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Game Balls, Game Goats & FU's....................week 12 vs Browns.....

Chicoman

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If there's one thing I hate it's a Thursday Night Game vs a Divisional opponent on the road! This game is the reason why I will never put Mike Tomlin up there with Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher, Bill Bellichick, Don Shula, Tom Landry or any of the other great coaches out there. You could see very early on from the body language of the players on the field that Cleveland was engaged and excited to be playing tonight and the vibe on the Steelers sidelines is that the team looked unmotivated and lacked emotion almost like they just didn't want to be there tonight! The press, the media they all brand Tomlin as a great coach! Great coaches don't have lapses in preparation like a Mike Tomlin coached team.....and it's been throughout his entire career. Teams he should absolutely destroy he's lucky to come away with a win. Tonight that's exactly what we witnessed! He should have had this team better prepared because this game meant everything to the Cleveland Browns and their fans! It was their Super Bowl and Tomlin should have drilled that into his team all week! Instead he did what he always does which is under estimate his opponent and their desire to win the football game!

The Steelers were able to move the ball in the first half with almost 200 yards of total offense but only able to muster a pathetic 3 points at the Half. The play calling in this one had me scratching my head at times. The 4th & 2 QB sneak by Fields was his fault.....if he went left he had only 1 guy to get around instead he ran to the right side and into the teeth of the Defense. Then another 4th and half a yard to go and the Browns had no one lined up on Frazier and Wilson could have easily QB sneaked it for a first down there....needing only half a yard, instead he turns and hands it off to Warren who is absolutely stuffed for a 2 yd loss. Combine that with other terrible decisions like sending Boswell out to attempt a 58yd FG with 30 MPH winds was just some of his dumb decisions! Why do the Steelers rarely throw over the middle of the football field? 3 Offensive Coordinators and they still are throwing outside the numbers and very rarely over the middle of the football field. Is that something Mike Tomlin is pushing for? I find it hard to believe that all 3 of these OC's prefer to throw outside the numbers? I'm still wondering what the Steelers plans are for Mike Williams....it's been 3 games now and I'd expect to see him getting more and more reps week in, week out......I think this week we saw him even less than we did the last 2 games. The Steelers need someone to step up to the #2 WR position and I just don't know if anyone on the roster right now is capable of being that guy.

Defensively this team struggled to keep the Browns is check the entire game as Cleveland played with nothing to lose going 4 for 4 on 4th downs including a 4th & Goal 2 yd TD run by Jameis Winston......refs missed a blatant hold by the Browns tackle who grabbed Herbig from behind and no flag was thrown.....Herbig would have tackled him at the line of scrimmage.....how the referee misses a hold like that I'll never understand because it's the refs job to watch the linemen and it was right next to Winston when he was grabbed from behind and it turned Herbig around....easy missed call. TJ Watt has been playing his *** off but he's getting mugged out there.....Teryl Austin might wanna try to move TJ around on that Defense to get him in better situations out there so he can be more effective because offenses have seemed to adjusted to neutralize TJ Watt on the left side. It's certainly not for a lack of effort by Watt! TJ is playing his *** off but getting double and triple teamed on every snap has got to be frustrating for TJ. They need to put TJ in a position to succeed! A good Defensive Coordinator will be able to do that with success. We've yet to see anything from Teryl Austin!

Say what you will about the weather conditions in this one but Cleveland had to play in the same conditions. Tomlin needs to get this team refocused the next 6 games because they are battling for playoff seeding.

Ya know I saw Tweet today from our former WR Antonio Brown who tweeted to the Steelers that he'd play the remainder of the season for FREE if the Steelers come callin. Normally I'd laugh at that but you know what.....at 36 years old he can still probably smoke half the DB's in the NFL and we don't have anyone on the roster capable of filling that roster spot! I say BRING HIM IN!


Per Tomlin's Post Game:
No injuries reported other than the typical bumps and bruises associated with the game

Game Balls:
DeShon Elliot - 6 tackles , 1 forced fumble and fumble recovery....he quietly had a good game
Nick Herbig - 5 tackles, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble. The kid was blatantly held on Jameis 2 yd TD Run.....How the Refs missed it I'll never know. Was so obvious!
Calvin Austin - 3 rec 78 yds 1TD.....maybe he can step up and be the #2 WR? He needs more targets

Game Goats:
Mike Tomlin - This guy will never be a great coach in my mind because of his preparation or lack of it vs inferior opponents and 2 win teams! He's actually INFAMOUS for it!
Arthur Smith - Could he have called in a worse 2 point conversion play in the 4th Quarter to Patterson? That was brutal! There were some other st00pid play calls in the game too....the reverse in the 4th QTR
Corliss Waitman - Tough weather conditions for sure but you've gotta do better than a 16 yd punt when the game is on the line! It's your only job!
Dan Moore - For one week Broderick Jones wasn't the worst tackle on the field. He struggled the entire game vs Myles Garrett

FU's:
**** YOU CLEVELAND! Congrats on winning your Super Bowl! Cya in 2 weeks and I hope we KICK YOUR A$$E$!
 
Does Tomlin know that it is perfectly legal to throw the football on first and second down?
How about a qb sneak on 3rd/4th and inches?

Russ is the new Ben in this area. If you are going to have a special package for Fields....this is an area he has excelled at. The qb sneak.
 
Tomlin not being able to handle big moments and decisions makes him a human with flaws just like the rest of us. But unlike he did with the press, I hope he acknowledges it and lets the team know he’s to blame for the loss.

I thought it looked like Waitman was pressured which could have contributed to the shank.
 
Tomlin not being able to handle big moments and decisions makes him a human with flaws just like the rest of us. But unlike he did with the press, I hope he acknowledges it and lets the team know he’s to blame for the loss.

I thought it looked like Waitman was pressured which could have contributed to the shank.
Explain how a guy who doesn't play is to blame for a loss. Is he and the staff partly to blame? Absolutely. They were not good last night.

Aside from that, I think the youth they have on the OL is catching up to them a bit. Frazier and McCormick are gonna be really good, IMO, but we gotta remember they are rookies. A year ago they were blocking guys that have gone on with their life's work, not Myles Garrett on a stunt.
 
Tomlin not being able to handle big moments and decisions makes him a human with flaws just like the rest of us.
But I thought that is why he is well compensated, to make those decisions in the big moments. His words, not mine.
 
Game Goats: Pittsburgh Steelers
 
But I thought that is why he is well compensated, to make those decisions in the big moments. His words, not mine.
Yes Sarge.. he absolutely is..

Personnel decisions, game planning, overall final decisions on players, and assistant coaches game day schemes..etc.etc..

But the bottom line is.. the players play the game and their motivation, on the field desire and focus is ultimately their responsibility ..

One issue I see IMHO..
Is Our offense is young and has a couple “characters “ (being kind here) that we rely heavily on for big plays… 14, 22 and 77.
We need some maternity on that side of the ball big time…I am hoping Russell can settle things down and get those critical offensive players to focus on what really matters ..in practice and in game situations..
The other side of the ball is loaded with leadership and that really allows them be a fairly successful unit, way more often than not..and are not what ills this teams rest of the season successes … or not.
 
Yes Sarge.. he absolutely is..

Personnel decisions, game planning, overall final decisions on players, and assistant coaches game day schemes..etc.etc..

But the bottom line is.. the players play the game and their motivation, on the field desire and focus is ultimately their responsibility ..
One aspect you didn't mention is putting players in a position to succeed. The coaching staff, not just Tomlin, didn't do a great job with that last night. I didn't think they adjusted well or managed the clock as well as they could have. As piss poor of an effort as it was, you can't lay the blame on just the players or the coaches. It was the whole team if you ask me. Coaches, offense, defense, special teams.

Funny as it may seem, as poorly as they played, they still had a lead near the end and an opportunity to win.
 
I injured myself and had to go to urgent care. I got home just as the game started, popped my pain meds, washed it down with high octane bourbon and passed out on the couch. Glad the meds put me out, so I didn't have to witness this **** show.
 
Explain how a guy who doesn't play is to blame for a loss. Is he and the staff partly to blame? Absolutely. They were not good last night.

Aside from that, I think the youth they have on the OL is catching up to them a bit. Frazier and McCormick are gonna be really good, IMO, but we gotta remember they are rookies. A year ago they were blocking guys that have gone on with their life's work, not Myles Garrett on a stunt.
There are things that happen in a game that teams cannot control. Decision making isn’t one of them. Tomlin’s decisions were just bizarre. It’s like he was the coach of a team that was seriously outmatched and was trying to pull off an unlikely upset. And once again, his clock management was atrocious. He doesn’t get it.
 
Funny as it may seem, as poorly as they played, they still had a lead near the end and an opportunity to win.
Thanks to three turnovers. Without those, I think they lose by three scores… to a 2-8 team.
 
Explain how a guy who doesn't play is to blame for a loss.
Incredibly poor time management for one, which has not one iota to do with player performance.
 
There are things that happen in a game that teams cannot control. Decision making isn’t one of them. Tomlin’s decisions were just bizarre. It’s like he was the coach of a team that was seriously outmatched and was trying to pull off an unlikely upset. And once again, his clock management was atrocious. He doesn’t get it.
I agree. He and the staff were bad last night. My only objection is the suggestion it is ALL on Tomlin. Since he doesn't play, it can't ALL be on him.
 
Incredibly poor time management for one, which has not one iota to do with player performance.
You are right about his time management. He was not good last night. But player performance was also to blame, and isn't that, at least to some degree, on the players?

If that is the case, and common sense says it has to be, no loss can be "ALL on Tomlin."
 
I agree. He and the staff were bad last night. My only objection is the suggestion it is ALL on Tomlin. Since he doesn't play, it can't ALL be on him.
Never said all, but I blame Tomlin more for Boswell’s missed 58 yard FG, and the late incompletion to Patterson. And he certainly gets all the blame for the clock mismanagement.
 
Never said all, but I blame Tomlin more for Boswell’s missed 58 yard FG, and the late incompletion to Patterson. And he certainly gets all the blame for the clock mismanagement.
Funny….i blame Russ more than Tomlin for that. He took an 11 yard sack. He had time to get rid of it. The one thing an experienced QB can not do there is take a sack on 3rd down from there. 48 yard FG to a 59 yarder. Yes….i might have punted it. But……Chris has been Superman on FG’s. Mike went with the hot hand. I can’t really blame him. I was more pissed off with the 4th down plays. I would have tried to pin them deep. Weather and field position go hand in hand.
 
You are right about his time management. He was not good last night. But player performance was also to blame, and isn't that, at least to some degree, on the players?

If that is the case, and common sense says it has to be, no loss can be "ALL on Tomlin."
Of course players make mistakes on the field and/or don't play as well as they normally do, for a myriad of reasons. And sometimes the other team just makes better plays -- they're paid professionals, too.

My problem with Tomlin's shltty time management:
1) His errors are avoidable...we cast blame on players for dropping a pass on a fake punt, or shanking a punt, or getting run over by Myles Garrett, right? But those types of things happen in football. They're physical actions. To me, poor in-game coaching decisions are not the same, and should be preventable almost all of the time by a great NFL coach. This guy gets paid an absurd amount of money to make the correct choices. Frankly, it's really not too much to ask of the head man at any level of football.
2) These mistakes can sometimes dictate whether or not his players will even have a chance to win the game. So while no loss can be pinned solely on Tomlin, his gaffes can still be a main factor in losing. Like they were on Thursday night.
3) It's discouraging to see little (if any) improvement from him in this area, after having so much experience as a head coach at the highest level of the game.

I get upset with my son's high school coach for some of the same reasons -- difference is, he's not making a million dollars a month.
 
He can't hold it together for 3 hours on game day much less the rest of the week


Pickens is on the edge currently, AB would just enable that edge to be gone over. Not just George’s, but it would affect the rest of the room / team.

Tom Lin wouldn’t have the balls to bench / fire him on the spot, wether durring game or practice.

P-A-S-S


Salute t5hink nation
 
Funny….i blame Russ more than Tomlin for that. He took an 11 yard sack. He had time to get rid of it. The one thing an experienced QB can not do there is take a sack on 3rd down from there. 48 yard FG to a 59 yarder. Yes….i might have punted it. But……Chris has been Superman on FG’s. Mike went with the hot hand. I can’t really blame him. I was more pissed off with the 4th down plays. I would have tried to pin them deep. Weather and field position go hand in hand.
Meant Pickens, not Patterson (from Fields). The Steelers last offensive play.
 
Explain how a guy who doesn't play is to blame for a loss. Is he and the staff partly to blame? Absolutely. They were not good last night.

You know very well there's a core of bungling fools here who waste no opportunity to attempt to shove their personal opinion about Coach of the Year Mike Tomlin down everyone's throat. One idiot posted some kind of "hip hop" headline about Coach Tomlin that is 10 years old. We are talking about mentally retarded people

Friday must have felt like Christmas for them.

Win streaks must be torture for them
 
You know very well there's a core of bungling fools here who waste no opportunity to attempt to shove their personal opinion about Coach of the Year Mike Tomlin down everyone's throat. One idiot posted some kind of "hip hop" headline about Coach Tomlin that is 10 years old. We are talking about mentally retarded people

That moniker would apply to you since the article about San Diego (?) not hiring Tomlin because he was too "hip-hop" (supposedly), was a thread mocking San Diego's decision.

You seriously did not get that?

Friday must have felt like Christmas for them.

No, felt like yet ANOTHER loss to a stunningly bad team - three consecutive losses to a team 2-8 or worse. Incredible.

Know what would feel like Christmas? A ******* playoff win. Here, let me list the NFL teams that have had a playoff win the last time Mike the Great last won a playoff game:

Buffalo Bills
Miami Dolphins
New England Patriots

Baltimore Ravens
Cleveland Browns
Cincinnati Bengals

Tennessee Titans
Indianapolis Colts
Houston Texans
Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

New York Giants
Dallas Cowboys
Philadelphia Eagles

New Orleans Saints
Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Seattle Seahawks
Los Angeles Rams
San Francisco 49ers

19 of the other 31 NFL teams have won a playoff game since the Steelers last did so, including every other team in the AFC North. Ponder that for a second and ask if that is acceptable.

Win streaks must be torture for them.

No, the torture is a losing streak, such as, "Mike Tomlin has lost five consecutive playoff games" or "Mike Tomlin has lost three consecutive games to teams with a 2-8 record or worse."
 
To be fair, Tomlin's record against very bad team is below average for coaches, but his record as an underdog is absurdly good compared to other coaches...

The theory that his teams play up or down to competition is supported by stats well.

Even just this year, 11 games in we are 3-3 vs teams with losing records, but 5-0 vs teams with winning records ( also current playoff teams)
 
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