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5 biggest questions heading into camp

Discussion in 'Steelers Talk' started by Watt Wack, Jul 5, 2018.

  1. Watt Wack

    Watt Wack Well-Known Member

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    https://steelerswire.usatoday.com/2018/06/27/5-big-questions-for-the-steelers-at-training-camp/

    #5 is interesting. It is a direct shot at Tomlin even though they do not mention him by name.

    If there is one thing to watch during training camp and preseason this year is the level of focus and intensity the team and coaches approach preparation with. Like it or not, this team didn’t always play hungry and didn’t always play with an edge. That starts in training camp and is going to be the biggest change Pittsburgh can make.
     
  2. MattyMo9

    MattyMo9 Well-Known Member

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    Biggest question? will we finish bottom 5 in rushing D. Because if we do nothing else matters.
     
  3. jeh1856

    jeh1856 Beer is good

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    Considering we were in #10 last year and made improvements in that area, it’s unlikely. I hope you get this before bed time.
     
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  4. jeh1856

    jeh1856 Beer is good

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    Good post.

    #5 Tomlin has little to do with this. It isn’t high school. We lack team leaders.

    #2 This is worth watching.
     
  5. thorn058

    thorn058 Well-Known Member

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    Boy talk about click bait. None of that was anything that wasn't already known and to make 5 pages was just to get ad space to help pay for the site. I was expecting something more insightful.
     
  6. thorn058

    thorn058 Well-Known Member

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    Tomlin isn't a leader he is a guide. He always says he is on a journey with the team.
     
  7. jeh1856

    jeh1856 Beer is good

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    You suddenly gave me a flashback of a portly Chinese gentleman I met about 1507 years ago.
     
    Last edited: Jul 5, 2018
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  8. Formerscribe

    Formerscribe Well-Known Member

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    Agreed, except I wasn't surprised at all to see that what they posted was worthless.

    They offered no real insight and some of the questions were poorly worded at best.
     
    Last edited: Jul 5, 2018
  9. MattyMo9

    MattyMo9 Well-Known Member

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    Well genius we are missing a rather large piece to the run D last year. And how did we look the last 4 games plus Jag game without him. Made improvements? We signed Jon Fing Bostic. Give me a break. Parents let me stay up late tonight to compare wits with someone like yourself
     
    Last edited: Jul 5, 2018
  10. jeh1856

    jeh1856 Beer is good

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    Good night.
     
  11. groutbrook

    groutbrook

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    Head coach is the definition of 'team leader'.
     
  12. thorn058

    thorn058 Well-Known Member

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    except in this case where Tomlin is a disciple of Tony Dungy where his philosophy is not to lead his team but to guide them on the journey and allow leaders to reveal themselves. He has stated this numerous times that his job is not to lead, that the story is written by the those who make up the team. It's frustrating to listen to, and you really want him to be a leader and mold his team into what he wants it to be but that just isn't his philosophy.
     
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  13. jeh1856

    jeh1856 Beer is good

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    Just to make sure I was right, I goggled “Head Coach”. It didn’t mention “team leader”. It mentioned “manager”.

    Let me note a few lousy team leaders but excellent managers: Chuck Noll, Tom Landry, Vince Lombardi...

    Let me note a few excellent team leaders who weren’t managers: Joe Greene, Roger Staubach, Bart Starr.

    There is a trend here.
     
    Last edited: Jul 5, 2018
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  14. AskQuestionsLater

    AskQuestionsLater Writing Team

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    Concur with Jeh.


    The second point is worth observing. The rest are nugatory.
     
  15. groutbrook

    groutbrook

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    Google "semantics".
     
  16. AskQuestionsLater

    AskQuestionsLater Writing Team

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    This post needs framed. Well done!
     
  17. jeh1856

    jeh1856 Beer is good

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    I did. It was unrelated.
     
  18. mac daddyo

    mac daddyo Well-Known Member

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    1. Have I lost more hair?

    2. Cut the grass or take a nap?

    3. Go fishing or shooting?

    4. Does the wife's butt look bigger today than yesterday?

    5. What is that ticking jeh keeps hearing?:smiley1::cool:
     
  19. groutbrook

    groutbrook

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    Fair enough.
    Assuming you buy into this 'Tony Dungy philosophy', what happens when team leaders don't reveal themselves? My guess would be: good regular seasons, early playoff exits and one SB victory. Tomlin must be following this philosophy to the letter. Your examples of team leaders vs team managers are all names that haven't been relevant in 40+ years, but The standard is the standard.
     
  20. Iowasteeljim

    Iowasteeljim

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    And yet all those names still seem to be the standard by which most in the NFL are measured even today. Maybe you should google "relevance".
     
  21. Formerscribe

    Formerscribe Well-Known Member

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    The relevant question is if Tomlin's philosophy seems to be working or not. Communication issues have been a problem, especially on defense, for years. They got worse when Shazier went down last season, but it seems like that has been an issue since Butler became DC. Tomlin's recent teams have demonstrated a lack of discipline at times and they clearly have a problem getting their acts together against lesser opponents. They have been blowing games against inferior competition for too long to call it a fluke now. All of those things are issues related to leadership and some of that has to fall on Tomlin. His approach works well enough for the team to be a contender every year, but it's leaving them short of the ultimate goal. By his philosophy, he needs to do a better job acquiring and developing leaders on his team. Tomlin is a big part of the scouting process. He can be held accountable there.

    Noll wasn't a big guy on motivational speeches, but his players were always prepared. Tomlin is a good coach, but he's not on Noll's level. Sure, that's a high bar, perhaps unfairly high, but somebody brought up the comparison.
     
  22. Confluence

    Confluence Well-Known Member

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    What was it? "If I have to motivate you..."
    I really like the post that said the coach "allows leaders to reveal themselves." Tomlin treats his players like men. Its up to the individual to take responsibility, no one is going to do that for them. So, its on the coach AND the players, not just the coach's fault if they have a showing like they did against the Jags last season. Disappointing yes, but I am looking for a less social media hyped locker room this year (we have learned some lessons the last few seasons). We may not be a "no fun", "fear based" organization like the Patriots, but I think we have learned some lessons and I am looking for a more disciplined, focused and prepared group this season. I am a glass is half full kind of guy.
     
  23. groutbrook

    groutbrook

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    I did. It was unrelated. ;+)
     
  24. Diamond

    Diamond Well-Known Member

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    Most underated coach who changed the NFL forever, yet he gets little praise for his coaching expertise:


    1. Weeb Ewbank won two of the most important, legendary games in football history: the so-called Greatest Game Ever Played (the 1958 Colts-Giants NFL championship) and Super Bowl III (his AFL Jets defeating Don Shula's heavy-favorite Colts).

      Ewbank doesn't get much credit for those wins. The 1958 game is talked about in hushed whispers for its impact on pro football's popularity, for the advent of sudden-death overtime and for the sheer number of Hall of Famers on the field that day (including Ewbank, but not headlined by him). Super Bowl III is all about Joe Namath and guarantees, even though Ewbank was instrumental in developing the run-heavy game plan that led to the Jets upset.

      Ewbank was self-effacing and soft-spoken with the media, so his coaching never brought attention to itself. He coached the Jets and Colts through many forgettable years before and after the championships, in part because the Jets were a shoestring operation when he arrived, but also in part because Ewbank was more methodical and meticulous than brilliant.

      But if Ewbank's Colts had laid an egg in front of the New York media and a national television audience in 1958, pro football's popularity may never have gotten the jump-start that made it what it is today. And if his Jets were hammered by the Colts, the Super Bowl might not be the spectacle it is today, and the NFL-AFL merger would not have been as smooth as it was.

      Ewbank won a pair of games that changed the game. Only a handful of the coaches ranked above him can make a similar boast.
     
    • Informative Informative x 1
  25. mac daddyo

    mac daddyo Well-Known Member

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    I like our chances better now with the addition of these new coaches. I do think Bradley, Drake and Dunbar along with munchak, Daniels and Saxon and fitchner have the respect of the players in their rooms to motivate and lead their groups.
    These are fine seasoned coaches. I do think it will go a long way in the leadership of their players even without the head man. Now butler, porter, Smith, MT don't strike me as having the know how to garner that same motivational respect from the players. Olsavsky I'm not sure about. The first group mentioned though , at least to me will have they're players wanting to perform for them because of the preparation style they coach those players with. The respect they garner will make leaders come ready to play.

    I see a better product coming the more MT surrounds himself with quality coaches like this. I believe he will get the credit for the respect and effort and leadership those players actually gain from these respected position coaches. The DC and LBer room isn't there yet, nor are the STs. I think these other coaches will make MT look a lot better than he actually is.

    We have seen what munch can do with starters and backups.
    We have seen Daniels improve average TEs.
    We have seen what Mann did with the WRs as a group and the talk about Drake continuing that.
    I like the talk coming from the DL group about Dunbar so far.
    I like the talk coming from the DB group about Bradley so far.
    I like the talk about fitchners offense making suttle improvements over wackadoodle and the players buying in.
    I like the drive of our RBs with Saxons coaching (even with Bell) but the guys behind him have played well.


    The LBers, not so much.
    The STs seem very inconsistent.
    The DBs under lake very inconsistent.
    The defense as a whole has been inconsistent.

    Much will yet to be seen in a couple of areas this year but so far the position coaches have and will make this a better team as a whole despite MT.

    The improvement is there to be seen and the deficiency's are also quite evident. At least to me. A couple of more changes and we will have that leadership driven team we have desired not because of the head guy but intelligence of these teachers and motivators around him.:cool:
     
    • Agree Agree x 1

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