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Ray Fittipaldo's Steelers chat: 6.25.18
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Ray Fittipaldo
12:50
OK let's get the chat started. Fire away with any Steelers questions.
Robert
12:54
Who will start at wide receiver besides AB and JUJU?
Ray Fittipaldo
12:55
The No. 3 WR is expected to be rookie second-round pick James Washington. I think you'll see Smith-Schuster move into the slot when they go to three three WRs with Washington and Antonio Brown on the outside.
mrbig
12:55
Is Brown the greatest Steeler WR  ever?
Ray Fittipaldo
12:58
I would say yes. He needs just 90 yards to reach 10,000 for his career. He's on pace to be one of the most prolific receivers to ever play the game. If he plays until he is 36 or 37 he could threaten Jerry Rice's receiving yards record as well as the receptions record. The only thing he doesn't do as well as the all-time greats is score TDs at a prolific rate. He has a chance to go down as the second-greatest receiver in the history of the game behind only Rice.
jake
12:58
with our ILB group, Vince Williams is in the top 5 of players we cant afford to lose to an injury, agree?
Ray Fittipaldo
1:02
Roethlisberger, Brown and Bell are the no-brainers. After that you can make an argument for the next two. Honestly, I don't view Williams the way you do. He's pretty much a two-down linebacker, and I don't know that there is a big difference between Williams and Jon Bostic or Tyler Matakevich. Obviously, he's your most experienced inside linebacker and he's been effective as a blitzer and run-stopper, but it's not like the defense would be in tatters without him. And with the way the NFL and the Steelers are trending with the use of safeties as hybrid linebackers I think it's safe to say there are plenty of others on this roster who are more important to the Steelers. Not a slight agianst Williams; just the reality of his skill set and the way defense is played in today's NFL.
mrbig
1:02
I'm concerned with what looks like a plan to use a lot of safeties in place of Shazier's speed. Sometimes Tomlin gets too cute & it backfires (Sanders injury during the SB, Boswell's awful onsides kick)... am I off?
Ray Fittipaldo
1:04
You'll have to refresh my memory on Sanders and the Super Bowl... As for the safeties being used as hybrid linebackers, it's a league-wide trend. The Steelers have done it in the past too. Troy Polamalu, at the end of his career, basically was used in that role. That's the role that Morgan Burnett had with the Packers the past few years. Now the Steelers haven't done it a lot in recent years. Will Gay was the sixth DB and he wasn't used as that big run-stopper. So it will be interesting to see how the personnel is deployed. But in no way would I define this new strategy as Tomin being "too cute." It's the reality of the NFL in 2018.
MTSteel
1:05
I don't have much in the way of opportunity to watch college ball so the answer to this question may seem obvious to others.   What side did Watt play on at Wisconsin?
Ray Fittipaldo
1:05
Joey Porter said a few weeks ago that Watt played on the left side at Wisconsin.
mrbig
1:05
Have the Steelers done enough in order to beat NE and/or Jax? I don't think they have-
Ray Fittipaldo
1:07
That answer won't come until they play during the regular season and the playoffs. They made a few moves they think will make them better. They think they'll be more athletic int he secondary with Morgan Burnett and Terrell Edmunds replacing Mike Mitchell and Will Gay. The big question is inside linebacker. I think the defensive line will be OK if there are no major injuries. It's definitely wait-and-see for me, but I tend to lean toward your line of thinking right now. They need to prove they are better when the games count for real.
PGH62
1:07
Should be expect a slow start from Bell since once again he appears to be staying out of all pre-camp and possibly camp activities?
Ray Fittipaldo
1:10
I wrote about this a week or so ago. Bell will come to the Steelers in great physical shape. But he won't be in football shape, and he won't be a rhythm with the rest of the offense. That's not necessarily Bell's fault. It's just the circumstance they'll be in. It's up to the Steelers to make the necessary adjustments so the offense isn't adversely affected. There is no doubt the offense suffered early last season as Bell found his stride. They barely beat the Browns in the opener and they lost at Chicago in Week 3. They need to find ways to make Bell more comfortable early on or simply give more carries to other backs. Either way, they have to approach it in a different manner than last year. That was not a good situation.
jake
1:10
is this the worst set of linebackers we've ever put on the field? I mean Watt is a potential pro bowler but besides him its ugly
Ray Fittipaldo
1:14
It's certainly not a team strength. I agree with you. I think Watt is already good and has a chance to be really good. This is a big year for Bud Dupree. He has to take the next step in his development. The inside linebackers are the biggest concern for me. Williams is solid as a run-stopper and got a lot of sacks last year, but he's not a great pass defender. Tyler Matakevich, who was with the first-team defense this spring, has never started an NFL game. Jon Bostic was signed in March and could end up being a starter, but he's been injury-prone throughout his career. If the Steelers thought he was going to be a difference maker for the defense they would have put him with the first-team defense this spring. They didn't do that so I have doubts about his potential role this season.
Behind Enemy Lines in Baltimore
1:15
Which defense shows up in the New Season ... the early season version (from last year) ... or the arsonist imposters who played at the end? (Hope it's the former ... I hate taking malarkey off the Ravens Fans down here).
Ray Fittipaldo
1:17
You know, a lot has been said about this defense early in the season. It was good, but there were some big problems that weren't totally exposed because the offense and special teams helped them win some games. The run defense wasn't good all season. Opposing teams finally started to figure out they were vulnerable to big passing plays in the second half of the season, and they never really fixed that. So to answer your question, I would hope they are better than both of your examples because I don't think either iteration was good enough.
Lazarus Link, aka, The Bishop
1:17
Ray, Roethlisberger never seems to get much love from the national media. As both a QB and a player in general, I always think he should be rated much higher. Is that the "homer" in me or do you see that too?
Ray Fittipaldo
1:18
Not sure what you are watching or reading, but I don't know if there is a single NFL commentator that would not say Roethlisberger is a top five QB in the NFL.
Rick
1:19
Ray,  If the D underperfoms again is Butler on the hot seat?  I think he is lacking in game calling.  Slow to adjust.
Ray Fittipaldo
1:19
He might be out of a seat if the Steelers give up 45 points in another playoff game.
Lazarus Link, aka, The Bishop
1:19
Ray, on that question about players Pittsburgh can't afford to lose, I'd go 1. Ben, 2. Villanueva/Gilbert, 3. Brown, 4. Heyward, 5. Watt. Your thoughts?
Ray Fittipaldo
1:21
I guess you're putting Villanueva and Gilbert that high because of the lack of depth behind them. On that front, I guess you are right. However, Munchak has been so good at getting guys ready to play that the Steelers haven't missed offensive linemen much when they've been injured in recent years. Gilbert missed 10 games last year and the Steelers went 13-3. They missed Pouncey for all of 2015 and almost made it to the AFC title game. So I'd maybe put Heyward above them. Agree with your list overall though. Bottom line: I don't think Williams makes the top 10 in that list.
New Mexico
1:22
Do contracts for the defensive players have clauses which incentive players to make tackles?   Couldn’t this be detrimental to gap responsibility and scheme?
Ray Fittipaldo
1:22
Traditionally, the Steelers don't do many incentives in their contracts. I'm sure it happens on occasion, but it's not something they do a lot.
ALB
1:22
Excluding those from Penn St and Pitt, who do you think is the best NFL player to come out of a local college?
Ray Fittipaldo
1:24
There have been plenty of good payers from WVU in the NFL if you consider WVU local. If you're talking Duquesne or Robert Morris then you'd have to go with Tim Hall, the running back from RMU or Leigh Bodden, the cornerback from the Dukes. Each played a few years in the league and were decent in their roles.
Snake eyes
1:24
Monday night,'08,Ben runs a qb sneak on the goal line,gets hurt,B.L. has to finish the game at qb. Does that have anything to do with the lack of qb sneaks in obvious situations with Ben?
Ray Fittipaldo
1:27
I don't know, but there has to be a reason such as that one to explain their (his?) unwillingness to have it in the playbook. Roethlisberger says he's willing to run the QB sneak. Maybe it is an organizational philosophy. If so, I don't think it's very smart. I mean, how often do you see QBs get hurt on sneaks? You reference one example, but honestly, I  can't say it happens a lot.
Nick
1:27
The Steelers not adding a QB coach is kinda funny to me. It kinda shows the new Ocord/old qb coach is affraid of being undermineded like he did Haley.
Ray Fittipaldo
1:28
I don't read into it the way you do. I just think Randy was the Qbs coach so he doesn't feel the need to have one now. I'd make the argument they need one, but not for Roethlisberger. I think they could use one to work with Mason Rudolph.
Then again, the QB coach would be new to the offense and the organization so how much could he really teach Rudolph.
mrbig
1:29
The "secret plan" was to utilize Sanders a ton in SB 45, then he got injured... yes?
Ray Fittipaldo
1:29
OK, I don't recall that.
mrbig
1:30
WHEN Bell starts the season slow, that should be the final nail in the coffin as far as signing long term (if we're not already there).... no?
Ray Fittipaldo
1:32
The final nail in the coffin should come July 16. If they don't sign him by then it's over. I can't see them signing him when he's about to become a free agent.
Dudley Dawson
1:32
Depth at ILB is frightening right now.  Odds they bring in some type of FA insurance?
Ray Fittipaldo
1:32
Perhaps after final cutdowns.
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