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Ray Fittipaldo's Steelers chat: 11.29.22
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Ray Fittipaldo
1:58
Good afternoon. Let's chat about the Steelers.
Ken
1:58
Your Post Gazette On Line survey this morning asked whether we would like to see the Steelers keep winning the rest of this year or lose to get better draft picks.  55% so far have stated they want to win.  Why would you want to lose for just draft picks?  Lets win!
Ray Fittipaldo
1:59
Many fans want a total rebuild and they believe the only way for that to happen is by picking high in each round. There's an old saying in the NFL if you pick middle you stay middle. The Steelers don't tank. They always try to win.
Desert Steel
1:59
Thanks for taking my question Ray. Is Benny Snell Football having a revival? I really liked what I saw last night. He found the hole and hit it hard.
Ray Fittipaldo
2:01
I looked up some stats from last year on Snell. He was barely used. I think his single-game high was 22 yards. He did have some nice games in 2020, including one when he went over 100 yards versus the Giants. We could see him more down the stretch if Harris' injury is serious. I'm sure he's liking the carries. He's a free agent after the season ends. He needed some lines on the resume.
Loyd Dobler
2:01
I don't understand these people that want the Steelers to lose for draft position. I could see if we are talking about a top 4 pick. But they won't have a bad enough record to draft that high. They are likely to be in 8-15 range. To me, there isn't much disparity in type of player from bottom of that range to top of that range, so it's not worth losing. What says you?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:02
Depends on the year, honestly. Some drafts are better than others at the top.
Texan Steeler
2:02
Hi Ray, S Edmunds has improved and should be offered a contract. What would be a contract for him that is fair to both parties?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:02
Two years, $6 million? A small raise over what he earned this year.
Guest
2:03
Ray, Hard to imagine Steelers will see a weaker opponent this year than the one they saw last night. Talent holes, horrible play calling and unbelievable clock  management. Sounds familiar doesn't it?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:04
Well, the Colts have issues, but they beat the raiders two weeks ago and almost beat the Eagles last week. Plus, I think you might be overestimating the Falcons, Panthers, Raiders and Browns.
VaSteelersFan
2:04
Hi Ray, thanks for your time. Did you consider it noteworthy that there was virtually no drop-off in play when our first-round RB went down and yielded time to two guys who haven't carried all year? I guess I'm feeling like Najee's presence has very little consequence in general.
Ray Fittipaldo
2:04
It's the old argument about running backs. You can get them in almost any round and find a starter.
Adam
2:04
I was a skeptic about Pickett early in the season, but after watching him in recent weeks I’m starting to think he has some real potential. How have you seen him progress this year?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:05
The drive in the second half last night was impressive. They fell behind. It was pretty much do or die, and he made some plays. He made it happen. He hit the third-and-9 to Pickens and then made some other nice throws on that drive, too. So I just think rising up in those moments is important. What happened last night was an important step in his development.
MD
2:06
Ray:  Khan's first big move was giving Diontae Johnson a 2 year $37m extension.  If they would have just let Diontae play out this season on his old deal at I think around $2m total, what kind of 2 year deal do you think it would have taken to re-sign him this coming offseason?  Would he even command 1/3 of what they ended up paying him?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:07
Yeah but in the summer they didn't know what they had in Pickens. And they obviously had some reservations about Claypool because they were willing to trade him. Johnson hasn't played up to $18 million a year so far, but maybe once he gets on the same page with Pickett he can start earning that money.
Jim Bow Dean
2:07
If they have a high grade on an RT in the next draft do they take him and move Chuks to LT?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:08
If they thought Chuks could play left tackle he'd already be there. Have you seen Dan Moore play?
Coach Tomlin
2:08
Do you have any suggestions on how we might teach DJ which way to run when he catches the ball?  Canada and I are out of ideas.
Ray Fittipaldo
2:08
Yeah run straight ahead. This isn't the MAC. You're not going to make 11 people miss.
MD
2:10
Ray:  do other teams have their star defensive players out of the game in so many seemingly critical situations?  I can't count how many times I thought "this is a big play" and saw Wormley and Adams on the DL and no TJW or Heyward.  Does Aaron Donald take so many plays off?  Parsons?  Vonn Miller when healthy?  Maybe I just don't notice other teams doing it.
Ray Fittipaldo
2:10
Watt played 86% of the snaps. I don't know how many Donald or any of the other great defensive players play, but that's about Watt's average per game.
Adam
2:11
What will the cap situation look like next year? Will they finally address the OL and CB position?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:11
They'll have space to make some moves.
Ed in Carrick
2:11
Are the Steelers going to be able to afford a new contract for Highsmith next year or will they just let him play out 2023 and hope for the best?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:12
Good question. Bud Dupree got paid. I imagine there will be a market for Highsmith. Many not a Dupree-like market, but a nice market. Seeing they have almost no depth at the position it would not be a bad idea to get something done before he hits free agency.
Adam
2:12
What changed with the OL to give them an actual running game?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:13
They made some adjustments during the bye week. And I just naturally they've improved as the season has gone on.
MD
2:13
Pierre had an interception and got beat for a TD, but was he an upgrade in taking snaps away from Maulet?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:13
I thought so. At the very least the Colts weren't 100% sure Maulet would be in the slot. They had Sutton in there sometimes.
Ed in Carrick
2:14
The coverage units have up a couple long returns yesterday. Any reason for this or do some tweaks need to be made?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:14
Tweaks? How about blowing it up. Cordarrelle Patterson plays for the Falcons, and he'll take them to the house if the Steelers play the way they did on Monday night.
Daniel11
2:15
Watt has not been dominant the last two games. Last night, he seemed little slow. Is he fully recovered?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:15
He's coming back from two injuries. I would imagine he's not 100%. But you're right. He doesn't look like the TJ Watt we're used to seeing.
Jay
2:16
Hello Ray.  Do you think the philosophy going forward is building a great defense supplemented by a sufficient offense?  Or build around Kenny and supplement him with a decent defense?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:16
It will change year to year as guys come up for contracts. But as long as Pickett is on his rookie deal they're going to be paying their defenders more.
Guest
2:17
Ray, Very good night for KP and a good win for the Steelers but man they have sooooo many needs I hate to see them lose serious draft leverage by beating some one as bad as Indy. What say you?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:18
Pickett has to learn how to win, too. That was a great experience for him and the team last night. If it cost the Steelers four spots in the draft, so what? It's all about the QB and his development. You have to trust Khan and Weidl  no matter where they are drafting.
TV
2:18
During the Bengals game and again against the Colts, the Steelers countered good first half play with a lackluster start to the second half.  They came around in the fourth quarter against the Colts to pull out the win, but they seem to start the second half with a predictable run, run, pass combination of 3-and-outs - is this a play-calling problem (on Canada), an execution problem (on the players) or something else?  The steelers just can't seem to keep their gas on the petal for all 4 quarters, either on offense or defense.
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