Do you have a problem with what Tomlin said?

So I am watching "Inside the NFL" and they bring up something Tomlin said about everyone knowing the AFC will come down to Pgh vs. Pats. They were saying how bad this was, as all the other teams on the Steelers' remaining schedule would get fired up by this statement. Boomer said, "They still have to play Cincinnati, how are they going to feel about this statement?"

So, I am sitting there pretty ticked about Tomlin's poor leadership, thinking no wonder the team is rarely prepared to play bad teams. Tomlin is stupid when it comes to allowing the team to be unfocused vs. bad/injured/QB-less teams. I couldn't believe the stupidity of making a statement like this; Hoodie or Brady wouldn't be caught dead saying ANYTHING like this.

But, then I looked it up. Did he really ever say anything like the guys in ITNFL said he did?

http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/tomlin-fine-hyping-steelers-showdown-patriots-51419068

I didn't see it. Am I missing something?

If he said anything near "Everyone knows it will come down to Pgh and Pats" I would be ticked, but I don't see it.

 

I found a bunch of the interview he did with Dungy yesterday. To be honest it’s much ado about nothing in my opinion. He basically said the Steelers have the talent, depth etc to win it all. He also said the upcoming game against the patriots is possibly a preview of a playoff game. He’s not exactly going out on limb with that one. The Steelers and patriots are the two best teams in the AFC. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that they see one another again.

 

It ain't what he says, it's what he does, that matters. And by that, I mean you cannot play zone defense against Tom Brady.

 

Before the 1st sb between giants and pats...the perfect season...buncha giants players wore a black tux, they asked him why are you all wearing black, they said we are going to bradys funeral. ..that's way worse than what Tomlin said....He is just feeding confidence into his team..

 

lol, never heard that before.

 

https://www.google.com/amp/radio.cb...-us-we-would-end-patriots-perfect-season/amp/

 

I have no problem with what MT said but I hope that he doesn't focus so far ahead that it creates a trap game against the Bengals and Ravens. The way he stated it though is that this team needs to keep playing the way they are capable of and things will work out that it will come down to the Pats Vs. Steelers to decide the number 1 seed. This tells me that it is important to him to have home field advantage throughout the playoffs. For that reason, I have no problem with what he said.

Of coarse the over opinionated talking heads will use the next 2 weeks to and spin it every which way but loose.

 

The media is doing what they always do.
Blowing it out of proportion.

 

Specially nfl network ,where they kiss pats rear 24/7..

 

No problem at all. Mark of good leadership. Pretty sure Noll said the same thing back in the day. You have to talk like that so your players know you have confidence in their ability. Of course the games still have to be played however this is a much better mindset then not believing you can win championships

 

I don't think any team or coaching staff lives in a bubble focused entirely on the very next opponent. I would think the players would be more focused on the next opponent, watching film of players' "tells", weaknesses, strenghs, tendencies etc. On their Monday off day they may take a look at the upcoming schedule and think about what teams are down the line and the scenarios involved, but I would bet they are not practicing during the week focused on players they will be facing in 3 weeks.

The coaching staff, on the other hand, has to look at the overall picture. That's their job. I would hope they are looking at future opponents to help with game plans, player usage, all sorts of decisions are probably made with the next 2 or 3 opponents in mind. Are they going to implement a game plan for an opponent other than the one next Sunday? Of course not, but they may add in more no-huddle slowly game by game because they want to see how the players respond so it will be effective for an upcoming big game. Just an example, I'm sure there's more of those type scenarios that are more common than we know. I would think those talks are kept within the coaches room and not communicated to the players, just to keep them focused, but in staff meetings it may be a different story.

I don't think the comments are a big deal. It's not like they are going to wake up one Monday morning and then look at the schedule, and be like "oh Patriots week". They know and they have a pulse of the NFL and who is more than likely going to be in the playoffs.

 

His comments make it sound as if he may be a little obsessed with the Patriots.

In all seriousness, I didn't like what he said but it's not the end of the world. What concerns me more is that the defense doesn't appear to be a fundamentally sound, disciplined and cohesive unit and can't establish any true consistency. The safety play is atrocious, Artie's living up to his last name, Bud Dupree looks lost, Shazier is a freak but plays out of control and undisciplined at times and they make quarterbacks they should dominate easily look like All-Pros. They are far from being ready for Brady and they may not be ready for Dalton or Flacco over the next couple of weeks. I have no confidence in Tomlin or Butler to design a defensive gameplan that would minimize Brady's effectiveness. I have ZERO confidence in Joey Porter as a LB coach and have been disappointed with Carnell Lake as a DB coach. I don't think anybody on our coaching staff can match wits with Belichick and his staff. Our athletes are superior to their athletes, and that may, may be enough if we can keep it close and AB, Bell and Ben can deliver late. I think the offense will need to put up a minimum of 38 points because I don't see our D stopping Brady and his ragtag band of slow white guys and former Lacrosse players.

I hope, and I truly mean this, that I have to eat every single word I just typed! Go Steelers!

 

Personally I love Mike Tomlin, he’s like a cheerleader but better. That time he thumped his chest vs the broncos got me all fired up

 

The man finally sets aside the coachspeak and cliches and has an honest conversation with a man he respects. They talk about real football and what could really happen. And people are losing their minds about this?

 

Perhaps our team gets lazy when they aren't under pressure so coach decided to add some.

 

According to the article that WW linked to, what he said exactly was: "Everybody knows the NE game is big, and so we can't deny that." Or something very similar.

Doesn't sound particularly obsessive. There may have been more, I guess. But more likely the media just wants to hype the game up a bit more and create some aggro between the two teams.

It's like the Anthony Smith comment from way back, but at least then he actually said it.

 

You mean to tell me that just because a number of fans on here believe we can't beat the Patriots, MT can believe we could win that game. What is he smoking? He needs to read this message board immediately, so he can see that we have already lost that game. I love coming here and reading what most of you have to say, but sometimes I see stuff that makes me wonder if I'm on an episode of the Twilight Zone!

 

I'm not falling for that crap anymore. I decided after last year's results vs. Patriots that I'll NEVER get my hopes up for the Steelers to do anything productive against the Patriots. As long as Brady is QB and Belichick is HC for Patriots, I have no confidence in the Steelers coaching staff to game plan accordingly to give the Steelers superior talent (minus QB) any chance of victory. You people are welcome to wear your rose-colored glasses and drink the Kool Aid. Bottom line is: The Patriots play chess and the Steelers play checkers. This matchup is so lop-sided in favor of the Patriots it's not even funny. The Steelers are flying a burning plane.

 

Another (the patriots are great) reply from the not sure if he is full of mustard or full of that stuff thats in a babies diaper......

 

The Patriots are not that great... just great against the Steelers. Truth so pure.

 

I wasn't going to respond but somehow I let myself get pulled in. Good thing you love the Steelers as much as anyone. I would hate to see what you would say if you really didn't like the Steelers. Why do I have to be wearing rose colored glasses or drinking the Kool-Aid just because I choose to believe our team can win any game? Do you suppose people like me might dislike those kinds of labels as much as you dislike being called a Patriots fanboy? I would go out on a limb and tell you the argument for your label is more compelling than the one made for rose colored glasses or Kool-Aid...I mean this is a Steelers fan message board, right? Somehow every thread on here turns from a Steelers thread to a "we can't beat the Patriots" thread and it is usually the same suspects directing the current. Once in a while, it would be nice to read a thread about Cam being unstoppable without someone saying he would never be able to do that against the Pats. Yes, I know some of you believe we will never beat the Patriots. You have said it over and over and over...we get it. Maybe your time would be better spent on the Patriots message board talking about how bad they will beat the Steelers. Maybe they haven't heard it yet? I choose to believe that if we play our best game (which we should be doing every Sunday), we can win any game. I believe it because we are capable of it. I also believe that every other team is or should be trying to play their very best game, so anything can happen on any given Sunday (which it does). If every game's outcome was as expected Vegas would be filing for bankruptcy, and some teams should be forfeiting their games (like the Steelers against the Pats), and I don't see either of those things happening.

 

and you wanted MT to read this message board. well heinz is proof he does. he's secretly MT.

oh green font.

 

Thank you!

 

Nothing to see, just the media making a big deal for attention.

 

That was a solid post lol