Tim Benz Columns category, Page 101
Tim Benz: What a free agent contract for JuJu Smith-Schuster may look like and why the projections make sense
If the Steelers were to prioritize signing receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, what would that contract look like? And what other teams might set the market? As mentioned in a recent edition of “First Call,” NFL insider John Clayton speculated on 93.7 The Fan that the Las Vegas Raiders would be a...
Tim Benz: Maurkice Pouncey’s retirement frames an unfortunate reality for some Steelers stars
The retirement of center Maurkice Pouncey raises an unfortunate reality for this current era of Steelers. We are witnessing a batch of truly accomplished players who may never get to play in a Super Bowl. And that may dilute their position in the pantheon of Steelers legends. Pouncey was on...
Tim Benz: 4 questions to answer before you buy that Steelers J.J. Watt jersey
Now that three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt has been released by the Houston Texans, that news has opened the spigot for speculation that he may join the Steelers to play with his brothers, T.J. and Derek. While such a move would do wonders for social media...
Tim Benz: Fun subplot to trade rumor of Marc-Andre Fleury coming back to the Penguins
When I heard the report that the Pittsburgh Penguins tried to reacquire former goalie Marc-Andre Fleury (twice) from the Vegas Golden Knights in recent months, a lot ran through my head. Via Vegas Hockey Now, TSN’s Bob McKenzie said on NBCSN Wednesday that “the Penguins have tried ‘very hard’ since...
Tim Benz: If Pens fans are skeptical of Hextall-Burke duo, praise from Philadelphia may help
Some Penguins fans may be a bit slow to fully embrace Ron Hextall as the team’s new general manager because of his history with the Philadelphia Flyers. Or, perhaps better phrased, quicker to turn on him if he’s not an instant success. That said, some of the loudest approvals of...
Alan Faneca’s Hall of Fame-worthy account of his signature Steelers moment
As is the case with many Pro Football Hall of Famers, most of the Steelers in Canton, Ohio, delivered a “Hall of Fame moment.” That one iconic piece of video. That one unforgettable highlight which captures the player’s essence. Usually on a big stage like the playoffs or the Super...
Tim Benz: Steelers can learn a lot from Buccaneers’ Super Bowl win … beyond just signing Tom Brady
What a world it is, Steelers fans. In our current reality, Tom Brady has been to four Super Bowls since Ben Roethlisberger has won his last playoff game. The Steelers have longer odds at the Super Bowl than the Cleveland Browns or Miami Dolphins. And their “retired” former offensive coordinator...
Tim Benz: ESPN is already hyping the 2021 season … and overhyping the Steelers
Leading up to Sunday’s Super Bowl, ESPN.com put together some projections for the Steelers and the rest of the league’s 31 other franchises in advance of 2021 season. Hey, no time like the present to start hyping the future, right? They placed every team into one of six boxes based...
U mad, bro?: Steelers fans are pushing back against media criticism, whether they are right or not
Steelers fans have had enough! It is time to fight for the flag! Or, in this case, the Terrible Towel. I suppose a month of ridiculing the Black and Gold during this winter of discontent has reached its saturation point. We’ve gotten far enough away from the team’s last loss...
Chuck Cooper III ‘pinching himself’ as Duquesne is poised to open new arena named after his father
It seems as if everyone associated with Duquesne Athletics has something they love about the reconstructed building around the bones of the 33-year-old Palumbo Center. During a tour of the facility on Monday, athletic director Dave Harper beamed as he showed off the design of the interior and looked out...
Tim Benz: A return to the 1980s Pittsburgh sports scene? Sadly, it may have already started.
The 1980s were good for a few things. Hair metal. Karate. Tom Cruise movies. Acid wash jeans. Just a few things that leap to mind. However, they weren’t a great time for the Pittsburgh sports scene. No titles were won in Pittsburgh from 1979 (when the Steelers and Pirates both...
Tim Benz: The best Steelers teams that did not get to the Super Bowl
When the 2020 Pittsburgh Steelers got off to their 11-0 start, most of us in Pittsburgh were having dreams of talking Super Bowl LV this week leading into the bye after the conference championship games. How can the Steelers slow down Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints? Can they...
Tim Benz: Jim Rutherford’s ‘personal reasons’ for leaving Penguins resulting in public speculation
The sudden departure of general manager Jim Rutherford from the Pittsburgh Penguins organization raises an always delicate question for the sports media. And for fans on social media, too, for that matter. Hey, I’ve got a column. You’ve got a Twitter account. A lot of us have podcasts and YouTube...
Tim Benz, Brian Metzer on issues that may be slowing Penguins’ Evgeni Malkin
The Penguins are on a four-game win streak. Sidney Crosby is hot out of the gate with seven points over the first six games. Kasperi Kapanen is back with the team and skating into form. Goalie Tristan Jarry appears to have stabilized after a shaky start in the net. The...
Tim Benz: Steelers’ signing of Dwayne Haskins shows what could come in the post-Roethlisberger era
There is a lot of speculation over what the signing of former Washington quarterback Dwayne Haskins “really” means for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Is it an indicator that Ben Roethlisberger is going to retire? Is Haskins being brought on board to goose Roethlisberger in that direction? Does it mean that Mason...
Former NFL scout: How combine changes could affect NFL draft; who may tempt Steelers to go RB in first round
As soon as Matt Williamson said it, I thought that his comment made a ton of sense for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Well, for every team in this year’s NFL draft. But especially the Steelers. Williamson is a former pro and college scout. He now works for SNR and WDVE in...
Tim Benz: NFL head coach hiring trend should be a reminder to Steelers about Mike Tomlin
Relax. This won’t be the 5,000th post you have read over the last three years about whether the Steelers should keep Mike Tomlin as the head coach or fire him after a third straight late-season collapse. That debate has become Republican or Democrat. Heavy metal or country. Beach or mountains....
Tim Benz: Photo of dejected Ben Roethlisberger conjures bad Pittsburgh sports memory
I saw that photo of Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger sitting alone on the bench at the end of the team’s 48-37 playoff loss to the Cleveland Browns. Dejected. Almost slouching into his pads. Staring off into the void of defeat and a murky future. It was about 10 minutes after...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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....
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,...
Tim Benz: Pass game, Mike Hilton lead ‘Feats of Strength’ as Steelers storm back vs. Colts
Given the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive woes of late, I’m struggling to best express my level of surprise with how they turned momentum in the second half of their 28-24 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday afternoon at Heinz Field. Perhaps, sticking with the tone of the season, I’ll borrow...
