End Of The Line For The Pittsburgh Steelers?

[martybegan]

Tomorrow night they play Miami on MNF.

• The Steelers are listing and creaking with a team that is highly inconsistent from week to week.
• Their star DT (TJ Watt) cannot play because of a punctured lung he got during "dry needling" to relieve muscle cramps.
• The team remains in limbo with highly paid players and lots of talent that somehow, their coaching never finds a way of utilizing. Some of their highest paid players spend most of their time sitting on the bench or hardly ever being used in the actual game.
• The Steelers suffer this mind-numbing conundrum of never being able to figure out what kind of team they want to be that plays into their strengths--- instead, every week, they come out trying to "confuse" their opponent with a new look and strategy, only that their opponents seem seldom fooled and the Steelers look unpracticed and unprepared.
• On the up side, Pittsburgh has never lost a Monday Night game! I think they are something like 11-0, 15-0, 22-0, something like that on Monday night.
• It will be bitterly cold tomorrow night in Pittsburgh. The Dolphins are from Miami.

As to the Dolphins:

• They started out horribly at something like 2-7, but since then, have come on like gangbusters, found their stride, brought the game back to basics, and have been playing lights out football the past several weeks. Some consider them right now to be the hottest team in the NFL.

If Pittsburgh wins this one, they are almost assured a playoff spot. Life would be much easier after tomorrow if they win. But if there is any team that can F it up, it is Pittsburgh, so I think the odds better of Pittsburgh just beating themselves with fumbles, picks, and mistakes than the Dolphins really outplaying them.

As a Giants fan, I think the Steelers and Tomlin should part ways amicably....so we can hire him 5 seconds later.

 

[toobfreak]

As a Giants fan, I think the Steelers and Tomlin should part ways amicably....so we can hire him 5 seconds later.

Knock yourself out! ITMT, here are a few more facts:

• While Pittsburgh has never lost a MNF game, Miami's QB has never won a game when the temp was below 40°.
• Pittsburgh's run defense is horrible. Miami primarily relies on a strong rushing offense.
• The temp tonight at game time will be in the teens.
• Pittsburgh may or may not have their best rushing defender for the game tonight.

 

[Delldude]

 

[Delldude]

 

[Delldude]

Knock yourself out! ITMT, here are a few more facts:

• While Pittsburgh has never lost a MNF game, Miami's QB has never won a game when the temp was below 40°.
• Pittsburgh's run defense is horrible. Miami primarily relies on a strong rushing offense.
• The temp tonight at game time will be in the teens.
• Pittsburgh may or may not have their best rushing defender for the game tonight.

O line coaching needs fixed............was just as bad when Ben was still playing.

 

[toobfreak]

O line coaching needs fixed............was just as bad when Ben was still playing.

Not a single coach Tomlin has ever hired has gone on to become a head coach elsewhere in his own right, says a lot about the people Tomlin picks. As I understand it, his O and D line coaches are kind of figureheads whom the Steelers hire for low pay while Tomlin collects the big money, keeps it all for himself and still makes all of the decisions.

 

[Lockback]

Not a single coach Tomlin has ever hired has gone on to become a head coach elsewhere in his own right, says a lot about the people Tomlin picks. As I understand it, his O and D line coaches are kind of figureheads whom the Steelers hire for low pay while Tomlin collects the big money, keeps it all for himself and still makes all of the decisions.

Interesting take.
I used to be a big Tomlin fan. I've cooled on him the last 10 years. I think he's incredibly overrated now

 

[rightwinger]

Knock yourself out! ITMT, here are a few more facts:

• While Pittsburgh has never lost a MNF game, Miami's QB has never won a game when the temp was below 40°.
• Pittsburgh's run defense is horrible. Miami primarily relies on a strong rushing offense.
• The temp tonight at game time will be in the teens.
• Pittsburgh may or may not have their best rushing defender for the game tonight.

You remind me of Philadelphia fans who could not wait to get rid of Andy Reid

 

[toobfreak]

Interesting take.
I used to be a big Tomlin fan. I've cooled on him the last 10 years. I think he's incredibly overrated now

I've never liked Tomlin. The guy speaks illiterately-- I have a hard time believing he graduated college. He won one SB a few years after his hire but the team was all leftover from Bill Cowher. Then he made it back once with his own team and bellyflopped.

Literally EVERY player on that team has been replaced several times over, many with enormous superstar talent, yet they never rose to win a championship. Despite big changes in staff, coaching and players year after year, their problems remain the same.

The ONLY player on the team throughout all of this is... Mike Tomlin.

It has been 14 years since the Steelers last won a Championship, back when Kurt Warner was QB for the Cardinals. I think it has been since 2019 they even won a playoff game.

 

[toobfreak]

I think he's incredibly overrated now

I should add that Tomlin is lucky to still be head coach with a record such as his. People brag that Tomlin has never had a team below .500, at least 9-8. Tomlin is right on track for very likely, another 9-8 season.

But many champions have won SB's with a LOSING season, they lost badly, fought back from adversity, and peaked at the end of the season to battle their way to a championship. Tomlin's Steelers are forever lost in a quagmire of mediocrity, talent out the ass but never congeals into a disciplined force to achieve, always ending up in that 9-8 zone of mediocrity.

The Steelers have been setting some interesting records of late, things like:

1. Most yardage run on their defense,
2. Offense with the fewest snaps.
3. Defense with the most time left on the field.
4. Team with the most losses to teams 8 games or more under .500.

And others like that. It wreaks of a team with one foot stuck in quicksand unable to get out of first gear or neutral: Mike Tomlin.

 

[Lockback]

I should add that Tomlin is lucky to still be head coach with a record such as his. People brag that Tomlin has never had a team below .500, at least 9-8. Tomlin is right on track for very likely, another 9-8 season.

But many champions have won SB's with a LOSING season, they lost badly, fought back from adversity, and peaked at the end of the season to battle their way to a championship. Tomlin's Steelers are forever lost in a quagmire of mediocrity, talent out the ass but never congeals into a disciplined force to achieve, always ending up in that 9-8 zone of mediocrity.

The Steelers have been setting some interesting records of late, things like:

1. Most yardage run on their defense,
2. Offense with the fewest snaps.
3. Defense with the most time left on the field.
4. Team with the most losses to teams 8 games or more under .500.

And others like that. It wreaks of a team with one foot stuck in quicksand unable to get out of first gear or neutral: Mike Tomlin.

Exactly.
Tomlin is hugely overrated for the reasons you brilliantly enumerated.
As a Bengals fan (sort of), I hope they keep Tomlin.

 

[toobfreak]

Exactly. Tomlin is hugely overrated

The word that often comes to my mind is just damned unlucky. Consider:

• All Pittsburgh needed was for the Green ******* Packers to beat the mediocre, battered Ravens with Lamar out with a messed up back, instead, Baltimore took them to town and pounded them.
• But STILL, all the Steelers needed to do was beat a team they knew like the back of their hands that had only managed to win three games all season! And they were in. Playoffs sign seal and delivered. Home field advantage AND a free week off to rest their most valued players. Instead, Cleveland made a jackass out of Pittsburgh. Tomlin and his team were more concerned with protecting Rodgers and Myles Garrett not getting one more sack to beat TJ Watts's record than they were winning; it skewed their entire game perspective. Rodgers missed wide open receivers.

Pittsburgh and Tomlin are just unlucky. Now they have to use Week 18 in a battle for their lives against their worst enemy, and Baltimore could very easily thrash them, but you never know, Pittsburgh might show up and win, but they'll pay a price, and now go into the playoffs all tired, beaten up, and frazzled likely to be smashed by the first team they meet.

 

[Failzero]

So Steelers are in teh Playoffs ?

 

[toobfreak]

So Steelers are in teh Playoffs ?

We'll find out on Sunday night. I think the odds are against them; in one week, they went from being like 6 point favorites to beat the Browns, to now being something like 4.5 point underdogs to the Ravens, a team that just 2 weeks ago was considered destroyed and done for the season.

That is a nod of respect for the Ravens, and a bowing out of no respect for Tomlin's Steelers who have, time and again, every time folks allow themselves to think Pittsburgh is finally pulling it together, they instead do another slip in the mud and pratfall on their faces.

I see three possible outcomes for the AFC North Battle this Sunday, either:

1. Pittsburgh completely embarrasses themselves, plays like they have two left feet again, and Baltimore makes a chew toy out of them.
2. Pittsburgh actually plays well, capitalizes on Baltimore mistakes (like bringing Jackson back and switching back to a passing offense instead of sticking with the run), and they both play well but Baltimore defeats them in the end kicking the Steelers out of the Playoffs.
3. Pittsburgh both shows up, plays well, and defeats the Ravens only to badly falter and fail in the first Playoff game.

There is talk now that Rodgers is even coming back for one more year in Pittsburgh; apparently he has enjoyed playing on the team and likes the staff and players.


.

 

[Fiero425]

The word that often comes to my mind is just damned unlucky. Consider:

• All Pittsburgh needed was for the Green ******* Packers to beat the mediocre, battered Ravens with Lamar out with a messed up back, instead, Baltimore took them to town and pounded them.
• But STILL, all the Steelers needed to do was beat a team they knew like the back of their hands that had only managed to win three games all season! And they were in. Playoffs sign seal and delivered. Home field advantage AND a free week off to rest their most valued players. Instead, Cleveland made a jackass out of Pittsburgh. Tomlin and his team were more concerned with protecting Rodgers and Myles Garrett not getting one more sack to beat TJ Watts's record than they were winning; it skewed their entire game perspective. Rodgers missed wide open receivers.

Pittsburgh and Tomlin are just unlucky. Now they have to use Week 18 in a battle for their lives against their worst enemy, and Baltimore could very easily thrash them, but you never know, Pittsburgh might show up and win, but they'll pay a price, and now go into the playoffs all tired, beaten up, and frazzled likely to be smashed by the first team they meet.

It truly is a "no win" situation for The Steelers! Regardless, they're not going to do much of anything even if they make the playoffs! They haven't done much in a decade or so! Even making a SB back then, GB should have annihilated them as Rodgers had his receivers dropping balls literally lofted to them! He may have lost at least 100 yards off his MVP #'s! I used to feel for the guy even though I'm from Chgo.! He had to deal w/ so much; from Favre's Hamlet act to the Packer Defense that was just good enuf to lose by 1 in the playoffs! Rodgers couldn't score enuf w/ their sieve of a defense even w/ 45 pts. vs Arizona in 2009! The Steeler Defense is no better so IMO it was hopeless for him to keep playing, tarnishing his legacy more than embellishing it!

 

[toobfreak]

It truly is a "no win" situation for The Steelers! Regardless, they're not going to do much of anything even if they make the playoffs!

I keep getting this feeling that something bad is going to happen. Had Tomlin prepped his team, they would have beaten the Browns and could be resting this Sunday. They had many opportunities to put Cleveland away and they blew every one of them.

I get this feeling that the Steelers will try extra hard to beat Baltimore, and in the process, someone important will get hurt bad, maybe Rodgers or Cam Newton, or maybe they will bring TJ Watt back too soon and he will re-injure his lung and be out of football.

There will be an accident, an injury, a bad hit or something that wouldn't have happened had Pittsburgh been able to rest and the injury, even if they still beat Baltimore (which I doubt), will send them into the playoffs limping badly seriously compromised, with a broken wing.

And I've heard stories that whether Rodgers comes back next year or Tomlin stays on as coach after this depends on whether they win or lose this game.

 

[MarathonMike]

I'm surprised the Ravens are starting Lamar. Unless he is miraculously 100 percent, they should've stuck to the script that got them their best game of the season last week.

 

[Fiero425]

I'm surprised the Ravens are starting Lamar. Unless he is miraculously 100 percent, they should've stuck to the script that got them their best game of the season last week.

Lamar may have listened to FS1's, Nick Wright! The sports comm. ran down a list of instances when he was in a contract dispute & was systematically unavailable to play at the end of the season due to injury! He's been touted a great player, winning a couple MVP's only to fail miserably in the playoffs! Just saying! Like the Steelers w/ Tomlin, there's a question about Harbaugh coming back! He isn't that close to Jackson or he'd know more about how he felt physically! There's always some doubt I feel whenever the dude has to speak on his QB's condition!

 

[Couchpotato]

As a Giants fan, I think the Steelers and Tomlin should part ways amicably....so we can hire him 5 seconds later.

Why would you want to do that to Jackson Dart? Tomlin has shown no ability to develop young QBs. Or put together good offensive lines.

 

[Couchpotato]

You remind me of Philadelphia fans who could not wait to get rid of Andy Reid

lol at comparing Reid and Tomlin.