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Ray Fittipaldo's Steelers chat: 12.09.25
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Ray Fittipaldo
11:10
Soon. Tomlin is coming in for his weekly presser in less than an hour.
John from Toronto
11:10
Hi Ray. The Steelers are in the driver's seat for the division again. Is 3 and 1 an expectable record down the stretch? I can see them winning out at home against the Dolphins and Ravens, and splitting on the road with a loss in Detroit and a win in Cleveland. Sound right?
Ray Fittipaldo
11:11
That's above my expectations. But even if they go 2-2 and one of those wins is against the Ravens they're in. They could win their next three games and that Ravens game in Week 18 would be meaningless.
Broadway Bo
11:11
Are MVS and Thielen better receivers than Austin and Wilson?  MVS and Thielen combined for 4 yards receiving on Sunday.  Wilson has showed an ability to get open this year.
Ray Fittipaldo
11:12
I think it's more about being on the details and not blowing any assignments.
John
11:12
If the season ended today, the Steelers would enter the playoffs with a record of 1 - 5 against other playoff teams.  A win against NE and losses vs GB, CHI, BUF, SEA and LA.  They struggled in all 5 losses to score points.  Do you agree that their only hope in a playoff game is to go off script and let Rogers take command like he did against the Ravens?  IMO The usual ground and pound plan isn’t likely to win them a playoff.game
Ray Fittipaldo
11:15
I wouldn't say they struggled to score against the Bears. They put up plenty of points to win that game. The defense and some bad coaching decisions cost them that game. Your comment about Rodgers taking over the offense comes a few days after Smith called a really good game against the Ravens. The Steelers scored 27 points and had a season-high 284 passing yards. Yes, they were bad in the fourth quarter, but I didn't walk out of the press box at M&T Bank Stadium thinking Rodgers had to take over the play-calling duties. I actually think Smith did a really good job in that game.
David D
11:16
Hey Ray, I know Queen hasn't been immune to a few swings & misses over the years but his miss tackles this year seem to be at new heights. What's going on with him?
Ray Fittipaldo
11:17
Well, right now he's playing through an injury. That might explain some issues against the Ravens. However, it doesn't explain why his missed tackle rate is up over the course of the entire season. He's been good in some games and not so good in others. They need him to be a little more consistent, but he always plays hard. You can't fault him for that.
TVC15
11:18
Hi Ray, The Steelers have 4 games left.  Right now they would host the Bills in the 1st round.
Will they:
1) Miss the playoffs?
2) Lose in the 1st round .... very possibly by a blowout?
3) Win 1 (or more) playoff games?
4) In the case of 1 or 2 happening will Tomlin rival Goodell in getting booed at the draft?
Ray Fittipaldo
11:20
They'd actually play the Chargers if the season ended today. They took over as the No. 5 seed after beating the Eagles last night. I'd say 2 or 3. I know a wide range of results there, but blowing a playoff berth now after getting in this position would be a bad look for Tomlin and the team.
John from Toronto
11:20
Hi Ray. One other point on the Steelers being in the driver's seat for the division title. With games against the Patriots and Packers, who are playing for playoff seeds, and a road game in Cincy where the Bengals are mathematically still alive, it is conceivable that the Ravens could go on a losing streak before the season finale in Pittsburgh.
Ray Fittipaldo
11:21
That's right. As I mentioned earlier that Week 18 could end up being meaningless.
SoCalSteelerFan
11:21
Hi Ray - give it to me straight, think we are hosting a playoff game this year? Hope you’re having a nice holiday season!
Ray Fittipaldo
11:22
I think they will after beating the Ravens, who have a very difficult finishing stretch against the Bengals and then the Packers and Patriots, both of whom after battling for the top seeds in their respective conferences.
Ty Hink
11:22
Ray, for a rookie it's incredible the difference Harmon makes in the run game. Think they should invest high in another stud DL in the draft? They have a lot of needs but feels like it's necessary
Ray Fittipaldo
11:23
I agree with you. If it's a good year for DL it has to be a priority. Cam Heyward isn't getting any younger either. Have to go young there and build for the future.
Ryan
11:23
Ray what do you think about the play of DK Metcalf and James Pierre and Alex highsmith i think they all had a good Game On Sunday GO Steelers
Ray Fittipaldo
11:24
They all played very well. I forgot to mention this in my report card, but Pierre running down the RB with that hustle play was good stuff from Pierre. The INT got all the headlines, but the RB was injured on that play too.
KJ
11:24
Why is this Steelers defense struggling so mightily against stopping the run week-in-and-week out? Is there anything Mike Tomlin can scheme to fix this before it really is too late?
Ray Fittipaldo
11:25
Doesn't seem like he has any answers. It's been an issue from the beginning of the season. Yes they rose up in a few games, notably against the Colts, but it's been a major thorn in their side in many other games.
Paducah
11:26
If both the Steelers and Ravens go 2 and 1 over the next 3 games, will the rematch be for the division or meaningless?
Ray Fittipaldo
11:27
In that event, I think it would mean something because the Ravens could hold a tiebreaker over the Steelers if they split with them.
11:28
OK that's all the time I have this week. We'll do another chat next Tuesday.
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