Tim Benz Columns category, Page 81
Tim Benz: Where Andrew McCutchen’s presence may best benefit the Pirates — if he’s willing to go there
When Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen made the comment, I figured it was simply the right thing to say. “I want to win,” McCutchen said during a press conference to announce his return to Pittsburgh after a five-year absence. “Specifically, I want to win here. I know what it feels...
First Call: Where the Penguins sit after a busy night in the Metro; potentially rebooting the original Winter Classic
Friday’s “First Call” looks at where the Pittsburgh Penguins sit in the standings after a busy night in the Metropolitan Division. Plus, we look at the prospect of rebooting the original Winter Classic. And we fill up the local college basketball dance card for Saturday. Back where it all began...
Friday Football Footnotes: Kenny Pickett’s 2 big goals; more Brian Flores news; Steelers fans won’t like ESPN’s new 30 for 30
This week’s “Friday Football Footnotes” includes some specific goals stated by Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett. I’ll share some thoughts on Byron Leftwich’s firing. Another job interview is in the books for Brian Flores. John Harbaugh discusses Lamar Jackson’s future in Baltimore. Plus, Steelers fans are likely to give “two...
Tim Benz: I’m not a fan of Ivan Provorov’s Pride Night jersey boycott, but also dislike hypocritical media fallout
I disliked Ivan Provorov’s refusal to skate in the Philadelphia Flyers pregame warmup Tuesday night. He boycotted because he didn’t want to wear the same LGBTQ+ Pride Night warmup jersey the rest of the team was wearing. But I also disliked a lot of the hypocritical media fallout from his...
Tim Benz: With Matt Canada staying, here’s where he needs to improve the offense
Matt Canada is officially coming back for a third season as offensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers. And there’s nothing that can be done about it. The fans can’t wish his dismissal into existence. And the media can’t write it (or speak it) into existence. It wasn’t for a lack...
U mad, bro?: A lack of playoff football is forcing Steelers fans to lash out against Mike Tomlin, Ben Roethlisberger, the media
What else should I expect in Pittsburgh when the Steelers season ends with so much postseason football left to be played? People are on edge. Some are angry at the team for coming up short in the regular season. Others are angry at those people for … being angry, I...
Mike Sullivan gets philosophical on Penguins power play — now he needs to get it working
When it comes to his team’s confounding power play, you can hear Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan struggling with the contradictions. He wants it to be more “predictable,” but he doesn’t want it “robotic.” He wants his skilled players to be creative, but he also wants the execution to be...
Tim Benz: A lesson for Steelers and the growth of Kenny Pickett after Week 1 of NFL playoffs
Whoever the Pittsburgh Steelers have as offensive coordinator next year — whether it’s Matt Canada again or someone (anyone) else — I hope they were watching the first round of the AFC playoffs closely. Because there was one specific, valuable lesson for the Steelers to take away from those games:...
CBS rules expert says NFL needs to address officiating trend that’s gotten out of handVideo
Just about every NFL fan in America wants the overly protective penalty flags for roughing the passer to stop. There was another egregious one in the NFC playoff game between the New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. THIS IS THE WORST ROUGHING THE PASSER CALL OF THE YEAR!...
Tim Benz: Penguins pull themselves back from the brink, avoid ‘soul-sucking’ loss to lowly Anaheim
The Pittsburgh Penguins knew exactly what they were staring at late in their game Monday night. The bottom. Having lost eight of their last 10 games, the Pens had just blown a 2-1 third-period lead at home to the Anaheim Ducks — a team with just 12 wins, second fewest...
Tim Benz: Andrew McCutchen’s return to Pirates is nice — let’s just leave it at that
The Pittsburgh Pirates’ re-signing of former star outfielder Andrew McCutchen is … nice. Looking for a hotter take than that? I don’t think there is one to be had. If McCutchen wants a career victory lap in the city where it all started, that’s nice. If the organization is willing...
Madden Monday: Blame for ‘scared’ Steelers offense misplaced — look to Mike Tomlin, not Matt Canada
Pittsburgh Steelers fans definitely noticed that the Miami Dolphins nearly took down the Buffalo Bills in their AFC playoff game Sunday. As the seventh seed in the AFC playoff bracket, the Dolphins went to Buffalo and only lost 34-31 despite being 13-point underdogs. That result seems to have Steelers fans...
Friday Football Footnotes: 1 neutral site AFC title game would be bad enough — making it permanent is an awful idea
Now that the door has been opened to such a conversation, there are some who feel that the NFL may give consideration to having the AFC and NFC Championship games in a neutral site. Dumb idea. Well, dumb from the standpoint of what’s good for the fans. I’m sure it’d...
Tim Benz: Steelers need to decide how real its offensive line improvement truly was
In a way, I feel bad for the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive linemen. In a few ways, actually. For one, the fans and media were all so certain that the offensive line was the Steelers’ weakest link that it wasn’t until early November that the public stopped holding the unit responsible...
First Call: Dolphins pass Steelers for dubious playoff stat; interesting college coaching name gets NFL interview
Postseason accolades keep rolling in for Pittsburgh Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. A familiar college coaching name that may catch the Steelers’ eye is getting a look from the Denver Broncos. The Steelers have been passed by the Miami Dolphins for a dubious statistical note. In hockey, Connor McDavid keeps dazzling,...
U mad, bro?: Plenty of Steelers fans applaud team’s 9-8 finish, and push back on anyone who doesn’t
I would’ve loved to have included more Pittsburgh Steelers posts in this week’s “U mad, bro?” But I couldn’t because my fellow Trib Sports writers and I are busy coordinating coverage for the Steelers victory parade. Yup. The Steelers annual “Non-Losing Season Celebration” is underway. The route started on Grant...
Tim Benz: Biggest reasons Steelers turned season around — and can they do them again in ’23?
In 2022, the Pittsburgh Steelers started the season 2-6. They ended up 9-8. Here are the five big reasons why they were able to salvage a winning season and a look at if those positives may carry over to 2023. 1. Kenny Pickett started taking care of the ball The...
Jason Zucker adding scoring as he drags Penguins ‘into the fight’
The Pittsburgh Penguins were hosting the New York Rangers in a game before Christmas. Pens winger Jason Zucker shot a puck wide of the net. Like a basketball player crashing the glass for a rebound after a missed jumper, Zucker zipped beneath the goal line to track down the loose...
Tim Benz: Steelers finished strong in ’22, but their trend of awful starts needs to change
The Pittsburgh Steelers finished the 2022 season winning seven of nine games. As a result, some NFL fans and media members are lobbying for Mike Tomlin to win Coach of the Year. That’s ridiculous. Tomlin had a squad that was 9-7-1 last year and lost in the first round of...
CBS NFL rules analyst on Cam Heyward’s roughing-the-passer call vs. Browns: ‘It was an overreaction’
During his weekly “Zebra Talk” segment on WDVE, CBS NFL rules analyst Gene Steratore described Sunday’s controversial roughing-the-passer penalty against Steelers defensive lineman Cameron Heyward as an “overreaction.” The penalty against Heyward came on a second down at the Pittsburgh 11-yard line. Heyward appeared to simply tackle Deshaun Watson as...
Tim Benz: For Steelers, the ‘standard’ is now … pretty standard
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a 9-8 team in a league that wants everybody to be 9-8. There are 32 teams in the NFL, and 16 of them finished with win totals between seven and nine games. There are 16 teams in the American Football Conference. The Steelers finished eighth, one...
Madden Monday: Reflecting on Steelers in 2022 — ‘I just don’t see it as a successful season’
The Pittsburgh Steelers ended the 2022 regular season in what has become very routine territory for them of late. At 9-8, they are .500-ish. This year that’s not good enough to make the playoffs. Last year 9-7-1 was barely good enough to qualify. All too familiar is the fact that...
Feats of Strength: Some individual applause for beating Browns, but big picture grievances as Steelers miss playoffs
Our biggest grievance this week is that this will be our final “Airing of Grievances” for the 2022-23 season. That’s because the Steelers didn’t get all the help they needed to qualify for the playoffs, despite beating the Cleveland Browns, 28-14, at Acrisure Stadium Sunday. But that’s not entirely true,...
Friday Football Footnotes: Problems with the tweaked AFC playoff proposals; a Jets injury that may impact Steelers
This week’s “Friday Football Footnotes” takes a look at a dent in the Steelers’ playoff hopes. Plus, we examine the tangled web of playoff scenarios the NFL is creating by canceling the Bengals-Bills game. We also look at the long-term ramifications of an in-season rules change and maybe some unintended...
Tim Benz: Throwing shade at NFL nothing but poorly directed attempts to invent blame for Damar Hamlin’s collapse
Maybe we just had too hard of a time processing what we had seen when Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field during this week’s “Monday Night Football” game. It was inexplicable. It was unprecedented. It was jarring. Acknowledging that we may have been scared by what we saw...
