The Pomp And Joe Show
Best of the Fan – Pirates the talk of baseball, NFL Combine and Penguins continue to roll
28 Feb 2026
Chapter 1: What is the current state of Pittsburgh sports?
Quite an interesting week in Pittsburgh sports, but let's end it where we began today. Sean, don't call me Seth Meyers. And that is... Man, these last, I don't know, how many years have been flooded with stories on the state of sports in Pittsburgh? Dark times, the dark ages. Nobody wins playoff games or series anymore. When was the last time it was this bad?
Well, it occurred to me when I woke up today, man, like I just talked to Kevin Gorman about, the Pirates are the biggest story in baseball right now. Rampant optimism. Maybe some of it's misguided, but Connor Griffin's the biggest story in the game at this particular moment.
I have a crazy few little tidbits on him. Yeah. Courtesy of Sarah Langs. She does a great job with all things MLB. Yeah. If he starts opening day, which certainly there's at least a chance of that. 50-50, Gorman said. First teenage position player in an MLB game since Juan Soto in 2018.
The youngest to play on opening day since 1989 and the first teenager to make an opening day roster and making their debut also since 1989. Both of those distinctions went to Ken Griffey Jr. Wow. So Juan Soto and Ken Griffey Jr. are the two names that he would match if he starts opening day.
I can't tell you the last time I wanted to intensely track the results of a spring training game, but Gorman said Griffin's in like a major league lineup today, like it's a real lineup, and I can't wait to find out what he's doing. You know what I mean? So we have that, him and Skeens and the Pirates in a different place.
We have the Penguins in a wildly different place than anybody could have imagined. And the game last night was fabulous. They turn it up 10 notches in the third period and get two points that they need. And every point right now is precious. They're flat out fun.
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Chapter 2: Why is Connor Griffin the biggest story in baseball right now?
They're flat out good. They're a good team. We're nearly 60 games in here. That ain't changing. It's still going to be a struggle perhaps without Sid, although even good news came there when we learned that the four-week, minimum of four-week projection was retroactive to when the injury actually occurred. So he could be back sooner than we think.
Point being, even with the Steelers, and I'm not exactly optimistic going into next year, but at least something's changed from the staleness of of Mike Tomlin being there every single year and knowing exactly what was going to happen. I don't love that they went to what I think is Tomlin 2.0 here in a similar resume, Mike McCarthy, but at least it's different.
A lot of talk about Ty Simpson today. That could be good. That could be bad, but at least it's something different and new and maybe give it a try. Overall point being suddenly there's hope around here. The most precious commodity in all of sports. And I don't want to go too far. I'm not living beyond this day.
But it feels way different than I think at any time in the last several years around here. And staleness was the theme. My God, the Penguins year after year after year. Please call somebody. Call the fight, please. Let Mike Sullivan go somewhere else. Try anything else. And finally it happened.
The Steelers would still be doing that because Art wasn't going to do it, but Mike Tomlin fired himself. Thank you. Finally something different. And then the Pirates, well, that situation is pretty much taking care of itself because they've been so horrible that they've gotten high picks and they've made the most of them.
Connor Griffin as the ninth pick, I think, is why Ben Charrington still has a job. And finally, this offseason, for whatever reason, I don't even care. Maybe a nudge from Major League Baseball. It's not like they went crazy, but at least they're behaving like a team that's actually trying to win. There's hope. Hope abounds with our pro sports teams suddenly.
What if I would have told you all these developments a short six months ago? Sean, don't call me Seth Meyers. A, the Pirates would be the biggest story in baseball. Connor Griffin would be breaking through here. They would sign two all-stars from last season, plus Marcelo Zuna. B, the Penguins would be in playoff position. And C, Mike Tomlin would no longer be here.
You would have said I'm nuts. I would have said you're insane. I would have been more inclined to believe the Pirates part than the other two, to be honest.
But here we are, and I'm not saying it's time to plan victory parades. It's not Mardi Gras around here, but it's not another story coming out comparing the state of Pittsburgh sports to the worst stretches of all time either.
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Chapter 3: How are the Penguins performing without Sidney Crosby?
So they're certainly making believers out of even the most ardent naysayers because, again, they had that one stretch. Remember where they blew all those leads and it felt like maybe that would be the point where the season got away from them? It felt like it, yeah. And they bounced back. Yes, they did.
So I guess at this point, you'd be foolish not to start believing in them, whether or not that yields a playoff. appearance we'll see, but I think they continue to show that, you know, without Crosby is going to be their biggest test all season now, but so far so good, obviously winning against New Jersey.
So I'm starting to believe that they're going to find some way to get to where they need to get into the postseason.
Meanwhile, there is a big story at the combine and the story happens to be Ty Simpson. He spoke today. Perhaps you could dig up that Nick Farabaugh quote, Sean, don't call me Seth Meyers, or else I could just paraphrase Nick. He talked to the media today, not Nick, but Ty Simpson said, I'm a franchise quarterback.
I'm ready to go here, throwing on Saturday, not banged up like he was at the end of the season. Also had a case of gastritis, believe it or not, where he lost 20 pounds at the end of the season. Nobody talks about these things. And then Farabaugh tells us that it was a great interview that the Steelers did with him. They did a formal interview with Ty Simpson.
And Farabaugh says it went really well. Now, that doesn't have Farabaugh convinced that they're going to go for him at 21. But if his reporting is accurate, it's mighty interesting, isn't it?
And he said maybe there's a scenario they take him in a second or even trade up back into the first.
Yeah. I'm wondering if they're going to take him at 21. I'm wondering if he might go higher. People have made a whole lot about that second half of the year, forgetting he played great against Oklahoma, forgetting he was hurt, forgetting he was ill, forgetting he had a broken rib that took him out of the Indiana playoff game. I think a guy like Sean McVay sits down and sees the good here.
There's a lot of teams that still need quarterbacks, and I don't know if you're going to see him taken in the top 10. That seems like it'd be a reach. 13, maybe. I would be more inclined to think some of those teams that need a starting quarterback. We have the Jets, the Cardinals, the Browns.
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Chapter 4: What changes are happening with the Steelers and Ty Simpson?
I am going to be down at the Pete today. doing a WPAL championship game. It is the second day of three days of the championships. There were three champions crowned yesterday, four more today, five Saturday. We'll have all the games on 100.1 FM and AM, 1020 KDK. But I will be there for Jeanette and Swickly Academy. I'm excited about that matchup on the boys' side.
Boys' side. Are there girls' games there tonight? Absolutely. Would you like the full schedule? I'd like the full schedule because I've really been – I went and watched the – what was it? Upper St. Clair-Norwin girls game the other night. It was a really good game. Knights came out on top? Yes, they did. Their offense is very interesting to me, and I'm studying these things these days.
Brian Brzeski is a good person to study off of. Is he a nice guy? He's a terrific man.
Can I steal some stuff from him if I walk up to him?
I would think that he would be very happy to know. As long as you're not coaching against him in a game, I think you'll be okay with that.
I'm not.
Former Penn State receiver, I might add.
Is he? Yes, sir. I want to steal some of his out-of-bounds plays as well. He'll give them to me? Yeah, I think so. I mean, I can easily just video them and diagram them, but I hope he gives them to me. He is.
Yeah, he is top notch. Good. Norwin girls will be playing tomorrow. Today, this one's going to be getting started pretty quickly. Sarah Catholic and Geibel Catholic at three o'clock. Holy ostrich milk. That's on the girl's side. Yeah, I may go to that, actually. I mentioned Jeanette and Sewickley at five. Those are two teams. Neither one of them have lost to a team from Pennsylvania this year.
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Chapter 5: How does the Penguins' performance impact playoff chances?
I'm not going to be looking to talk to him much because there's no way the Steelers are trading up for him. But Ty Simpson is the next best quarterback in his draft class. I want to get a chance to talk to him, get a sense of how he feels about the Steelers' visit. I've been told by sources that the Steelers have talked with him and they were impressed with how he interviewed him.
But also, you know, I want to see, hey, Arnell Tate, Jordan Tyson, where have they been? Why isn't Jordan Tyson running? Is it the injury? Where is he there? So there's going to be a lot there. But this is quarterback and wide receiver day. And arguably, these are the two positions the Steelers need to address the most.
I don't know if they will address quarterback early in this draft class, but it would make sense to at least talk to the guy who's probably the only option that they have a chance to get. in the first round if they really wanted to go there. But there's also Makai Lemon coming shortly after that. And then there's Ted Hurst, who I really like. Jacoby Lane will be coming up.
And Big Malachi Fields, who I saw at the Senior Bowl and was really impressed with. This is going to be a really big day. I was talking to my buddies, Alan Saunders, Nick Faribault, Mike DeFabo, Brooke Fryer, all of us. Chris Halleck, we're all out here. We've been grinding all week trying to talk to everyone we can and getting talked to the prospects.
But this, this was the day that I've been like, this is the big one, guys. We got quarterbacks, receivers. We got to go all out. So I'm literally just like, let's bump this up. Let's get this done because I want to be locked in at 8 a.m. making sure I'm getting as much as we can while we're out here.
Chris, your thoughts on former Pitt linebacker Kyle Lewis' performance yesterday?
He proved that he was the explosive, fast player that he was. I also think even beyond just yesterday, Kyle had acquitted himself so well of his draft process so far. He did great at the Senior Bowl. He was linebacker of the week for the national team. I got to talk to him there. I got to talk to him here.
And when I talked to Daniel Jeremiah, I specifically asked, hey, is Kyle Lewis a linebacker? Because there's people like ESPN's Phil Yates who feel like he's a safety. And he's like, no. That guy's a linebacker.
That guy's going to go on day two of the draft, and he does a lot of the things that you need to do to stop the run, to play the physical part of the game, but also has the speed to cover. And he said that's so important in today's game. I thought it was very intriguing. Louis Riddick compared him to Derrick Brooks. Oh! It's a very high bar for Kyle Lewis to reach, but the potential is there.
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Chapter 6: What are the prospects for the Steelers' draft strategy?
Let's talk to somebody who's a part of that coverage, Mike Florio. Mike, do you put it at 0.0%?
Well, I wouldn't put anything at 0.0, especially in this day and age. Think of all the crazy stuff that's happened in the last month in the NFL. So I will say this. Aaron Rodgers has said multiple times when he retires, he's going to never be heard from again. I don't know that anyone believes that. And secondly, I have no idea what's going on with NBC.
They only wake me up for the unimportant meetings.
Do you think Hayward's a possibility? They mentioned him as a guy that was part of the Super Bowl coverage, Mike.
Well, all I know is this. Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison, before they joined the team on a full-time basis, were part of the Super Bowl coverage. So I'm not saying that Hayward or Aaron Donald would be in play. All I'm saying is that's how Rodney and Tony got their feet in the door initially back after Super Bowl XLIII.
Mike Tomlin was also mentioned in this as still a name that Fox would be hot to trot after, that would still be a sought-after guy. Mike, has your opinion on what Mike Tomlin's likely next move, if there even is one, changed in the last couple of weeks?
No. I think that he'll go to TV if he wants to, and he'll be able to go to any network that he wants to. I don't think it's a question of whether or not
nbc or fox or espn or cbs would want tom and i think it's a question of whether tomlin wants any of those various networks and he's been close with jay glazer for years and i think that that would give fox an advantage and the jimmy johnson seat there is still open but it's going to come down to what tomlin wants to do and where he wants to spend football season does he want to be in la does he want to be
all over the country like NBC apparently will be.
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Chapter 7: What are the potential trades discussed for the Steelers?
That's one of the other reports out there that we're taking the show on the road each and every week.
That means a lot more miles logged for you at the Pittsburgh airport, Mike.
Or none at all. Or no miles at all. We'll find out.
Oh, interesting. Stay tuned.
No, I mean, look, let's be realistic about it. I could just stay home. I got everything I need at my house. Clip the camera on. I did during COVID 2020 and 2021. I mean, I don't know what's going on.
Did you wear dress pants for that? Or was there a Natalie? No, Natalie attired from... The shoulders down and then waistline down was different.
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Chapter 8: What are the implications of the NFL Combine for the Steelers?
Okay. Interesting. No, short. All right. So let me, well, you do live in West Virginia. Let's get into the quarterbacks at the combine, the workouts there. Multiple reports today that the Steelers are interviewing Drew Aller and Ty Simpson. Both of these guys are going to be involved in workouts this weekend. You heard what Omar Khan had to say about Will Howard.
At least these actions tell a slightly different story, Mike. Your thoughts on the Steelers' pursuit of another quarterback in this draft?
Well, and look, we talked about this before. To the extent that the Steelers are going to be thinking about drafting a quarterback, part of the game is to make sure nobody knows that you're drafting a quarterback. You don't want to be obvious about it. If you're obvious about it, the chances of that guy being there drop significantly. So, yeah, we love Will Howard.
And, yeah, we're just doing our due diligence here. and we'll see who they draft, if and when they draft anybody, but that's part of the game. If you make it clear that you're looking seriously at a guy or a couple of guys, you're just begging for someone to leapfrog you before you can get a chance to draft.
Is your hypothesis that this is due diligence, or is your hypothesis that it's more than that?
Well, at a minimum, it's due diligence. I don't think the Steelers are the kind of team that messes around with smoke screens. They're not going to waste their time on anything they're not genuinely interested in. I think they're doing their homework. They're doing their due diligence. They're seeing what's out there, and they'll make their decisions accordingly.
Look, I know people around the league who have been skeptical of this claim that they really want Will Howard and that Mike McCarthy really likes Will Howard. I mean, that would be a hell of a coincidence if it just so happened that Mike McCarthy gets a job that has a quarterback that he secretly loves who was a six-round pick who he thinks is going to develop into the next Dak Prescott.
I mean, and again, there's always going to be the potential for an element of BS in this game. That's what it's all about. So, you know, we'll see what they do, but they clearly need a long-term answer at quarterback. And, you know, I was talking to somebody earlier today about the Steelers roster. That roster is not good right now. They have a lot of holes.
And above all else, you better have an answer at the quarterback position.
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