Tim Benz Columns category, Page 105
Tim Benz: Steelers ‘popcorn’ problem exists with passing game too
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin dusted off one of his favorite “Tomlinisms” to describe his offense’s anemic run game. “The bottom line is popcorn,” Tomlin said Tuesday, just a few hours removed from his team’s first loss of the season. Tomlin often busts out the “popcorn” phrase when he wants...
Tim Benz: ‘Airing of Grievances’ after Steelers suffer first loss of 2020. Offensive imbalance, defensive fade
Most realists thought the Steelers would lose eventually. But I don’t think most expected their undefeated season to end against Washington at home. But it did Monday evening in a 23-17 loss. And for all the reasons we felt things starting to wobble. Mounting injuries. An imbalanced offense. A defense...
Tim Benz: Despite beating Ravens, ‘Airing of Grievances’ outweigh ‘Feats of Strength.’ Just ask Mike Tomlin.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t look like an undefeated team. They just looked like a team that somehow has managed to avoid losing. Barely. So far. They outlasted a Baltimore Ravens team that could barely field a roster thanks to covid-19. Yet somehow, during a 19-14 win, the...
Tim Benz: NFL isn’t trying to pinch Steelers. It’s just too dumb to realize that’s what’s happening.
The litany of complaints from Steelers fans over the years is extensive. Ben Roethlisberger’s 2010 suspension without being charged with a crime. James Harrison’s suspension and constant fines. The Jesse James play. And what exactly happened to those Spygate tapes anyway? I know. I know. “The NFL is out to...
Tim Benz: Steelers-Ravens slog shows NFL must streamline its covid-19 contingency plans
Steelers fans all over the country are wondering the same thing right now. How long are Thanksgiving leftovers safe to eat? Can they keep until Tuesday night? Or, uh, Week 18? That’d be a week after New Year’s Day. So you might want to freeze them now if that’s the...
Ravens looking to replicate ‘2005 Steelers-esque’ turnaround
As the Steelers get ready to host the Baltimore Ravens Thanksgiving night at Heinz Field, a question persists. Are they more like the Steelers than we ever want to admit? No, not the unbeaten 2020 Steelers. I meant the 2005 Super Bowl champion Steelers. This year’s Steelers are 10-0, including...
Tim Benz: Steelers’ turnover-happy defense, opportunistic offense key ‘Feats of Strength’ vs. Jaguars
Welp, the Steelers did it. They had three straight “trap games.” But they managed to avoid all the traps. In Dallas. At home against the Cincinnati Bengals. Then, on Sunday, they plowed through Jacksonville with a 27-3 victory over the Jaguars. The teams have a combined 6-23-1 record. So it...
Tim Benz: Steelers, Chiefs need to avoid AFC ‘middle class’ uprising
Having a strong middle class is usually a good thing. Not if you are the 2020 Pittsburgh Steelers or Kansas City Chiefs, though. Elsewhere in life, that’s true. Economics. Politics. Education. You know, less important stuff than the AFC playoff picture. However, there seems to be a rising middle class...
Tim Benz: Big Ben, 3rd down ‘D’, special teams among Steelers ‘Feats of Strength’ during Bengals beatdown
Now that was a 60-minute game for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Well, maybe 50-55 minutes. But close enough as they smoked the Cincinnati Bengals, 36-10, Sunday afternoon at Heinz Field. For perhaps just the second time this season — despite nine wins in nine tries — the undefeated Steelers were better...
Tim Benz: Steelers should’ve played in Dallas without Vance McDonald
Going for a late fourth down during Sunday’s win in Dallas wasn’t the only questionable decision Mike Tomlin made on Sunday. Deciding to take tight end Vance McDonald on the trip is also worthy of second-guessing. Well, IF that’s who we are talking about when it comes to the mysterious...
Tim Benz: Steelers’ issues in Dallas a reality check. Not a wake-up call. Not a fluke.
Some Steelers fans may be struggling to make sense of what they just watched against the 2-7 Dallas Cowboys. A 24-19 escape in a game that should’ve been a breeze. Hey, these are covid times. Nothing really makes sense. Even the Steelers’ 8-0 start. Think about all of those great...
Tim Benz: ‘Airing of Grievances’ plenty deep despite ‘Feats of Strength’ as Steelers edge Cowboys
Not gonna lie. I loved that result from the Pittsburgh Steelers in Dallas on Sunday. It was a jagged 24-19 victory over a forlorn Dallas team that sits at 2-7. The Steelers couldn’t have looked much worse in the process. Yet, Mike Tomlin’s team won anyway to improve to 8-0....
Tim Benz: How James Conner is employing tactics to stay ‘combative’ but remain healthy
As Steelers fans read this post about running back James Conner, rest easy. I’m writing it while sitting at a large wooden table. And, yes, I am knocking on it periodically so as to deflect any jinxes about the recent good stretch of Conner’s health. Conner’s career has been one...
Tim Benz: Expanded NFL playoff contingency plan is a bad idea, and not just for Steelers
As the Steelers sit at 7-0, the NFL is considering an expansion of the playoff field from seven teams to eight per conference. For this incredibly strange season only. That means if the Steelers earn the only playoff bye in the AFC, there may not even be a bye to...
Tim Benz: 2020 Steelers look to improve on old history by erasing recent memories
The nicest compliment any modern Steelers team can receive is a comparison to the sainted teams of the 1970s. Around these parts, that’s like telling a basketball player that he shoots like Larry Bird. Or a singer that he sounds like Pavarotti. So when the 2020 Steelers beat the Baltimore...
Tim Benz: Feats of Strength/Airing of Grievances as Steelers stay unbeaten in Baltimore
The calendar flipped to November, and the Pittsburgh Steelers flipped the script on last week’s game in defeating the Baltimore Ravens, 28-24, on Sunday. Last Sunday in Tennessee, the Steelers managed to hold off a surging Titans comeback in the second half after going into the locker room up 24-7....
Tim Benz: Ravens defense is biggest challenge yet for Steelers offense
As the Steelers prepare to visit Baltimore Sunday, the Ravens defense of 2020 may not conjure the images of 10 to 15 years ago. It’s still very good, though. And it is the best one this Steelers offense will have faced so far in this season. Denver’s isn’t bad. Philadelphia’s...
Tim Benz: Steelers’ projection changed after beating Titans; imagine what beating Ravens would do
Hype has a different tone in 2020. It’s not quite the same because of coronavirus. Is anything? There are no tailgates starting Sunday morn — scratch that — Friday at happy hour. People aren’t pouring out of the bars on Carson Street waving their Terrible Towels after wins. No 1:59...
Tim Benz: Feats of Strength, Airing of Grievances as Steelers cling to victory in Tennessee
For the first 30 minutes of Sunday’s 27-24 Pittsburgh Steelers victory over the Tennessee Titans, I thought this was going to be a much shorter post than normal. I didn’t have any grievances to air! And the “Feats of Strength” were coming in droves. I thought I’d only be doing...
Tim Benz: We’ve seen ‘typical Pitt’ losses in 2020. Will we see a ‘typical Pitt’ win?
We throw around the phrase “typical Pitt loss” all the time when discussing the football team. Except there are many different iterations of a “typical Pitt loss.” • There is the mind-boggling, creative way of blowing a game late. Like when kicker Alex Kessman bombed a field goal from the...
Sean McDonough on Pitt-Notre Dame, ‘When Sid Slid,’ Mike Emrick’s retirement
In advance of the Pitt-Notre Dame game at Heinz Field on Saturday, ABC broadcaster Sean McDonough has just one request of viewers in Pittsburgh. “Don’t kill the messenger.” Over the last 35 years, McDonough has proven to be one of the most talented and versatile play-by-play announcers in the business....
Antonio Brown to Seahawks talk heats up. And did Le’Veon Bell forget he played for Steelers?
Ah, the good old days for bored Steelers fans. Like way back in … 2019. When you could just log onto the internet and be slapped in the face with five or six different stories, rumors and headlines about former Black and Gold All-Pros Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell. Well,...
U mad, bro? Steelers fans vent rage for Titans and Ravens, lament losing Devin Bush
Man! Even at 5-0, Steelers fans can find a way to be mad about something. Eh, let me be a little more accurate about that. Man! Even at 5-0, I can find a way to make Steelers fans mad about something. Yeah. That’s more like it. You’ll see that in...
Tim Benz: Steelers ’11/11ths’ pass protection mentality adding up to 5-0
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin is fond of talking about “complementary football.” Usually, that’s meant to outline how the defense helps set up the offense in good field position. Or how the offense allows the defense to stay fresh by possessing the ball. Or how the pass rush and pass coverage...
Tim Benz: ‘Feats of Strength’ abound as Steelers blow out Browns
The Pittsburgh Steelers blew out the Cleveland Browns, 38-7, on Sunday at Heinz Field. They improved to 5-0 for the first time since 1978. Helmet-swinging villain Myles Garrett was a minimal factor. Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield got benched. The defense bounced back after some shaky moments against the Philadelphia Eagles...
