Breakfast With Benz category, Page 156
Pittsburgh native features Steelers’ ‘Immaculate Reception’ in NFL.com’s ‘What If’ series
During the covid-19 pandemic, we’re running out of old games to replay. Speculation over the NFL Draft has come and gone. And now more lists about “all-time great sports movies” exist than actual sports movies. So what’s the new layer of content to mine? It’s not even speculation about what...
Tim Benz: New people for an old idea. That could help Steelers figure out ILB void.
The line of inquiry for Steelers linebacker Devin Bush on Tuesday was not a surprise. Most of the questions had to do with how the defense will adjust to losing 750 snaps from fellow inside linebacker Mark Barron, who was released by the team as free agency hit. How the...
First Call: Comeback Player of the Year? Ben Roethlisberger isn’t favored. Guess who is.
Tuesday’s “First Call” features Ben Roethlisberger’s odds at winning the Comeback Player of the Year award. The Steelers-Cowboys Hall of Fame game is in doubt. T.J. Watt needs some cooking advice. And the Jacksonville Jaguars are trying to cool those Leonard Fournette trade rumors. Captain comeback DraftKings posted their odds...
First Call: Increase in Steelers post-draft perception. Odell Beckham Jr. talking big.
For Tuesday’s “First Call,” ESPN ranks the Steelers after the draft. Odell Beckham Jr. is talking big in Cleveland. Larry Fitzgerald is helping out in Arizona. And the NFL is scaling back its overseas schedule. Now that the NFL Draft has come and gone, ESPN.com decided to re-rank teams across...
Why are the Jets already trying to ‘lessen the load’ for Le’Veon Bell?
Should this be a concern regarding former Steeler Le’Veon Bell in New York? After just one season? The Jets are already talking about “lessening the load” for their $52.5 million running back. This despite the fact that Bell was the featured signing in New York prior to the 2019 season....
Tim Benz: Ideas for ESPN’s next docuseries after ‘The Last Dance.’ Cast your vote.
ESPN’s “The Last Dance” has been quite a hit. The 10-part documentary series on Michael Jordan and the Bulls of the 1990s is generating an incredible buzz. Pittsburgh Penguins Radio Network host Brian Metzer joined me for our usual “Breakfast With Benz” hockey podcast, and we spun the conversation into...
Unfiltered: Tim Benz and Mark Madden look at which Steelers players could be out after next seasonVideo
Tim Benz and Mark Madden return with “Unfiltered” and cover a lot of Steelers news, as well as the Penguins and the latest on the impact of the coronavirus shutdown on the sports world. The guys talk about whether a few Steelers players could be playing their final season with...
Tim Benz: Steelers fans, did you like this year’s draft? Good. Because next year could get weird.
Here’s a odd thought for Steelers fans. Let’s say the franchise drafts Ben Roethlisberger’s successor at quarterback next year. Then all of Pittsburgh sits down to watch him suit up … … in his college bowl game. What?! Weird, right? But not entirely out of the question. Given the uncertainty...
Mark Madden on who could replace Ben Roethlisberger someday
Quarterbacks, quarterbacks, quarterbacks. They drive the news cycle 24-7. Especially when those quarterbacks are in cities such as Pittsburgh, Dallas, Chicago and New Orleans. Yes, even in May. Yes, even during a global sports shutdown. So on this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast, Mark Madden and I wade into those waters,...
First Call: Ravens’ Lamar Jackson keeps connecting with Antonio Brown
Over the weekend, Antonio Brown didn’t hide his desire to become a Baltimore Raven. He posted a picture of himself photoshopped in purple and black. Antonio Brown to the Ravens?(Via his Snapchat) pic.twitter.com/HwsF1HrXGj— Matthew Travis (@Mjtrav627) May 2, 2020 In early April, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson posted a photo of...
How a Steelers rookie saved the life of someone he never even met
It was probably just a spam call. Christian Montano saw a New York area code on his phone that he didn’t recognize. Now a Steelers rookie free agent, Montano was in his apartment near Tulane’s campus when the phone rang. The offensive lineman was anticipating his grad transfer year with...
Impact of the 2020 NFL draft on your fantasy football league
Before “Breakfast With Benz” goes into a self-imposed shut down for an early weekend, we wanted to give our fantasy football fans a chance to hear from Jeff Erickson of RotoWire. He’s our fantasy sports expert. And he joins us to look at which recently drafted players may have the...
First Call: Steelers 2021 draft pick, more Tom Brady rules debates, smelly Penguin
Wednesday’s “First Call” is actually “Last Call” for the week. After plowing through the NFL Draft last weekend, “Breakfast With Benz” is closing the kitchen until Monday. So we go out by making Steelers fans angry over yet another rules debate surrounding Tom Brady. A new Steeler makes his grandmother...
U mad, bro? Steelers fans have strong opinions about NFL draft, race with Ravens
This is what I’m here for during “these troubled times.” To be your target in the dunking booth. Express a few doubts about the Steelers draft class. Say a few complimentary things about the Baltimore Ravens. And this is usually how it’s going to go. So it’s an all-Steelers draft...
Latest on NHL prospects: Border issues, schedule, draft talk, locations, style of play
Brian Metzer of the Penguins Radio Network joins me for our weekly “Essey Tire” hockey podcast. Are we finally seeing some movement when it comes to restarting the National Hockey League? According to Metzer, a lot of talk is percolating about important topics, such as unified destinations and dates for...
First Call: NFL schedule plans, Buccaneers reporter stands by Jameis Winston-Steelers story
Tuesday’s “First Call” gives us the odds on new Steeler Chase Claypool winning offensive rookie of the year. The reporter who claims the Steelers offered Jameis Winston a contract isn’t changing his tune. And the NFL schedule could be a real mess if the season is pushed back because of...
Tim Benz: Messages sent to Steelers defensive players after the NFL Draft
Defense wins championships! It also closes out our 2020 NFL Draft coverage. On Monday, I gave you a list of messages sent to Steelers offensive players directly from the coaching staff and the front office. At least, that was my interpretation after the NFL Draft last weekend. Today we look...
Tim Benz and Mark Madden return with ‘Unfiltered’ and break down how Steelers did in the draft
Tim Benz and Mark Madden got together virtually for “Madden Benz Unfiltered” on the TribLIVE Facebook page on Monday. The guys returned via Zoom video conference and talked about the sports world amid the coronavirus pandemic and how the sports leagues are trying to restart. They talked about the NHL...
Mark Madden says JuJu Smith-Schuster won’t be with Steelers in 2021, ‘no matter what’
In this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast, Mark Madden and I recap the NFL Draft. We do so from a Steelers standpoint to start. Mark and I are of the same opinion that the franchise didn’t have much to play with, and they didn’t exactly make a lot happen. They got...
First Call: Did Steelers really offer Jameis Winston a contract?; Leonard Fournette still a Jaguar
In Monday’s “First Call,” did the Steelers really offer a contract to Jameis Winston? Leonard Fournette is still a Jaguar. And the NFL draft ratings spike might be even more than anticipated. So much for that For those who wanted to see the Steelers sign Jameis Winston as Ben Roethlisberger’s...
Tim Benz: Steelers front office, coaches send messages to offensive players
Who says we’ll never return to normalcy, Steelers fans? We’re there right now. For weeks my Twitter timeline, email inbox and column comments have been littered with vitriol from both sides of the coronavirus debate. For every 50 people that want us to storm the state capital building with machine...
Tim Benz: You know who the Steelers got in the draft. Now let’s look at who they didn’t get.
You know what the Pittsburgh Steelers got in the draft. A huge wide receiver from a big school. A Conference USA reserve outside linebacker. A couple of Maryland Terps at running back and safety. And a trash-talking guard who might moonlight as a bouncer at a bar on the South...
Tim Benz: Best wide receiver available? Or best player available? Opinions vary.
A lot of years in the NFL Draft, the Steelers say that they are taking the best player available when they pick. A lot of years I don’t believe that. A lot of years I think they take the best possible player at the position of the highest need. Actually,...
How skill positions in NFL Draft will impact fantasy owners
Our Essey Tire fantasy sports podcast examines the first round of the NFL Draft and how some of these incoming rookies will impact your fantasy leagues. With six receivers taken in the first round and a run on running backs expected in the second round, the answer is: significantly! Jeff...
First Call: ESPN’s NFL Draft production was tremendous, with beautifully natural awkwardness
For Friday’s “First Call,” I’ve got to credit the combined forces of the NFL Network, ABC and ESPN. That was quite an undertaking Thursday night for the virtual reality NFL Draft broadcast. It was so much smoother than I thought it was going to be. All things considered, the multiple...
