U mad, bro? Pittsburgh fans angry over Penguins moves, ESPN's jab at Big Ben, playing high school sports

Why should everybody be mad about the same thing all at once? Let’s spread around the agitation for this edition of “U mad, bro?”

This week, Pittsburgh sports fans are frustrated about Penguins trades, Minkah Fitzpatrick and my dismissal of Ben Roethlisberger’s skills.

Except I didn’t dismiss Roethlisberger’s skills.

I know. Reading is confusing.

Let’s start with Tammy. She was really upset with me when I said that Ben Roethlisberger was the worst quarterback in the AFC North.

“Man you’re full of it! Roethlisberger is the best QB in the AFC North.”

Tammy, you got me. Roethlisberger is not the worst quarterback in the AFC North.

Except I didn’t say that.

Former NFL general manager Mike Tannenbaum did. On ESPN’s “Get Up!” I just posted the quote in a “First Call” item and expressed my opinion about his statement.

Which was contemptuous disagreement. That less-than-subtle difference seemed to be lost on Tammy.

Tammy, if you are going to take the time to email how wrong my column is, maybe take the time to read it first?

Randy doesn’t think Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick is worth the hype or the coverage about how the Steelers may plan to move him around the defense in 2020.

“Good luck with, Minkah. He’s a head case. He’s a good player but no way he’s All-Pro. Goes to show you how things have changed in the league these days. All you have to do is have a couple of good games and sports writers will be all over you.”

Well, he is an All-Pro. Last year, he showed that. And it wasn’t just seven games when he created turnovers. The other seven — even when he didn’t — Fitzpatrick was taking away looks from the quarterback down the deep middle of the field.

Something opposing quarterbacks never seemed afraid of avoiding in previous years.

As far as him being a “head case”? As you may recall, the Steelers recently employed the likes of Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell. They have a pretty good understanding what “head cases” act like.

Fitzpatrick may be a little fussy about his job description from time to time. But he’s not exactly in that category yet, is he?

Lasse tweets us from Sweden about the Kasperi Kapanen trade. He thinks general manager Jim Rutherford was too fixated on acquiring him.

I hate it when GMJR likes a player - you just know that he'll overpay to get his man. And he overpaid once again for Kapanen. Solid player, but still overpayment IMO.

— Lasse Eriksson (@pensfanssweden) August 25, 2020

I agree with that last line. So far in his career, Kapanen has illustrated he is a pretty good player. But maybe not first-round-pick worthy.

Now, essentially, GMJR has spent two first-round picks on the young winger.

As I pointed out Tuesday, reacquiring Kapanen could be a nice move. He could be a gem back here in Pittsburgh.

But until he pans out, the price does appear to be awfully steep.

Erik emailed with some Penguins angst as well.

“I know it was kind of downplayed at the time, but do you think the loss of Dominik Kahun had more of an impact than a lot of people think?”

That thought has gained steam recently, Erik. But I’m not quite on board.

Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t like the trade. But I didn’t like it because I didn’t see the need to swap him for Conor Sheary and Evan Rodrigues when it was unlikely Rodrigues was going to play. And, of course, Sheary was going to be force-fed on Crosby’s line.

Now it’s obvious neither will be back with the team in 2021 anyway.

I think the squabbling over Kahun after the fact should be more about how he was a wasted acquisition by the Penguins in the first place. Not so much what he could’ve done if he stayed.

Because I bet he still wouldn’t have been used enough if he remained on the roster. Or the right way. Especially with all the forwards back in the lineup after returns from injury when bubble play started.

Mike Sullivan didn’t seem to be a fan.

Kahun was acquired for Olli Maatta with some reputation for being able to play with other skilled players.

He wasn’t that great while he was here. But I also think that’s because he unnecessarily was placed into Sullivan’s dog house too quickly.

Not to mention, Maatta was stunningly a plus-7 with six points in the playoffs for the Chicago Blackhawks.

Lastly, Randy doesn’t think it’s a good idea to pursue playing high school sports because of coronavirus. But it is OK to pack a bunch of kids in schools for eight hours a day.

Here is a suggestion, instead of playing sports this year while there is a pandemic, lets focus on acedemics instead. You know, like a school is supposed to do.

— Randy Diffendal (@randy_diffendal) August 24, 2020

So — to be clear — you think the virus knows when kids are in school and thus won’t spread because they are in a learning environment. But if they are playing sports, it’ll spread like wildfire.

Wow. We know more about this virus than I thought!

Now, how come we can’t find this pesky vaccine?