Tim Benz stories, Page 56
Tim Benz: Making Mason Rudolph the Steelers’ starter has already helped Mike Tomlin
During Monday’s press conference, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin summed up his feelings about the club’s three-game losing streak. “One week, you’re drinking wine, then next week you’re squashing grapes. Obviously, we’ve squashed a lot of grapes of late. I’m interested in a little wine,” Tomlin said. After the...
Madden Monday: There’s only 1 scenario that would see Mike Tomlin gone as Steelers’ coach
Despite a lot of speculation about the future of Mike Tomlin in Pittsburgh, odds are that he’ll be back as the Steelers’ head coach next year. The franchise has had only three coaches since 1969. Plus, team owner Art Rooney II has so often publicly aligned himself with Tomlin despite...
First Call: Terry Bradshaw pans Steelers’ offensive line; Shannon Sharpe questions Mike Tomlin’s recent resume
Monday’s “First Call” paints a less-than-pretty picture of the AFC wild-card race for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Terry Bradshaw has some thoughts on the Steelers’ offense. Shannon Sharpe has thoughts on Mike Tomlin. We look at Marc-Andre Fleury’s return to Pittsburgh, and it was a rough weekend against a tough opponent...
Airing of Grievances: Turnovers, flags, bad defense, worse offense … Aside from that, Steelers were great in Indy
With a 30-13 loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday, the Pittsburgh Steelers have now lost three in a row and have fallen to 7-7. That’s good for just 11th in the conference. They now are last in the AFC North. The Steelers blew an early 13-0 lead. From that...
First Call: Cam Heyward disagrees with Ben Roethlisberger’s ‘Steelers Way’ take; Tyler Glasnow reportedly heading west in trade
Friday’s “First Call” features Cameron Heyward rebuffing Ben Roethlisberger’s assessment of Pittsburgh Steelers culture. An ex-Steeler is upset with the state of the team. A former Pirate is about to be part of a big trade. And a local hoops star just set a record at Duquesne. Dissenting opinion Ben...
Football Footnotes: There’s no reason to bet on the Steelers Saturday, so just go ahead and do so
After losing back-to-back games against a pair of two-win teams, there is no reason to pick the Pittsburgh Steelers to win Saturday in Indianapolis. Hence, I’m picking the Steelers to win Saturday in Indianapolis. That’s the way the NFL has been the past five to 10 years. That’s the way...
Tim Benz: Penguins’ victory in Montreal is the latest in a long line of potential launch points
In a season that’s been up and down at times (to be kind) and flat-out maddening at others (to be blunt), the Pittsburgh Penguins have constantly been searching for that lightning bolt moment. They’ve hunted for a turnaround game that could ignite an extended winning streak. One that would eventually...
U mad, bro?: Rich Eisen makes a celebrity appearance as opinions fly about Steelers coach Mike Tomlin
A lot of you think I don’t like Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin. That’s not true. I like Tomlin more than many readers presume as a person and as a coach. What I hate is the national media coverage of Tomlin. Part of the reason why I’m as critical of...
First Call: Merril Hoge rips Steelers’ route running, tight end blocking; Steelers’ wild-card path deemed NFL’s most difficult
Thursday’s “First Call” has unkind critiques of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ tight ends from a former player. The NFL rule book is about to get more complicated. The Steelers’ playoff road is rated as the most slippery in the league. And Marc Andre-Fleury discusses his long-term future. That sounds bad Former...
Tim Benz: Empty those ‘half full’ glasses. The Penguins can finally toast the power play
After his team’s 4-2 win over the Arizona Coyotes Tuesday night, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan leaned into a tried and true analogy when discussing the impact of his team finally scoring a pair of power-play goals. “Seeing the glass half full a little bit and trying to celebrate some of...
First Call: Concussion response for T.J. Watt under review; Antonio Brown makes pitch to retire as a Steeler; Jonathan Taylor’s status
The NFL and its Players Association want more answers about how the Steelers handled T.J. Watt’s concussion. We investigate the prospect of Jonathan Taylor of the Colts returning to play against the Steelers on Saturday. Antonio Brown wants to retire as a Steeler. A former Steelers backup quarterback is heading...
A trade for Mike Tomlin? Fox’s Jay Glazer tells one team to ‘swing away’
Despite what is currently a six-year drought without a playoff win, the Steelers are highly unlikely to fire head coach Mike Tomlin after this season. But would they consider trading him at the nadir of his run in Pittsburgh? Presumably, Tomlin could still hold significant cachet with other franchises, starving...
CBS NFL rules analyst discusses T.J. Watt’s holding complaints; Kansas City-Buffalo controversial call
The NFL’s big officiating controversy of the week in Kansas City wasn’t really a controversy at all. It was just a case of unfortunate timing. That’s CBS NFL rules analyst Gene Steratore’s take on the fallout from the offensive offside ruling against Chiefs wide receiver Kadarius Toney late in his...
First Call: Ben Roethlisberger says Steelers’ clock management issues are result of ‘bad coaching,’ quells talk of comeback
In Tuesday’s “First Call,” former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger tamps down any questions of a comeback. He also fans the flames of criticism when it comes to the coaching staff’s clock management. In hockey, the Penguins welcome Logan Cooley for the first time. And two other local skaters are shining...
Tim Benz: If Steelers ‘ills’ are fixable, prove it this week — or start planning for 2024
There are two constants in Pittsburgh. The first is citywide angst whenever the Steelers go into a slump. The second is road construction. Let’s bring those two unavoidable eventualities together. Let’s say the Hot Metal Bridge near the Steelers’ facility needs repairs — again. Construction crews can make the decision...
First Call: Steelers open as underdogs in Indy, somehow still in playoff spot; Joe Flacco shining in Cleveland
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a train wreck right now. But, somehow, in the wake of all the other NFL results in Week 13, they are still in a playoff position. In Monday’s “First Call,” we get into how that’s possible. Plus, we look at the Steelers’ opponent next week. We...
Tim Benz: Steelers’ back-to-back losses made history, but we’ve seen this before
It felt stupid, didn’t it? Tracking all those AFC games Sunday to see how they would impact the Steelers and the playoff standings. What a fruitless endeavor after how the Steelers performed in their last two games, losing both at home against teams (the Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots)...
Madden Monday: There’s a difference between firing Mike Sullivan and firing Mike Tomlin
Everything is bad with the Pittsburgh Steelers right now. Losing back-to-back home games against two-win teams (the Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots) has sapped any enthusiasm moving forward for the rest of the season. What’s even worse is that whenever the team is eventually eliminated from the playoffs —...
Tim Benz: Kareem Rozier’s maturity, leadership keys to Duquesne’s early success
Duquesne sophomore point guard Kareem Rozier turned 19 right before Thanksgiving. But if you meet him, talk to him, or just see him run the Dukes on the floor, you might say to yourself, “Are we sure he isn’t 29? Or 39? And is he really running the point? Or...
First Call: Steelers’ upset losses result in historically bad stat; ex-ref disagrees with Christian Kuntz penalty
Friday’s “First Call” puts the Pittsburgh Steelers’ egregious losses to the Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots into a historical context. At least one former NFL official thinks the Steelers got jobbed on the Christian Kuntz call Thursday night. The rest of the teams in the AFC playoff picture will...
Airing of Grievances: Impotent offense, disappointing defense, scattered coaching as Steelers gag against Patriots
Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t bat an eyelash at the Pittsburgh Steelers getting dusted at home by the New England Patriots. During the height of the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick years, that was a common occurrence. However, Brady is long gone and so is that era of Patriots football. They entered...
Football Footnotes: Is this the end for Bill Belichick in New England?
Two things seem pretty obvious heading into the latest edition of Steelers-Patriots on Thursday night at Acrisure Stadium: 1. There won’t be many points on the scoreboard at the end of the night. 2. No one is going to be confusing this game with any one of the classics involving...
U mad, bro?: Awful Arizona loss, Diontae’s dancing have Steelers fans in a Grinchy mood
The Pittsburgh Steelers just suffered one of the franchise’s worst losses ever at Acrisure Stadium. Diontae Johnson celebrated a meaningless touchdown. The Penguins look as old as we feared that they would. And Sports Illustrated is rewarding empty hype in college football. All we need now is the annual December...
First Call: ‘Optimism’ for Najee Harris vs. Patriots; Micah Parsons on T.J. Watt’s holding complaints
Thursday’s “First Call” has a hopeful health update for Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris. T.J. Watt is getting lots of Pro Bowl votes and support from a fellow pass-rushing star in their battle against holding calls. We also recap a busy night of college basketball action, and Robert Morris’...
First Call: Steelers veteran says ‘we sure can’t lose’ to another 2-win team; Patriots’ top RB out multiple weeks
In Wednesday’s “First Call,” a Pittsburgh Steelers veteran is drawing a line in the sand in advance of the team’s game against New England on Thursday. Meanwhile, the Patriots will have to get over the loss of an important contributor to their already anemic offense. An upcoming opponent for the...
