On the surface, it sounds silly to suggest that an incident that has been turned into more internet memes than it deserves could possibly unite a team.
Closer inspection however could say that’s exactly what is happening in the Steel City.
Now that Mike Tomlin has given us his finest moment ever in a press conference and has also been served his punishment, it’s time to get back to football.
My assumption is that this is exactly what Tomlin had been preaching even before Tuesday.
If you listen to the players, you get the sense they think the whole thing is as stupid as it is and just for the record, it is stupid! Ben Roethlisberger this week said he wants to talk about the Miami Dolphins and that defense they have rather than address any more sideline incidents.
Ryan Clark essentially defended his coach by calling our Roger Goodell by saying “Since when has he been fair?”
Wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery talked about how the team is “locked” into the Dolphins and that they aren’t even talking about the issue.
Those are very veteran guys making those comments so that tells me the focus is in the right place. Granted, they could be just giving lip-service to settle the issues down but I don’t think so. I think Tomlin has grabbed this by the horns in that locker room and has this team focused on football.
We should have proof within the first quarter. We all know how slow the starts have been for the Steelers this year so the proof of my thinking will be in the pudding.
If it isn’t, I guess I can always make another meme of Mike Tomlin…
Marc Uhlmann writes for and co-owns www.steelcityblitz.com. Follow him on Twitter @steeldad and follow the website at @SCBlitz. He can be heard Mondays on Trib-Live Radio at 630pm ET talking Steelers and is a blogger for ESPN 970 in Pittsburgh.
