Tim Benz stories, Page 135
U mad, bro?: Fans lambaste Steelers after humiliating playoff loss, Penguins after bad opener
This is one of those moments where I get out of the way and let Steelers fans get after it. The team just allowed its season to end in ignominious, humiliating fashion to the Cleveland Browns on wild-card weekend 48-37. People are fed up with head coach Mike Tomlin, quarterback...
Tim Benz: Based on his own ‘Tomlinisms,’ Mike Tomlin has failed to meet that ‘standard’ lately
We all know about the “Tomlinisms” from Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. His colorfully descriptive phrases to spin a sound bite. There’s usually a message underscoring those quotes, too. Truth and lessons underneath. The problem is, if you judge Tomlin by his own slogans, he hasn’t measured up to them...
First Call: Steelers-Browns record TV ratings, Aaron Donald news, gamblers buying Penguins chances
The Steelers-Browns wild-card game set some record TV ratings. Penn Hills product Aaron Donald is trying to be ready for Sunday’s playoff game in Green Bay despite a painful injury. Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford is giving a hard sell on an offseason acquisition. And the gambling community is starting...
Tim Benz: ‘Browns is the Browns’? Nope. Sorry, JuJu. Try ‘Steelers is the Steelers.’
Say what you will about Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and his “the Browns is the Browns” quote. You may think that line was destructive bulletin board material before a playoff game. Or you may consider it a fleeting quote that didn’t even rise to the level of tepid trash...
Browns ‘clap back’ at JuJu Smith-Schuster and Chase Claypool. Why wouldn’t they?
The Browns are “clapping back” at Steelers receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster and Chase Claypool. Can you blame ‘em? Cleveland clubbed the Steelers 48-37 on Sunday night for its first playoff win since 1994. So Smith-Schuster’s pregame “the Browns is the Browns” line looks dumb. And Claypool’s TikTok video Monday saying that...
Tim Benz: If Steelers championship window has closed, is Penguins’ still open?
It’s time for the annual passing of the Pittsburgh sports torch from the Steelers to the Penguins. From football to hockey. From winter to … well … more winter. Pittsburgh sports fans segue out of the denouement at Heinz Field to the rising action at PPG Paints Arena. From old...
First Call: Chase Claypool jabs Browns after Steelers’ loss, Sidney Crosby talks long range future
There’s more inopportune trash talk from a Steelers player about the Cleveland Browns. Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is thinking long-term about his future. A few former Steelers may be in the mix for the Philadelphia Eagles head coaching job. And former Penn State coach Bill O’Brien is getting a new...
Steelers loss to Browns: Worst postseason start in Pittsburgh sports history? Yes. But it has company.
In my 20 years of covering Pittsburgh sports and 46 years of following them as a fan, I’ve never seen a Pittsburgh team get off to a worse start in a postseason game than the Steelers did in the postseason loss to the Browns Sunday night. They got down 28-0...
Madden Monday: Mike Tomlin was ‘outcoached by someone who wasn’t even there’
During that agonizing 28-0 first quarter of Sunday night’s Steelers playoff loss to the Cleveland Browns, a forlorn fan sent me this tweet. Starting to feel nostalgic for all those years when we simply failed to make it to the playoffs.— Rob (@WildernessRob) January 11, 2021 Sir, I hate to...
First Call: Deshaun Watson wanted Omar Khan in Houston, Lions trying to lure Kevin Colbert
Sunday night was “last call” for the Pittsburgh Steelers. But that doesn’t mean we stop doing “First Call” at “Breakfast With Benz.” Apparently, Steelers executive Omar Khan was closer to getting that Houston Texans general manager job than we thought. The Detroit Lions are still trying to bring back current...
Tim Benz: ‘Airing of Grievances’ after Steelers suffer humiliating playoff defeat to Cleveland
It was just the latest in a long list of games that the Steelers couldn’t possibly lose, which inevitably they lost. To Washington and the Cincinnati Bengals this year. To the New York Jets last year. To the Oakland Raiders and Denver Broncos back in 2018. To Ryan Mallett and...
First Call: JuJu’s quote about Browns raising eyebrows, Mike Sullivan still thinks Pens can win Cup
Friday’s “First Call” has a little fuel for the Cleveland Browns’ fire, via Pittsburgh Steelers receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. Cleveland still has questions in its secondary. Mike Sullivan thinks championship hopes are still in play for the Penguins. And a familiar NFL name with local ties surfaces as a candidate to...
Andrew Fillipponi discusses this week’s return to radio following the loss of a child
On Monday, 93.7 The Fan afternoon talk show host Andrew Fillipponi returned to his usual afternoon drivetime host chair after an extended absence. He had missed roughly two weeks over the holidays to stay home with his wife, Amanda, after the loss of their first child. Geno Fillipponi was stillborn...
Tim Benz: Steelers-Browns ‘familiar-unfamiliarity’ for Round 3 — again
For the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns, this 2002 flashback thing is a lot more familiar than maybe we realized. By roughly 11:30 p.m. Sunday night, Steelers fans are going to be hoping that the last chapter winds up the same. If it does, expect a few heart palpitations along...
U mad, bro?: Steelers fans lash out about position changes, refs, crying New Yorkers
The first “U mad, bro?” of 2021 starts with Steelers fans in Pittsburgh. Then it hits Philadelphia, New York, Washington and Miami along the way. We’ve got tight ends turning into running backs. A cure-all for NFL officiating. And dismay over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Oh, and a lesson in grammar....
First Call: Report says Steelers’ Omar Khan won’t be Texans GM; Seattle franchise hires more Penguins alumni
It doesn’t look like Omar Khan will be leaving the Steelers just yet. The NHL’s new franchise in Seattle is going to have some very familiar Penguins alumni in the front office. A WPIAL product is upset about what happened in Philadelphia Sunday night. And there is an update on...
Tim Benz: Steelers-Browns rematch may be coronavirus test for NFL’s playoff boundaries
The Steelers-Browns playoff game is on as scheduled. For now. That’s despite a continuing spread of coronavirus cases within the Cleveland Browns organization that started before its Week 16 loss and continued through the team’s Week 17 win over the Steelers. Via an email to TribLive Steelers beat writer Joe...
A look at John Marino’s ‘complaint free’ contract with Penguins
What’s not to like about the Penguins’ contract extension for John Marino? No. Seriously. What’s not to like? The Penguins signed their 24-year-old defenseman to a six-year $26.4 million extension over the weekend. It’s a great deal. Which is why it’s probably not getting a ton of buzz on the...
First Call: Odds of Carson Wentz to Steelers. Ex-Steeler signs with Browns. Cleveland’s clutch play mocks talk-show host.
The Steelers are listed among the teams favored to acquire Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz. Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield gets a subtle shot at one of his critics. A former Steeler is teaming up with the Browns in advance of their playoff showdown. And Robert Morris hockey is ranked...
Tim Benz: What was real (and what wasn’t) from Steelers-Browns playoff appetizer
Watching Sunday’s 24-22 Steelers loss in Cleveland felt like a preseason game to me. I spent 50% of the game yelling at the Steelers players to run more aggressively, block better and tackle harder. Then I spent the other 50% of the game yelling at them to avoid getting injured....
First Call: Cleveland appears to jab JuJu; Steeler-Browns, Super Bowl odds revealed
Our first “First Call” of 2021 picks up on a familiar Steelers theme: opposing teams mocking JuJu Smith-Schuster. The Browns appeared to do that after their win over the Steelers Sunday. Meanwhile, T.J. Watt draws high praise from another NFL legend. The gambling line for Sunday’s Browns-Steelers rematch is out....
Mark Madden on Mason Rudolph: ‘I bet he starts at quarterback for a year or two’
Our first “Madden Monday” podcast of 2021 looks at the Steelers of 2022. Could they really open up that season with Mason Rudolph at quarterback? In the wake of Sunday’s performance against the Cleveland Browns, Mark Madden seems to think so. Madden isn’t saying that’s what he’d do. But he’s...
Tim Benz: Both sides of run game make Steelers ‘Airing of Grievances’ after Cleveland loss
Sunday’s 24-22 Steelers loss to Cleveland really didn’t matter. The two teams are just going to play again this weekend in the playoffs anyway. And the Festivus season has come and gone. But we continue with our weekly “Airing of Grievances” and “Feats of Strength” into 2021. As, of course,...
First Call: Kevin Greene praises T.J. Watt in last interview, more coronavirus concerns for Browns
Recently released interview clips with former Steelers great Kevin Greene reveal his thoughts on current star T.J. Watt. The Cleveland Browns have more coronavirus issues. The gambling line on their game against the Steelers has shifted dramatically. And an AFC contender may have a significant injury issue heading into the...
U mad, bro?: Readers rant about Steelers strategy, Josh Bell trade, JuJu ‘Yelping’ Primanti Bros.
We are three days removed from a Steelers win. Enough happy holiday levity. I’m done with Christmas feel-good drivel. Let’s get back to our nuts and bolts. Let’s get back to what made “Breakfast With Benz” great. The “Four A’s”: Angst. Agitation. Animosity. Anger. Time to get the gravel in...
