Breakfast With Benz category, Page 37
Tim Benz: No room for Steelers to overcome a typical sluggish start in 2024
This is the annual column about the Pittsburgh Steelers that everyone wishes didn’t have to be so annual. The column I feel like I write every year about how the Steelers need to get off to a better start than they have in recent seasons. At least last year, the...
U mad, bro?: Even with the Steelers’ regular season about to begin, Pittsburgh fans need to unload on the Pirates
How do we know that things are going badly for the Pittsburgh Pirates? Well, the Steelers are about to start the 2024 regular season after going 0-3 in the preseason. The team failed to improve the wide receiver position, and the offensive line is a mess. Yet, I’m still being...
First Call: Kyle Pitts vows to play vs. Steelers; Falcons coach ‘won’t let’ T.J. Watt ‘wreck the game’ (but he may anyway)
Thursday’s “First Call” has some quotable lines from Atlanta Falcons coach Raheem Morris in advance of his team’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. Atlanta tight end Kyle Pitts insists he’ll be ready for the Black and Gold in the season opener. Kirk Cousins is actually looking forward to...
Robert Morris hockey looks to move from back on the ice to back in contention
Robert Morris hockey players took the ice last week to begin practices for the second season of the rebooted program. The sense of being a newly constructed team has faded a bit after 2023-24’s return to the ice. And that’s exactly how the players want it. “Expectations will be a...
First Call: Brandon Aiyuk’s admission about his negotiations; Ben Roethlisberger thanks Denver for Russell Wilson
Wednesday’s “First Call” has former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger sharing some thoughts about new Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson. We also have an interesting admission from Brandon Aiyuk, news about a pair of former Steelers wide receivers and a health update on Gerrit Cole. No kidding? San Francisco 49ers wide...
Tim Benz: How Mike Tomlin is putting the ‘O’ in the Steelers’ offense — from optimistic to oblivious
While listening to head coach Mike Tomlin describe the Pittsburgh Steelers’ “O” on Tuesday, plenty of “O” words came to mind. When discussing Russell Wilson’s taking over the offense as the new starting quarterback for 2024, Tomlin sounded optimistic. Rightfully so. There is at least some reason to believe that...
Tim Benz: Steelers’ self-created depth chart issues enough to lower regular-season predictions
For much of the offseason, my belief about the Pittsburgh Steelers was that they’d be 10-7. Again. That they’d be the last team in the AFC playoff bracket. Again. And that they’d finish the season without a playoff win. Again. For an eighth consecutive year. I’m modifying that. Now I...
First Call: Steelers work out WR/KR; Falcons get boost in advance of opener
Tuesday’s “First Call” begins with a Pittsburgh Steelers workout of interest. The team’s opponent for the regular season opener got some good news. Paul Skenes is getting ready to see the Chicago Cubs yet again. And Duquesne got a good look at its next football opponent during a nationally televised...
Madden Monday: Between WR, O-line concerns, Steelers fans ‘have every right to be worried’
It’s finally a regular season game week for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The 2024 opener is Sunday in Atlanta. During this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast, Mark Madden of 105.9 The X and TribLive says there are plenty of reasons for concern. “You have every right to be worried. I think that’s...
Tim Benz: An all-Pirates setlist request for Green Day’s concert at PNC Park
From a Pirates perspective, the best thing you can say about the month of August is that it’s almost over. At least it is at PNC Park. The beleaguered Buccos don’t return home until Sept. 5 against the Washington Nationals. Between now and then, though, there is one event worth...
U mad, bro?: Oneil Cruz’s move to CF and Steelers’ 0-3 preseason have fans riled up
Two Pittsburgh topics dominated my social media interactions and my inbox this week: • Concern over the Steelers 0-3 preseason. • Oneil Cruz’s move to center field. I assume Penguins fans will start fretting about Sidney Crosby’s lack of a contract extension soon enough. But today is not that day....
Tim Benz: Refuting the idea that Mike Tomlin created an ‘unnecessary distraction’ with his QBs
I recently saw a headline that said Steelers coach Mike Tomlin has created an “unnecessary distraction” by not naming a starting quarterback to open the 2024 season as of yet. Near as I can tell, the players on offense don’t seem distracted. “It’s not my decision to make. We’ll find...
First Call: Steelers reportedly adding veteran RB Boston Scott; a new WR idea; Dylan Crews’ first hit off Gerrit Cole
Wednesday’s “First Call” features a potential addition to the Steelers’ offensive backfield. The wide receiver headlines continue to catch attention. We look at Paul Skenes’ next start for the Pirates. And his former LSU teammate, Dylan Crews, gets hit No. 1 of his career off a former Pirates All-Star. Boston...
First Call: Steelers may have interest in a pair of WRs; Mason Rudolph in line for Titans’ No. 2 job after Malik Willis trade
The Steelers are reportedly in contact with teams about two wide receivers who are not named Brandon Aiyuk. Mason Rudolph has won the backup job with the Tennessee Titans. Mike Tomlin’s impact on quarterbacks is being overrated again. A West Virginia quarterback has been cut in Philadelphia while a former...
Tim Benz: Moving Oneil Cruz to CF makes the Pirates look bad. How they announced the move makes them look even worse
The only things more inconsistent than Oneil Cruz’s throwing arm are the darts the Pittsburgh Pirates are blindly tossing at his future position. Regarding Cruz and his 23 fielding errors at shortstop, on Sunday, Aug. 18, Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said on 93.7 The Fan, “All I can tell...
Tim Benz: Ben Cherington’s response to Paul Skenes-Barry Bonds question should remind Pirates fans how time flies
One of the prevailing sentiments from those in attendance at Barry Bonds’ induction into the Pirates Hall of Fame this weekend was, “Wow! Did he really leave 32 years ago? Has it really been that long?” Another was, “Wow! Was he really only here for seven years?” Fast forward to...
First Call: More injury concerns along Steelers offensive line; big betting money still coming in on SteelersVideo
The Steelers are absorbing more injury news along the offensive line. However, lots of betting money is coming in on the Black and Gold. A former Steelers wide receiver is looking for a new team. And a big name in the AFC North is returning to practice. All that in...
Matt Williamson on Nick Herbig: Steelers ‘have to figure out a way to turn 8 snaps into 20’
Mark Madden is on his way back from England. So, my Steelers Audio Network pregame show partner, Matt Williamson, is filling in for the “Madden Monday” podcast this week. A former NFL and college scout, Williamson hosts “The Drive” with Dale Lolley on Steelers Nation Radio. You’ve also heard him...
Feats of Strength/Airing of Grievances: Starting offense improves, Nick Herbig shines, but Steelers drop preseason finale
If Pittsburgh Steelers fans know anything about me, I am nothing but a beacon of optimism. My glass is always half-full. My black-and-gold glasses are always on. I always can find a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day. As a result, even though the Steelers dropped a 24-17 decision...
Tim Benz: A ‘nice’ Pirates Hall of Fame induction for Barry Bonds was a simple way to remember some complicated times
As layered and complex as Barry Bonds’ legacy is in Pittsburgh — and throughout all of baseball — he summed up Saturday’s induction to the Pirates Hall of Fame in the most simple words possible. “It’s nice,” Bonds said with a smile. “It’s just very nice. The word … very...
First Call: Steelers O-line coach discusses Broderick Jones’ struggles; wide receiver trade talk around NFL
Friday’s “First Call” advances a Lions wide receiver to watch when the Pittsburgh Steelers take on Detroit on Saturday afternoon. The Washington Commanders may be getting back in the Brandon Aiyuk sweepstakes. The Steelers’ offensive line coach is speaking about Broderick Jones’ problems. And we have a Deshaun Watson update...
Tim Benz: Penguins-Jets swap of 1st-rounders is as practical as it may be unconventional
On Thursday, a Pittsburgh team pulled off a trade-and-sign deal with a former first-round pick out west who was balking at a contract with his former club. But it wasn’t for Brandon Aiyuk. It wasn’t even the Steelers who made the trade. It was the Penguins who acquired Winnipeg Jets...
Jim Leyland hopes all ‘wounds have healed’ for fans as Barry Bonds joins him for Pirates Hall of Fame enshrinement
When the Pittsburgh Pirates announced their franchise Hall of Fame class for 2024 back in May, Jim Leyland and Manny Sanguillen were universally applauded at PNC Park. They’ll both hear a similar ovation Saturday when the induction ceremony takes place. That’s no surprise given that Leyland managed the Bucs to...
First Call: Kyle Shanahan tries to update Brandon Aiyuk situation; ex-Steeler Markus Golden discusses sudden retirement
In Thursday’s “First Call,” San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan struggles to provide an update on Brandon Aiyuk as the Pittsburgh Steelers trade offer continues to sit on the table. Former Steeler Markus Golden addresses his retirement. It appears that “Hard Knocks” is a bit toned down as the...
Tim Benz: If Mike Tomlin wants more possession-down success, give the offense more to work with in Detroit
After both of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ preseason losses so far in 2024, head coach Mike Tomlin has appropriately bemoaned his offense’s inability to convert on possession downs. Over the first eight quarters of the preseason, the Steelers’ offense has only converted six times on 26 third-and-fourth-down opportunities. That stat is...
