How does Mike Tomlin compare to other NFL head coaches? There's no doubt the standard has fallen.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner. Well said. .

 

Steelers are still gonna get a whoopin' from Chiefs, Bengals and Bills if they don't upgrade the trenches....the big uglies. OL and DL.

 

I'm not worried about the Bills.

 

Perhaps you forgot the beating they put on the Steelers last season. Sure, the Steelers got better after that, but they still don't really have an answer for Allen.

 

Steelers have to strike gold with picks 17 and 32. OT and CB. It's the only way we can compete against Allen, Mahomes and Burrow.

 

Haven't forgotten. I'm just not that worried about that team. I see them as the team that we have seen at their very best, and that's it. They will not get better, but worse.
As I've said a million times on Here. I don't put Allen with Burrow, and Mahomes. He's good , and right now 3rd best, but IMO, a whole level below them.

 

The Bengals and Bills aren't that great in the trenches, in case you haven't noticed the Steelers are trying to upgrade the trenches, they signed the best guard in free agency. And they're doing their due diligence on OL/DL prospects in the draft.

 

They did a good job on Allen two years ago when they beat the Bills in the season opener.

 

We all know what Ben was capable of at his best. I don’t take that from him. I think that the argument for Ben being overrated is that he didn’t elevate his play and the play of those around him in the playoffs when it mattered most. He certainly failed to do so post 2010 when they started to build the team around him after the defense fell off. After the SB against the Packers Ben was 3-7 in the playoffs.

I don’t know if he was better than Phillip Rivers. He played on much better teams than Rivers did and they have very similar career stats. It’s reasonable to think that had Rivers had a better team and coaches around him, he would’ve had a better career.

 

Yeah, but last years game vs the Bills was a massacre. The game was over by the end of the 1st quarter.

 

Whack

 

Really ashamed how the Bill's didn't live up to expectations.

 

And make up for the swing and miss on Bush and Edmunds that have set us back while leaving holes with place holder players that also don’t meet first round (hopeful) caliber play.

 

Being a fan of North Carolina, growing up in Durham being 4 miles from Duke and 7 miles from UNC, the Tomlin criticism is a lot like the criticism that Roy Williams and Dean Smith would get. Dean coached for over 20 years before his first title and needed 11 more years to win his 2nd. Roy earned more chips in less time and players loved him but Tarheel nation was critical of his clock management. And like MT is compared to Reid and Belechek, Dean and Roy were seen as lacking when compared to Coach K. In retirement, Roy and Dean are seen as being all-time greats. Tomlin is a great coach but my guess is Tomlin won't be appreciated until he is gone. Haters gonna continue formulating these complicated arguments to illustrate why Tomlin is mediocre. All the while, the steelers will remain competitive in up and down years. I'm not trading my team or my team's coach based on these b.s. arguments.

 

I'm glad. I honestly think We will see a slightly down time for them for a few years. JMO

 

It was kind of expected though, rookie QB making his first start IIRC, no TJ and Minkah playing injured. I'm glad they don't play Buffalo this season, after them being on the schedule for four straight years, they seemed to have the Steelers number.

 

Your IQ is in the single digits. Sooooo

 

And yet here I am looking down at you

What do you want to be when you grow up

 

6 is right and they did it two years in a row. In my opinion Daniels was the best available guard in last year’s free agency. They recognized it was a major issue and they have made moves to address it.

 

I’ve read a lot of, if not all of your comments in this thread and while I don’t always agree by any means, but I often if not agree with your POV, I do see where you are sometimes are coming from and think at a minimum it’s interesting and worthy of debate.

I also think I’m reading quite a bit of context between the lines that neither you or others want to address. The elephant in the room. Why, I don’t know. I think it could be explored in a constructive mature way without getting dirty or explosive. If you don’t want to or feel it’s worth it, then I’ll stop here or we could just DM.

But what I really want to challenge you on here is that it seems you try to shift much/most of the criticism of Tomlin’s tenure toward Ben or the organization in nearly the same topics. And the funny thing is is that Tomlin IS such a major figure in the organization.

I would bet that Tomlin would respond to his critics with much different answers than you have, but also defend Ben, the organization, and his own use of Roethlisberger and the idea of how and why they built the team and scheme around him in opposition of your position. If I’m correct, then it would then be YOU criticizing Tomlin’s decisions and direction.

That would be an uncomfortable spot to be in and you can’t have it both ways.

So, do you think Tomlin would consider Ben a franchise QB? An all time great? Worthy of how the Steelers used and built around him?

Or behind closed doors and having a beer would he agree with you about Ben? I really want to know.

 

Respect but the elephant can’t be addressed here. I’ve tried to be frank regarding what I think the Tomlin hate is really about, but I was warned. It’s a cowardly position especially since Tomlin and the Steelers as an organization have dealt with the issue directly, but it is what it is. It’s not my board.

I think that much of the blame for the last 10 years or so is unfairly shifted on Tomlin when it’s really been about Ben not being as good as we all hoped. You say that you want to challenge me but you really didn’t counter my claim that Ben became overrated and failed to live up to the hype when it mattered most. Your counter is just to implicate Tomlin in the decision to build the team around Ben. Tomlin is a much bigger figure in the organization now than he was when they decided to build around Ben. I say that decision on Ben was over his head. Of course Tomlin would publicly defend Ben and the organization because that’s his job. He’s a company man.

I don’t know what Tomlin would/wouldn’t say in private or how he “really thinks”. He and Ben obviously have a good personal relationship so I’d expect him to defend Ben publicly or privately.

I’m not a Ben hater. He’s a hall of famer and undoubtedly an all time great Steeler. He literally left his arm on the field and I respect that to the utmost. Personally, I’m not bitter about how The last decade or so has played out. However, when I encounter the Tomlin haters segment of Steelers nation, I’ve got to keep it real.

The Tomlin hate is just something I don’t respect. It’s crazy that Tomlin gets so much more love and respect outside of the fan base than from within. Not just love from people working in media either. Tomlin is revered by players other coaches and execs. The justifications for the hate don’t add up. Let’s say I’m wrong and Tomlin is just as responsible for the underachievement during Ben’s prime as Ben, how do you explain why Ben never got the same hate? Why is Ben so much more beloved by the same crowd that parrots “fire Tomlin”? It’s the elephant.

 

Some of Us liked both equally. Tomlin, and Ben.....I don't blame either of them. It's hard to win SBs.
Don't lump everyone together. Sorry our Qb couldn't win You more SBs, and You think just because someone dislikes someone it must be about a hate thing, or Your Elephant.

 

I’ve learned recently that EVERY fan base has a segment that wants their coach fired. I spent a lot of time in Boston over the last five years and there is a TON of the same kind of griping about even Belichek up there.

I think it may be a product of fans watching every play call, every field position decision, every clock management issue, every challenge flag thrown, etc of their team and being overly critical because of their intense focus on their team.

I’m guilty of this myself even though I’m a huge Tomlin fan and don’t want him to go anywhere. I love the guy, but I’ve definitely said, “he should have challenged that call!” or “don’t burn the timeout now!”

I’m willing to bet there were even Duke fans that wanted Coach K to win more and were overly critical. Just my two cents.

 

I totally agree

 

I didn’t lump anyone together. I specifically talked about “Tomlin haters”.
I also said that I have no bitterness about not getting another SB in the Ben era. He just wasn’t good enough.

Team is being re-made in Tomlin’s image now so we’ll see.