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Brian Batko's Steelers chat: 12.23.24
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Brian Batko
2:38
More of a comment than a question, but fair enough. Will you be happy if they reach the divisional round and are thus the 7th or 8th best team?
Chris
2:38
Defensively, is there just one person or a small group to blame for the struggles since the bye week, or is there no blameless party? Thanks
Brian Batko
2:40
The DBs largely haven't played well, particularly the corners. But let's not ignore how much tougher the schedule has gotten with opposing offenses. It's kind of like if I told you it's gonna be below 0 next week. If this week has some warm, sunny days, you're gonna trick yourself into forgetting what's coming. But that doesn't change that you already knew the forecast approaching. Does that make sense?
Colonel
2:41
IF the Steelers have another late season collapse and no playoff wins, can fans expect anything to change next season or will we just be forced to accept that this is the way things are?
Brian Batko
2:43
Change is inevitable in this business, but given the stated goal of postseason success dating to last January sitting down with Art Rooney II, something substantial wouldn't surprise me.
Hypotheticalcycloid
2:44
I absolutely hate the penalty for defensive holding. 5 yards and an automatic first down! If a defensive back gets a handful of jersey and lets go on 4 & 25, 30 yards away from the actual play, the offense gets an entire new set of downs. That's completely unfair. The punishment does not fit the crime, so to speak. It should be the same as offensive holding. 10 yards and replay the down. If it is less than 10 yards to a first down  then it would result in a first down anyway, and if it is more than 10 yards, the offense would get another, easier chance to pick it up. Agree?
Brian Batko
2:45
Um...sure...
Gene
2:45
Why haven’t the Steelers opened up the play action by throwing to Freiermuth and Mike Williams?
Brian Batko
2:46
Hey, Mike Williams has seven catches over the last three games. He's going off!
Yates
2:46
Happy Holidays Brian.  It’s prove it time for this team. Key to victory is will the defense be able to limit Chiefs to less than 20 points. Not super confident they will. What one key would you cite?
Brian Batko
2:48
Pressure, pressure, pressure. Specifically, generating pressure with just four pass rushers on Patrick Mahomes. When they've knocked off Joe Burrow, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson, I feel like it's been from heating those guys up without having to blitz a ton.
Patrick
2:48
How are the rookie offensive lineman holding up under their first NFL season? They don’t appear as dominant as they did earlier in the season.
Brian Batko
2:50
Not that I'm an O-line expert and all the intricacies that come with assessing that position, but I thought Zach Frazier and Mason McCormick have had some rough moments the past couple games. Difficult defenses to play against, though.
Mike P.
2:50
Do you get the feeling that this team's confidence is shot at this point? Even if they do get healthy, if they enter the playoffs on a losing streak it's gonna be really hard to get going again.
Brian Batko
2:52
Ah not really. These guys say all the right things publicly but they know just like you and me that they have some key injuries right now impacting their overall talent level. I tend to think pro athletes usually are irrationally confident by nature and motivating players to respond to adversity is one of Tomlin's strengths as a head coach.
SW Steel
2:53
Happy holidays, Mr. Batko!  Is the Steelers offense really that bad without GP, or were the Eagles & Ravens doing something special?  I just find it hard to believe that our offense is that dependent upon a player that may get a handful of targets every game?  Or do you see something else happening that is causing our offense to be so stale?
Brian Batko
2:56
And you as well, SW Steel. The offense is clearly lacking a No. 1 receiver or anything close to it without George Pickens. On top of that, they just faced arguably the best defense in football and then a Ravens unit with a really good plan. They seemd to play press coverage a lot, hence the absence of Pickens, showed blitz and then dropped guys in coverage while rushing only four. Made life tough on Russell Wilson.
Tom M.
2:58
What’s up with players (e.g. Johnson with the Ravens and Campbell with the 49ers) refusing to go in the game when called on? It seems they are only hurting themselves when they go for their next contract. In the case of Johnson, it seems to confirm the Steelers decision to get rid of him. It’s good that the 49ers played hardball and suspended Campbell rather than just releasing him. What is these player’s logic and why would a team want them on their team let alone pay them a lot of money?
Brian Batko
3:00
Yeah, there's always a certain amount of stunts you can pull depending on your production, but De'Vondre Campbell may have blackballed himself from the league. Diontae Johnson is young enough that he might yet find someone willing to take a chance on his talent. And I'm not sure why the Ravens ultimately caved by waiving Johnson rather than doing what the 49ers did with Campbell and putting him on the suspended list.
3:02
OK folks, we're out of time. Thanks for joining the chat. No mailbag this week on account of Wednesday game, Christmas, etc. But be sure to check out tomorrow's Chipped Ham & Football show. We've got a fun guest given the Steelers-Chiefs festivities. Happy holidays to all.
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