Ray Fittipaldo's Steelers chat: 10.22.26
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Ray Fittipaldo
11:56
Welcome to my Steelers chat -- live from Paris!. Let's go ahead with the chat.
Stairway to seventh seed
11:56
Ray: wishing you and all fans a safe visit to Paris.  How much would your probability of the Steelers winning this Sunday change if they would have arrived on Thursday instead of Friday to get acclimated to the time change and get the redeye another day further behind them?  The Saints got there Monday!
Ray Fittipaldo
11:58
They had the same schedule last year in Dublin and in 2013 against the Vikings in London. This just seems to be their preference. I know in 2013 players complained about not having their legs. The game last year they got off to a much better start and played well for most of the game.
Stairway to seventh seed
11:59
Ray:  Art Rooney Sr famously kept Rocky Bleier on the roster at a time when Rocky was a great story, but didn't project to ever really help the team on the field.  The Chief won that bet in a big way.  Holcombe, Bruener, and Heidenreich all have some degree of "story" value, but all are offering almost nothing to the team.  I was high on the Eli pick from a football standpoint, but he can't even get a hat despite injuries at RB and WR.  Bruener and Holcombe can not play ILB and "lead" one of the worst special teams units in the league.  Do you think any of these three players will ever make carrying them now worth it?
Ray Fittipaldo
12:01
Bruener is already one of their best special teams players. I don't think he'll ever be a full-time startig ILB, but you can stay in the league a long time if you're good on special teams. As for Holcomb, at this stage of his career he a backup and special team after the grueosme knee injury. Heidenreich... not sure what's going on there. It's not like their return game is any good. He actually might be able to help out there. I said it at the time and I'll say it again. He and Wetjen are very similar players. And they used two draft picks on them.
John M
12:02
Its good to see Bernard coming around and looks like we got the better receiver that was hovering around in the draft.  I'm not overly impressed with his ability with YAC, he just doesn't seem to have the ability to make people miss.  He tried on the 4th down and well..... Case in point we're missing a 2nd receiver.  I'm not sold on Pittman.  So were going to be entering 3-4th straight year looking for a quality receiver to step in. How would you go about addressing what continues to be a need?  I know we have injuries, but the injuries may have helped us since DK and Bernard had their best games.
Ray Fittipaldo
12:04
Bernard was going to be your No. 2 eventually anyway. The timeline just got sped up due to PIttman's injury. And I disagree with his skills after the catch. He's just sneaky good at finding extra yards and usually makes the right decisions. He made the wrong one on fourth down. He learend from it, and he said he'll be better because of it. It's always nice when those mistakes happen in a win.
FirstTimeLongTime
12:04
Hey Ray... on roster who would be able to eat the most crepes after a win Sunday?  Logical money would be on Yahya Black but there has to be a sleeper pick you know of.
Ray Fittipaldo
12:05
Yeah Black or how about Mason McCormick. He can probably put some crepes or flap jacks or pancakes down the hatch.
FirstTimeLongTime
12:05
Ray - Even though they racked up more pressure on an undrafted rookie last week I'm still not seeing the blitzing as frequently effective (Ramsey did do a wonderful mike hilton impression).  Would blitzing those middle backers and attacking the A/B gaps more make the edges more effective?
Ray Fittipaldo
12:07
They've tried. I just don't think Queen is very good at it. Payton Wilson is a little better, and I'm not clamroing for him to do it either. You need a certain moxie to be effective as an ILB blitzer. Remember Kendrell Bell? He'd just put his head down and demolish whomever was trying to block him. If you're going to win with finesse as an ILB blitzer you better win early because the ball will be out by the time you make your second move.
Retire21
12:07
MM gave a garbled answer when he was asked about the ball on the 2 yard line in the last minute Sunday. Took the heat for passing the ball. Turns out the QB may have checked out of running play? Did he take tue bullet for AR?
Ray Fittipaldo
12:09
I agree McCarthy's answer was not satisfactory. He didn't even attempt to answer the question lol. Rodgers pretty much stood up there and explained the thought process. He for sure checked into a pass on third down, but I think the pass on first down came from McCarthy. I could be wrong. That first-down pass was a play-action and it didn;t seem like Rodgers made any adjustments at the line. Either way, the first-down call was the most important one. After they ran that play the whole idea of bleeding the clock was dead.
Henry Hill
12:09
Hi Ray, do you think the NFL will reconsider having international games given what happened to Jalen Hurts and not knowing if the air travel had anything to do with his blood clots?
Ray Fittipaldo
12:11
I highly doubt it. They have a lot of money invested in the game overseas and in South America and now Austrailia. But those blood clots can happen to anyone even the healthiest of people. When I covered Pitt basketball, Jamie DIxon went to Autrailia to recruit Steven Adams. He had something like that happen to him. It was a very serious situation.
12:13
I wrote this story on Fautanu's move to left tackle. It was published yesterday https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2026/10/21/troy-fautanu-m.... It's Fautanu in his own rods detailing how difficult it can be to make that move. The Steelers know this. They did it with the thught he'd be their long-term left tackle so I expect them to pick jup the option.
Turk in MD
12:13
Hi Ray.  Is Troy improving at LT?  Is there a chance they don't pick up his 5th year option?
Ray Fittipaldo
12:13
Opps forgot to post the question to the above answer.
QB Next Year
12:13
Do you see the Steelers trading for a WR before the deadline, or riding it out with who they have?
Ray Fittipaldo
12:14
If they're 6-2 at the bye, or even 5-3, they owe it to the players to try to acquire some better players. Not saying they will but Omar Khan has to try. Rodgers targeted Metcalf and Bernard 22 times on Sunday and no other WRs got a target. Not a single one.
All my exs live in TX
12:15
The Steelers are 4-2 and Rodgers is killing it!  Or is it the Steelers haven’t played their tough part of schedule and we will know more about this team after the bye than before the bye?
Ray Fittipaldo
12:15
Probably a little bit of both.
Ryan
12:15
Just think, if we didn't mess up with the JPJ contract,  we would be undefeated.   What say you?
Ray Fittipaldo
12:16
Unless JPJ was playing WR too against the Patriots I'm not sure he makes a difference in that game. The Browns game? Yes he probably does. They planned to start him in that game and then he did what he did in practice to force the trade.
Paul Kane
12:17
Ray…what % of touches will Warren and Dowdle get ?  60-40 ? 70-30 ? Jaylen is such a warrior it’s hard to keep the ball out of his hands.  What say you my friend ?.
Ray Fittipaldo
12:17
75-25 or 80-20 is what it should be in my opinion. Not sure that will happen, but I agree with you on Warren. He gets better with volume. You have to feed him.
TVC15
12:18
Hi Ray,  This is a big what if but ..... if the Chargers continue to lose and get the #1 pick in the draft and decide to draft a QB and move on from Herbert would the Steelers have any interest in trading for him?
Ray Fittipaldo
12:19
I think a lot of teams would. Herbert has talent. And the Steelers have a QB guru as their head coach. The question is can he be fixed? I think someone will bet he can. He was never this bad under previous coordinators It just doesn't seem to be a good fit with Mike McDaniels.
Footballtahn
12:19
Hi Ray, i read cam heyward was quoted on his pod cast as saying “the nfl likes money.” When referring to why the paris game is still being played.  Has he forgotten that he really likes money too?  Two hold ins in i think back to back years?  Should those in glass houses not throw stones?
Ray Fittipaldo
12:22
I've been around for many years and have dealt with lots of Steelers union reps. There is always a lot of posturing when it comes to health and player safety and other issues in the game. But a lot of times they're bargaining chips. No one is giving back money. The toothpaste is out of the tube with these international games. Yes the owners love the money but so do the players. It's all part of the salary cap. Thy make more money off this too. Believe me, you will never see the union take a big stance on these games for that season. They'd have to go to their players and tell them they're taking a paycut. That's not going to happen.
George T
12:22
Hi Ray, did we get away without a penalty on Ramsey first sack for throwing the QB to the ground?
Ray Fittipaldo
12:22
Nah. Maybe if it was Mahomes ha ha. Not for Jalon Daniels.
Footballtahn
12:22
Ray, its well known how the Steelers have lived in above average but not elite play for years.  Do you think the organizational leadership has the vision, plan and ability to execute for them to become super bowl contenders again?  My personal opinion is no.  Something is lacking.
Ray Fittipaldo
12:23
I do. As soon as they can find their next great QB they'll be set up for another run. Everything else is pretty much in place.
George T
12:23
Hi Ray, I believe offense delay of game penalty should be a lost of down and not just a 5 yard penalty.  In basketball when the play clock runs out is a lost of position.
Ray Fittipaldo
12:24
They don't have radio communication between coaches and players in the NBA.
SoCalFan
12:24
Hey Ray - So far this season, Aaron is ranked #23 in average yards per throw, but ranked #4 in TD passes. Which is more important in your view?
Ray Fittipaldo
12:24
Scoring!
George T
12:24
Ray, the the release of Jenkins does it make if look like Elliott will be take off IR an dress for the game on Sunday.
Ray Fittipaldo
12:24
It certainly does. And that's good news for the Steelers defense. He'll make a difference.
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