Based on what he saw this weekend from the Steelers and Penguins, Mark Madden of TribLive and 105.9 The X wants to see a shake-up.
At both quarterback and goaltender.
In the wake of their 13-10 loss to the Cleveland Browns Sunday, let’s start with the Steelers first. Madden says it’s time to bench struggling QB Kenny Pickett.
“I just think Pickett might be the worst starting quarterback in the league. I’m not even sure he’s a starter,” Madden said during this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast. “He’s just awful. I mean, I don’t know how to even offer a disclaimer like, ‘He’s awful…but…’ or ‘OK, he missed this throw, but he made that throw.’ He’s terrible. Period. And anybody who’s defended him through all this looks pretty dumb right now. And anybody who still defends him looks absolutely insane.”
So in an effort to salvage the season and make a playoff push, Madden would make a change. But he wouldn’t go back to Mitch Trubisky.
“They won’t do this. Pickett is starting for sure,” Madden said. “But I would bench him because he doesn’t give you the best chance to win the way he’s playing, especially the last two weeks. I’d start Mason Rudolph because he has proven nothing this year. And the other two have proven they stink.”
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That said, Madden would still prefer to see Trubisky instead of one more week of Pickett starting.
“With Trubisky, I don’t think he’d be afraid to throw the ball down the field,” Madden continued. “I’d rather have that. I’d rather have a guy take some risk and make a mistake than just die the death of 1,000 cuts at quarterback, which is exactly what happened today.”
Meanwhile, with the Penguins, after posting a 3-0 shutout over the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday evening, Madden would like to see Alex Nedeljkovic in goal Wednesday night when the New York Rangers come to town.
“For sure I would. That’s not a knock on Jarry, who I thought played good enough to win at Carolina (Saturday),” Madden said. “But I think that this needs to be more of a meritocracy. You’re hovering around .500, and you didn’t make the playoffs last year, and every point counts. Nedeljkovic played great (Sunday night). He was sharp. He was on the top of his crease. He smothered pucks. He didn’t spill bad rebounds. I would absolutely start him Wednesday at home against the Rangers.”
Also, in the podcast, Madden and I discuss the role of the Steelers defense during the loss in Cleveland, the state of the inside linebackers, criticism of Mike Tomlin, this week’s game in Cincinnati and the Charissa Thompson fiasco.
