I miss character

I have been a Steelers fan since the glory days in the 70s. One reason I was attracted, other than being born and raised in the 'burgh, was the team always seemed to have players of character. Not all of them, for sure, but a core with character. Rocky Bleier, Franco Harris, Lynn Swann, and others in the good ol' days, and Hines Ward, Jerome Bettis, Troy Polamalu, Heath Miller, Charlie Batch and others in more recent history. As Hines and Charlie have left, and Troy and Heath will be aging out soon, I do not see their type of player currently on the roster to step in. Not so much the athlete, but the person you could root for and cheer on. Maybe some of the youngsters will develop into those players of character, but right now they seem to be a group of characters. Taunting, too much celebrating, no clear passion for the team game. Something is missing.

I know my view is distorted, and sure people like Hines have had their problems, but the team seems to lack a certain something that I characterized as Steelers football, that made me proud to be a fan, and gave me people to really root for.

Maybe I am just old.

 

When you get 125 penalty yards you usually dont win the game. The players dont Care/respect Tomlin anymore so they Continue to make stupid mistakes..

 

As you stated in your thread SA, for us
old timers, not too may players look like
old Steeler players of past. AB is about the only one. Unless there is a change, I think we will
being seeing this for sometime.Disappointing.

 

No discipline--

 

I agree with the vibe here. This team isn't a "team" at all at this point. We have a whole bunch of "me" going on every game and the team lacks any kind of identity. Players are not held accountable for anything, ranging from straight up bad playing to drawing incredibly stupid penalties for no reason. Just bums me out.

 

Yep, this just isn't the same Steelers team I grew up watching. We're different. It's not just the losses that bum me out, it's the whole package. This team doesn't remind me of a Steelers team at all

 

That's because at the heart of it, Tomlin doesn't really represent anything the Steelers stand for.

He's as selfish and self-promoting and arrogant as any of the players. It's all an act with him and the players see right through the facade. They are all laughing at us thinking Tomlin is some sort of high-character guy and how he manipulates the media and fans.

I don't buy his garbage anymore. He's a terrible coach and nothing is going to convince me otherwise.

You know what made Steelers football? Good coaching.

 

Yes AB does have a ton of talent and can be a great wr but his endzone antics are out of control. I don't think his maturity is close. Every time he scores he acts like he just won the Super Bowl and does his ridiculous dance or gyrating or whatever. Whenever he scores I have mixed feelings because i am happy that he scored but I am also waiting for a flag and a 15 yard penalty for his endzone nonsense. He needs to stop with this crap, but It is not going to stop unless Tomlin gets control and at this point I don't think Tomlin can get control.

Bell is another one. Every first down he has to make the first down signal and he got a taunting penalty for it. Then later in the game he did it again by putting his hand in the face of a Tampa Bay player and he slapped Bell's hand down. I was waiting for another taunting penalty. Correct me if I am wrong on this but isn't this why he got the taunting penalty?

 

The taunting penalty wasn't from signaling first down, I don't believe. It was from going beyond that to jawing with the guy that just tackled you....on an 0-3 team.... that was LEADING at the time....Lots of players like to signal first down (although you'd hope that they get enough of them where they don't feel they need to do it EVERY SINGLE TIME).

There are emotions to playing a football game I will never understand....words being said, cheap shots, etc.....but when you're in the process of getting embarrassed at home by an (arguably) inferior opponent, I'm wondering what you say.... "Hey check me out....we're nearly as good as you?" "I can almost beat yo mama at football?" "I have more football skill in my whole body than you have in your little finger?"

 

Folks the HC is in over his head, he is positional coach at best.

 

Okay thanks for correcting me I thought it was a hands in the face kinda thing. Yes I know lots of players do it but Bell does it every single time and it looks ridiculous especially when their losing.

 

I agree with this and it makes me sad.

 

yes. I could not care less. Kiesel can get penalized for his bow and arrow move just as easily as AB and his drop to the ground.

 

I don't understand this comment.

 

It's not unique to Tomlins team. A lot of fans don't understand that we're in a transition period much like 1998-2000. The same people who wanted to mortgage the farm to keep our Super Bowl team together are the same ones complaining in a lot of cases.
Much like the one that want the rookies to start and say "deal with the growing pains" only to rip them to shreds on here when they mess up.
Patience people !

 

I'm tired of some of AB antics afterwards he said he didn't know falling down and spinning the ball was a penalty. Well now he knows and he needs to act like he's been there before. Bell and AB with that stupid first down crap where they hold the ball out, just get back to the huddle especially when your team is struggling.

 

I agree we have a lot of great players on the offense and defense but penalties come down to two things us being undisciplined and the NFL wanting 100 points a game. We can't fix goodel, he's and idiot but we can fix our discipline. I would start fining players or suspending them for committing the same penalty over and over. Our coaches have no leadership which is weird because DL has been a great leader for 50 years what the heck happened?

 

Thanks TTF. Glad I get to see it again now that my blood is not boiling anymore. Lmao that's too funny I am glad he slapped his arm down like that, he looks like an even bigger fool now that they lost.

 

I here ya Glenn. I am okay with the growing pains but it's the constant antics I have a problem with. I would rather have them celebrate the win and not things like first downs. This just doesn't feel like a Steelers team to me anymore because of the lack of discipline. Way too many penalties for non sense. I really miss Cowher spitting all over the players.

 

didn't know this :Opponents have scored on first possession of each half in every game this season against Steelers defense. 5 TDs, 3 FGs.

 

It would be nice if our players could handle themselves the way Heath Miller does after a play. The man acts like he's been there before and will be back again. All the celebration garbage especially when you are losing to a bad team is lame. And I agree, this is not the Steelers team I grew up following. Not even close. I'm wondering if the NFL has passed some of us long time fans by. It sure feels that way now days.

 

character is not a problem, we have many of them.