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Ray Fittipaldo's Steelers chat: 12.03.24
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Ray Fittipaldo
1:47
Good afternoon. I see there are lots of questions in the queue. Let's get the chat started a little early.
Tom
1:47
Would Fields have put up 44 points on the Bengals?
Ray Fittipaldo
1:49
No. That's the reasons Mike Tomlin made the switch. The offense with Fields at QB was limited in the passing game. Now it's unliiiiiiiiiiimited!
Tampa Too
1:49
Ray. Do you know who played more this past weekend Bishop or Sutton?
Ray Fittipaldo
1:50
Sutton played the majority of the snaps in the slot. Bishop only got six snaps. Tomlin said today it was a matchup specific thing with the Bengals. He liked SUtton's veteran savvy against a guy like Joe Burrow. Bishop will still have a role, but we all knew eventually Sutton would get more snaps.
obxandy
1:51
How do Steelers slow down Winston and Jeudy? Thanks Ray.
Ray Fittipaldo
1:51
A pass rush would help immensely. It was almost nonexistent in Cleveland 12 days ago. Get more pressure on Winston and he'll make mistakes like he did on Monday night against the Broncos.
Double Dawg Dare You
1:52
Ray, thank you for the great work and your time for this chat. I’m starting to believe this team may have enough depth and talent to make it to the playoffs and potentially challenge BUF/KC. My concern is Pickens will be “George” and cost them the AFCC game. Too optimistic? Any chance he grows up in a hurry?
Ray Fittipaldo
1:54
I don't think you're too optimistic about the Steelers winning a few games in the playoffs. They are one of the best teams in the AFC and have proven that through the first 12 games of the season. You probably are too optimistic about Pickens changing. After his early-season troubles he behaved for a month so so, but now he's back to his old tricks. I guess you have to hope he doesn't implode in a playoff game. That's why you need good leadership. Maybe Russell Wilson can get through to him.
Jeff M
1:55
Do you think another team would be willing to give a 1st or 2nd round pick for Pickens in the offseason? Do you think they should more him if they get that type of offer?
Ray Fittipaldo
1:56
I guess it depends on how the rest of the season unfolds. It's not like the Steelers have receiving depth to trade away a player like Pickens. My guess is they live with him for another season and they keep their fingers crossed, but check back with me in January.
Double Dawg Dare You
1:56
Are we starting to see the result of Wilson getting comfortable with this new offensive system or was last week more a result of a bad Bengals D
Ray Fittipaldo
1:57
I think both. The Bengals defense is terrible, but let's give the Steelers credit for exposing them. Wilson has been really good for the most part since taking over as the starter. Maybe a game here and there where he is inefficient in the red zone, but overall he's been excellent.
Gene
1:57
How would you evaluate Mason McCormick performance so far?
Ray Fittipaldo
1:58
To borrow a Tomlinism, the arrow is pointed up.
Stairway to seventh seed
1:58
Ray: including the 3rd and 21 conversion and the last two Cincy drives, the soft zone/prevent defense was a disaster Sunday to go along with the other recent 4th quarter melt downs.  All they had to do on that last drive was keep Cincy from scoring before the 2:00 warning and they failed by 38 seconds!  This drive included a play where both Chase and Higgins were wide open 30 yards downfield.  Do they need to coach up these guys and say that a prevent is more than just dropping deep and standing there?  Cover someone!
Ray Fittipaldo
2:00
Yes that was inexcusable. Play like that can lose you a game some weeks. In the locker room after the game some players brought up communication issues. We're 12 games into the season. Communication issues should no longer exist.
Double Dawg Dare You
2:00
Which team is the real 2024 Steelers? The one that did very little against a bad Browns team or the one that plays together as a team to beat better teams like BAL and WAS and does not play down to the level of the bad teams like CIN?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:01
Well, they're 9-3. No team is going undefeated. It's a shame they couldn't complete the comeback against the Browns because they'd be squarely in contention for the top seed in the conference if they had.
60 Prevent Slot Hook And Go
2:02
Hey Ray, thanks for the chat. Do you know what exactly the rule is for simulating firing a gun? Is there a gray area that Pickens doesn’t understand? It’s pretty hard to comprehend why he would perform that act at this point. Thanks!
Ray Fittipaldo
2:05
How about a team rule where if you make a catch you run back to the huddle and try to make another play. The Steelers should show Pickens some film from the 1970s Steelers and Franco Harris handing the ball to the official after he scored. If John Stallworth and Lynn Swann scored they might spike the ball or do a high-five in the end zone. That was it. Move on to the next play or next series.
2:06
The Bengals are 4-8 so they most definitely are not a championship-caliber team. As for the Browns game being must-win, it's not. In order to win the AFC North, all the Steelers have to do is win twice more as long as one of them is against the Ravens in Baltimore in a couple of weeks. If they win the North they get a home playoff game.
TVC15
2:07
Hi Ray, 2 questions:
1) Did the Steelers crush a championship caliber team on Sunday or get a lucky 6 point win against a bottom feeder?
2) It seems that a home loss to the Browns will extinguish any hopes of a playoff win. Is this a must win game?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:07
Questions to above answer
Donna
2:07
Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving Ray.  Did Coach Tomlin give any more information about Calvin Austin’s head injury and if/when he will be able to play?   Thank you.
Ray Fittipaldo
2:08
Austin is in the protocol and has to pass through several steps this week to be available for Sunday. Tomlin would only be speculating if he tried to predict a return.
Russ is Cookin
2:08
Hi Ray - this is the best I've felt about the Steelers chances of making a playoff run since the Toussaint fumble in Denver in 2015. What say you?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:09
They made a run to the AFC title game the next year in 2016. But I get your point. This is the best Steelers team since the 2017 team that went 13-3 and lost to the Jaguars in the division round.
Frank
2:09
Highsmith coming back and Herbig causing havoc, so 3 OLB’s on the field at same time sound good?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:10
Well, I wrote about just that earlier today. Take a look: https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2024/12/03/alex-highsmith...
Tom
2:10
Ray can see Moore or Daniels returning next season ?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:11
Definitely not Daniels and I doubt Moore either, but we'll see.
wiscoken
2:11
Hi Ray, a lot to be encouraged about with regards to the offense, both the scoring output and Russ's play, but also an OL that is starting to play quite a bit better... is this line finally gel'ing (or should I pump the brakes)?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:13
I think not being predictable helped the line against the Bengals. When you're predictable and teams know you're going to run on certain downs and distances it makes it hard on the line. You saw Arthur Smith change it up against the Bengals by throwing more on first down. It helped the run game as a result. They averaged more yards per carry.
brian
2:13
Hey ray, it sure looked like the offensive lineman for Cin., Brown, was getting a head start on every snap to beat the rush but wasn't called.  Did you see this as well?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:14
I did, but officials give tackles the benefit of the doubt if it's not egregious. Remember, this is an offensive league. They want points.
Retire21
2:14
Is this the Patterson the Steelers  thought they were getting?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:15
I thought Patterson was good before his ankle injury. For the first few games after his injury he looed slow, but it looked like he was quicker again against the Bengals.
The Gurker
2:16
Ray, can Pastor Winston throw all over this Steeler defense on Sunday? Did urgent prayer eliminate his issues with the pick 6? Do the Steelers unleash a special Hell after the embarrassing Thursday night loss? If your Magic 8 Ball is still operational, is this a must-win game to dispell the "playing down" curse?
Ray Fittipaldo
2:16
I would pay for a Jameis Winston-Payton Wilson dual postgame interview. It would be epic.
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