U mad, bro?: Steelers QBs, Pirates ownership, Penguins goalies -- the holy trinity of Pittsburgh sports fan angst

A Pittsburgh Steelers win when they score more than 30 points is pretty rare. What’s even more rare is when that happens, and half the fan base still wants to change quarterbacks.

But that’s what we have this week in Pittsburgh. So, despite a successful Vegas vacation, there is still plenty of Steelers fan fodder to kick around.

Not to mention frustrating Penguins goaltending, media-inspired NFL angst and general Pittsburgh Pirate unhappiness.

So let’s get it all out in this week’s “U mad, bro?”

We begin with an email from Bill.

” I am so frustrated with the Pirates that I called their office and told the person who answered the phone that Bob Nutting is a loser and he should sell the team. The Pirate coaches should all be fired .”

Way to go, Bill. That’s a bold move on your part. But, I mean, who was on the other end of the phone?

A secretary? An intern? Cheese Chester? Someone who works at the Manny’s BBQ stand?

That’s like showing up at your local polling branch on Election Day and yelling at one of the volunteers because you don’t like either Trump or Harris.

On a side note, though, if Cheese Chester was on the ballot, I would vote for him instead of either of those two.

Chester is the third-party candidate this nation needs to bust up the two-party monopoly.

A few days ago, I ripped Cowboys owner Jerry Jones for threatening to have two Dallas radio hosts fired after they had the unmitigated audacity to ask him hard questions after his team lost 47-9 to the Detroit Lions.

When you sent me this reply, I noticed that four posts down from it on your wall was a message that claimed, “Free speech must be cherished.”

If you can’t see the irony here, I’m not sure what else I can say.

I also took a shot at Tom Brady trying to call NFL games on television while also being a part owner of the Raiders.

Mike agrees with me.

Eh, who are we kidding, Mike? Brady will end up doing whatever he wants. The rules of the NFL never applied to him while he was a quarterback, why should they apply to him now that he is an owner?

I also panned NFL officiating after that 22-penalty fiasco on “Monday Night Football” between the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills. J.D. wanted to chime in with an opinion of his own.

Disagree. Steelers-Raiders may have actually been worse.

Someone calling themselves “Irony City Pat” has a blunt assessment of the state of the Steelers.

Well, I guess six years of averaging 9½ wins per season is all it took to figure that out for some folks. Maybe switching from one average quarterback to another average quarterback will truly drive home that point.

Denny G has the answer at the quarterback position for the Steelers.

“Play them both. It’ll give defensive coordinators massive trepidation. Which QB is going to be in this series? Bring in Fields when it’s third and short , or inside the ten. Leave it to Wilson to lead the passing attack and get in range for the QB scramble threat from Fields to force defenses to adjust on the fly .”

I agree, Denny. I also think the Penguins should’ve played Matt Murray and Marc-Andre Fleury in goal at the same time. I mean, not even Alex Ovechkin could’ve scored against two goalies at once, am I right?

Seriously, though, I get it. Yes, if they switch to Russell Wilson as the starter, they can still have a few specialty packages with Justin Fields.

But if they do what you are suggesting, and they just bring in Fields for running situations, aren’t you making it easier on the defensive coordinator? Aren’t you basically telling the opposing defense, “ Hey, look, No. 2 is in the game. It’s a running play, and the QB is keeping it! ”

As far as the red zone goes, Wilson had 20 passing TDs for Denver last year, tied for fourth-most in the NFL with Josh Allen. The red zone is one of the areas where Wilson is at his best.

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Mono is unhappy with the Penguins goalie situation.

” The Penguins’ front office hasn’t been serious about a deep run, or any run, in the playoffs by keeping Jarry as their No.1 goalkeeper. At this point, I think George Pickens would do better in net !”

Actually, Mono, I think the more pressing question is if Jarry could do better as a second wide receiver than anyone else the Steelers currently have on the roster.

You might be able to talk me into that!

However, Pickens grabbing some guy by the facemask and throwing him to the turf at the end of a loss is something Ron Hextall would’ve done when he was an NHL goalie in the 1980s.

Knowing Hextall’s track record as a general manager, he might have taken you seriously and tried to acquire Pickens in a trade.

Let’s get one more disgruntled Penguins fan in before we go. This is from Steve. He isn’t happy with how loose the Penguins are playing right now.

” ‘It’s Penguins hockey again which can only mean one thing: ‘Rise and shine campers, and don’t forget your booties ‘cause it’s cooooold out there today! This time of year makes me hungry. Did you ever have déjà vu, Tim? I don’t think I have, but I could check with the local kitchen. ’”

Steve, think it’ll be an early spri… uh … offseason again? I’d say the chance of pre-playoff departure is 80%.