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Christopher Carter's Steelers chat: 10.17.25
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Christopher Carter
10:30
Alright just got done with North Shore Drive podcast. Let's get into it!
Tampa Too
10:31
Chris. Can you explain to me what happened when the Bengals challenged the spot of the ball in the second half when they were near the Pittsburgh goal line? The challenge did change the spot from several feet to 4 inches or so. My question is, why did Cincinnati lose the time out because the challenge did change the spot to their advantage although not a first down
Christopher Carter
10:32
The rules of how challenges work is the coach has to make a challenge to a specific ruling. When it's a spot challenge, usually they have to challenge if they made the line to gain or they didn't.

Bengals were right that the spot was off, but not to the degree that the line to gain was reached. Since that was the basis of their challenge and they were wrong, they lose the timeout. But the officials can still adjust the ball to what they saw on review.
Ryan
10:33
Chris what do you think about the play of Pat Freiermuth and Jaylen Warren both looked good last night i think they both did good
Christopher Carter
10:36
I thought Pat Freiermuth showed exactly why he's still part of the gameplan. He's a playmaker at TE that just hasn't gotten the ball a bunch as they've been figuring the offense out. He gets open a lot, but Rodgers often has a designed read or finds someone else open. Steelers offense right now averages 25 points per game, which is 11th-best in the NFL, so I don't think it's a matter of Freiermuth being so bad and the offense not working. Might've just been a matter of other things working enough that they didn't need to target him yet. Maybe this week is a spark for him.
10:38
As for Jaylen Warren, I think he continues to show he can be THE guy at RB, especially with the way this OL is developing. If this was the past few years, he'd be getting hit a lot in the backfield as the primary RB and it would wear him down. But Arthur Smith has the run game going even against good run defenses, and that allows Warren's first contact to come further downfield. He's looking very good right now.
Big Ed
10:38
Good morning Chris! First time chatter with you, love your chats! You are very thorough in your responses & you do an excellent job! Just wanted to say thank you!
Christopher Carter
10:38
Good morning Ed! And thank you! I do enjoy the chats here with you all and am glad we have a strong community of subscribers/readers who want to chat with us during their free time.
NC Bruce
10:43
Hi Chris, thanks for getting on here the morning after such a deflating loss. So many on here are complaining about Tomlin's lack of defensive adjustments. Was that a major problem, or was this more about the lack of execution by the players?
Christopher Carter
10:50
It's still talking football, which is always fun even when it's with not-so-happy fans lol

As for a lack of adjustments, I'd say that it's on both sides of coaching and players. Because I watched the Amazon Prime Vision that shows you the all-22 live throughout the game and they called several different coverages. Man 2 under, man cover 1, cover 2, cover 3, cover 4, cover 6, they were just getting smoked.

So there were plenty of adjustments, as there usually are. The problem was: they didn't work often enough. Now, there can also be further adjustments with those calls.

For example, I think part of the game plan was for Chase to be able to do what he does, but for the defense to take everything else away. We've seen that work for this team against Davante Adams, Justin Jefferson, and heck even Chase in past years. But when you get beat covering Higgins AND give up the run, that plan falls apart.
10:51
Coaches had adjustments that just didn't work this time, but that's also because their adjustments were trusting players to win assignments they were expected to win. When they face each other again, that will be the time to see if they learned from what happened this time around.
Big Ed
10:52
Chris, do you think Pat Freiermuth should have went down before he scored? Friends of mine say yes, I say you were down & had to score. The defense should have done it's part.
Christopher Carter
10:53
I'm one who subscribes to you the philosophy of "you need to score when you need to score." Maybe if he gets down with 2:21 left they can score with under a minute left. But that's a lot of time to play with AND they needed a TD not a FG. If it was the situation Higgins was with his slide, Freiermuth going down would've made sense. But I didn't have as mucha  problem with that.
MrMark
10:54
Hi Chris, punting the ball on the 45 towards the end of the 1st half was the most chicken **** call Tomlin has made in a long time.  With more teams throughout the league going for these types of plays due to analytics, why hasn't Tomlin changed his frame of mind on these types of plays?   Also, why does it seem the Steelers are unable to make adjustments at halftime?  How about double teaming Chase?
Christopher Carter
10:59
Well, tell us how you really feel!

Another week of complaining about a decision to punt that actually didn't hurt the Steelers. People were upset about a punt against the Vikings that gave the Steelers' defense space to get the winning stop. It made sense and it won them the game.

While this one didn't win the game, it DID bet on the defense and they got them the ball back with the same score. On the list of things to be mad about from this game, punting before a defensive stop isn't something that even registers with all the real issues last night.

As for adjustments, as I said above, there were many made. They just didn't work. They need to have better ones next time around that take a better account of who their personnel are and how they can cover at their best.
The Eman
10:59
When will MT quit complaining about the Flacco trade and get to work designing an effective defense?
Christopher Carter
11:01
Has he ... continued to complain? The only time I even heard him say anything about it was when I asked him about it on Monday. And it was like a 15-second response. I don't think the problem is not putting time into figuring out defensive plans. Clearly they had plenty and they just got beat.
Mark
11:02
Folks keep clamoring for a WR trade, but how about some DB help after that debacle last night? Slay isn’t cutting it.
Christopher Carter
11:05
Mark, you're speaking my language. Calvin Austin's coming back, Roman Wilson made plays and Aaron Rodgers currently is leading the 11th-best scoring offense in the NFL. I don't think an expensive WR2 is the answer.

I do think maybe a better safety cover option or another CB to maybe take on some of the roles Slay has could help. Ramsey is good at playing several different roles, but maybe if he's more limited in what he does he can be the student of the game that he is and be more locked in on one thing. Could be the Steelers need another slot CB/safety type.
Frank Clemente
11:05
People are saying Steelers did not adjust. I think they did try  but we just don't have the players that can cover great wideouts and an experienced QB. That said our defenseive coaches may be the least creative group in the NFL as Edelman noted years ago..
Christopher Carter
11:10
The Steelers made plenty of adjustments, they just didn't work. I think people latch onto traditional complaints without knowing what to actually complain about.

I don't know about them being the least creative. They've been a top 10 unit for 3 years in a row. You don't get that without being creative. I also think it's rich coming from Edelman who only thrived in an offense built around spygate --  which was intensely focused on the Steelers for years and was proven to still be going on when they got caught doing it again in 2019.
steelmann58
11:10
Chris think the Steelers will be looking to make a trade?
Christopher Carter
11:11
I think they are active listeners but not big players. They're listening around for who's available but won't make a trade JUST to make a trade. So will they? If the opportuinity arises, yes. But they won't force it if one's not there. As I said before this season, during camp and all during this season, this front office's eyes are very much on the development of a future window and giving up high picks in this upcoming draft is something I think they're reluctant to do unless if it's for the RIGHT guy.
steelmann58
11:12
Chris how safe is Austin job after last night mess
Christopher Carter
11:13
He's safe on the season. But maybe afterwards there will be questions. As it stands the Steelers rank 17th in scoring and they've ranked as a top 10 scoring unit in Austin's 3 years. That's not Matt Canada bad by any stretch and he's like the only coach they've fired mid-season like that in a long time.

But could the Steelers opt for a person like Gerald Alexander to be the DC if this year doesn't work out? I think so.
Cdub
11:15
Wow.  That was a historically defensive showing.  Was Tomlin thoroughgoingly out coached or was it more of Flacco knowing what to do and slicing the D up on his own?
Christopher Carter
11:22
Outcoached in the sense that Zac Taylor found ways to beat the Steelers' DBs and Tomlin didn't have answers. But I also think it's because the Steelers thought their new DBs could win in man, and when they didn't, it spilled into other problems. But this wasn't some complex master plan; the Steelers went man and lost. And when they tried to go to zone they came up short as well. Needed either win 1-on-1s or come up with a scheme that didn't rely on you winning those.
steelmann58
11:22
Chris another tomlin special but what bother me no adjustments to take Chase out of the game especially on the last drive .
Christopher Carter
11:23
Again, many adjustments made, just mistakes on the field. Watch the tape and you'll see several defenses were called throughout the game. But few of them worked and the few that did eventually got beat too.
Dan
11:25
So your”elite future HOF coach” was totally torched by a QB who was just introduced to his teammates a week ago. His defense was totally clueless trying to stop a running game that didn’t exist prior to this game and a clear joke trying to cover receivers. Maybe Tomlin should have spent less time whining about the Flacco trade and more time coming up with a decent game plan.
Christopher Carter
11:27
Hey Dan, I believe he's also your "elite future HOF coach" if you're a Steelers fan. Mike Tomlin is going to the Hall of Fame whether you like it or not. I don't get why some of ya'll get so hung up about it. Bill Cowher had plenty of stinkers AND losing seasons and is in the HOF. So, not sure what you think is different there.

Also, Tomlin spent all of 15 seconds talking about it. That was it. So again, that had nothing to do with what happened last night.
Oy
11:27
"When they face each other again, that will be the time to see if they learned from what happened this time around."
I rarely hear anything from the defensive players to indicate that they know what to work to try to improve. It's all generalities: "We have to do better." Well, yeah. HOW are you going to do that?  And WHY didn't you do better in this game? You'd think a couple of blown coverages would have woken them up, gotten them to "try harder," whatever that means to them. Think more, communicate better, etc.
You're around them a lot (compared to us, at any rate). Do you get the sense they know what needs to be fixed, *specifically*?
Christopher Carter
11:30
Do you want the defense to publicize, "hey you know what on 1st and 10 maybe should run some more cover 2" so that other teams can see that?

They say "we have to do better" because they're acknowledging the need to improve but not making it public what they're working on because opponents to clock that.

And yes, I talk with them about it. Heck I've even had players give me feedback on my film studies. But again, they're not trying to let everyone know what's coming next.
dpreble001
11:30
Chris,do you think steelers could cover arguably the best receiver and the best number two receiver? This is a typical Mike Tomlin loss
Christopher Carter
11:37
I mean, they have in the past. Just didn't work this time around. But I also think the whole "typical Mike Tomlin loss" thing is overblown unless you're specifically talking about road AFC North Thursday night games. Because those are a disaster.

But EVERY team drops games to bad teams. Steelers fans live in a vacuum and think they're alone there.

Was losing to a rookie QB by 17 points at home on a short week a typical Tomlin loss? Oh no, wait that was the Super Bowl champion Eagles! Or how about losing back-to-back games to second-year QBs when you have the NFL MVP. Oh no, that was the Bills!

Every team has clunkers. The good teams limit them to just a few. The best teams cut them off after 1-2. This is not something that is unique to Tomlin.
Alan in Bama
11:37
The offense scoring 31 points and the play from Rodgers down to the O line is a pleasant surprise. Wishing we had the same defense we had when we suffered with the Canada offense. I look at our D as one that now relies on big plays and turnovers but not one we can consider a shut down team D. Your thoughts?
Christopher Carter
11:43
The defense ranks towards the middle of yards per play allowed so their efficiency numbers aren't all that. But yes, they do go for turnovers and splash plays because that's often what win games. It would be different if they had a shutdown CB like Pat Surtain or Derek Stingley who erased guys. But they don't, and need to win how they can. For the past several years, it's made them a good unit.
Joe Six-Pack
11:43
The Stillers D is dependent on pressuring the QB.  Did you think their from seven looked worn out last night on a short week after a slugfest in Cleveland?
Christopher Carter
11:44
Tough to say they were worn out without being there to talk to them and get a sense after the game. I do wonder if they weren't as fresh. But that's still no excuse. Needed to be sharper.
rick51244
11:46
It is truly astounding that with all of the variables associated with the NFL (field conditions, injuries, PSI of footballs, etc) MT is extremely consistent. Be it good or bad, we all know what is going to happen on any given Thursday or first playoff game.
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