The Cook & Joe Show

The full Pomp and Joe Show, with Joe Starkey and Austin Bechtold (behind the glass), from Thursday, October 16th, 2025

Hour 1 with Joe Starkey and Tyler Kennedy: Tyler wants to see the Steelers' leadership step up and make sure the Steelers have a great start to the game. When the Steelers have lost on Thursday night, they have gotten off to bad starts. The Steelers can grow the lead in the division and improve to 5-1. The Penguins have played two good games, and two giving us major question marks.

Hour 2 with Joe Starkey and Chris Hoke: Hokie thinks this is a bigger game for the Bengals than the Steelers. Joe Flacco adds a new wrinkle. Hokie takes us inside what it's like at the line of scrimmage with quarterbacks like Brady and Rodgers making adjustments. Chris Hoke says it will be 24-20 Steelers and Jaylen Warren is the MVP!

Hour 3 with Joe Starkey: Bob Pompeani joins his show. Bob thinks DK Metcalf will have a multi-touchdown game. The Steelers have won 24 of their past 25 games in Cincinnati. Joe thinks 27-10 the Steelers win. Bob predicts a 27-16 win. Austin thinks the Steelers will lose 23-21 and thinks Flacco is the difference in the game.

Hour 4 with Joe Starkey: Darnell Washington fits as the No. 1 tight end for the Steelers the way the scheme is now. Pat Freiermuth is going to get more passing game targets soon, but the Steelers don't feel a need to change this. Washington has been more effective. Over/unders in Bengals-Steelers.

Darnell Washington fits as the No. 1 tight end for the Steelers the way the scheme is now. Pat Freiermuth is going to get more passing game targets soon, but the Steelers don't feel a need to change this. Washington has been more effective.

The MOST important numbers in Steelers at. Bengals.

Bob Pompeani joins his show. Bob thinks DK Metcalf will have a multi-touchdown game. The Steelers have won 24 of their past 25 games in Cincinnati. The Steelers are 0-6 on the road against the AFC North on Thursday night with Mike Tomlin as their head coach.

Trey Hendrickson is considered a longshot to play tonight. Jaylen Warren is a tough, physical runner. Mason McCormick is pushing people around up front. Chris Hoke says it will be 24-20 Steelers and Jaylen Warren is the MVP. It's time Warren has a big game!

Hokie thinks this is a bigger game for the Bengals than the Steelers. Joe Flacco adds a new rinkle. Hokie thinks the Steelers are going to get the ball out of Aaron Rodgers' hand quickly and control the tempo of the game. Hokie takes us inside what it's like at the line of scrimmage with quarterbacks like Brady and Rodgers making adjustments!

The Penguins have played two good games, and two that give us major question marks. Tyler Kennedy doesn't think the Penguins have enough sustained offensive zone time. Playing conditions are significant and the Acrisure Stadium field is comparable to needing good ice conditions. 

Tyler Kennedy joined the show. Tyler wants to see the Steelers' leadership step up and make sure the Steelers have a great start to the game. When the Steelers have lost on Thursday night, they have gotten off to bad starts. TK thinks we will know what this game will be like in the first five minutes of play. A look at the 2007-08 Steelers.

The full Pomp and Joe Show, with Joe Starkey and Austin Bechtold (behind the glass), from Wednesday, October 15th, 2025

Hour 1 with Joe Starkey: Is there any room for a Pitt Stadium? Ben Roethlisberger said Pitt needs to build an on-campus stadium with 35,000 fans. Joe suggests Pitt build the stadium on the outer part of Schenley Park. Bruce Feldman of The Athletic believes that Matt Rhule and Curt Cignetti are the top two candidates for the Penn State head coach job. James Franklin can't beat great teams but Matt Rhule is the same.

Hour 2 with Joe Starkey: Mark thinks if the Steelers win against the Bengals, you can pretty much rubber stamp the Steelers to win the AFC North. Aaron Rodgers has a ton to play for over the next two weeks with the Packers next. Did Pitt contribute to the poor fight conditions at Acrisure? Jalen Ramsey can move around the defense and Mark compared him to Troy Polamalu, in a way.

Hour 3 with Joe Starkey: Mason Heintschel has thrown seven passes deeper than 20 yards down field and Eli Holstein had significantly more. Does Pitt have a chance to make the ACC Championship Game? Five teams in the ACC are unbeaten but will play against each other. Brett McMurphy thinks Matt Rhule and Curt Cignetti are two candidates at PSU. McMurphy said Penn State has more resources and all the above, how long can it continue at Indiana?

Hour 4 with Joe Starkey: We give Pitt a 10% chance to make the ACC Championship. Pitt basketball landed its best recruit of the Jeff Capel era. What situation would you rather be in? The Steelers, Colts, or Patriots? Mullsy the Snowman makes its return! Joe thinks Harrison Brunicke should be playing every game.

Mullsy the Snowman makes its return for the first time on October 15th! Joe thinks Harrison Brunicke should be playing every game. It doesn't make sense why he sat. Donny is getting a suit as a part of his wedding gift.

Starkey's mailbag: We give Pitt a 10% chance to make the ACC Championship. Pitt basketball landed its best recruit of the Jeff Capel era. What situation would you rather be in? The Steelers, Colts, or Patriots? This is the best Steelers team in a number of years.

Brett is surprised, but not surprised by James Franklin being fired. Pat Kraft said it wasn't a three game decision, but Brett thinks it was after they lost to UCLA and Northwestern. He said be careful what you wish for firing Franklin. Matt Rhule's 2-23 against the Top 25 was at Temple, Baylor, and Nebraska. Brett would be SHOCKED if Urban Meyer took the job.

Mason Heintschel has thrown seven passes deeper than 20 yards down field and Eli Holstein had significantly more. Pitt isn't taking as many shots, but they are still creating explosive plays.

Mark thinks if the Steelers win against the Bengals, you can pretty much rubber stamp the Steelers to win the AFC North. Aaron Rodgers has a ton to play for over the next two weeks with the Packers next. Did Pitt contribute to the poor fight conditions at Acrisure? It was a "misstep" according to Kaboly.

Jalen Ramsey can move around the defense and Mark compared him to Troy Polamalu, in a way. Mark thinks Tee Higgins will be followed around by Joey Porter Jr. Mark would be stunned if Calvin Austin plays on Thursday. Mark thinks the Steelers win around 30-14 and win easily.

Bruce Feldman of The Athletic believes that Matt Rhule and Curt Cignetti are the top two candidates for the Penn State head coach job. James Franklin can't beat great teams but Matt Rhule is the same. Rhule is 0-11 against Top 10 teams and 2-23 against Top 25 teams. Jeff Patton joins for Starkey's Card of the Week.

Is there any room for a Pitt Stadium? Ben Roethlisberger said Pitt needs to build an on-campus stadium with 35,000 fans. Ben also said Pitt contributed to the bad field conditions the Steelers played on Sunday. Joe suggests Pitt build the stadium on the outer part of Schenley Park.

The full Pomp and Joe Show, with Bob Pompeani, Joe Starkey, and Austin Bechtold (behind the glass), from Tuesday, October 14th, 2025

Hour 1 with Bob Pompeani and Joe Starkey: Can the Steelers earn the No. 1 seed? Kansas City is better, but has flaws. The Bills defense is banged up and the Ravens are playing poorly. Are the Steelers a good, great, or average team in the NFL? Joe thinks they're closer to average. We still don't know a lot about them against the best teams. There is not a great team in the AFC this year.

Hour 2 with Bob Pompeani and Joe Starkey: Nick thinks there isn't a concrete plan for Pat Freiermuth. There is more of a plan for Jonnu Smith and Darnell Washington. Mike Tomlin took a shot at Andrew Berry in Cleveland for trading Joe Flacco to the Bengals. Top quarterback prospects in 2026 NFL Draft. Penn State fired James Franklin and Front Office Sports has learned that if Franklin gets a new job, the money can offset from what they owe him.

Hour 3 with Bob Pompeani and Joe Starkey: Did Penn State overreact when firing James Franklin? We don't think so at all. Franklin is 1-15 against AP Top 5 teams and 4-21 against Top 10 teams. Franklin is 1-10 against Ohio State. We don't think it was an overreaction. Pat Kraft said firing James Franklin wasn't just about a three game stretch. The program is looking to finally return to being elite.

Hour 4 with Bob Pompeani and Joe Starkey: Mike Tomlin called out Browns general manager Andrew Berry for trading Joe Flacco. Tomlin said Berry must be smarter than them in Pittsburgh. Kevin Stefanski admitted he had no idea Flacco was being traded. Bob thinks Tomlin might be trying to stick up for Stefanski. It's strange and people wonder if this means the Browns will be worse than Cincinnati. The Steelers field was poor at Acrisure Sunday.

The Steelers field was poor at Acrisure Sunday. Mike Tomlin was frustrated by it and Chris Boswell slipped. Boswell could have been injured. The Steelers are tearing up the field. The Penguins play in Anaheim tonight at 10:30. How long will Kyle Dubas' Pens rebuild go?

Mike Tomlin called out Browns general manager Andrew Berry for trading Joe Flacco. Tomlin said Berry must be smarter than them in Pittsburgh. Bob thinks Tomlin might be trying to stick up for Kevin Stefanski. Tomlin disagrees with Will Graves that the environment hasn't been great for receivers looking to be more involved in the offense.

Does Penn State have a delusional fan base with expectations too high? Pat Kraft said firing James Franklin wasn't just about a three game stretch. Joe doesn't think it's that delusional with what the program is and the resources that are put into the program.

Did Penn State overreact when firing James Franklin? We don't think so at all. Franklin is 1-15 against AP Top 5 teams and 4-21 against Top 10 teams. Franklin is 1-10 against Ohio State. It was time to move in a new direction.

Mel Kiper released his top 10 quarterbacks list. No. 1 is Oregon's Dante Moore. Joe likes him. No. 2 is Fernando Mendoza (Indiana). Bob likes them but isn't sold yet. Front Office Sports has learned that if Franklin gets a new job, the money can offset from what they owe.

Nick thinks there isn't a concrete plan for Pat Freiermuth. There is more of a plan for Jonnu Smith and Darnell Washington. Nick doesn't think there's tension between Freiermuth and Aaron Rodgers, but there's not much of a connection. Mike Tomlin took a shot at Andrew Berry in Cleveland for trading Joe Flacco to the Bengals.

Joe thinks they're closer to average. We still don't know a lot about them against the best teams. There is not a great team in the AFC this year. Detroit is pretty good in the NFC but has their flaws.

Can the Steelers earn the No. 1 seed? Kansas City is better, but has flaws. The Bills defense is banged up and the Ravens are playing poorly. The AFC has taken two steps back. Joe thinks the Chiefs and Broncos are the two top teams in the NFL right now.

The full Pomp and Joe Show, with Joe Starkey and Austin Bechtold (behind the glass), from Monday, October 13th, 2025

Hour 1 with Joe Starkey: Is it time to apologize to the Steelers defense? The Steelers sacked Dillon Gabriel seven times and dominated the game, allowing only nine points to the Browns. Aaron Rodgers is playing well and taking care of the football. The Steelers offense is calm and confident with Rodgers. We hear from Steelers fans on how the team needs to approach the season moving forward.

Hour 2 with Joe Starkey: Penn State fired head coach James Franklin. Franklin's time at Penn State came to a bad end after losing three games in a row. Should Penn State pursue Indiana's Curt Cignetti or Nebraska's Matt Rhule? Cignetti is a Pittsburgh native who used to coach at IUP. Matt Rhule is 2-23 against Top 25 opponents.

Hour 3 with Joe Starkey: The Mike Tomlin Press Conference. Mike Tomlin's thoughts before the Steelers play the Bengals on a short week on Thursday Night Football. What do you do with Pat Freiermuth? Tomlin isn't concerned and said Freiermuth's time will come. Darnell Washington has improved as a pass catcher.