Has the hope of a Mason Rudolph trade gone away? Do the Steelers have the fear they will need him this year? How should Rudolph feel about it? Poni thinks Rudolph is pissed off and still wants out, but the Steelers won’t grant his wishes. Poni went as far to say that Rudolph will blame the Steelers when he retires for why his pro career didn’t turn out. The Steelers-Lions preseason game had higher ratings than any NBA Christmas game last year. The guys talked about how pointless it was for the Steelers stars to play at all in that game, let alone a whole half. Chris said there should be a rule change to help defensive players since the league has added so many to accommodate offensive players.
Mike Florio from Pro Football Talk joined the show. To start, Mike, the WV native, gave his final thoughts on the Backyard Brawl. He expects his Mountaineers to “get their asses kicked.” Mike isn’t shocked that there are projections of WVU to have a heavy fan presence tomorrow night. Mike isn’t high on the Steelers new offensive lineman, Jesse Davis and said he was available for a reason. He said a Mason Rudolph trade still isn’t out of the question based on what some other teams around the league have down with the quarterback position. Poni asked why the Steelers didn’t take the chance on Alex Leatherwood – Mike said the Steelers may have made a waiver claim, but that news isn’t out there right now, and the Bears claimed Leatherwood. Mike talked about cut blocks around the league and why a play that looks illegal and dirty is still OK around the league. At last, Mike gave a Backyard Brawl score prediction – Pitt 34, WVU 13.