Colin Cowherd Saying Tomlin is hurting Steelers..

This is eye opening

Noll’s Steelers don’t get “upset.” In their eight playoff years (1972-79), the Steelers’ record against teams with records below .500 is 59-1; until the Bengals upset them in 1979, they were 56-0.

http://mmqb.si.com/2014/06/17/chuck-noll-pittsburgh-steelers-coach-man-not-myth

 

I've had a similar take on Tomlin for some time now. He's a really good coach (top 10 in my opinion) but he seems to make the same mistakes over and over... Clock management, challenge flag decisions, lack of in game adjustments, second half timeout usage to name a few. But as you said he's a heck of lot better than anyone available right now.

 

Wow that's a stat I've never knew about.... Impressive

 

Wasn't Cowher's record 108-1-1 while winning by 7 points or more?



This definitely reflects that Tomlin just isn't in the same class as Noll and Bill when it comes to Steelers performance over time.

 

If you go 8-8 and don't make the playoffs I consider it a losing season. Come on Glenn from day one when these guys step onto the field we(fans, ownership, players and coaches) expect super bowl. Now the chances of making the super bowl is slim to none but that is the expectations here, you know that. We have been blessed for a very long time to have a team full of talent. To go 8-8 with this group imo is a losing season.

Now this thread kinda went on a hate/blame Tomlin path, I can remember a lot of people hating Cowher when he had some pretty bad losses. I am not a Tomlin fan He makes some crazy calls but hey if they work out it would be a different story, we all would be singing his praises. My beef with Tomlin is how our D is going backwards, and like I said before he came here being a defensive coach. I am by no mean blaming him I am just trying to figure out why, is he trying to change the style and out talent don't match the system? Is our talent not as talented as we think and if so who the heck is picking these guys?

I think injuries and suspensions have hurt this team from really being a dynasty. There are no easy games in the NFL but sorry there are games we should win cause we are a more talented team. Our coaching STAFF is weak in the game adjustment department, and with each passing year and more youth on the defensive side of the ball our defense keeps going backward. One game that may be a good example as to why people feel this way about Tomlin is a few years ago when we lost to the Dolphins at home in the snow........imo this is a game we should not lose.

Sorry I went of a bit from the 8-8 talk but just got caught up in the thread. A 8-8 season may not be a losing season for say the Jet or Bills but it is for us, jmo.

 

I am indifferent on Tomlin. I think those calling for his firing are being reactionary, whereas those sainting him at the top of the league have blinders on. As usual, it's somewhere in between. There are good things and bad with Tomlin all in the same trait.

Example: Tomlin is a young HC and should improve in the role, this is a good thing. But he has not shown much progression with his time management and replay decisions. All burdens on the HC and this is a bad thing. Especially with 2 ex HC's on the roster where he can seek advice.

Secondly, he definitely relates well to the players and they love to play for him, a very good thing. Conversely, he has shown a propensity to rely on veterans who are clearly not up to the task. This has been improving however (esp on defense) and the input from the coordinators may have influence that we will never know. Overall through his career this is trending to the positive and he is playing the guys physically and mentally suited.

Team motivation: The good is that they seem to get up for tough games. (except the SB vs GB imo where they were as flat as can be in the beginning). The bad is they play down to their opponents. Tough to argue on either end for me because so much is unknown as to the preparation the week before. But I lean towards the view that this is a negative on the HC. I think back to my college coaches and what they did to prepare us for weaker teams and I am at a loss for how the Steelers are consistently a Jekyll and Hyde team.

The fourth trait I was going to go into was football IQ, but it would be pure speculation on my part. So I'll just give my opinion which is what the message board is for. He knows his Xs and Os for sure, you don't become HC of an NFL team if you don't. However I don't think this is his strength. He relys on his coordinators and has said so in the past. He seems to be more of an organizer, getting his players and coaching staff in line rather than dictating a specific style (ala calling the plays himself). This isn't a negative, teams need a guy in charge to get everything set for everything else to fall in place. Either way, I have no idea how he fares in this regard. Is he calling the shots behind the scenes or are Haley and Butler given full reign over their respective units.

Bottom line is that Cowherd doesn't know and we don't know the full story either. But what is known, is that Tomlin is not beyond criticism but his track record is not justified for firing either.

 

You can look at it whatever way you want. Let's be clear:

Not Tomlin's fault: A missed tackle, a blown coverage, a fumble, an overthrow, a drop, even some penalties.
Coach T's fault: bad gameplan, clock management, lack of adjustments, conservative approach (blitzes, run vs pass, 4th down decisions)

You can look at all of the above both, players and coaches, doing damage to our team and losing games.

When evaluating a Coach, the issue also is: how many times do great gameplans, adequate clock management, precise adjustments, good calls regarding 4th down decisions, agresiveness, etc, have won games for us?

I've been a Tomlin supporter, but struggle to find a clear answer to the last question.

 

I think Tomlin generally delegates playcalling to Haley and Ben when we are in the no huddle. I think when Tomlin steps in is to ok a play when we are going for it on 4th and short or faking a fg or punt and things like that. I think on defense he probably would tell Butler what he wants on a 4th down play or goal line stuff. There have actually been times over the years where Tomlin would say after games that he called certain plays in certain situations but generally delegated to BA, Dick, Haley, and Butler. I just think it's kinda ironic that Tomlin always comes out and "takes responsibility" for every loss but half the fans are like "YEAH RIGHT! IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT EVER!" LOL! My personal favorite Tomlin game is probably when we beat the rats with Charlie. It's not that he "outcoached" Harbaugh on that specific day. I just think that he totally outclassed him on getting his team ready for that day. My LEAST favorite Tomlin games would be the rats game where Lefty was OBVIOUSLY (to borrow a phrase from a certain someone...) but Tomlin straight up refused to put in Charlie and we wound up losing. I still maintain to this day that Charlie gave us the best chance to win with Lefty hurt early. The other two games would be the Cleveland game in about zero degree temps and we throw the ball 50 times and lose to Brady Quinn (I think he was the qb on their merry go round that night) or the SF game when BEN was on ONE FOOT and they still let him play. Not that our backups would have won the game but that just seemed HIGHLY reckless to me. Which I guess leads me to one thing I think Tomlin sometimes suffers from and that is stubbornness.

 

Great Gameplan: 2011 Pats game at home. Brady was mad as a wet hen.
Adjustments: 2008 against the rats on MNF when the fans booed us in to the locker room at the half and we came out and beat them down.
Good calls: The Colts game where Ben threw 6 and Haley dialed one up to get Spaeth free and Ben to throw number 6. Also the Harrison SB INT when he faked coverage and took it the other 99 for maybe the greatest play in SB history. Warner was TOTALLY fooled on that play. Not necessarily a "4th down decision" but certainly a timely call which is basically the same in the grand scheme.
Aggressiveness: See SD MNF game climax...

All of those plays I say "won games for us". Now let's talk about all the stupid stuff we've seen him do. LOL!

 

That was all JH92. Not a coaches call.

 

I thought that was how they dialed it up. I didn't know that. If Warner had read it and avoided it and found an open man and scored there then it would be Tomlin's fault though. LOL!

 

IIRC, JH92 recalled that play from a practice earlier in the week and took a gamble. Boy did it pay off.

 

Yeah and an unsung element of that play was all the blocking that helped get him from one end of the field to the other. It wasn't just "all" Harrison. Plus hats off to the great Larry Fitzgerald for his Don Beebe-esque moment in almost chasing him down. Seems like I saw something once where Tomlin talked about how they practiced blocking for INT returners and how that he was really proud of the way they led the brigade for Harrison that night. It's a toss up for me as to which play got me the most pumped up between that one or the Holmes catch but in some ways it might be the Harrison play because I was so disgusted that I thought we were gonna let them score and then the total emotional roller coaster of having my disgust turned in to absolute joy in a matter of a few seconds. However, if you put a gun to my head I might pick the Holmes play just because it was the ultimate nail in the coffin to give us 6 and it also came at a crucial time because I thought Fitz and Warner had stolen the game on a busted coverage. Awesome game no matter how you look at it. EASILY one of the best Super Bowls of all time.

 

I guess my biggest question is how has he done without big ben?

 

They're 11-10, including the pats game.

 

This point seemed to get overlooked, when it seemed a slightest better stat than the usual one bandied about...

Still not a Noll record by any stretch, but not a lot of coaches have those.

 

it was a great play and I have heard and read that it was Harrison reading the play and going against the call by coaches. this is a great example of why you cant blame the coach as much as players. sure this play worked and probably won us the game BUT it begs the question if he had ever done it and it not worked.

I mean if players go of cuff and do their on thing, how can coaches be blamed for it?

 

Ben was on one leg going in and was stood up like a pinata and was clobbered all night. Serious? That's the best you got?

 

Maybe we need a former DB coach running the team.

Oh, wait...

 

Nonsense strawman argument.

"Not buttoned up" is the perfect description of the last few years. Guys missing meetings, Blount acting out, guys getting suspended, getting dumb personal foul/unsportsmanlike after another with the coach actually encouraging them ("judge it"), AB seemingly more focussed on marketing his image than playing.

All point to a lack of respect for leadership. I mean, Blount and Bell showed up for a business trip stoned. Would you even think of doing that with your boss? If so, he's more your buddy than your boss.

Throw in the inconsistent play and you have a serious problem at the top, if you will.

 

Tell me about the players who have missed meetings under Pete Carrol's tenure. Does Terrel Owens acting out, reflect on Andy Reid as a coach? I guess Von Miller's suspension showed how poorly coached the Super Bowl bound Broncos were.

Once again, yinzers prove the vacuum they live in.

 

IMO, Ben has to shoulder the blame in most of the losses. He couldn't hit the broad side of a barn in a lot of them

 

Frustrating, I agree.

I'm pretty sure that every team in the league has these issues though.

 

This game is still stuck in my craw!