Donny Football Debrief – Can we safely say tonight is the worst Thursday Night Football game of the season? 

Steve Palazzolo from Pro Football Focus joined the show. Steve likes what he has seen from Joey Porter Jr. to this point in the season. Steve said George Pickens is a little bit blow his expectations coming into the season, but it isn’t at a drastic level. He thinks Pickens may even be underrated in certain areas of his game and can understand his frustration. Steve said there has to be a purpose to getting Pickens involved in the offense. Steve thinks Kenny Pickett has been better these last few weeks than he was early in the season, but he describes some of the plays as “empty calories” because nothing has really come easy. Steve thinks Pickett is still firmly in the bottom third of the league among QBs. Steve gives Pickett the nod over Jordan Love when it comes to the QB matchup on Sunday. 

Canada’s Calls – The guys broke down what Matt Canada said to the media earlier today. 

KDKA TV legend Bob Pompeani joined the show. Bob thinks the Chuks Okorafor story is the best secret around town right now and he himself doesn’t know what he said. Bob believes it has a lot to do with Broderick Jones being the player in waiting and Chuks not being a superstar. Pomp doesn’t agree with what Merril Hoge said about George Pickens not being a player you can win with. He thinks Pickens should have gone about things in a different way, but isn’t overly worried yet that it will become a huge deal…yet. Pomp said don’t get worried about a trade request from Pickens after the season – saying he’d be shocked if that happened. Are the Steelers bound to make the playoffs and get blown out of the water once they get there? Bob didn’t reveal how picks are looking among KDKA TV personalities on Sunday, but said he does not like the Packers right now. 

Matt Canada said George Pickens is in a good place and continues to feed into the fact that they aren’t worried about his behavior following last week’s win. Will the Steelers get him the ball more on Sunday? How will he respond going forward if he has another lackluster game? Are you worried Pickens will push for a trade if he has bad numbers at the end of this season? 

Rashard Mendenhall spoke out against Ben Roethlisberger, referencing the Super Bowl loss to the Packers. Mendenhall said Ben never takes the blame for big losses. Who deserves the blame for that loss?

Poni is worried about his Kenny Pickett take. Doug Whaley joined the Fan Morning Show and said his analytics guy described Pickett as a career backup at best. Poni said his legacy is on the line with his previous Pickett predictions and he doesn’t feel good about it. 

Do fans think Kenny Pickett has any chance to become a good QB? 

Former Penguin Tyler Kennedy joined the show. TK reacted to the Tristan Jarry injury last night in the shutout win. He gave his overall thoughts on the Jarry contract – saying it’s not as bad as it looks and he could be moved in a few years. Tyler said it was not a dirty play that resulted in Jarry’s injury last night. The guys asked Tyler why Sidney Crosby has been having some issues with his skates. 

Chuks Okorafor spoke to the media earlier today and he didn’t tell reporters what he said to warrant his benching ahead of the Titans game. Does it have anything to do with his performance? The guys think it does at least a little bit because it’s rare to see a player get benched based on something they said if they weren’t one of the better players on the field.

What is the speculation from fans on what Chuks Okorafor said? 

Mike Florio from Pro Football Talk joined the show. Mike doesn’t think the Steelers strategy is sustainable and if they get in the playoffs, they will get their doors blown off. Mike gets the sense that Mike Tomlin is OK with what the offense looks like. Mike commented on the Chuks Okorafor situation and said it’s hard to get back on Tomlin’s good side if you have crossed him. Mike brought up some of the players of the past that have been, somewhat, held in check by Tomlin. Mike got into why Tom Brady was so important in the life of Bill Belichick and if we can put the “Patriot Way” mantra to bed. 

The media caught up to George Pickens today to ask about his negative reaction following the win over the Titans on Thursday. Merril Hoge also went after Pickens, saying the Steelers won’t win championships with players and attitudes like him. Merril works for the team – what kind of look is this for the front office? 

Aditi Kinkhabwala from the NFL on CBS joined the show. Aditi reacted to what Merril Hoge said about George Pickens today. Aditi trusts Mike Tomlin in this situation to play it the right way. Aditi isn’t sure why Chuks Okorafor got benched and what he could have said. Aditi talked about the way Tomlin handles certain media members and press conferences.  

Donny Football Debrief – The ManningCast numbers are dwindling. Is it a good way to view a game?

Pickett’s Points – The guys broke down what Kenny Pickett said to the media earlier today.

93.7 The Fan Sports Director Jeff Hathhorn joined the show. Jeff told us Minkah Fitzpatrick did not practice today and likely won’t play against the Packers – but we will have a better idea tomorrow. The guys got Jeff’s comment on what Merril Hoge said about George Pickens earlier today. Jeff isn’t sure either what Chuks Okorafor could have said to get him benched. What does Jeff make of Kenny Pickett mostly putting it back on the coaches when it comes to the involvement of Pickens? 

Steelers Auction House – Round 9