The Pomp And Joe Show
11 AM: Ray Fittipaldo on the NFL combine, if Simpson and Allar are targets; Paul Steigerwald discusses what the Pens need at the deadline
27 Feb 2026
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
You know what that sound means? It's time for Everybody Loves Raymond. Ray Fittipaldo brought to us by LGKG, Western Pennsylvania Super Lawyers. They try cases and insurance companies know it. Luxembourg, Garbit, Kelly and George. Ray's driving back from the combine. How are you, Ray?
Well, I'm good, Joe. How are you? We are about halfway into the drive. stopping now around Reynoldsburg, if you know where that is, home of Le'Veon Bell.
I was just going to say the home of Le'Veon Bell, yes.
And Roosevelt Knicks as well. I don't want to leave Rosie out of this.
Yeah, maybe he's signaling first down when they're five yards short against the Saints, right?
Maybe, maybe.
All right, Ray, what was the biggest story you covered there? Omar talking, did something else happen there? What was the biggest thing that happened while you were there?
I don't know if there was any major news, Joe, but I think the news that they still don't know what's going on with Broderick Jones three months after he had neck surgery is at least notable.
He has some time here where he could recover from training camp, but Omar doesn't know the answer to that at this point, so I do think that's something that they're going to have to deal with certainly over the next few months and Whatever they find out, they're going to have to be able to be light on their feet if that's not good news.
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Chapter 2: What were Ray Fittipaldo's main takeaways from the NFL Combine?
And do they see him as an interesting prospect for, I don't know, maybe the third round?
Yeah, I mean, listen, they sat down with him for an interview, so I think that is notable. The interesting thing about Aller is he's that big, strong, prototypical quarterback, has the arm. And whenever you have a guy with traits like that, it's interesting. But then you turn on the tape and he never performed well in big games. He was never a consistent player.
How do you sort of get around that? So I don't think Drew Aller, certainly he's not going to the first round. He might even be a stretch to go in the second round. But listen, I mean, anybody with traits, size you can't teach, arm strength you can't teach, that guy at some point, I think on day two, is going to hear his name called.
Who else in the quarterback ranks do you think they have their eyes on? Or maybe you know somebody else they talked to.
Well, I don't know if they talked to Nussmeier or not, but Nussmeier is another name who's going to be in that second or third round range. He had a lot more hype around this time last year. He didn't have a great year for LSU. And Joe, I mean, that's about it. There's not a lot of great quarterbacks in this class. So, you know, I think they're doing their due diligence.
They have to do that because they don't have their long-term answer. But, you know, I don't think ā any of these guys are really, really going to be terrific NFL players. I think a lot of these guys beyond Fernando Mendoza are, you know, projects.
All right. Well, then how are you, Ray Fittipaldo, interpreting all the Will Howard hype that's coming from them? Not us. From them. Right. How are you interpreting this, and how does this actually play out? Because part of me thinks it's just going to simply be Rodgers 1, Rudolph 2, and Howard 3 again. I don't know. That seems the most obvious choice if I was betting right now.
What do you make of the Howard hype, and how does it all play out?
You said Rudolph 2, Howard 3 again this year?
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Chapter 3: Why are Ty Simpson and Drew Allar potential targets for the Steelers?
Like, do you really think the lack of facilities is going to hinder from attracting good free agents? Like, I don't, I don't really think that's, that's a big deal. So I don't want to say any of this stuff is overblown because I think the players have their opinions and I think their opinions are important, but in the grand scheme of things of putting together a winning team, I don't,
I'm not so sure how this report card affects everything, if you know what I'm saying.
Exactly. And I said it earlier on the show in terms of competitiveness. And maybe that is all that matters to people. It probably should be. All you need to know is that the Dolphins are first. So, yeah, I agree with you there. However, however, the Steelers love to portray themselves as the mom and pop shop, the family values place where we care more about our players than anybody else.
Man, it sure doesn't look that way. I just think it's a terrible look, even if it doesn't affect wins and losses.
Yeah, you know, I was thinking about this, Joe. You know, maybe it was quaint 25 years ago when Dan Rooney, you know, made the move from Three Rivers to the Southside that they were going to share it with Pitt. But obviously no one else does that. That's not the way you want to run an NFL franchise, sharing a facility with a college team.
So I don't think that's going to continue when they do get their new facility. So I think it's just obvious things like that that maybe ā things become outdated or ideas become outdated. I mean, you know, when you look at the NFL, it is an arms race.
You know, just look at these stadiums that are being built, these stadiums that are getting to host these Super Bowls, SoFi, and, you know, all these places we go to. They're phenomenal facilities. And I think the Steelers, when they do eventually get a new stadium and when they're definitely going to get a new practice facility, I do think they have to pour a lot of resources into that
because they're a flagship NFL franchise. You don't want to be looked upon in the way they're being looked upon with this bad publicity now. Now, it's only one day, two days. People are going to forget about this by the time the weekend's over, but it does seem to come up every single year about this time.
I don't know. I think this one lasts a little longer because of the toilets. I think that gives it lasting power, Ray, to only have five of them open. So funny, man. They should, like I said earlier, they should plop one of the, and pun intended, they should plop one of those Pittsburgh toilets right in the middle of the locker room. Why not? At this rate?
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Chapter 4: How does Will Howard fit into the Steelers' quarterback situation?
He has enough good tape in one year where he impressed people the first half of the season. They were talking about him and not the Steelers, everybody in the top 10, top five. Then he had bad games. The game nobody talks about, however, is the playoff game against Oklahoma where he was great. Second half especially, he was great. Nobody mentions it.
Then they mention the Indiana game, but they forget to tell you he had a cracked rib and came out right after the half. So dismiss that possibility at your own peril of Ty Simpson. Go ahead. You might think it's ridiculous. That doesn't mean it won't happen. I'm giving that thing about a 30% chance to happen and maybe rising. You, Sean?
There's a lot of smoke. I thought this was interesting. I saw something recently in The Athletic that said nowadays at the Combine, general managers, scouts, whatever, the first and most important thing that they consider is the medical testing that you do there. The second is the interview. And then third is what you actually do in terms of the drills and out on the field.
So to your point, the interview potentially with Simpson could be more indicative of their interest in him than anything that he does on the field. And not only that, but
Mike McCarthy's a smart man who knows that the processing part of the game is critical. Ty Simpson's not going to absolutely blow you away with his physical tools, although he has enough of them. I've heard it said that he would be perfect.
And now I can't remember who said if it was Bruce Feldman, somebody else, he'd be perfect in the McCarthy offense, West Coast style offense, accurate guy over the middle, things like that. But the processing part of it is so important. And who knows how that went? Like I said, for all we know, they're sitting there saying that guy is incredible. What a football mind he has.
I don't know what I thought of him going into that interview, Omar, but I think a lot of him now, I think a lot of that kid now, now I'm worried about the Rams taking him at 13. I don't know how it's going. All we know is what we know. They had a formal interview with Ty Simpson, the drafts in Pittsburgh. I bet you Art would love to make a splash like that.
I do wonder, they're so high on Will Howard, and you mentioned they're mentioning it at every single turn. They say they are. So does that factor in whatsoever and potentially?
My God, if they were as high on him as they say they are, they'll never draft another quarterback or bring Aaron Rodgers back. They'll immediately start writing speeches for the Hall of Fame for this kid. If they're that high on him, I don't believe it for a second.
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Chapter 5: What are the Steelers' needs heading into the draft?
A guy who's going to be an unrestricted free agent. Who's been, who's been pretty good. Although he struggled lately, the overall numbers, not great, but they like him. What are they going to do with him?
Well, it's really hard not to like him, Joe. He's an awesome guy. He has an immediate presence in the locker room when he came. You know, he's a solid, calm goaltender. He's been experienced, too, with going to the finals a couple times with the Oilers. I know he had his ups and downs, but in a lot of ways, that's a positive, his ability to, you know, bounce back from bad performances.
He's not as athletic as Shilov's side to side, but he's got some real qualities to him that are nice. But on the other hand, because he does have those qualities ā I wouldn't be surprised if Kyle Dubas gets some phone calls on him before the trade deadline. And then depending on what Kyle has offered, he might have to make a decision there because he's got depth in goal.
And I know everybody wants to see Mershaw, but Blomquist has played well down there too. And they could conceivably bring him up as the backup and let Mershaw continue to play and then maybe spot him every now and then or the rest of the way. Also, when you make a deal like that where you trade a goalie, sometimes you go looking for another veteran goalie.
just for depth purposes, which they might try to do if they were to move Skinner. I'm not saying they're going to do it, but I do think the possibility exists, but only if Kyle Dubas gets some offer that blows him away.
Fan weather brought to you by Secure Money Advisors. High of 56 and a low of 41. 41, good old Jamie Mueller of the Buffalo Bills. Probably nobody knows who he is. 56, 56, Lamar Woodley. How about that? Tired of this weather and want to retire in Florida like Ron did? Let Secure Money Advisors help plan your retirement. All right, Steigie, tell me if I'm on the right track here.
I've got a chart, a 26 chart here. And this started last night. The Penguins had 26 games left going into that game with 70 points. And I think a point to game gets them into the playoffs. So they needed 26 points in 26 games. They already got two. So now they only need 24 and 25 games. And of course, this is all about surviving without Sid too. Does that sound like a good number? 96 points.
A point to game from here on out will do the trick.
Well, you know, in other years, 96 would be a pretty good number. I don't know if it's going to come in lower or higher this year based on the competition because the Atlantic Division is very strong.
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