Christopher Carter's Steelers and Pitt chat: 10.19.26
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Christopher Carter
1:08
Alright, we've been in the Steelers locker room and at Pat Narduzzi's press conference. While we have a bit between that and Mike McCarthy's press conference, let's get some questions in!
Ryan
1:08
It was a great come back.  On our way to Paris with momentum on our side!
Christopher Carter
1:08
Definitely some momentum. Always better to learn from a win than a loss. Now they can apply some of the things they learned from their struggles and still be in the mix with all the playoff teams at 4-2.
Maryland Steeler
1:09
chris, special teams seems to be an issue as far as punt/kick returns but as far as our punter is concerned he seems to be getting the job done as he seems to be used quite a bit recently.  How would you rate his performance?
Christopher Carter
1:09
Cameron Johnston's been great. I was skeptical about his injury history considering he'd been knocked out of the last two seasons. But he's been clutch to help them out during their ofensive struggles.
The Ham
1:09
Who is Pitt's 4th string QB?  Looks like they may need his soon.
Christopher Carter
1:12
So, they've only had Holden Geriner and Corey Dailey listed on the depth chart. My next guess would be Beau Jackson, sophomore from West Bloomfield, MI. Saw him a bit during training camp.

But being real, I don't expect Pitt to switch to a fourth QB barring injury.
SDWC
1:12
This undisciplined play continues year after year under Narduzzi. Doesn’t he see this?  Of course he’s the ringleader of undisciplined, shooting his mouth off to the media after beating VT and knowing he just lost his best player for the season. I’m just very tired of this same old story. Will it ever change under him or do we have to wait until the program has new leadership?
Christopher Carter
1:17
I mean, I don't think anything about Pat Narduzzi in year 10 is going to change overnight.

As I wrote in my follow-up story to the loss, Pitt has finished among the top five most penalized teams in the ACC every year since 2019. I think part of it goes with the territory of how aggressive Pitt plays.

I asked Narduzzi about that. This was his response:
"I like to keep my money, so I'll just keep my mouth shut. But I've had a discussion with the ACC office just about that ...
1:20
... The beautiful thing about the whole thing is we had eight penalties. All we took is eight minutes off, 15 plays, 83 yards, and we ended with an interception ...

As much as I feel bad for our kids, what happened in that series, it ate up the clock, took time away from our offense having the ball, but they got no points out of all those penalties, all that aggression, whatever you want to call it. They got 83 yards and no points. Zero ...

... You talk about adversity for our kids. You can think after three penalties, four penalties, you're going, ‘I give up. What do we got to do here?’ And that's the game of football, I guess.

... I feel bad for our kids. Put that videotape on and watch it closely. I feel bad for our kids.
“I got a hard time answering, ‘Coach, what do I do here?’ There's no substitute. I feel bad for our kids. I'll just kind of leave it at that ...

... All I want to do is have a consistent game. Just call it the same both ways, and I'm good. So I'll leave it at that."

-- end quote--
Now mind you, Pat told us about three times he'd leave at that, and then he proceeded to not leave it at that. So, I don't think there's much a chance of any stance changing about how Pitt approaches its play when it comes to the penalties.
mikeinpgh
1:21
Chris, Just wondering if any reporters asked McCarthy why he called 2 passes at the 3 yard line near the end of regulation instead of running 3x to try to use as much time & have TB burn their time outs (& still possible score a TD with 3 runs)? All I've read so far is that he said he was aware of the time situation. I thought it was the worst play calling/time management that Iin a long time.
Christopher Carter
1:24
So, I wasn't there. But I do think McCarthy said they went to a lot of RPOs at that stage of the game. So it's possible that he allowed the decision of to run or pass to be up to Rodgers.

But I do agree, they needed to just run the ball there and either score, or get rid of their timeouts.

When Jalon Daniels was sacked on 2nd down and it set up 3rd and long with less than a minute, there would've been less time and no timeouts to let him gather himself, get a play called and complete a 13-yard pass that set up the game-winning field goal.

Also would've been harder to get one of their kicking balls on the field for the field goal without McCarthy's extra timeout with 13 seconds left.
58 Lambert fan in Indiana
1:24
Hi Chris! Thanks for the chat! Your take on the ‘26 rookie class? I think OK hit a home run with Iheanachor, Bernard, and Everette. Wetjen, Rubio and Spears-Jennings have contributed as well. Your thoughts?
Christopher Carter
1:26
Hello! And thanks for being here!

I think right now it's been a solid double. Iheanachor still has very raw moments and needs to keep taking steps forward. Gave up a pretty bad sack and is up and down a lot.

Bernard is making plays and might be the highest value pick of the draft so far.

Everette has been a nice fill-in so far, but I do think they need to keep him from being the consistent guy outside that takes on the top WR. He's been burned more than a few times but the lack of QB talent they've faced has helped. Certainly doing well for a 3rd round pick.
1:27
Wetjen isn't really helping much on special teams and doesn't do much for the offense, and it's impossible to tell anything with Allar at the moment.

Robert Spears-Jennings has been a gem of a find though. And Gabriel Rubio's been solid.

So right now, double. But that could turn into a homerun if they keep developing in a positive direction.
Schteeve
1:27
I grew up in Pittsburgh but moved to Virginia years ago. I pay about $450 now to watch the Steelers on YouTube TV. For the first 3 quarters yesterday,I was moaning about my investment. How can they play so bad and then suddenly wake up in the 4th quarter?
Christopher Carter
1:31
Welcome to the NFL. Football is a wild and weird game at times where something doesn't work for 45 minutes then starts clicking for 15.

I also think a lot of what happened to start this game was that the Buccaneers came out with a plan to stuff the Steelers' run and sit on any short passes to the RBs/TEs. It took the Steelers a while to find their way around that.

But, that's also the way the Steelers won their previous 3 wins. So, good plan from the Buccaneers defensively. But they needed more than a 13-point lead and to have two 4th quarter interceptions to finish that off.
Scott via Louisville Ky
1:31
How do you think the offensive line played.  Is it possible someone takes back Hoffmann’s spot?
Christopher Carter
1:33
I thought they were pretty average when balancing things out. They didn't really get the run game going and they allowed 16 pressures. 4 came from Fautanu, another 4 from Iheanachor. But that's also one of the best defensive tackle units in football, so it makes sense.

I don't think they can replace Hoffman given how Spencer Anderson played.

But I do think guard should be a priority in the upcoming draft. Even with Gennings Dunker on the roster.
K-ville Fan
1:33
Good day, Christopher, and thank you for your always insightful articles and chats.There have been 10 minute offensive drives in the NFL.  What would happen if the team that received the opening kickoff in overtime had a 10 minute drive and scored with no time left on the clock? Game over? Other team gets a possession?  Thanks!
Christopher Carter
1:34
Hello and thanks for being here!

By rule, that would end the game. There are only 10 minutes, so the other team has to score within that time. So, the Steelers were putting extra pressure on the rookie QB by making their scoring drive take so long.
Andy Carnegie
1:35
When will Pitt move on from their football HC?  He is awful and every time he opens his mouth, he sounds even more ignorant than before. I think they should just bite the bullet and fire him and pay the rest of whatever he's owed. He's an embarrassment.
Christopher Carter
1:42
As a person who's covered Pat Narduzzi for six years and watched his entire tenure, I do not think he's awful at all. Yes, he says very brash things and can put his foot in his mouth, but as a coach, he's done very well with a program that spends on average the 9th most of ACC programs on their rosters.

As far as moving on from him, Pitt basketball couldn't afford to move on from Jeff Capel, and both of their contracts are up in 2030.

And Narduzzi's contract is definitely more than Capel's.

Especially after having to foot the bill for Victory Heights and their current battle to compete with NIL funding, I don't think Pitt can afford to fire Narduzzi AND hire a competitive head coach to replace him while doing all that.
Footballtahn
1:42
Chris, on a scale of 1-10, 10 best - what would you rank the steelers roster talent.
Christopher Carter
1:43
I'd say a solid 7.5. They have good talent in the trenches and their playmaker situation is better than it has been for a bit. It's why I predicted this team to win 11 games.
Scott via Louisville Ky
1:43
Is there a similar buzz of fans going to Paris as there was to Ireland last year. I went to Ireland game and it was really special.  I love Paris but something tells be it won’t be the same.
Christopher Carter
1:45
I don't think it will be the same. Paris has so much going on there all the time event-wise.

I got to be there in Dublin last year and it did feel special and unique with the whole town lighting up for the event. Paris hosts something major pretty regularly, so I don't think it will bring the same feel.

Honestly, I think the NFL may be wise to try to set up another Steelers-Dublin game very soon. The locals there really seemed to be about it.
Footballtahn
1:45
Chris, if you were to rank NFL owners 1-32  - where about would you rank Art Rooney 2?
Christopher Carter
1:50
I'd say just outside of the top 10.

I do think there are organizations that are doing more innovative things right now that are letting them get ahead of trends. But there's something to be said for how the Steelers have stayed afloat as a competitive franchise even when they've been in rebuild mode.

Now, that could take a big turn with how the next few years go. But there are plenty of franchises that have bottomed out and have nothing to show for it.
Greenwood
1:51
Chris, the o-line seems to be better at run blocking than pass blocking, at least the last few games. Then again, 54 times is a lot of pass blocking not to let a few though. Obviously there has been some shake up and it wouldn't be smart to change now, but considering Fautanu/McCormick were strong on the right side last year, and Max is so physically gifted, do you think they would prove to be better to move Troy and Mason back to the right and Max to the left? Next year perhaps.
Christopher Carter
1:57
That will be a question to examine at the end of the year, as the end of your post suggests.

Right now, they need to see how this group develops together. Fautanu just gave up 4 pressures yesterday and doesn't look settled into the position at all yet. But he also has moments when he looks like he's locked in and handles the play well.

That level of inconsistency happens with young offensive linemen, and especially with units figuring each other out. I don't think a move right now is necessary. But if things still look shaky next year, maybe a revisit to the plan would make sense.

Iheanachor's spot in college was on the right, so maybe they're prioritizing letting him be that guy.
Footballtahn
1:57
Is the steelers defensive backfield as good as yesterdays showing or is this a reflection of playing against a UDFA QB ?
Christopher Carter
1:57
I think Jalen Ramsey is great for the attacking role he has. But I do think that secondary gets torched a lot more yesterday if it's a solid quarterback out there.
Lambert’s Teeth
1:58
Chris: How likely, following the interception, would it have been for Canada to call three successive jet sweeps rather than a pass, a run, and a pass?
Christopher Carter
1:59
LOL. Being fair to Canada, I think the wildest thing he would've called is the RB option with the pitch like he did to get Najee Harris into the end zone against the Bengals back in 2022.

By the way, that was the last time before Sunday the Steelers were in an overtime game. And they won both.
Yates
1:59
Hi Chris.  End of game clock mgmt was atrocious.  Play calls on offense for 3+ quarters too predictable.  Why no trust in the run game?  It could be special and bring more intensity to the O earler?
Christopher Carter
2:04
I do think this was a mistake. But I also wonder how much of this was about how the Buccaneers played the Steelers. The Buccaneers pretty much shut down Jaylen Warren in the second half.

They kept loading the box and making it hard for the Steelers to gain ground. So, I get thinking about the risk. But at the end of the day, just run the ball 3 times and even if you don't score, they're out of timeouts and there's less than a minute to play.

As I said before, it would've put Daniels in a bind after the Herbig sack without a timeout and time running.
Yates
2:04
Should Boz go back to his Tomlin era practice regimen?  Do any members of MM’s staff have ST experience on their resume?
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