BTSC Steelers Daily Six Pack- Tomlinism Edition

by drinkyourmilkshake on Jun 22, 2009 3:36 PM EDT Comment 23 comments

IX-Remember today and tonight is your last chance to let your voice be heard in the first annual Tomlinism Tournament organized by maryrose. Right now the number two seed is winning by a landslide and it would take an epic comeback to change the tides of this vote.

X-Lawrence Timmons posted a blog post on his thoughts on his brand new Super Bowl ring. Timmons mentions that although he is excited to be starting for the Steelers he misses his old mentor and friend Larry Foote. Timmons sounds eager to win at least one more Super Bowl and mention he would like to play for at least another ten seasons. This kid is going to be a stud!

XIII-James Harrison had a change of heart about his former dog Patron, after initially deciding to euthanize the dog, he later decided to try to find a home for it. Two Pittsburgh area natives have since taken in the dog and have found no signs of aggression with the Pit Bull and Cane-Corso mix.

XIV-Scott Brown of the Tribune expects Kraig Urbik to sign with the Steelers in the near future but expects Ziggy Hood's contract to take a bit longer as the Steelers wait for other first round draft picks to sign to gauge the terms of the contract.

XL-ESPN's James Walker completed an annoymous survey of players in the AFC North with different questions and the one rule that you couldn't vote for a teammate. When it came to the question of toughest player in the AFC North many thought about putting Hines Ward down but couldn't do so due to their hatred of the future hall of famer.

XLIII-A lot of talk has been made about Charlie Batch possibly losing his job to upstart talent Dennis Dixon, but what other veteran players could lose their roster spot when training camp fires up in August? Steelers Today dissects the topic and has some pretty good choices, what players do you think BTSC?

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Anybody want to read the opposite of a Tomlinism?

Here’s an “Arians-ism” for lack of a better word.

“They only gave up 19 sacks last year of the 46,” the offensive coordinator said. “Running backs, tight ends, receivers and quarterbacks gave up most of the rest. Those guys, every time there’s a sack it has to be the offensive linemen but a lot of times it was a receiver missing the hot read, the quarterback getting himself sacked a few times, because he likes to run around. We’re not going to change that.”

While I do agree somewhat with what he said, I can’t help but think, maybe if our OC ran a screen or something… I just don’t know. Kinda comes across as a cop-out, maybe passing blame. Any thoughts?

by NYSteelersFan4 on Jun 22, 2009 4:15 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

it's not really passing the blame if he's also responsible for those players

he’s not defending himself, he’s defending the line by saying half of the sacks were their fault not all. he’s just as responsible if the qb runs around too long or if any other offensive player misses a read as he is if his oline screwed up.

by t1mmy10 on Jun 22, 2009 4:23 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

"Timmons mentions...he misses his old mentor and friend Larry Foote."

that’s part of the reason why this organization is great. foote probably realized from the beginning of training camp that timmons was probably going to be the player that runs him out of pittsburgh. yet he took the time to mentor his future replacement and even become his friend. there is no doubt this “team first” mentality is why we’re at least a playoff contender almost every year.

by t1mmy10 on Jun 22, 2009 4:16 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Ya gotta remember...

… As much as I like Foote and would love to believe what Timmons wrote, you’ve gotta figure these player blogs are written by PR staff or, at the very least, reviewed by PR-types.

by Varmint on Jun 22, 2009 5:43 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I’m pretty convinced Najeh’s wasn’t, but that’s about it.

Don't worry about the haters. Haters only hate.

by steelguy99 on Jun 22, 2009 6:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

i'm sure he wasnt flat out lying

i’ve heard there are some teams out there that vets won’t help the younger players cuz it means they’re helping someone else basically take their job. even heard rumors that guys might tell players wrong things about the play book just to make other players look bad. he had to have SOME good feelings towards foote, who probably did actually helped him a lot. it may be an exaggeration, but if he didn’t like the guy he woulda just wrote nothing

by t1mmy10 on Jun 22, 2009 9:54 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

No, not lying

But it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s been told, “If anyone asks, say something nice about Foote. It’ll make you seem classy.” So, when he had an opportunity, he did it. That doesn’t make it a lie. It doesn’t mean we should ignore the compliment. But we shouldn’t be building it into something it isn’t.

by Varmint on Jun 23, 2009 1:52 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

lol you're being pretty pessimistic about this

first off, it’s a blog post. so i dont know how could someone could ask him his take on foote with it publicly seen that the question was asked and side stepped. so if he didnt like the guy, he could easily avoid the question without many ppl knowing it was avoided. and if it wasnt true, why lie and say nice stuff (yes, it’s lying when you dont tell the truth even if its the “right” thing to say).
and judging by the quality of writing in the blog, it’s pretty reasonable to say timmons wrote the blog himself

On the field I’m a starter now but I can truly say that I miss Larry Foote. He was a good guy who helped me out a lot and made it fun. He was always happy, always joking around. He brought a lot of camaraderie with the guys.

since this wasnt asked in an interview where he had to think on his feet, he had time to think about it. and he could’ve said something that seemed less heart felt if he was just doing it for the sake of doing it.

this kinda reminds of me the relationship between bettis and staley and parker. staley said if the steelers made it to the superbowl and he was starting, he’d give that start to bettis. course it didnt work out like that cuz parker got the start. and timmons & foote probably weren’t on that level, but it says a lot about the organization where competitors for the same position have a positive relationship with each other.

by t1mmy10 on Jun 24, 2009 4:33 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Larry Foote was professional and classy. He was a great kid in college, and a great guy as a Steeler. I was sad to see him go, but the man loves the game and wants to be on the field. He’s won two rings, he just wants to play.

I’m glad to hear Timmons say what he did, it speaks of Timmon’s character as well. I think Foote said a similar thing about the guys he eventually replaced. As long as our players all buy in to that mentality, we will have a great team for a long time.

Max Talbot is The Superstar.
Tikka da da, tikka da.

by Phantaskippy on Jun 23, 2009 12:46 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

great article by steelers today

i definitely agree with both davis (i think will be cut) and essex (will probably retain his backup role) will have some problems.

i dont agree with the take on batch though, because i bet it’ll be another year before dixon overtakes him as a solid #2. and batch won’t be cut for money reasons since he’s making the league min (which is a lot for his experience, but counts a lot less against the cap).

by t1mmy10 on Jun 22, 2009 4:37 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Steelers Today

Thinks Batch will be tossed out completely if Dixon makes it to #2. Is that a scary thought to anyone else? I want to keep Batch at least for the year, even if he is dropped to #3.

by Johnny_S on Jun 22, 2009 4:38 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

It’s a scary thought, but don’t worry because that won’t happen and if it does it’s because batch is ineffective or too banged up/old to play. They would get a veteran backup to fill in as the third QB.

I'll drink your Milkshake, I'll drink it up!

by drinkyourmilkshake on Jun 22, 2009 4:49 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Dropping Batch to #3 would cost a pretty penny.

by Varmint on Jun 22, 2009 5:44 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Eh, not really. Vet minimum will be 820K for Batch, and I think Dixon should be making minimum at 360K. So our backups are about $1.2 million.

Last year Dixon was 285K and 650K, leaving the backups last year at about $950K. The difference is fairly minimal…Overpaying for a #3? Definitely. But sometimes overpaying for a backup makes good sense, and sometimes it helps you win a superbowl. Thanks Max.

Don't worry about the haters. Haters only hate.

by steelguy99 on Jun 22, 2009 6:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

let’s not forget that being at the vet min for a 10+ year player only counts against the cap like a 2 year min contract (460k)

by t1mmy10 on Jun 22, 2009 9:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Wouldn’t that require a negotiation? Batch has to agree to it. Unless there’s a risk of him being outright cut (which I doubt), there’s not much incentive for him. At the least, I’d expect the FO to end up paying up front even if they save money on the back end.

by Varmint on Jun 23, 2009 1:55 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

No he doesn’t he could either play on the Steelers as the number three QB or retire…unless the steelers released him. He would still be part of the 53 man roster.

I'll drink your Milkshake, I'll drink it up!

by drinkyourmilkshake on Jun 23, 2009 2:39 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Steelers vets piece is a little off

The no. 1 veteran in line to lose their job, I think, is Nick Eason. Kirschke had his best year for the Steelers this past year, J. Reffet is going to suprise some people this camp, and you have Ziggy and R. Harris for competition.

Trai Essex isn’t in danger of being cut. And as a matter of fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if he beats out D. Stapleton for the starting RG spot. He mentioned Ty Carter is in danger, but that the team doesn’t have many safeties on the roster. Well, Mundy could easily overtake him this year, Roy Lewis can play CB and safety and both Deshea Townsend and K. Ratliffe can play safety in a pinch. What’s also hurting Carter is that he gives you nothing on special teams. When is the last time you guys rememer no. 23 making a tackle on special teams?

Carey Davis needs a bus ticket out of the burg. The Tank will make this team and has a good chance of being active on game day. If the 7th round pick shows that he can play special teams and block from the FB position as well as the line of scrimmage, he has a chance, too.

A very competitive camp awaits us, just the Tomlin wants it.

“Every day I walk by five Lombardi Trophies, not five rushing titles,” Mike Tomlin. Well Mike, how about saying you walk by six Lombardi Trophies every day now.

by datruth4life on Jun 22, 2009 6:03 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs