Wonder what Rooney will say / do

[stillwright]

A few years ago I recall making the claim that we had 3 or 4 legitimate players that we could build upon, Boswell being one of them. We have a built a pretty decent foundation where we have only a couple of positions we need to fill and then it's depth that's needed. Yesterday exposed that. We've come a long way. The season could definitely end the same as the past several years but this time it feels different to me.

I know a lot of people have been laying in the weeds since the beginning of the season. Glad you can get it out of your system because I have a feeling your going to have to contain yourselves for a while after this season. But then again I'm sure you'll find a way because I don't think there's any point you wouldn't complain about Rooney or Tomlin if we don't win the Super Bowl.

Weird. Feels the EXACT same way for me. Seems our end results over these last handful of seasons all come back to...........we run the same offense and same defense. Players have changed. Even coaches have changed. One area hasn't though.

 

[TDX27]

Tomlin isn't going anywhere. Up until this point, he was in the top 2 or 3 for coach of the year. They made the playoffs and can still win the division. If they lose out and get bounced in the first round by another blowout, I still don't see anything happening. As was already noted, he just signed a 3 year extension when most thought Rooney would only go year to year. His seat is not even remotely hot or even warm.

 

[Ron Burgundy]

Tomlin isn't going anywhere. Up until this point, he was in the top 2 or 3 for coach of the year. They made the playoffs and can still win the division. If they lose out and get bounced in the first round by another blowout, I still don't see anything happening. As was already noted, he just signed a 3 year extension when most thought Rooney would only go year to year. His seat is not even remotely hot or even warm.

Deuce is NOT going to be the Rooney who fires their first Rooney Rule hire. Tomlin will be here as long as he wants to be here.
I've said before that my fandom took a serious hit when Shades got an extension.

 

[steelhurt]

I know what you mean Ron. After over sixty years of following this organization I find it getting harder and harder to do.
I read in the article where Art says Tomlin is still able to reach these 20 something year old players.
That’s great but there’s more to it than that. A lot more.
I see plenty of HCs reaching their players too but they do an overall better job.
Example: The HC in Minnesota is doing a great job and with a retread at QB too.
Just sayin!

 

[Steeltime]

Agree with your points Steeltime. It’s sad that this franchise has settled for such mediocre results year after year.
Non losing seasons seem to be enough now for Art and his son but like many here I’m sick of it.
I’m at a loss since we all know nothing will change.

I have said before and say again, "If I was paid $7 million per year for a mediocre outcome, you'd be damn sure you would get a lot of mediocre outcomes."

 

[jiminoh]

Deuce is NOT going to be the Rooney who fires their first Rooney Rule hire. Tomlin will be here as long as he wants to be here.
I've said before that my fandom took a serious hit when Shades got an extension.

Makes sense and I never really thought about it that way. After thinking, I wouldn't want to fire him either. Can you imagine the hate Deuce and his family would get? Not only the Rooney Rule, but the winning-season coach, watched by casual fans that aren't lifetime fans.

 

[Lloyd]

If the unthinkable happens and we get knocked out in the first round it most likely will be business as usual at Steelerland. Excuses will be made, words of encouragement will echo through the nation from Art. Words that changes need to occur like improvements in the running game will come from Art’s lips. More excuses of injuries, we had a young OL.
Those that think major changes should occur will never never speak those words for fear of retribution, so it will be like every other ending season. Wash, rinse, repeat.
Nothing will change and we’ll all feel unsatisfied well most of us will then we’ll look forward to FA and the draft. Sorry boys, that’s how I see it.

Yea, you nailed it, unless art DOES want some REAL change, which I doubt. Art has to put up with a weak rushing game, regardless of how many years he whines about the lack of one. Tomlin is incapable of establishing a real rush, period. We are ranked as the 18th most productive O, and with the 10th rated rushing offense but don't let that stat fool you. We are 10th rated because that's all we do, 1st down is an almost guaranteed rushing play. 2nd and 7 and here comes another rushing play. We are the 25th best passing team. 18th seems too high for this offense. 10th definitely seems to high for our rushing O. We are putting up a paltry 3.9 avg rush. That IS weak. 4 teams are putting up 5 or over. All top 21 rushing teams are putting up 4.somethings. We are the only ones in the 3s. This is NOT a strong rushing team, regardless of how much they want it to be or how much they fudge the stats. We are 10th simply from how much we run the ball, end of story. And with a 25th passing attack, you can see why the stats are what they are. Oh, and being 31st at redzone offense doesn't help. We are a shell of an offense.

 

[stillwright]

I know what you mean Ron. After over sixty years of following this organization I find it getting harder and harder to do.
I read in the article where Art says Tomlin is still able to reach these 20 something year old players.
That’s great but there’s more to it than that. A lot more.
I see plenty of HCs reaching their players too but they do an overall better job.
Example: The HC in Minnesota is doing a great job and with a retread at QB too.
Just sayin!

Tomlin's issues are schematically.......bring in an OC and let them run the offense. Same with the defensive side of the ball. The problem is Tomlin likes having his fingers in everything.

 

[ExUSAF]

Looks like this year will end like the last 7 or so. Art II said he wanted better results:

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/39416962/steelers-art-rooney-ii-had-enough-playoff-win-drought

My guess.. nothing will change

You don't even have to guess - nothing will change because what needs to be done will never be done.

 

[Steeltime]

A few years ago I recall making the claim that we had 3 or 4 legitimate players that we could build upon, Boswell being one of them. We have a built a pretty decent foundation where we have only a couple of positions we need to fill and then it's depth that's needed. Yesterday exposed that. We've come a long way. The season could definitely end the same as the past several years but this time it feels different to me.

Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me; fool me 7 straight seasons, get the hell outta here!

I know a lot of people have been laying in the weeds since the beginning of the season. Glad you can get it out of your system because I have a feeling your going to have to contain yourselves for a while after this season. But then again I'm sure you'll find a way because I don't think there's any point you wouldn't complain about Rooney or Tomlin if we don't win the Super Bowl.

How about this ... not losing to a team 8 games below .500, which Tomlin has done 3 times in two years, or winning a playoff game? That would go a long way towards tempering the criticism directed at Tomlin.

 

[SojournerSteel]

Tomlin's issues are schematically.......bring in an OC and let them run the offense. Same with the defensive side of the ball. The problem is Tomlin likes having his fingers in everything.

The irony is that early on for the first few years the perception was that Tomlin was more of a CEO and deferred to his coordinators and of course Roethlisberger.

The flap about 10 years ago over Tomlin being voted by NFL players "the coach you would most like to play for" was a pivotal point because - when asked about it - one could clearly see him taking umbrage at the title and sort of throwing DL under the bus as "the old white guy" with his thin-skinned response in the FOX interview. Fast-forward a few years later, and we have Keith Butler revealing that Tomlin was even starting to take some of the playcalling duties away from perhaps the greatest defensive coordinator the NFL has ever seen. I believe that Tomlin very much resented outside perceptions that he was a CEO and merely driving the bus and only won with Cowher's players. That he was a "player's coach." Throw in for good measure Terry Bradshaw calling him "a cheerleader guy" and we have the psychological underpinning and reasons why Tomlin has become a schematic control freak in all phases of the game.

He wanted to put his stamp and his mark on the team schematically in a way that having DL and BR7 would never allow him to do coming in with figurative training wheels.

After the terrible Jacksonville debacle, Jim Wexell wrote that "Tomlin will not fire Butler, because he would be firing himself." So at that point, any honest person could see that Tomlin was running the defense. Now, after institutional and performance issues on the field that span years with multiple offensive coordinators -- with the same attrition blueprint -- it's pretty obvious that Tomlin also has his thumbs resting heavily on the offense and style of play. Starting games slowly, feeling out the opponent, shortening the games, and trying to win games in the fourth quarter which simply does not work against the better teams in this era of offense.

And we have not won a playoff game since it truly became Tomlin's team through and through.

 

[KentuckySteeler]

A black man working at Whole Foods saw my Steelers hat a few years ago and said "Go Steelers". I went back and asked him what he thought. He didn't even flench and said "we aren't going anywhhere with Tomlin. He's only still there because he's black". This was a black man saying this. I didn't know what to say so just kind of laughed and told him he might be onto something. Tomlin knows he won't be fired, either, and is going to bleed us dry slowly and painfully, He should be ashamed at the mediocre yet flamboyant culture he's developed. Freaking idiot.

 

[Fiji Mariner]

Tomlin isn't going anywhere. Up until this point, he was in the top 2 or 3 for coach of the year. They made the playoffs and can still win the division. If they lose out and get bounced in the first round by another blowout, I still don't see anything happening. As was already noted, he just signed a 3 year extension when most thought Rooney would only go year to year. His seat is not even remotely hot or even warm.

How would he be ahead of:

Reid-best Coach in AFC
Campbell-Best Coach in NFC
O’Connell- award for doing more with less
Sirianni- has his team balling, still not even top 3

Mike might be in that 2nd tier with guys like Harbaugh, Quinn, LaFleur, McDermott…that is his ceiling currently

That is only if he doesn’t wind the season up with a 5 game losing streak…then he ain’t even top 10 though. Falling behind guys like Payton, other Harbaugh, McVay

He’s definitely trending towards that 12-14 range
AND his seat wouldn’t even be warm if he fell below top 15…those loyal Rooneys gave him a lifetime appointment

 

[steel dino]

Its almost hard to comprehend....

That if they lose their last two games...

The 2024 version of the Pittsburgh Steelers will achieve the same record as the 2023 version of the Pittsburgh Steelers...

So Justin Fields and Russell Wilson could not improve on what Kenny Pickett and Mason Rudolph achieved leading basically the same personnel?
How and why could that happen?

 

[slashsteel]

Its almost hard to comprehend....

That if they lose their last two games...

The 2024 version of the Pittsburgh Steelers will achieve the same record as the 2023 version of the Pittsburgh Steelers...

So Justin Fields and Russell Wilson could not improve on what Kenny Pickett and Mason Rudolph achieved leading basically the same personnel?
How and why could that happen?

Bad coaching.

 

[KentuckySteeler]

Its almost hard to comprehend....

That if they lose their last two games...

The 2024 version of the Pittsburgh Steelers will achieve the same record as the 2023 version of the Pittsburgh Steelers...

So Justin Fields and Russell Wilson could not improve on what Kenny Pickett and Mason Rudolph achieved leading basically the same personnel?
How and why could that happen?

1 man is a constant every year. Boring, bland, no changes…….make it end.

 

[steel dino]

Bad coaching.

I hear ya slash...

Or did he overachieve in 2023?
And this team is indeed a 10 win team as is?

 

[Omar10213245]

Tomlin isn't going anywhere. Up until this point, he was in the top 2 or 3 for coach of the year. They made the playoffs and can still win the division. If they lose out and get bounced in the first round by another blowout, I still don't see anything happening. As was already noted, he just signed a 3 year extension when most thought Rooney would only go year to year. His seat is not even remotely hot or even warm.

Let's not kid ourselves here...barring 2 straight seasons (yes, it would likely take TWO) of 3 wins or less, Tomlin isnt going anywhere until he surpasses the Emperor in total wins as HC of the Steelers. The Rooneys so desperately want to have that feather in their cap, the virtue signalers they are

 

[SteelerSask2]

that pretty much says it all as far as change goes. Hopefully a new DC at best

They had the guy and let him go to Minnesota and in two years he built a high pressure defense but Tomlin wants safe so.......

 

[SojournerSteel]

After yet another playoff debacle, I can all but guarantee that Steelers fans will hear the following:

• "We need to do better so we're going back to the lab." The same lab that has produced a combination of Frankenstein's monster and COVID but anyhoo ...
• "We will focus on improving the running game." Just like the last 5 years of focus on improving the running game so there's that.
• "Our goal is to win a championship." Meaning the "never had a losing season trophy," but hey, it's one type of championship, right?
• "We are not satisfied with how the season turned out." Wait, re-runs again? Haven't we seen this for 16 straight years?
• "The team has to make more splash plays." Oh, they make a TON of splash plays, and I mean Rosie O'Donnell belly-flop splash, but those involved watching the other teams complete another zillion passes to receivers wide open in the middle of the field.

The same coaches will be back, very likely without the QB depth 2024 saw, and the results are as predictable as the sun rising in the East and Mike Tomlin getting lauded as a great coach for "never having a losing season."

The Steelers will then win their 3rd straight offseason championship after they nail another draft on paper.

 

[Steeltime]

Its almost hard to comprehend....

That if they lose their last two games...

The 2024 version of the Pittsburgh Steelers will achieve the same record as the 2023 version of the Pittsburgh Steelers...

So Justin Fields and Russell Wilson could not improve on what Kenny Pickett and Mason Rudolph achieved leading basically the same personnel?
How and why could that happen?

Steelers fans need to acknowledge this one fact to realize how disappointing Tomlin has been for more than a decade:

Since 2013, the Steelers have as many playoff wins as ... the Pirates.

 

[ibbg]

I'm with steelcan on this. All I hear incessantly in here is bi*ch bi*ch bi*ch. We didn't do anything to improve this team right? You went from Kenny Pickett to Russell Wilson AND Justing Fields at QB. Look at everything Khan has done. We were projected by the pundits to be LAST in the division. And of course you all have read the tea leaves and gazed into your crystal balls to see NO playoff wins. Well I'm not ready to throw in the towel on this team.
It SUCKS that we got to play 3 huge hard hitting games in a row in Philly, Balt and KC but crap like that happens. I thought your schedule was based on your play from the year before in which case I think KC should have gotten this ugly end of season schedule. What PISSES me off is that we have to play the 3 in TEN FREAKIN DAYS!!!! After Balt comes fresh off a bye. We were handed a garbage schedule.
Hearing the injury report coming into the game I didn't expect a win at all in this game. I do think they'll come out tougher for KC...I'm looking for a win there. So lets TRY to look at some positives...
We ARE in the playoffs and if I read correctly a win in Balty wouldn't have negated us having to play them in the first play off post game. Here's the post game injury report:

PITTSBURGH STEELERS INJURY REPORT​

Player	Injury	Date	Prognosis	Sun	Mon	Tue	Game
LB Tyler Matakevich	Knee	Dec. 21	TBD
WR Ben Skowronek	Hip	Dec. 21	TBD	DBT
CB Joey Porter Jr.	Right knee, PCL sprain	Dec. 21	TBD	DBT
QB Justin Fields	Abdomen	Dec. 15	Day to day	QST
SS DeShon Elliott	Hamstring	Dec. 8	Day to day	QST
CB Donte Jackson	Back/pinched nerve	Dec. 8	Day to day	QST
DT Larry Ogunjobi	Groin	Dec. 8	Day to day	QST
WR George Pickens	Hamstring	Dec. 6	Day to day	QST

 

[ibbg]

I'm with steelcan on this. All I hear incessantly in here is bi*ch bi*ch bi*ch. We didn't do anything to improve this team right? You went from Kenny Pickett to Russell Wilson AND Justing Fields at QB. Look at everything Khan has done. We were projected by the pundits to be LAST in the division. And of course you all have read the tea leaves and gazed into your crystal balls to see NO playoff wins. Well I'm not ready to throw in the towel on this team.
It SUCKS that we got to play 3 huge hard hitting games in a row in Philly, Balt and KC but crap like that happens. I thought your schedule was based on your play from the year before in which case I think KC should have gotten this ugly end of season schedule. What PISSES me off is that we have to play the 3 in TEN FREAKIN DAYS!!!! After Balt comes fresh off a bye. We were handed a garbage schedule.
Hearing the injury report coming into the game I didn't expect a win at all in this game. I do think they'll come out tougher for KC...I'm looking for a win there. So lets TRY to look at some positives...
We ARE in the playoffs and if I read correctly a win in Balty wouldn't have negated us having to play them in the first play off post game. Here's the post game injury report:

PITTSBURGH STEELERS INJURY REPORT​

Player	Injury	Date	Prognosis	Sun	Mon	Tue	Game
LB Tyler Matakevich	Knee	Dec. 21	TBD
WR Ben Skowronek	Hip	Dec. 21	TBD	DBT
CB Joey Porter Jr.	Right knee, PCL sprain	Dec. 21	TBD	DBT
QB Justin Fields	Abdomen	Dec. 15	Day to day	QST
SS DeShon Elliott	Hamstring	Dec. 8	Day to day	QST
CB Donte Jackson	Back/pinched nerve	Dec. 8	Day to day	QST
DT Larry Ogunjobi	Groin	Dec. 8	Day to day	QST
WR George Pickens	Hamstring	Dec. 6	Day to day	QST

 

[SteelerSask2]

The Steelers will then win their 3rd straight offseason championship after they nail another draft on paper.

They've had fantastic drafts the last two years. Give me a break. They have three first year starters and two on injured reserve. You are lucky if you put two first year starters.
Three starters last year and two productive back ups

 

[Vincent]

my fandom took a serious hit when Shades got an extension.

My fandom took a serious hit in 07 when they hired a one year DC that Miami rejected as 'too hip-hop', because he 'interviewed so well'. I was told 18 years ago by a close friend who was inside that he was hired because 'he was uniquely equipped to speak to the players', if you will. We see that born out in bilingual cameos in Hard Knocks. Its why our players and many throughout the league love him. 'All good' if you love hip-hop culture. 'All good' if mediocrity works for you.

'Interviewed so well' reeks of the surprise that arises from low expectation. Satisfaction with the last 18 years bears that out.

Personally, I can't relate to this mess at this point... after 60 years. I've discovered that there are better things to do with one's time. HCMT hinted at that when, commenting on his involvement in his wife's business said 'there's more to life than football'. Artie should have fired HCMT for that comment alone, given what they presumably pay him to do. I could presume wrong as the last 18 years bears out.