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U mad, bro? Readers believe Steelers actually were 'a few plays away' | TribLIVE.com
Breakfast With Benz

U mad, bro? Readers believe Steelers actually were 'a few plays away'

Tim Benz
Tim Benz

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Mike's Beer Bar

This week's "U mad, bro?" shines a light on angry Steelers fans and prickly Penguins fans.

And on people who still call Antonio Brown their "idol."

Voluntarily.

<hr?

Steve emailed me. He agrees with most of my comments in this article about John Elway potentially impacting the Steelers' future on the sidelines.

Most.

"Another good article. One exception, though, is this stretch of a comment:

'If the Steelers can't move Antonio Brown, keeping Tomlin as his boss will be a disaster thanks to the outright insubordination Brown showed this year.'

Tomlin is Brown's boss? Really? I think the only boss #84 has is #84. And, even in that latter sentence, I question #84's ability to be his own boss. He's a punk. Let the 49ers deal with him."

Well, based on what Jerry Rice said, the 49ers would love to do just that.

To the greater point, Steve, that's the basic problem. Tomlin is Brown's boss. Even though he is feckless in his attempt to fill that role by allowing Brown to operate as his own entity.

That's why I'm endorsing the idea of giving Mike Munchak a shot instead.

Virginia quibbles with my article about fans and media who are making the argument that the Steelers were "just a few plays away from the playoffs."

How does she do that?

By complaining about a few plays, of course.

"I was present for the MORE THAN ONE poor bit of officiating at the Chargers game. That alone kept us out of the playoffs! Add the SHOCKINGLY bad call against Joe Haden in the end zone at the Saints game which resulted in a TD and you have a solid argument for an 11-4-1 season and a trip to the playoffs.

I know Ben has too many interceptions, Tomlin is a mediocre disciplinarian; AB, my idol, is a mess; et cetera. I can live with a fair and square defeat but the Steelers were deprived of one, not once, but twice."

You're right, Virginia. But the officials didn't screw up the third-and-20 in that Saints game or the defense at the end of the first half.

The refs were an atrocity against the Chargers. They were directly responsible for 14 points. But the Steelers defense allowed 19 points. Also, the refs didn't tell the Steelers to cover Keenan Allen with linebackers. The Steelers defensive coaches did that.

And the zebras didn't cost them losses (and a tie) at Denver, Oakland and Cleveland.

By the way, get a new "idol." Yuck.

It appears "Pittsburgh Pete" wasn't wild about my article suggesting the 2019 Penguins need to avoid becoming the 2018 Steelers.

Interestingly, that's accurate

Interestingly, I agree.

Interestingly, that's mentioned in the column.

The "Church of Kessel" wasn't a fan of that piece either.

Two reasons:

1. To compare the very similar arcs of the seasons for both teams so far.

and ...

2. To extract that exact reaction from overly sensitive Penguins fans who freak out at the slightest mention of the local football team in the same breath as their club because of their inherent hockey inferiority complex.

Austin thinks I was too hard on the Steelers in this post.

He prefers to simply blame Xavier Grimble for fumbling in Denver.

Then maybe read the column and not just the headline. But you'd rather blame a third-string tight end for all the ills of the rest of this team.

If that makes you feel better and more justified for a 9-6-1 season, you go right ahead and do that.

I'll be over here living in the real world. Come visit some time.

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