Mark Madden Columns category, Page 12
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...
Mark Madden: NFL teams are overpaying underachieving quarterbacks, crippling their franchises
Jordan Love signed a four-year extension with Green Bay worth $55 million per. That ties him for highest average annual value among quarterbacks. Tua Tagovailoa signed a four-year extension with Miami worth $53.1 million per. That puts him fourth in average annual value. Neither Love nor Tagovailoa has played in...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Russell Wilson has no business on a blocking sled
Quarterback Russell Wilson missed the first three days of Steelers practice because he tweaked his calf pushing a blocking sled during a conditioning test. What’s gained by making a 35-year-old QB push a blocking sled? How much blocking will Wilson have to do? What would Ben Roethlisberger have said had...
Mark Madden: Maybe it’s time to lighten up on Pete Rose
HBO’s new four-part, four-hour documentary on Pete Rose reveals little new but is nonetheless provocative. That’s because Pete Rose is provocative. He’s everyman, a monument to hard work maximizing skill. If you don’t believe that, ask Rose. He’ll tell you. His ban from MLB for betting on baseball is something...
Mark Madden: Pittsburgh gets to see some of what makes Liverpool FC special
I’ve lived in Pittsburgh my entire life. Pittsburgh believes that the greatest football team in the world plays at Acrisure Stadium. Friday night, for the first time, that actually happens. I’m not sure exactly where my devotion to Liverpool Football Club came from. It definitely revved up in the late...
Mark Madden: Why be careful with prospects? Time is now for Pirates to maximize Paul Skenes’ window
Yet another column on why the Pittsburgh Pirates have to get a legit bat before MLB’s July 30 trade deadline: The Pirates aren’t far from a playoff berth. The standings show that, as did the Pirates with their performance in the just-completed home series against Philadelphia, baseball’s best team. Winning...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Getting a bat at the deadline will keep deception going for Pirates
Here’s why the Pittsburgh Pirates should add a significant bat before MLB’s July 30 deadline, proposed in a way that owner Bob Nutting might approve: If the Pirates legitimately appear to be trying to win, it would hook the marks for at least five more years. The suckers. That’s you....
Mark Madden: Steelers’ outlook grim after underwhelming offseason, questionable roster decisions
The Pittsburgh Steelers will lose at Atlanta in Week 1. Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins will outscore them. We’ve talked about training camp issues throughout what’s been an interminable offseason. Since those topics are exhausted, why not jump ahead to predicting games? Records, too. I’ve got 9-8, trending toward 8-9. Card...
Mark Madden: Pirates have opportunity to win now with Paul Skenes, but will they follow through?
Paul Skenes’ performance at the MLB All-Star Game was anticlimactic. The Pittsburgh Pirates’ rookie pitching phenom did face Aaron Judge after walking Juan Soto. Unintentionally, no matter what conspiracy theorists think. But that “big on big” matchup wasn’t too big: One pitch, fielder’s choice. (That’s good for Skenes’ pitch count.)...
Mark Madden: Pirates fans should appreciate Paul Skenes while they still can
It’s a new holiday in Pittsburgh: Skenes Day. It occurs roughly once a week. The city stops and watches. The biggest Skenes Day yet is Tuesday. Paul Skenes starts for the National League in the MLB All-Star Game at Arlington, Texas. All-Star games are meaningless. But in this one, the...
