The Call Sheet Daily, with Coach Kevin Smith

Steelers Chalk Talk: The first game of the Mike McCarthy era showed major changes in Pittsburgh

One of the big takeaways from Mike McCarthy's debut as Steelers' head coach last week was how different Pittsburgh looked on both sides of the ball compared to recent yea

The Hot Route: Week 1 football mailbag -- with former Gettysburg College quarterback Gary Ricci

On today's Hot Route episode of The Call Sheet, my college roommate and former quarterback at Gettysburg College Gary Ricci returns to answer some mailbag questions, incl

To blitz or not to blitz? Breaking down the blitz strategies of prominent DC's in Week 1 of the NFL season

To blitz or not to blitz? That's the question we're asking on today's Call Sheet podcast, as we examine the blitz rates of some prominent defensive coordinators in Week 1

Monday Morning Game Balls: The Bears can't stop scoring, and the Jets and Giants do New York proud

On this season's first installment of Monday Morning Game Balls at The Call Sheet, we honor Chicago's unstoppable offense, T.J. Watt's big day, Brian Flores and his blitz

Steelers Chalk Talk: Keys to victory over Cooper Rush and the Falcons in Week 1

The Atlanta Falcons visit Pittsburgh for the 2026 season-opener on Sunday, and their starting quarterback will be... Cooper Rush? How does the late QB change in Atlanta a

The Hot Route: NIL, pay-to-play and the changing landscape of college football -- with former NFL player Gordon Hill

On today's Hot Route episode of The Call Sheet, former NFL player Gordon Hill, who now serves as a financial advisor to college football players, joins me to discuss the

5 fearless predictions for the 2026 NFL season

The NFL returns to action tonight, and Coach Smith kicks it off on today's Call Sheet podcast with five fearless predictions on what we're likely to see throughout the le

The Michigan clock controversy is another example of football's growing credibility problem

On today's Call Sheet podcast, we examine the clock controversy that saved the University of Michigan an embarrassing home defeat over the weekend, and how the lack of tr

Steelers Chalk Talk: What does the final 53-man roster tell us about the schemes we'll see in Pittsburgh?

Mike McCarthy has determined his initial 53-man roster as head coach of the Steelers. There were some interesting additions, some surprising departures and an emphasis on

The Hot Route: The daily grind of coaching in college, with Kutztown University tight ends coach Chris Armstrong

On today's Hot Route episode of The Call Sheet podcast, tight ends coach Chris Armstrong of Kutztown University -- the #3 ranked team in Division II -- joins me to discus

Is keeping four quarterbacks on the roster a developing trend in the NFL?

For the first time since 2013, three NFL teams kept four quarterbacks on their final 53-man roster this year. Is that an outlier in roster construction or the dawn of a n

Quarterback drama, the Chiefs youth movement, and Aaron Donald's return highlight an interesting NFL cutdown day

The Steelers, Eagles and Falcons all kept four quarterbacks on their active rosters. The Jets kept just two. OBJ survived the cut in New York, while Aaron Donald returned

Steelers Chalk Talk: Breaking down the offense in the pre-season finale at Buffalo

Our follow-up to Thursday's preview show breaks down the Steelers' offense in the pre-season finale in Buffalo, and offers some thoughts on this weekend's impending roste

The Hot Route: 10 "Buy or Sell" items for the 2026 NFL season, with Pez from Pez's Picks

On today's Hot Route episode of The Call Sheet podcast, Pez from Pez's Picks returns to discuss ten "Buy or Sell" items related to the 2026 NFL season -- including Baker

For a coach, the first game of the season is the scariest

Anyone who's ever coached football knows the first game of the season can be terrifying. So many unknowns. Have you prepared properly? How will your players respond? Will

NFL players returning to play in college? Yup. That appears to be happening

On today's episode of The Call Sheet podcast, we discuss the case of several current NFL players who have petitioned the NCAA to return to college to play their fifth sea

Steelers Chalk Talk: Rudolph is the big winner as Howard and Allar struggle against the Jets

On this week's Steelers' Chalk Talk podcast, we dive into the struggles of quarterbacks Will Howard and Drew Allar in Friday night's pre-season game against the Jets. Aft

An undrafted free agent's football journey, with former NFL quarterback Joe Callahan

On today's Call Sheet pod, we revisit our conversation with Joe Callahan, an undrafted free agent from Wesley College who made the Packers roster in 2017. Joe discusses h

Football 101: How to make sense of an NFL play call

On today's Call Sheet podcast, we dive into the nature of NFL play calls. Why are some so long and verbose, while others are as short as one word? What is actually in tho

5 reasons why we should care about pre-season football

The NFL drew 7.7 million viewers for its Hall of Fame game last week, and ratings for the Week 1 of the pre-season were high. Why the intrigue? On today's Call Sheet podc