There’s going to be a lot of knee-jerk reaction today to the Steelers’ 26-6 loss to Baltimore last night and I suppose I’m going to add to it. I realize it’s just two games into the season but the trends that are already happening are carry-overs from last year and the year before that and the common denominator is Mike Tomlin.
The easy solution to the recent woes over the last six quarters is to simply say “the players have to play better.” This team has been outscored 50-9 in their last six quarters so ya, that’s an understatement. But the troubling part of the season so far has been the similarities with recent seasons and they aren’t good ones.
Getting players to ‘play better’ and ‘play smarter’ falls on Mike Tomlin and he is failing in this regard right now.
Through two games the Steelers averaging 10 penalties per game. Of those 20 penalties, three are for unnecessary roughness and three are for offensive holding. Lack of mental toughness? Lack of preparation? It’s got to be something right?
The offense has turned the ball over four times in two games while the defense has yet to record a takeaway. The offense is supposed to be the driving force for this team because of the youth on defense. Last night the Steelers held the ball for the first eight minutes of the opening quarter and then Justin Brown fumbled it away. Even Heath Miller coughed it up and when he fumbles that’s news.
Just as alarming as the penalties and turnovers is the complete lack of execution. Baltimore’s two touchdown passes came on play-action and Ravens’ tight end Owen Daniels was so wide open each time that I think he was shocked. Blowing coverages anywhere on the field is bad. Blowing coverages inside the red zone is a sin.
It reeks of unprepared players and of coaches allowing it to happen. If Dick LeBeau’s defense was “rattled” by the Cleveland hurry-up offense then what was that crap-show last night? I could certainly trumpet the fact the defense forced four Justin Tucker field goals but that’s small potatoes compared the bigger issues.
This defense still cannot stop the run. I saw it in the preseason and it has carried over but worse is that the problem just doesn’t seem to be being addressed. More missed gaps and more missed tackles are becoming the norm.
Tomlin continues to talk about addressing these issues after each and every game yet nothing ever changes. The same penalties, turnovers and poor execution haunt this team in recent years worse than a ghost haunts Scooby-Doo.
I have supported Mike Tomlin as the head coach of the Steelers since the day he got the job and I will continue to do so but it gets a little harder every time this team takes the field.
Marc Uhlmann writes for and co-owns www.steelcityblitz.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteelDad and the website @SCBlitz. Check us out on Facebook at facebook.com/steelcityblitz and on Fancred.com. You can hear him weekly during the season on Trib-Live Radio
20 comments
Tony Dungy: where are you? M.T. is not a good coach. he won’t with another coaches team. he’s not winning with his. Ya gotta be a good talent scout. You gotta be able to coach the talent. His results show neither category is above par.
I disagree about his coaching ability Jeff although there are areas of improvement needed like game management. My feeling is that he has been undermined by his GM in terms of talent and by ARII in terms of assistant coaches.
Mike Tomlin is the most overrated head coach in the NFL and there are a lot of bad coaches in the NFL. Dick Lebeau should have retired with the grace and dignity of a superb and trendsetting legend unfortunately he will be remembered for having lost touch with the game he loves and is retarding and delaying the development of young players.
He apparently had new schemes cor this super fast defense but all ive seen is a continuation of the past two seasons.
Dick retire with dignity and leave with your head held high. Tomlin just leave
They were saying the same thing about Cowher until after years he finally won a Super Bowl. It takes patient which so many Steelers fans don’t seem to have. Cowher was not an experienced coach that’s why it took him so many years to gain it. That was the route the Rooneys chose now we need to afford Tomlin the same.
guys. hold your heads up. it’s only two games. you have no idea what bad teams look like. you should have seen the teams of the ’40s-’50s- early ’60s. as for firing tomlin, old man rooney is a socialist whako like the rest of western pa. he’ll never, never, ever fire tomlin. his legacy is “the rooney rule.” forget about it.
I don’t want Tomlin fired I just want to see some changes to the same old issues that have plagued the team for the last few seasons.
i am from altoona pa live now in east china mi age 84 still love steelers, pls protect the q b big ben jb
The name “Rooney” was once symbolic of a superior football organization. No longer can that be said. Both Dan and Art are unwilling to own up to their mistakes. Instead, they continue down the same path of mediocrity this team has been on for years. Based on Thursday night’s performance against Baltimore, one can reasonably conclude that this year’s team lacks conditioning, is unprepared and undisciplined and plays with no sense of urgency. Tomlin reminds me of Obama. He stands before the bank of microphones and utters these platitudes that fans and media take as gospel truth and then wait for divine intervention that never comes. It is time for Art Rooney to “stand tall in the pocket” and take charge of matters. Here’s a short list of imperatives:
1) Call in Tomlin and give him notice: either condition your team, prepare and discipline your players or start looking for work elsewhere.
2) Call in team leaders on offense and defense and notify them that the organization places a premium on leadership and there is no place for prima donnas on this team.
3) Call in Dick LeBeau and notify him that despite his numerous contributions to the organization over the years, his once formidable defensive schemes no longer appear to be working. Find a scheme that fits your players’ ability or consider retirement by season’s end.
4) Call in Todd Haley and notify him that he has sufficient offensive weapons to work with and that the inconsistent, anemic play of the past three seasons will no longer be tolerated. Either work through the kinks to take advantage of player skills or prepare to depart.
Ultimatums like the four that appear above are never easy to impart or accept, but the Steelers have become a compacent team and organization. Sometimes you have to shake the tree to get the fruit to drop. Translation: hyou have to break some eggs to make an omelet!
I think Mike Tomlin is one of the worst coaches in the league. I never thought he was good, even when we were winning. His clock management has always been atrocious and he just seems clueless. I also have had enough of Colbert. Way, way, way too many marginal draft picks. Mike Adams…need I say more.
Well I guess you are not a real Steelers fan then. Because this is what they beleive in. They allow their coaches grow with the organization. Knoll wasn’t an immediate hit, neither was Cowher. Tomlin was not a seasoned head coach. He has to learn and gain experience just like any other first time coaches. How long did it take Cowher to get his first Super Bowl? And what happened a couple of years after?
steeldad, i know how to read. my comment was not directed at you, rather to the comments. i said guys.
I didn’t say anything about your reading skills J… Not my place to do so.
There is no way I can defend Tomlin when it comes to clock management. He’s never been good at it but in his defense, did you see Fox and Reid yesterday? Not any better.
simplest of nose tackle coming forward and blowing up a play ,stack left or right ,nose tackle shifts head to either side and has a push. problem is we have no push. you must get the to qb or close @ this level to step out of his reg. throw. this is not complicated heart surgery . make him move off his comfort zone.this &a few things need to be changed. but this one thing could help alot.
I see what you’re saying Jay but they just don’t have a guy that can do that right now. McLendon gives effort but just doesn’t do it consistently enough. Not sure how durable he is either.
that is my point . we need to get another casey hampton thru the draft or trade or switch def.( if you do not have that option).sorry i make things so short but i am @ work.
No worries Jay. Glad you can chime in whenever…. The problem with a nose tackle is that he is on the field so much less now then 5-10 years ago. Probably on average of 40-45% of the defensive snaps. Question is whether a team wants to commit a high draft pick to that type of player.
no matter how this game changes pressure up the middle will fix many if not all problems. but even in a passing league this will be especially true because qb has to move from his timing.this is my last post on this subject. i don’t won’t to be one of those people that keep going on &on . so i will welcome your response and hope to reply on other subjects.but this is the way i coach & believe defense starts @ the ball.
steeldad, ifind it sickening how the pitt. press corps has covered up the haley missing plane incident. stuck in traffic,how weak of an excuse. bouchette, the steeler management lap dog,is so over rated in his fake role as the. steeler old time expert. i’m really disappointed with the other writters as well.
Well J, you’ve been around long enough to know how most of the Pittsburgh media works. They pick their favorites and will do nothing to upset that. They know ARII hand-picked Haley so therefore, any criticism of Haley is a criticism of ARII. If you do that as a journalist then you likely get ‘shut out’ by the boss.
[…] started off this season wondering how I could defend Mike Tomlin any longer after losing to Baltimore in week two. Things just didn’t look better than they had in recent […]