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Brian Batko's Steelers chat: 12.09.24
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Brian Batko
11:45
Hey everyone, we're gonna get started a little early on the Steelers chat today. Big preschool Christmas concert at 1:15 and I can't be late. Your questions, please?
brian
11:46
Hey Brian, Why does Arthur Smith seem so infatuated with Patterson????
Brian Batko
11:48
They have a professional history together and a real connection on and off the field. Both have spoken very highly of each other. I've been fairly critical of what's been an over-usage of Cordarrelle Patterson in my mind, but he's had his moments, to be fair. In Indy, first of all. And then even just last week in Cincy. Just seems like they might need to pick their spots better and less could be more with a guy his age.
Greg
11:48
Does Mike Williams get open in practice? His first pass going for a TD and then seeing him push off a couple times yesterday seems confusing.
Brian Batko
11:49
He didn't think it was a push-off. As he explained it, he was just trying to feel where the defender was but he's a big dude, so the guy kind of just fell off of him. Obviously, the refs didn't see it that way, nor did I in real time from the press box. But on replay it was more ambiguous. He's not gonna be a big-time separator at this stage of his career. Contested catches will be his calling card.
Sam
11:51
I have my own just for fun conspiracy theory that Pickens is fine and that this was actually a one game team suspension for his Tour de Nonsense over the last 3 weeks.  However, admitting that this is not likely, WR hamstring injuries are something you have to be REALLY careful with (see Chris Godwin).  Now with three games in 11 days starting Sunday, I can’t see how he plays in more than 1 of those games. Would you agree they’ll have a better chance of winning a road playoff game with Pickens than a home game if he aggravates it worse? And hey, if they slip to the 5 seed as a result of being cautious, that might not be the worst thing anyway.
Brian Batko
11:54
To your first point, George Pickens is sort of in that zone where nothing would surprise me. But it does seem that the hamstring issue is real and, according to our Gerry Dulac, it's a Grade 2 strain. That's also what Justin Fields had and he only missed one game, then had the bye week. (Hey, wait, didn't that prompt conspiracy theories too before the trade deadline?) You  might be right in your calculation there.
Josh
11:55
Pickens has a grade 2 hamstring tear? Dulac says so.  Schefter said he was about to play yesterday and then they made a decision to hold him out of precaution.  Now it's weeks?
Brian Batko
11:58
A strain is not a tear, which is much worse. Now, to the rest of your questions, I'm a bit confused by all that myself. Adam Schefter reported that Pickens was going to test the hamstring pregame. Neither I nor Ray Fittipaldo saw him on the field during warmups, so not sure what the deal was with all that.
Steve
11:59
The assertion that Pickens was benched with a cover of a bad hammy is crazy. Tomlin only sat AB on his way out for egregious behavior towards his own teammates. It's not tomlin's style to suspend anybody,  especially his top wideout. Do you see any merit in these rumors?
Brian Batko
12:01
Yeah, Steve, that's another solid point that it isn't really in line with how Mike Tomlin operates, to say nothing of the scandal the Steelers would be risking with such a move. Probably just uncanny timing and a coincidence with the Browns coming to town. Tomlin used the term "muscle fatigue" and spoke of managing his reps with Tracy Wolfson on the CBS pregame coverage but we know he's not always the most transparent with health concerns.
Winning is our business
12:01
Is Russ Wilson now a leading candidate for comeback player of the year?
Brian Batko
12:04
I may have said yes, but the Associated Press clarified to voters this offseason that the award is meant for players who rebound from illness or injury, not necessarily poor play or other circumstances. Joe Flacco winning over Damar Hamlin last season became a major talking point. Flacco wasn't coming back from anything health-related. He was just old and hadn't been a regular NFL starter in years. I suppose someone could argue that Russ had the calf mishap but he might actually be better positioned to win the PFWA's Most Improved Player award if anything.
Immaculate deception
12:06
Was Pickens injured, or was this a well-deserved one game benching with an injury cover story?
Brian Batko
12:08
Van Jefferson straight-up said Pickens didn't practice Friday. Tomlin said he didn't feel comfortable putting Pickens out there after he tweaked that hamstring. Now, I don't know exactly when that happened and based on his track record, I highly doubt Pickens is going to be open and honest about when/where/how he began feeling any discomfort.
AtlantaDan
12:08
Thanks for the chat.  Was the fumble at midfield when the Steelers were on the verge of definitively putting the game away enough to end the attempts by Arthur Smith to force finding a role for Cordarrelle Patterson in the offense?
Brian Batko
12:10
Yeah that was a rough one for Patterson, who hasn't been a big fumbler in recent years. Ball security has been huge for Najee Harris closing out games since he got here. I'd continue using him in that role.
SteelFan
12:11
Hi Brian- Do you think we see Cory Trice get a helmet this week?
Brian Batko
12:12
Hi. I think so if the Steelers are particularly concerned about the Eagles passing game. But he hasn't played since Week 3. And the gunner tandem of Ben Skowronek/James Pierre has been really good, so I wouldn't want to sit either of them for special teams purposes. Not sure where Trice fits in.
Russ is Cookin
12:13
Hey Bats - I have to admit I'm receiving some pleasure watching countless talking heads in sports media eat their dogmatic words about Russ being washed up or "delusional," as one commentator put it. The dude has single handedly transformed and taken ownership of this offense and is a born leader. It feels so great to have a legit, franchise QB again! Haven't felt such command at the line of scrimmage (audibles, etc.) since pre-injury Ben. Russ is a play action clinician! Any predictions on the length and dollars of his next contract with the Stillers??
Brian Batko
12:16
Will be interesting to see if Russ takes a bit less than market value because of how he values the fit here, playing for Mike Tomlin, already having made a ton of money and with a spouse who's independently wealthy. That doesn't mean anyone should want to be paid under what they're worth, but we've seen other quarterbacks do it in the past, particularly veterans. Perhaps he'd do three years, $120 million, putting him right in line with Matt Stafford's annual average.
Tampa Too
12:17
Brian. Were you surprised that there were no packages for Justin Fields yesterday in the game?
Brian Batko
12:18
No, not really. I figured they'll come and go. Probably used it a bit too much the first time vs. Cleveland. Russ was coming off a 400-plus yard game. And now they have the added benefit of keeping the Eagles guessing on when/how it could be deployed after a week on the shelf.
Nysteelfan
12:18
Why didn’t we sign a real 2nd receiver when we had the chance? Yesterday was stressful.
Brian Batko
12:20
I figured we'd be done with this topic after they traded for Mike Williams, but then Pickens went down. It's nice to have depth, but they just put up 500 yards of offense and 37 points last week without a "real 2nd receiver" so in that sense, Omar Khan was validated.
Fan from Saskatoon
12:21
Tony Romo said yesterday that. Mike Tomlin was a Master  at clock management and his use of time outs . Would you agree  with Tony ?
Brian Batko
12:23
Master is a strong word but as I point out just about every week either in this chat or the mailbag, Tomlin has a .610 winning percentage in one-possession games. That's a positive indicator of how he manages the end of games.
Tim
12:24
If you were a betting man, would you bet that the Steelers' 2025 starting QB is currently on the roster?
Brian Batko
12:24
With the way Russ has played, absolutely.
Carla
12:25
Hi Brian, I enjoy your chats. In the offseason, do you think the Steelers will still go after some of the receivers they tried to get this season?
Brian Batko
12:26
Eh, Brandon Aiyuk got paid. Davante Adams and Christian Kirk wouldn't do much for me now. But there will be new targets potentially. Tee Higgins, anyone?
Dom
12:27
Do you like the Steelers chances against Buffalo or Kansas City in the playoffs?
Brian Batko
12:27
No, I still wouldn't pick them against Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes.
Bill in SF
12:28
Hi Brian.  Everyone seems focused on the Pickens conspiracy theories and the Patterson fumble and not on the real story from yesterday's game - Tomlin won a challenge!  It seemed like he got the flag out pretty quickly and decicifly.  Did he make a quiet change in the way he gets help with that, or was it just being home and getting the benefit of a quicker in- stadium replay?
Brian Batko
12:29
You jest, Bill, but Tomlin is now 4-3 in his past seven challenges.
epiballo
12:30
The 'intentional grounding' call was mind blowing, especially since they did not call 'grounding' on Winston in the snow game in Cleveland. I know it was three games ago, but did you think it was grounding? To me, that is why the Steelers lost that game in Cleveland.
Brian Batko
12:31
I'm gonna give a hot take, inspired by a reader this offseason: Just get rid of intentional grounding! Or at least try some preseason games without it or something. Would change the game a little bit, but we could do away with these controversial calls.
TroyForever
12:31
Hello Sir — and thank you for the chats! Something that has baffled me is how punting average takes into account intentionally shorter punts. For example, if Waitman punts from the 50 and drops it out of bounds at the 10 (which is good), does his punting average drop as a result (which seems unfair) or is the strategic effort somehow factored? And I know that everyone loves nerdy kicking questions, so you’re all welcome ;-). (Thanks Bats!)
Brian Batko
12:33
That's why punting average can be a flawed statistic but net average is generally a better indicator. And Danny Smith has way more metrics at his disposal to evaluate punter performance than those of us on the outside. I also like to look at inside-20% and inside-10% to gauge how someone's doing.
Gene
12:33
Waitman’s punting yesterday was spectacular. Will he be the punter next year or will Johnston if healthy?
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