Tim Benz Columns category, Page 54
First Call: Cam Heyward disagrees with Ben Roethlisberger’s ‘Steelers Way’ take; Tyler Glasnow reportedly heading west in trade
Friday’s “First Call” features Cameron Heyward rebuffing Ben Roethlisberger’s assessment of Pittsburgh Steelers culture. An ex-Steeler is upset with the state of the team. A former Pirate is about to be part of a big trade. And a local hoops star just set a record at Duquesne. Dissenting opinion Ben...
Football Footnotes: There’s no reason to bet on the Steelers Saturday, so just go ahead and do so
After losing back-to-back games against a pair of two-win teams, there is no reason to pick the Pittsburgh Steelers to win Saturday in Indianapolis. Hence, I’m picking the Steelers to win Saturday in Indianapolis. That’s the way the NFL has been the past five to 10 years. That’s the way...
Tim Benz: Penguins’ victory in Montreal is the latest in a long line of potential launch points
In a season that’s been up and down at times (to be kind) and flat-out maddening at others (to be blunt), the Pittsburgh Penguins have constantly been searching for that lightning bolt moment. They’ve hunted for a turnaround game that could ignite an extended winning streak. One that would eventually...
U mad, bro?: Rich Eisen makes a celebrity appearance as opinions fly about Steelers coach Mike Tomlin
A lot of you think I don’t like Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin. That’s not true. I like Tomlin more than many readers presume as a person and as a coach. What I hate is the national media coverage of Tomlin. Part of the reason why I’m as critical of...
First Call: Merril Hoge rips Steelers’ route running, tight end blocking; Steelers’ wild-card path deemed NFL’s most difficult
Thursday’s “First Call” has unkind critiques of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ tight ends from a former player. The NFL rule book is about to get more complicated. The Steelers’ playoff road is rated as the most slippery in the league. And Marc Andre-Fleury discusses his long-term future. That sounds bad Former...
Tim Benz: Empty those ‘half full’ glasses. The Penguins can finally toast the power play
After his team’s 4-2 win over the Arizona Coyotes Tuesday night, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan leaned into a tried and true analogy when discussing the impact of his team finally scoring a pair of power-play goals. “Seeing the glass half full a little bit and trying to celebrate some of...
A trade for Mike Tomlin? Fox’s Jay Glazer tells one team to ‘swing away’
Despite what is currently a six-year drought without a playoff win, the Steelers are highly unlikely to fire head coach Mike Tomlin after this season. But would they consider trading him at the nadir of his run in Pittsburgh? Presumably, Tomlin could still hold significant cachet with other franchises, starving...
Tim Benz: If Steelers ‘ills’ are fixable, prove it this week — or start planning for 2024
There are two constants in Pittsburgh. The first is citywide angst whenever the Steelers go into a slump. The second is road construction. Let’s bring those two unavoidable eventualities together. Let’s say the Hot Metal Bridge near the Steelers’ facility needs repairs — again. Construction crews can make the decision...
Tim Benz: Steelers’ back-to-back losses made history, but we’ve seen this before
It felt stupid, didn’t it? Tracking all those AFC games Sunday to see how they would impact the Steelers and the playoff standings. What a fruitless endeavor after how the Steelers performed in their last two games, losing both at home against teams (the Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots)...
Madden Monday: There’s a difference between firing Mike Sullivan and firing Mike Tomlin
Everything is bad with the Pittsburgh Steelers right now. Losing back-to-back home games against two-win teams (the Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots) has sapped any enthusiasm moving forward for the rest of the season. What’s even worse is that whenever the team is eventually eliminated from the playoffs —...
Tim Benz: Kareem Rozier’s maturity, leadership keys to Duquesne’s early success
Duquesne sophomore point guard Kareem Rozier turned 19 right before Thanksgiving. But if you meet him, talk to him, or just see him run the Dukes on the floor, you might say to yourself, “Are we sure he isn’t 29? Or 39? And is he really running the point? Or...
Airing of Grievances: Impotent offense, disappointing defense, scattered coaching as Steelers gag against Patriots
Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t bat an eyelash at the Pittsburgh Steelers getting dusted at home by the New England Patriots. During the height of the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick years, that was a common occurrence. However, Brady is long gone and so is that era of Patriots football. They entered...
Football Footnotes: Is this the end for Bill Belichick in New England?
Two things seem pretty obvious heading into the latest edition of Steelers-Patriots on Thursday night at Acrisure Stadium: 1. There won’t be many points on the scoreboard at the end of the night. 2. No one is going to be confusing this game with any one of the classics involving...
U mad, bro?: Awful Arizona loss, Diontae’s dancing have Steelers fans in a Grinchy mood
The Pittsburgh Steelers just suffered one of the franchise’s worst losses ever at Acrisure Stadium. Diontae Johnson celebrated a meaningless touchdown. The Penguins look as old as we feared that they would. And Sports Illustrated is rewarding empty hype in college football. All we need now is the annual December...
First Call: ‘Optimism’ for Najee Harris vs. Patriots; Micah Parsons on T.J. Watt’s holding complaints
Thursday’s “First Call” has a hopeful health update for Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris. T.J. Watt is getting lots of Pro Bowl votes and support from a fellow pass-rushing star in their battle against holding calls. We also recap a busy night of college basketball action, and Robert Morris’...
First Call: Steelers veteran says ‘we sure can’t lose’ to another 2-win team; Patriots’ top RB out multiple weeks
In Wednesday’s “First Call,” a Pittsburgh Steelers veteran is drawing a line in the sand in advance of the team’s game against New England on Thursday. Meanwhile, the Patriots will have to get over the loss of an important contributor to their already anemic offense. An upcoming opponent for the...
Tim Benz: Kenny Pickett’s latest injury shows how rough QB life may get in Pittsburgh
Kenny Pickett’s latest injury — on top of his overall lack of progress this year — is starting to make people wonder if the Steelers got it wrong in their first attempt to replace future Hall of Fame quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. The fact that Pickett is being replaced by Mitch...
Ugly loss to Cardinals changes perspective on game vs. Patriots, rest of Steelers’ season
Thursday night’s Pittsburgh Steelers game against the New England Patriots was setting up to be something completely different than what it has become. Prior to Sunday’s hideous home loss to the Arizona Cardinals, that game was lining up as the third consecutive win for the Steelers in the post-Matt Canada...
First Call: Ex-Steeler rips goal line sequence; Bill Belichick on Steelers’ QBs; former Colts Pro Bowl ILB signs with Eagles
Tuesday’s “First Call” features Bill Belichick’s view of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ QB situation as his Patriots prepare to visit Acrisure Stadium on Thursday. We get a health update on a Patriots starter on offense. A former Steeler is unhappy with the team’s game-changing sequence at the Arizona goal line Sunday....
Tim Benz: Frustration mounts for players on Penguins’ power play
After the Pittsburgh Penguins’ latest loss, a 2-1 overtime defeat in Philadelphia on Monday night, a friend shot me a sarcastic text. “What happens first? Pens score a power play goal? Or Steelers score more than one touchdown in a game?” I sent a sincere reply. “Pirates win NLCS.” OK....
Madden Monday: Steelers ‘a bad team that thinks they’re good’; Penguins’ power play stinks and may get worse
Simply put, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 24-10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals was horrible. Top to bottom. Mike Tomlin’s team played poorly at home against a lousy team and damaged their playoff hopes as a result. In this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast, Mark Madden of 105.9 The X and TribLive suggests...
First Call: James Conner had vision of big return to Pittsburgh; Jim Leyland moments
Monday’s “First Call” captures James Conner’s successful return to Pittsburgh as his Cardinals upset the Steelers 24-10 on Sunday afternoon. Another former Steeler had a big game in the NFC South. And we look ahead to what could be an ugly game between the Patriots and Steelers on Thursday night....
Airing of Grievances: Offense, defense flop as Steelers suffer dreadful upset loss to CardinalsVideo
Sunday was as bad of an afternoon as I can ever remember at Acrisure Stadium for a Steelers game day. There were two weather delays for high winds, lightning, heavy rain and hail. In December. In Pittsburgh. On top of that, the Steelers (7-5) lost a 24-10 slopfest to the...
Tim Benz: Adjustments to Steelers’ offense helps Kenny Pickett in many ways
Much has been made about how the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense improved in Week 1 under new offensive coordinator Eddie Faulkner and recently promoted play-caller Mike Sullivan. Getting the offense to over 400 yards for the first time in 58 games was a pleasant departure from the slog that unit had...
Football Footnotes: Steelers are a surprise in only 1 way
At 7-4, some are suggesting that the 2023 Pittsburgh Steelers are an overachieving surprise. That’s usually being done by way of advancing Mike Tomlin’s Coach of the Year candidacy. If you judge by the preseason NFL over-under win totals, I suppose you could make that argument. Like many sportsbooks at...
