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Ray Fittipaldo's Steelers chat: 12.18.17
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Ray Fittipaldo
11:55
OK let's get started.
Moose
11:56
It seemed like S Davis couldn't cover Gronk at all.  With that being said, I still loved the fact that we played a lot of man coverage.  What say you?
Ray Fittipaldo
11:58
Obviously a much better game plan than the one they had in the AFC title game in January though after a while I, like many others, wondered why defensive coordinator Keith Butler wasn't giving Davis any help. That's a tough assignment for Davis. Gronk is the best TE in the league. I'd have made Brandin Cooks or Amendola beat me.
Moose
11:58
Ben has to take the blame for the last play, don't you think?  Even if the sideline is saying don't clock it, you can't throw the ball in traffic.  He had to throw it where only his wr could catch it, or it goes incomplete.
Ray Fittipaldo
12:00
I suppose you're right, but when the bullets are flying and the clock is ticking it's a much different story. I have no problem with the Steelers trying to win in regulation. We all would have criticized them if they had kicked a field goal and lost in overtime. I just have a hard time blaming Roethlisberger entirely there. Does he deserve some blame? Sure. He could have overruled the coaches and just spiked the ball or thrown it away. But that's easy for fans and media to say. They're out there making those decisions in real time.
Moose
12:01
The catch rule is officially ridiculous.  How on earth did the NFL get by prior to year 2000 without it?  Another failure under Goodell if you ask me.
Ray Fittipaldo
12:04
If they were ever going to change the rule it was going to be after a playoff game between Green Bay and Dallas was decided by a very similar play to the one that took place last night. Dez Bryant caught a pass, took three steps and fell into the end zone while stretching the ball across the plane. The pass was ruled incomplete and the Cowboys lost the game. If you're not going to make a rules change when it cost a team a playoff game, then when are you going to change it? Does something like this have to happen in the Super Bowl to make a change? I've written about this. NFL officials don't like the rule. They don't like that replay is involved. But the owners and the competition committee failed to come up with a better rule. That's on them,. Mike Tomlin is on the competition committee. He knows this better than anyone. Art Rooney II obviously has involved in those talks. I'm sure they'll be asked this week why the rule remains the same.
Rick
12:05
Thought I saw Jessie"s right hand go under the ball while his left hand slipped on top of the ball when he hit the ground. Yes the ball moved but I still thought he had "possession" of the ball. Is the ball not allowed to move?
Ray Fittipaldo
12:08
Depends on what game it involves and how Alberto Riveron is feeling that particular day. He ruled a touchdown in favor of the Patriots when Brandin Cooks trapped the ball against the ground after he fell to the ground. The ball not only moved, but it hit the ground. Then there was the call the NFL said he got wrong in the Jets-Patriots game earlier in the season. That call also favored the Patriots. Austin Sefarian-Jenkins would have had a touchdown, but it was ruled a fumble. I've asked the NFL to make Riveron available this week to explain why the calls have no consistency. We'll see if the make him available.
mtsteel
12:09
Hi Ray and thank you.  So the last play. First, wouldn't it be better to spike after the big play then have three shots at end zone with a time out? I feel like they self destructed, one player ran a route, James would have been wide open if he runs a route.  Lastly, Ben should have winged it out of bounds and go to OT. What say you Sir?
Ray Fittipaldo
12:10
Yes and hindsight is 20-20. I don't think they were well-prepared on that final drive. I would have hurried to the line and run a play after the long JuJu Smith-Schuster play to the 10. There were 34 seconds left. If you get a playoff off at 20 you'd have 15 seconds or so, which is enough time to run two plays before settling for a field goal. Plus, you'd preserve your timeout and give yourself the option to call a run on one of those final two play calls.
Moose
12:11
The Pats have won SB's due to the tuck rule, spygate, deflate gate, and maybe now because the NFL wants to make a catch more complicated than rocket science. Will they ever correct this stupid catch rule?
Ray Fittipaldo
12:12
Like I said earlier in the chat, if you don't change it after it costs a team a playoff game then when are you going to change it? I mean, can you imagine the uproar if this happened late in a Super Bowl?
Rick
12:12
Why no help for Davis on Gronk? Especially on the 2 point conversion! Davis looked like a middle school kid covering Shaq! I thought Hilton might have been a better option as he is a more physical player.
Ray Fittipaldo
12:12
Hilton is three inches shorter than Davis. I think that's why they shied away from doing that. That being said, if they see the Patriots again they should definitely rethink their Gronk strategy. It didn't work well enough.
Israel
12:12
Ray, are we playing our starters these last 2 games?
Ray Fittipaldo
12:13
Of course. if the Jaguars win their final two games (@ SF and Tenn) the Steelers need to win these next two games against HOU and CLE to get the No. 2 seed.
Sheff
12:14
Forget the bad call for a second.  The real bad decision was to punt on 4th and 1 from our own 40 with 2 min left.  Everyone knows Brady will score in that situation in his sleep and if we failed they'd still score fast enough to have that final chance to win the game.  Am I crazy for thinking that?
Ray Fittipaldo
12:15
At that point the Patriots only had 19 points. If Sean Davis makes that interception on the first play of the drive everyone is talking today about the great defensive job the Steelers did against the Patriots offense. I think punting was OK there. My bigger issue was having JuJu run a 3-yard route on third-and-4.
Sheff
12:15
I kept thinking on that fake spike, AB would have known to run a fade.  Ben clearly forgot he was out of the game as no one save Rodgers ran a route.  Why not run a normal play there?
Ray Fittipaldo
12:17
Roethlisberger addressed this after the game. He was thinking spike the ball and kick the FG. But the coaches were in his ear telling him to run a play. So he ran a play, and he made the decision to get cute and only have Rogers in the pattern. I think they wanted the look of a spike play with Rogers trying to get open. Obviously, it didn't work. I wonder what the Steelers would have done if the official threw the flag for pass interference on Rogers. Would they have gone for it on fourth-and-1? Or just kicked the FG and gone to overtime.
Sheff
12:17
Can AB be healthy for the divisional round?
Ray Fittipaldo
12:18
Early speculation is he will be, which is why it's so important to get the No. 2 seed. That extra week of rest will be important.
Sheff
12:18
Who can possibly cover Gronk?
Ray Fittipaldo
12:18
No one player, but certainly teams have done a better job than the Steelers did Sunday night. How about an occasional double-team?
Njsteelers
12:19
Hi Ray, thanks for your time.  The more I think about, the coaches really blew this game.  How do you call a play that no one on the field is prepared for? Haley told Ben in his helmet to not clock it and everyone on O is thinking clock it?? You had no timeouts, take the FG and play your game in OT.  Ben throws a pick, but his coaches set him up for failure. Agree?
Ray Fittipaldo
12:19
I have no problem going for the win. You can second-guess the play call and how unprepared they were for what occurred. But we'd all be critical of them if they had lost in overtime after going conservative there.
Pants
12:20
Hey Ray, do you feel that steelers could be optimistic even in a lose? I actually feel like they learned alot about man coverage and with haden coming back I really think they could win in foxboro in January.
Ray Fittipaldo
12:21
The Patriots are 17-3 at home in the playoffs with Tom Brady at QB. They are 3-4 on the road in the playoffs with Brady. Let's not underestimate the importance of last night's game. Home field would have meant something for the Steelers. It was probably their best shot to get to the Super Bowl.
11-5 and now worse than the No. 3 seed.
JJ
12:21
What is playoff status if Steelers lose to Texans and Browns. They like to lose to "inferior" teams.
Ray Fittipaldo
12:22
question to previous answer.
Sheff
12:22
Is it harder to beat the Pats twice at home, or once on the road?  If we had defeated the Pats they would have come back to Heinz field hungry for revenge.  Now the narrative is for us to avenge a bad call and a heartbreaking loss.
Ray Fittipaldo
12:23
I said all along the ultimate scenario for breaking the Patriots hex is by winning on their home field.
heartbroken
12:23
News Flash: Rob Gronkowski is hard to cover. Next time (in the playoffs or next year) any chance the Steelers give T.J. a chance to cover him, maybe with safety help? He's got the size, and if he can run with Jordy Nelson, why not give him a chance?
Ray Fittipaldo
12:24
Because he doesn't run with WRs and TE in man coverage. He can drop into zones and play the pass well, but asking him to play Gronk man-to-man would be unfair to him.
Daquido Bazzini
12:24
Hi Ray, I'm totally sickened by not only the Jessie James play reversed, but all of the officiating last night. Patriots - 2 penalties for 4 yards? Come on!
Ray Fittipaldo
12:27
Two penalties for 4 yards.  Two missed calls stick out. The no-call on Rowe in the end zone on the final play and Cam Heyward was tackled in the backfield on the Patriots' last drive when they scored the go-ahead TD. They can't make holding calls against the Steelers late and then swallow their whistles on other obvious calls.
Daquido Bazzini
12:28
Do you think the AB injury is one that he can come back from in a few weeks? Or is that not really that realistic?
Ray Fittipaldo
12:29
Early indications are he'll be back for the playoffs though nothing official from the team.
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