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Ray Fittipaldo's Steelers chat: 10.29.19
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Ray Fittipaldo
1:48
Welcome to my Steelers chat. Let's get it started a little early. Boonus time this week!
Jaxon
1:48
Ray, James Washington continues to be terrible....you think this kid is gonna make it?
Ray Fittipaldo
1:51
First off, I want to give Washington some credit for his blocking. Believe me, that does not go unnoticed by teammates or coaches. Now, having said that, he's been disappointing in terms of his production. He had just one catch for 21 yards against the Dolphins. One pass tipped off his hands and should have been intercepted. You can't have those types of plays. He was known as a guy who would go up and win 50-50 balls in college. If he's having trouble doing that in the NFL then there isn't going to be much hope that he'll ever break out. He's not a fast guy. He's not going to outrun you. So he has to be effective on those types of plays. To this point he hasn't been and that's a concern for me.
Mike
1:51
Why was Conner still in the game that late when the game was decided? That's why you have backups
Ray Fittipaldo
1:52
Tomlin said if Snell was healthy he might have used him in that situation. But Snell had already injured his knee and was not available. He said he did not want to use Trey Edmunds because Edmunds hadn't practiced much during the week with the first-team offense.
Mason
1:52
Why such a slow start for Mason? He looked absolutely lost early.
Ray Fittipaldo
1:53
Maybe coming off a concussion had something to do with it. Tomlin said today at his news conference that a lot of his struggles were tied to some bad footwork early in the game. Maybe missing those game reps against the Chargers hurt him, and it just took him some time to get back to game speed. Whatever it is, the Steelers need him to be better early in games. You're not going to be able to overcome 14-0 deficits against teams like the Colts and Rams The Dolphins? Yes, but not any legitimate playoff contender.
Ju-Ju
1:54
It appeared that the catches Ju-Ju made were with little or no separation. Why the issue?
Ray Fittipaldo
1:55
It's the NFL. Receivers aren't going to be running wide open all over the field. I think Rudolph has to get a bit more comfortable throwing to JuJu and his other WRs when they are covered. If it's one-on-one and the CB has his back turned and is running with JuJu, I like JuJu in that situation.
Hank
1:55
Why hurt Boswell's confidence knowing he can't make the plus 50 kicks?
Ray Fittipaldo
1:55
The bigger question is why give the Dolphins the ball near midfield when Jordan Berry could have pinned them deep with an effective pooch punt?
Kevin
1:55
Why was .joe .haden always using outside leverage? That allowed 4 catches in a row at one point.
Ray Fittipaldo
1:56
Tomlin said today it took the defense a while to figure out how Ryan Fitzpatrick was going to attack them. Josh Rosen began the season as the Dolphins's starter and while Fitzpatrick had played the previous two games, the Steelers didn't have a great feel for him. Once they did they were able to shut him down over the final three quarters.
Angela
1:57
Minkah Fitzpatrick is a baller. Will Sean Davis be given the return designation or will he be out all year?
Ray Fittipaldo
1:58
If he is healthy enough to return I suppose they'll evaluate that when the time comes. He's not going to start. Maybe he could play in some sub-packages. Maybe he'd provide depth in the event of an injury to Fitzpatrick or Terrell Edmunds. But he'll never get his starting free safety job back.
Toby
1:58
Although he had a sack, It appeared DuPree was another no-show. Time to give Ola more snaps?
Ray Fittipaldo
1:59
I actually thought Dupree played pretty well. He was active on the rush, and the Dolphins didn't have many rushing yards. He's part of the run defense, too. He doesn't just rush the passer.
Tommie
1:59
Again Steven Nelson appears to be solid other than his embarrassing tackling effort on the 1 td. Did Pitt get what they paid for with him?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:00
I think Steven Nelson has been solid. He's not getting INTs, but he's not getting burned very often, either. He's making $8 million a year so I'm sure the Steelers are expecting him to create some turnovers at some point.
Larry
2:00
Running game better because Nix was back or because Miami's run D is atrocious?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:01
Probably a little bit of both. Nix gives the Steelers some downhill attitude when he's in the game. They missed that when he was out. And yes the Dolphins run defense is god awful.
Mary
2:01
Diontae Johnson appears to be another Colbert gem while Washington appears to be getting worse. Any chance he moves to the outside as the number 2?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:01
I have news for you: Diontae Johnson already is the Steelers' No. 2 receiver.
Iris
2:02
Hey Ray that was JV last night, Flat out of the gate again, horrible ! This Sunday extremely important to win against WC opponents.. Lose and season pretty much over! Agree ?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:03
Season won't be over, but it will be tough for them to make it. The Colts are an AFC team and would hold tiebreaker over them in the event both teams finishing with the same record.
Melissa
2:03
Any chance Pittsburgh either trades away any of the contracts expiring this year or trades for more help before the deadline today at 4 p.m.?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:03
I don't expect the Steelers to make any moves before the deadline.
paullochrane@yahoo.com
2:04
do you think tomlin would have pulled rudoph at  halftime for duck if he didn't get lucky with that td pass?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:05
Hard to say when a coach would pull the trigger on such a move. It would have been 14-3 at halftime. They were getting the ball. Maybe if Rudolph struggled on his first series of the second half. But not at halftime. They believe in Rudolph, and it's not like Hodges is the second coming of Ben Roethlisberger.
Phil Dunphy
2:05
What happened to Paxton Lynch? Was he cut? Back to practice squad? Released?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:05
He
2:06
He's still on the 53-man roster. He's the third-string QB for now. Can always go back to the practice squad if they need to make a roster move.
NM Steeler
2:06
Hi Ray, I would pay to ask Coach Tomlin questions after games, the press gets paid to do so...why all the soft questions? I would like to know why go for a 4th and 6 earlier in the game later to opt for a 54 yard fg attempt rather than go for it again or punt? Or how about calling a T
Ray Fittipaldo
2:08
If you read my report card I downgraded the coaching grade to a C because of what you referenced. For night games, we're all on deadline. We have to interview players while Tomlin is at the podium. If you're not writing specifically about Tomlin you;re not going to his presser after the game. You don't have time.
Goose
2:08
Getting closer and closer to the Moncrief deadline. Likelihood Pitt dumps him? He offered nothing again last night.
Ray Fittipaldo
2:08
Yeah I tend to think they'll cut him to ensure they get the third-round comp pick. They don;t have a lot of depth at WR, but as you note, Moncrief isn't providing much anyway.
Jaxon
2:09
Ray, Tomlinson continues to make horrible coaching decisions.  4th and long in the 1st quarter, rookie QB, No rhythm,  a poor miami team that we can pin deep,......so we GO FOR IT ????   No Words.
Ray Fittipaldo
2:09
I disagreed with that decision as well.
Jaxon
2:09
Ray, Im sure this is going to be a popular topic, but the Offensive PI Call was absolutely horrible......any thoughts?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:10
There was a lot of hand fighting. It was going both ways. The thing that caught my eye was the official 30 yards away threw the flag while the official near the end zone about 10 yards away didn't.
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