U mad, bro?: Steelers, Pirates, Ben Roethlisberger, Ben Cherington, Gerrit Cole feel fan wrath

With the state of affairs surrounding the Steelers of late, it’s a wonder how any other sports made the cut for this week’s “U mad, bro?”

But with a 101-loss season and a smooth-talking general manager who just can’t seem to answer a question directly, the Pirates made the cut as well.

You’re next, Penguins! Enjoy being spared for one more week.

James offered his most maddening moment from the Steelers’ loss in Green Bay.

Diontae getting stopped short of first down, fighting to get the first down, running backwards 4 yards afterwards, then false starting on 4th down

— James Rolley (@jrolley325) October 3, 2021

That was laugh-out-loud funny. Sadly, I think if you count the yards Diontae Johnson ran sideways or backwards, it was probably the third or fourth longest play of the whole season for the offense.

JediNite66 is calling out Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for his poor play Sunday.

We talk about O-line being a problem (it is) but Ben missing JuJu twice for what would have been TDs is unacceptable. He missed some throws today.

— SAS (@jedinite66) October 3, 2021

“Some” throws? If by “some” you mean about half a dozen that could’ve impacted drives or the scoreboard, then yes. That’s certainly “some.”

When Roethlisberger came back to play in 2021, he had to expect rocky times with a new coordinator, a shaky offensive line and an unpredictable, inconsistent group of receivers.

I don’t think he ever expected a game like Sunday when the offense stunk, and he was the primary reason why.

Rick has a thought on all the recent mutual admiration between Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Is that a sign Rodgers is laying the foundation for an exit from Green Bay and paving a path toward Pittsburgh?

If Tomlin is on the next State Farm commercial….umm!

— Rick Sliman (@RickSliman) October 5, 2021

Does that mean Jake from State Farm is preordained as the next offensive coordinator? How does he feel about fourth-down passes behind the line of scrimmage?

Harry wants to mock Gerrit Cole’s two-inning loss in the wild card game as his New York Yankees fell to the Boston Red Sox 6-2 Tuesday.

“Loser in the past. Loser in the present. Loser at the suppertime.”

Well, at least Cole made enough money this year ($36 million) to pick up the tab at supper. And if he is a loser, what does that make the likes of Mitch Keller, JT Brubaker, Wil Crowe, Chad Kuhl or anyone else on that Pirates staff?

Jeff is a Pirates fan who has had just about enough. He appreciated my column posing the question of how long the Pirates are expecting their fans to wait through 100-loss seasons in the name of developing prospects.

“I’m 64 years old, and was born a Buc fan. I’m as loyal as they come, but even I am getting close to the point of no return.

Nutting has played with even the most loyal (fans) for too long. It’s to the point that I don’t like the team anymore, even though I know internally that it’s Nutting I hate. Your question is absolutely valid: How long will it take? Hopefully, I’m able to see it if it does occur.”

Jeff, I’m not going to be so bold about commenting on your chances of witnessing an extended stretch of winning Pirates baseball again.

But you, um, said you are 64, right?

Well, I’ll just speak for myself. I’m 47. And I’m not feeling too great about my odds these days.

Finally, Mark from Ohio wanted to weigh in on that column, too.

“You can save this story and republish it in five years. The story will be the same. Maybe with a different GM but the same line of double talk and BS.”

Psst, Mark. Don’t tell anyone. But that’s what I did in this piece. You didn’t catch any “Huntington” references I forgot to cut after I pasted the name “Cherington,” did you?