Comments on: Tomlin Having His Best Season Of Coaching Steelers

By: Jamie Barnhart

Jamie Barnhart — Sat, 12 Dec 2015 14:45:30 +0000

Brian,
I liked the signing of Tomlin. I had just watched him take over the Vikings awful defense and in one year, without adding star players, turned them from #21 in total defense to #8. BTW, when the Steelers hired him away, the Vikings defense immediately fell back down to #20.
As far as his recent playoff futility, I agree with you that our fan base is spoiled and unreasonable. Only 11 different teams have won a playoff game since Tomlin’s last win. That means 20 teams (most) besides the Steelers haven’t won one, either! Now, I want us to win at least as much as the next guy, but I am reasonable enough to understand that there are NFL constructs in place to prevent consistent winning, and that periods of limited success are to be expected. Like you said, Tomlin’s not perfect, but he’s doing a fine job, and we should be happy to have him!

By: Brian Harker

Brian Harker — Fri, 11 Dec 2015 22:51:52 +0000

I wondered myself why Boykin didn’t play earlier. According to Keith Butler and Carnell Lake, Boykin didn’t quite have a grasp on the scheme. Tomlin stated that pretty much that it wasn’t Boykin, it was that with the play of the others at the position up to that time there was no need to make a change. Maybe that was Tomlin not trying to throw anyone under the bus, I don’t know, but at least Boykin is now a part of this “new rotation” to keep everyone fresh.

As far as game management goes, is it him or Haley who manages the offense? I know that if Tomlin says go for it on 4th down, they go for it. Sometimes it is Ben who talks them into going for it, based on what he sees. I know that Tomlin tends to call for the fake field goals and punts, and he has said that alot of times, it’s based on a gut instinct. Sometimes the timing of these calls leaves me scratching my head. When Scobey missed that field goal towards the end of regulation, against Baltimore, I thought they would have been better off going for it, instead of giving them an extra 7 yards off the miss.

But overall, imo,Tomlin has done a solid job this year of doing the most with what he has had available to him, due to all the injuries. Never has the team showed any signs of panic, in any situation, and that truly is huge. I’ve had my issues with Tomlin, just as I have had with Cowher and Noll, but the reality of the situation is that it all comes down to talent. It used to be, in the 90’s,the Steelers had Super Bowl talent on defense, but were lacking it on offense. For the moment, the script has flipped. The defense has alot building blocks, but they are stuck having to play 2nd and 3rd string level talent as #1’s. Maybe Golson is that solution, but they need that guy.

By: TSweeneyG7

TSweeneyG7 — Fri, 11 Dec 2015 17:51:14 +0000

Boykin is not the only example either, just the most obvious.

By: TSweeneyG7

TSweeneyG7 — Fri, 11 Dec 2015 17:50:33 +0000

Respectfully disagree on some points. Tomlin may not deserve to be blamed for lack of execution on the players part, but he damn sure leaves himself open to blame by putting some of those players on the field. Boykin not playing, in what only can be described by stubborness on the head coach’s part, mixed with his ridiculous in game management, could end up making this his worst year.

All that being said, I’m not on tbe fire tomlin bandwagon. It will come down to whether they make the playoffs or not. If they don’t, Tomlin should be on the hot seat going into next year. If they do, the moronic decisions he’s made this year will be forgotten.