit that DL concerns me.
Brian Batko
12:43
Inside linebacker, followed by safety, then defensive line, I suppose. But it's really a distant third, and I'll tell you why. The Steelers' most common defensive lineup last year included just two DL, as did four of their five most common lineups. They play nickel defense more than their base 3-4. You've got Cam Heyward and Stephon Tuitt in line to play the majority of those snaps, and I think Tyson Alualu and Chris Wormley will be helpful backups, as well.
Buster
12:45
Can you imagine telling your son someday about how thousands of people used to watch games in person?
Brian Batko
12:48
As I mentioned earlier, I don't think that's going to happen. As a society, there's probably no going back in the long term. Could we see one season, this one coming up, with limited or no spectators? Sure. But I'm optimistic that we'll eventually have a vaccine for COVID-19 and I'll be telling my son about one strange, brief period rather than about the many decades that came before it.
JerseySteel
12:49
Hi Brian - I saw Ray's article that the Rooney's bought part of David Tepper's stake with the rest going to Harris/Blitzer. What is the current percentage stake of the Rooney's now?
Brian Batko
12:51
Here's the article JerseySteel is referring to https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2020/06/15/Report-Wall-St...

As far as I know, the league still requires a minimum of 30% share for the controlling owner, so probably right around there or a little higher.
RJT
12:52
I didn’t understand letting Barron go. Who is going to fill in at the nickel linebacker?  Vince Williams is a coverage liability
Brian Batko
12:55
They have a couple in-house candidates to groom for that role, though all are young, inexperienced and unproven. Ulysees Gilbert is actually a true linebacker, but he hasn't played a single defensive snap at this level. Cam Sutton is by far the most seasoned, but he's also the least conventional body type for that sort of role. Marcus Allen and rookie sixth-round pick Antoine Brooks are tweeners, if you will. But Barron was cut due to a combination of clearing salary cap space and not being all that impressive last year anyway.
Ted Tucker
12:57
LOTS of speculation about how Ben will do this year. I know it's the $64 Million question but, what are your true thoughts, Brian?
Brian Batko
12:59
Well, Ted, my true thoughts are that I don't know. No one truly knows outside of Ben and perhaps his inner circle of doctors, trainers, friends, etc. So I'm not exactly rushing to make a declaration one way or the other. But if you're asking if I had to put my money down on something, what would I do, I can't say I'd bet on the 38-year-old QB coming off significant surgery on his throwing elbow. And that has more to do with just common sense than anything with Roethlisberger himself.
1:00
OK everyone, that's all the time we have for today. If I couldn't get to your question or you simply have something else that no one asked, feel free to email me at bbatko@post-gazette.com or tweet me at @BrianBatko. Might be a good week for a mailbag on the site. Have a nice week.
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