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Ray Fittipaldo's Steelers chat: 02.14.23
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Ray Fittipaldo
1:55
Happy Valentine's Day and welcome to the chat. Let's get started.
MD
1:56
Joey Porter Jr seemed like a pretty good CB for Penn State, although I like Witherspoon and Ringo a good bit better.  That said a) taking Pickett given the Pitt connection; b) overdrafting Conner Heyward; c) overpaying Derek Watt; d) retaining Central Catholic's Danny Smith after all of these years of poor performing special teams; e) hiring and retaining the OC that recruited Dino Tomlin; f) all the internal coaching promotions and g) then drafting Porter given PSU, his dad, his roots.  At some point don't these "nepotism" moves seem more like how the Steelers were run in their first 40 years (0 playoff wins) than in the second 40 (33 playoff wins)?
Ray Fittipaldo
1:59
I think there is something to be said for knowing all of the small details on a player. Mike Tomlin noted this when the Steelers took Pickett last year. They were well-acquainted with him and felt very comfortable making the pick. The same can be said for Connor Heyward. They know the family and felt very comfortable making that pick. You say he was over-drafted, but he played pretty well, especially late in the season. Hey, the Steelers could have drafted Skyy Moore, Dino Tomlin's high school teammate, over George Pickens if they wanted to. But they took Pickens because they felt like he was the better prospect. I'm just saying they don't always pick the guy with ties to Pittsburgh or the Steelers.
Johnny U
2:00
Interesting MT chose Canada over Klemm.  Another example of his poor judgement with asst coaches. I think if Dan Rooney was still around MT would have some explaining to do?  How do you see it?  Thank you.
Ray Fittipaldo
2:00
I think it's always easier to side with a coordinator because the coach's name is on the line. He made the hire. It's much easier to move on from a position coach if there is a clash in personalities.
Guest
2:01
Hey Ray. The Chiefs won in large part due to the offensive line holding off the Eagles defensive line. Creed Humphrey was a big factor. I wanted him in the first round in 2021, but we passed on him twice – for a RB and TE. Those positions are a dime a dozen. What was our future Hall of Fame coach who has never had a losing season and his brain trust thinking??
Ray Fittipaldo
2:03
The Chiefs offensive line did a great job against the Eagles though the field conditions certainly played a factor in the lack of a pass rush. The field was a slip and slide. The NFL should be embarrassed. For a multi-billion dollar league it's astonishing how things like this happen on such a consistent basis. But getting back to Humphrey, the Steelers aren't the only team that passed on him twice. Thirty other teams did too. But this has been and will continue to be a lightning rod of criticism for the Steelers.
Guest
2:04
Why are there so many saying Mahomes is possibly the greatest QB of all time? He’s 2-1 in the big game. Terry and Joe are 4-0. How is there even a comparison?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:06
Mahomes is a great player. There is no doubt about that. He showed me more in Super Bowl LVII than he did in the first Super Bowl win over the 49ers. He gutted his way through that game after aggravating his ankle injury in the first half. He's great because he has talent, but he also has all of the other qualities great quarterbacks have -- leadership, intangibles, etc. It's too early to say where he ranks. He might play another 15 years. There's plenty of time to let him state his case. And who knows? It might be better in 15 years.
Guest
2:06
The Chiefs clock management was perfection at the end of the game. Our coach fails at every opportunity to do that. Why is it so difficult for Mediocre Mike to do what Andy Reid did?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:08
McKinnon did a nice job getting to the ground. Not all RBs have that sense of the moment. And yes, it was good coaching, but the defensive holding penalty all but handed the Chiefs the game. Not saying it was a good call or bad call, but they got a first down with less than two minutes to go after the Eagles had used their timeouts. Pretty easy to steer that ship home.
62 Stack Monster
2:08
Hi Ray, Would the Steelers take Paris Johnson over Van Ness if available at number 1?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:10
That's a good question. Both have some nice upside. Would depend on who has the higher grade, and it's impossible to know at this moment how the Steelers view those two prospects. I like Skoronski and Broderick Jones more than Johnson, but he does have potential if he puts it all together. If it's me I'm leaning more toward Van Ness if I had the choice.
Terrible Towelhead
2:10
Steelers offense found success post-Claypool trade with '12' personnel, with 1 RB, 2 TE.  Do you think they could target an athletic blocking TE that could really help Kenny stress the seams with Freiermuth?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:10
They could. This is a very good draft for tight ends, but I would argue they have many other needs to address before No. 2 tight end.
CG
2:11
Hi Ray, I want offensive players with 2 of the first 3 picks.  The Steelers need the offensive talent to overcome schemes and play calling?  If Addison at #17, could he be Pickett's Jamar Chase?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:12
I like Addison, but let's not compare him to Jamarr Chase, who was the No. 5 overall pick in the draft. Addison might be a first-round pick, but he doesn't have Chase-like qualities. And the Steelers have two good receivers on their roster already.
Nate from Fort Wayne
2:12
Hey Ray, Was the Eagles Defensive line not as good as we thought or was the Chiefs O-Line and play calling way better than we thought?

Also wanna praise the Chiefs, they traded one of their top 3 players(Tyreek Hill) , get a bunch of draft picks,  trade 2 draft picks for Toney who helped them greatly in  the Super Bowl and still have 9 picks coming up in the draft and probably one or two comp picks to add on.
Ray Fittipaldo
2:13
I'm with you on winning without Hill. I wasn't sure how that would play out. Kelce is their No. 1 receiver even though he's a TE. JuJu was their No. 2. He's an unrestricted free agent, but as you point out they are positioned well to replace him in the draft if they so choose. By the way, JuJu played very well in the second half. He'll land on his feet if the Chiefs don't re-sign him.
Jim B.
2:14
In your opinion, what are the odds of a Devin Bush return?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:14
1%
Alan
2:14
Hi Ray. Do you see any OTs possibly sliding to #17 that the Steelers might be interested in?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:15
It depends on the needs of teams in front of them. I will say this. Skoronski and Jones and Johnson are good prospects, but none of them are slam dunks to go in the top 10. So yes there is a chance one or maybe two of them could fall to 17. The question then becomes how do the Steelers feel about them if they do fall?
Amy
2:15
Would it be all that bad if the team went 2 OL and 2 DL in first 3 rounds?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:16
No, not at all. I'm not sure that happens because I think they need a corner in there somewhere, but your needs are spot on.
Guest
2:16
What would you think of drafting Michael Mayer and playing more 12 personnel in 2023? His blocking should be a big asset to the run game and he and Freiermuth would be tough for teams to cover in passing game.
Ray Fittipaldo
2:17
Good prospect, but again you already have a starting tight end. And a good one at that. That would be the old Patriots model with Gronkowski and Gonzalez. I suppose it's possible, but the game has changed since then. You need a variety of receiving targets.
Mark
2:18
in the context of the Chiefs 2nd half adjustments, from your experience playing college ball, what are these “adjustments” at a player’s level? I know play calling (both sides of ball) and who is on the field are major adjustments, but what specific adjustments might a given indiv player make when coached in-game on the sidelines or at halftime?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:19
It's not so much in the play calls. There are only so many plays in a game plan. It's more in the mentality of the play caller. I thought the Chiefs came out in the second half and established Pacheco, which was a really good move. Even though they were down 10 they didn't want to become one-dimensional. That was so important. Other coaches might have panicked there and came out passing. I mean, they still passed, but if you look at the stats it was a well-balanced offensive effort by the Chiefs.
Joe Momma
2:20
Which rookie do you expect to make the biggest leap in year two? Also, do you expect any players to decline in performance next year?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:21
I would imagine Pickett and Pickens could make big leaps. If the Steelers are going to get back to the playoffs Pickett has to become m ore dangerous as a passer. He only had seven touchdown passes. Obviously, that doesn't cut it in today's NFL. That's two weeks work for Patrick Mahomes.
Jay
2:23
Hello Ray.  In the event the top 3 OT and CBs are gone, can you see a surprise pick of MLB or hybrid S at 17?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:23
I don't see an ILB there, but Brian Branch would be interesting.
Jim
2:23
If one of the top linebackers are there and one of the CB's which do you think is more of a need? I say LB, as long as we resign Sutton.
Ray Fittipaldo
2:23
I still think it's CB even if Sutton re-signs.
jeff
2:23
Thanks for the chats Ray.  Do you think they will ban the push QB sneak play?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:27
Great question and it's something I'm sure the competition committee will look at. The Eagles perfected it, but other teams including the Steelers took advantage of the loose interpretation of the rule by officials. Kind makes you shake your head when the Steelers simply refused to run the sneak for so many years with Ben Roethlisberger. They sure could have used it in the 2016 AFC title game when they were near the goal line at the end of the first half and still very much in the game. And they could have used it the next year when they lost to the Jaguars and had a number of fourth-down calls fail, including a toss to Le-Veon Bell on fourth-and-short. Oh well.
NY Lenny
2:28
Good afternoon Ray. I’m still puzzled at the reason that Mr. Rooney have to keep Canada. His offense hasn’t worked since he has been there. The reason for not getting Pickett another OC in his second year doesn’t make sense. There are alot of I offensive minded coaches out there that can replace Canada. Sign a new OC and let them grow together for the next three years. If Canada doesn’t work out next year, he will be gone and the Pickett will have to learn all over again. Your thoughts?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:29
You make great points, which is why if the offense doesn't improve this year all the blame should shift away from Canada to Tomlin and Art Rooney. They had an opportunity to make a move and decided to stick with Canada.
Ed in Carrick
2:29
This has clearly become a league where offense is of paramount importance. The Steelers are loaded at skill positions and the Offensive Line got better as the year progressed. Why can’t they hit the 20 ppg mark?  That is a low bar and yet they couldn’t even hit that.
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