Mark Madden stories, Page 12
Mark Madden: Between nostalgia and progression, Pirates face critical decision with Andrew McCutchen
If you look at the stats, re-upping Andrew McCutchen for next season seems a no-brainer. McCutchen is second on the Pirates in on-base percentage (.338) and home runs (20), third in OPS (.771) and runs (64). He’s hiked his batting average to .241, respectable by today’s standard. At 37, McCutchen...
Mark Madden: Steelers can’t escape a quarterback controversy
Terry Bradshaw won four Super Bowls and is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Ben Roethlisberger won two Super Bowls and is a lock for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. After that, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback history gets a little murky. The Steelers cut Johnny Unitas, who might be...
Mark Madden: Steelers’ conservative offense, missed opportunities look awfully familiar
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense under new coordinator Arthur Smith is a work in progress. Sunday’s season opener at Atlanta didn’t yield much progress. The Steelers averaged 17.88 points per game last season. They scored 18 points at Atlanta. Six field goals. They failed to score a touchdown. Quarterback Justin Fields...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Steelers storylines worth rooting for
Those who do what I do root for the story. Not for a team or an athlete, but the story. Anybody in my profession who says otherwise is either a mark, or lying. Best-case scenario as the Pittsburgh Steelers prepare to open their season at Atlanta is: • Russell Wilson...
Mark Madden: A losing season seems likely for the Steelers and could be best for the future
The best thing that could realistically happen for the Steelers is to go 8-9 or worse. To get out from under the phony non-achievement of Coach T never having a losing season. To then set the bar higher and take a hard look at the team as it really is,...
Mark Madden: Cam Heyward’s contract another case of do the Steelers know what they are doing?
Let’s be blunt: It’s time to wonder whether the Steelers know what they’re doing. The Steelers drafted Broderick Jones to be their franchise left tackle, or so we thought. Traded up to pick him. But, over a year later, Jones still isn’t at left tackle. Coach Mike Tomlin said he...
Mark Madden: Russell Wilson has to play hero for Steelers’ outdated offense
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense is going to stink. The Steelers have the worst wide receivers in football. Pounding the ball on the ground, playing it safe and keeping it close till the fourth quarter is outdated. It’s 2024. You score more and faster. You think the Steelers play smart on offense....
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Fantasy football is serious business in this Pittsburgh league
We’re in the middle of fantasy football draft season. Most participants are just sadly pretending. If you invest $50 or $100 or whatever piddling sum, there’s no real risk. That’s OK, but don’t posture like you’re Howie Roseman. Don’t bore people with tales of brilliant roster management: “I got Aiyuk!...
Mark Madden: Of all the Pirates’ problems, league’s 2nd-lowest payroll is by far the biggest
The Pittsburgh Pirates not only have collapsed, but they also have lost games in grand fashion. On Wednesday, the Pirates led Chicago, 10-3, at PNC Park but got beat 14-10. That was an award winner, exploding sewer pipe division. It had so many great elements: • Hottie gymnast Livvy Dunne...
Mark Madden: Justin Fields’ upside is higher, but does potential reward justify risk for Steelers?
Justin Fields was never going to start when the Pittsburgh Steelers open their season Week 1 at Atlanta. There was no competition at quarterback. Russell Wilson was not only in pole position to start training camp, but the checkered flag was predetermined. But perhaps Fields should start. Not Week 1,...
Mark Madden: No one was ‘bamboozled’ by Steelers’ quarterback decision
ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky said the media was “bamboozled a little bit” because “this was never a quarterback competition” between Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. No duh, Einstein. Except you weren’t bamboozled. Nobody ever said it was a quarterback competition, least of all Mike Tomlin. Wilson had “pole position” and was...
Mark Madden: Pirates have decisions to make, or not make, before next season
The Pittsburgh Pirates’ disintegration since the trade deadline defies belief. Except I believe it. Even at their best, this year’s Pirates never truly looked a playoff team. Fringe, no better. But there was nothing marginal about how they dropped out of the wild-card race, imploding via 10 straight losses. Travesty...
Mark Madden: Given Steelers’ QB options, Mason Rudolph would look pretty good in Black and Gold
It’s easy to suggest the Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback situation will work out. But do you see any sign of that? The quarterback “battle” that got invented by the national media seems to be morphing into reality. Not talked into existence, but maybe born of Russell Wilson’s early-training camp calf injury...
Mark Madden: Steelers’ offense is in preseason disarray
It’s convenient to say exhibition play has no bearing on the NFL regular season. It’s even more convenient to expect a switcheroo in form from exhibition games to real ones by remembering that Kenny Pickett had a passer rating of 158.3 in the 2023 preseason, then fell apart when live...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Olympic flag football will be drowned in endless glory for NFL, Team USA
False and misguided patriotism duly noted, the U.S. men’s basketball team winning gold at the Olympics (as pre-ordained by a string of double-digit point spreads) was farcical to the objective eye, best exemplified by LeBron James dunking over some swizzle stick from South Sudan, then going through his flexing and...
Mark Madden: Are Steelers showing patience with Brandon Aiyuk or just being played?
There’s a fine line between being patient and being played. In the case of the attempted acquisition of wideout Brandon Aiyuk from San Francisco, it feels like the Pittsburgh Steelers have fallen into the latter category. If it was going to happen, it would have happened by now. The Steelers...
Mark Madden: Replacing Derek Shelton is a good idea but wouldn’t solve Pirates’ problems
With the Pittsburgh Pirates collapsing in thorough and spectacular fashion, the citizens need a scapegoat. The easy pick is manager Derek Shelton. Should the Pirates fire Shelton? Absolutely. They shouldn’t have hired Shelton in the first place. He will never again manage in MLB once his tenure with the Pirates...
Mark Madden: U.S. basketball’s gold standard lacks spark despite dominance
The United States won Olympic gold in men’s and women’s basketball. Ho-hum. The men have won every gold since 2008, the women since 1996. U.S. basketball is like the Soviet hockey dynasty that won seven Olympic golds from 1956-88: It’s only interesting when they get beat. When the juggernaut loses,...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: JuJu Smith-Schuster shows life changes fast in NFL
JuJu Smith-Schuster very quickly went from litty to … well, not very good. It’s not a cautionary tale. Just a reminder of how quickly and decisively life in the NFL can turn. At 27, Smith-Schuster is no longer the Pizza Hut guy, or the stolen bike guy, or the high...
Mark Madden: Penguins and Sidney Crosby should reach a deal … but what if they can’t?
Sidney Crosby has one year to go on his Pittsburgh Penguins contract. He hasn’t yet signed an extension. He was able to do so as of July 1. When his 37th birthday came and went Wednesday (Aug. 7, you know, 8/7) and the numerically obsessed Crosby still hadn’t put pen...
Mark Madden: Brandon Aiyuk fills a desperate need for Steelers. Go get him.
After months of speculation, San Francisco has put want-away wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk on the market. The Steelers are among the teams kicking the tires. If the Steelers don’t get Aiyuk, it’s a failure by management. If Cleveland gets Aiyuk, the Steelers will finish last in the AFC North. (The...
Mark Madden: Russell Wilson offers Steelers a reliable presence at QB; Justin Fields doesn’t
Once his calf is totally healed, and he’s taking regular snaps, and the 100% fabricated battle for the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback job is over, Russell Wilson will be the team’s saving grace. If there’s anything to be made of the team’s 2024 season, Wilson will do it. Not the $160...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: For Pirates to succeed, Oneil Cruz has to help more than he hurts
Oneil Cruz giveth and he taketh away. The Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop did the latter this past Wednesday when he made three errors, including two on the same play. Cruz’s miscues led directly to three unearned runs and a 5-4 loss at Houston. Cruz did the former Friday when he went...
Mark Madden: Training camp has Steelers full of hope … and something else
Pittsburgh Steelers training camp is a wonderful occasion. Full of hope. Full of excrement, too. That’s why I get nowhere near it. Dino’s and Sharkey’s are the closest I come. On Tuesday, the first day of practice in pads, the offense used six running plays during the “seven shots” segment. That’s...
Mark Madden: Ben Cherington improved Pirates, but can Derek Shelton and players finish job?
The Pittsburgh Pirates’ flurry of positive activity at the 11th hour of Tuesday’s MLB trade deadline makes for an unexpected flurry of positive analysis. I figured them to do nothing by way of avoiding increased payroll. But the Pirates accomplished that, too. Unloading pitcher Martin Perez — to fellow National...
