The standard is the standard.
It’s a phrase oft-repeated by Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. It’s one of many catchphrases or “Tomlinisms” the eighth-year coach orates in his weekly press conferences and postgame interviews.
That standard for football in Pittsburgh has never been clearly defined by Tomlin himself. As is the case with many Tomlinisms (“iron sharpens iron” is my personal favorite), the quotes are more coach speak than anything else.
However, it doesn’t take a diehard fan to surmise what Tomlin means. Steeler football frequently is associated with a smashmouth attitude, a class organization, a dominating defense and, most importantly, winning.
In Pittsburgh, football in January is a minimal requirement. Super Bowl or bust is a common theme. The “Steeler Way” is the only way.
Things have changed.
After back-to-back 8-8 seasons without a player berth, the superlatives that so justly put Pittsburgh among the NFL elite have been replaced by one unappealing alternative—undisciplined.
The officials’ yellow hankies were abundant in the Steelers 27-24 Week 4 home loss to the hapless Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Yes, those same winless Buccaneers who unceremoniously surrendered 56 points to the Atlanta Falcons the week prior.
Pittsburgh was tagged for a ludicrous 125 yards on 12 penalties against Tampa Bay, with six being of the unsportsmanlike variety. According to nflpenalties.com, the Steelers rank second this year in total penalties (44) and sit tied for first in total penalty yards (387) with the Washington Redskins. As Tomlin said in his postgame press conference, per Steelers.com:
We need to fix it...And if we don’t, we will continue to lose close football games. It’s just that simple. Some of the penalties are technical or orientation-like, facemask penalties and things of that nature. Our tackling technique needs to improve. But some of the pre-snap and post-snap and post-play penalties are just lacking discipline. We have to fix it. I have to fix it. And I will.
If Tomlin wanted to send a message to his team and fix the problem, the time to do it was at the half. Instead, the Steelers continued to rack up the penalty yardage (including three more personal fouls) and consistently showboated and celebrated meager yardage gains and first downs. No players were benched or lost playing time for their infractions.
This is the kind of action that needs to stop if the Steelers don’t want to bear such an upset in the future. The general consensus among writers and fans is that Tomlin has been labeled a players’ coach, much to his chagrin, and thus may be unwilling or unable to properly discipline his squad.
DK on Pittsburgh Sports columnist Dejan Kovacevic questioned center Maurkice Pouncey on Tomlin’s postgame talk penalties: “Lack of discipline? What do you mean?” Told that’s what his coach just said, Pouncey came back, “Did he? You’ll have to go ask him about it.”
The message simply isn’t getting across.
Tomlin outlined a plan to rectify the penalty issue at his weekly press conference, announcing that officials will be utilized in practice this week to help curb the problem. According to Pittsburgh Tribune Review writer Alan Robinson, the Steelers frequently use referees during the offseason and training camp, but it’s a rarity in the regular season.
Despite a general lack of depth, there is talent on this team, especially on offense. There’s certainly more than enough to beat the Tampa Bays of the league. Pittsburgh still has Ben Roethlisberger. He’s its greatest commodity. Not many teams today are fortunate enough to have a future Hall of Famer as a signal-caller.
That’s what puts the mental errors, arrogance and the lack of discipline even more under the microscope. If the coaching staff can’t fix the problem, maybe the front office will find a group that can.
After all, the standard is the standard.
from Bleacher Report http://ift.tt/1nIAT49
via IFTTT September 30, 2014 at 06:36PM
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