November 22, 2022 • 23 mins
Stan Savran gives his thoughts on the Steelers Sunday's loss to the Bengals and talks about where this team can be not in the AFC North, but also in the AFC. Stan is joined by Brian Batko from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette to talk about the roster changes and other personnel being changed within the organization and how it has brought the Steelers to this point.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Obviously a lot has changed with this budge from week one,
and the quarterback is the biggest one. This is Saffaring
on Steelers. Hello do everyone in Steeler Nation and welcome
to Savereign on Steelers the podcast I'm stand Saverign your Hope.
Thanks for joining us. If you enjoy the content on
these podcasts, please let your friends, family, neighbors, whomever know
(00:24):
that we're here. You just get us uh at Steelers
dot com. We post up two new episodes weekly throughout
the Steelers season. Um This one, of course, comes after
the Laws to Cincinnati on Sunday thirty seven to thirty
game that was closed most of the way. And when
you look at the difference between these two teams, obviously
(00:44):
there are stark differences, but the Bengals last year kind
of propelled themselves into an area where they found out
how to win games, how to win close games. At
the end, the Steelers were highly competitive in this game,
but just didn't do the types of things that you
need to do to win games like this against a
quality opponent. And the Bengals had been somewhat of disappointment
(01:08):
coming in at five and four, but still last year
winning in the playoffs. Getting to the Super Bowl as
they did, losing a tight encounter to the Rams, they
show that they've kind of advanced to the next level.
They're not at the top level yet. Um they've struggled
this year, but they had more than enough to beat
the Steelers. I thought the Steelers, we're playing him nose
(01:30):
to nose. But there were three areas in particular where
they failed to capitalize on in areas where they could
have made a difference and won the game. The first
came towards the end of the first half and early
in the second. The Steelers won the toss and elected
to defer, which most teams will do. The idea behind that.
(01:51):
The premise of deferring is that you're hoping that maybe
you can get a late score in the second quarter,
have the halftime break, and then come back, get the
ball and score on both sides of halftime. That's the
idea behind that, and get momentum the last two minutes
of the first half, first two minutes of the second
(02:12):
half of thereabouts that could be of great value. Well,
the Steelers actually did more than that. They went above
and beyond because they had a touchdown drive and then
thanks to an interception by Levi Wallace. They got a
chance with a little bit of offensive movement to kick
a field goal. Going into the first half uh intermission
(02:33):
with a lead, the touchdown would have been more than
you could have imagined, but getting the interception by Wallace
turning that into three points that made it even better.
So now here you got a lead, you've got momentum.
You're the underdog at home, you're not playing particularly good football.
The Bengals come in a fragile unit. They've been had
(02:54):
not yet to win division game, coming in oh and
three and facing the hard in fact reality that they
were down at halftime to a team at their favorite
to beat and yet the first Steeler series three and out,
the second Steeler series even after the defense held him
three and out, and the same for the third that
(03:16):
I think demoralized the team to a degree. Didn't mean
they were out of it, but it was definitely a
setback emotionally. That was a chance that really not take
a stranglehold. There was a lot of football to play,
but an opportunity to turn up the heat on Cincinnati.
The second area where they hurt themselves, I believe is
(03:40):
after the amazing interception by t J. Watt going up
and snagging that football for an interception, much like a
shot blocker would swat a ball out of the air
in basketball. What went up and got that interception very
similar to the interception he had again Burrow in the
(04:01):
first game of the regular season, having been at Acresser's stadium,
the crowd was going crazy. Steelers with an opportunity to
take a lead to twenty. They're down at that point,
but what happened. They gained six yards in three plays
(04:21):
and settled for a field goal to draw them within
one point at that Despite the fact they got points
out of that, it deflated the crowd. It deflated the Steelers.
And we always talk about defenses. Hey, it's a good thing.
If you can hold a team to a field goal
(04:43):
as opposed to a touchdown, especially in the red zone,
that's a win for the defense, and it was a
win for the Bengals. The third element the Steelers were
driving for the league. Naji Harris has just run for
a thirteen yards in the first down at the Bengal
(05:03):
thirty four, but on the very next play, Pat friar
Mouth was called for holding. Now upon further review, it
didn't look like much of a hold, but they called
it and that's the way that goes. So that negated
a nice thirteen yard gains set them up at the
(05:24):
thirty four. Now they're back first and twenty out of
field goal range. On the next sequence, J. C. Hassenauer,
who was in for the injured Mason Cole, gets called
for being illegally downfield. Now that was a snaffoo because
(05:46):
that was supposed to be a drawplate of Nagy Harris
and Hassenhauer was blocking as if we're going to be
a run. But once the handoff was botched, and that
was on Najy, not on Kenny Pickett, pick it through
the ball with half an hour down field. What he
should have done was just eat the ball. At least
(06:08):
you would have saved it down because Hals and Hour
blocking for the run would not have been called for
a legal man downfield, and that really thwarted any opportunity
they had of getting back into the game and even
taking control of the game, or at least an opportunity
to take the lead at well, at that point we're
(06:32):
in thirty seven if they're going for a touchdown, and
those are the kinds of things that teams that aren't
accustomed to winning and haven't learned how to win, or
aren't good enough to win. Those are the little things
doesn't always show up in the stat line. Maybe that
when I noticed by some it didn't escape my attention,
(06:55):
and so those may have held a false well, wasn't
a false hope going in a faint hope? Let's put
it that way. That the Steelers, after beating New Orleans
and advancing to three and six, given the jumbled nature
of the a f C, that they had an opportunity
to gain a wild card, and with the schedule lightning
(07:15):
up with games at Indian at Atlanta, Carolina still on
the schedule, still a game left to go with Cleveland,
they had that opportunity. But I think losing this game
to Cincinnati game that could have been one, like so
many others, I think that that ship is sailed. Sitting
(07:39):
there at three and seven as we talk to you today,
there are ten teams in the a f C with
better records than the Steelers have, and even though there's
seven games left to go, that's an awful lot too
many teams to climb over. Couple that with the fact
(08:01):
there are four teams that have three and seven records.
It would take going seven and oh, and this team
has given no indication that they can do that. They've
given no indication they can win multiple games in a row,
(08:22):
let alone seven and So now it seems to me
the rest of the season comes down to three things.
The players are gonna try and the coach are gonna
try to win every game they play. They are trained
to do that. I wouldn't expect anything less. In fact,
I would be disappointed in anything less than that. But
(08:46):
in terms of practical application, what remains is to evaluate
what you have. The first lengthy evaluation would be of
Kenny Pickett. Is he making progress? Is he making significant
progress so that in two thousand and twenty three next
(09:08):
season you can rely on him to be a better quarterback,
a more experienced quarterback, and not making the rookie mistakes
at all Rookie quarterbacks make. Look at Troy Aikman's workie year,
they won one game, Hall of Fame, Peyton Manning, same thing.
(09:33):
Higher pedigree quarterbacks and picket like at Joe Burrow in
Cincinnati rookie year terrible, losing a record before he had
the knee injury. Peyton Manning rookie year, not productive, But
is he making progress so that when they begin next year,
(09:54):
whoever the offensive coordinator might be, and I don't expect
it to be the current one, will he be able
to jump on that moving train. He won't be a
finished product, but will you have benefited from starting three
quarters of the season and getting that experience. The other
element that you have to look at, it seems to me,
(10:15):
in these remaining seven games, is finding out who can
help you going forward. The Steelers won't use their word rebuild,
I will, but call what you will, remodel, redecorate, call
what you want. That's exactly what they're in right now.
(10:36):
And so you have to evaluate Picket, but you also
have to evaluate the other players who you think will
be a significant part moving forward. You cannot replace the
team in one off season. Now. I'm not advocating for
taking long time starters and saying, Okay, you're benched, we're
going with younger guys. You can't do that. It's the
(10:59):
wrong message. But you can find a series or two
for younger guys, not just rookies, but second and third
year guys. Putting him in playing him when the games
are on the line, games that matter, and evaluating them
to say this guy can be a part of us
going forward. This other guy, however, does not show he's
(11:22):
capable because they're a long way away from being a
playoff team. And I know that teams go worse. The
first the Bengals did it. They finished last in the
division two years ago. Last year they're in the super Bowl.
But look at the l A. Rams win the Super Bowl.
Now they're currently last in their division. It can happen
that quickly. The difference with the Rams is they went
(11:45):
all in in two thousand twenty one to win it
all and they're paying the price now. So you're looking
for guys who can contribute and be good players, not
just okay players, good players, and if they're not, they've
got to be just Jettison. In two thousand and twenty three,
(12:07):
Brian Backo covers the Steelers for the Pittsburgh Post Gazette,
and he's done so for a few years, and so
the question becomes, as he joins us, now, Brian, thanks
for being here. Are the Steelers in an evaluation mode
from this point forward? Yeah? I think so. I mean
that that doesn't mean that they can't, you know, win
some games down the stretch here and you know, butter
(12:28):
to a more respectable record, maybe even um, you know,
get to get to nine wins because it's so muddled
that you know, anybody can beat anybody just about on
any given day, probably aside from what five or six
teams right now in the NFL. And I wouldn't put
anybody left on the Steeler schedule in that tier, so
that that's what's gonna make it interesting still. But yeah,
(12:51):
I mean to to beat anybody, the Steelers also have
to play well for a full sixty minutes and play
complimentary football, which obvious Lee has eluded them far too
often this season. And you know, to the point of
Cam Heyward there and to your point stand coming back
on the rejoin more than we've seen from the Steelers
under Mike Tomlin. Well, obviously, players and coaches they want
(13:14):
to win now. Uh, players specifically aren't concerned about the draft.
They don't care about the draft. They care about their
own personal circumstance. That means playing hard and playing well.
But as you look at from the outside looking in, um,
I've kind of had a two tiered thing that what
remaining and they're still gonna try to win games. But um,
(13:35):
a further evaluation of Kenny Pickett and subsequent evaluation of
a lot of players, are certain players worth keeping around
here as they, whether they admit it or not, are
in a rebuild. Yeah, I mean, that's that's gonna be
a new sort of evaluation for the Steelers front office
(13:56):
to juggle. You know, I think you already kind of
saw that takes eight a few weeks ago at the
trade deadline, right when omar Con. You know, he didn't
punt on the season, he didn't hold a fire sale
here from thirty two South Water Street on the South Side.
But clearly the Chase Claypool trade to the Bears for
a second rounder, which the Steelers hope and believe will
(14:16):
be a pretty high second rounder, placed more of a
priority on the future than the present. And that's that's unusual,
arguably unprecedented for this for this franchise. So I don't
think there's gonna be anything too drastic in terms of
you know, practice squad guys being promoted in mass here
on the second half of the season and really kicking
(14:38):
the tires on a bunch of people. I think they
want to continue to get a longer look at this
group that has them at three and seven with a
couple of decent wins against the likes of Tampa Bay
and the same Cincinnati team, actually an even better Cincinnati
team with Jamaar Chase that they saw yesterday. But obviously
a lot has changed with this bunch from week one,
(15:00):
and the quarterback is is the biggest one. And yet
they've they've got to continue to ride it out with
Kenny Pickett and see if they can be encouraged by
his progress here over the final seven games. I find
it interesting, um, as they plot out their strategy, UM,
pick it. Obviously he's going to be the guy barring injury,
But as far as the other players are concerned, UM
(15:21):
and evaluating, do you get the sense that tacitly, at
least not publicly, but with the Claypool trade, to me,
that signal that, yes, we've got to start thinking about
the future. Not that we're ruling out anything happening this season.
That of course was you know, before beating Tampa Bay
(15:41):
and losing to the Eagles and so on and so forth.
But UM, do you think that they've finally admitted as
an organization if not publicly that yes, we're in a rebuild.
Yeah probably. I mean, you know you can parts the
semantics of you know that word or do you do
you want to call it a transition year instead of
a building year? I mean sure, it's it's all comes
(16:02):
down to the exact phraseology you you'll want to throw
out there, because rebuilding, of course, as more of a
negative connotation and does elicit, you know, opinions that yeah,
this this year doesn't matter. I think you pretty much
hit the nail on the head there, stand with. I
don't think they view it that way. I think they
always look at a win as a good thing if
(16:23):
if that happens to come. But this whole issue of
draft positioning and you know, investing in the future more
than the present, it seems like they are well on
their way to that working itself out organically. You know,
they can't get out of their own way with some
of these these games that they're losing. You know, yesterday
in particular, they just they crumbled against I think a
(16:45):
team that's better, more talented, or certainly is right now
at the most significant position. So uh yeah, I mean
there's gonna be interest still in this stretch run because
I think every every snap, every throw, every dry, every half,
every game of football that Kenny Pickett plays is relevant
in is going to tell you some things about his
(17:08):
future in this league. But for the most part they
are going to be kind of playing out the string
and not involved in meaningful December football more than likely,
which is just you know, it's not something we've seen
here lately. Now it's been it's been a good while
and infrequently to Um, I don't know about you, Brian.
I I view this is just just the natural of
(17:28):
order of things in the NFL. I believe every team
goes through it. I mean even New England recently to
a degree. Um, that's the way the draft is structure,
that's the whole idea of it. Uh, you lose, you
get a better draft pick, presumably if you do your
due diligence, you're getting better players and vice versa. So
the disgrace it comes in not necessarily going through it,
(17:50):
but how quickly you languish in it and how quickly
you're able to come back. And I'm just wondering, Um,
the picket evaluation, of course will continue, but I'm wondering
if we might see an infusion of some younger players. Uh.
That doesn't mean I'm suggesting that you bench t. J.
Watt or Cam Hayward or something like that, but that
(18:12):
maybe you see more of louder Milk, you see more
of Leal, you know, when he gets healthy, um, a
little more of Montravius Adams, because I mean, I don't
think a lou lou is gonna be around here. Do
you expect that that will be the case? Yeah, maybe
there's some degree. But you know, other than a few
of the names you just rattled off there to insert
and replace, there's not a ton of guys in the pipeline, right.
(18:36):
I mean, I think you know Mark Robinson, the inside linebacker,
showed some good flashes in the preseason and obviously hasn't
hasn't been active but one game this season. But he's
a seventh round pick. You know, you kind of knew
that you were going to play the long game with
him if it ever hands out. You know, guys like
Trey Norwood who are younger in the secondary, we actually
have seen a decent amount of them at times due
(18:59):
to injury. And I mean when you talk about receivers,
you know they're they're pretty much already rolling with with
the future there with George Pickens being as prominently involved
as he's been since the start. You know another name
that i'd say, maybe you have to carve out more
of a role for going forward as Connor Heyward. Um,
he's kind of a position less player. Um. I thought
(19:20):
he'd be more involved post Clay Pole, but you know,
obviously was was a spare piece yesterday. I'd say, trying
to get him in some mismatches. See what what all
can he do for you as a part fullback, part
tight end, part slot receiver. Let's let's see what your
sixth round pick. It's a shame that Calvin Austin, you know,
(19:40):
the fourth rounder who's on I R out for this
entire season. It's really too bad that, you know, you
can't get a long look at somebody like that here
as the season gets away from you, well looking at
you know what the evaluation process, um is going to be. Um,
do you think the primary area that they'd be looking
at as the offensive line? Yeah? I think, uh, I
(20:03):
think that's up there. But I really think that this
is gonna be a draft to where they need to
start restocking the defense. I mean They've done it here
and there, but not with high picks, and the ones
that they have made have not hand out. So I mean,
you're you're gonna need probably some fresh blood at defensive tackle.
If Tyson A, La La lu and or Lario and
Joeb do not return, you probably need a new guy
(20:26):
an inside linebacker, unless you're content to keep rolling the
dice on on Robert's plaine, and I think the Devin
Bush ship has probably sailed for all involved, you know,
cornerback to that's that's been there at Chilly Field. On
defense safety, you know, Terrell Edmonds and demonte Kz are
gonna be free agents. So I do think that after
using their last four second round picks plus the third
(20:49):
and a couple of fourths on offensive guys in the
last couple of drafts, you know, they need to start
getting back to you know, rookie deal players on defense
that aren't gonna cost them arm and a leg to
to build that unit. But yeah, it's your point. Stand
for sure. If there is any area on offense where
you might need to invest a first or second round ticket,
(21:09):
it's it's that old line where even if you don't
need that person to or you don't want ideally that
person to step in and be a starter right away
as a rookie. UM, you at least need to provide
some more competition because right now there's just not much
in the in the offing. Even if you did want
to sit down a Dan Moore or Kevin Dotson, there's
there's nobody behind them, and the last thing for you,
(21:30):
Brian will let you go. UM. I don't know about
the word massive, but do you expect significant changes in
the coaching staff? Well, I think Matt canada Is is
ultimately gonna have to fall on the sword, and rightfully so,
for for two years of fizzling offense with four different
quarterbacks all kind of getting a shot to be the
(21:52):
one that he unlocks. And I don't think it's all
on him, but you can make the case that that
he is the main problem with the offense, and any
time that's even remotely plausible. UM, I think you you
need to take a hard, hard stance on what you're
doing there. And I don't think that it's too much
of an issue with Kenny Pickett's progression or growth or development.
I think he's a really sharp quarterback who who you know,
(22:15):
the biggest strength for him probably is the cerebral aspect
of playing the position. So I think if you get
another play caller coordinator, even offensive staff entirely in here
to work with him, then then that would be kind
of another variable you can change in the Kenny Pickett
experiment and have a better feel for how much of
it is on him and you know what you need
to do with that position in the long term. And
(22:37):
a very big thanks going to Brian back over the
Post Gazette does a great job covering the team for
that newspaper. By the way, you can listen to my
daily talk show on ESPN Pittsburgh. That's at v a m.
Every day noon to two Eastern Standard time, and if
you can't get it over the air on nine seventy am,
you can get it by downloading the I Heart Media app.
(22:59):
It's read is available, comes in clear as a bell.
We hopefully you'll tell your friends and family and neighbors
about our podcast. You can get that at Steelers dot com.
I want to wish everyone a very very happy Thanksgiving.
I hope it's a wonderful and safe holiday. We'll speak
to you next time on savrant On Steelers
Obviously a lot has changed with this budge from week one,
and the quarterback is the biggest one. This is Saffaring
on Steelers. Hello do everyone in Steeler Nation and welcome
to Savereign on Steelers the podcast I'm stand Saverign your Hope.
Thanks for joining us. If you enjoy the content on
these podcasts, please let your friends, family, neighbors, whomever know
(00:24):
that we're here. You just get us uh at Steelers
dot com. We post up two new episodes weekly throughout
the Steelers season. Um This one, of course, comes after
the Laws to Cincinnati on Sunday thirty seven to thirty
game that was closed most of the way. And when
you look at the difference between these two teams, obviously
(00:44):
there are stark differences, but the Bengals last year kind
of propelled themselves into an area where they found out
how to win games, how to win close games. At
the end, the Steelers were highly competitive in this game,
but just didn't do the types of things that you
need to do to win games like this against a
quality opponent. And the Bengals had been somewhat of disappointment
(01:08):
coming in at five and four, but still last year
winning in the playoffs. Getting to the Super Bowl as
they did, losing a tight encounter to the Rams, they
show that they've kind of advanced to the next level.
They're not at the top level yet. Um they've struggled
this year, but they had more than enough to beat
the Steelers. I thought the Steelers, we're playing him nose
(01:30):
to nose. But there were three areas in particular where
they failed to capitalize on in areas where they could
have made a difference and won the game. The first
came towards the end of the first half and early
in the second. The Steelers won the toss and elected
to defer, which most teams will do. The idea behind that.
(01:51):
The premise of deferring is that you're hoping that maybe
you can get a late score in the second quarter,
have the halftime break, and then come back, get the
ball and score on both sides of halftime. That's the
idea behind that, and get momentum the last two minutes
of the first half, first two minutes of the second
(02:12):
half of thereabouts that could be of great value. Well,
the Steelers actually did more than that. They went above
and beyond because they had a touchdown drive and then
thanks to an interception by Levi Wallace. They got a
chance with a little bit of offensive movement to kick
a field goal. Going into the first half uh intermission
(02:33):
with a lead, the touchdown would have been more than
you could have imagined, but getting the interception by Wallace
turning that into three points that made it even better.
So now here you got a lead, you've got momentum.
You're the underdog at home, you're not playing particularly good football.
The Bengals come in a fragile unit. They've been had
(02:54):
not yet to win division game, coming in oh and
three and facing the hard in fact reality that they
were down at halftime to a team at their favorite
to beat and yet the first Steeler series three and out,
the second Steeler series even after the defense held him
three and out, and the same for the third that
(03:16):
I think demoralized the team to a degree. Didn't mean
they were out of it, but it was definitely a
setback emotionally. That was a chance that really not take
a stranglehold. There was a lot of football to play,
but an opportunity to turn up the heat on Cincinnati.
The second area where they hurt themselves, I believe is
(03:40):
after the amazing interception by t J. Watt going up
and snagging that football for an interception, much like a
shot blocker would swat a ball out of the air
in basketball. What went up and got that interception very
similar to the interception he had again Burrow in the
(04:01):
first game of the regular season, having been at Acresser's stadium,
the crowd was going crazy. Steelers with an opportunity to
take a lead to twenty. They're down at that point,
but what happened. They gained six yards in three plays
(04:21):
and settled for a field goal to draw them within
one point at that Despite the fact they got points
out of that, it deflated the crowd. It deflated the Steelers.
And we always talk about defenses. Hey, it's a good thing.
If you can hold a team to a field goal
(04:43):
as opposed to a touchdown, especially in the red zone,
that's a win for the defense, and it was a
win for the Bengals. The third element the Steelers were
driving for the league. Naji Harris has just run for
a thirteen yards in the first down at the Bengal
(05:03):
thirty four, but on the very next play, Pat friar
Mouth was called for holding. Now upon further review, it
didn't look like much of a hold, but they called
it and that's the way that goes. So that negated
a nice thirteen yard gains set them up at the
(05:24):
thirty four. Now they're back first and twenty out of
field goal range. On the next sequence, J. C. Hassenauer,
who was in for the injured Mason Cole, gets called
for being illegally downfield. Now that was a snaffoo because
(05:46):
that was supposed to be a drawplate of Nagy Harris
and Hassenhauer was blocking as if we're going to be
a run. But once the handoff was botched, and that
was on Najy, not on Kenny Pickett, pick it through
the ball with half an hour down field. What he
should have done was just eat the ball. At least
(06:08):
you would have saved it down because Hals and Hour
blocking for the run would not have been called for
a legal man downfield, and that really thwarted any opportunity
they had of getting back into the game and even
taking control of the game, or at least an opportunity
to take the lead at well, at that point we're
(06:32):
in thirty seven if they're going for a touchdown, and
those are the kinds of things that teams that aren't
accustomed to winning and haven't learned how to win, or
aren't good enough to win. Those are the little things
doesn't always show up in the stat line. Maybe that
when I noticed by some it didn't escape my attention,
(06:55):
and so those may have held a false well, wasn't
a false hope going in a faint hope? Let's put
it that way. That the Steelers, after beating New Orleans
and advancing to three and six, given the jumbled nature
of the a f C, that they had an opportunity
to gain a wild card, and with the schedule lightning
(07:15):
up with games at Indian at Atlanta, Carolina still on
the schedule, still a game left to go with Cleveland,
they had that opportunity. But I think losing this game
to Cincinnati game that could have been one, like so
many others, I think that that ship is sailed. Sitting
(07:39):
there at three and seven as we talk to you today,
there are ten teams in the a f C with
better records than the Steelers have, and even though there's
seven games left to go, that's an awful lot too
many teams to climb over. Couple that with the fact
(08:01):
there are four teams that have three and seven records.
It would take going seven and oh, and this team
has given no indication that they can do that. They've
given no indication they can win multiple games in a row,
(08:22):
let alone seven and So now it seems to me
the rest of the season comes down to three things.
The players are gonna try and the coach are gonna
try to win every game they play. They are trained
to do that. I wouldn't expect anything less. In fact,
I would be disappointed in anything less than that. But
(08:46):
in terms of practical application, what remains is to evaluate
what you have. The first lengthy evaluation would be of
Kenny Pickett. Is he making progress? Is he making significant
progress so that in two thousand and twenty three next
(09:08):
season you can rely on him to be a better quarterback,
a more experienced quarterback, and not making the rookie mistakes
at all Rookie quarterbacks make. Look at Troy Aikman's workie year,
they won one game, Hall of Fame, Peyton Manning, same thing.
(09:33):
Higher pedigree quarterbacks and picket like at Joe Burrow in
Cincinnati rookie year terrible, losing a record before he had
the knee injury. Peyton Manning rookie year, not productive, But
is he making progress so that when they begin next year,
(09:54):
whoever the offensive coordinator might be, and I don't expect
it to be the current one, will he be able
to jump on that moving train. He won't be a
finished product, but will you have benefited from starting three
quarters of the season and getting that experience. The other
element that you have to look at, it seems to me,
(10:15):
in these remaining seven games, is finding out who can
help you going forward. The Steelers won't use their word rebuild,
I will, but call what you will, remodel, redecorate, call
what you want. That's exactly what they're in right now.
(10:36):
And so you have to evaluate Picket, but you also
have to evaluate the other players who you think will
be a significant part moving forward. You cannot replace the
team in one off season. Now. I'm not advocating for
taking long time starters and saying, Okay, you're benched, we're
going with younger guys. You can't do that. It's the
(10:59):
wrong message. But you can find a series or two
for younger guys, not just rookies, but second and third
year guys. Putting him in playing him when the games
are on the line, games that matter, and evaluating them
to say this guy can be a part of us
going forward. This other guy, however, does not show he's
(11:22):
capable because they're a long way away from being a
playoff team. And I know that teams go worse. The
first the Bengals did it. They finished last in the
division two years ago. Last year they're in the super Bowl.
But look at the l A. Rams win the Super Bowl.
Now they're currently last in their division. It can happen
that quickly. The difference with the Rams is they went
(11:45):
all in in two thousand twenty one to win it
all and they're paying the price now. So you're looking
for guys who can contribute and be good players, not
just okay players, good players, and if they're not, they've
got to be just Jettison. In two thousand and twenty three,
(12:07):
Brian Backo covers the Steelers for the Pittsburgh Post Gazette,
and he's done so for a few years, and so
the question becomes, as he joins us, now, Brian, thanks
for being here. Are the Steelers in an evaluation mode
from this point forward? Yeah? I think so. I mean
that that doesn't mean that they can't, you know, win
some games down the stretch here and you know, butter
(12:28):
to a more respectable record, maybe even um, you know,
get to get to nine wins because it's so muddled
that you know, anybody can beat anybody just about on
any given day, probably aside from what five or six
teams right now in the NFL. And I wouldn't put
anybody left on the Steeler schedule in that tier, so
that that's what's gonna make it interesting still. But yeah,
(12:51):
I mean to to beat anybody, the Steelers also have
to play well for a full sixty minutes and play
complimentary football, which obvious Lee has eluded them far too
often this season. And you know, to the point of
Cam Heyward there and to your point stand coming back
on the rejoin more than we've seen from the Steelers
under Mike Tomlin. Well, obviously, players and coaches they want
(13:14):
to win now. Uh, players specifically aren't concerned about the draft.
They don't care about the draft. They care about their
own personal circumstance. That means playing hard and playing well.
But as you look at from the outside looking in, um,
I've kind of had a two tiered thing that what
remaining and they're still gonna try to win games. But um,
(13:35):
a further evaluation of Kenny Pickett and subsequent evaluation of
a lot of players, are certain players worth keeping around
here as they, whether they admit it or not, are
in a rebuild. Yeah, I mean, that's that's gonna be
a new sort of evaluation for the Steelers front office
(13:56):
to juggle. You know, I think you already kind of
saw that takes eight a few weeks ago at the
trade deadline, right when omar Con. You know, he didn't
punt on the season, he didn't hold a fire sale
here from thirty two South Water Street on the South Side.
But clearly the Chase Claypool trade to the Bears for
a second rounder, which the Steelers hope and believe will
(14:16):
be a pretty high second rounder, placed more of a
priority on the future than the present. And that's that's unusual,
arguably unprecedented for this for this franchise. So I don't
think there's gonna be anything too drastic in terms of
you know, practice squad guys being promoted in mass here
on the second half of the season and really kicking
(14:38):
the tires on a bunch of people. I think they
want to continue to get a longer look at this
group that has them at three and seven with a
couple of decent wins against the likes of Tampa Bay
and the same Cincinnati team, actually an even better Cincinnati
team with Jamaar Chase that they saw yesterday. But obviously
a lot has changed with this bunch from week one,
(15:00):
and the quarterback is is the biggest one. And yet
they've they've got to continue to ride it out with
Kenny Pickett and see if they can be encouraged by
his progress here over the final seven games. I find
it interesting, um, as they plot out their strategy, UM,
pick it. Obviously he's going to be the guy barring injury,
But as far as the other players are concerned, UM
(15:21):
and evaluating, do you get the sense that tacitly, at
least not publicly, but with the Claypool trade, to me,
that signal that, yes, we've got to start thinking about
the future. Not that we're ruling out anything happening this season.
That of course was you know, before beating Tampa Bay
(15:41):
and losing to the Eagles and so on and so forth.
But UM, do you think that they've finally admitted as
an organization if not publicly that yes, we're in a rebuild.
Yeah probably. I mean, you know you can parts the
semantics of you know that word or do you do
you want to call it a transition year instead of
a building year? I mean sure, it's it's all comes
(16:02):
down to the exact phraseology you you'll want to throw
out there, because rebuilding, of course, as more of a
negative connotation and does elicit, you know, opinions that yeah,
this this year doesn't matter. I think you pretty much
hit the nail on the head there, stand with. I
don't think they view it that way. I think they
always look at a win as a good thing if
(16:23):
if that happens to come. But this whole issue of
draft positioning and you know, investing in the future more
than the present, it seems like they are well on
their way to that working itself out organically. You know,
they can't get out of their own way with some
of these these games that they're losing. You know, yesterday
in particular, they just they crumbled against I think a
(16:45):
team that's better, more talented, or certainly is right now
at the most significant position. So uh yeah, I mean
there's gonna be interest still in this stretch run because
I think every every snap, every throw, every dry, every half,
every game of football that Kenny Pickett plays is relevant
in is going to tell you some things about his
(17:08):
future in this league. But for the most part they
are going to be kind of playing out the string
and not involved in meaningful December football more than likely,
which is just you know, it's not something we've seen
here lately. Now it's been it's been a good while
and infrequently to Um, I don't know about you, Brian.
I I view this is just just the natural of
(17:28):
order of things in the NFL. I believe every team
goes through it. I mean even New England recently to
a degree. Um, that's the way the draft is structure,
that's the whole idea of it. Uh, you lose, you
get a better draft pick, presumably if you do your
due diligence, you're getting better players and vice versa. So
the disgrace it comes in not necessarily going through it,
(17:50):
but how quickly you languish in it and how quickly
you're able to come back. And I'm just wondering, Um,
the picket evaluation, of course will continue, but I'm wondering
if we might see an infusion of some younger players. Uh.
That doesn't mean I'm suggesting that you bench t. J.
Watt or Cam Hayward or something like that, but that
(18:12):
maybe you see more of louder Milk, you see more
of Leal, you know, when he gets healthy, um, a
little more of Montravius Adams, because I mean, I don't
think a lou lou is gonna be around here. Do
you expect that that will be the case? Yeah, maybe
there's some degree. But you know, other than a few
of the names you just rattled off there to insert
and replace, there's not a ton of guys in the pipeline, right.
(18:36):
I mean, I think you know Mark Robinson, the inside linebacker,
showed some good flashes in the preseason and obviously hasn't
hasn't been active but one game this season. But he's
a seventh round pick. You know, you kind of knew
that you were going to play the long game with
him if it ever hands out. You know, guys like
Trey Norwood who are younger in the secondary, we actually
have seen a decent amount of them at times due
(18:59):
to injury. And I mean when you talk about receivers,
you know they're they're pretty much already rolling with with
the future there with George Pickens being as prominently involved
as he's been since the start. You know another name
that i'd say, maybe you have to carve out more
of a role for going forward as Connor Heyward. Um,
he's kind of a position less player. Um. I thought
(19:20):
he'd be more involved post Clay Pole, but you know,
obviously was was a spare piece yesterday. I'd say, trying
to get him in some mismatches. See what what all
can he do for you as a part fullback, part
tight end, part slot receiver. Let's let's see what your
sixth round pick. It's a shame that Calvin Austin, you know,
(19:40):
the fourth rounder who's on I R out for this
entire season. It's really too bad that, you know, you
can't get a long look at somebody like that here
as the season gets away from you, well looking at
you know what the evaluation process, um is going to be. Um,
do you think the primary area that they'd be looking
at as the offensive line? Yeah? I think, uh, I
(20:03):
think that's up there. But I really think that this
is gonna be a draft to where they need to
start restocking the defense. I mean They've done it here
and there, but not with high picks, and the ones
that they have made have not hand out. So I mean,
you're you're gonna need probably some fresh blood at defensive tackle.
If Tyson A, La La lu and or Lario and
Joeb do not return, you probably need a new guy
(20:26):
an inside linebacker, unless you're content to keep rolling the
dice on on Robert's plaine, and I think the Devin
Bush ship has probably sailed for all involved, you know,
cornerback to that's that's been there at Chilly Field. On
defense safety, you know, Terrell Edmonds and demonte Kz are
gonna be free agents. So I do think that after
using their last four second round picks plus the third
(20:49):
and a couple of fourths on offensive guys in the
last couple of drafts, you know, they need to start
getting back to you know, rookie deal players on defense
that aren't gonna cost them arm and a leg to
to build that unit. But yeah, it's your point. Stand
for sure. If there is any area on offense where
you might need to invest a first or second round ticket,
(21:09):
it's it's that old line where even if you don't
need that person to or you don't want ideally that
person to step in and be a starter right away
as a rookie. UM, you at least need to provide
some more competition because right now there's just not much
in the in the offing. Even if you did want
to sit down a Dan Moore or Kevin Dotson, there's
there's nobody behind them, and the last thing for you,
(21:30):
Brian will let you go. UM. I don't know about
the word massive, but do you expect significant changes in
the coaching staff? Well, I think Matt canada Is is
ultimately gonna have to fall on the sword, and rightfully so,
for for two years of fizzling offense with four different
quarterbacks all kind of getting a shot to be the
(21:52):
one that he unlocks. And I don't think it's all
on him, but you can make the case that that
he is the main problem with the offense, and any
time that's even remotely plausible. UM, I think you you
need to take a hard, hard stance on what you're
doing there. And I don't think that it's too much
of an issue with Kenny Pickett's progression or growth or development.
I think he's a really sharp quarterback who who you know,
(22:15):
the biggest strength for him probably is the cerebral aspect
of playing the position. So I think if you get
another play caller coordinator, even offensive staff entirely in here
to work with him, then then that would be kind
of another variable you can change in the Kenny Pickett
experiment and have a better feel for how much of
it is on him and you know what you need
to do with that position in the long term. And
(22:37):
a very big thanks going to Brian back over the
Post Gazette does a great job covering the team for
that newspaper. By the way, you can listen to my
daily talk show on ESPN Pittsburgh. That's at v a m.
Every day noon to two Eastern Standard time, and if
you can't get it over the air on nine seventy am,
you can get it by downloading the I Heart Media app.
(22:59):
It's read is available, comes in clear as a bell.
We hopefully you'll tell your friends and family and neighbors
about our podcast. You can get that at Steelers dot com.
I want to wish everyone a very very happy Thanksgiving.
I hope it's a wonderful and safe holiday. We'll speak
to you next time on savrant On Steelers
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