BRIAN BATKO’S STEELERS CHAT HIGHLIGHTS
A few highlights from Brian Batko’s Monday Steelers chat, which you can join weekly at post-gazette.com. Questions and answers have been edited for clarity:
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Gene: Thoughts on no preseason games, good or bad?
Brian Batko: Mostly good. Players don’t like them and neither do fans. If there were ever a year to see what football would be like without them, this is it.
Retire21: Watched YouTube video of all Ben’s 2018 TDs. A.B. made some ridiculous catches. Suddenly worried he cannot really be replaced?
Brian Batko: It’s not a sudden worry. But it is a question we only sort of got answers to last year. The receiving group fell off a lot, clearly, but it’s a bit unfair to judge them without Ben Roethlisberger.
Ben: How would you handle an Orlando Pride situation where a team has a high number of COVID positives? Forfeit game or reschedule and keep prolonging the season?
Brian Batko: You’re talking about the team that pulled out of the National Women’s Soccer League after having 10 positive tests. I certainly don’t think an NFL team would withdraw from the season. A forfeit is also tough to imagine. In this scenario, I guess you could just follow the league policies for “close contact” with positive individuals, which includes daily testing. And, obviously, remove any other positives from the team for the time being.
Ryno: Would it shock you if there is some type of virusrelated disaster on at least one team if they do a 2020 season?
Brian Batko: Depends what you would consider a disaster. Given the amount of testing, I could see an outbreak within an organization, sure. But as far as a bunch of players getting sick and/or needing hospitalized? That would shock me.
John Strange: You get $100 million if correct. There will not be a complete 2020 NFL season. True or false?
Brian Batko: Uh, to me, the preseason is part of the 2020 NFL football season, so I’ll say true and take my $100 million. Nice knowing yinz.
Pitts4Life: Do you think Ben is still a top 10 QB in NFL? If not, how far has he fallen?
Brian Batko: Off the top of my head, I’d say no. He’s particularly tough to gauge because last time we saw him play a full season, he was really productive. But last time we saw him play, he wasn’t. And now he’s coming off an injury. And other young stars are rising. He’s probably just outside the top 10 for me.
Dave. Md: With Brady out of AFC, do you think the Steelers chances of advancing to and out of AFC championship have increased substantially? Assuming everyone stays healthy throughout year.
Brian Batko: I think every team in the AFC’s chances have increased with Tom Brady leaving New England. But the Ravens and Chiefs still are head and shoulders above the rest of the conference in my eyes.
Buster: Don’t you think Daniel Snyder should be happy he has a reason to change the Redskins name and logo? Teams make minor changes to their uniforms’ color and design all the time in order to boost merchandising sales. This could be a bonanza for Washington.
Brian Batko: No, he’s probably not happy to deal with a controversy that’s likely to upset as many people as it satisfies. Such is life. I don’t think the fans who are most resistant to the change would rush out to buy the new gear/support the new name.
Ryno: Do you see any realistic way out of the cap hit Ben will create next season? It is a crippling figure the Steelers have kicked down the road.
Brian Batko: Sure, cut him. OK, maybe that’s not realistic. But they also could extend him again and spread out that money over future years, even ones he might not end up playing.