Brian Batko on Steelers injuries, playing without T.J. Watt
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Do you believe in Bigfoot, Bob? I believe that people have big feet. Do I believe in Bigfoot? No. Do you? No, but I believe in the Batconian mongoose that he's out there somewhere. Well, he leaves big footprints. It's hard to follow guys like him because he's very good at what he does. When you try to keep up with someone like Brian Batco, nearly impossible. You know, he's a pretty good basketball player too. Did you know that? I did not know that. Yes, he is. Is he a good three-point shooter? Yes, he is. Do you think he can challenge Moseley's record for threes in a row? No. Okay. I don't think anybody could ever do that. But here he is. Is he on the line limits? He is. Is he on our YouTube channel? He said that he can be on the YouTube channel in like three minutes, but we got to the mongoose earlier than we expected.
It was like when Punctitani Phil saw his shadow and brought spring sooner and not more winter. That's what we see with the mongoose right now. All right. Smile, Austin. Brian Batko of the Post Gazette. You can read his stuff at postgazette.com joins us now. And hopefully you'll join us in a few minutes on YouTube. And you should check out our broadcast on YouTube. It don't cost nothing. You should subscribe. And the numbers are skyrocketing. You can get there through 937thefan.com or just head right over to YouTube and watch us broadcast. Brian, what do you make of this whole TJ Watt episode? Other than the obvious questions still out there, when will he be back? What other questions loom over this whole episode for you?
Well, I think the who to blame question is unavoidable, right? I mean, this is, it's truly wild that, you know, this could have happened to anybody, I suppose, on the 53, or at least anybody who does dry needling occasionally, which as we've found out in the last 72 hours is not super uncommon. It's not some novel thing, but it happened to the highest paid player on the team. And I would say the face of the team, you know, if you did a informal poll, there's probably more number 90 jerseys going to be out there on a Monday night than anybody else. So, yeah, I mean, I think also the messaging around it, has been sort of strange. You know, initially it's the Steelers getting in front of it, and then it's coming from his older brother, J.J.
Watt, who kind of shot down the national talking head speculation. So, yeah, there are still a lot of questions with T.J., and I think, naturally, the one that fans want to know is, who screwed up here? Was this avoidable? And can you fix something so that this never happens again? Do you get the impression, Brian, because here's the question for me is, was it an outside practitioner or was it a team employee who administered the dry needling? What's the better guess, I guess, because that's all we have at this point. I would think team employee, considering it happened at the facility. And, you know, that initial Steelers statement was fairly scarce on details, but, you know, they know what they're doing there in terms of,
what they want to put out publicly. And they included that it happened at the facility. So that was, I guess, a relevant piece of the puzzle with that. And I think a lot of these guys, you know, the teams don't mind if they go out to, you know, outside sources. And that's a lot of different things, whether that's acupuncturists or yoga or, you know, the extreme, like the hyperbaric chambers and all that. But no, I would assume this was a Steelers employee considering it was at the facility and, He's there getting treatment on an off day, and I would assume he was in the trainer's room when it happened. So I don't necessarily know what to make of that, but I would think that puts the onus on the team for sure.
Yeah, and the bottom line, though, Brian, is it happened, they've taken care of it, and I guess now the question, aside from all those, which will later be played out, I'm sure, with the NFL PBA, is how long is he out? He seems like a guy who is more than willing to be back sooner than later, but again, you're dealing with the lungs here.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–4:52
2
What happened to T.J. Watt and how will it affect the Steelers?
4:52–19:36
3
Who is Derrick Harmon and what is his status for the game?
19:36–31:22
4
What other injuries are impacting the Steelers lineup?
31:22–32:09
5
How will Jalen Warren's illness impact the Steelers' game plan?
32:09–32:12
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