You are viewing the chat in desktop mode. Click here to switch to mobile view.
X
Brian Batko's Steelers chat: 10.07.19
powered byJotCast
Prev Page View Full Chat Next Page
Brian Batko
12:30
Don't know Ed, but I'm with you that Hue Jackson is not great company to be in when it comes to head coaching moves.
Mark
12:30
Under the current overtime rules, is Tomlin the 1st coach to ever defer possession?
Brian Batko
12:30
No Mark, Hue Jackson did it in 2015 against Miami. They had a third-string QB who was struggling. They lost anyway.
Thomaas
12:30
Brian,  Do you have faith in Conner being a No. 1 back?  To me he is a good complementary back but not your go to guy?  What say the omnipotent Brian?
Brian Batko
12:31
I'm more omnipresent than omnipotent, but I do still believe in Conner's ability at this level. I think he's changed his body and style enough since his Pitt days to be more than just a short-yardage or complementary bruiser.
Harold H.
12:32
Mike Tomlin chose to kick off (it worked, by the way), and then fully explained his reasoning for the decision after the game. Tomlin didn’t fumble. Why all the negativity? I thought the coaches did a nice job. Also, was Hodges not fully prepared by the staff to step in run the “O” so confidently? The coaches did that!
Brian Batko
12:33
You make good points, Harold. And I did appreciate Tomlin's explanation. But for every person like yourself who wants to credit the coaching, five people want them all out on their butts. Blame JuJu for fumbling, credit Hodges for his composure, eat Arby's.
Hoops Mcann
12:34
On bright side - D is creating turnovers and not giving up the big play, special teams don’t suck and Boz appears to be back; however O is not capitalizing, which is understandable minus Ben, but the crucial late turnovers remain a killer.  Juju and James fumbled away 3 games last year (Cle, Den NO) and 2 so far this year.  Is it time to commit to gadget free run game (see Indy)?  And is our O line capable?
Brian Batko
12:35
It should be. And sure, it would seem that the Steelers need to go a little more conventional with the run game to try to get it on track. But then again, the "gadget"esque approach worked wonders against the Bengals, with many of Mason Rudolph's completions just being an extension of a running game more than a traditional passing attack.
Anon
12:35
Do you think they will review roughing the passer penalties next year? Seems like they should. Bad calls all over the league.
Brian Batko
12:36
I kinda hope not. As you can maybe tell by my somewhat official-defending mini-rant up there, I'm fine with having less replay and more living with the human error aspect of sport. But hey, as long as teams still only get two challenges, I can see why some people would support this.
Myron
12:36
Tomlin has said he does not live in his fears he sure coaches like he does.  No problem with OT call but still at home letting Ravens get the ball and win with a TD. Double Oi!!
Brian Batko
12:36
He wasn't afraid of the Ravens scoring a touchdown. Obviously.
fire and ice
12:37
12 and 4 might get us in the playoffs! Defense is dominant and the offense is "that far" away from clicking on all cylinders.
Brian Batko
12:37
Difficult for me to quantify your "that far" but your optimism is refreshing. You go, "fire and ice"
Daniel in Ohio
12:38
Has there ever been thought of having an open discussion forum rather than just a chat setup for one question at a time?
JD
12:38
Why does Tomlin constantly ignore the kick-off return? He seems to pick the slowest guy all the time. Switzer, Toussand, Redmen, etc.
Long Island Steelers
12:39
Im not a big Tomlin fan - but that OT call to defer worked to perfections.  The Ravens didn't score a TD in the second half and was playing well.  our Kickoff team is a nightmare-  why not defer.   The defense held them to a 3 and out and we got the ball on the 30ish yard line.  its not Tomlin's fault Juju fumbled.  if he doesn't a FG wins it and all these Yinzer haters are singing a different tune today about that call
The Chief
12:39
Why are so many "fans" giving up already?  The season isn't over, right?  And the lame excuse of possibly trading away a top-10 draft pick for Minkah is foolish, at best.  1) Minkah is already proven, and locked down a position that just needed shoring, 2) If the Steelers do THAT badly this season, their #2 draft pick will be borderline #1 anyhow, and 3) Tony Mandarich, Ryan Leaf, Akili Smith, etc, etc., etc.  Thoughts?
Steel one
12:39
Hi Brian - to me...Ramon Foster looks slow...how do view his intensity and game speed?
Brian Batko
12:39
There's a taste of an open discussion forum.
Dan
12:39
Basically gave the opening possession away without even trying... 2nd and Goal at the one, Steelers go Wildcat ... Steelerskickoff in OT after winning the toss, which is always the wrong decision... Botched time management at the end of the first half (and arguably the second half with the timeout before the Boswell FG attempt)... We could go on... How long can we keep defending these coaches?
Bulldogs
12:40
Comment to fire and ice re 12-4: if you're not being sarcastic, note that drugs are bad so don't do drugs, OK?
Steeler Nation peasant '63
12:40
Cam Heyward seemed confused about the OT conversation he was having with Walt Anderson at midfield... any insight?
Brian Batko
12:41
Yeah, I thought the same thing initially, and speculated on Twitter that he might've been confused about the Steelers kicking off. But I asked Cam about that postgame and that wasn't the case. He and Mike Tomlin were clear on what their call was if they won toss. Seems to he was flabbergasted that Walt Anderson didn't know the rule! Or at least misspoke about it on national television. You and me both, Mr. Heyward.
Sam
12:41
Come back, Brian
Sam
12:42
Any info given, or do you have a theory about why the gameplan and play calling for Hodges seemed much more like one you'd give a legitimate NFL quarterback than anything they've given Rudolph through three starts?
Brian Batko
12:43
To me, it seemed like Randy Fichtner just went with a much more conventional offense when Hodges came in, probably to simplify the approach somewhat for a guy getting his first exposure to that level of play. Maybe they're trying their best to set up certain things for Rudolph downfield? But yeah, the passing concepts with Duck in there made sense to me. Not as much "gimmicky" stuff to use Mike Tomlin's word.
Guest
12:44
Noticed Ed Werder tweeted Daniel Snyder's reported interest in Tomlin for the Washington job. Is there insider sentiment that he will be let go by the team this year?
Brian Batko
12:45
Not that I've sensed. Another team making a hard run at him could potentially make things interesting, though. Almost have to wonder that if this thing really goes south, would Tomlin want to just go embrace a new challenge? Although, if Ben Roethlisberger comes back fully healthy, that'd obviously be a boon to this team's chances in 2020..
.
Alaska Steeler
12:45
Another game with horrible clock management when we needed it.  Does this "coach" just not get how important this is?
Brian Batko
12:45
No, I think he knows
Texas Steeler
12:46
BB - had to listen to the broadcast online due to being surrounded ugly blue teams (silver/blue, red/blue/white)... until the fumble, I felt like the game was ours. Not quite as "sky is falling" as everything I read on PG this morning. Our defense was playing well and our offense was being effective enough. Am I missing something that was obvious from watching the game that I missed on the radio?
Brian Batko
12:47
Don't think so, my Texas chatting pal. By and large, the Steelers played an OK game. The start was bad, though. Real bad. Credit them for clawing back, but if they start faster, they probably end up doing enough to win.
Ralph
12:47
Brian, Speed kills ..... also lack of it on offense kills. we have no threat either downfield or in the backfield to break one. You have to have a threat. No, NO < No not Johnny Holton. What a waste of a roster spot
Brian Batko
12:47
Yeah, it's an indictment of this team's receiver depth how much he's playing now, I'll say that much. Donte Moncrief was brought in partially to be a potential deep threat. So much for that.
Titan in Charlotte
12:48
I LOVED Tomlin's call to differ. Can you really expect the "Duck" to go down the field and score an opening OT TD to close out the game? We would have punted to the Ravens, giving them decent field position, with Tucker needing a FG to win. Our defense played well enough late in the game to stop the Ravens from scoring a TD, but not well enough to stop them from driving into FG position. The decision worked, except for JUJU, so can we give Tomlin a little credit???
Brian Batko
12:50
Why not expect Duck to go do it? He's your backup for a reason. He was playing well. You're also saying that not only would Hodges not have led a TD drive, he wouldn't even have led a FG drive. So by that logic, Tucker opens with a FG, and then you expect Hodges to lead a FG drive? Can't eat your cake and have it too.
Geo Net
12:50
Hi Brian. The Duck played admirably, no doubt. But why didn't he just dive on the loose ball from JuJu fumble? I haven't heard any mention of it, he was right there!
Connecting…