Starkey & Mueller

Steelers insider Ray Fittipaldo from the PG joined the show. Ray said the Cam Heyward portion of the injury report did not include any funny business. Ray said nobody in the building believe Heyward will holdout of the game Sunday and he will be on the field. Ray took us back to other situations when the Steelers have played hardball with players that wanted more. Ray said there was no doubt Heyward out-performed his contract last season, but the player made the mistake not signing a prove-it deal. How will they use all of the tight ends in this offense? The guys asked Ray how the team will look since they got very little work in the preseason. Ray said it’s unfair to put the whole season on a 41-year-old QB like Aaron Rodgers. Ray predicted a 13-9 Steelers win and Payton Wilson has a big game.

PM Team Week 1 Picks

Steve Palazzolo from the 33rd Team joined the show. Steve thinks the Steelers defense has a chance to be really good, led by the front seven and Jalen Ramsey still playing at a high level. Steve said keeping Aaron Rodgers upright will be the story to their NFL success. Steve looked at some years where Rodgers didn’t fully trust the offensive brain trust, but described how good he is when he does. Steve said both tackles and WR2 are his big question marks with the Steelers. Steve said the Jets can be ‘feisty’ and have the ability to slow the game down. Where does Steve come down on the 1v1 matchup of DK Metcalf and Sauce Gardner. Steve predicted the Steelers to go 10-7 with a loss in the Wild Card round. Steve’s Super Bowl pick is Bills over Lions.

KDKA TV’s Bob Pompeani joined the show. Bob still expects Cam Heyward to suit up on Sunday after he practiced earlier this week, just not today. The guys discussed how they feel about the Steelers archaic way of negotiating contracts. Pomp said the Steelers will likely want to avoid this carrying on through the season and is guessing that a deal will get done in the midnight hour before Sunday’s kickoff. Pomp predicted a 19-13 Steelers win against the Jets. Bob said to look out for Jonnu Smith and Patrick Queen on Sunday.

PG columnist Jason Mackey joined the show. Jason admitted he is wavering on his Ben Cherington claim that he would be gone at season’s end, but he does believe the Pirates will still move on from their GM. Should the Pirates re-sign Andrew McCutchen? There is a good argument to bring back Tommy Pham, who has ended up being a pretty good offseason signing. Jason still has hopes Bob Nutting will look at the whole body of work and not just how the team played in the final month. Jason shared that Cherington is under contract through ‘at least’ next season. Jason thinks Cherington stays if the Pirates finish this final month strong.

Some of the numbers from Aaron Rodgers to open seasons have not been great to say the least. In his last 3 years as a starter, his teams are 0-3 in the opener.

PM Team FULL Show 9-3-25

Tom Brady said Aaron Rodgers is the best thrower of the football of all-time. Poni thinks that’s a little far-fetched, but is it? What kind of season will Rodgers have? The guys gave their predictions of his stat line. Poni doesn’t expect AR12 to play every game – in fact, he has him missing quite a few. Early reports saying Cam Heyward was active in practice today. Chris Boswell could be fined if he doesn’t speak to the media this week. Would the Steelers sign up for 2020 Ben Roethlisberger numbers from Aaron Rodgers? Poni thinks people are crazy because some listeners think the Chiefs will be dethroned in the AFC West. The Fan vs The Fans.

Ben Roethlisberger thinks the Steelers are built to win a Super Bowl. The guys can’t disagree more. Can they even win a playoff game? The Steelers are underdogs in 11 games this season. Poni thinks the Steelers will, technically, exceed expectations before dropping his record bomb on us. He has the Steelers finishing 7-10 this season and a pick in the top 10 of the 2026 NFL Draft. Former MLB pitcher Matt Clement joined the show. Matt talked about the level of amazement he has watching Shohei Ohtani play baseball, who is slated to pitch tonight or tomorrow against the Pirates. How much more does he have to do to have a real argument as greatest player in baseball history? Matt gave a lot of credit to Don Kelly for having this team play at a .500 level since taking over as manager. The guys asked Matt about an awkward pitcher-catcher situation from last night in Houston. Donny Football Debrief – Some fantasy football fun with our company fantasy draft tonight.

Rodgers Replies – What did Aaron Rodgers say to the media earlier today? Judge Donny – Is Shohei Ohtani the greatest player in baseball history? ALL ACCESS w/ Aditi – Aditi thinks the formula is simple for the Steelers on Sunday – pressure Justin Fields. She thinks working Fields into a mistake or two will be the key to victory. Aditi isn’t sure there is a clear answer on which side of the football will have an easier time on Sunday. DK Metcalf vs Sauce Gardner on Sunday – Aditi thinks DK has the advantage. The guys asked Aditi if Poni’s fantasy football tradition is weird. Aditi was quite reluctant to give her Steelers prediction and ultimately did not give one!

93.7 The Fan Sports Director Jeff Hathhorn joined the show. Jeff told the guys Cam Heyward is not on the injury report because he does not have an injury. When will this get cleared up? Jeff thinks there will be a committee of guys to fill the Derrick Harmon void on Sunday, but it could be led by Yahya Black. Jeff answered snap count questions and which guys could see the field a lot. Jeff said Darnell Washington really wants to have a bigger role in the offense. Jeff is optimistic and thinks the Steelers finish 11-6 with a loss in the wild card round.

ALL ACCESS w/ Aditi – Aditi thinks the formula is simple for the Steelers on Sunday – pressure Justin Fields. She thinks working Fields into a mistake or two will be the key to victory. Aditi isn’t sure there is a clear answer on which side of the football will have an easier time on Sunday. DK Metcalf vs Sauce Gardner on Sunday – Aditi thinks DK has the advantage. The guys asked Aditi if Poni’s fantasy football tradition is weird. Aditi was quite reluctant to give her Steelers prediction and ultimately did not give one!

Rodgers Replies – What did Aaron Rodgers say to the media earlier today?

Former MLB pitcher Matt Clement joined the show. Matt talked about the level of amazement he has watching Shohei Ohtani play baseball, who is slated to pitch tonight or tomorrow against the Pirates. How much more does he have to do to have a real argument as greatest player in baseball history? Matt gave a lot of credit to Don Kelly for having this team play at a .500 level since taking over as manager. The guys asked Matt about an awkward pitcher-catcher situation from last night in Houston.

Ben Roethlisberger thinks the Steelers are built to win a Super Bowl. The guys can’t disagree more. Can they even win a playoff game? The Steelers are underdogs in 11 games this season. Poni thinks the Steelers will, technically, exceed expectations before dropping his record bomb on us. He has the Steelers finishing 7-10 this season and a pick in the top 10 of the 2026 NFL Draft.

Early reports saying Cam Heyward was active in practice today. Chris Boswell could be fined if he doesn’t speak to the media this week. Would the Steelers sign up for 2020 Ben Roethlisberger numbers from Aaron Rodgers? Poni thinks people are crazy because some listeners think the Chiefs will be dethroned in the AFC West.

Tom Brady said Aaron Rodgers is the best thrower of the football of all-time. Poni thinks that’s a little far-fetched, but is it? What kind of season will Rodgers have? The guys gave their predictions of his stat line. Poni doesn’t expect AR12 to play every game – in fact, he has him missing quite a few.

PM Team FULL Show 9-2-25

5 days away from Steelers-Jets to open the season and we aren’t sure if Cam Heyward will play. He said on his podcast “we’ll see” when it comes to his status on Sunday. Mike Tomlin said he ‘expects’ Cam to be out there, but it felt like he was mostly trying to stay out of it. Where would Cam’s status go with Steelers fans if he doesn’t play in Week 1? Calls on Cam Heyward and his status for Sunday. Tomlin-ism of the Week.

Mike Tomlin is confident in his receiver group. Is he? The Steelers have looked around for WRs throughout the offseason and have yet again come up empty as the season is set to begin for real. He talked up Scotty Miller, Calvin Austin and Roman Wilson in his weekly presser. We looked at the stat lines for WRs in last season’s opener and they were comical. Did the Steelers make a mistake by trading George Pickens? Poni thinks fantasy football is a good story teller to how people really feel about the Steelers. Does Bob Pompeani sponsor a clothing line? Where do most of the power rankings have the Steelers going into the season? Poni is doubting Derrick Henry following a monster year. Tomlin Tidbits – Who will fill the void of Derrick Harmon on Sunday?