Mark Madden Columns category, Page 29
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Pirates ownership simply can’t be trusted
The Pittsburgh Pirates lost 100 games for a second consecutive year for the first time since 1952-54. That team cracked that regretful barrier three straight times. Next year’s squad won’t lose 100. Probably not, anyway. But the Pirates’ winning percentage in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season was .317, lowest in franchise...
Mark Madden: When placing blame for Steelers struggles, start with the defense
The numbers don’t lie. Except when they do. Pro Football Focus says the Steelers offensive line has allowed the least QB pressures in the NFL. Tight end Pat Freiermuth is on pace for 947 receiving yards. Heath Miller’s best season was 816 receiving yards. Cornerback Cameron Sutton has eight forced...
Mark Madden: Plenty must go right for Penguins to find success in ’22
The Penguins have made the Stanley Cup playoffs for an incredible 16 straight years. They haven’t won a playoff series since 2018. This season’s team should maintain the former streak. Can it end the latter streak? Can it win a first-round series after losing four in a row? Can it...
Mark Madden: It will get worse for Steelers before it gets better
Here’s some real talk about the Pittsburgh Steelers, who are 1-3 on their way to 1-7 going into the bye week (2-6 at best): • Kenny Pickett erred horribly in his NFL debut. His second interception did as much as anything to lose the game. Pickett must throw that ball...
Mark Madden: Despite reputation, Mike Tomlin needs to be better for Steelers
Outside linebacker Melvin Ingram of the Miami Dolphins won AFC Defensive Player of the Month. Ingram played for the Pittsburgh Steelers last year until leaving after six games because he was unhappy with playing time. Coach Mike Tomlin granted Ingram his requested exit because, as Tomlin says, “We need volunteers,...
Mark Madden: Some Steelers are playing well, but it’s a short list
Tyson Alualu got dropped to the second string. Montravius Adams took Alualu’s spot as a starter on the defensive line in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ base 3-4 defense. This clearly solves all the Steelers’ problems. They should do no worse than 13-4. Regarding further change, coach Mike Tomlin said, “We’re not...
Mark Madden: Penguins lineup already mostly determined, but they have options
Pittsburgh Penguins training camp seems to get shorter every year. The Penguins played exhibition games in two different cities Sunday. That’s certainly hurrying things up. NHL preseason used to be longer. Players would work themselves into shape after truly taking the summer off. Now conditioning is a year-round endeavor. Sidney...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Steelers need big-money players to make big plays
In Dan Jenkins’ acclaimed football novel, “Semi-Tough,” a character named Dreamer Tatum proclaims thusly after a narrow defeat: “I learned somethin’ a long time ago about football. What could have happened, did.” Words to live by. If Cameron Sutton didn’t drop an interception or Gunner Olszewski didn’t muff a punt...
Mark Madden: The Steelers created this rotten football team, and it can’t be fixed
It’s the nature of sports fans to be optimistic, however cockeyed. To believe that a team perceived to be underperforming can be fixed. Coach ’em up. Tweak the lineup or strategy. Trade all our bad players for all their good players. Find that secret sauce that’s a cure-all, or at...
Mark Madden: Yankees fan should have cashed in on Aaron Judge’s remarkable accomplishment
Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees is making $19 million this year. He’s made $36 million during his career. He’s going to break the bank in free agency after the season. On Tuesday, he hit his 60th home run. That’s in the Yankees’ 147th game. Judge got to 60...
Mark Madden: Steelers offense has limitations, but Matt Canada deserves blame, too
The Pittsburgh Steelers just aren’t very good. But neither are the New England Patriots. If the Steelers offense is scared, scant, rotten and easy to defend because that’s what quarterback Mitch Trubisky’s limitations dictate, put in Kenny Pickett. If the Steelers offense is scared, scant, rotten and easy to defend...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Ke’Bryan Hayes’ gaffe again makes Pirates a national punchline
Ke’Bryan Hayes had no glove on. He was eating sunflower seeds. The ball was in play. A runner was rounding the base he was standing next to. Beat ’em, Bucs! The usual suspects say what happened Friday night is no big deal, that every athlete does something stupid occasionally. But...
Mark Madden: Shohei Ohtani has the showbiz market cornered, but Aaron Judge should be AL MVP
In 1941, Ted Williams hit .406. He remains the last MLB player to hit .400 or better. He led MLB with 37 home runs and was fourth with 120 RBIs. Williams led MLB in all the stats that didn’t matter then or weren’t kept: WAR, OPS, etc. Joe DiMaggio hit...
Mark Madden: No one knows when T.J. Watt will return, but Steelers have options in the meantime
The truth about T.J. Watt’s injury is we still don’t know. It’s reported that Watt’s pectoral injury doesn’t require surgery, just rehab. Watt will miss six games. That’s not official. That’s not confirmed by the Steelers. If Watt, indeed, plays again come Oct. 30 at Philadelphia, will he be 100%?...
Mark Madden: Steelers defense is just ordinary without T.J. Watt
Pyrrhic victory — A victory that comes at a great cost, perhaps making the ordeal to win not worth it. Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defined the Pittsburgh Steelers’ crazy 23-20 overtime win at Cincinnati perfectly: It just wasn’t worth it. It was Pyrrhic as can be. Not that such things can be...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Steelers are bound for a losing season
Here’s my Pittsburgh Steelers prediction. You won’t like it. The Steelers will go 7-10. Coach Mike Tomlin’s first losing season. (What a relief that will be. The streak of years without a playoff win will be extended to six, however.) I’m not totally convinced of my prediction. This Steelers team...
Mark Madden: Futures bets that could pay off during NFL season
The NFL season is here. The most important thing is to get your bets down. What would football be without gambling? The most flawed wager I’ve witnessed so far this season is Carolina back Christian McCaffrey drafted second overall in a $6,500-per-team fantasy league. McCaffrey has played just 10 games...
Mark Madden: Many experts have unrealistic expectations for Steelers
It’s the time of year when media members make their Pittsburgh Steelers predictions. The vast majority lie, at least locally. “About nine or 10 wins” will be a familiar refrain. But few will mean it. Sports Illustrated caused commotion among the yinzers by predicting 6-11. One Pittsburgh media type wondered...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Here’s how the Steelers can reach the playoffs
There are plenty of reasons the Pittsburgh Steelers won’t make the playoffs. But if they do, here’s why: • Mitch Trubisky excels. He might. Trubisky had an excellent preseason. His arm looks terrific. He’s got the pedigree of a No. 2 pick overall. He was better in Chicago than you...
Mark Madden: Dave Parker is being honored by Pirates, but he deserves more
Saturday is that rarest of days in Pittsburgh: A time when baseball can legitimately be celebrated, as opposed to convincing ourselves it’s OK to rarely make contact with the ball as long as it travels over 110 mph when you do, even if it’s caught. Not only is it OK,...
Mark Madden: Steelers’ Mike Tomlin must avoid another Melvin Ingram fiasco
Memo to Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin: Don’t make the same mistake twice. As this space recently noted, Tomlin erred when he started Alex Highsmith at edge rusher last season, not Melvin Ingram. Ingram got the boo-boo face, asked out, got traded to Kansas City and was missed when T.J. Watt...
Mark Madden: If there was a Steelers quarterback competition, Mitch Trubisky won it
There was never a legit competition for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ starting quarterback job. If you consider how the quarterbacks got deployed at training camp and in the exhibition games, that’s obvious. It was all lip service and media stooging. But if there had been a competition, Mitch Trubisky would have...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Fantasy football skews rooting priorities
It’s the time of year when everybody unwittingly ruins their enjoyment of the NFL by drafting a team in that most counterproductive of activities, fantasy football. You love it. You shouldn’t. It’s popular. So is drug abuse. Say your fantasy team includes Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow. Who do you root...
Mark Madden: Steelers should delay culture shock for Kenny Pickett until after Patriots matchup
These refreshing sports notes are locked in a battle to see who starts! (Not really. But that’s a deception you like to buy into.) • Kenny Pickett has looked great in preseason games. But he has faced defenses that were 100% vanilla. Plenty of media experts want Pickett to start...
Mark Madden: Offensive line is a monument to Steelers mismanagement
The Pittsburgh Steelers have a host of good players, not least their three defensive standouts: Minkah Fitzpatrick, Cam Heyward and T.J. Watt. They also have a lot of promising young talent on offense, including Najee Harris, George Pickens and Kenny Pickett. But the Steelers have a lousy team. It’s poorly...
