U mad, bro? ‘Anti-social’ distancing edition: Readers vent about Steelers, MLB, even… the U.S. Senate?
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Pent-up “Breakfast With Benz” readers are angry “Breakfast With Benz” readers.
It appears some of you who click on this page daily are not taking the pandemic shutdown well.
You are lashing out at the Steelers backup quarterbacks, Antonio Brown, baseball, and…
…the U.S. Senate?
That’s a new one.
Hey, entirely warranted.
Just different.
Michael checks in via our Facebook comments section. He is a big believer in the signing of free agent tight end Eric Ebron. And he thinks I should be more of one, too.
“I think Ebron CAN be the reason we make it to the Super Bowl. He is still young, and if he finally GETS IT, he can be a force. Maybe he can see how Zach Banner transformed his body and hence his game. Getting in better shape, getting on the jugs machine, and getting in sync with Ben (Roethlisberger) can do a lot for this team.
Of course that may be a lot to ask of Ebron.”
If you talk to people in Indianapolis and Detroit, they’d agree with that last sentence.
Don’t get me wrong, Michael. In a best-case scenario, yes, the version of Ebron you are describing will be a massive positive.
But if the Steelers make the Super Bowl, it’ll be because Roethlisberger is healthy and effective all year, the running game finds its form once more, a clear definition of production develops within the receiving ranks, and the defense stays healthy again most of the season.
Ebron will help. But he won’t be the biggest difference.
Sari is worried about Diontae Johnson working out with Antonio Brown.
“Already I question Brown’s motivation. The guy has evil in his heart. Is Brown trying to corrupt and taint the heart of Johnson! Or does Brown think he can weasel-back into our embracing arms, lol.
N e v e r.”
All I can say to that is, “Don’t you put that evil on Diontae Johnson, A.B. Don’t you put that evil on him!”
Nick is mad about the Steelers’ backup quarterback situation and wants them to sign Jameis Winston instead of going with Mason Rudolph or Devlin Hodges.
“Personally, I think it would be great if the Steelers signed Winston. Rudolph and Duck are ‘CRAP and QUACK. ‘ I never want to see them ever again. Winston to me is someone who I would like to give a chance to be QB after Ben, unlike the other two.
If he didn’t work out, at least he buys you time to draft someone good.
So he had 33 TDs, 30 INTS and led the league in pass yards. Sounds like Terry Bradshaw to me, when he was like 26/25 and led the league in pass yards!
Isn’t it funny how back in the day, interceptions were somehow more “acceptable”?
But the Steelers are too dumb. They always want to buy the generic brand and hope it doesn’t (stink).”
Nick, I think, by definition, if you are a backup, you are probably pretty generic.
But if you are saying that Winston’s ceiling is higher than that of Rudolph or Hodges, of course, I agree.
Unfortunately, you defeat your own argument with the Bradshaw analogy. Winston’s biggest problem is that he is turning the ball over like it is 1978, when 25 interceptions were acceptable.
The approach to passing in the NFL is different now. It’s more advanced, efficient and relied upon to move the ball. Back then, it was run-run-pass. And if you threw a deep-bomb interception on third-and-10, so what? It was like a punt.
Offenses don’t think that way anymore. But Winston’s turnover rate suggests he does.
Now, all that said, I agree with you. He’s a better choice than Hodges or Rudolph. I just wonder how little money he is willing to accept to prove that.
Therein lies the dilemma.
John emailed me about my column saying that sports are widely missed during this coronavirus-inspired shutdown.
“Yeah, sports would be a welcome distraction. But I wish it could be sports with a focus on the game.
Take away the Antonio Brown drama, the (complaining) about ‘unwritten rules in the clubhouse’, half-educated players spouting off, etc., and I am with you.
But sports for me as I have grown older (46) have lost their magic for sure. The ruination of youth sports, athletes with no perspective, endless debates about replay, have really taken away from the allure of the game.
I want my jaw to drop watching Crosby’s edgework or creativity, a crazy play by a shortstop going deep in the hole and making a great throw to an impossibly stretched first baseman, or a QB sack at exactly the right moment in the game.
These things are still there but it seems like you are inundated with the other stuff and have to wade through.”
Fair enough, John. But it’s tough to have sports be all that important and big on the field, without some of that spilling over away from it.
Off-the-field/court/ice drama has long predated the last 10 to 20 years. It just manifested in different forms. Some of what you are complaining about is what people used to criticize Muhammad Ali for doing.
Or Reggie Jackson and Billy Martin fighting in their own dugout. Or debating about the absence of instant replay before it was instituted. Or debates over race and sports going back to Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier.
Or long before.
I hear you. And that would be great. It’s also not feasible. Nor is it exactly germane to the conversation in the column.
I mean, a few NFL players signing free-agent contracts to swap teams is hardly the “ruination” of sports.
Well, except Tom Brady leaving New England. And if Patriots fans feel “ruined” by that move, is that really a bad thing for the rest of us?
Dave actually wants to see coronavirus wipe out one sport entirely.
“Professional sports needs to be impacted and come back to reality, especially baseball which I hope it wrecks completely because they will not operate in the best interest of the fans that built them.”
How do you think the shutdown is going to “bring sports back to reality,” exactly?
And if you think that a shutdown of a few months is going to stop MLB from wild spending, I’ve got some special toilet paper and hand sanitizer I want to sell you.
And lastly, Senator Chuck Schumer (NY-D) set himself up for this one. When discussing the prospect of getting a stimulus deal passed Tuesday to cushion the economic blow of covid-19, Schumer used a football analogy.
SCHUMER on the Senate floor: “Right now, we’re on the two [yard line]."
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) March 24, 2020
I joined many skeptical fans in their dubious reactions to such a deal getting done on Tuesday.
Does the senate use a fullback? Or is this where they go empty set five wide? https://t.co/zdFAdc5rgD
— Tim Benz (@TimBenzPGH) March 24, 2020
Live look at the Senate floor.. pic.twitter.com/n0iGdpY4uD
— Chris Boehme (@Cboehme2) March 24, 2020
If your Pete Carroll – you are throwing.
— g8udak8 (@g8udak8) March 24, 2020
this is where you call on the Distinguished Senator from Florida, Najeh Davenport.
— Kevin in Albuquerque (@KevinInABQ) March 24, 2020
Can't wait for them to run fade routes to jon Baldwin when you have shady ready to go
— Matt Swackhammer (@IUPswack) March 24, 2020
Prob a pre-snap penalty, i.e. delay of game
— Joe Scheller (@JoeSchellerSr) March 24, 2020
Wildcat…3 yard loss.
— Craig Zemba (@CraigZemba) March 24, 2020
Hopefully a Chargers defender doesn’t bat down a pass to Bananas Foster
— Skrilwear (@Random__Ish) March 24, 2020
More like a Bettis Fumble
— LousersCringe (@LousersCringe) March 24, 2020
Hopefully Senator Roethlisberger is in the back of the Senate chamber waiting to introduce his “Shoestring Bailout Bill.”
The deal was finally reached Wednesday morning. So maybe Schumer and company had some clock management issues in the red zone. But it got done.