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Brian Batko's Steelers chat: 08.22.22
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Brian Batko
10:00
Good morning, P-G readers. Thanks for stopping by. I assume you're all eager to talk about Saturday night's exhibition, so let's get to it.
Art from NC
10:00
Hi Brian- If all on the money the Steelers spent on the O-Line in the offseason was for improvement, I believe they would have been better to invest it with Bernie Madoff.......No run game whatsoever, QB's running for their lives on almost every down, and Moore doing his best matador imitation (Ole') on the blind side. Is this going to get better or be the norm for the next 17 games?
Brian Batko
10:02
I don't think it can get much worse than what we saw in Jacksonville, but subpar OL play may well be the norm. Really, the only steps they took to improve the group were signing Mason Cole and James Daniels. Pat Meyer is the new OL coach, too, but not sure how much that expertise matters if he doesn't have the personnel in place. And I'm not sure they do.
jake from state farm
10:03
Do you see any similarities to last years Bengals team? Young offense with a lot of talent in skill positions and a bad offensive line that give up a lot of pressure.  Could be a long year if the line has a repeat performance of 2021.
Brian Batko
10:04
One big similarity: Both teams had Larry Ogunjobi. But in all seriousness, yes, there are some parallels. Joe Burrow is on another level, but no shortage of experts have likened Kenny Pickett's skill set to Burrow's. The biggest comparison to me is probably if Diontae Johnson-Chase Claypool-George Pickens can be the Steelers' version of Tyler Boyd-Tee Higgins-Ja'Marr Chase.
epiballo
10:05
Out of town and missed the game. It seemed every article written afterwards sounded the alarm at how horrendous the O-Line played. Do yo see any hope they jell with more games and become effective and not a liability?
Brian Batko
10:07
Thank you for properly using jell instead of gel. You get a gold star in today's chat. And sure, there's hope. It's a young unit with a couple guys who haven't played together much with the rest of them. The whole could turn out to be greater than the sum of its parts, but once again, we're seeing that the Steelers took a leap of faith with those parts. Strictly talking draft pedigree, it's a second-round pick, two third-rounders and a fourth who seem to be set in stone. The fifth starter will be a third or fourth-rounder. Lack of investment is apparent.
DC
10:08
I’’ worried about about both the D-line depth and O-line play. More cuts are coming and I suspect we pick up a few scraps from other teams. Would you consider that good enough to run the ball effectively and protect our qb’s this season? Or does a major move (trade) have to happen??
Brian Batko
10:10
I'm not worried about the D-line. Might be the deepest position they have, at least on D. As for a major move, trade or signing, I'd be surprised. Solid O-linemen don't grow on trees, especially tackles, so you won't find a bunch of teams eager to move depth pieces. And if a free agent is still available this deep into August, there's probably a reason why.
J$Money
10:11
If the Steelers are comfortable with starting Kenny Pickett week 1, and given how well Trubisky and Rudolph have both played, would the Steelers be better off trading whichever player  gets them the greatest return? Everyone seems to assume Rudolph will be traded but if Trubisky actually gets them a better return, why wouldn’t they consider trading him?
Brian Batko
10:13
Kenny Pickett has looked good, but I still don't know that they're comfortable starting him Week 1. Especially with the OL being such a question mark against a stout Bengals D. It would be a stunner if they traded Mitch Trubisky five months after signing him. Also, the more I look around the league, the QB play has actually been pretty good in these preseason games. It's hard to pinpoint too many teams that would be in the market for a backup.
Uncle Shady
10:14
Trade Rudolph or keep him as a 3rd string QB?
Brian Batko
10:16
Trade him if you can get a 6th or better. And only keep two QBs on the 53. Yes, I know there's something to be said for having depth at the position, but at what cost? If you can improve your team elsewhere, in the present or the future, you have to balance the peace of mind with the risk/reward.
TSH
10:17
Good morning and thank you for this chat today!  Do you think Matt Canada's rolling pocket will be successful?  Quoting the late John Madden, A bootleg or roll out will always work in the preseason but not in the regular season.  Gimmick or solid strategy?  Thanks Much!
Brian Batko
10:18
I think it can be because of the mobility and throw-on-the-run ability of Trubisky/Pickett. But again, it's all dependent on the O-line being able to put up a bit more of a fight than it did Saturday. You can only cover up for that so much. It's not like the Jags front is bad - it might be pretty good - but there are a bunch of good defenses on the schedule this year.
10:19
Yeah, that's not enough return to part with Mason Rudolph, but it is a good indication of what the QB trade market looks like.
Sunner in Orlando
10:19
What I am concerned about for the Steelers is that they did not address the most important position on the offensive line, left tackle. The blind side will kill the Steelers this year with Moore allegedly holding the position down. They probably should keep Mason because both Mitch and Kenny will not make it through the season and Mason will have to start a bunch of games.
Brian Batko
10:20
In that sense, Dan Moore being solid as a rookie is a gift and a curse. Had he bottomed out and gotten benched, it would've been an obvious need to address. But I'd say he was just good enough to keep the Steelers committed to him, for better or worse. One nitpick I had in the draft was that they didn't take a tackle with upside to at least develop behind Moore, if not challenge him for the job.
VA Steeler Fan
10:22
Morning Brian. What are the chances C Ryan McCollum or G William Dunkle can help the OL?
Brian Batko
10:24
Slim to none. C isn't really that much of an issue. As for Bill Dunkle, I'm all for leaving no stone unturned at LG, but he played RG in college and the Eagles cut him less than three weeks into camp, so...
Lou
10:24
Hey Brian. What’s the chances the Steelers trade anything they have extra of—> QB WR for OL ILB? Or if a trade happens it’s just draft picks for 2023?
Brian Batko
10:26
They do have some areas of strength, no doubt. I'd throw in DL there too. But it's the state of the NFL in 2022 that a lot of teams have WR depth. You just saw up above there that the Raiders traded their QB3 and all they got was a conditional 7th-round pick - in 2024. The Steelers are far from the only team feeling like they have a lot of playmakers on offense, and far from the only team feeling like their OL is a work-in-progress and that do-it-all ILBs are hard to find.
Easley
10:27
How long do you expect the starting O line unit to play in the final preseason game? Given their performance so far, they need all the playing time they can get.
Brian Batko
10:29
As Mike Tomlin has done in the first two games, it could be a different bar for each guy. Cole, Daniels and Okorafor have been a package deal, which tells you how much confidence the coaches have in that trio, so I'd say they won't play more than the first half, maybe not even past the first quarter. But the left side, Moore/Green/Dotson, it might depend on their performance. If they don't show something it could be a long day.
Matt in VA
10:30
Do you think the Steelers will make any trades in the next two weeks?
Brian Batko
10:32
More often than not, they do. Last year it was Ahkello Witherspoon. Three years ago it was Josh Dobbs and Jerald Hawkins shipped out for picks. So they've been active late in the preseason, no doubt, but I'll stop short of predicting one.
Jud
10:32
Call me crazy, but the Steelers SHOULD keep Mason as insurance or they get their asking price.  If Mitch goes down KP could pull a Ben, or he could get eaten alive.
Brian Batko
10:33
Nothing crazy about that opinion, Jud. I just think every guy has a price, especially your No. 3 QB. Depth is important, but I'm not about to stash six QBs on the 53-man roster just in case the first five get hurt.
Joe
10:33
What can the Steelers do about LT Moore? Or RG Daniels? Both have been awful. They don’t seem to have in house replacements for them. Did the Steelers overrate them, which you makes you wonder about their evaluation of O linemen?
Brian Batko
10:35
You certainly have to wonder about their OL evaluation at this point. But let's slow down a bit on nailing James Daniels to the bench. Unlike Moore, he's got multiple years of NFL starting experience and has been a good player. Two iffy preseason outings, when he's played a half of a game or less, doesn't change that.
Scrap
10:36
Do the Steelers keep all the quarterbacks since one or two might be killed behind this O-line?
Brian Batko
10:37
Might need to start getting Chris Oladokun some more reps. In all honesty, that pick is making less and less sense to me by the day. I know it's just a seventh-rounder, and a late one at that, but you're telling me it wouldn't be nice to have another young O-lineman or edge-rusher or even cornerback in the mix right now? Just really not sure what the plan was there with him.
RFord
10:38
Does Mark Robinson replace Devin Bush by mid season?
Brian Batko
10:39
Mark Robinson has looked good, hasn't he? Saw it early in camp, too. He flies around, loves to hit and is actually a more fluid athlete in coverage than I expected. Not perfect, of course, but they may have found something there. He's still relatively new to the position, so I'm not gonna say he's a starter by midseason, but I'm also not assuming that Devin Bush is the guy he'd have to replace.
Yogi in Yonkers
10:40
Is Zach Banner still looking for a job? I know a team that could use a tackle.
Brian Batko
10:41
He hasn't signed anywhere, but if the Steelers opted to move on from him even with THIS OL group, you have to wonder about his health and ability to perform at a high-level post-injuries.
Guest
10:42
Any decent OG out there that we could trade Rudolph for?  Obviously it would require an ideal team to trade with, but curious if you already see a good scenario like that.  Thanks
Brian Batko
10:44
How about giving John Leglue more of a look? He's been relegated to backup RG duty in camp due to the ongoing competition at LG, but uh, maybe it should be a three-way battle at this point.
Steve Rock-Vegas
10:44
Brian, what are the chances we see a major, or even minor, trade for an OL ala the Minka trade to try and shore up this like?  They can’t possibly risk going into season with the current group and just “let’s see how it goes” mentality can they?  This one area could sink the season if not corrected in some way and ruin what appears a potentially  potent offense in the making
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