North Shore Drive podcast - Pittsburgh Steelers, Pirates, Penguins and more

On the Monday episode of the North Shore Drive podcast, presented by Edgar Snyder & Associates, host Christopher Carter welcomes Post-Gazette Steelers insider Ray Fittipaldo to preview what they might do at the NFL trade deadline Tuesday. Will GM Omar Khan finally add a true No. 2 receiver behind George Pickens? Why does the Las Vegas Raiders' Jakobi Meyers make a lot of sense as a top remaining target? And are names like the Seahawks' D.K. Metcalf, the Panthers' Adam Thielen and the Giants Darius Slayton still in the mix?

Our duo tackles those questions, then looks ahead to a tricky NFL Week 10 matchup with Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders and reacts to a busy week of AFC North action for the Ravens, Browns and Bengals.

On his daily First 10 podcast, Post-Gazette sports columnist Jason Mackey reacts to a busy weekend of ugly college football for Pitt and Penn State. Were the Nittany Lions outplayed by the Buckeyes in a 20-13 loss at Beaver Stadium? Or was James Franklin outcoached? Why didn't Tyler Warren see the ball on a late-game possession inside the 5-yard line? How damaging was Drew Allar's interception at the end of the first half, on which receiver Trey Wallace had the ball ripped away? And why weren't Franklin's players including Abdul Carter and Elliot Washington more disciplined on plays that resulted in costly penalties?

Jason tackles those questions, then ponders the fate of Pat Narduzzi and the Panthers following a 48-25 loss to SMU. Are ACC championship and College Football Playoff hopes dashed for coach Pat Narduzzi and Co.? And what is the team's future at QB after another shaky performance by Eli Holstein?

Jason then ends the show by previewing the beginning of college hoops season for the various local teams.

Post-Gazette Pitt insiders Stephen Thompson and Christopher Carter break down the Panthers' 48-25 loss to Syracuse on Saturday, with Stephen reporting from Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas. What went wrong for the Panthers? What led to Pitt's defenders missing so many tackles, and how can defensive coordinator Randy Bates, Pat Narduzzi and the rest of the coaching staff fix this going forward? Are Eli Holstein's struggles just part of having a freshman quarterback? Or are they becoming a bigger issue for Kade Bell's offense? Does Pitt have any chance to make the ACC championship game now? And what about their hopes of potentially sneaking into the College Football Playoff? Our duo tackles those topics and more.

Post-Gazette sports editor and fantasy football analyst Chris Dell breaks down his favorite players to start and sit at every position ahead of Week 9 using his top 150 rankings cheat sheet and positional tiers. Host Dalton Brown runs through the players that Chris is higher and lower on vs. the FantasyPros Expert Consensus Rankings (ECR) and looks at top trade targets, sleepers and stashes heading into the weekend. Chris is the founder of Bet­tingPred­a­tors.com and the for­mer fan­tasy foot­ball and sports bet­ting lead an­a­lyst for ESPN 97.5. He re­cently won first place out of 235 an­a­lysts in the Fan­ta­syPros’ 2023 Fan­tasy Foot­ball NFL Draft Ac­cu­racy rank­ings com­pe­ti­tion. He's also currently the #1 QB ranker and #1 DST ranker in the FantasyPros' 2024 in-season NFL accuracy rankings. For more fantasy football content, including Chris' top 150 weekly rankings and his '30 for 30' strategy series, visit post-gazette.com/sports/fantasy-football.

On the Friday episode of the North Shore Drive podcast, presented by Edgar Snyder & Associates, host Christopher Carter welcomes Post-Gazette Steelers insider Brian Batko to take stock of the team's standing in the AFC title race. Does the combo of Russell Wilson, George Pickens and Najee Harris make the Steelers' offense a threat to Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs or Josh Allen and the Bills? And can T.J. Watt, Cam Heyward, Minkah Fitzpatrick and the defenses slow those top quarterbacks down in hypothetical playoff matchups? Our duo tackles those questions. Then later, both guys share their biggest concerns for the second half of the season. Is it the lack of depth on the defensive line and early struggles from Keeanu Benton and Larry Ogunjobi? And they preview key bye week matchups for the division rival Ravens, Bengals and Browns.

On his daily First 10 podcast, Post-Gazette sports columnist Jason Mackey reacts to the Penguins' 2-1 victory against the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday night at PPG Paints Arena. Did captain Sidney Crosby and his team have a breakthrough offensively after a long losing skid? Or was this a fluke result? Is Mike Sullivan doing a better job of getting the most out of his roster? And how long can Alex Nedeljkovic stay hot after a strong start? Later, Jason previews huge college games for No. 3 Penn State against Ohio State and No. 18 Pitt against No. 20 SMU. Can James Franklin break through against the Buckeyes who've tortured him for most of the past decade? And can Pat Narduzzi keep the Panthers in the ACC and College Football Playoff races?

Post-Gazette sports columnist Paul Zeise reacts to the day in Pittsburgh sports news. What should Steelers GM Omar Khan be willing to give up in a trade for a wide receiver, with reports suggesting the Broncos' Courtland Sutton, the Giants' Darius Slayton and the Jets' Mike Williams are all top targets? Are any of the remaining targets ahead of the NFL trade deadline really more desirable than what the Steelers have behind George Pickens in Calvin Austin III and Van Jefferson? Does Penn State have a chance against Ohio State if the Nittany Lions turn to Beau Pribula amid Drew Allar's injury? Do Pitt's College Football Playoff hopes hinge on beating a ranked SMU team this weekend? And what does Paul make of the Dodgers beating the Yankees in the World Series? He tackles these questions and more.

Post-Gazette sports columnist Paul Zeise reacts to the day in Pittsburgh sports news. What impact will the Ravens' trade for former Steelers receiver Diontae Johnson have on the AFC North race? Should GM Omar Khan consider trading for a defensive lineman to play alongside Cam Heyward in addition for possibly trading for a No. 2 wide receiver behind George Pickens? What should the Penguins' latest loss --their sixth in a row Tuesday vs. Minnesota -- mean for the job security of coach Mike Sullivan? How long can the Yankees extend their World Series with the Dodgers?

On their weekly Penn State football podcast, host Adam Bittner and Post-Gazette/Daily Collegian insider Joel Haas preview this week's pivotal matchup against No. 4 Ohio State. What's the latest on Drew Allar's injury, per coach James Franklin? Is Beau Pribula a viable option to beat the Buckeyes in what would be his first career start? What bar does Allar have to meet healthy wise to have reasonable hopes to play? And how similar is Pribula's game to that of Nittany Lions legend Trace McSorley's?

Our duo tackles those questions and more, including: Was Ohio State QB Will Howard a recruiting miss for Penn State, considering his fiery comments about facing the Lions this week? Do Tyler Warren, Trey Wallace, Liam Clifford, Julian Fleming and others give Penn State its deepest wide receivers room in some time? Are the linebackers ready for the challenge of slowing down Buckeyes starts TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins in the running game? And what does this game mean for the Big Ten championship and College Football Playoff races? Our duo tackles those questions and more.

On his daily First 10 podcast, Post-Gazette sports columnist Jason Mackey takes stock of the season Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt is having. Is he the clear frontrunner to win NFL DPOY -- defensive player of the year -- after many feel he had the honor stolen from him last year by the Browns' Myles Garrett? Or do the Giants' Dexter Lawrence and the Jets' Will McDonald belong in the conversation? Jason tackles those topics, then breaks down another Penguins loss, this one to Marc-Andre Fleury and the Minnesota Wild in what's likely to be his final game in Pittsburgh.