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Tim Benz Columns category, Page 99

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Tim Benz: Steelers may lean on the offensive line more than ever
During Pittsburgh Steelers preseason, we have spent a lot of time looking at questions about how the defense can try to create more turnovers. How the inside linebackers will be deployed. Whether the running game can become more proficient. How the passing game will morph with Antonio Brown gone. What...
Tim Benz: Steelers’ Mason Rudolph gets little support in 1st home start
Thanks for the support, fellas. In Mason Rudolph’s first start for the Steelers at Heinz Field — a 17-7 preseason victory Saturday against the Kansas City Chiefs — Xavier Grimble dropped what could’ve been a first down. Donte Moncrief fumbled after a completion on the first play of a drive....
Tim Benz: Here’s how Steelers can create more turnovers this season
The defensive backs can take as many reps on the JUGS machine as they want. They can catch balls until their hands look like Antonio Brown’s feet. We can point at Steven Nelson’s four interceptions coming to Pittsburgh from Kansas City. Everyone can keep their fingers crossed that safety Terrell...
Tim Benz: Steelers’ Mike Tomlin compares Devin Bush to Ryan Shazier
Typically, coaches are prone to tamping down this sort of thing. However, if Steelers coach Mike Tomlin is willing to go there, don’t let me stop him. I’m willing to follow. During a news conference Tuesday, Tomlin — unprompted — offered a comparison between first-round draft choice Devin Bush and...
Tim Benz: Are Penguins or Steelers a better bet to win a title?
Here’s something I noticed while hosting Mark Madden’s show on 105.9 the X. It spawned a lot of responses on the phone lines. I keep thinking about it. So I figured it was worthy of following up. I clicked on a story about the Tampa Bay Lightning being the 2020...
Tim Benz: Unbalanced ‘Duel of the Devins’ goes to Steelers’ Devin Bush 
In our first chance to see the “Duel of the Devins,” there was a clear answer as to which one had the best NFL debut at inside linebacker. The answer? Mack Wilson of Cleveland. Mack Wilson having himself a GAME. 2nd pick of the night pic.twitter.com/UK6gtVOBPf— Sam Monson (@PFF_Sam) August...
Tim Benz: Best in Steelers camp so far? An obvious, but important, answer
At the end of the first week of Steelers training camp, I get the same question every year. Friends, family, acquaintances, emails, tweets. “So, who looks good up there?” That. And, “How they gonna be?” I better have a prediction ready. And it better not be off. Not by one...
Tim Benz: A lesson in hope versus blind faith for the Steelers, Pirates
I want to expand on a thought that I heard from my ESPN Radio Pittsburgh colleague Adam Crowley. And by “expand on a thought,” what I’m trying to say is, I want to steal his idea. Which I will. To be fair, I think Adam stole it from me. Because...
Tim Benz: Steelers fans will hate centennial list of Top 100 NFL teams
A lot of national outlets have spent a lot of time taking shots at the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason. And many are predicting Baltimore or Cleveland will win the AFC North. Therefore, USA Today’s Nate Davis probably made a lot of friends in Western Pennsylvania when he predicted the Steelers...
Tim Benz: Too many rules questions heading into 2019 NFL season
NFL referee Shawn Smith and his crew working Steelers practices Aug. 2 at Saint Vincent College met with media members to discuss new rules enforcement, explanations, and points of emphasis. Smith showed a video, said a few words and then took questions. As I was sitting in the news conference...
Tim Benz: Steelers fans downplaying Browns hype could be in for surprise
Doubters of the Cleveland Browns got a little more ammunition this week. As we mentioned in “First Call” on Thursday, ESPN reported that Baker Mayfield chewed out his wide receivers over the weekend. The excitable Browns quarterback reportedly was upset that his pass-catchers weren’t running back to help him while...
Tim Benz: Prepare for a 2021 Pittsburgh sports yinz-pocalypse
You think 2019 has been a crazy year for Pittsburgh sports so far? Antonio Brown was traded. Le’Veon Bell went to the New York Jets. And the Steelers jumped into the top 10 of the draft. The Penguins were swept out of the playoffs, but Mike Sullivan got a contract...
Tim Benz: Pirates-Reds brawl more comical than cantankerous
The Pirates and Reds had another skirmish in the ninth inning of Tuesday night’s 11-4 Bucs win. But, at least, this one had some punches thrown as opposed to the chest-puffing pillow fights that occurred earlier in the season. In case you missed it, the two teams clashed on the...
Tim Benz: How can Pirates blow up what doesn’t exist?
This probably shouldn’t have hit me the way it did. It was late Saturday night on the set of the CW “Nightly Sports Call.” So maybe I was a bit testy. With the July 31 MLB trade deadline looming, a call came in asking if it was time to “just...
Tim Benz: With questions in Steelers passing game, James Conner must be sharp from Day 1
Most of the questions on the first day of Pittsburgh Steelers training camp last year were about Le’Veon Bell, his contract status and the state of the running game in his absence. James Conner answered many of those questions and rendered many of the concerns moot with a Pro Bowl...
Tim Benz: Will addition by subtraction actually work for Steelers, Penguins?
We sure are big on the concept of addition by subtraction around these parts, aren’t we? The Steelers will be better because Antonio Brown is gone. Ben Roethlisberger won’t force the ball to a single receiver anymore. Brown’s ridiculous social media behavior will be happily absent. The game-planning to help...
Tim Benz: Mysteries of 2019 Steelers won’t be solved in training camp
I feel like I’m alone on this. I know why. But I can’t come off my island on this one. Based on nothing but anecdotal conversations with some of my colleagues in the media and fans who follow the Pittsburgh Steelers, I get the sense there is heightened curiosity for...
Tim Benz: 1 stubborn stance about Steelers that Mike Tomlin must drop
Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin is still spinning the same yarn. Circus? Distractions? There was never anything crazy about the Steelers locker room! When speaking to ESPN last week, Tomlin made the following statement when asked if he expected a “calmer locker room” this year. “I don’t know that our...
Tim Benz: A look at some great Pittsburgh-Philadelphia sports moments
With the Philadelphia Phillies coming into town for a weekend series, the nostalgia gears in my brain got going. I started flashing back to my favorite Pittsburgh-Philadelphia sports memories of years gone by. I figured I’d choose one from each of the three major professional sports to outline on “Breakfast...
Tim Benz: Even Mike Tomlin’s critics should find this ranking unjust
I’m not one who has a reputation for taking it easy on Mike Tomlin. But even a critic like me can’t agree with this opinion of the Pittsburgh Steelers coach from Elliot Harrison at NFL.com. He published a list ranking the 32 head coaches. And he has Tomlin ninth. That’s...
Tim Benz: Pirates better off ‘living in the past’ than the present
If current Pittsburgh Pirates players are upset about their organization living in the past, I have an idea to fix that. Do something worth remembering in the present! A recent report stated some Pirates players asked management to stop showing a promotional video that was geared around them watching Willie...
Tim Benz: Mike Sullivan admits Penguins had chemistry problems
We are three posts into our five-part series of “money quotes” from Mark Madden’s interview with Penguins coach Mike Sullivan on 105.9 the X. We’ve gotten Sullivan’s reaction to the Phil Kessel trade, his thoughts on getting Evgeni Malkin right again and his views on how to address some defensive...
Tim Benz: Penguins going younger, faster to mask issues on defense
This is the third of our five posts examining the “money quotes” from Mike Sullivan’s interview on 105.9 the X with Mark Madden last week. This entry looks at an admission from Sullivan about his team. Two, actually. Frankly, neither is groundbreaking. More or less, both corroborate opinions that many...
Tim Benz: Cubs’ Joe Maddon hints at tense series vs. Pirates. Do they deserve it?
There’s a growing opinion about the Pirates across the National League. They throw up-and-in too much. This isn’t really a new thing. That reputation has been attached to the Pirates for a while. Going back years. There was the beanball war with Arizona in 2018. And there was one between...
Tim Benz: Mike Sullivan nails Evgeni Malkin’s biggest problem. Now fix it.
We do a lot of “Take 5’s” around here. Five takes on the Steelers’ loss to the Broncos. Five takes on the Steelers’ loss to the Raiders. Five takes on the Steelers tying the Browns. Five takes on why the Steelers can never get a win against a lousy team...


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