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Ray Fittipaldo's Steelers chat: 11.22.22
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Ray Fittipaldo
2:21
It seemed that way against the Bengals although Tomlin downplayed the comments made by Germaine Pratt that the Steelers' play-calling is predictable. He said something to the effect that the Steelers run the same plays over and over again. Tomlin says all teams do that and passed off Pratt's comments as coming from someone who felt emboldened to speak after a victory.
JB
2:21
Tomlin speaks of teams minimizing DJ because he’s the known commodity. Why couldn’t we minimize Higgins when he was killing us?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:22
I think they wanted to minimize Boyd more.
Javi
2:22
Hey Ray.I know Bens hof and was on SB caliber team rookie year but what were Bens early flaws compared to Picketts? Even though they went 15-1 was there any chatter that Ben had some flaws that were questioned as 1st round pick..?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:25
Ben flashed raw playmaking ability from the outset. He could run. He could run around in the pocket and throw on the run. Those were innate qualities that helped him throughout his career, but they were especially important when he was a rookie because he also struggled with disguise and coverages. He got better as a prototypical pocket quarterback later in his career, but he was great as a young quarterback because of those qualities as well as his strong arm. Pickett doesn't match up in any of those categories. His arm isn't as strong. He's not as big. He might be his equal as a runner, but he can't extend plays the way Roethlisberger did. I will admit Roethlisberger had a much better supporting cast. That's why the Steelers made the AFC title game in 2004, and that's why they're 3-7 with Pickett now. His supporting cast isn't nearly good enough.
Stanford
2:25
How many games do you think rookie Big Ben would have won with this team so far?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:26
Great question. I think it's safe to say 2 wins better or more.
Guest
2:26
Seems like MT is afraid to go after tany top Offensive and Defensive coordinators...or wants all the attention on himself?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:27
You have to develop those guys, groom them and give them opportunities as they evolve as coaches. So yes, he hasn't been able to land any good, young OCs, but I would argue he's not hiring the right types of positions coaches to grow into that role, either.
Not So Great One
2:28
Last year, running out of plays wasn't enough to get Matt Canada fired. Is it possible Tomlin will bring him back next year?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:28
Sure it's possible, but I'll be floored if he's back.
Shane in Colrain
2:29
On their own 45-ish, 3rd and 25, 2 scores down and they throw it 5 yards. Why not chuck it and hope for a PI call or a Pickens highlight catch? An INT is the same as a punt at that point.
Ray Fittipaldo
2:29
I could not agree more.
Guest
2:29
Hey Ray.  Every year the league favors offenses more and more (pass interference calls, protecting the QB, defensive holding, etc.).  How is this offense worse than past years even with these huge advantages?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:29
Hmmm. Three guesses and the first two are wrong.
Gene
2:30
Why wasn’t Kazee given more playing time Sunday especially with the way our secondary was performing?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:31
I think he played 35% of the snaps. The Steelers play in base about 25-33% of the time. He's not in the base personnel package. And they have other packages they use for matchup purposes. Kazee is part of a sub-package. I'm not sure he'll ever play more than half the game if Minkah Fitzpatrick and Terrell Edmunds are healthy.
Paul
2:31
Hi Ray Happy Thanksgiving. How many points would have Bengals scored if Chase and Mixon played whole game? Last question your thoughts moving Cole to Guard and starting JCH at Center or vise versa?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:32
I think they are generally happy with Cole at center. He's been OK. As to your first questions, I'll say 42.
artie bridge
2:32
Ray, did we trade the wrong wr?  Dionte has shown next-to-nothing these past 6 weeks.  Granted, Chase isn't lighting it up either, but he comes a lot cheaper, and, imho, with more potential.  Thoughts?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:33
I'll repeat: who is going to take on $36 million in salary to acquire Diontae Johnson?
Jack Straw
2:33
Combining the statistical rankings for offense and defense along with the eye ball test, is this the worst Steelers team since the 1970 merger?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:34
I remember the 1980s. Some of those years were bad. This offense might be the worst in the past 50-plus years.
Kris
2:34
Do you think that M. Tomlin would have been regarded as such a great coach over the last 15 seasons without Ben...? He has some good one liners like "unleash hell" but maybe Ben covered up a lot of deficiencies that would have otherwise cost him his job years ago...?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:35
Of course not, but you can say the same thing about Bill Belichick.
Boiler G Dog
2:35
Ray, thank you for the chat and all your hard work. Much appreciated. Question: Paul and Adam brought up a couple good points that I’d like your take on. #1. MC’s conservative play calls on 1st down really hurts Pickett when he continually faces 2nd and long. #2. Johnson and  Pickens had 11 targets combined Sunday while T Higgins had 13. Johnson got #1 receiver money but he’s had 10 targets in two weeks.
Ray Fittipaldo
2:36
I tend to agree with you on your first point although I will point out an unsuccessful deep shot on first down results in second-and-10 too. They just need to execute better overall.
Chris in Washington
2:36
Is it just as simple as fortifying the OL and DL in the offseason?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:37
Yes and get a No. 1 CB too. And a starting-caliber ILB and maybe a strong safety if Edmunds doesn't return. You get the idea this might be more than a one-year rebuild?
Turk in MD
2:37
Hi Ray!  Tee Higgins is a good receiver, but he's not THAT good.  The team shouldn't mess around in free agency.  They need a proven #1 CB.  Thoughts?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:38
I do agree. Whether it comes via free agency or the draft they need to find a shutdown corner.
Turk in MD
2:38
Happy Thanksgiving, Ray!  I think the loss of Jaylen Warren early in the game had a definite impact on the offense.  Yes, he's a backup RB, but MC has drawn up a number of plays to get him the ball in space.  Najee was excellent Sunday and really rose to the occasion.  I'm just wondering if some of the game plan went out the window when Warren went down.  It looked like they "ran out of plays" in the 2nd half.  Thoughts?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:39
If you run out of plays when your backup running backs exits the game with an injury you might be a college coordinator.
JB
2:39
How much of the offense issues are offensive scheme and play calling related? Higher than 50%?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:39
I don't know what percentage to apply to it, but it's significant.
JB
2:40
I feel there is room for optimism. It won’t happen over night but we are very young on offence and a few guys short in defence. Obviously this year is not great. But what do they need most next year to get competitive. 3 picks in the top 50 and money to do it. Thoughts?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:40
The way things are going for the Steelers and Bears it could be three picks in the top 40.
New Orleans Steelers fan
2:42
Let's say we decide to clean the slate next year with a new head coach, OC, DC. Who are the leading candidates for head coaching jobs
Ray Fittipaldo
2:42
Hank Stram, Lou Saban and Norm van Brocklin.
Hmmmm
2:43
Tomblin says Pickett is getting better. At What? He doesn't throw interceptions as much but, he still misses lots of reads, has to scramble when he can't find the open man and his balls are less than accurate when he finds somebody wide open. Where is the improvement?
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