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Ray Fittipaldo's Steelers chat: 12.18.17
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Sam
12:29
I figure you'll get enough "was it a catch" questions that I'll get my answer there.  But we can't let Haley, Tomlin, and/or Ben off the hook for not having 2 ACTUAL plays called in the huddle right?  The James review was after first down, giving everybody involved ample time to say "OK if we have to go back out there, here's the play for 2nd down, and if that's not a TD or clock-stopping play, here's what we're hurrying up to for 3rd down.  There was plenty of time to run 2 plays before a 4th down FG, and plenty of time to get organized, yet THAT'S what they came up with.  To me that's inexcusable.
Ray Fittipaldo
12:30
I agree 100 percent. The only explanation I have is that no one actually thought it would be overturned so they didn't think to do that. But at some point, when the referee is under that hood with NYC for five minutes, you have to have that conversation and prepare for the worst-case scenario.
Sam
12:30
In your opinion, beyond just going into Foxboro for a potetial rematch, how big a deal is it that now you're going to have to play Jacksonville in the Division Round rather than like KC or Tennessee or Buffalo, or Baltimore?  Seems like the rematch isn't even a forgone conclusion.
Ray Fittipaldo
12:32
Agreed. The Jaguars beat the Steelers, 30-9, in October. That won;t be an easy game. I'd argue the Ravens wouldn;t be an easy game either. Or the Chiefs. That game came down to the last minute. The only easy game might be one against the Bills or Titans if either sneaks into the playoffs. Other than that, it's not going to be an easy divisional round game especially if Brown is hobbled.
mtsteel
12:32
Hi Ray, did the Steelers really run there 3rd string running back on 2 and 23 on a drive they need to get a first down to put the game away? I'm not a fire Haley guy, but what is he really thinking not passing the ball here, giving the Pats another great shot??
Ray Fittipaldo
12:33
I thin they were thinking catch them off guard and get 7-10 yards to set up a manageable third down. I don't think they expected him to get tackled for a short gain.
OKC Dave
12:33
Since he wasn't making a dent in the pass protection, wouldn't have dropping Watt back into the coverage in the seam have helped with covering Gronk? Watt's first INT was on exactly those same seam plays.
Ray Fittipaldo
12:34
Watt was getting close to Brady. He just didn't finish. And as I explained earlier he's not someone who plays much in man coverage. He plays well in zone defenses, and the Steelers went away from that against the Patriots.
GeeWhiz
12:34
Hi Ray. Is it just me, or does it seem that calls almost ALWAYS go the Patriots way? I know they are a good team, but as soon as I heard the Jesse James catch was in review, I knew, because it was the Patriots, it was going to get over-turned... and that was before I even looked at it a second time in slow motion myself. Thanks for the great chats!
Ray Fittipaldo
12:35
Look no further than the Brandin Cooks TD ruling vs. Houston and the Austin-Sefarian Jenkins ruling in the Jets game. Both calls favored the Patriots. So that's three game-turning calls, all that were reviewed by Riveron. I don't want to get into conspiracy theories, but that seems mighty odd to me.
CM
12:35
Hi Ray. Well another Tomliloss to the Patriots. Do you think it's time to move on from him and go after someone like Adam Gase, who has had success beating the Patriots?
Ray Fittipaldo
12:36
Right, because Gase has been such a good head coach.
OKC Dave
12:36
In Oklahoma City here, but is it gloom and doom in Pittsburgh today? We're still 11-3, #2 seed and can still win out against awful opponents. Showed we can still score without Brown if we need to for a few weeks. It's not ideal with Brown and Connor out, but it's winnable.
Ray Fittipaldo
12:37
I'd be shocked if the Steelers lost to either the Texans or the Browns. I think the concern is another star player getting hurt in one of those games. That's why it would have been nice for them to end things early with a win over the Pats.
Sam
12:37
Why do you think player's aren't taught not to lunge the ball near the goal line....it seems like it backfires almost as much as it succeeds.  Just look at Derek Carr last night.  If James just catches the ball, he's either in the endzone anyway before being down by contact or the ball is at the half yard line where they can either finally run the forbidden QB sneak or spike it to set up a 3rd down try and then a FG.
Ray Fittipaldo
12:39
I don't think coaches are into teaching players things that go against their gut football instincts. In other words, James made a natural play and tried to score a TD. I don't think you want to tell him not to do that because in another situation it could backfire. It's just a dumb rule. If I'm a coach I'd have a hard time telling my players to not try and make a play.
T. Lazarus Link, aka, The Bishop
12:39
I think this game was lost @ the 4 minute mark, when the Steelers couldn't eat clock and ice the game. But so many "what ifs:" What if James gets tagged down at the 1? What if Brown is in the game for that final drive? What if the Steelers could generate more pass rush? Ray, what did you see as the turning point?
Ray Fittipaldo
12:40
The turning point was Alberto Riveron making the ruling from NYC. Let's not lose sight of that. Sure, there were other plays that factored into the loss, but that was the play. I'm still not sure if he made the right call even though the so-called experts say he did.
Chris
12:42
Why are people saying that the rule requires you to survive the ground? It does not. The rule requires that the receiver maintain possession after his "initial contact with the ground," which was his knee. He maintained possession and then did a football move (tuck and turn up field). Nowhere does the rule state "survive the ground."
Ray Fittipaldo
12:45
Right. It's not in the rulebook. I do think it's something the officials talk about among themselves. That's where the problem comes in.  The rulebook does state that he has to possess the ball to the ground. So there are people in the NFL who say he made the right call by the letter of the law, and there are others who believe he should have let the officials on the field decide the game. Alberto Riveron decided that he wanted to make the decision on his own and that's what he did. Just as he did in the Patriots-Jets game and just as he did in the Patriots-Texans game earlier in the season.
Guest
12:45
isn't there a decent chance Pats lose to Buffalo and Steelers get home field?
Ray Fittipaldo
12:46
The Pats play Buffalo at home. I give the Pats a 99 percent chance of winning that game as I do the finale against the Jets, also at home.
Glenn
12:46
On one of the last drives, Bell was nowhere to be found. Connor then Toussaint were in. Was Bell getting a breather or was he getting medical attention. I found it odd he was out at that point in the game.
Ray Fittipaldo
12:46
I found it odd, too. And I didn't see Bell in the locker room to ask him.
Florida Steeler
12:47
Hey Ray, wondering from what you saw last night (given that rule that made Jesse James TD catch not a catch) do you think this team will be able to beat the Pats in the AFC championship game if we play them? Watching the game I thought the Steelers were the better team and ended up beating themselves instead of actually getting beaten by the Pats
Ray Fittipaldo
12:47
The Steelers will have a chance at Foxboro, just not as good a chance if the game was at Heinz Field.
T. Lazarus Link, aka, The Bishop
12:47
Ray, a lot of people are declaring the race for the #1 seed to be over, but NE still has to face a hungry Buffalo team and a surprisingly good Jets team. Can you see them losing either game?
Ray Fittipaldo
12:47
No. Both are at home.
Tony C
12:48
I can buy Ben saying Haley said run a play but when nobody was lined up what was Ben thinking or is he just dumb doing what he was told..I mean he's not a rookie
Ray Fittipaldo
12:49
I'm sure he went over that in his head a thousand times last night. But again, we're criticizing him when he's making those decisions in a split second. It's hard. I think the biggest problem is someone in the press box not seeing the James replay and notifying the coaches on the sideline that it might be overturned. If that happened then maybe they could have gotten together sooner and devised a better game plan for those final seconds.
jim
12:49
I know it's tough to call a penalty on the last play of a game, but wasn't Rogers tackled? Should that be reviewable in your opinion? I know it would slow down the game, but should the goal be to get it right?
Ray Fittipaldo
12:50
I thought there was interference there, but they're never going to make that a reviewable play. You just have to count on the officials to make the judgment calls.
angry fan
12:50
Will somebody stop the cheatriots from another super bowl?
Ray Fittipaldo
12:51
Is that guy from the 2008 Chiefs still playing?
MarkM
12:51
I was very disappointed in big Al last night. We went from a first down run of about 8 yards back to 1st and 20 because of his obvious hold. Then he cost us another 5 yards on the next play. We could have a time consuming drive there. What did you think of his performance last night?
Ray Fittipaldo
12:52
Not a good sequence for Villanueva. It was an obvious hold. They official called. Heyward was tackled in the backfield a few minutes later on the Patriots' go-ahead drive. It wasn't called. All people want is consistency. The Patriots had two penalties for 4 yards the entire game. The Steelers had six for 63. That's too much of a difference.
I Have A Coupon
12:52
Ray just for fun will you put "Corrente Steelers" in a search engine and report back to us on the fun video history you find?
Ray Fittipaldo
12:53
Oh good. Some fun after the chat ends.
JC
12:53
Did the offense go too conservative in the 4th quarter?  I get that AB was out, but Ben was on fire, and they had multiple chances to put the game away before Brady's two minute drill.
Ray Fittipaldo
12:53
I wasn't a big fan of the third down call to JuJu SMith-Schuster.
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