U mad, bro?: On Kenny Pickett’s development, pass blocking, Bill Cowher’s rant about Jeff Saturday and … the Beatles?
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For Thanksgiving, I like variety. Turkey. White meat. Dark meat. Maybe some ham. Mashed potatoes and stuffing. Carrots and peas. Apple and pumpkin pie.
Just no sweet potatoes. I hate sweet potatoes. I hate the way they taste. I hate the way they smell. I don’t even wanna look at them!
I get it. You love ‘em. I know. That’s a “me” thing. Not a “you” thing. I’ve made peace with it.
And while that variety may come next week for “U mad, bro?” (especially if the Bengals beat the Steelers Sunday afternoon), it seems like everybody is gorging on just two topics this week.
• Kenny Pickett’s development (or lack thereof).
• Bill Cowher’s rant about the hiring of Jeff Saturday by the Indianapolis Colts.
So grab a knife and fork. And trust me when I tell you that I saved plenty of emails in the fridge just in case we need leftovers next week.
In this week’s ‘Madden Monday” podcast, William thinks Mark Madden and I were too hard on Kenny Pickett after the victory over New Orleans Sunday.
“I think Kenny played a lot better than the Red Rocket did.”
Wow. The Steelers QB played better than Andy Dalton.
Boy, the bar really has been lowered around here, hasn’t it?
I’m not so sure Mike Tomlin is right. If that’s the measuring stick we are using for good quarterback play, then the standard really isn’t the standard anymore.
“Mackrel” emailed and is particularly angry with Madden’s opinion.
“Can u tell Madden to shut the (heck) up, & stop bad mouthing the kid.”
No. But you can.
You can email him at the top of every one of his columns. Or you can call his show on 105.9 The X from 3 to 6 p.m. every weekday
The keyboard cowboy routine is empty enough if you do it directly. If you try to do it through a second party, like me, it’s even weaker. So tell him yourself.
But before you do, drop me a line and let me know when you’ll be calling. I’m dying to hear how this turns out for you.
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Brian is also mad about the podcast. Specifically, Madden’s comments about Pickett taking 12 sacks over the course of two games.
“Please tell Madden that a football team is a team, not a single player. The O-Line is responsible for protecting Pickett. He didn’t sack himself.”
Here’s a Tomlin quote from his press conference on Tuesday when I asked about the 12 sacks the last two weeks.
“Sometimes, Kenny gets Kenny in trouble.”
So, you were saying….???
Dave sent me a note about the Steelers after what I wrote about Pickett’s development.
“Hey, Tim, why so negative? Pickett and the Steelers were mostly adequate when playing a 3-6, heavily banged up Saints team that was playing on a short week. I mean they might have even been able to beat a 3-5 team.”
Hey! I’ll handle the snark and sarcasm around here. Everybody has their own job. When you try to do somebody else’s job, that’s when it all falls apart.
No hero ball around here. You just do your 1/11.
Watch the game. Find something that ticks you off. Send me an email that ticks me off. Then I’ll write about it.
Stay in your lane, Dave!
Rick sends an email with an opinion I heard a lot after Bill Cowher ripped the Colts’ decision to hire Jeff Saturday as their head coach with zero pro or college coaching experience.
“(Cowher) became a TV analyst just like that — with no prior training or experience behind the analyst’s’ microphone… making a complete ‘travesty’ of his newbie profession ‘no matter how it turns out!’
What a selective, hypocritical, buffoon!
Tell Quitter Cowher — the untrained sports television analyst and the new spokesperson for the coaching process everywhere — to shut up.”
Well, shutting up wouldn’t be conducive to being an analyst.
But it’s OK to disagree with his point.
Now then, to your point regarding Cowher going straight from coaching into a broadcast seat. That isn’t the hypocritical analogy you are making it out to be.
I must’ve gotten 10 to 15 tweets and emails saying, “Well, if Bill Cowher got a football media job that you wanted after he retired from the Steelers, wouldn’t you be mad?”
That’s misplaced “whataboutism.” Just because we are both “in the sports media” doesn’t mean Cowher and I would ever go for the same job.
I’m never going to be in the running for a network television former player/coach analyst role because — wait for it — I never played or coached in the NFL!
Get it??? Guys like Cowher and Tony Romo get those jobs because the networks are looking — specifically — for guys who can analyze the action from a coach or player perspective.
Now if Cowher was going for James Brown’s job or Jim Nantz’ play-by-play gig or my role as a columnist, yeah. You (and many others) would be onto something.
But, in this sense, you’re all making an apples-to-unicorns comparison.
Finally, Bill is a Beatles fan. And apparently a Colts fan. And he is a lot more on board with the Saturday hire than Cowher is.
You know the tune for “Yesterday.” Sing along.
Saturday, Coach Bill Cowher’s throwing shade your way,
Now it looks as though you’re here to stay,
Oh, I believe in Saturday
Suddenly, I’m like twice the fan I used to be,
Beating Vegas has won over me,
Oh, Saturday, forget TV
Why …Reich… had to go,
I don’t know, that’s on Irsay,
But half the season’s gone,
Now he longs for Saturday.
Saturday, football’s not an easy game to play,
Matty Ice needs guys to clear the way,
Who better than Jeff Saturday?
Mmmm…. mmm…. Mmm…..mmm…
Not bad, Bill. A good effort, indeed. Now do an Andy Reid version of “I am the Walrus.” Then I’ll be really impressed.