Tomlin and his staff

LOL! I FIGURED you would almost break your wrist to vehemently deny this!

 

I guess I just don't get the whole Kool aid thing. So if I don't think the Steelers have a chance to be great this year do I just stop watching now to avoid being accused of drinking the Kool aid?
Should I just stop rooting for and following them since they look bad in the preseason and had an 8-8 season last year?
Should I continue to point out their every flaw over and over as so when they suck this season I can say I told you so?

Should I not be excited for the upcoming season because I may get disappointed ?

After all if I enjoy myself and root for and support my favorite team I may get labeled as a homer and an uneducated fan.
Is it better to attack everyone with this Kool aid nonsense just so I can save face when the Steelers stink it up this year?
Guess I'm just a Kool aid Drinking Rose colored glasses wearing Homer and I'm proud of it.

 

Well, I'm not discounting them yet but I just wish they can put together one drive that looks like they have a purpose. Maybe they need to script their plays. But it doesn't even look like they practice during the week. And what do they practice on? I know its preseason but we just don't look like a cohesive unit.

Maybe with the limit amount of practice time because of the CBA it takes longer to get in the groove.

If I can see one drive with the starters, just one where they don't look like a bunch of misfits I would feel better. But it starts with the offensive line. We have to get this group together and spend more time training them, coaching them, teaching them or even bringing in a consultant. Whatever we have to do it starts with these guys. Cause the starting 5 isn't good (they may become great) but not there yet of what I seen in these last two games. And if any of them get hurt we are doomed.

Right now I would love to have Starks, Colon and Kemo back right now. Because our oline looks soft. They got push around like a wet paper bag. Even though Colon was injury proned and Kemo made stupid mistakes at the wrong time, you didn't push them around or intimdate them. Gilbert and Adams look like they are scared out there.

 

Starks missed a pass block as usual, and Rivers was blindsided in their last game, which ended up in a sack fumble turnover, they were lucky Phil didn't get seriously injured, starks is still the same old slow motion blocker he always was, and the chargers are soon going to wish they didn't pick him up, when he ends rivers season this year they will figure out they shouldn't listen to whisenhunt when he pimps a former steeler player...

 

Tomlin and his staff

 

You guys can argru all you want about this team. I t all comes down to how good Big Ben plays. If he plays good we score alot of points. If he plays half-ash, which he has been known to do, we don't score many points and leave it up to a weak defense to hold a one point lead or pull outa win altogether. Its all on Giant
Ben's shoulders. Next case.

 

The thing that gets me about Tomlin and his staff is Ben has never had a good offensive line except what was left over from Cowher. Here Ben has been playing for Tomlin for years and for years he has had no protection, he runs around back there running for his life but Tomlin and his coaching staff just give lip service and never seem to be able to correct that situation. Yeah I like Tomlin as a person but as a coach he has a lot to be desired as far as I am concerned. I look at other franchise QBs and they stay on their feet, in fact Brady and Manning don't even get their uniforms dirty in most games......Yeah I know Ben runs around a lot but still he needs better protection and the team doesn't provide that for him, so I have to point the finger at Tomlin and his staff.

 

I would say that is only partially true. While the offensive lines we've had over the last few years haven't been great by an stretch of the imagination at least part of the problem falls on Ben's shoulders. Ben takes a significant number of hits and sacks solely due to his backyard style and penchant for hanging onto the football. People say Brady could never play behind this line, but Brady get's rid of the football in less than 3 seconds on just about every play. Look at Ben's injuries over the last two seasons, both of them have come after the 5-6 second mark.

 

my exact thoughts.

 

We never score a lot of points with Roethlisberger. (to me a lot of points is in the mid 30's). We win by the defense allowing fewer points than the offense scores.

 

Did Ben score a lot of points last year? If he did I don't remember it, he had 26 TDs last year, by most QB standards that's not considered a lot of points, he did score enough pick six points for the other teams that cost us some wins, but his eratic play needs to be toned down, that screen pick six he threw against the skins this week was about as eratic an amature as it can get by a supposedly 10 year pro.....

 

You might be correct about Starks but he loved Ben and put an extra effort in protecting him. Him and Ben was close and that added to his determination in protecting him.

 

I actually am in the middle of the road here. I do not think Tomlin is a great coach. He is ok. He really actually doesn't do all that much honestly. He let's the coordinators do their jobs, which I think is appropriate. Each of those coordinators has their own issue. Including the beloved DL. LeBeau is great, don't get me wrong. But his scheme has not changed and any business needs to innovate as time moves forwrad., The #1D ranking is skewed to be sure. Don't give up the big play is his mantra. And it works. And that is fantastic for 55 minutes of a game. But how many times have we been tied or up by a point or 2 and the other team gets the ball back and drives right down the field doing the same 5-8 yrad passes it did all game and kicks the winning FG? Happens all the time. No lead this team has is EVER safe at the end of the game unless it is 9 points or more. And nobody can honestly refute that. Do you have confidence the D will make a stop? I don't. Of course, that isn't all on DL by any means. yes, he needs to adapt his style to those situations. But you also have to have the talent to make palys. And our guys don't cause turnovers, period.

 

I love the "what does Tomlin actually do?" question.

Yes, the Rooneys are idiotic enough to pay a man a huge salary to do nothing. They are that foolish of an employer to just let him sit in his office, feet up on the desk, every so often calling in to check that Lebeau is running defensive drills.

Seriously.

 

One thing to keep in mind about "Tomlin and his staff" for the most part this isn't his staff.

Haley= no
DL= no
Fichtner= no
Lake= maybe
Wilson= Yes
Mann= Yes
Bicknell= probably
The highest profile pieces (OC and DC) were forced upon him for lack of a better term. When hired he wasn't allowed to bring in his own staff. He inherited Horton, Fichtner, DL, Arians etc.

 

i can't argue with anything you said. It's actually a fair assesment. The injury part ,not so sure it falls on the coaches. The biggest and saddest truth is the fact that the talent is being wasted. That's for sure.

im not going to get into the whole Kool-Aid scenario but its our right as fans to be as critical as we choose to be. Doesn't make us any more or less of a fan. So what if this board becomes gloom and doom when things go south. I didn't realize every game regardless of the outcome was a cause for celebration. I know I can proudly say I'm the biggest Steeler fan in the world and I'm sure there are literally millions just like me. I wouldn't judge someone because of their eternal optimism and I don't expect those who don't share the same positive outlook to be judged either.

The truth is we are all loyal supporters of the greatest franchise in the NFL. That's why we frequent the greatest Steeler message board on the WWW. Some see the glass as half empty ,some as half full. Lets hope they get this thing straightened out in time for the regular season. Give us fans some indisputable proof that we are a team to be reckoned with. Give us something positive that we can ALL agree on. TBD.

 

Smith = Yes ??

 

It is hard to complain about MT's results - 2 trips to the SB and winning 1. Most coaches don't have that in a career. I like MT. In my humble opinion, he has done about as good as he could with the situation he was given. Ths issue he has is he really is not the optimum coach for this team. When you have the best DC in football with DL, you really want an offensive-minded HC. As you know, MT was a DC before joining Pittsburgh. I really think that this dynamic is a big reason why our offense always lags behind our defense - we just do not have enough coaching firepower on the offensive side of the ball.

 

Belichek is defensive minded coach and has zero problems putting together one of the most explosive offenses in the league year in an year out.

 

I'd kill more for a couple of Flozell Adams type players to play the tackle positions right now. And those aren't even the athletic type of tackles the coaches want. That's the level of fan concern right now. Foster isn't a big concern yet, he is serviceable at his position.

 

What HE said!...
I think maybe I have a mid-life crisis going on...
I am FINALLY able to see my team with unbiased eyes, and I don`t think I like it very much... LOL...
If I didn`t know better, I would say I have "fallen out of love" with my team, but that`s not true.
Truth is, I will NEVER root for nother team.
Never have. Never will.
And, It`s not that I haven`t seen them suck, before(Sorry for the trademark infringement, Numbah)....
I was a loyal supporter thru the 80`s, Stoudt, Malone, Brister, and alll.
I guess the difference is, I didn`t really expect much, then... I was still pullin for em, but I knew the reality... They just weren`t that damn good.
Had a brief period in the mid Nineties, where we were playing great Defense, and had a qb, who managed the game pretty efficiently.
Led to great things, then he blew it against an arch-enemy in the Bowl...
STILL kept cheering for my team, and had my hopes up. Maybe ignored the reality a little bit, but thought we were pretty damn good.(not dominating, but good)...
Had a gut feeling when we drafted Ben, that we got a winner, then he came in earlier than anyone expected, and showed what he could do(even while being hand-cuffed into "managing" the game by Cowher)...
Since we have had him, my hopes have been thru the roof...
We finally got the missing ingredient... A superstar qb!!!
And the Rooney`s finally started paying to keep top-notch talent that they developed around him...
I am expecting us to DOMINATE again...
Except that never really happened...
We won the one for the thumb, FINALLY, and another, and lost one, been to the playoffs more consistentley than any team in the league, and yet...
We NEVER flat-out DOMINATE...With all the talent we have, we never get accused of running up the score, like Belicheat, don`t put up 30+ points a game like I feel the talent on the field is capable of, and I have to ask, why?
Doesn`t matter if it was Cowher, or omlin, we just don`t rack up points, like New Orleans, Green Bay, etc etc...
Philosophy of running the ball/ controlling the clock?
Fine.
I can live with that.
But, Lately, this moving the ball, then either turning it over, or settling for field goals, is getting on my frieking nerves!!!
I agree, my problem is with the Offense, not the D.
Sure, you can say they have blown 4th qtr leads too often, and they have...
But why should they CONSTANTLY have to protect one score leads late in the game?!?!
I just see(or have seen) tooo much talent on the offensive side of the ball, to keep putting our d in those positions...
Coaching?Execution?... BOTH.... And I just feel there is no excuse for it!
I want more! SPOILED BRAT of the BEST FRANCHISE IN THE LEAGUE, that I am!!!
In short... Yeah, I know, too late for that, but, In Summation...
I will always root for my team, but I am starting to want them to give me somethin to believe in, again.
Give me REASONS to feel confident, I`m tired of trying to make up excuses,for why they didn`t quite get the job done, or feeling like I am just HOPING they will get it right.
In my old age, I want to take off the Black n Gold colored glasses, and STILL see a good team, that I don`t have to be a "homer" to see!
GO STEELERS!!!

 

Pull over!!! No it's a cardigan but thanks for asking!!!

 

If you go back and watch the first 2 preseason games and the sacks on Ben you will see that Ramon Foster got totally owned. Flozell was a penalty waiting to happen and we have enough of that as it is. Also Adams was a Cowgirl first and that's unforgivable. LOL.