Monday’s “First Call” has some background on the Drew Allar practice tape making the rounds from Pittsburgh Steelers rookie camp. A former Cleveland Brown is leaving the division to head west.

And the Pittsburgh Penguins are celebrating a happy anniversary, while an ex-Penguin is making a playoff impact.

Context matters

Some videos of Drew Allar were posted Saturday from the Steelers’ rookie minicamp. Many people took to social media to rip his footwork.

In an interesting twist, former Pitt quarterback Ben DiNucci rushed to the defense of the Penn State product. The Pine-Richland alum played for Steelers coach Mike McCarthy in Dallas.

He claims the awkward movement people were criticizing from Allar was actually part of the drill and how McCarthy was trying to teach it.

“There’s a lot of work there,” McCarthy said after Saturday’s practice. “We’re able to just adjust some fundamentals that we think will help him. I think a big part of quarterback play is understanding the profile of the individual. They’re all built a little differently. Some guys are higher cut than others. It was great to get him on film.”

DiNucci was a Dallas Cowboy from 2020-21, McCarthy’s first two years on the job as head coach there.

Lovin’ Los Angeles

A long-time Steelers AFC North rival is leaving the division. David Njoku is heading out to Los Angeles.

The veteran Cleveland Browns tight end is joining the Chargers. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Njoku has signed a one-year, $8 million contract.

In 15 games against the Steelers, Njoku has 52 catches, 472 yards and four touchdowns. He made the Pro Bowl in 2023. Harold Fannin Jr. emerged as the Browns’ No. 1 tight end last year, catching 72 passes for 731 yards and six touchdowns. Njoku missed five games. He struggled with knee injuries.

The Chargers currently have tight ends Oronde Gadsden, Charlie Kolar, Tanner McLachlan and Thomas Yassmin on the roster.

 

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Quack attack

The Anaheim Ducks tied their Western Conference second-round series with the Vegas Golden Knights at two games apiece Sunday. Anaheim won Game 4 at home 4-3.

Former Penguin Mikael Granlund scored along the way. He now has four goals and nine points in the postseason.

Often criticized for putting up just one goal in 21 games as a Penguin, Granlund has gone on to much better things since his departure after the 2023 season.

After leaving Pittsburgh, Granlund has tallied 167 regular-season points in San Jose, Dallas and Anaheim.

Happy memory

While the Penguins are out of the playoffs, Sunday marked a very happy memory for Pittsburgh hockey fans.

It was the anniversary of Darius Kasparaitis’ game-winning goal against the Buffalo Sabres in the 2001 Stanley Cup playoffs.

That shot to beat Hall of Famer Dominik Hasek won Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals in overtime. The Pens went on to lose in five games against New Jersey in the next round to close out Mario Lemieux’s return-to-hockey season.

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That was one of just two playoff goals in Kasparaitis’ career. He played in 83 postseason games.

That was the third consecutive overtime result of that series. The Pens had won the previous series against Washington on a Game 6 overtime goal from Martin Straka.