Latest / Pittsburgh Sports Memories / BONUS EPISODE: Pgh Sports Current Events - October 29, 2026

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BONUS EPISODE: Pgh Sports Current Events - October 29, 2026 · Pittsburgh Sports Memories

0:00
SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome to another exciting edition of Pittsburgh Sports Memories Current Events.
0:07
SPEAKER_00: I'm your co-host, Steve Wirt, and I'm joined by Hi everybody.
0:11
SPEAKER_01: I'm Tim Hannon.
0:12
SPEAKER_00: And uh I just wanted to start off this episode by saying, um, do you like coffee, Tim?
0:19
SPEAKER_01: I don't drink coffee.
0:20
SPEAKER_01: However, I would love it if someone got me one.
0:23
SPEAKER_00: There you go.
0:24
SPEAKER_00: Well, we have this new like little tip jar kind of service.
0:27
SPEAKER_00: So if you enjoy hearing us comment on the Steelers every week in Football Palooza and whatnot, um leave us a tip.
0:34
SPEAKER_00: It's uh what is it called?
0:35
SPEAKER_00: Buy me a coffee.
0:36
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, the link will be in the show description.
0:39
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so check that out.
0:40
SPEAKER_00: You know, you can give us a couple bucks, it helps us bring this fine quality content that you've become so reliant on.
0:47
SPEAKER_01: So you said that with not the least bit of sarcasm.
0:52
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
0:53
SPEAKER_00: Um so we'll start off uh this episode with talking about the penguins, the penguinis.
1:00
SPEAKER_00: Um they won two in a row.
1:03
SPEAKER_00: They beat the predators and the panthers, and the lions and the tigers and bears.
1:07
SPEAKER_00: Oh my.
1:08
SPEAKER_00: Um they're um currently uh they have 11 points.
1:13
SPEAKER_00: And do you know who they're only two points ahead of last time I looked?
1:16
SPEAKER_00: Or one point maybe now.
1:18
SPEAKER_01: LA who lost like their first eight games.
1:20
SPEAKER_00: Yeah! How did that happen?
1:22
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
1:23
SPEAKER_00: That's probably not good, right?
1:25
SPEAKER_00: Um in the division, the Hurricanes, the Hurricanes, if you're English, um, they lead the division with 22 points.
1:34
SPEAKER_00: Um, the penguins are in sixth place, so they are three points back of the Islanders for the last playoff stop spot, and the Capitals are kind of wedged in there by and they're ahead of the Penguins by a point.
1:47
SPEAKER_00: It's still really early in the season, still have like almost almost a month till Thanksgiving, right?
1:53
SPEAKER_00: Till everything kind of starts to sort itself out a little bit.
1:57
SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, I didn't check out to see.
1:59
SPEAKER_00: I think Crosby scored a couple goals since we've talked last.
2:03
SPEAKER_00: So I don't know.
2:05
SPEAKER_00: Is it are the penguins gonna suck?
2:07
SPEAKER_00: Didn't we say last time we thought the penguins might suck this year?
2:10
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we thought last year might have been a mirage, but we also said it was too early, and it's still too early.
2:15
SPEAKER_01: Like, we can't clean anything at this point.
2:18
SPEAKER_00: Uh well, they don't play hardly any games.
2:20
SPEAKER_00: Like it seems like they've been like in sixth place and back of the islanders for like a week now.
2:26
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
2:26
SPEAKER_01: They're playing the mammoth again.
2:28
SPEAKER_01: They love playing them some mammoth.
2:30
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, well, they lost to them in Utah.
2:32
SPEAKER_01: Right.
2:32
SPEAKER_01: Utah.
2:33
SPEAKER_01: Playing them in here.
2:35
SPEAKER_01: So yeah, we'll see.
2:36
SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
2:36
SPEAKER_01: I again, I there's like not much to say about them at this point.
2:40
SPEAKER_01: It's too early.
2:41
SPEAKER_01: They're still too old.
2:42
SPEAKER_01: Like, I want to see these young guys and see if we can get out of this mediocre that we've been stuck in.
2:49
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, Ben Kindle's still alive, so we have that going for us.
2:53
SPEAKER_01: That was good.
2:54
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
2:55
SPEAKER_00: Um, moving to a football Palooza, and um I'm just gonna it's pit football.
3:01
SPEAKER_00: They lost to Miami 23 to 52, and that score is way closer than it ever should be because it was not even this close.
3:11
SPEAKER_00: All those 23 points were in garbage time of meaningless football.
3:16
SPEAKER_00: Um, Bolden Gurner for his you know part 18 to 32, 268 yards, a touchdown and a fumble.
3:24
SPEAKER_00: Um, Miami, like they had the last couple years, like they have in this rivalry for as long as I can remember, outside of three in three or four instances, dominates Pitt every time they play.
3:36
SPEAKER_00: And it wasn't just it wasn't even close.
3:38
SPEAKER_00: It wasn't even competitive.
3:40
SPEAKER_00: I felt like I was watching one of the Johnny Majors years, like 95-96 teams, where they just came in and it just it was over in the first second quarter.
3:52
SPEAKER_00: I mean, they literally had a play where like who's the best player on Miami, Tim?
3:58
SPEAKER_01: Their receiver.
3:59
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, Malachi Tony.
4:00
SPEAKER_00: They literally had that play, that little bubble screen where they had the two receivers out there, and they moved him out.
4:06
SPEAKER_00: Well, you would think Pitt would like adjust.
4:09
SPEAKER_00: No, they just left two deplet dude two defenders on three offensive players, and one of those offensive players is like one of the best offensive players in the country.
4:18
SPEAKER_00: So what do you think happened?
4:20
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, he like literally uh scores a touchdown, just walks into the end zone.
4:25
SPEAKER_00: Like it's like what a freaking joke.
4:27
SPEAKER_00: Like, I know I could have got five yards on that play.
4:30
SPEAKER_00: If you're gonna block, if I got two big guys in front of me to block the other two guys, I'm not fast, but I can at least work with that.
4:37
SPEAKER_00: So that's coaching.
4:38
SPEAKER_00: I mean, um I I don't know.
4:43
SPEAKER_00: Would have having Hychoel I don't think it would have made a difference.
4:46
SPEAKER_00: I think it would have still been a blowout.
4:49
SPEAKER_00: Um I don't know what to say.
4:52
SPEAKER_00: I uh Ferguson had nine carries for 39 yards.
4:56
SPEAKER_00: Um, they had lots of defensive lapses.
5:00
SPEAKER_00: Um I I want to rip on Cade Bell, but at the same time, I I guess I'll give him a pass just because he doesn't have a quarterback, and it doesn't seem like he can figure out how to make it his offense work with just a running back.
5:16
SPEAKER_00: So I I I I that's kind of on him.
5:20
SPEAKER_00: Like I think they have good enough running backs in offensive line where they could be a little better than they are.
5:25
SPEAKER_01: But um it just feels like the season like as soon as Mason got hurt that that game started going downhill, they still won.
5:34
SPEAKER_01: And it's just progressively gone downhill a little bit more, a little bit more, a little bit more.
5:38
SPEAKER_01: And I think it just took the air out from under them.
5:42
SPEAKER_00: Well, yeah, the Miami quarterback had four touchdowns.
5:45
SPEAKER_00: He completed like 16 passes in a row or 15 passes in a row.
5:50
SPEAKER_00: Um, Toadie had 16 receptions for 194 yards and three touchdowns.
5:54
SPEAKER_00: Um, where does Pick go from here?
5:56
SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
5:57
SPEAKER_00: Probably some meaningless bowl game.
6:00
SPEAKER_00: I mean, they'll be lucky to win six games.
6:02
SPEAKER_00: They'll probably win, they'll win at least one more game.
6:04
SPEAKER_00: They might only win one more game the rest of the season.
6:08
SPEAKER_00: Um they play Georgia Tech on Halloween, that's what this weekend.
6:12
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, Saturday.
6:13
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I mean hey, Virginia Tech beat Clemson in Death Valley, so big game James finally got a big game, I guess.
6:20
SPEAKER_00: Although Clemson is having a down year.
6:23
SPEAKER_00: Dabo's probably gonna be out after this season anyway.
6:27
SPEAKER_00: I did this is just like it's so disappointing, and I I just I I don't know what I expected from Pitt, but I think I even when they lost their quarterback, I thought they'd at least be more competitive than this.
6:39
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I I agree.
6:40
SPEAKER_01: I you and I, you know, I thought that their ceiling was gonna be, you know, I thought the season was over in terms of them competing for an ACC champion.
6:50
SPEAKER_01: But maybe like eight wins.
6:51
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I guess they still could rattle off three wins and gate it eight wins.
6:56
SPEAKER_01: It looks pretty bleak right now, to your point.
6:58
SPEAKER_01: And it seems like, like I said, it just progressively like okay, our quarterback got hurt, but we can still do this.
7:04
SPEAKER_01: And then like each week, like their confidence level is just shot, and they're just kind of throwing in the towel slowly one week at a time.
7:11
SPEAKER_00: The defense, the the the the the They can't play coverage, and the and he wants to play that single coverage.
7:16
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's terrible.
7:18
SPEAKER_00: Their two biggest problems on the team are the quarterback and the secondary.
7:23
SPEAKER_00: If they could fix one of those, they probably could win two or three more games.
7:27
SPEAKER_01: Spot on.
7:28
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
7:29
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
7:30
SPEAKER_00: You either got to get better quarterback play or better secondary play, or start playing.
7:35
SPEAKER_00: Hey, hey, Tim, here's a concept.
7:37
SPEAKER_00: Don't play crappy corners man on man with no help.
7:41
SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh.
7:42
SPEAKER_00: What a what a shocking.
7:44
SPEAKER_00: I know that's your defense, but you sometimes you gotta adjust.
7:48
SPEAKER_00: Hey, Gabe Bell, I know quarterback having a superstar quarterback is your offense, but you know what, you don't have that.
7:54
SPEAKER_00: That's the side of a good coach, is being able to adjust and work with what you got.
7:58
SPEAKER_00: Not, you know, that there's no, you know, there's no talent in coaching Tom Brady.
8:04
SPEAKER_00: Why do you think Josh McDaniel's been like a mediocre to bad coach everywhere he's gone when he hasn't had Tom Brady?
8:10
SPEAKER_00: I mean I just I'm so over them that I'm going to start watching Robert Morris football.
8:17
SPEAKER_00: Um, they beat Mercyhurst 28 to 14.
8:19
SPEAKER_00: They've had a hundred-yard return of a missed field goal earlier in the season.
8:24
SPEAKER_00: And uh the big rivalry game, Tim, and yo, you're invited.
8:28
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna try and get to this is November 7th against Duquesne.
8:32
SPEAKER_00: Nice.
8:33
SPEAKER_00: So I will see.
8:35
SPEAKER_00: That's their big rivalry.
8:36
SPEAKER_00: I think they have like five wins, so they're definitely not gonna make whatever playoff they were angling for.
8:41
SPEAKER_00: But it's NEC football.
8:43
SPEAKER_00: I think they play Central Connecticut State, which didn't Pitt play them in the like the basketball in the NCAA team.
8:51
SPEAKER_01: I don't know, but I love I love that's like the most geographically like specific school ever.
8:57
SPEAKER_01: Um yeah, it it stinks.
9:00
SPEAKER_01: I I to your point about would they have done better with Mason?
9:03
SPEAKER_01: Obviously, who knows?
9:04
SPEAKER_01: Obviously, they didn't do very well against Miami with Mason last year, but he was a freshman.
9:09
SPEAKER_01: All I know is Mason was 11 Mason Haynchel is 11 and 2 as a starter, and he was a sophomore this year, and he was 5-0 this year, and he was coming into his own.
9:19
SPEAKER_00: And he only 14 touchdowns and one interception.
9:22
SPEAKER_00: I realize that's against a lot of crappy opponents, but he still did it.
9:26
SPEAKER_01: He still did it, and and it just that secondary problem, the the the defensive pass coverage problem would have been masked tremendously had you been had you been in these um shootouts, right?
9:42
SPEAKER_01: Because that's what Mason would have hopefully given you is the ability to score 30 points.
9:48
SPEAKER_01: Well, they were averaging 40 at the time when he got hurt, they were averaging 40 points a year.
9:52
SPEAKER_00: Well, too, like Florida State hung with Miami, made them go to overtime, and I don't think Florida State's all that great this season.
9:58
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, yeah.
9:59
SPEAKER_01: Everybody's beatable in college football this year.
10:02
SPEAKER_01: The number two team keeps losing every week.
10:03
SPEAKER_01: BYU's, I think, right, they lost last week.
10:07
SPEAKER_01: So people yeah, teams are beatable, but you're not gonna do it without a quarterback.
10:12
SPEAKER_01: And it it just it just stinks.
10:14
SPEAKER_00: Well, I the the only thing I could say is Grinder did play a little better this week than he did the week that he started.
10:22
SPEAKER_00: So maybe he gets a little better every week.
10:24
SPEAKER_00: The competition isn't gonna be as stiff as Miami the rest of the way.
10:28
SPEAKER_00: So there's a good chance they might win two more games.
10:31
SPEAKER_00: Well, what do you think the over under?
10:32
SPEAKER_00: If I put the overunder at three games, are you going under or over?
10:37
SPEAKER_01: I'm definitely going under that.
10:39
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
10:39
SPEAKER_00: What about you think they'll win more than two games?
10:42
SPEAKER_00: I I could I Well, I guess that's three still.
10:45
SPEAKER_00: Would they win two games?
10:46
SPEAKER_01: I think one is would be nice.
10:49
SPEAKER_01: I think two would be overachieving at this stage.
10:51
SPEAKER_01: Honestly.
10:52
SPEAKER_00: What do they got left?
10:53
SPEAKER_00: They got Louisville, they got Georgia Tech, Cal.
10:58
SPEAKER_00: Cal.
10:58
SPEAKER_00: I mean, all those teams.
11:00
SPEAKER_00: But all those teams are like okay.
11:02
SPEAKER_00: They're like all okay.
11:04
SPEAKER_00: They're not, yeah.
11:05
SPEAKER_00: You're not gonna play a team like Miami the rest of the time.
11:08
SPEAKER_01: No, no, definitely not.
11:10
SPEAKER_00: Anyway, moving on to an international game, the uh the Steelers played the Aints in uh in Gay Paris, under the City of Lights.
11:24
SPEAKER_00: They enjoyed the left bank much like the Germans did in World War II.
11:28
SPEAKER_00: I I promised myself I wouldn't make a World War II joke, and I broke that promise to myself.
11:33
SPEAKER_00: Um they had some wine and cheese, saw the Apple Tower, brought home a win.
11:37
SPEAKER_00: Um yo, uh, hey, at least Paris was not burning, much like after World War II.
11:44
SPEAKER_00: Um lots of Steelers fans made the trip to Paris.
11:48
SPEAKER_00: It was like a Steelers home game in Paris.
11:51
SPEAKER_00: Um Aaron Rodgers, like I think the best thing that's happened to Aaron Rodgers is teaming back up with Mike McCarthy.
11:59
SPEAKER_00: He made this throw on third and was it third and fifteen or third and sixteen for like 48 yards to Metcalf.
12:06
SPEAKER_00: There aren't there, I mean, how many other quarterbacks in the league right now could make that throw?
12:12
SPEAKER_00: Three, maybe?
12:14
SPEAKER_00: Alan Mahomes, who else?
12:17
SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
12:18
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, he can make those throws.
12:20
SPEAKER_01: I just don't think he's able to make them consistently anymore.
12:23
SPEAKER_00: That's the that's the but that's the thing, they don't need him to.
12:26
SPEAKER_00: Like, if he's gonna make like a place like that, is and the team looks so much better.
12:31
SPEAKER_00: Like, we're talking about how bad they looked on offense.
12:34
SPEAKER_00: They still don't like have a great offense right now, but boy, the coaching just looks does it just look better?
12:40
SPEAKER_00: Is am I just crazy?
12:42
SPEAKER_01: Well, uh the the honestly, I think the biggest difference is I think it's coaching and I think it's the offensive line is just is just finally, you know.
12:54
SPEAKER_01: I I keep thinking about like I always compare this to to you know, how did we get here?
13:01
SPEAKER_01: The historical factors.
13:03
SPEAKER_01: And the end of the we did that episode about the end of the Tom Donahue era where they stunk, you know, the late 90s, they were all these bad teams because they kept trying to draft linemen that didn't pan out.
13:14
SPEAKER_01: The end of the Colbert era, they didn't even try to draft linemen.
13:17
SPEAKER_01: It was all like Nagy and Firemouth and skill play and click case clay pole.
13:22
SPEAKER_01: It was all skill players.
13:23
SPEAKER_01: I think now the con's been in there for years, they've finally drafted an offensive and defensive, by the way.
13:30
SPEAKER_00: Outside of Roderick Jones, who's obviously a bust.
13:34
SPEAKER_01: But Max Honitor's in there now.
13:36
SPEAKER_01: Fatano's in there, he was a number one draft pick, and then and then uh, you know, the the the three interior guys are all um looking good as well.
13:48
SPEAKER_01: So um I I I don't know.
13:50
SPEAKER_01: I just I think that's a big difference.
13:52
SPEAKER_01: Jalen Warren looks really good.
13:54
SPEAKER_00: So you're gonna he really is like the the kind of the fire plug to he like he's the starter.
14:00
SPEAKER_00: Uh he gets the offense going.
14:03
SPEAKER_00: And then like I tell you what, Rogers took a really bad sack again at the end of the half.
14:08
SPEAKER_00: Like he loves to do that, but you know what?
14:11
SPEAKER_00: Unlike the Washington team, we were able to pull off the fire drill and get the kick out actually comfortably.
14:18
SPEAKER_00: Like it wasn't even like a super rushed kick, it was just a comfortable and it once again, like I don't see Tomlin's teams doing that, not to go back and rip on Mike Tomlin.
14:28
SPEAKER_00: I I don't really remember Tomlin's teams being coached well enough to be able to pull that off.
14:33
SPEAKER_01: I was impressed.
14:35
SPEAKER_01: Didn't have the innovation on offense either.
14:37
SPEAKER_01: Like it was always like the Feekner, uh Matt Canada, yeah, you know, um Arthur.
14:44
SPEAKER_00: It pains me to say that.
14:45
SPEAKER_00: I thought Matt Canada was a good coordinator, but boy, he was a one-hit wonder.
14:50
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, he really was.
14:51
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, there was just it was so there was nothing innovative.
14:56
SPEAKER_01: So that's helping.
14:57
SPEAKER_01: I think Rogers, like the perfect position to put him in right now is you need like those amazing throws, like you said, but not all the time.
15:07
SPEAKER_01: You need you also need like that savvy veteran.
15:10
SPEAKER_01: Like I love, I love that play he keeps doing where he sees like the guys coming on a blitz and he just like fires it right off to like firemouth or whoever.
15:18
SPEAKER_01: He did that for like an eight-yard first down where it's like bam, like right off.
15:22
SPEAKER_01: Like he takes a snap and he's like, Oh, you're gonna blitz, boom.
15:25
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna throw it right over your head to the guy's.
15:26
SPEAKER_00: Or like I tell you what a play that doesn't go down for anything is like there's times like he did this a couple times where he's getting blitzed and there's a running back, but he's kind of covered, so he just throws it at his feet.
15:38
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
15:38
SPEAKER_00: It's like, especially in the two-minute drill, do you realize how like smart that is?
15:43
SPEAKER_01: Like that's what I mean.
15:44
SPEAKER_01: Like you say, like there's not many quarterbacks that can make that deep throw.
15:48
SPEAKER_01: There's also not many quarterbacks that would just like can read a defense so well that they can fire the ball out and get an eight-yard gain automatically because they just death's the guy that's coming.
16:00
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, the knowledge and the skill and this like it he's still on, like he's always been very accurate the football, and he he's not as accurate as he used to be, but he's still probably one of the more accurate quarterbacks in the league.
16:12
SPEAKER_00: And that makes a big difference.
16:13
SPEAKER_01: But if you're taking if you're taking the pressure off with a really good running game with Warren and even Dowdle, like I thought Dowdle looked pretty much, yeah.
16:21
SPEAKER_00: I think that's gonna work.
16:22
SPEAKER_00: Like they're gonna be able to rest Warren.
16:24
SPEAKER_00: Rest Warren's still gonna be the spark plug, but Dowd will be kind of able to come in and kind of keep the momentum rolling.
16:30
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, which is which is good.
16:31
SPEAKER_01: I people won't like that for like fantasy football purposes, but it will help the team.
16:36
SPEAKER_01: So yeah, I I love how they look right now.
16:38
SPEAKER_01: I I mean the Saints aren't great.
16:41
SPEAKER_01: Um, and but I I and I I know we only won 16 to 10, but I did you ever feel like we were in danger of losing that game?
16:46
SPEAKER_01: I never, I never really interception was the only time that was they were even close to like threatening.
16:53
SPEAKER_00: And then like it was another one of those, like I I you know, say what you will.
16:57
SPEAKER_00: I was kind of skeptical of Patrick Graham.
16:59
SPEAKER_00: I thought maybe, but you know what?
17:00
SPEAKER_00: He's kind of winning me over.
17:02
SPEAKER_00: Like they they don't have any set, like once again, they're kind of in the same situation that pit football's in, is they have their problems.
17:10
SPEAKER_00: And the problem is they don't have any speed wide receivers and they don't have any good corner, like they have okay corners-ish, yeah, but they don't have a shutdown corner.
17:21
SPEAKER_00: And you know what?
17:23
SPEAKER_00: Neither of those problems is gonna get fixed this year, unless they trade for somebody.
17:27
SPEAKER_00: Maybe they'll trade for Joey Porter back, Joey Porter Jr.
17:30
SPEAKER_00: back.
17:31
SPEAKER_00: No, but you know what I mean?
17:32
SPEAKER_00: They're they're not gonna fix either of those problems.
17:34
SPEAKER_00: So it's just he's very like Patrick Gabb is very judicious on when he blitzes and when he plays coverage, and like they just kept like so what uh Shuck completed like 10 passes in a row.
17:47
SPEAKER_00: You know what?
17:47
SPEAKER_00: As soon as he got inside the 20-yard line, he's throwing interceptions, and that's what you want out of that Ben, but don't break defense.
17:54
SPEAKER_01: I think the receiver situation has a better chance of getting fixed this year than the secondary situation.
18:01
SPEAKER_00: Well, when they get what's his name back, yeah.
18:04
SPEAKER_01: Well, I think Michael Pittman's a good receiver.
18:06
SPEAKER_01: I really do.
18:07
SPEAKER_01: I know Rogers probably doesn't trust him worth worth a darn right now, but I think he is actually a good receiver.
18:12
SPEAKER_01: He's just been hurt ever since like June.
18:16
SPEAKER_01: So if he comes back healthy, I think that could actually help.
18:18
SPEAKER_01: If Roman Wilson comes back, I'm not sure where he'll be, but that'll at least add depth.
18:24
SPEAKER_01: The secondary thing, it's this reminds me a lot of the year Rod Woodson got hurt.
18:31
SPEAKER_01: You know, and and I'm not comparing Joey Porter to Rod Woodson, but it was the same type of thing where it's like you had your like really good shutdown cornerback, and because you had that, you could blitz more, you could you could do so many different things on defense, and as soon as you lost that unexpectedly, that really hampers your defense.
18:49
SPEAKER_01: Now they went to the Super Bowl that year without Rod Woodson.
18:53
SPEAKER_01: I'm not saying they're gonna do that this year, but I'm just saying it's overcomeable.
18:57
SPEAKER_01: It just stinks that we're in that boat because if Joey Porter tears his ACL in week one, like Rod Woodson did, okay, that happens, but it's like the reason he's not here is just so stupid.
19:08
SPEAKER_01: But what are you gonna do?
19:10
SPEAKER_01: You have to move forward.
19:11
SPEAKER_01: Like you said, Pitt Pitt could learn a thing or two.
19:14
SPEAKER_00: And and I'll say this about Patrick Graham is like he's very smart in when he calls the blitzes, like he's figured it out.
19:21
SPEAKER_00: You need to like the Tampa game, they blitzed on like a third or fourth down and got a sack.
19:26
SPEAKER_00: And I think he did it in this game too, where they blitzed on third or fourth down, like and he doesn't do it all the time, so I think when you do it less, sometimes with the blitz, less is more, you know?
19:37
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
19:39
SPEAKER_00: Anyway, um I don't think we've seen this kind of offensive coordinator stuff since Todd Haley uh uh packed up and left the Steelers.
19:48
SPEAKER_00: Um, I know they they they only scored 16 points, Tim, but um I don't know, it just felt like a lot better offensive performance for whatever reason.
19:59
SPEAKER_01: It it it like I said, they were never really in danger of losing.
20:03
SPEAKER_01: I think they didn't have to do much.
20:05
SPEAKER_01: New Orleans, I we said last week their offensive line is hot garbage.
20:08
SPEAKER_01: I didn't realize it was that bad.
20:10
SPEAKER_01: It it that reminded me, Tyler Shuck reminded me so much of like those early Ben years whenever Bruce Arians was here, yeah, and we had no offensive line.
20:20
SPEAKER_01: And that's how the only reason that they were even making plays or even getting points or moving the ball is because it was always like a like a oh, he almost got sacked, but he got away, scrambled around, and then found a guy open because he ran around for six years, and that was so maddening.
20:36
SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, man, that's what Ben used to.
20:37
SPEAKER_01: Ben made a whole career out of that.
20:39
SPEAKER_01: We won a Super Bowl somehow doing that, but it's not sustainable.
20:43
SPEAKER_01: And Tyler Shock isn't as good as Ben.
20:48
SPEAKER_00: Are you ready for a sentence that I cannot believe I am saying right now?
20:54
SPEAKER_01: Sure.
20:55
SPEAKER_00: All right.
20:55
SPEAKER_00: Um, I this is reality.
20:58
SPEAKER_00: This is reality.
20:59
SPEAKER_00: This is really happening.
21:00
SPEAKER_00: I'm really saying this.
21:01
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
21:01
SPEAKER_00: So uh the Steelers play next, the five and two Browns for control of the AFC North going into the second half of the season.
21:12
SPEAKER_00: Do you want me to say that again?
21:13
SPEAKER_00: Did you hear what I said?
21:16
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I I I I I heard it.
21:20
SPEAKER_01: I still don't really trust it.
21:22
SPEAKER_00: I feel like Well, Swana the Steelers or Browns are gonna be six and two.
21:27
SPEAKER_01: One one yeah, I but remember when Vegas, the the Raiders are another three and four.
21:32
SPEAKER_01: Like I feel like the Browns are ready to fall off that cliff.
21:35
SPEAKER_01: Ready to fall off that cliff.
21:37
SPEAKER_01: But but you know, that so far they haven't all the credits.
21:40
SPEAKER_00: Well, they're winning aren't they winning like a lot of close games at the last minute?
21:44
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, they've kicked the last second field goal to beat Tennessee, which isn't impressive.
21:48
SPEAKER_01: But it's like again, you NFL they lose that game other years they've won.
21:54
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and and and and that's you know, people keep saying about like the Vikings.
21:58
SPEAKER_01: The Vikings are the last undefeated team.
21:59
SPEAKER_01: Oh They barely beat people and they're not playing really good channels.
22:03
SPEAKER_01: Like, whatever, they're winning.
22:04
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
22:04
SPEAKER_01: Like uh so I I I can't say that the Browns are frauds, but I can predict that they will become frauds.
22:11
SPEAKER_01: And I think I think that could be a good thing.
22:13
SPEAKER_00: Well, I think it's the I think it's Deshaun Watson.
22:15
SPEAKER_00: It's like they they last, they hang around as long as Deshaun Watson keeps his good play together.
22:21
SPEAKER_00: But he's always for his whole career, even before the whole scandal and getting the big contract, he always kind of was a turnover machine.
22:29
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
22:29
SPEAKER_00: Like he he seems to turn the ball over at very either a lot or inopportune times.
22:35
SPEAKER_00: So they kind of have like that.
22:38
SPEAKER_00: Deshaun Watson will probably show up at some point at a bad moment in the season.
22:43
SPEAKER_01: I think so.
22:44
SPEAKER_01: I think we're gonna beat them this weekend.
22:45
SPEAKER_01: But man, if they come in here and beat us, they're in the world.
22:48
SPEAKER_01: They've swept the series and they they're in driver.
22:50
SPEAKER_00: They're in the driver's scene.
22:52
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
22:52
SPEAKER_00: Well, the only the um odds on favorite, do you know the odds on favorite to win the AFC North is, according to Vegas?
22:59
SPEAKER_01: Still Baltimore.
23:01
SPEAKER_00: No, the Bengals.
23:02
SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah.
23:02
SPEAKER_00: Which makes sense because four and two, they have not played the Browns yet, right?
23:06
SPEAKER_00: I don't think I don't know.
23:08
SPEAKER_01: I've they've played they've lost uh one game to us, I know that, but they beat Baltimore last week.
23:12
SPEAKER_01: They crushed Baltimore.
23:13
SPEAKER_01: They crushed Baltimore after Baltimore was up 13-0 at halftime.
23:17
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, Baltimore, I don't know if Baltimore's in trouble or not.
23:22
SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
23:22
SPEAKER_01: Well, you have to wait till Lamar comes back to answer that question.
23:25
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
23:27
SPEAKER_00: So it's a crazy competitive division right now.
23:30
SPEAKER_00: I mean, my God, everybody has a winning record.
23:32
SPEAKER_01: So by the way, Steve, Baltimore's next two games, Buffalo and Jacksonville.
23:37
SPEAKER_00: With uh Lamar or not?
23:39
SPEAKER_01: Well, I mean, either way, those are two really hard games.
23:42
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
23:44
SPEAKER_00: So um, you know, that uh the we'll see where the Steelers end up.
23:48
SPEAKER_00: Hopefully, you know, they can beat the Browns.
23:50
SPEAKER_00: You think they're gonna beat the Browns, huh?
23:52
SPEAKER_01: I I think they're gonna beat the Browns by two scores.
23:55
SPEAKER_00: Wow, really?
23:56
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
23:57
SPEAKER_00: Well, it it's a it's a home game, so that should count for something, right?
24:00
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
24:01
SPEAKER_00: I am not as optimistic.
24:03
SPEAKER_00: I think I think they beat the Browns by a late field goal.
24:08
SPEAKER_00: So on to odds and ends.
24:11
SPEAKER_00: Uh seriously, Tim, why is Robert Morris on TV every week?
24:16
SPEAKER_00: Go figure.
24:17
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean, good for Robert Morris, I guess.
24:20
SPEAKER_00: Good for Bobby Mo.
24:21
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
24:21
SPEAKER_00: Um, do we care about the World Series, Tim?
24:25
SPEAKER_01: I I don't really care, but I am like silently rooting for Milwaukee.
24:30
SPEAKER_00: See, I'm the opposite.
24:31
SPEAKER_00: I I was rooting I don't mind, I I'm not like if it was the Dodgers or like the Red Sox that'd be like, uh I can't blah blah but I or the Cubs, that would be like an or Cardinals, that could be another team.
24:42
SPEAKER_00: I'd be like, but like like the the Tampa Bay, I kind of wanted Tampa Bay to win.
24:48
SPEAKER_00: I mean they're like they're like the redheaded stepchild of Major League Baseball.
24:53
SPEAKER_00: They are they're the Arizona Cardinals of Major League Baseball.
24:57
SPEAKER_00: They like Clippers.
24:59
SPEAKER_00: I I don't know.
25:00
SPEAKER_00: But like they play in a crappy dome, like nobody likes them.
25:04
SPEAKER_00: This is gonna be the last home game coming up here.
25:07
SPEAKER_00: And right I I don't I can't believe they put a re-roofed that crappy stadium.
25:12
SPEAKER_00: I've been to that stadium and I've said this many.
25:14
SPEAKER_00: It's the worst stadium I've ever seen a baseball game in.
25:17
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, they're playing they're they're playing game five the night we're recording this, so this actually might be over by the time we we air this.
25:25
SPEAKER_00: But I mean, okay, it do you is it bad for baseball that these two small market teams are in it just from a ratings standpoint?
25:33
SPEAKER_01: I think it's I I don't think it's I don't know.
25:36
SPEAKER_01: I I mean obviously like if you have like Los Angeles versus New York.
25:41
SPEAKER_00: Just because of the size of the markets.
25:43
SPEAKER_01: Just because of the size of the markets, but I I don't think it's bad for baseball.
25:46
SPEAKER_01: I think it's actually good for baseball.
25:48
SPEAKER_00: But I don't see I I I think it's bad for baseball overall because one there they're now gonna have this argument, well, see a small market team won it, and you're gonna have the Jeff Passons of the world out there, the the owner apologists.
26:02
SPEAKER_00: Well, you see, you know, you know, you can look at football and they have the same team win it.
26:06
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, the same team is the freaking Kansas City Chiefs.
26:09
SPEAKER_00: I don't see the Royals winning three World Series in a row.
26:13
SPEAKER_00: I don't see the Royals having the best uh the best player in the uh in their league on their team for more than four years.
26:21
SPEAKER_01: I mean, but you know, nobody will be able to tell Jeff Bason that because he's all all it does is it gives ammo to people like that or people on on social media.
26:29
SPEAKER_01: That's all it does.
26:30
SPEAKER_01: The owners, the the if the owners are as staunchly in favor of shutting everything down to get a salary cap as they're let that they're pretending to be, then they weren't gonna change our minds because it's like, oh, well, we really wanted this, and oh, we were rolling the sex race the whole season, and this is the whole future of our game, but we're gonna change our mind because Brewers raised.
26:52
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
26:52
SPEAKER_01: Like that that's not gonna change anything at the end of the day.
26:55
SPEAKER_01: And I I would like to see Milwaukee win.
26:57
SPEAKER_01: I have um uh a friend up in Wisconsin who's a huge Brewers fan.
27:02
SPEAKER_01: I I I like Oh, good for them.
27:04
SPEAKER_00: You know, I they it's been what 50 years.
27:06
SPEAKER_01: Well, that's what I mean.
27:07
SPEAKER_01: I I like seeing long-suffering fan bases finally get something, and I don't feel like Tampa Bay really has much of a baseball fan base.
27:15
SPEAKER_00: So we're more the game I went to was with the Pirates, and there were more Pirates fans.
27:20
SPEAKER_01: Well, did you see the game four, the one that went next ratings?
27:23
SPEAKER_01: There was a ton of Brewers fans.
27:24
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, when the Milwaukee guy hit the home run in the 12th inning, there was like tons of cheering.
27:28
SPEAKER_01: So I was like, Wait, wait, since when did Milwaukee start playing in a dome?
27:32
SPEAKER_00: You know, but if Well they do play in a dome, technically, but well, yeah, but I'm just saying it's it it it When did they start playing in a really crappy dome?
27:40
SPEAKER_00: Right, right.
27:41
SPEAKER_01: And but anyway, yeah, I I'm I'm rooting for them.
27:44
SPEAKER_01: I like I like seeing long-suffering fan bases finally get a championship.
27:48
SPEAKER_01: I wish it stinks that Bob Euchre passed away when he did.
27:51
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
27:52
SPEAKER_00: It would have been fun to see him celebrate with the buttons, like a little meme on the internet, like he was like, Oh, we're going to the World Series.
27:59
SPEAKER_00: I got good seats.
28:00
SPEAKER_00: I bet they're right up front, like the old Miller Light commercial, where like, oh, he's the he ends up in the upper deck.
28:06
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
28:07
SPEAKER_01: I've been quoting Bob Euchre Major Headlines for what's that been almost 40 years now?
28:13
SPEAKER_00: Uh well, you can't get analysis like what's that?
28:17
SPEAKER_00: Why just we pay you the big bucks for that analysis?
28:19
SPEAKER_00: Oh, dynamite drop in ones.
28:21
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
28:22
SPEAKER_01: That broadcast school is really paying off.
28:26
SPEAKER_00: Um, speaking of broadcast school, um, I watched the Cordell documentary on HBO.
28:31
SPEAKER_00: It's called Slash and Burn.
28:33
SPEAKER_00: Um, it's only 40 minutes, and I'm glad it was only one episode because I had a fear when I turned it on that this is going to be like a six-hour marathon of six episodes, and I'm really glad it was only one episode.
28:45
SPEAKER_00: Like the HBO's doing these, like they call them NFL shorts.
28:49
SPEAKER_00: I don't know if they got a contract.
28:51
SPEAKER_00: They did Miller Night Football, which is on Dennis Miller's.
28:55
SPEAKER_00: I really like the Dennis Miller one on Monday Night Football.
28:58
SPEAKER_00: That was really a fun one to watch.
29:00
SPEAKER_00: And this was interesting, but um so so Steve, I I I didn't see it.
29:06
SPEAKER_01: Can I can I give you my Yeah, yeah, just yeah, give you a prediction.
29:09
SPEAKER_01: Because I I don't I don't really want to watch it, and and you tell me if this is off because I think that it is gonna be 40 minutes of a narrative that Cordell was this, you know, uh Michael Vick, Lamar Jackson talent who uh the Pittsburgh fans weren't ready for a black quarterback, so a bunch of racist, homophobic Pittsburgh fans made up this terrible rumor about Stanley Park and they ruined him, or otherwise he would have you know been up there with the the Lamars and the Michael Vicks and the whoever else you want to compare him to, which has substance to it.
29:52
SPEAKER_00: You and I did a whole episode about Cordell, and we thought he's a fun guy to talk about because he's so enigmatic.
30:00
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think what makes him enigmatic is that weird season he had in 2001 where he just like had like one last good season out of nowhere.
30:09
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
30:10
SPEAKER_01: And he he had so many great moments and made so many great plays.
30:13
SPEAKER_01: And you watched highlight film of him, and it's still like we posted something, I think it was a week or two ago.
30:18
SPEAKER_00: He had Belichick scratching his head on that play against Cleveland.
30:21
SPEAKER_00: I mean, not that that team had the Monday night football game.
30:24
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we posted a clip of him running for like a 50-yard touchdown against the Titans, and so many people commented on that, and they just remember Cordell used to be able to do those things, and your jaw would hit the floor, and he would throw the ball at guys' feet and he would throw interceptions in the AFC Championship game.
30:41
SPEAKER_01: Like enigmatic's a good word, but I have a feeling that this documentary is not going to present any of that.
30:47
SPEAKER_01: It's just going to spin a narrative, the sensationalistic narrative that Pittsburgh fans are a bunch of you know racist homophobes.
30:57
SPEAKER_00: You're not far off.
30:58
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I thought it spent 40 minutes too long.
31:02
SPEAKER_00: They did spend time showing Courtell like having success, and they showed him throwing lots of like I I forgot like he had those games where he would throw three interceptions in the first half.
31:12
SPEAKER_00: There was a game against Baltimore where he threw three interceptions in the first half.
31:16
SPEAKER_01: And then they won and he had a 75-yard touchdown, right?
31:19
SPEAKER_01: At the end, yeah.
31:19
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and they and they did they did talk about the coordinators, and that's always been a thing with him.
31:24
SPEAKER_00: Like that's true.
31:24
SPEAKER_00: There was only really there were only really two guys that could ever really figure out how to use him, and that was Chan Gilly and um Mike Mullarkey.
31:33
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, they were really the only two coordinators that really seemed to bring out the best in his talent.
31:39
SPEAKER_01: And and he lost his job when Malarky was there.
31:43
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, yeah, but it's like desertedly so because he was so terrible in that championship game.
31:49
SPEAKER_00: Like I said, that's when he lost me.
31:51
SPEAKER_00: It's like, dude, every once in a while you have to complete a pass in a big game to win the game.
31:56
SPEAKER_00: You you just have to, and he couldn't do it.
31:58
SPEAKER_00: And I I just think I just think it's a shame because I think the Cordell's legacy as a quarterback is so much more than just a stupid rumor that somebody made up.
32:08
SPEAKER_00: Yes, and they had a guy like they had like some reporters, like an openly gay reporter on there, and they were equating it to like the George Michael thing.
32:16
SPEAKER_00: I guess it happened earlier that season.
32:19
SPEAKER_00: And then like they kind of took a shot at like Dan Rooney, like, because I guess I I remember reading that and Dan Rooney did comment on his book how he investigated, but they found out it was a police officer, but the police wouldn't tell them who it was.
32:32
SPEAKER_00: Like they they checked, I remember that.
32:34
SPEAKER_00: I think that's in Dan Rooney's book.
32:36
SPEAKER_00: They said it in the documentary too.
32:38
SPEAKER_00: They're kind of like, well, nobody ever named the doc the police officer.
32:41
SPEAKER_00: Would it have mattered?
32:42
SPEAKER_00: Would it have mattered?
32:44
SPEAKER_00: I mean, you know, your life wasn't helped by that rumor.
32:51
SPEAKER_00: But you know, and people keep asking him, I I will say this, it like 30 years later, like there are interviews of him on the radio, like people still ask him that rumor.
33:00
SPEAKER_00: Like when he got divorced, like people people were like, Well, you know, maybe he's it's like really I I I I and they made him go to Shenley Park in this stupid documentary.
33:12
SPEAKER_00: Like they they they go up there and he like he's like talking about you know just the incident and how I mean it really affected him deeply, and I I I feel bad for that for him, but at the same time, like you know, there's a lot of like Bill Cower was having an affair with his secretary right every time they lost a game, so it wasn't like Bill was immune from this either.
33:36
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, don't don't hear what I'm not saying.
33:38
SPEAKER_01: The that rumor was horrible.
33:41
SPEAKER_01: It's a black eye for the city, it should be a black eye for the city.
33:45
SPEAKER_01: 100% wasn't fair to him.
33:48
SPEAKER_01: Also wasn't fair that they kept changing offensive coordinators, yeah, and he was inconsistent and he couldn't make plays in big games.
33:55
SPEAKER_01: Like, like I don't like this this culture we live in today.
34:00
SPEAKER_00: Well, it's all one thing or all the other.
34:02
SPEAKER_00: It's because it's a it's easier, Tim, to wrap your mind around.
34:05
SPEAKER_00: Like it's like people like that believe in conspiracy theories.
34:08
SPEAKER_01: I know.
34:09
SPEAKER_00: You know, it's easier to believe that conspiracy theory than the truth is much more complicated and nuanced.
34:15
SPEAKER_00: You know, that's no fun.
34:16
SPEAKER_00: You know, it's easier to like have a Darth Vader character because oh, I hate Darth Vader.
34:22
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
34:22
SPEAKER_00: It's just where it's like, yeah, yeah.
34:24
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's it's like it's it's you know, there's there's a horrible um tragedy with with a shooting, and it's just very simple to be like guns are good, guns are bad.
34:35
SPEAKER_01: It's like, well, it's it's much more layered than that, it's much more complicated than that.
34:39
SPEAKER_01: And that's what we do with everything.
34:40
SPEAKER_01: We don't do nuance at all.
34:42
SPEAKER_01: And then if you're trying to do like a documentary that you're trying to get people to watch, there's no way it's gonna be nuanced.
34:48
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you're not gonna necessarily that's why I don't really want to watch it because I I just I know how it's gonna go.
34:54
SPEAKER_01: It's it's like trying to talk about Colin Kaepernick because you know, no, no, no, no documentary is ever gonna mention that he got benched for Blaine Gabbard.
35:04
SPEAKER_00: He was terrible.
35:04
SPEAKER_00: I remember that game against the Steelers.
35:06
SPEAKER_00: He couldn't hit the broadside of a bar.
35:09
SPEAKER_01: I I think I I think I said on the show that I was sitting that whole game, I was at that game.
35:13
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
35:14
SPEAKER_01: They were at Heinz Field, there was a 49er fan behind me just screaming at him the whole time, calling him Kaepernick, but not but with a D instead of an N.
35:22
SPEAKER_01: And and and so, but no one will ever talk about that because that's that's no one wants to hear like two things can be true at the same time.
35:31
SPEAKER_01: And in the Cordell's case, both things can be true.
35:34
SPEAKER_01: He was totally treated unfairly, that rumor was terrible, it's a black guy, all that stuff.
35:40
SPEAKER_01: And he just wasn't good enough.
35:42
SPEAKER_01: He was a good quarterback with a lot of talent, and he wasn't great.
35:45
SPEAKER_01: Great quarterbacks like Joe Montana and Ben in the Super Bowl and Tom Brady, like great quarterbacks, like you said, Steve, complete a pass in the fourth quarter of an AFC championship game.
35:57
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
35:58
SPEAKER_00: When the chips are on the line, and yeah, but and it wasn't like the these guys were wide running wide open.
36:04
SPEAKER_00: You just just put it on them and uh whatever.
36:08
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
36:08
SPEAKER_00: Well, that's all I have to say about that.
36:10
SPEAKER_00: Check out our podcast on Cordell.
36:12
SPEAKER_00: We kind of cover this all, and it it's it's really it's a good podcast.
36:16
SPEAKER_00: I think we're fair to him.
36:17
SPEAKER_00: We we always tried to be.
36:19
SPEAKER_00: I I grew up as a fan of Cordell.
36:21
SPEAKER_00: He was always a lot of fun to watch.
36:23
SPEAKER_02: Oh, yeah.
36:24
SPEAKER_00: Um, uh, thanks again for me and Tim for listening.
36:26
SPEAKER_00: Uh, don't remember, you know, don't forget to donate on Buy Me a Coffee.
36:30
SPEAKER_00: Check out that link in the description below, and uh, we'll check you out next time.