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Ron Cook - When is the Steelers Way the wrong way

Discussion in 'Steelers Talk' started by mikeyg, Feb 4, 2023.

  1. mikeyg

    mikeyg Well-Known Member

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    ok - forget that it is Ron, many of you will quickly dismiss. Just read and use your own common sense. i find over time, that it is not that common.....



    Ron Cook: When is the ‘Steelers Way’ the wrong way?





    FEB 1, 2023

    Joe Starkey
    Joe Starkey: Has any quarterback tortured a team like Tom Brady did the Steelers?

    But is it working now?

    Has it worked for years?

    This is a juicy topic because of Gerry Dulac’s report in the Post-Gazette that Steelers president Art Rooney II is expected to give Tomlin another contract extension before next season.

    “I don’t really evaluate Mike on anything other than I’m glad he’s our coach,” Rooney told Steelers.com last week. “Hopefully he’ll be our coach into the future.”

    A contract extension for Tomlin now makes no sense for two reasons:

    One, Tomlin is signed through the 2024 season. Adding two years to his deal would take him through his 20th season with the Steelers. What is the rush to extend him? Why not wait until after next season to further evaluate not just him, but also his decision to make Kenny Pickett the team’s No. 1 draft choice last April and his much-more controversial decision to bring back Matt Canada as offensive coordinator?

    Would it really hurt to wait just a bit to extend Tomlin?


    Oh, that’s right, it’s the Steelers Way to extend the coach with two years left on his contract, his record be damned.

    That leads me to the second reason why a Tomlin extension now is pure nonsense:

    Tomlin’s recent record has not been good. It has been mediocre at best. The Steelers haven’t won a playoff game in six years going back to the win at Kansas City after the 2016 season. They have been blown out in their past four postseason games, giving up 42, 48, 45 and 36 points. They have won just three playoff games since their most recent Super Bowl appearance after the 2010 season. That’s three wins in 12 years. One of those wins was against a Matt Moore-led Miami team after the 2016 season. A second one came against Cincinnati after the 2015 season when the Bengals self-destructed with late, inexcusable penalties on Vontaze Burfict and Pacman Jones.

    Is it just me or has the Steelers Way failed miserably as of late?

    Don’t get me wrong. I am not advocating that Tomlin be fired. I just think it’s ridiculous to reward him again after the team has done so little for so long.

    Isn’t the Steelers Way supposed to stand for “Super Bowl or bust”?

    I still believe Tomlin is a good coach. The majority of his players like him and play hard for him. They never quit on him. They seemed to have good reason to give up on Tomlin this season after they started 2-6, but they hung in and hung together for him, finishing 9-8 by winning seven of their final nine games. That assured he would not have a losing season for the 16th consecutive year. That was important to the players.

    And to Rooney.

    The strong finish and Pickett’s development were enough to convince Rooney this was a good season despite the team failing to make the playoffs.

    “He gives us a chance to win, year in and year out, and put us in a position where we have a chance to compete for a championship,” Rooney told Steelers.com about Tomlin.

    I have to ask:

    Is that good enough?

    Hanging in the playoff chase until the final week or two of the season is one thing. It’s true, Tomlin does that every year. But what about the franchise’s stated goal each season of not just getting in the postseason, but winning a championship?

    When is the most recent time Tomlin had a team that you thought had a legitimate chance to win the Super Bowl?

    I’ll give you 2017 — maybe — when the Steelers went 13-3 before getting crushed at home by Jacksonville, 45-42, in their first playoff game. That was the day when Tomlin and his players got bit in the behind by looking ahead to their next potential game against New England. That game never happened.

    But 2020? I can’t go there. That team went 1-4 down the stretch after starting 11-0 and was blown out at home by Cleveland, 48-37, in its playoff game.

    And 2016? No. The Steelers made it to the AFC championship game behind 167- and 170-yard rushing days by Le’Veon Bell in playoff wins against Miami and Kansas City but were blown out by New England, 36-17. The eventual Super Bowl-champion Patriots were much the better team and would have won even if Bell hadn’t run out of gas because of a groin injury.

    You have to go back to the 2010 season for the Steelers’ best, most recent chance of winning a championship. Who knows? Maybe the team would have given Tomlin a second Super Bowl win if not for Rashard Mendenhall’s fumble in the fourth quarter. We’ll never know.

    What we do know is Tomlin and the Steelers have been stuck in a rut for a long time. I don’t see them climbing out any time soon with so many great quarterbacks on other AFC teams, including Joe Burrow in Cincinnati, Lamar Jackson in Baltimore and Deshaun Watson in Cleveland.

    Maybe you believe it will happen.

    Maybe you still believe in the Steelers Way.

    I know one thing:

    I don’t.
     
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  2. Busman

    Busman

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    Not a bad article. He makes some very valid points. There is no reason I can think of which makes sense to extend Tomlins contract any further than it has to be extended. I would argue this comment made by Rooney. Steelers are no longer a threat and do not win the big games you know the important ones. The ones they really need to win.

    “He gives us a chance to win, year in and year out, and put us in a position where we have a chance to compete for a championship,” Rooney told Steelers.com about Tomlin.
     
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  3. mac daddyo

    mac daddyo Well-Known Member

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    Deshaun Watson is a great qb? :cool:
     
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  4. Rollers

    Rollers Well-Known Member

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    That would remain to be seen in my view. But it's time for Tomlin to move on to something else. I think that's the point of the article. Will it happen? Nope. It will not.
     
  5. thorn058

    thorn058 Well-Known Member

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    The problem with this type of article is that while he makes a solid argument and yes common sense says it's right but can these things be applied to modern football. So let's say he isn't extended and this becomes a lame duck season and then the following season becomes at best a 50/50 that you have success and make a playoff run under a new head coach. Is that better? Tough to say since the overwhelming evidence in the league is that coaching changes are bad when it's not a good situation.

    To me it sounds like if you have a guy working at McDonalds who get the orders right every time with hot food and good service but is a little slower then an owner wants and so he fires the guy and brings in someone new that screws up orders and takes longer at first than the employee that got fired. Common sense says you shouldn't do that but it's more and more common.
     
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  6. Hanratty#5

    Hanratty#5 Well-Known Member

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    If Watson stinks it up next year like he did this one, then the Browns are really screwed. He had the excuse that he was rusty after sitting out for 2 years. He won't have that excuse next season. A bad sign is that he didn't knock any of the rust off in the 6 or 7 games he played. He was lousy week in and week out.
     
  7. steelersrock151

    steelersrock151 Well-Known Member

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    And outside of one season, Lamar Jackson hasn't lit up the NFL.
     
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  8. steelersrule6

    steelersrule6 Well-Known Member

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    The only QB to be concerned about in the AFCN is Burrow, we don't even know if Lamar will be with the Ravens long term.
     
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  9. james weyandt

    james weyandt Well-Known Member

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    Steelers way is punishing fans with hope then destroying our hopes wiith mediocrity
     
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  10. mikeyg

    mikeyg Well-Known Member

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    yes, for now, in the AFCN

    AFC in general, is much more daunting.

    he argues from a 10 year history, and there is NO REASON to rush to a Tomlin extension. I had a thread mid-season, called ' 2 re-builds'. One is going on now, the other when we let go of or fire Tomlin, which, I still contend, should occur.

    unless you like being average.

    i don't

    change hurts, but has to happen. doing the same thing and expecting different results is how they define insanity
     
  11. steel machine

    steel machine Well-Known Member

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    This gave me a good laugh. Not your post but due to painting our computer is where everybody can see what you are doing. Friend walked by and saw this and said next years SB will be Rams/Browns. Watson vs Mayfield;)
     
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  12. thorn058

    thorn058 Well-Known Member

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    You see the irony in this statement right?
     
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  13. steel machine

    steel machine Well-Known Member

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    I agree. Even if we get by him the AFC has other great QB's. At the present moment in time I wish we were in the NFC. Never thought I'd see the day the last draft pick and a rookie would be a starting QB in the NFCCG.
     
  14. steelersrule6

    steelersrule6 Well-Known Member

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    Well Josh Allen and Justin Herbert are good QBs, but they still have a lot to prove in the playoffs.
     
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  15. steel machine

    steel machine Well-Known Member

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    I agree with them 2 but Mahomes is proven and that guy in Jacksonville may have had a rocky start to his career but he will get better. With the right pieces in place Jaguars could be added to the list of landmines Kenny has to dodge. How it will turn out I have no idea but I am confident that Kenny won't back down or be intimidated.
     
  16. mikeyg

    mikeyg Well-Known Member

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    i am slow sometimes, what is the irony? We need to change - we need to break it apart to fix it, surgery, if you will. but it won't happen, b/c as Ron contents, alludes to - Rooney is the problem. We are stuck here for a while...
     
  17. mikeyg

    mikeyg Well-Known Member

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    they will be there often. we have lots to prove too, in the playoffs. Ben did also .... he had lots to prove for many year and HE and TOMLIN failed miserably (again - their last 10-12 years together). that is all part of the big point Ron is making.
     
  18. thorn058

    thorn058 Well-Known Member

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    The definition of insanity is exactly what you are doing. Performing the same act over and over again expecting a different result.
     
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  19. Blast Furnace

    Blast Furnace Staff Member Mod Team

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    The problem with articles like this is it ignores the failure rate of teams that change coaches like their socks.

    Like it or not, SB success largely comes down to the players and one position in particular, QB.

    NE won a ton because they had Brady. KC is hot now because of Mahomes. Who are the other teams going to the SB regularly?

    More important than Tomlin is if Pickett will be that guy. Then we will start getting to the playoffs again.

    I’m not saying coaching doesn’t matter because it does and I do my share of complaining about it but usually thats in the immediate aftermath of a loss. When the dust settles I’m usually more level headed.

    I want to see what Tomlin can do with his guy. For years he was dismissed because he won with “Cowhers players”, well now he no longer has Ben, he picked his guy, team rebuild is in full swing. No more excuses this is his team now, I want to see how it goes.
     
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  20. Busman

    Busman

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    Hope KFP can make a difference but I don't see this team being much better next year and likely will repeat their 9-8 ways. This team seems so lost it's ridiculous.
     
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  21. CK 13

    CK 13 Well-Known Member

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    I agree not to extend Tomlin. He has two years left. They get into the playoffs and win at least one then extend him. That should be in play.
     
  22. JackAttack 5958

    JackAttack 5958 Well-Known Member

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    The Steelers way is the wrong way when the team has gone well over a decade without being serious post season contenders in spite of having some of the most exceptional talent in the league for several of those years. It’s time to take a hard look at process and philosophy and make the appropriate changes. Rooney comes across as almost lethargic and oblivious in his post season remarks. I’m not saying blow the entire thing up and start from scratch, but strategic changes need to be made. The Steelers had the perfect opportunity to bring in a creative offensive mind to work with Pickett and the other young and talented players on that offense but instead stayed the course with an OC who’s presided over one of the most ineffective offenses in the league the last two years.
     
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  23. hmmmmm

    hmmmmm Well-Known Member

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    Hmmmm people on here say man teams change coaches like they change socks and never win. Ok keep Tomlin 50 years and never win. Did that somehow make it better? Spare me the “he already won”. That was a team he inherited. If you are waiting for this dope to build a 14-3 team that makes it to the AFC Championship game you may die of old age first.
     
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  24. hmmmmm

    hmmmmm Well-Known Member

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    Yep.
     
  25. Michael E

    Michael E Well-Known Member

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    We had Ben for a long time and Tomlin and his staff let us down, year after year. I feared playing the Patriots for 8 years running because I knew how much better Belichick and his staff were, compared to our HC Tomlin. If Belichick was varsity, Tomlin was junior varsity. Yes Brady was better (more committed and studious) than Ben, but the game planning was so bad that it seemed the Patriots knew EXACTLY what plays the Steelers were running on offense. Defense we stuck to a zone, year after year, even though Brady LOVED picking apart zones and was much less effective against man coverage that threw off timing routes over the middle.

    The hope around here is that Pickett nearly as good as Ben. So what is the likely outcome if he isn't at least as good as Ben or better?

    Yep, same stuff, lots of .500 seasons, missed playoffs, made playoffs and quick exit, etc.

    If Pickett is solid to above average, unless we have an otherworldly defense, we aren't real contenders with Tomlin leading weekly poor game planning parades. I agree that flipping coaches could become a problem like quite a few franchises have had, but honestly I don't worry about that with any Rooney in charge, this is the last Franchise to needlessly and endlessly cycle through HC/OC/DC.

    We need new energy and new game plans at the helm. Tomlin is stale. I don't care if players like to play for him, so what, if the planning and playcalling sucks, you can love the coach all you want, but you're setup to fail, at least against above average/contending teams (i.e. playoffs...if you can even get the last wild-card).
     
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