STEELERS CHAT HIGHLIGHTS
A few highlights from Ray Fittipaldo’s Tuesday Steelers chat, which you can join weekly at post-gazette.com. Questions and answers have been edited for clarity:
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Utah Jim: The Steelers have not had an effective run game since the first half of the 2018 season, even with Ben and AB to back off defenses. I believe the issue is an aging OL that was just compounded by the problems at QB in 2019 and getting Ben back will only help slightly. The OL is the oldest in the league and didn’t get younger with the addition of Wisniewski. Shouldn’t addressing the OL be the top priority in the upcoming draft?
Ray Fittipaldo: While I agree with you that the Steelers will begin to rebuild their offensive line through the draft, I disagree that they didn’t get younger. Foster was 34. If Matt Feiler is the left guard, he is 27. If Chuks Okorafor is the right tackle, he’s 22. So you have to look at it that way. I think you’ll see them draft an OT with one of their first four picks.
Lloyd’s 3-Count: What compromising photos did the Steelers have on Goodell to get out of Hard Knocks?
Ray Fittipaldo: Remember when the Steelers played all those national TV games on Christmas and Thanksgiving? And remember when the NFL had the Steelers play in the Hall of Fame game this summer? All of those things are important for the league. The Steelers jack up TV ratings. They’re a cornerstone franchise for the league. Art Rooney II, in all likelihood, brought that to the commissioner’s attention.
Lloyd’s 3-Count: What did you think about David DeCastro’s omission from the all-decade team?
Ray Fittipaldo: I would have put him on before Logan Mankins, that’s for sure. Mankins hasn’t played in the league since 2015, and he was never the same player after leaving New England.
AK: I don’t believe the mock drafts that have the Steelers taking a QB in the 2nd or 3rd round. Do you think that would be a wasted pick?
Ray Fittipaldo: Yes. Those are mock drafts by national writers that don’t pay close attention to what’s going on in Pittsburgh. I just can’t see them drafting a QB when Roethlisberger has two years left on his contract.
Mikey: I’ve seen lots of Steelers fans and writers (including yourself) talking up KJ Hamler. Do you think there may be a fair amount of Western Pennsylvania proximity bias in those opinions? He strikes me as the second coming of Tavon Austin: small, speedy, and a useful player, but not a huge difference maker. I’d rather draft a guy with speed but more bulk so as to avoid durability concerns.
Ray Fittipaldo: Hamler is smaller, but fast and shifty. He’s a playmaker. Austin is a guy who might have had more success if he had a better QB situation. So much depends on the coaching, the QB and other factors when it comes to receivers.
Guest: Ray, It seems to me if you call something your “base” defense you should use that formation more than any other. Yet the Steelers use both the 2-4 and 2-5 more than the 3-4. I think it is important to note this because later this year (assuming there is a season) when they have trouble stopping the run and folks complain about the 3-4, the first thing we should recognize about the Steelers 3-4 is they don’t use it and they will not fix the run defense until they do. What say you?
Ray Fittipaldo: That’s sub-package football in today’s NFL. Sometimes you have to sacrifice one thing to be strong at another. The question for the Steelers is whether they can be stout when they need to be against teams like the Ravens and Titans and Bills — teams that want to run the ball down your throat.