They say that you’re supposed to wait 24 hours before sending an angry email to a boss. Wait 24 hours before confronting your child’s coach (I’ve been on both ends of this) or wait 24 hours until reacting in general to something that leaves you feeling downright pissed off. Well, I’m not waiting 24 hours because what I have to say needs to be said.
Mike Tomlin needs to feel the heat. You’ll notice I didn’t say “he needs to be fired” but he needs to feel some pressure because this team hasn’t looked good at all in 2023. Please don’t let the 2-2 record fool you. This is a below average team. Tomlin has surrounded himself with coordinators and coaches who are not getting the job done. For every call for Matt Canada’s job there should be one for Teryl Austin’s too.
The defense is giving up over 400 yards and 150 yards per game on the ground. Only two plays by two standout linebackers have saved this team from a 1-3 start and those two guys (T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith) were largely invisible today. The tackling remains piss poor and Levi Wallace and Patrick Peterson can’t cover consistently to save their lives. There’s very little interior push either and that’s hurting the entire defense.
Offensively? Where do I even begin?? There’s no offense in the NFL that’s as predictable. There’s no offense in the NFL that’s as easy to defend and there’s no offense in the NFL that has its fan base standing on ledges like this one. My dog knows when a run is coming and my other dog knows when a pass is coming. For the record, they’ve given up arguing and have agreed Canada stinks.
“Changes are Coming…” You read that right. That’s what Mike Tomlin said after the game. What changes are those Coach? I can tell you this; I’m not holding my breath waiting for either coordinator to get canned. I suggest you don’t either or you’ll end up looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger in “Total Recall.”
The changes that Tomlin is likely talking about involve some guys getting more snaps than others. That may in fact be helpful. I mean, can Joey Porter, Jr do any worse than Levi Wallace? But maybe the changes are more about play calls. Maybe Tomlin will finally give play calling duties to someone else or maybe he’ll take over the job himself. He has to see the absolute dumpster fire his offense has become right? It would be like sitting in your living room while the whole house is burning and you ask, “do you smell smoke?”
The time for expecting a different result by doing the same damn thing is over. We’ve gone past the “insanity” rule like a house on the side of the road when you’re doing 95mph in your new Jetta. There’s no way Tomlin, whether he has Kenny Pickett available or not Sunday, can trot out the same damn offense or defense can he? I’m not totally out of my mind, I realize you can’t just “change an offense” mid season. That would be nearly impossible and an incredibly tall task. Oh wait, the Baltimore Ravens did it with FOUR GAMES left on their way to their second Super Bowl title. So don’t tell me it can’t happen!
The problem is likely Tomlin’s ego. He won’t admit that keeping both coordinators around has been an epic failure. He won’t admit that Brian Flores is the guy he should have kept, not Teryl Austin. And you know why? Because Tomlin doesn’t want anyone on the staff that threatens him. Flores threatened him and Austin doesn’t.
I don’t know where things end up for this team but it can’t be good. Oh I’m sure they’ll play their asses off Sunday at home against the Ravens and will likely lose a tough one. Then comes the BYE week and a schedule that only gets tougher.
I feel bad for guys like Cam Heyward and T.J. Watt. They’ve played for this storied franchise that’s full of Lombardi Trophies and classic wins yet they’ve got nothing. Pro Bowls and Defensive MVPs are nice but they don’t compare to Super Bowl wins and they both know it. You could almost see the exasperated look on Watt’s face as the game came to an end.
There is no longer a “standard” worth living up to and playing “Renegade” is like a 65-year old man hitting on college girls in the hopes he can rekindle his glory days. It’s sad really but I’ll still be here cheering. I lived through the 1980’s. I know how bad things can be but what’s going on right now sucks. Waiting 24 hours to say it won’t change it either.
