Art Rooneys Year End Presser

Well...Pony Express could take a few days.

Looks like Rooney said a whole lot of nothing. I would expect him to support his head coach, but I was hopeful he'd strongly encourage some changes to the defensive coaching staff. I'm not so sure that Lake wasn't gently nudged out the door. Porter needs to go with him.

At any rate, it is what it is. Rooney knows what he's doing and the best executives know how to rip their subordinates a new one behind closed doors and then come out and totally support and endorse them publicly. I hope Rooney had a frank discussion with Tomlin about team discipline, preparation, game management, etc. And I hope he stressed that the time to win is NOW! We'll never know.

 

A few examples of name calling about people leaving early. Guess that's worse than not going at...

http://thesteelersfans.com/forums/threads/steelers-fans-are-weak.18885/page-2

 

There is note that some people do
Leave early but no name calling per se. Most of the posts were about staying.

 

I am disappointed in his comments. I was hoping for more.

ARII kept it pretty close to the vest. I want players and coaches that can win playoff games

and Super bowls.

 

I know one thing ARII isn't going to air the dirty laundry out in public. He also knows that no matter the problem telling the Media isn't going to help it. What I do like is he touched a lot of things that many had problems with, coaching, JH and the playoff loss. This tells me he knows there are issues and imo he is addressing them.

 

The lack of people in seats seemingly had more to do with politics than the on-the-field product, which was damn entertaining and went 13-3.

The playoffs were frustrating, but we have a REALLY good team that's absolutely good enough to win it all -- multiple times -- as long as Ben and Bell resign.

I know this is "optimistic" to some of you, but it's definitely the truth.

Had we not long our defensive chief this year, I think there's a REALLY good chance we at least play in Foxborough for the AFC Championship game.

 

That's the thread I started. A lot of Steelers fans are weak when it comes to being there for the entire game.

 

I'm with Starkey. Disappointed in Rooney's apparent resignation with the state of our defense.

http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/...nd-Patriots-Carnell-Lake/stories/201802070201

 

Not sure what you all want him to say, you guys want him to come out and say if MT don't win he is gone? People talk about the off field stuff this past year wait to see what would happen if ARII did say that. The fact that he touched on these subjects is a good sign, again like I just posted ARII isn't going to air his dirty laundry out in public!

 

Did you read the article? After the worst post-season defensive performance in the history of the franchise where NOT ONE DEFENSIVE PLAYER FOR THE STEELERS MADE A PLAY THE WHOLE FREAKING GAME I was hoping for a little more than "well, nobody plays good defense anymore". Bullcrap!

 

It's not about being a spoiled fan. We have what you can argue is the best offense the Steelers have ever assembled. Think about that for a second. But the team continues to go on and under perform in the playoffs. There is clearly a problem. I'm afraid Rooney does not have the same expectations like his father and his father before him. We all know this window will close soon, and with that the expectation to do more.

 

I did read it and yeah I get where your coming from but you been a Steeler fan for how long.......when was the last time you heard ownership say anything negative???? Also just cause they didn't say it public don't mean heads aren't rolling in private. We are not the Dallas Cfryboys and we do not have Jerry Jones as an owner, things are kept in house with our ownership.

 

Been a fan since the mid-70s and I've heard a good bit of candor out of Rooney in past season ending press conferences. Our defense this year, in spite of what the smoke and mirror statistics say, was lacking. Were you confident that we'd ever get off the field on 3rd down? Were you confident that when we needed a big sack we'd get one? How about our ability to create turnovers? Were you holding your breath like I was every time these great quarterbacks like Bret Hundely, Blake Bortles, Deshone Kizer and others dropped back and fired the ball deep down field? How many times did we see receivers WIDE OPEN down the field? How many 40+ yard plays did we give up? The most in the league! And our lackluster defensive performance culminated with the worst defensive performance in post-season history. And our owner is like, "oh well, might as well resign ourselves to the fact that that's just the way it is in the NFL and there's not much we can do about it". That was unacceptable to me as a fan.

 

Jack none of what you just said is or was in question with me. The part that I am pointing out is the fact that the Rooneys aren't going to air their dirty laundry in public. All these other points you are making are very good ones, yeah I agree our D did suck. I admit stats are like perfume they cover the stink, we give up big plays we don't get turnovers at the big times and yes we can't stop 3rd downs. However that is not what this thread is about and not what you are mad about. Again I will ask you since you avoided the question, do you want ARII to come out as say if MT don't win the SB he is gone? That is not how this team works and conducts itself. Please tell me what press conference our ownership has ever said that, please post a link to which press conference you are referring to so I and other know just what you want to hear as a fan. I want our ownership to take the high road but like you I also want heads to roll behind closed doors.

 

All you need to know about this article is this:

Maybe I’ve lost my mind here — I wasn’t in the room — but I can’t help but hear resignation when I read Rooney’s answer to a question about the state of his defense.

I really don't like the media and there is someone here who hates it when I say that but I think he has me on block so I am safe. This is a prime example of why I feel this way, let's see he wasn't in the room so he is gonna say he can hear resignation while reading.......

 

Why did anyone expect Rooney to say anything other than what he said? Rooney has been around long enough to know how NOT to give anyone a soundbite. He walked the company line not only for the Steelers but also the NFL. That's his job. It's amazing how people bash players for not being smart when using Twitter or talking to the media, but then the same people are mad when when Rooney says all the right things.

 

Yeah that is what I have been saying here........

 

No, of course I don't expect Rooney to come out in public and say that Tomlin is gone if we don't win the Super Bowl, that's not what I'm saying at all. I am not on the FMTI bandwagon even though I've had my criticisms of Tomlin which I won't re-hash here. I just expected a little more commentary from Mr. Rooney around the necessity of improving our defensive effort going forward. We've got to get more out of our players AND coaches on that side of the ball and I was disappointed that Rooney didn't address that other than to say nobody plays good defense anymore. At any rate, sorry to be adversarial. I don't think I explained my position very well in previous posts. Good night, friend.

 

Jack great post man, love being able to go back and forth with people without name calling and hard feelings. I get your points and I am pretty sure we all feel this way but my point is ARII is going to give nothing to the media to run with. After this past season I think we all can appreciate that since no matter what is said it get blow up. The last thing I want is our owner to say something and we have a rocky off season. The fact that we are hearing little things and moves being made I think tells enough of a story to make us all feel better that ownership is fed up.

 

I agree with a lot that was said. While we wished Mr. Rooney would have been a little more candid about the state of the teams defense, I seriously suspect there was some closed door discussions. I honestly think Mr. Rooney was giving generic PC answers so as not to undermine his HC but I still believe if some of the same issues with the team persist this year MT might be looking for a new job.

I know most don't feel that way and I'm probably wrong but I have my reasons. The first reason I think Tomlin's seat is warm is because of how much criticism he got after that last playoff loss and how long it was talked about, it was even brought up during the SB media week. The second reason is because I've heard Jerome Bettis talking about player before but I've never heard him on the "blame Tomlin" bandwagon before but now he is.

It isn't just about the media piling on after the playoff loss, it was different. Tomlin was never blamed for the poor performances against bad teams, sure there were comments made in the media but it would pass as quickly as it was mentioned. Now the criticism is different, all those games are being brought up and a lot of mention in how he can't fix the defense and on and on.

They are no longer passing comments, there were shows that had almost a full 30 minutes of bashing Tomlin. I call it bashing because I've never heard anyone mentioning him on the hot seat and now we are listening to guys opinions on whether he should be fired or not, that is a huge turn. BTW, just about everyone gave the same answer, "he shouldn't be fired but he needs to do a better job", I heard that exact quote on at least 3 different shows, so I think Rooney is keeping it in house and not undermining Tomlin.

I don't think Tomlin needs to win the SB to keep his job. I think if the Steelers do well, make the playoffs and maybe lose but look competent for a full 60 minutes it will help. The key with that is not having players go off the rails on social media or play games against bad teams that look as if the entire team isn't focused. That will be the measure, I honestly think if there are discipline problems that look like a distraction and the team plays like garbage against less completion, I think it will be the end of the MT era in Pittsburgh, but that is what I'm reading into it despite what Mr. Rooney says publically.

 

Great point! He basically gave the Steelers a pass by giving up 45 to the Jaguars (yes, 45 because if they didn't return that fumble for a TD, you know they were going to score anyhow)

For what it's worth, the Raven's owner said he considered firing Hairball. That may a bit much, but I'm fine with putting the HC on notice to help light a fire or affect change.

 

Who is the biggest BS artist? Art Rooney or Mike Tomlin? No one is ever fired from the Steelers. They just retire, get shifted to another more important job he was already doing, quit to watch their kid play HS football, etc. Well we didn't want James Harrison's leaving Pittsburgh to happen like it did but someone had to be cut and it couldn't be Dan McCullers. No, he is too valuable! So James had to go. Man you have to wear hip boots around these two supreme bovine scatologists. Art can you be any more politically correct?