I am partially on board. But too often I also have seen either the wrong free agent brought in, or ignoring an obvious weakness. Then there is their inability to attack those trenches early and often enough in the draft. Or drafting undersized projects because you like their athleticism.
Oh I would definitely raid your fridge. We know you have to have some good country fixings camping out in there!
I hope they give the talent evaluation edge to the new GMs. Even more important I hope they build up the trenches into strengths. We have seen in the playoffs how important that is...
This is my feelings to a T. I badly want them to succeed and prove me wrong. I just don't see it happen. I was drunk on the Tomlin kool-aid till I took family to Pittsburgh and they lost to Mike Glennon Bucs. Now upsets happen. But after game I listened to a lot of disgruntled fans for quite a while. Then I continued to watch the games through a more neutral lens and after a while realized their complaints were justified.
The team does need a new course. But it will not happen because the voices get loud enough. No way. Not listening to the fans has worked out quite well for the Rooney's. Two examples off the top of my head are Bradshaw...hell the fans wanted anyone at QB but him. They even did a survey in the papers. Another is Cowher. Like I have been saying, there were a lot of voices wanting him gone for his continued failures in AFCC games. Thank goodness those voices were not listened to.
I know that and agree. But look at Diontae Johnson. The guy may be thew best route runner in the NFL. So quick in and out of breaks, the change of direction...he works hard apparently. So by all appearance the guy should be in that upper tier. You go into it having faith in that. Then he can't keep his feet in bounds or runs backwards or drops a catchable ball. I'm sorry, I just don't put that on the coach.
Jeff Hartings. Potsie. Will Woolford. They added talent in those years under Cowher. Losing Woodson and O'Donnell had nothing to do with their inability to pay. Donahue didn't want Woodson back and I don't think O'Donnell was coming back after the Super Bowl disaster.
Hartings and Farrior were both post Stadium. Look we could go around on this point all day. Read Cowher’s book. He doesn't complain but anything , but most of the Steelers part is about losing x,y z player and filling that role. Tomlin has had his entire career on a level playing field the Steelers right up to the cap and Jerry riding contracts to keep overage veterans. None of that **** happened under Cowher. He duct taped it together 2/3 of the time he coached there.
I put that on the WR coach. But if that is a detriment to the team the decision to keep him goes back on the GM/HC.
I don't want to put words in your mouth, but imo you are advancing a theory in which players are not responsible for their failures, it is always the coach. He is a WR. They are paid to catch the ball, in bounds, and run forward. At what point does it fall on the player? Are they robots you can just program?
In the long term it does always falls back on the HC. His decision making. He gets the credit when the team wins playoff games and the blame when they don't.
By your logic, if you have employees that consistently underperform yet continue to be the face of your business, then it's their fault for not training, demoting or firing themselves. Bad bounces happen and people have bad days, but consistently underperforming with no accountability is not the employees failure. That WR you're referring to showed the same deficiencies for at least two seasons and was rewarded with a contract extension and the number 1 position. I just can't continue to blame a man that's apparently doing the only thing he knows how, for being allowed to do it every week.
Long and loud golf clap.
Completely agree. Which is why the "Tomlin won with Cowher players" is such a bunch of nonsense.
Talent evaluation/development has been an issue for almost a decade. Too many mediocre players have been retained strictly because of draft position or lack of a better option. Not a good look when players leave and claim to have learned very little. Did Colbert lose his touch or is something else going on? Guess we'll find out soon enough.
What Cowher and Colbet were exceptionally good at was having the next guy ready. He didn't necessarily do anything his first year, but Cowher knew this player was ending his shelf life and had the next guy ready. I would argue this. Cowher had deeper valleys in seasons, but they were always followed by high peaks that they looked like legit contenders. Not 4 or 5 years of this fringe bullshit they have been.
Tomlin did not win with Cowher's players. BUT he only won big with Cowher's structure and big components of his coaching staff with an attack on defense mentality. not this passive Cover Two, defend the splash play at all costs.