U mad, bro?: Steelers fans go after JuJu and ‘Duck;’ Pens fans fret about Jim Rutherford

Normally, this time of year, Steelers fans are mad over what the team did wrong in the preseason as we get ready for NFL opening weekend.

So with no preseason games, does that mean Steelers fans are any less concerned? Pfft! Not according to emails and my Twitter feed.

In this week’s “U mad, bro?”, we give a voice to Steelers fans who want to preemptively gripe about the season to come and decisions that were made for the roster.

We also provide a platform for Penguins fans alarmed about Jim Rutherford’s recent moves, defensive Flyers defenders and Myles Garrett detractors.

Larry agrees with Rod Woodson’s concerns about JuJu Smith-Schuster.

“I don’t think that the Steelers are going to put up with another drama queen. Ben (Roethlisberger) makes receivers better than they are. JuJu should think about Antonio Brown’s and Mike Wallace’s success after they left the Steelers.”

Larry, I’m not sure if “Instagram king” and “drama queen” are really the same thing.

To this point, Smith-Schuster’s use of social media, while obsessive, hasn’t been damaging like Brown’s was.

And, in terms of Wallace, you can blame him for maybe overrating his own talents and worth, but I’d hardly consider his contract situation leaving Pittsburgh as a detrimental undercurrent.

I don’t foresee Smith-Schuster being that way either. At least in terms of his contract status, that’s something he’s avoided publicizing on TikTok.

For now, anyway. And so long as that remains the case, I doubt he’ll be a problem. I just hope he starts performing better that he did in 2019.

Oh, and regarding Antonio Brown’s “success” — or lack thereof — after leaving Pittsburgh. That had nothing to do with his ability and everything to do with his mentality and his personality.

By the way, did you realize Tuesday will be the anniversary of Brown’s only game as a New England Patriot?

.@TomBrady finds @AB84 for a 20-yard touchdown. #GoPats #NEvsMIA

?: CBS
?: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app
Watch on mobile: https://t.co/y8YLGKmeTf pic.twitter.com/nAUsiFKHLP

— NFL (@NFL) September 15, 2019

My God, that feels like 20 years ago already.

“Auntie Z” thinks Myles Garrett’s hope of “clearing the air” with Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph is bogus.

She’s right.

How do you clear the air after you have basically called someone a racist. You cannot unring that bell.

— AuntieZ (@Auntzora) September 9, 2020

Agreed. The only way to “clear the air” is for one of them to admit they are lying. Either a racial slur was said, or it wasn’t. Until one of the two comes clean and admits they’ve twisted the truth, the air doesn’t get cleared.

I’ve believed Rudolph this entire time, not Garrett.

And I find it comical that Garrett — in his Cleveland.com interview — is speaking as if he is the magnanimous one looking to move on from the incident.

He caused the incident by swinging his helmet. And he exacerbated it by accusing Rudolph of using racist language — which has never been corroborated. But now he’s the one that wants to “move forward.”

That’s rich. Tell me another one, Myles.

George didn’t like the idea of the Steelers keeping Devlin “Duck” Hodges.

“Explain to me WHY you would WASTE a roster spot on a Duck?? There are a plethora of quarterbacks being cut who are far better and actually have NFL arms.

What does this mean? It means that other teams see no value in QB’s worse than Duck.

So if (the Steelers) are so enamored with this underwhelming talent, fine, stick him on the practice squad. I don’t think Bill Bellicheat is gonna come calling anytime soon!”

Let’s see how long Cam Newton stays healthy before we make that assumption.

But it appears eventually you got your wish. Josh Dobbs is back as the third-stringer, and Duck is on the practice squad.

Rejoice!

Understand what they are doing here, George. Having a fourth quarterback — even if it’s just on the practice squad — could prove valuable. Because what if multiple QBs in their room test positive for covid-19 during a game week?

So, root for Hodges, or don’t. Given that he knows the playbook and at least has experience with this team, I see the logic for stashing him there.

Jim is dubious of Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford. He seems skeptical of GMJR’s ability to make the right moves to help the Penguins.

based on his recent history, JR is a mess.

— Jim_Gardner (@JimGardner24) September 2, 2020

Rutherford is in a slump. That’s true.

The Derick Brassard trade didn’t work. Neither did the acquisition of Dominik Kahun. Ensuing trades with the Florida Panthers and Buffalo Sabres to erase those deals were busts as well. And they may have given up too much for both Jason Zucker and Kasperi Kapanen.

Marc-Andre Fleury has been better in Vegas than Matt Murray has done here the last three seasons. Patrick Marleau was useless. And Jack Johnson may be the most reviled Pittsburgh athlete since Cliff Stoudt.

That said, most — if not all — of Pittsburgh endorsed the decisions on Brassard, Fleury and Zucker. And Rutherford also picked up players with upside in John Marino, Brandon Tanev and Marcus Pettersson in recent seasons, too.

Plus, some of those failed moves had as much to do with Mike Sullivan burying those players too quickly as they did with coming here in the first place.

But to Jim’s point, yes, a bounce-back season by the general manager is as important as anything else this offseason. Especially with some big decisions looming on Murray and a few other veteran players who may be traded.

Lastly, when the Philadelphia Flyers got eliminated in the Eastern Conference semifinals by the New York Islanders, I decided a little snark was in order.

Video evidence of the first good thing to happen in 2020— #Flyers elimination pic.twitter.com/TjJF5GeY6R

— Tim Benz (@TimBenzPGH) September 6, 2020

Surprisingly, that wasn’t met with universal approval.

you must’ve had a rough 2020 then

— Dave Fortune (@DaveFortune) September 6, 2020

Umm … yeah. Haven’t we all?

Wait what was the score of the pens game tonight

— Chris Mueller (@bychrismueller) September 6, 2020

Same as it was yesterday:

Penguins — 2017

Flyers — 1975