Fast forward to mid-January of 2024.
While you’re pounding away on the treadmill at the gym you just joined because that’s what we do after the Holidays, you start thinking about how Mike Tomlin was able to do it again. He was able to get his defense squared away and his offense found just enough of a spark to score a few more points than usual. In the end, it’s another ‘winning record’ at 9-8 but the Steelers miss the postseason. You can envision this can’t you? Is it not the most Tomlin-thing ever for this to happen? It sure seems viable but something about this particular season feels different and I think you feel it too.
Let’s get back to the present where the Steelers sit at 2-2. They are very much in the hunt in the AFC North with the rival Baltimore Ravens coming to town at 3-1 with roads wins already at Cleveland and Cincinnati. But the offense is messier than your plate at Primanti’s and the defense is too reliant on stars to make plays and it’s suffering because of this. There is a slight ray of hope in that both Diontae Johnson and Cam Heyward will return this season but conversely, we’re going to be without Dan Moore and Pat Freiermuth while Kenny Pickett deals with a bone bruise.
Last season’s drive to 9-8 was led in large part by a schedule that featured some really dismal teams. That, combined with an improving Kenny Pickett and running game, saw the team come within a whisper of the postseason. The despair we felt in this team in 2023 is nothing compared to the way we feel now. This was supposed to be a better team.
Building on the promise of that strong finish and a very positive preseason, hopes were high but then reality set in for many of you. Younger Steelers’ fans have learned some hard lessons in the last few weeks. One, what you do in the preseason means almost nothing and two, how you finished in the year prior also means nothing. It’s been a cruel slap of reality but then again, not even the most experienced among us could have seen this nightmare.
Having lived through the 1980’s with this team, I’ve seen what mediocre looks like in Black and Gold. I thought this team could finish 10-7 and find a path to the playoffs but I didn’t take it seriously as a team that could compete for a Super Bowl. That still felt like a year away at least. But this? This is just bad. In fact, it may be worse than bad. It’s downright awful and you can literally see it on the faces and in the body language of the players.
There’s still plenty of time to correct things, especially with the BYE week coming, but this feels different. After raising his voice and stating that “Hell yeah, there will be changes,” Tomlin stepped back from those yesterday. The only signs of change were comments about Joey Porter, Jr getting more snaps and the fact the team will practice in full pads one day this week. Those are not exactly the types of changes that any of us were expecting were they? But then again, we’ve heard this before from Tomlin. “Unleash hell” anyone?
It’s my hope that I’m eating these words come January but I just don’t have the same feeling. I still believe Mike Tomlin is a good football coach but for the first time I find myself truly and honestly believing that the time has come for significant change in the organization. That is something that would feel different now wouldn’t it?
