JotCast | Steelers-Ravens live chat and updates: 11.01.20

Steelers-Ravens live chat and updates: 11.01.20

Brian Batko

12:21

Happy November, everyone. I just unloaded the baby on my parents, about to make myself some coffee and I feel great. Ready for Steelers-Ravens. Questions?

Guest

12:23

Hey Brian, With Cam S in for Mike today, do we expect to see less blitzing? And might I be correct thinking there's no real dropoff in defending against LJ's running? (Which, I know, is kinda like asking who'd be better at tackling Gale Sayers.)

Brian Batko

12:24

I don't think you'll see less blitzing because of that, but the Steelers might need to be a little less aggressive because of Jackson's ability to pull it and run, things of that nature. Need to attack him wisely and not let that bugaboo of big plays pop up again for an otherwise stout defense.

Nick

12:27

I am nervous about this game. Everyone is picking Ravens. Hope they are wrong.

Brian Batko

12:27

Yes, it should be a good one, and a close one. I picked the Ravens, Ray Fittipaldo picked the Ravens, but Gerry Dulac picked the Steelers. Last week those guys picked the Titans and I picked Steelers, so today Gerry is the odd one out.

Norm in the Netherlands

12:30

Follow up to above: So maybe less corner blitzing, and have Cam cover, e.g. TEs?

Brian Batko

12:31

Possibly. Mark Andrews is a tough matchup for anyone. I think you might see Terrell Edmunds on him more than Sutton, but it's nice to have options. Norm, are you actually in the Netherlands?

12:32

To make this about me for a second, I'm very torn with my fantasy teams trying to figure out if I should stay away from all these guys playing in bad weather matchups today. Any thoughts?

Norm in the Netherlands

12:33

Sure as heck actually am. 35 yrs already. Self-annointed Bull Goose Looney of Stillrz Universe, West Europe Chapter.

Brian Batko

12:33

Awesome. Happy to have you.

Norm in the Netherlands

12:34

Cheers, bruh. Good to be here.

soggy

12:36

Does Antoine Brooks see any playing time on D?

Brian Batko

12:37

I don't think so. But I haven't been at practice this week, so tough for me to give you an informed opinion on that. Probably a good sign for Brooks' development overall that he's getting called up to make his NFL debut today, but this would be a heck of a first spot to put him in for meaningful snaps. Hometown kid getting to play in Maryland though is cool.

Guest

12:40

this jackson guy hasn't won anything, he's vastly over rated, no playoff wins, chokes a lot like ben in the playoffs the last 4 years !!!!! but i do except him to beat the over rated steelers with ease, start of the big down fall

Brian Batko

12:42

Two career postseason games for Lamar, two losses, and he hasn't played great, no. But if folks keep calling him vastly overrated, he'll quickly become underrated again like he was going into the draft. Think the Browns would've rather taken him than Baker Mayfield? Or how about the Jets and Sam Darnold?

12:43

Now that I think about it, how about the Dolphins in Jackson's hometown? They used the 11th pick on Minkah Fitzpatrick, and we all know how that turned out.

Norm in the Netherlands

12:44

izzat you asking us fantasy stuff? Bad weather in Balt, (reminds me of a great Peter Case song), would favor who?

Brian Batko

12:45

Has to be the Ravens, right? As well as James Conner has been running lately, if this becomes a mudfest, I'll side with the best ground game in the league. Not as prolific as their record-setting pace last year, and Mark Ingram is out for this one, but JK Dobbins is an electric rookie and Gus Edwards was running over the Steelers left and right last year in the rain in Week 17.

Georgia J

12:49

If Lamar was in NY we would hear about him every 5 minutes. He has proved most NFL teams, as well as the talking heads of the 24/7 NFL news cycle wrong. A perfect example of a coaching staff taking full advantage of a player’s skill. That is the last complimentary thing you will see me say about the Balt Browns/Ravens

Brian Batko

12:52

No doubt, GJ. I wrote about Steelers-Ravens from a 30,000 foot view for the Sunday paper today, and the last section dealt with the future of both. Baltimore is pretty much living its future already with Jackson, and it'll be up to the Steelers to transition just as successfully when Ben retires, whenever that may be: https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2020/10/31/steelers-raven...

Nick

12:53

Brian, are you in Pittsburgh today? Who is at the M&T stadium for PG?

Brian Batko

12:54

I am in Pittsburgh. Ray and Gerry are in Baltimore. By going to Tennessee, which is on PA's list of COVID-19 states, I have to quarantine for two weeks. That means no trips to the office, no practice, no game coverage for me through the Cowboys game.

Gravel

12:55

Brian. What do the Steelers do if the sun the toss?

Brian Batko

12:56

The guess here is defer. I know, I know, they took the ball last week in Nashville and looked brilliant. But that was the first time in 15 toss wins the Steelers did that. Maybe the start of trend, but probably more of an anomaly. We'll find out momentarily.

Norm in the Netherlands

12:57

So you pick the Stillrz, thinking they can score big or defend v well against both big plays and ground game?

Brian Batko

12:58

I picked the Ravens, Norm. It should be close, but they've had an extra week to prepare and are playing at home, which doesn't mean as much but still helps, I think. A lot of the other factors are damn near equal, on paper.

Norm in the Netherlands

12:59

How well integrated do you expect Ngokwe (spelling?) to be?

Brian Batko

1:00

If you all want to sound smart watching the game with friends/family, Yannick Ngakoue is pronounced Yah-NEEK N-gok-way. I think you'll see him mostly on obvious passing downs, but I'll be more concerned with his impact on the game when these two meet again on Thanksgiving.

Michael Mozart

1:01

Defer

Brian Batko

1:01

Yep, there you go. Steelers aren't all of a sudden bucking the trend in that department. Fun fact: in 2019, NFL teams deferred 222 out of 256 times.

Georgia J

1:02

How many fans permitted at Bank stadium today?

Brian Batko

1:02

They're allowing in 4,300. Last week in Nashville didn't feel much like a road game to me, but hey, I was in the press box.

1:03

Tony Romo on the call. I love that.

1:04

ICYMI no Mike Hilton today, no Ulysees Gilbert and no Chris Wormley. Wormley had only been playing 5-10 snaps a game, but if there were any week he might be useful, you'd think it would be against his former team.