U mad, bro?: NFL fans angry about failed playoff changes; Pirates fans hate Paul Skenes trade talk

For “U mad, bro?” this week, we’ve got a lot of people who are angry that the NFL ended up keeping its current playoff format in place.

We’ve also got folks all tied up about the idea of trading Paul Skenes, and some guy is ticked about the use of his own first name.

I just print the entries, pal. I don’t write them. Here’s this week’s edition.

This person didn’t like my pushback against this week’s proposed NFL playoff-format changes that eventually failed.

The reward for winning the division is the playoff berth.

9-8 teams, however, shouldn't host 14-3 teams in playoff games.

— IDDQD (@dmc200802) May 20, 2025

Why? Cuz you say so, n’at?

Look, it’s cyclical. This is typical 2025 prisoner-of-the-moment stuff. Winning a division shouldn’t matter to make the playoffs, but it suddenly does not matter once you are in. That’s counterintuitive.

If the Chiefs are 14-3 with the best record in the AFC and the Chargers are 13-4, and finish second in the West and second overall in the conference, then a wild-card L.A. team gets to host a 12-5 Buffalo AFC East winner in warm weather in the second round.

Is that how you want it to go? Does that seem right to you? It doesn’t to me.

Here’s an idea about the schedule debate from Tee.

Just get rid of divisions and take the best 7

— TeeDubya (@TeeItUp406) May 21, 2025

You’re right. Pfft! Steelers-Ravens stinks! Get rid of that garbage. Who has ever liked that?! Am I right, people?

“Salty Scientist” challenges my stance against changing the NFL playoff format by bringing up hockey.

You prefer the current hockey format or the way it used to be?

— SaltyScientist (@firesleuth) May 20, 2025

If by “the way it used to be,” you mean seeding the two division champs atop each conference, then the next six teams are seeded based solely on point totals, then, yes. I prefer that to the current NHL format.

But we are talking about 17 NFL games, not 82 NHL games. It’s one game per playoff round, not a seven-game series. Home field for one game means more than home ice over seven.

Not to mention, the tiebreakers and points/standings are different. It’s four divisions per conference, not two. It’s simply not an apples-to-apples comp.

For all the Steelers fans who have been replying to me because they wanted the playoff format changed, trust me, they’ll do it eventually. If Roger Goodell wants it to happen, it’ll happen.

And I hope it happens in a year when a 10-7 Steelers team wins the North and they have to travel to an 11-6 wild-card team and all of Pittsburgh revolts about how “unfair” it is.

via GIPHY

Let’s get one more playoff thought in from David.

”You stress yourself too much. We are the Steelers, and Mike Tomlin is our head coach. We don’t have to worry about the playoffs. We aren’t going.”

I just said, “I hope it happens in *a* year when a 10-7 Steelers team wins the North.”

I didn’t say which year.

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Wayne is seething about the idea of trading Paul Skenes.

”Maybe that’s what it would take to get Nutting to spend money, or sell the team if they traded Skenes. That’s if the commissioner would have the stones to deny the trade for the good of baseball.”

Ha! You think the commissioner would view blocking Skenes from going to a bigger market as “the good of baseball?”

Finally, Robert sent me an email after I posted last week’s “U Mad, bro?”

”Please stop using the name ‘Robert’ as the (probably made-up) fake name of your idiot Steeler fan entry in ‘U mad, bro?’ I am tired of hearing my namesakes dragged through the mud. Can’t imagine you have that many ‘Roberts’ entering comments. If it happens to be true, which I doubt, then my apologies. 2% of the population have any brains that they choose to utilize, so I guess it is possible that only 2% of Robert’s do the same. But I still find it hard to believe they all want to talk to you.”

I replied to Robert with screenshots of emails from five different people named “Robert” that ended up in recent “U Mad, bro?” posts.

I also told him that I took offense to the idea that I made up my “U mad, bro” entries.

Robert, you should see the “Robert” entries that I have left on the cutting room floor. Then you’d really be embarrassed.