You are viewing the chat in desktop mode. Click here to switch to mobile view.
X
Brian Batko's Steelers chat: 12.08.25
powered byJotCast
Brian Batko
9:59
Good morning everyone, Mike Tomlin worked his voodoo magic again yesterday against Lamar Jackson, the Steelers flipped the odds on the AFC North and here we are. Go
JW
10:00
Hard to believe Watt has slowed down that much. Technique? Or has everyone figured him out and we're stale
Brian Batko
10:03
Two consecutive games without a sack for TJ Watt, and he's now tied for 15th in the NFL. But I thought he was pretty impactful against the run yesterday. He had four tackles against the run, one for a loss.
Jim Bow Dean
10:03
When Boswell failed to hit the landing zone was he trying a “dirty” kickoff?
Brian Batko
10:04
Probably. We heard Mike Tomlin's interest in that a few weeks ago so I wouldn't be shocked if they're trying to perfect that or at least tinker with it in practice with Chris Boswell and Danny Smith.
Alan in Bama
10:05
Good morning Brian, the win yesterday was exciting to watch and certainly refreshing. I feel Rodgers is entitled to his shut the hell up statement after the win but it doesn’t change my mind as to the state of the team.  The D is still my biggest concern. They just don’t seem to be a consistent shut down D ( no team is, I get it) but reliant on turnovers and big plays, maybe bad calls? 😆 Looking as though MT’s non losing goal is in tact and with Romo’s in your face support, he’s back again, yippee! Do you think Rooney may push to hire a true D coordinator and limit Tomlin’s hand in it? Did I just hear “Pittsburghs going to the Super Bowl” in the background?
Brian Batko
10:07
Yeah, that's generally how I feel, Alan. It was a bit of a duct tape and bailing wire kind of game, particularly at the end, but it was an impressive MacGyver job nonetheless by the players, which trickles down from Tomlin. Doesn't make me think they're any more likely to get over the playoff hump, though. Now if the passing game can look like that with the run game coming along, too, maybe they'll have something cooking.
Black and Gold Forever
10:07
Hi Brian, thnx for the chat. Great win yesterday but I'm only cautiously optimistic for the next few games because of their up and down season. Am I wrong?
Brian Batko
10:09
I'd still be stunned if they beat the Lions in Detroit. And the Dolphins are playing better, too, of late. Four straight wins, albeit against mostly bad opponents after taking down the Bills. Steelers inconsistency still looms.
DaquidoBazzini
10:11
The Likely potential TD call is all the rage in Baltimore, but I’m still trying to figure out how the early Zay Flowers catch was good with “one knee” in, as opposed to two feet. Do you know why?
Brian Batko
10:13
Pretty sure the NFL math is one knee or one shin = two feet. Believe that was the right call.
Zamo
10:14
Morning Brian!  What a difference 24 hours makes.  From the fire Tomlin chants and booing renegade to a win in Baltimore and first place in the north.  In my 52 years, this season has been one heck of a ride.  Do we know if Harmon is close?  We really need him back. As the infamous Clark Griswold once said “where’s the Tylenol!”  Cheers bud
Brian Batko
10:16
I think Derrick Harmon is close. Not putting him on IR right away was good news, because that would mean he'd miss a minimum of four games. So maybe he'll miss one more and then be ready for his homecoming game in Detroit, but we'll see.
AK
10:17
I don't understand making Wilson a healthy scratch and having Miller be active.  Can you explain?
Brian Batko
10:20
Not really. But you can read between the lines of Aaron Rodgers' postgame interview. He said: "I’ve got to think that just Marquez [Valdes-Scantling] and Adam [Thielen] out there made a difference from a professionalism standpoint. Not saying those other guys don’t have professionalism. I love all of our other guys, but I just think there was
an extra level of focus this week." Well, he's basically saying that they were more focused than ... um ... the guy who wasn't out there for the first time all season. It almost seems punitive.
Stairway to seventh seed
10:20
Brian: Adam Schefter reported that the Steelers actually have an option for Tomlin in 2027.  Is this true?  If so, it is a lot easier to move on from him with just $16m owed than $32m.
Brian Batko
10:22
I don't doubt it. They've used club options in his contract extensions in the past. To me, the bigger question is why that news got amplified by national media when it did. Curious timing.
Sam
10:23
Will the NFL ever NOT have a catch problem?  I thought the one Tomlin challenged in the first quarter wiggled enough to be incomplete, then I thought the Likely one was probably a touchdown.  Does starting your third stride not count as a football move after getting the first two down?  Is it that either the 3rd foot HAS to land OR you have to get two down and like turn/lunge/twist to constitute a football move?
Brian Batko
10:25
Based on all the official explanations yesterday, that third step was key for Isaiah Likely. If you remember back to the Steelers-Packers game, Roman Wilson had a very similar touchdown catch (in garbage time) and it was reviewed. Wilson got the third step in, foot down, stride, whatever you want to call it. Likely's certainly looked off to me in the moment and ended up being a massive, massive blunder by him - and a "better lucky than good" hustle play by Joey Porter Jr.
Jana
10:27
It’s hard to tell cause TV never shows much of the whole field, but did we play our 2 high safety look in this game?? Loved our long throw to DK first play of the game!!!
Brian Batko
10:28
Felt like they still played a decent amount of single high in the moment but I haven't watched the game back yet. The DK play hitting off the bat was huge. Good dial-up by Arthur Smith, great throw by Aaron Rodgers, great catch by DK.
Albany Adam
10:29
Do you think the new look WR group will spur actual growth on the offensive side of the ball or was this more or a meltdown by the Ravens (not to mention some highly questionable officiating)?  Also anything to read into the total lack of run game production?  Pass protection was good all day, but zero push for open lanes.
Brian Batko
10:31
I think it could help because again, it absolutely seems like Aaron Rodgers just has more trust in having those guys out there for whatever reason. So if that confidence trickles down to Rodgers playing a more confident brand of football, that could be a missing piece for this offense. Mike Tomlin said the Ravens smashed the run. Fair enough. The OL is getting better but maybe not quite at the point yet where they can just impose their will against a team that wants to sell out to stop the run.
JPinPDX
10:31
Good morning Bats. Happy mediocre Monday! So we won, and are in first place in a terrible division. So what? Does anything you’ve seen all year tell you this team can contend in the playoffs?
Brian Batko
10:33
Well, the "what" is it's always better to be in the dance than not, right? That's why you play the games. But if you want to have the philosophical take that the Steelers will continue to be mired in the slightly-better-than-average cycle until they have a real wake-up call season, than sure, yesterday did nothing to move the meter for you. At least it's a springboard of sorts going into that Monday night game.
Butcher
10:33
Yesterday brings to mind the Seinfeld episode... Every time I think I'm out they keep pulling me back in Jerry!  Is this false hope? Pass game good, secondary solid, can't stop the run or run it ourselves, but beat ravens. As much as I enjoyed the game,  the inability to run out the clock and decision to be aggressive makes me concerned. Do we have a shot at getting in and GASP winning a playoff game if we play not to lose in the second half?
Brian Batko
10:34
I've been saying all year, really for years now, that I'm just gonna keep betting on a .500 or better season and a first-round playoff exit. That approach has made me right more often than not. And I'm not seeing enough to go against my tried-and-true predictions.
Tampa Too
10:34
Brian. They signed a wide receiver this past week and they started him on Sunday instead of Roman Wilson.  Does that tell you what they think about Roman Wilson and his future as a Pittsburgh Steeler?
Brian Batko
10:37
How can it not be a little concerning? As someone mentioned earlier, it's not just Adam Thielen and MVS who were active over him. Scotty Miller being in uniform to play three snaps on offense and one on special teams is even more of an indictment. Maybe it's just a disconnect or tough fit with him and Rodgers, so a new QB next year could give him a fresh slate. But couple it with his lost rookie season a year ago and it's a rough trend to start his career.
Tom M.
10:37
National media reported that Tomlin’s contract for 2027 is a team option that must be decided on next March. Do you know if that is true? If so, do you think they will pick it up? Should they?
Brian Batko
10:40
Here's how I look at it: The option is clearly written into it for a reason. It has to mean something. But the Steelers not exercising it would be akin to simply moving on from Tomlin, so no, I don't think they would decline it. Should they? Well I'm fairly sure that's the argument/debate/discussion we and millions of others have about Tomlin every day.
Frustrated
10:41
Even though we won, we could've made it less nerve racking at the end if we had gotten a first down on the last drive.  We could've ran out the clock.  Why not use play action, some screens, jet sweep, naked bootleg, or perhaps a rub route?  They were stacking the box, so the first two plays were just a waste.  Then the 3rd down pass was short of the sticks even if it was caught.  This is why fans are frustrated because we were aggressive early on, and then the same type of conservative plays were called during crunch time.  Make it make sense, Brian!
Brian Batko
10:44
You might be the one person who wants to see more jet sweeps from this team. The third-down throw was brutal, though, that's for sure. But hey, they won the game. Had the Steelers tried to throw more there, stopping the clock and giving the Ravens more time, we'd be crushing them for that this morning. Or if they'd gone with a more creative running play and it backfired with a fumble or major loss of yards, same thing.
Steelers Fan First
10:45
Hi Brian thanks for doing these. I've been a Steelers fan for nearly 50 years. I am not one of those "fans" that wants to lose to get rid of Tomlin, get a better draft pick, etc. I want to win every year. But I say all that as I am and have been done with Tomlin since the more recent Jags playoff loss (not his first PO loss to David Garrard). This doesn't feel any different than the last 8-10 years, even with yesterday's win.  The Ravens are worse than the Steelers, they are not a good team, and Lamar is an exciting player that will never win a big game, his "2-min" drill was awful to watch. So again, here we are, no different than last year, or 2023, 2022, 2021, etc. Please tell me why this year will be different? Is it because the AFC is just overall awful? Is it because AR is getting his chance at a Manning or Brady end of career SB? Or does it set up that we definitely lose to Mia on Monday night?  Because I think that's just as good a possibility.  Thanks!
Brian Batko
10:47
This is the second time I've heard basically this same take, down to the Jags playoff loss to Blake Bortles, in the past 72 hours. As I've written before, I still believe you can talk yourself into the Rodgers Effect making this season different than years past. He's got that level of savvy still if his body cooperates. And defensively, if we want to search for a kernel of game-changing hope, maybe TJ Watt is super-charging for the stretch run? That's all I've really got there my friend.
KJ
10:47
Perhaps you can explain to we Steelers faithful how the Steelers got away with running the ball only 17 times for a whopping 34 yards against the Ravens? But hey, the Steelers won in Baltimore!
Brian Batko
10:48
They managed to tap into what actually looked like a modern NFL passing attack. Imagine that.
TVC15
10:48
The current playoff seeding has us playing the Bills at home. Will it be another blowout by halftime?
Brian Batko
10:50
Well that tends to happen against the Bills and it tends to happen against anyone they face in the first round of the playoffs, so it's hard for me to say otherwise
Jeff
10:50
Thanks for the chats BB.  Garrett moves around on D line.  Parsons as well.  Why do we not move Watt around?  How hard can it be to prepare for that when he never moves.  I am not a DC but I could prepare for that.  Hey TE or RB go chip the guy on the right, he will always be there
Load More Messages
Connecting…