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Ray Fittipaldo's Steelers chat: 01.16.23
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Stairway to seventh seed
12:30
Ray:  the Bears come calling and ask for the 20th pick for Justin Fields, what would you do?
Ray Fittipaldo
12:33
I would not give up the No. 20 pick for Justin Fields. I think the Steelers have too many other needs that have to be addressed early in the draft, including DL, WR, CB and possibly OL. Of course, some of those needs will be addressed in free agency too. I just don't think enough of Fields to make that move. I understand QB is the most important position on the team, but I'd have to be convinced Fields was a guy who can win in the playoffs if I made that move. And I just don't feel that way about him.
Tom
12:33
Say the Steelers let Tomlin walk, then you have no coach and no QB. How is that going to work out better?  At least eight teams try that every year and rarely improve, right?
Ray Fittipaldo
12:38
Tomlin is a good coach, but all of their playoff losses in recent years have a familiar refrain. They get behind early and can never overcome their slow starts. Falling behind by 21 points on the road is not a recipe for success. They fell behind the Chiefs 35-7 two years ago. They fell behind the Browns 35-10 three years ago at home. Other teams have a good read on how the Steelers are going to come out and play, and they take advantage of them. I thought the play-calling early in the Bills game was super conservative. The wind wasn't a big factor. It was blowing between 8-13 mph at kickoff. Obviously, it didn't deter the Bills from throwing. They had early success in the passing game while the Steelers tried to run with Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren with little success. Whatever happened to the 'scared money don't make money' approach Tomlin had late in the regular season. It was like they reverted back to when Matt Canada was calling plays. Sure, they mounted a comeback, but it was too little too late.
Stairway to seventh seed
12:38
Ray:  do you think that the Steelers main organizational problem is that they operate out of fear of losing the capability to always be in the playoff hunt?  Keeping Tomlin.  Re-signing stiffs like Chuks because they are afraid it would be hard to replace him.  Paying "medium" money to a lot of veteran guys that really aren't much better than younger cheaper replacements  (Neal, Kazee, Holcome, Peterson, Ogunjobi).  All of these moves are consistent with making sure they win 9-10 games, but never really building towards contention.
Ray Fittipaldo
12:40
They operate that way because they never want to bottom out and tank. They believe if the make the tournament they'll have a chance. It hasn't worked out for them recently, but that's their mindset. I would like to see them get younger too, but younger players make more mistakes. And that leads to more losses. Until they have a change in philosophy I don't think you'll see their approach to team building change all that much.
Stairway to seventh seed
12:40
Ray:  It is so disheartening to see that the Steelers, with numerous holes to fill and three years post paying Ben big money, are projected to be $7.4m over next year's cap (according to Overthecap.com).   Is it time to stop kicking the can down the road and operate within their means to clear the decks to have cap space in 2025 and beyond?
Ray Fittipaldo
12:42
Omar Khan has always been very good at managing the cap. Yes, they're projected to be $7 million over, but they can and will clear space in the coming weeks and months. They'll have plenty of space to make the necessary moves when free agency arrives in March.
Tom
12:44
An empty set at the goaline is great to catch the defense in  a mismatch. Other than that the defense has the advantage. Why then throw to the receiver who has the true cornerback covering him?
Ray Fittipaldo
12:46
Mason Rudolph said the corner made a great play there. He said he could have thrown it wider where only Diontae Johnson could have caught it, but he gave the DB props for making the INT. Very costly, obviously. They had a 2-on-2 over there with 18 and 14. I'm surprised they didn't try a rub there to get one of them open. It didn't look like great play design. Just two routes on one side of the field, kind of a slow developing play. Once again, not very imaginative as I pointed numerous times over the past 24 hours. This offense needs an overhaul.
DC Steeler fan
12:46
Tomlin is going to catch a lot of flak, but the Steelers looked better than the Cowboys, Dolphins, Browns, and Eagles this weekend. Two key plays, the Pickens fumble and interception in the end zone were due to execution, not coaching. Are we really going to be better off if we replace Tomlin?
Ray Fittipaldo
12:49
So giving up 31, 36, 45, 48 and 42 points in playoff games is acceptable? Falling behind by three touchdowns in a little more than a quarter is acceptable? Please. I agree with you to a certain point, but the coaches haven't done a good enough job in those games. And Tomlin has been present for all of them. It matters.
MikeM65
12:50
When the Steelers interview OC candidates, will they consider if the candidate wants to bring in his own assistants?
Ray Fittipaldo
12:51
I think so. There might be one or two coaches the Steelers want to keep, but I think they would allow the OC to bring in his own guys. Heck, they let Matt freaking Canada bring in his own guys.
Jim_Bow_Dean
12:51
A lot of people are saying Tomlin won’t walk away because he’d be leaving millions on the table. Wouldn’t he make even more money by going into TV? Brady is going to get $37M per year. Romo and Aiken get $18M a year for a job that is a lot easier.
Ray Fittipaldo
12:51
You are assuming he wants to do TV. He's never expressed that interest.
Dan
12:52
Hey Ray, thanks for the chats, always very informative. Do you think yesterday was the last time we see Harvin in a Steeler uniform? It’s hard to fathom a professional punter that can’t exceed 30 yards on a consistent basis.
Ray Fittipaldo
12:52
They'd be better off going for it all the time. Yes, they need to bring in a punter who is more consistent.
Steel Addiction
12:53
Ray, the media always says that the Steelers defense is Tomlin's defense and that he runs the defense.  After watching the ultra conservative play calling on offense yesterday (very Canada like) is it safe to question whether that offense is Tomlin's as well?
Ray Fittipaldo
12:54
He's involved in every aspect of the team, but I don't know how much influence he has on play calling,.
MikeM65
12:54
I think the Steelers are improving, they held their opponent to under 40 points, right? :)
Ray Fittipaldo
12:54
Yes that was a positive. Ha ha.
Sal
12:55
Thanks for the chat Ray! What is your take on the rookie class? Do you think with another class like this filling the glaring needs (ilb, dl, cb, ss) will be in more capacity of being competitive in playoffs?
Ray Fittipaldo
12:56
It's all about the QB. And I'm not sure they have one who can win a playoff game.
larry
12:56
Even with the loss, it seems like the Steelers actually have an offense with Mason. Not perfect. But surely not like Turbisky or Pickett dead offenses. Do you agree?
Ray Fittipaldo
12:57
I do, but I'm not sure they'll give Mason a chance to start next season. He's a free agent.
Luca
12:57
So I guess all the experts were wrong about Goff and Mayfield….both notched playoff wins.  Maybe Goff gets the Lions to the championship game.  Why not give Pickett a chance with a competent OC?  I’d hire Klint Kubiak right now.
Ray Fittipaldo
12:58
I think they will do that. The problem is they wasted two years of his development. And is there any confidence Tomlin will hire the right coordinator after his last couple of hires?
Colonel
12:59
At what point will we start seeing players and/or coaches being released?
Ray Fittipaldo
12:59
Coaches sooner but they won't rush. They'll cut players in March a week or two before free agency starts.
Jay
1:00
Hello Ray, thank you for the season.  How do we attract the top OC to come to Pittsburgh?  HC wants defensive, ball control philosophy offense, the QBs are mediocre, WRs are borderline divas.  Assistant coaches come here to get blamed and never heard again.
Ray Fittipaldo
1:01
Give the new OC the keys to the offense.
Ralph
1:02
What do you make of Mason at this point? A few decent games. Came out flat against Bills. Absolute killer pick which I would say sealed the loss even at that early stage.
Ray Fittipaldo
1:02
Mason Rudolph was the best QB the Steelers had this season. I'd bring him back.
John
1:03
How soon will Steelers hire a new OC
Ray Fittipaldo
1:04
I think ideally they'd get that done before the Senior Bowl, which starts in two weeks. But I don't think they'll rush the process. Definitely by the combine, which is at the end of February and early March.
Guest
1:04
I really respect Najee for saying what we all have known for over a decade.  The culture is horrible under this fraud of a coach.  No rules, no accountability, no discipline.  Wouldn't that get coaches fired in most of the other cities?
Ray Fittipaldo
1:06
Yes, but didn't Harris say at one point it wasn't the coaches. I'm sure the coaches are a part of it, but he painted a picture like it's an organizational problem from top to bottom. I wish he would have kept talking. He was hinting at things, but never really went all in and placed the blame on anyone in particular.
Greg
1:07
So the idea is to let KP sink or swim in 2024 with a new OC just because KP was a 1st round pick. How about letting our current best QB - Rudolph - sink or swim with a new and  imaginative OC? I thought the idea was to have the best chance to win any given game.
Ray Fittipaldo
1:09
It is, but Rudolph is somewhat limited in his movement skills. He's a pocket passer. Pickett has better athletic ability and that's a trait Tomlin wanted in his next QB after Ben Roethlisberger.
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