In Wednesday’s “First Call,” former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had an interesting reaction to Drew Allar’s practice video. One ex-Steeler was impacted by Aaron Rodgers’ long wait to re-sign.
The Penguins’ AHL team is ready to fight for a conference title, and the Pirates hope Bubba Chandler can get back on the winning track.
Antenna up
Many people raced to social media to rip the footwork of rookie QB Drew Allar after some video emerged from the Steelers’ first OTA practices last week.
That was largely dismissed by those who know Mike McCarthy’s teaching habits. For instance, WPIAL product and former Dallas Cowboys QB Ben DiNucci said the point of the drill was to exaggerate the first step, get out from under center and create rhythm in the drop.
For anyone saying this is terrible / slow footwork you gotta understand the purpose of the drill
McCarthy would show us videos in Dallas of Aaron Rodgers doing drops under center almost daily.. exaggerate first step , get out from under center , have a good rhythm in your drop… https://t.co/jlR1CGxJ9B
— Ben DiNucci (@B_DiNucci6) May 9, 2026
However, Steelers Super Bowl winner Ben Roethlisberger still had some alarm bells go off during his latest “Footbahlin’” podcast.
“When I’m watching him do three-step drops, that makes me incredibly nervous,” Roethlisberger said at the 11:45 mark of the video stream. “There’s a difference (between) refining things and teaching. When we did football camps, the first thing you’re teaching the youngest kids is how to do a three-step drop.”
It sounds like Roethlisberger wasn’t expecting to see such a baseline, fundamental emphasis of retooling for a player that spent four years at a Big Ten school such as Penn State.
“Maybe they’re working on his three-step drop to be more efficient. But it looked to me like it was baby-steps teaching,” Roethlisberger continued. “I could be completely wrong. All I’m saying is that it makes me a little nervous to watch it and be like, ‘They’re working on a three-step drop.’”
During his time at PSU, Allar completed 63.2 % of his passes and threw 61 touchdowns against 13 interceptions.
The motive from MVS
Apparently, Aaron Rodgers’ indecision about playing again in 2026 cost the Steelers at least one player.
If they had any plans on keeping him in the first place.
Over the weekend, Yahoo Sports posted an interview with ex-Steeler Marquez Valdes-Scantling. The wide receiver admitted that Rodgers’ uncertain status led him to leave for Dallas in free agency.
“I was still interested in playing for Pittsburgh,” Valdes-Scantling said. “But I was very adamant (that) I wanted to play with Aaron if I was going to go back to Pittsburgh because he’s one of my best friends I’ve made in this league over my nine-year career.”
By the time late April rolled around, the draft had already happened, and Rodgers was still undecided. So MVS went elsewhere.
“He was still undecided if he was going to go back and play or if he was going to hang it up. So, I was like, ‘Let’s see what else is out there,” Valdes-Scantling said via SteelersNow.com.
Valdes-Scantling previously played four seasons with Rodgers in Green Bay from 2018 to 2021. He joined the Steelers on Nov. 4.
After jumping on board in Pittsburgh, MVS played in five games, catching 10 passes for 80 yards and one touchdown.
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Bring on Bubba
Bubba Chandler is aiming to keep the good times rolling for the Pirates on Wednesday.
And he looks to keep the Chicago Cubs in the dumps.
Chandler takes the mound against the Cubs on Wednesday night, hoping to pitch the Pirates to a fourth consecutive win. Meanwhile, Chicago has lost 10 games in a row. That’s the longest skid for the franchise since 2022.
Chandler (1-6, 4.79 ERA) is in a drought himself. He hasn’t won a start since April 7 against the Tampa Bay Rays. The team has dropped six straight contests when Chandler has taken the mound.
Last time out, Chandler took a loss Friday after yielding three runs over five innings in Toronto. He walked three and allowed two hits, but racked up 11 strikeouts.
Bubba Chandler strikes out the side in the 4th. Only took him 13 pitches.
He now has a career-high 9 strikeouts tonight
92.0 MPH changeup
88.5 MPH curveball
89.7 MPH slider pic.twitter.com/ZQ3E1JfX4K— Platinum Key (@PlatinumKey13) May 23, 2026
The Cubs counter with former Pirate Jameson Taillon. He is 2-4 with a 5.20 ERA.
Ready to rumble
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins open the AHL Eastern Conference final at home against the Toronto Marlies on Wednesday night.
Faceoff for Game 1 will be 7:05 p.m. at Mohegan Arena. The winner gets either the Chicago Wolves or the Colorado Eagles in the Calder Cup final.
The Penguins will also host Game 2 on Friday. If necessary, WBS gets Game 6 on June 7 and a potential decisive seventh game on June 9.
The Pens come in as the second seed in the Atlantic Division. The Marlies are the fourth seed in the North. The WBS crew dispatched the Springfield Thunderbirds in a decisive fifth game on Saturday by a final score of 8-1.
Ville tucks it away!! pic.twitter.com/H5V0xe2j3l
— x – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (@WBSPenguins) May 24, 2026
The Marlies also needed five games to knock out the Cleveland Monsters before advancing to the conference final.