Waiting game with Rodgers continues
By Dale Lolley
For the Observer-Reporter
newsroom@observer-reporter.com
PALM BEACH, Fla. – After head coach Mike Tomlin and general manager Omar Khan played things coy last weekend in regard to the Steelers’ potential signing of quarterback Aaron Rodgers, team president Art Rooney II was much more optimistic in regard to the four-time NFL MVP landing with Pittsburgh.
Speaking at the conclusion of the NFL’s annual meeting, Rooney was asked where things stand between the Steelers and Rodgers.
Video emerged Monday morning of Rodgers throwing at UCLA with new Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf. Rooney was asked if that meant anything.
“I would say it was a good sign that he wanted to do that,” Rooney said. “And we keep hearing that he’s, I guess, headed in our direction, and so that seems to be all signs are positive so far.”
Meanwhile, the waiting game continues. But, as Tomlin noted when he was asked about the situation with Rodgers, the Steelers are willing to wait because, right now, they’re not doing anything on the field. They’re not practicing. They don’t have to play a game next week. They don’t even play a game next month.
That does not mean, however, that Rooney is willing to take this thing much longer, though the Steelers haven’t set a deadline for anything.
“We keep getting positive signals about it. So, yeah, I’d say we feel pretty good about it at this time,” Rooney said.
Will Rodgers make the Steelers a Super Bowl contender? Not on his own.
But with the addition of Rodgers and Metcalf, the Steelers look to be better and more explosive offensively than they were a year ago. Heck, even if all they had done was add Metcalf, then they would be a more dangerous offense.
• The NFL didn’t make any sweeping changes at the meetings in terms of playing rules, with the ball being moved out to the 35-yard line instead of the 30 on touchbacks being the biggest one.
But there was a good and hearty debate when it came to whether or not to continue to allow ball carriers to be pushed or pulled by other offensive players.
The main target of that was the proposal to ban pushing a quarterback from behind in short-yardage situations.
And there wasn’t enough support to ban just that specific play because it singled out just one facet of the game. That’s why it was tabled for the next owners meetings next month.
But it wouldn’t be at all surprising if aiding runners in general gets banned. It can be a dangerous play, and it used to be illegal to aid any ball carrier.
That could be the result of all of this discussion. And that would likely garner more support.
• The swirling debate regarding the New York Yankees’ use of “torpedo” bats has been a hot one in the opening week of the Major League season.
But they’re legal. And it’s a matter of physics.
The bats don’t aid players in actually hitting the ball. But they do cause more balls to be hit hard.
It’s kind of like what Tomlin said when he first saw a team shove a quarterback from behind in a short-yardage situation.
“The first time I saw it, I couldn’t believe that it was legal because it was illegal on the field goal,” Tomlin said. “That being said, you hate to be against it, because when people are innovative, you want to respect that, and so there’s certainly been some teams that have been more innovative than the rest of us in that regard, and you hate to penalize them for it. But again, we got into the discussion on the field goal block because of player safety, and so that still remains to be a component of the discussion.”
So, if MLB felt the new bats were unsafe because they created more bat speed, and thus a faster exit velocity, which might be dangerous for pitchers,then it might make the bats illegal.
But if it’s just a case where you get more good wood on a ball, then everyone should be utilizing the new bats.
And, quite frankly, George Costanza had it right years ago on “Seinfeld” when the fictional character was working for the Yankees and said hitting is all about physics.
That was 20 years ago. It’s amazing it took someone this long to come up with something like the torpedo bat.
But they’re not secret. Everyone can use them.
• It didn’t take the Pirates long to pull the plug on closer David Bednar, sending him to the minors three games and two losses into the season.
It was more of the same from what we had seen from Bednar in 2024.
The former All-Star hasn’t been able to consistently throw his curveball for strikes. And if he can’t do that, hitters can just key on his fast ball, which he’s still throwing in the high 90s.
But having just a fastball isn’t good enough, especially at baseball’s highest level.
Dale Lolley hosts The Drive on Steelers Nation Radio and writes a Sunday column for the Observer-Reporter.