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Brian Batko's Steelers chat: 09.15.25
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Brian Batko
10:01
Good morning, everyone. The sun came up today. But I'll go ahead and get in front of everything: fire everyone, cut everyone, sell the team?
JonBeezy
10:01
Yahya Black should absolutely be our NT /starting IDL. CA3 should have all special teams duties not Kaleb. Also when it comes to our Oline our inability to develop talent in that area is laughable. I believe they are high ceiling guys who are and will continue to play at their floor. What say you?
Brian Batko
10:03
I'm not there quite yet with Keeanu Benton, but it's been bad. He's just not getting anything done in there. At least when Derrick Harmon returns you'll have more combinations at your disposal to run through and try to find the best mix. Calvin Austin III has never returned kickoffs, so not surprised they aren't using him there. Hey, as far as Kaleb Johnson goes, no way he makes that same mistake again right? And yes, O-line development is absolutely a concern.
Lambert58 Fan in Indiana
10:03
Good morning Brian! I know the Steelers brass will never admit it but with the current OL, wouldn’t Justin Fields have been a better fit? Rodgers won’t last 17 games with the beating he’s taking. Also, maybe second thoughts about letting Harris walk? Your take? Thanx for the chat.
Brian Batko
10:05
Justin Fields struggled mightily yesterday at home against the Bills, so the told-you-so QB narrative hit a major snag there. As for letting Najee Harris go, I don't mind that decision, but I have to imagine more was expected of his third-round replacement, albeit we're only two games in. We'll see what Najee does tonight against the Raiders. Based on the performances yesterday of George Pickens and Russell Wilson, maybe he's gonna go off!
Zamo
10:05
Morning BB!  Drove up from lake for home opener as always and here are the 2-3 things I’d love asked or discussed.  1. Why is Gainwell getting so many snaps?  He’s an above average 3rd down back.  That’s it. I’ve seen enough.  Maybe bring in Benson until Kaleb is ready.  2. Tush push. Is there ANY reason we don’t use Muth or DK to take a snap and get 1 lousy yard?  I understand not use AR. I dislike the play but teams that use this, win.  We had all training camp to take advantage and they didnt .  That’s on coaching and disappointing.
Brian Batko
10:07
Good to hear from you my man. By Benson, do you mean Trey Sermon? Yeah, he's hanging out on the practice squad. Jaylen Warren was one of the only bright spots yesterday but I agree that the idea of this committee backfield looks a lot less dynamic when Johnson is just a spectator. And I plan to delve into the QB/TE sneak thing soon, Zamo. It baffles me as well.
Sam
10:08
Good morning, Brian.  Is it possible, when comparing the offensive outputs of the Jets and Seahawks when they played the Steelers versus when they didn’t, that this defense is somehow even WORSE than we think?
Brian Batko
10:10
To be fair, they were missing two key starters and then started dropping left and right in-game. But Derion Kendrick, who had the one pick and should've had another, didn't even play a single defensive snap last week for Seattle so stuff like that really makes you wonder how much of it is scheme. Either way, the Seahawks clearly had a better, deeper front four in this one. And you could probably say the same for the Jets last week.
JPinPDX
10:11
Good morning Bats. Is it time for sackcloth and ashes? Or is it just week 2?
Brian Batko
10:11
It's just Week 2 but we will give that loss yesterday the proper tarring and feathering it deserves
Sunner in Orlando from Lebo
10:12
Who should take the blame for Johnson‘s gaffe? Is it Tomlin, Smith or 100% on Johnson? To not know the rule is something that cannot be tolerated. In addition, Johnson did not do anything the last two weeks to warrant him being back there to receive kickoffs.
Brian Batko
10:14
Mike Tomlin basically put it all on the player. Not even the usual "it starts with us, it starts with me, we have to make sure everyone knows the rule." And when Jenna Harner followed up with him about how often they practice it, he could've said clearly not enough, but he went with "every day of our lives." That tells me he is confident in how much himself and Danny Smith drill that into guys and the player just didn't pay attention. But being able to sense that, or finding a way to make sure it sticks, is the gap between blaming player and blaming coaching.
Lou
10:14
Hey Brian. With Harmon out along with all the other injuries, shouldn’t people lower the expectations of the D? Starters are starters for a reason and no one is expecting “historic” D from rookies and 2nd3rd stringers.  Let’s get healthy and see what’s what
Brian Batko
10:19
To be 100% completely fair to Tomlin's "historic" comment - which is getting a TON of play today - so that we in the stinkin' media don't get blamed for twisting or taking words out of context, he did say it has the capability to be that, not that it would be. But so far, not so good. And don't give me too much injury excuses. Every team is dealing with them.
Tom
10:19
Hi Brian, can we now evaluate having a true NT. I know they want a NT that can rush the passer but we are not going to have to worry about rushing the passer if we cannot get the other team in obviouls passing situations. Put black there and use Benton at end, when harmon comes back we will have good depth there. Also where is Feheko, he is an excellent run defender.
Brian Batko
10:21
Not to mention, I haven't seen a darn thing from Benton thus far this season that makes me think he's better at rushing the passer than Black anyway. Black's been lighter on his feet than I expected coming out of Iowa. I'm still of the mind that you don't rush back Derrick Harmon - that is a large man trying to plant and push off of that knee - but once he does return, let's see what 97-94-99 look like here and there. Maybe they'll wreak some havoc we've rarely seen in the pocket through two games.
Mediocre Mikey
10:22
Once again the Steelers looked totally unprepared. When, if ever, will Mike Tomlin be held accountable?
Brian Batko
10:22
Every Monday morning chat after a loss!
Momo
10:23
How many games before Aaron Rodgers play before he has a season ending injury?
Brian Batko
10:23
He's taking a lot of hits, but in defense of Rodgers, he looked like he was moving around better than he did Week 1 when he mentioned some back tightness. Not ideal, but I suppose that's an inherent challenge of life with a 41-year-old QB.
Jersey Danno
10:24
Good morning, Brian. Andy Weidl was brought in to make the Steelers bigger and badder and tougher in the trenches. So far so good or do they still need a little work in your opinion?
Brian Batko
10:26
They need work. And as I wrote in training camp, they aren't THAT big on the O-line. They strive to be mean and nasty, athletic, technique-sound and I'd say not all of that is working together at the moment. The D-line is missing the most prominent rebuilding piece at the moment, so let's hold the phone for now. But the Broderick-Benton pairing looking so underwhelming is a major concern.
Need a new DC
10:27
Brain, thank you for the chats. Same defense as last season, o line still leaky, and not many changes to staff. I have felt the biggest issue with Tomlin is he doesn’t hire quality coaches. His best hires were Haley, who was kinda forced on him, and Munchak who had our o line looking sharp. Since then no real solid coaching hire. I was a fan of the Smith hire but jury is still out. Austin was fired by Bengals mid season, the Bengals!!! For a coach “all players want to play for” why doesn’t he find solid coaches? No coaching tree says something about his choices
Brian Batko
10:31
As I've opined on many, many times now over the years, I also think the size of the coaching staff is an issue. I know Art Rooney II disagrees, which is fine. But the quality of the coaches is subjective. The quantity is not. Around the league, you see so many teams with multiple position coaches, one dedicated to teaching the finer points of technique, sharpening specific skills, basically individual development and another who can focus more on the schematics. After the game, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald also praised his director of football analysis and special situations for having the team ready for that kickoff recovery. Maybe that guy can meet with the Steelers.
rick51244
10:32
Do you think that the OL performance is so bad that we should look there for our #1 draft pick next year?  Sign Rodgers to another year and get a QB in the second or third.
Brian Batko
10:33
Still think the smart money is on a first-round QB, but a guard or tackle in the second round would not surprise me in the least. Nice thing about Troy Fautanu, who I do believe has a bright future, is that he can certainly kick inside to the interior if that's what you want him to do or that's how your draft plays out.
Joe in Orlando
10:33
Thanks for the chats! Why not move Black to nose tackle and Benton to defensive end, switching to a 4-3? Coach T needs to stop being so stubborn and try something different. Hell it might just work
Brian Batko
10:35
You're welcome, Joe. The whole 4-3/3-4 thing is sort of an antiquated debate given the structure of modern NFL defenses, how often they're in nickel and dime sub-packages, etc. If the Steelers were to take your advice and put, say, Cam Heyward, Yahya Black, Derrick Harmon and Keeanu Benton out there with TJ Watt and Nick Herbig as two of the linebackers, I think the other team would turn into the Greatest Show on Turf.
Bob
10:36
It is becoming obvious that time has passed by Tomlin in the NFL. Any chance he will retire and we will get a younger tougher more innovative head coach? It would be a waste to draft a franchise QB under his staff which has shown they cannot develop young talent.
Brian Batko
10:38
I believe I'm on record saying this marriage only ends with Mike Tomlin pulling the plug rather than the other way around. It's probably far too early to even get into the weeds on this, but I'd be lying if I said part of me doesn't think it would make a lot of sense for a new coaching staff to cultivate and build around a highly drafted rookie QB.
JJ
10:38
Nothing improves with the Steelers until Tomlin and his "yes men" coaches go.
Brian Batko
10:39
Another benefit of a bigger coaching staff is more outside-the-box ideas, different viewpoints on scheme, etc. ... if the head coach is willing to incorporate those of course.
Maryland steeler
10:39
How much blame is on Rodgers when receivers drop several passes, tip balls resulting in an interception, practically zero run game and an offensive line that can’t block to help the run or zero pass protection causing the pocket to collapse leading to Rodgers scambling and the receivers not breaking open to help?
Brian Batko
10:41
Well, he also should've had another interception that Kendrick just dropped out of his facemask. Roman Wilson might've saved that one from being picked off by someone else, too. But I hear you. Like I said earlier, I thought he actually did an admirable job scrambling, extending plays, evading pressure. To me, it's just a significant disadvantage to not have a QB who's capable of escaping and then actually taking off through those running lanes to move the chains
Tim
10:42
Good morning Brian. I've always believed that we should have kept Flores in place of Austin. What say you? And do you believe that the reason we didn't is because Tomlin was afraid he might take his place? Thanks for your time.
Brian Batko
10:45
Second part first ... no. If anything, it was more out of loyalty to Teryl Austin. But to the first part, yes, Brian Flores was a completely outside-the-box hire with no ties to the organization. And I'd say that turned out to be a pretty wise move
Ryan
10:45
Brian what do you think about the play of Jack Sawyer he looked good yesterday when he replaced Highsmith
Brian Batko
10:46
Yeah he's not high on my list of culprits. He showed me enough to feel as if the edge rushers won't drop way off if Alex Highsmith misses significant time
TVC15
10:46
Against the Jets the Steelers needed like 5 lucky breaks/bounces to win. This week they went against them. This does not seem like a well coached team at all and the Steelers could easily be 0-2 right now. Will they regroup and beat the Patriots?
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