We all know about the “Tomlinisms” of Steelers coach Mike Tomlin. Its colorful and descriptive phrases to make a catchphrase.
There is usually a message highlighting these quotes as well. Truth and lessons underneath.
The problem is, if you judge Tomlin by his own slogans, he hasn’t compared them in the past 10 years.
At least not for “the standard” he mentions so much. Here are some examples.
“Smile in the face of adversity”: When the road got rough, there was a lot more frowning than smiling at Heinz Field in recent years. When things got tough, the Steelers started …
… Straight from the playoffs.
After a 7-2-1 start in 2018, the train started to rock. Tomlin and his players couldn’t keep him on track. They finished 2-4 and missed the playoffs.
The team certainly opened a wide smile in 2019, when they managed to go 8-3 in their first 11 games after defender Ben Roethlisberger was injured in week 2. But he lost the last three games of the year to miss the playoffs.
Then there is the total collapse of this year, after an undefeated start by 11-0.
“It was a disappointment. I will recognize that, ”said Tomlin on Wednesday. “I am not going to maintain the status quo and I hope the outcome will change. That is the definition of insanity. “
Watching the last six weeks of this season has certainly driven Steelers fans crazy. Tomlin got it right.
We can talk about not smiling in the face of adversity during individual games in the last two postseason appearances. There were bad starts against the Cleveland Browns this year and the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2017, and Tomlin’s Steelers couldn’t figure out a way to stop the bleeding fast enough in either competition.
Both results ended up in the playoff constraint.
“We don’t live in our fears”: Yes, you do. All the time.
That’s why you decided to punt on the Browns’ 38-yard line while losing 28-0 at the start of the second half. Then again on the fourth to the 1st when you were losing 35-23 to open the fourth period.
That’s why you didn’t let Matthew Wright attempt a 45-yard field goal at the end of the fourth period against Washington with a 17-17 draw. Or let your racing game struggle to reach a yard. Instead, Roethlisberger said a prayer to a rookie who was running back.
You lived in your fears of the Dallas home kick blocking unit to the point of avoiding a short-field goal attempt at the end of the game that would put your team at eight points. Instead, the Cowboys stayed five points below and almost won the game.
Last year, you were so scared of your own attack and the bad return teams that you decided to kick the ball away in extension of a possible loss to Baltimore.
That is the high point of living in your fears.
Now, Steelers fans should fear finishing third – or worse – at AFC North in the near future.
“A high floor”: This is a phrase that Tomlin uses to describe a player – or a team – that is marked by consistent performance quality.
They / He may be capable of great deeds from time to time, but they never fall below a winning game gauge.
I mean, he’s practically describing himself, isn’t he? Of course, Mike Tomlin never falls below 0.500. He’s always somewhere between 8-12 wins. And if the team isn’t in the playoffs, it’s been alive for the past two weeks.
Great. Here’s the concern. We haven’t seen Tomlin reach a “high ceiling” since 2010. Since then, we’ve only seen several playoff wins in Pittsburgh once in the season.
This is despite many “high ceiling” talents on the list over the years.
“If you have red paint, paint the barn red”: I’m sure he stole this one from Dick LeBeau, but that’s okay. I understand the images.
The point is that you build your game plan based on the talent you have. The problem is that the Steelers don’t have enough red paint.
When injuries or illnesses hit Devin Bush, Bud Dupree, James Conner and Ben Roethlisberger in the past two years, it proved how thin the Steelers are. And I think that’s part of the reason we’ve witnessed the team weaken so dramatically in December recently.
When the paint starts to peel, Tomlin cannot find the proper shade of red to mend the bare spots.
It’s time to find some more versatile colors to repaint the barn. And since much of the barn will need to be rebuilt anyway, I’m concerned about how much paint Kevin Colbert can buy.
“The default is the default”: Let’s finish with the big one.
Mike Tomlin has referred to “the standard” as “the standard” in the organization since he arrived as a Steelers coach in 2007. And for most of his early years in the job, the team lived up to that creed.
Since the Steelers and the New England Patriots are the only NFL teams with six Super Bowl trophies, “the standard” in Pittsburgh is competing for the titles. In the past 10 years, it seems that the Steelers have flirted with that bar, but have not hit it often.
In just two of these seasons (2015, 2016) the Steelers won a playoff game. This is the same work as the franchise throughout the 1980s (1984, 1989).
Tomlin’s teams never hit bottom like in the 1980s editions. But in the decade since Super Bowl XLV, the Steelers have lost the playoffs four times and lost in their first game four times – with no playoff wins in the past four seasons. .
All of this with Roethlisberger as a defender for nine of those years. What is the biggest difference between this comparison with the 1980s.
Based on the “standard” that Tomlin claims to defend, for much of the past decade, he did not.
“It is our desire to be competitive,” said Tomlin. “To compete and seek a world championship every year. As we begin this process of preparation for 2021, this will be our mentality. “
Looking at Roethlisberger’s age and a terrible salary cap approaching this off-season, this will be even more difficult to achieve next fall.
TribLive Steelers beat writer Joe Rutter joined me for our final podcast at Mike Tomlin’s 2020-21 press conference. We talked about Ben Roethlisberger’s future, concerns about the wage cap for off-season and Tomlin’s contract.
Tim Benz is an editor on the Tribune-Review team. You can contact Tim at [email protected] or via Twitter. All tweets can be posted again. All emails are subject to publication, unless otherwise specified.
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Sports | Steelers / NFL | Breakfast with Benz