This One's OnThe Coach
by WyoFan on Nov 23, 2009 12:49 PM EST
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I love coach Tomlin...
But, this is on him. If we gave him credit for leading the Steelers to a Super Bowl victory last year, we have to look at him when the Steelers are stumbling.
Special Teams: The Steelers special teams seem to lack anything approaching heart. How many players started their careers by distinguishing themselves on special teams. Rocky Blier and James Harrison to name a couple. Who is distinguishing themselves this year? No one! This is an attitude problem.
Offense: Definately, coaching. This is squarely on Bruce Arian's shoulders. He as been allowed to under-perform a portion of every game. And sometimes, whole games. The Steelers have too much offensive talent to be struggling in the red zone. They have more talent than do the Hated Patriots, but continually enter games in a mental fog which is compounded by poor play calling. There seems to be a "We'll get it done eventually" type of attitude where the offense relies on the defense to keep the game close with the idea of picking it up in the end. Then, a poor play call or a mistake squashes the win. Bruce Arians needs to be held accountable and made to perform.
Defense: You can't tell me that Troy is all the difference. Not going for it any more. The defense demonstrated the same "We've got this" attitude yesterday in overtime, without actually covering or making the tackle. Mental toughness was lacking.
What do all these things have in common? Poor coaching, period. There is an attitude that is coming from the top which is leading to slacking off. Not all the time, but enough for a few plays to cost a very good team some wins. This started in training camp. Some of you may remember an article last summer about Ving Rhames visiting camp. In it, James Harrison walked away from practice and talked to the movie star for something like forty minutes. That type of attitude is haunting the Steelers now.
Sure, some of the Steelers veterans can regain their focus when they need it, but this is a bad precedent for the younger players. Also, practice is for every aspect of the game, including focus. If the coaches accept lapses in focus at training camp and at practice, there will be lapses in focus come game day.
This all starts with Coach Tomlin. While I believe he is a good coach, I think it is his failure to send the proper message. While he is a good speaker, he is dropping the ball when it comes to action. Everyone has their favorite coach Tomlin one-liners, now let's look for our favorite Coach Tomlin actions to improve the Steelers and get them further than a one-and-out in the playoffs.
While I'm mad as hell at this loss, and now have some very serious doubts about the Steelers season, I know that they have huge talent and the ability to win another world championship. I'm not without optimism. But something has to be done for the Steelers to get back to championship attitude. With that attitude will come wins. The person most responsible for that attitude is Coach Tomlin.
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Toss with MeMo on 3rd & 2 should be all you have to say about Arians
Other than the fact that he ruined Tim Couch
"From time to time gunfighters get shot."-Mike Tomlin the third greatest Steelers coach
As a UK guy I still think Couch could have been a good NFL QB if he’d been on a team that had, ya know, other talent.
by BluegrassSteeler on Nov 23, 2009 1:07 PM EST up reply actions
And an OC that knew what the hell he was doing
"From time to time gunfighters get shot."-Mike Tomlin the third greatest Steelers coach
by WVPiratesfan on Nov 23, 2009 3:30 PM EST up reply actions
If Tomlin has a big fault it may be loyalty, even when it’s obvious that loyalty is hurting the team as a whole. He stands by his OC, ST coach, Line coach even though it has become clear that keeping them down not give the team the best chance to win.
On the other hand, Tomlin probably has accrued a massive amount of loyalty in return.
by BluegrassSteeler on Nov 23, 2009 1:09 PM EST reply actions
+1
Throw in his loyalty to Willie Parker as well.
This is a trend though. When Cowher came on, one of the reasons he was able to take a Steelers team who had been struggling and instantly take them to the playoffs, is he came in with no loyalties. Every player had to earn his right to play.
By the end of the Cowher regime, there were players who should have been cut, or downgraded, and he couldn’t do it.
Look, serving in a foxhole changes your feelings about a guy. Going to war in the NFL and winning the Super Bowl has affected Coach Tomlin’s bias. No doubt.
I’m not suggesting we fire Coach T.
But he had better develop a “What have you done for me lately” attitude, and pretty darn quick.
What happened to this team?
They had such character, I believe that we have the talent to get it done, but I think there are issues with leadership and accountability. Our D should not be called upon to cover up the mistakes of this team time and time again. They play well enough to win; they will have to be their 2008 super-human selves every week for us to win those games and though we did not have the best offense last year I thought they were more disciplined than this years unit despite having less talent. Potentially more talented however less character,.
Well
Bill Cowher never hesitated to fire a coordinator if he didn’t like what they were doing, even if the firings didn’t make sense at the time, or ever. (See: Erhardt, Ron. LeBeau, Dick)
Tomlin might want to take the page out of Cowher’s book and fire Bruce Arians and Bob Ligashesky at the end of this season. (You don’t fire coaches mid year… You just don’t)
The Arians offense and ST is pulling down the D
In most games this season, the defense has played well enough to win. If Arians could just take better advantage of the great talent on this offense, we wouldn’t even be talking about the D. And what in the heck is the QB coach doing anyway? Maybe Tomlin won’t pull the trigger during the season, but shortly afterwards I think Arians is history.
Arians just needs to run the ball when it is obvious to everyone in the freaking world
that that is the proper call. Just run it BA… If you don’t think that Mendenhall can’t pick up a yard or two when needed, I ask where have you been? Mendy is a stud and needs 25 touches per game. Period.
Arians won't run
because the million dollar man wants to be talked about with the likes of brady and manning, and that won’t happen if they hand the rock off 25 times a game. I am so pissed off. WE PLAY TO ,,,,THE SAME LEVEL OF FOOTBALL OF OUR OPPONETS , CHIEFS, SUCK, SO WE SUCKED, BENGALS PLAY DECENT, WE PLAY DECENT, VIKINGS PLAY GREAT, WE PLAY GREAT, ..WHAT GIVES??? LETS GET BACK TO WHAT WAS WINNING, AND COWER NEW, HMMMMMMMMM? DID TOMLIN WIN WITH COWERS METHOD STILL INTACT . LIKE GRUDEN DID IN TAMPA,? HMMMM? AND NOW TOMLIN’S TRUE COACHING ABILITY STARTING TO SHINE THROUGH ,,,HMMMM, sorry everyone, i am just still at utter disbelief that we lost the chiefs. ………dang it.
time will heal...
u’ll be kicking urself for these words this february when we’ll be playing superbowl.
I know, I know.
I just needed to vent, sorry guys/gals. Like i read earlier somewhere, its just a couple of losses, its how we play down the stretch that counts.
I posted a few times early in the year, that, we didn’t have that killer instinct. We weren’t putting teams away and we whooping the teams we should be whooping. Back then, I got railed on pretty good back then, with a lot of we won, who cares, or what do you want a blowout every week, this is the nfl, blah, blah, blah. It is the NFL and unfortunately in the NFL when you just play good enough to win, you are one play away from playing bad enough to lose. Until this team learns to beat the snot out of the teams they are suppose to, they will always be in this situation. Last year worked out great, and while I still have hope for this year, unless they drastically improve, I am inclined to say this year, not so much.
Billy52 is right on
While the D is not as dominant as last year (might have been the best of the decade) it is still championship caliber. I think they have only given up like 6 touchdowns. The special teams currently have to be considered close to, if not the worst in the league. When you take into account the number of offensive turnovers that lead directly to field goals and touchdowns (let alone the false starts) the offense is way below average. I don’t care about yards. Pro Football is the ultimate complementary game. All three phases are impacted by each other. Our D executes, on balance, very well most of the time. Our offense performs way below its ability given the talent it has and the special teams are embarrassing.
by Steelers fan in Boston on Nov 24, 2009 10:06 AM EST reply actions
I'm not taking any sides right here but I have to just make some random comments
1. Arians didn’t throw those interceptions. I know: everyone is smarter than Arians even though he is an NFL coach and you would have ran the ball. Put in your resume’.
2. Timmons looks to me like he’s trying to use instinct when he hasn’t totally gelled with his unit yet. It causes him to be out of place at times and causes his teammates to think at times causing them to be a step late. I would have to write a whole post to explain this and how Fox (though he is not the better player) makes the defense a step faster.
3. I’m hanging the special teams play on the coach. I even attribute the mental breakdowns by the players on him. Why? Because they don’t play as a unit. They look like 10 1/2 (Reed is a 1/2) players doing their own thing. There looks to be a basic attack but when the recieving team runs their blocking scheme they don’t read and react while keeping “lane discipline” (shhhh). Sometimes the best blocking scheme against the Steelers is not to block because they’ll just run away from your block anyways. I digress. Nobody uses up any blockers, funnels the runner/sets up the pursuit or even trusts their tackling abilities. Blah…I shouldn’t even have opened that can of worms because I don’t have time to really go there.
4. Anybody excited about Sunday nights game?
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." - Winston Churchill
I’m going, bet your ass I am excited. Actually, don’t bet your ass, that would not be good for sitting purposes if you lost. If Ben was not starting I might have sold my ticket. Glad the initial reports are positive.
Wall of Shame
-"I’m glad we play Pitt twice, and not Tenn this year." - Brownie's Year
-"BB is ok (slightly overated)…but he is NO Kyle Orton! I’ll take Kyle over Ben any day" - Bronco_Fan_Tom
-PIT 24 KC 27
by John Stephens on Nov 24, 2009 10:11 AM EST up reply actions
My friend never got the tickets...
Something about his job keeping him too busy. NASA?! Really? I don’t know, maybe they’re planning on launching another missile into the moon. I never liked the moon anyways. But I digress. I think we’ll have to wait until next year for some tailgating festivities. Would have been a good time too. Even MaLoR wanted in. C’est la vie.
'I’ve learned to become a flat-liner. There’s a lot out there that’ll make your heart jump if you allow it."
-Coach Tomlin
by NYSteelersFan4 on Nov 24, 2009 10:19 AM EST up reply actions
Eff the moon
Nuke it! America needs to show him who is boss. He is all sitting up in the sky, glowing and crap, all lunar-like. Bitch needs a lesson. Who cares about the tides?
I am afraid to tailgate with just Malor. I think if we start winning he might throw a tantrum and try to cut me with a prison shank.
Wall of Shame
-"I’m glad we play Pitt twice, and not Tenn this year." - Brownie's Year
-"BB is ok (slightly overated)…but he is NO Kyle Orton! I’ll take Kyle over Ben any day" - Bronco_Fan_Tom
-PIT 24 KC 27
by John Stephens on Nov 24, 2009 10:28 AM EST up reply actions
And what's the deal with eclipses?
Sometimes I need the little box with a pin hole, and sometimes I don’t. Make up your mind moon. (If you say it all with the Seinfeld voice, it’s hilarious).
And yeah, I hear you. MaLoR seems nice and all, but there’s this little voice in my head saying “He likes the Ravens you know” and I question it all. Oh well. There’s always next year.
'I’ve learned to become a flat-liner. There’s a lot out there that’ll make your heart jump if you allow it."
-Coach Tomlin
by NYSteelersFan4 on Nov 24, 2009 2:16 PM EST up reply actions
Have to know your talent
Your right that Arias didn’t throw the picks. But when you throw 40+ times a game the % goes way up it is going to happen. It is his philosophy I have a problem with. He threw 40+ times in games where they were ahead, tied or behind by only 3. I know there are times in the 16 game grind when you have to chuck it, just not every game.
by Steelers fan in Boston on Nov 24, 2009 10:11 AM EST reply actions
I don't disagree......
I’m pretty sure he knows his talent though. I’m also pretty sure when the Steelers pass the ball 40+ times with no INTs and we win people don’t complain. I’m sure people complain when the Steelers run the ball and it’s fumbled. Here’s the deal. The same thing that sometimes makes a coach a good coach and be his down fall. We are cocky. We have a philosophy and we think it works. Once we have achieved success it’s hard to change. I can argue that Arians has done some very good things. He has even won a Super Bowl. Do I think he could change some things? Yes. Why won’t he? Because if you change as much as fans want you to, then you won’t have any philosophy at all. I’m not going to lie, he’s good at what he does. When it doesn’t work he has to adjust. How well he does that will decide if he stays or goes. One thing for sure that I can appreciate about him is he is true to his game. You have to remember beating his Super Bowl offense is tops on everyone’s list. They have discected him and reconstructed him over and again. Sometimes you win sometimes you lose. Sometimes you outthink yourself and sometimes you get lucky. I’m not saying Arians is crap. I’m not saying I agree with his philosophy. I will say that he has his work cut out for him. I’m waiting to see how he responds.
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." - Winston Churchill
by PixburghArn on Nov 24, 2009 10:31 AM EST up reply actions
When I say "we" I'm saying coaches
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." - Winston Churchill
by PixburghArn on Nov 24, 2009 10:31 AM EST up reply actions
Good post
I hear you on most points. I don’t think he needs to go at all. Wins definitely make the pain go away. I still don’t like the pass heavy philosophy even when they win but that is just me. I am more critical of the execution vs. play calling. Don’t like the penalty’s, missed blocks and turnovers. That is coaching during the week.
by Steelers fan in Boston on Nov 24, 2009 10:58 AM EST up reply actions
That stuff irks the heck out of me too
That’s is stuff bad teams and lazy teams do. Ya know…I have the run first philosophy as well. That’s how I coached (never coached in the NFL). I wanted to do two things. Force my will in the running game and make your quarterback not want to play. Running the ball and stopping the run while hitting the QB often does that. I lived by it and MANY times died by it. I miss it. :(
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." - Winston Churchill
by PixburghArn on Nov 24, 2009 11:06 AM EST up reply actions
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