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Christopher Carter's Steelers chat: 10.24.25
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Christopher Carter
10:19
Alright, North Shore Drive recording is in the books, so it's live chat time. Let's get into it!
Uncle T
10:19
Much love to Aaron and his comments and respect to his career with the packers. He has definitely out performed what I expected. Do you think the front office will be able to convince him to return 2026 and under what terms?
Christopher Carter
10:21
I think he will want to see the following things on offense:
A) An O-line that holds up throughout the year (and doesn't tackle him after touchdowns)
B) The offense still similarly structured
C) A team that's legitimately competitive and makes at least the divisional round of the playoffs.

I think he'll come back if he knows he'll have protection, not have to learn a whole new offense and knows there's a chance to win with them.
Josh
10:21
Hey Chris, thanks for the chats! I've seen a few articles this week from different sources, some arguing for the steelers trading for a true WR2, and some arguing against it.  What is your opinion?
Christopher Carter
10:22
Thanks for being here Josh!

I really think the WR2 talk is overhyped. While the Steelers are definitely looking for whatever they can get -- as they should -- I don't think they're active players in that market as much as they are active listeners for opportunities.

Honestly, I think this team could use a better outside CB to replace Slay or a free safety more than a WR2 right now with Austin's return, what I'm seeing from Roman Wilson, and the TE room.
Richy
10:22
Chris, aside from the named team captains who would you say are the “informal” leaders in the Steelers locker room? Thanks.
Christopher Carter
10:24
T.J. Watt (obviously), but also Jalen Ramsey for the DBs, Patrick Queen for holding the defense together, DK Metcalf and Pat Freiermuth for the playmakers, and honestly I think Mason McCormick is helping on the OL too in that department. When I talk to Troy Fautanu, he's been a big boost for their chemistry. I'll have a Carter's Critiques piece on both of them and their impact later today.
Yancey Mills
10:24
Hey Chris.  Love your work.
Hi Chris. Love your work.  I keep hearing that the Steelers DID try multiple adjustments last week…well giving 10-15 yard cushion to Chase every play on the Bengals last drive when they only needed a fg is absolutely insane.  MAYBE an assignment was missed on one of them but how on earth did that make any sense
Christopher Carter
10:27
Thanks Yancey!

They did try several adjustments from man coverage, to man coverage that doubled both Chase and Higgins to cover 2, cover 2 invert, cover 3, quarters, the problem was none of it worked.

I honestly think part of the problem is the details the players play their disguises in coverage. They're lining up where they need to to give off a certain look that's not their real defense, but not always getting to the right spots to effectively play what their coverage *actually is.*

I asked Austin about that challenge yesterday actually. Give me a moment as I pull up the transcript on that.
10:29
Got it. Here we go.
Me: How do you balance as a play-caller when you’re designing disguises to show different things? For example: not lining up with a traditional inside leverage alignment at corner to show you’re in man if the disguises aren’t working or if the players aren’t sticking to the disguises. How do you balance when you might chuck that out so you can be more up front and make sure your pass rush gets home?
Teryl Austin: “I think it’s like anything; you do evaluations and you see -- are we giving them something impossible to do? Or is it something we can do that we’ve just got to do better? I think you go back, you look at it and you decide what you want to do. That’s always the never-ending thing. You’re always working, always trying to find a way to do it. I don’t think you ever abandon anything in this league. You may put it on the back-burner and come back to it. But there are some core things that you always have to work at. Being able to disguise and give people different looks to create some indecision in quarterbacks in the throwing game, you have to do that. You can never tire from that. If you tire from that, you might as well give up and tell them what you’re doing every time.”
10:32
Take your time to read that. The bottom line is I think the Steelers put a lot into their disguises, but sometimes you can get lost in executing the finer details of them when you're losing in some of the fundamentals -- like the run game. That's where I think they can be sharper to make the rest of their defense better.
Cdub
10:32
Is this Aaron Rogers talk about a contract for next year just something to take up air time and column space?  Last year, after about 7 games with Wilson at QB, the same talk arose.  Remember how great the moon ball was?  We all know how that ended.
Christopher Carter
10:42
It all depends on how they finish, right? Wilson was playing at a high level at one point and led a road-comeback win against one of the teams that made the NFC championship at one point and had the offense humming up until the final four games of the season.

If Rodgers falls off, sure. But I also think he's doing things that are harder to take away right now. And if he's able to maintain that, why not keep him?
Joe D
10:42
CC, I understand that the people involved likely have degrees in turf management or similar studies, and may have even consulted those schooled in meteorology, but could no one in charge equate the continual lack of precipitation with dry grass conditions? They make these things called water trucks and hoses, which are quite cost-effective and readily available. Thanks for listening.
Christopher Carter
10:45
It's possible that was the oversight. Pittsburgh is statistically the eighth-rainiest city in the US (https://www.redfin.com/blog/rainiest-cities-in-the-us/) and it's possible that was just a really bad oversight on the part of the authority that handles the field.
Josh
10:45
What do feel is truly behind the defensive issues on 3rd down with this team?  Granted they haven't been great on most downs, but they get themselves to 3rd down and it's almost a guaranteed conversion by the opponent.  Its astounding to me how this team can't get off the field when it needs to.
Christopher Carter
10:48
I think some of the problems have come from lapses at the wrong points while trying to tie things together with what they're disguising or being aggressive with.

For example, that 37-yard pass to Iosivas on 3rd and 8, Slay lost inside leverage immediately almost like he didn't prioritize it, which shouldn't happen. And it ruined A) both Chase and Higgins being double-teamed; and B) Watt being on step away from an important sack that could've swung the game their way.

Have to win those moments.
Jeff M
10:48
Hi Chris, how much do the Vikings regret not signing Rodgers? Also, I know Fields bank account doesn't regret signing with the Jets but do you think he does? It sounded at the time like part of the reason was he felt the Steelers didn't believe in him after the benching.
Christopher Carter
10:53
I think the Vikings are still interested in seeing what McCarthy has and if they signed Rodgers they wouldn't be able to do that. But would they be a lot better of Rodgers was there right now?  Absolutely.

As for Fields, I feel like there might be some regret there. But people should understand that to be THIS level of an athlete means you bet on yourself A LOT in your life to overcome odds that said you shouldn't make it this far. Whether that specific "this far" was being a superstar high schooler, and all-american in college, simply making it to the NFL, or getting a contract after your rookie year. I get why it's tough to not bet on yourself sometimes and Fields saw an opportunity to bet on himself to be good enough to uplift the Jets while making more money.

If winning was the priority, that was certainly a mistake. But I'd also understand him thinking the Jets might be his last best chance to get real FA money and have a shot to lead an offense. He just didn't expect it to go this poorly.
Coach T
10:53
CC, I take a lot of metaphorical flak from the yinzer diaspora, but in your estimation, could any one of the well-established and effective DCs or historical coaches (e.g., Flores, the two Italian guys in KC and Philly, Chapel Hill Bill, etc.) schemed up my geriatric DBs any better against that competition than me and TA's approach, which we refer to as the "kitchen sink methodology"?
Christopher Carter
11:01
Could someone? Maybe. Heck maybe even probably. But could they also do a worse job? I'd give the same answer.

Flores, for example, is basically having a similar year to the Steelers right now and he's basically using the same system he did last year while Austin's deploying basically a new defense with how aggressive they are with the blitz.

I think there's way too much nuance to coaching and playcalling to equate how would one coach deal with another coach's unit ... sometimes. I do think Spagnuolo would do better, just based off what I've studied from him. But the others, maybe marginally better or marginally worse. I think Austin's good, just not great. He's had a top 3 defense for 3 straight years now, one of those years they ranked 6th. You don't do that and be bad at your job.
Pittfan
11:01
Good morning Christopher. You grade the college quarterbacks it appears weekly. How many so far do you have a 1st round grade on? If there are only 2 or 3 do you think the Steelers should/will reach if they are drafting in their typical draft slot, late teens, early twenties?
Christopher Carter
11:03
Good morning!

If everyone came out this year I'd take that shot on:

Fernando Mendoza (IND)
Dante Moore (OR)
Ty Simpson (AL)
LaNorris Sellers (SC)
John Mateer (OK)

I'd put those first 3 in the category of trading up for them. Sellers and Mateer would be guys you'd wait for to drop to you.
artie bridge
11:03
Chris, I think there's a fair consensus that Rodgers is the biggest positive surprise on this team so far.  Who is your nominee for the biggest disappointment?
Christopher Carter
11:04
I'd say Darius Slay. I think he's lost too much in moments you'd expect him to win.
Stairway to seventh seed
11:04
Chris: thanks for doing the college QB ratings.  That is a great feature.  What keeps Haynes King out of your top 10?  Throws accurately.  Minimal interceptions the last two years.  Had 27 TD passes in 2023 when he was playing from behind more often.  4.45 speed and runs with power.  10+ rushing TDs for 3 straight years.  Basically has single handedly pulled a program from the abyss to the top 10.
Christopher Carter
11:09
Particularly because he has 4 TD passes this year and I'm not sure he'll be the NFL-style QB you'll want. He also has one game against a ranked opponent he's thrown multiple TDs against in the last two years.

While Sellers only has 5 TDs this year, I look back to his 2 TD performance against No. 7 Alabama, 2 TD performance in a win over No. 10 Texas A&M and 5TD perofmrnace against No. 23 Missouri last year as signs of what he can do when an offense doesn't sabotage him like the Gamecocks did this year with bad OL play and just absurd play-calling. To me, Haynes King might be a solid second round pick.
Steel Skodt
11:09
How much of the poor defensive showing in the last game was the result of the short week/fatigue? Are people overreacting? Even the best teams lay an egg, and in spite of mistakes, the team was in the game until that last series.
Christopher Carter
11:13
You can't put all of it on that as the team still needs to perform better. But as an observer, I can't help but notice the impact of a road Thursday night game.

Since Thursday night football became a thing in 2006, AFC North teams are 6-27 on the road on Thursday night football. And the Steelers account for 2 of those 6 wins.

It's not just a Steelers problem; Thursday night football on the road sucks. The Eagles got SMOKED two weeks ago on the road against the Giants. It's just a tough thing for everyone.
Richard coastal bend
11:14
Hi Chris, thought Vikings defense started fast and furious last night but seemed to run out of steam on a short week also due to decisive play by Herbert. Seemed like Herbert used his mobility and running ability to break them down and set up the passing attack. Do you see any similarities to Steeler defense performance the previous week? Not saying Flacco ran but he did get rid of the ball quick and then gashed them with his running backs.
Christopher Carter
11:15
The Vikings are an aggressive defense which forces QBs to make quick, accurate decisions and I think Herbert can be good at that. That's certainly what Flacco did. But also as I said in the question right before this, Thursday night on the road is not easy.
Cdub
11:15
I know hind-sight is 20/20, but after Ben blew out his elbow, we should have traded TJ and Cam and went with a youth movement rebuild.  We'd absolutely be in a better position now.  The 11-0 start was all smoke and mirrors and Steelers brass should've known that.  Do you think Tomlin's win now mentality is hurting the franchise long term?  Can we trade him to Wall Street where next quarters profits are all that matter?
Christopher Carter
11:20
No. The issue wasn't about trading away your superstars in their prime. It was about not getting back in QB and the OL as early as they should've.

Maybe instead of picking Claypool in 2020, they use that pick on Jalen Hurts. That would immediately make several of the recent teams A LOT better. Maybe re-invest in the OL sooner as well, and you'd have a team that pairs a more complete offense with what was a very good defense.

I also still say the 11-0 win streak wasn't smoke in mirror; that was the oldest team in the NFL that never got its bye week and eventually got so dinged up they were a shell of themselves down the stretch. Roethlisberger's knees were so bad he couldn't throw deep anymore and without Dupree and Tuitt, the defensive front wasn't nearly as menacing down the stretch that it was when they were healthy.
Also, several of the older players like Pouncey were worn down to the nub without getting a bye week that season thanks to the NFL not punishing the Titans (and Ravens later) for blatantly violating COVID rules and causing the Steelers' schedule to be a jumbled mess. Routine and consistency is even more important for older players and once the Steelers were robbed of that, they were down fast.
Jalen
11:21
CC, does your film work confirm that I have indeed lost a few MPHs off my metaphorical fastball? We can all clearly see that Darius has lost a step, so no need to waste your analysis on that subject matter.
Christopher Carter
11:22
Guys, let's just be ourselves and not impersonate players. OK? Ramsey is still a very good cornerback but I don't think he's the shutdown outside press-man guy he was in Jacksonville.
JPJ
11:22
CC, refresh my memory, did you like me coming out of formerly Happy Valley, or did my so-called grabby transgressions give you considerable pause?
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