Baltimore Beatdown
Welcome back to another edition of 5 Questions, a weekly collaboration with other SB Nation sites to preview the Ravens’ upcoming matchups. This week, the Ravens are playing the Pittsburgh Steelers, so Ryland Bickley of Behind the Steel Curtain is on hand to answer Baltimore Beatdown’s questions about Week 14.
And, check out Baltimore Beatdown’s responses to BTSC’s questions about the Ravens!
1. How has the Aaron Rodgers experience been so far? He seems to be an upgrade from Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, but is he enough of an upgrade?
Recently it’s been a bit of a mess. Earlier in the season, Rodgers was succeeding as a distributor on offense. His time to throw was short and he wasn’t pushing the ball downfield much, but the Steelers offense was scoring points and capitalizing on yards after the catch.
However, as the season has gone on and Rodgers has been banged up, his level of play has dipped. Rodgers looks increasingly uncomfortable in the pocket and his accuracy has taken a nosedive on anything 10 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. Overall, he’s been better than Wilson and Fields, but he’s clearly regressed and has become a weak point on the offense in recent weeks.
2. Fans in Pittsburgh seem to be losing faith in Mike Tomlin. What can he do to win them back, and do you think the Steelers would consider trading Tomlin?
In the short term, Tomlin could regain some fans’ support by winning a playoff game or two this season. Most of the frustration stems from the fact that Pittsburgh hasn’t won in the postseason — or even looked competitive in those games, really — since the 2016-17 season.
But in the long term, Tomlin needs to modernize the team’s approach, especially when it comes to hiring coordinators and assistants.
That said, I don’t see the team firing or trading Tomlin anytime soon. Most of the “reports” on that have been unsubstantiated rumors that run opposite to how the Steelers organization operates. Pittsburgh has had just three head coaches since 1969 and tends to be extremely loyal to its staff.
Given the current state of the Steelers, there’s a chance Tomlin’s seat is growing warmer. But if the two sides part ways, it will probably be when Tomlin’s current contract runs out in 2027.
3. What have been the biggest issues behind the Steelers’ defensive inconsistencies this season? How do they match up with the Ravens’ offense compared to last year?
I’ve largely described those issues as a mix between the Steelers defensive stars losing a step and the general scheme failing to do much to help the players out.
Names such as T.J. Watt, Cam Heyward, and Jalen Ramsey are still excellent players, but they’re not as consistently dynamic as they were in their primes. The team’s failed Darius Slay experiment might be the most extreme example of how the veteran-heavy strategy can go wrong, with Pittsburgh signing the 34-year-old to start and later benching...
