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Brian Batko's Steelers chat: 10.24.22
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Brian Batko
10:45
Anyone mind if we get this party started now? We've got plenty of questions, so let's roll.
Bart
10:46
Hi Brian.  I didn’t get to see the game last night.  Could you please give your opinion on  the play of Bush and Claypool?  Thank you.
Brian Batko
10:47
That was one of the better games I can recall seeing from Devin Bush, at least in coverage. He was taken advantage of a couple times early but bounced back along with the rest of the defense. Chase Claypool had his moments, but getting tangled up with a DB and falling down led to Kenny Pickett's first INT, so I'd say it was definitely a step back from his breakout last week.
MG
10:48
What is the deal with our passing offense's aversion to using the middle of the field on crossing routes? It's all short outs and sideline go routes.
Brian Batko
10:50
They got better at it as the game went on. Meanwhile, Chase Claypool is talking afterward about how they need more go balls for the wide receivers. Being an offensive coordinator ain't easy.
Jacob
10:50
Bats, happy Monday morning to you, pal. How close to a mutiny against their coordinator do you sense this offense is? They aren't stupid. They know "this guy... this is not my kinda guy."
Brian Batko
10:51
I'll let you know if they show up to practice with pitchforks Wednesday.
JB
10:51
A lot of blame to go around everywhere. However, I believe Canada is not putting our offense in best situations to succeed! It’s very predictable with just different variations of the same play. Open it up and use our Tight Ends the entire game not just in desperation mode.
Brian Batko
10:53
Yeah, JB, I'm not a schematic expert and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night here in South Florida. But I watch plays develop from the press box and can't shake the feeling that the defense is one step ahead of what Matt Canada's drawing up and calling. And there are schematic experts out there who are starting to get more and more critical of the Steelers' offensive menu, or lack thereof.
Brah
10:53
I HCMT made a knee jerk reaction with KP. He obviously isn't ready for the NFL. Which is the problem, didn't they draft him because he was thr most NFL ready prospect? Maybe the rest if the NFL had it right and the ghost of Dan Marino is haunting the Steelers in a different way now....pretty awful, I see no silver lining with his play
Brian Batko
10:55
Really? I wouldn't say he played well overall, but there was some good there. Those last couple drives looked like the script that will work for Kenny Pickett at this level, until the interceptions, of course. And you just hope that with more development, he doesn't make those mistakes. One point you make I agree with is the knee-jerk reaction going to him at halftime vs. the Jets. They went from bringing him along slowly preseason to throwing him in the fire for some reason. Strange.
KS Stillers Fan
10:56
Assuming we end up with top 10 pick, if not top 5, I would have assumed OL was the priority.  But WR, ILB and CB are all issues.  Do you think OL is still biggest priority?
Brian Batko
10:58
Not necessarily. It may very well be cornerback if Cam Sutton isn't re-signed. You can certainly make a case for OL, DL and ILB, too. No shortage of holes. But I think they're OK at WR. It's obviously very early to think about all this, but the way I view the OL at this point is if an obvious stud is there, you take the big swing and trust the upgrade potential. But there's no one right now who I see as being a clear weak link, if that makes sense.
CS
10:59
Do you see us making any trades before the deadline?
Brian Batko
11:00
It could happen but I wouldn't bet on it. Maybe one of the two veteran backup QBs, depending on the market. Certainly an interesting first season for the new front office, though. What do Omar Khan and Andy Weidl make of this situation through seven weeks? I'd love to know.
Miles McGuire
11:00
Hi Bats, thank you for the chat. Can you explain the WR rotation. I cannot fathom why we sup #14, for #13 on the w
Brian Batko
11:02
I actually don't think Miles Boykin is a bad player. He has some helpful qualities on the outside. But you're right, it's tough to justify taking George Pickens off the field ever, let alone 21% of the time. He's your most talented and perhaps best wideout already, and we know he likes to block. But every offense in the league has certain personnel groupings for certain plays, which is what you're seeing there.
The GM
11:03
Good morning Brian, Kenny Pickett moved the ball up and down the field between the 20 but couldn't cash it in. Seems like when they get in the Red Zone, the stall. Now, throwing two picks of course doesn't help, and I'm not absolving Kenny at all. But don't you think Matt Canada often out coaches himself. I think it was 2nd and 1, maybe 3rd and 1, late in the 4th QTR, why not run it straight up the middle?
Brian Batko
11:05
They did. The quarterback sneak worked. But the illegal shift call negated it and it was all downhill from there on that series. At risk of being a broken record, being a play-caller is hard. Half the fan base wants the Steelers to commit to the run more, more than half is critical of Matt Canada's insistence on trying to run the ball on early downs.
Tiger Uppercut
11:06
Thanks for the chats, Bats. To play hypotheticals ... if the Steelers lose next week @ the Eagles, is it time to go full Jim Mora ("Playoffs? You talking about playoffs ... you kiddin' me?") and start considering to offers for Bush, Claypool, Rudolph?
Brian Batko
11:06
As Mike Tomlin would say, I don't deal in hypotheticals.
11:08
Just kidding. This is a sports chat, that's kinda what we do here. Of course I'd listen to offers on all three. That's the job of a GM. Everyone has a price, right? But I find it hard to believe any team wants to rent Bush for a couple more months. Claypool is interesting because he still has another year left on his rookie deal but has clearly settled in as the No. 3 receiver here. Rudolph could provide some piece of mind as a depth QB.
Blue Devil
11:08
Do the Steelers rely to heavily on linebackers?  Seems like they continually have Spillane (for example) mismatched against a much faster WR or RB.  Is it intentional or just an example of their scheme being exploited (on a regular basis)?
Brian Batko
11:10
It's every defense, really. So many offenses want to create mismatches, and inside linebackers have to be able to cover bigger dudes at TE as well as faster guys at WR in the slot. If the Steelers were rolling out their 3-4 defense all the time, I might say yeah, they are. But they play plenty of nickel and even dime, so I don't think that's a huge issue. The three-LB package you're seeing might lessen when T.J. Watt returns.
Hammering Hank
11:11
You can surely blame Pickett for his rookie mistakes or “hands of stone” defensive backs for interception drops for the loss in Miami. But, let’s face it, it’s the offensive play calling and the disappointing of our bruising, dancing 1st round RB. Will someone tell this big guy that he’s allowed to run north and south and thru defenders.
Brian Batko
11:13
Najee Harris is indeed frustrating to watch right now. He had the one catch-and-run in the open field that looked like the rookie year version of himself who had football observers so excited coming into this season. But then he makes some decisions with his vision that leave you scratching your head. He talked earlier this year about trusting his O-line more. I'm not entirely sure how that explains his own individual struggles, but perhaps as he gets healthier here we'll see him running with more physicality and anger.
SFLions23
11:14
if the Steelers are in a position to take Bryce Young or CJ Stroud next year, do you pull the trigger?
Brian Batko
11:14
No.
Tommy Tupa
11:15
Is the sample size big enough to label Najee  Harris a bust,or atleast a wasted first round pick. He is the second coming of Trent Richardson. Another first round Alabama back, who only puts up stats through sheer volume. A plodder with no burst, vision, or explosiveness.
Brian Batko
11:17
What never holds water with these arguments is that Alabama gets the very best recruits in the country every year, including at RB. Guys like Najee, Richardson, Derrick Henry were all-everything five-star prospects. So you know they aren't "plodders," right? But it might be fair to wonder what playing in that offense does or doesn't do for your development as a runner. Lots of huge holes to run through and defensive backs to stiff-arm.
Jim in Florida
11:17
Is there any excuse you can offer for Canada’s playcalling, or am I being overly critical of him being so ridiculously and unproductively conservative and utterly useless?
Brian Batko
11:20
Oh I'm great at making excuses for people. In another life I'd be a lawyer. So far his four QBs to work with have been a 39-year-old with no mobility, a third-round pick who got benched for an undrafted tryout guy who's already retired at 26, a No. 2 overall pick who had his fifth-year option declined and a rookie who has made three starts.
John in SC
11:20
Do the D-backs practice with a jug gun. Seems to me they should for at least an hour/day. Might help them learn to catch a ball.
Brian Batko
11:21
As my coworker Gene Collier noted last night on Twitter, if they could catch, they'd be wide receivers.
ev
11:21
Good Morning,  The announcers didn't give too much credence to it, but was the rain a factor with both teams?
Brian Batko
11:24
Ah, I don't know, ev. It was actually very hard to tell from the press box the quantity and quality of the rain. But I will say, outside of the very memorable Pitt win over UNC last year, Kenny Pickett struggled in rainy conditions in college. I wrote about it a little bit in March, before he was drafted here: https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2022/03/10/steelers-mailb...
DJ
11:24
Steelers O continues to kill itself with avoidable penalties: ineligible downfield, pre-snap motion violations, offensive pass-interference, etc.  These seem more like coaching issues than player issues...Tomlin keeps promising the coaching will improve and yet these things keep happening and may have cost the Steelers a game or three...  views?
Brian Batko
11:25
Yeah, he's not exactly running to that notion, is he? I asked about the sequence at the end where it went from third-and-1 to third-and-15, and he made it a question of why the officials made the calls they did.
Utah Jim
11:25
What advantage does it give the offense when ineligible receiver is more than one yard from the line of scrimmage?
Brian Batko
11:26
It makes RPOs more effective. Defensive coaches hate it.
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