Welcome to Steelers Takeaways!

First, a close loss to Green Bay last week. Do you think they take a bit of a moral victory from the loss?

I think maybe from the fans perspective but not for the players and coaches. They are competitors and want to win. The guys are fighting for jobs now including maybe Doug Marrone, who could be on the hot seat now with a 1-8 record.

I think the fans are looking for a top two pick in this draft – they want one of those two top quarterbacks. They recognize the team needs a franchise quarterback. They just want to see the team be competitive and not get blown out.

Continue reading “Exclusive: James Johnson of the The Jaguars Wire”

First, there has to be some optimism with this Bengals team with the play of Burrow and the win over the Titans last week?

It’s definitely an upward trend. The win over the Titans was Zac Taylor’s first against a quality team. The offensive line is improving – Burrow has gotten better in helping them too. He’s mastering the playbook like he did at LSU and not taking unnecessary hits now like he was early on. I think they’ve only had two punts in the last three games.

Starting with the defense – eight turnovers overall and a struggling pass rush. What’s going on there and any upside you can expect?

Yeah, the defense is a huge question. Some weeks it shows up and some weeks it doesn’t.

Continue reading “Exclusive: Hunter BIttinger of Stripe Hype on the Bengals”

First, let me know how you get started in the entertainment business as a member of a sports-oriented family?

I was in a rock bank in high school – The UFOs! I got the bug from that I think.

I really started out as a newspaper guy but the paper I started at folded a year after I started working there. I could have gone to the Press or Post-Gazette after – in fact I covered local high-school sports on the weekends for the Press as a freelancer.

While I was doing that the editor of the local Washington, PA paper called me and told me that the Meadows needed some PR help. They needed someone to write some articles for the horse racing trade magazines.  They liked my articles and offered me a job.

Continue reading “Exclusive with Tom Rooney, Owner, The Rooney Sports & Entertainment Group”

First, what positives do you take away from a more competitive game last week versus the Eagles, albeit still a Dallas loss?

I think a couple of things. They got better production from their defensive line – it may have been their best performance since their week one game against the Rams. But you have to take that with a grain of salt as they were playing an NFC East rival. They were familiar with the system and the players so that helps.

DeMarcus Lawrence did have his best game of the season, but that wasn’t against Lane Johnson. The play of Trevon Diggs was a good sign of things to come. He’s had a rollercoaster year too – he sometimes gets caught looking at the backfield.

Continue reading “Exclusive with K.D. Drummond of Cowboys News Wire”

You won Super Bowls, are in the Hall of Fame, and now have an award and a football field named after you, wrote two books…. you made a big impact on the game. Do you think about that a lot?

First, it’s such a weird time now. I went to a small, Baptist college in Arkansas. When I played there we may have had at most 5,000 people at the stadium, and that’s including people packing in on the side of the stadium.  I remember one time playing in Texas Stadium backpeddling during a play and thinking “I don’t hear any noise. It was quiet.” Then I pulled myself back together and focused on the play.”

As for my career. Wow. It creeps up on you. Life is so strange. My junior year at Hot Springs High School I was  second-string  JV quarterback. My dad got re-assigned to a different town and I ended up being the starting quarterback and our team went undefeated. From there – five Super Bowls, Hall of Fame,… I think to myself “What?” If you polled the guys from that Hot Spring team and asked which player they thought would go to the NFL, I guarantee it wasn’t going to be me!

Continue reading “Exclusive with Dallas Cowboys Safety Cliff Harris”

First, can you let us know what you’re up to now and how you’re doing?

I’ve been doing the speaking and motivational thing now for 35 years, though the pandemic has dried things up a little. I also manage a non-profit – I helped build a football stadium for the community I grew up in so do fundraising for that.

I also wrote  two books – Out of Control, and In Control.

And most importantly. as of the eight of this month, it’ll be my anniversary of staying clean and sober for over two decades now.

Continue reading “Exclusive: Former Dallas Cowboys Linebacker Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson”