I wanted to be right.

I thought I was right.

It sure looked like I was going to be right.

Unfortunately, I was wrong.

The Steelers are still the same team they have been for the last three years. It is the Mike Tomlin effect, and we are all headed to the same disappointment. Another playoff loss.

Technically, I did predict the Steelers going 10-7 in my preseason preview. But, man, did it look better than that for most of the season.

Again, the Tomlin effect took over.

My biggest issue with Tomlin isn’t the X’s and O’s, although they often leave a lot to be desired. It isn’t the botched time management we see on a regular basis. It isn’t even his insistence on drafting Kenny Pickett that set this team back drastically. My biggest issue with Tomlin is his hiring of subpar assistant coaches.

Gone are the days of Dick Lebeau and Bruce Arians. There are no Mike Munchak’s on the staff. Heck, I would be happy to see a Todd Haley resurface.

We all screamed at our TV screens at Matt Canada calling bubble screens. He had to go. Between the lack of quarterback talent and the play calling, the Steelers struggled to break 20 on a regular basis.

This season the Steelers found an actual professional quarterback in Russell Wilson. Unfortunately, Mike Tomlin hired Arthur Smith to replace Matt Canada. Smith was a failed head coach, often having a completely subpar offense in Atlanta. Tomlin wants to win with defense, so he approved of Smith’s conservative offense.

The play calling has been largely atrocious, and now Wilson is slumping. It’s a bad combination. There is no consistency, flow, or common sense to the plays the Steelers run. It has become so predictable that opposing defenses are fully aware of the plays the Steelers will run. Sound familiar?

The defense has failed to bail out the stagnant offense now that the Steelers are playing better teams.

The Steelers have sunk more money into their defense than any other team in the NFL. They have a star in TJ Watt. Minkah Fitzpatrick used to be a star, but is now being used as a safety net to protect against big plays. Or splash as Tomlin likes to say.

Alex Highsmith, Patrick Queen, Joey Porter, and Cam Heyward aren’t exactly chopped liver. Yet the Steelers defense is headed in the wrong direction.

Two years ago, the Steelers brought in head coach castoff Brian Flores to be a consultant. Flores is a defensive whiz. When the defensive coordinator position became available for the 2023 season, Teryl Austin was promoted from his role as defensive backs coach. Flores ended up going to Minnesota where he has taken the Vikings defense from 30th ranked to 4th ranked in points given up.

It isn’t that the Steelers defense has been awful, but they have faded as the season has waned. Despite having Watt and Highsmith, the Steelers don’t get to the quarterback consistently. Not even close. They are playing zone when man to man defense seems more appropriate. Travis Kelce killed the Steelers on Christmas Day. Tomlin acknowledged Kelce to be a zone killer. The Steelers played a lot of zone anyway. Maybe I’m just slow, but this doesn’t make much sense.

Some insiders suggest Tomlin calls most of the shots on defense. I am not sure if that is the case, but Austin is clearly not up to the task.

Maybe Tomlin calls the defense, and maybe he doesn’t. One thing is true, Tomlin wants to hire yes men. Austin came through the Steelers coaching ranks and would never question Tomlin. Smith aligns perfectly with Tomlin’s offensive thoughts so most likely there won’t be any disagreements between the two.

Tomlin has zero coaches on his coaching tree. After 18 years as an NFL head coach, Mike Tomlin has not had one assistant coach become a head coach.

 

That is nearly impossible.

That is my biggest beef with Tomlin.

The Steelers look like a poorly coached team far too often. It came to a head the last two weeks. For two weeks the film has showed tons of miscommunication between defenders. Guys filling the wrong gap and receivers running free. It is December. Good teams don’t have constant miscommunication in December. Players were finger pointing after the Chiefs loss. Some insinuations seem to suggest there is a player(or players) not doing their job. Others made cryptic comments that sounded like shots at coaching.

Yesterday, Tomlin held a team meeting to clear the air and get the team focused. Still, Patrick Queen didn’t back off his statements from the past two weeks. So how clear really is the air?

Tomlin promised changes after the Chiefs game. Nothing like making changes for the last game. It is an important game, so let’s hope something changes. The fifth seed is far more appealing than the sixth seed. The path for the fifth seed would likely be at Houston and at Kansas City. The sixth seed would likely be at Baltimore and at Buffalo.

Don’t expect to see any significant change. It isn’t Tomlin’s style. He is way more talk than action. Admittedly, he was clearly pissed after the Chiefs game. Benching Cam Sutton may not be enough change to make a difference, though Beanie Bishop has clearly played better than Sutton. Changes on offense to help sustain drives would also help the defense. Again, don’t expect much to be different. It isn’t the Tomlin way.

The Steelers are right where they always end up. Right. Smack. In. The. Middle. The winning record streak appeases the national media, as they stroke Tomlin’s ego. However, always finishing where they do means not having a high enough draft choice to get their next Bradshaw or Roethlisberger. So either make a true Super Bowl run or tank for a season. Nope. Instead it’s 10-7 or 9-8 with either a miss on the playoffs or a first round loss on the road in the playoffs.

This year seemed destined for more. The defense was lights out for half the year, albeit against lesser teams. The offense really found its stride when Russell Wilson took over. Wilson was able to stretch the field, one of the few plays on Arthur Smith’s play sheet.

Then boom.

We all knew the schedule would toughen up, and it turns out the Steelers weren’t close to being up to the challenge.

The offense is stagnant. George Pickens is rightfully disgusted. Wilson looks like the guy that got booted out of Denver. The offensive line is showing its youth. In Dan Moore’s case, he is showing his usual lousy play. Most other coaches would have moved on from Moore two years ago. The play calling is, well to quote Tomlin, JV.

The defense is struggling to get off the field. Watt becomes invisible too often. Highsmith runs past the quarterback too often. The corners have been miserable the last month. Minkah Fitzpatrick is stealing money at this point, though that may be as much scheme as his performance. Maybe the biggest thing is continuing to play a 3-4 defense without a run stopper in the middle. Too many running backs are gashing the Steelers in the middle. If Cam Heyward doesn’t make a stop and the linebackers continue to hit wrong gaps it is a 15-20 yard gain.

Even Chris Boswell missed a field goal during the last game.

The Steelers play a motivated Bengals team at home on Sunday. The Bengals defense could be exactly what the Steelers offense needs. On the flip side, the Bengals offense may be the Steelers defense’s worst nightmare. Watt and company should have a field day with the Bengals offensive line. “Should” being the key word.

A win could right the ship a tad and have the team heading to Houston for a game against a team much like the Steelers. One looking to gain some type of traction.

A loss most likely has the team heading to Baltimore on a four game losing streak. That would be the cherry on top of this crap sundae, getting knocked out of the playoffs by your arch rival.

Hope that the team figures out the standard. Hope they defend every blade of grass. Hope the players cut off their eyelids. Hope the team plays varsity ball. You know, be a glass half full kind of fan and believe the former will happen.

Or.

You could be a realist and see nothing but the latter. The changes Tomlin mentioned will be invisible. The Bengals will look like the better team. The Steelers will lose out. They will keep Tomlin and next year will be more of the same. 

As it turns out, I was very wrong. I truly thought the Steelers were legitimate Super Bowl contenders, especially in the AFC. Hope will do that to you. Instead, it is same old, same old. Terrible coaching, a team getting worse instead of better, and players scratching their heads, questioning coaches, and finger pointing.

Maybe Tomlin says it’s about winning Lombardi’s. Funny, he doesn’t coach or build his team for such goals.

Could someone please wake up Art Rooney?

Two Cent Takes

NFL

~The NFL is the most popular sport in America, yet they screw their fans. First it was Amazon Prime. If you want to,watch the Thursday night game you need Prime. Now, it is Netflix. And on Christmas Day. Foolish on both counts. The league has more money than it knows what to do with, so why do slimy stuff like this to your fans? And don’t get me started on the price of Sunday Ticket.

~Do you think anyone in Washington misses Dan Snyder?

~The Giants can’t even lose correctly. By winning Sunday they threw away the first pick in the draft. Don’t worry, I think Shedeur Sanders will still be available.

~Why do NFL head coaches treat clock management like it is rocket science? It truly is a league-wide problem.

~With a win next week in Detroit, Minnesota would become the most unlikely top seed in NFL playoff history. Sam Darnold was mocked and buried, but instead is having an MVP type season leading a talented Vikings team to a 14-2 record.

~Jerry Jones is a meddling, outspoken owner. But he does have a sense of humor. Eagles fans harassed him first on the field in pregame and then in his box during the game. He was able to joke with the fans rather than get angry.

 

Kudos Eagles fans. You may not have outwardly irritated Jones, but it was still funny as hell.

~Speaking of funny. Nothing could be more humorous than the weekly Aaron Rodgers meltdown. Terrible pass. Yell at receiver. Interceptions. Sacks. Late hit. Blown out. Ask to be benched. Perfection.

 

NBA

~Every time I tune in the highlights there was a brawl or ejections. This is a bad product, and this along with horrible officiating is not helping the league’s image.

~Everyone wants to be a shooter like Steph Curry.

 

News flash: Nobody else is Steph Curry.

NHL

~The Pens are giving fans a reason to pay attention, but boy do they need help at goalie. Tristan Jarry is terrible. Period.  Alex Nedelkjovic is average. Joel Blomqvist is 22 and got a small taste early in the season but probably needs more seasoning in the AHL. The Pens don’t exactly have a ton of trade chips either.

College Hoops

~There are 10 SEC teams in last week’s rankings. ESPN has 13 SEC teams in their current Bracketology. That is some serious dominance. And starting this week they get to knock heads with each other for the next 10 weeks.

~I am stunned at how bad the ACC is currently. Eight teams already have no chance to make the tournament. At least my Louisville Cardinals should get enough wins to be on the bubble.

~Jim Larranaga stepped down at Miami. He cited the new landscape in college athletics as his reason. He became disenchanted when he led the Hurricanes to a Final Four two years ago then lost 8 players to the portal. He is correct. The only thing he failed to mention is that he did the same thing at George Mason. He led them to a shocking Final Four then took a better job worth more money. Exactly what his players at Miami did. I agree that it stinks, but the adults created this situation and they will have to find a way to fix it.

~March Madness will not quite be the same without Greg Gumbel. Gumbel succumbed to cancer over the weekend. I was shocked to see Gumbel was 78 years old. He never seemed to age. This one hit home as Gumbel was a guy I have literally listened to my entire life. His calm voice will be missed greatly.

College Football

~Can we please stop the Cam Ward quit on his team in their bowl game nonsense. Was it weird? Sure. But it was a plan the coaches had prior to the game. The kid set the record he was after, finished the first half, and called it a day. That was the plan.

~There have actually been some good bowl games this year. A lot of competitiveness, quality play, and even quite a bit of chippiness.

~Pat Narduzzi should be fired as Pitt head coach after that display of coaching ineptitude in a meaningless bowl game against a five loss MAC team. He won’t be, because Pitt stopped caring about football somewhere along the line.

~I echo Shane Beamer. From the time I was a little kid bowl games were part of the magic of college football. They were meaningful and often gave us new and interesting matchups. There are far too many bowls, but I hope we find a way to keep the top bowl games.

Playoff Predictions

  • Penn State 38 Boise State 14
  • Texas 34 Arizona State 24
  • Ohio State 31 Oregon 28
  • Georgia 20 Notre Dame 17

I still think we are looking at a Penn State/Ohio State rematch.

The Weekly Shiny Penny

I am going to ask that you give me this one. USC came from 17 down to win the Vegas Bowl over Texas A&M. USC quarterback Jayden Maiava threw three horrible interceptions but then came back with four touchdowns. The Trojans found some young offensive linemen, a future star running back, and two elite receivers in sophomores Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane. But the game winner came from a sixth year senior.

Kyle Ford was a five star receiver coming out of high school. He suffered two torn ACL’s and found himself slipping down the Trojans depth chart. He rehabbed and came back to get some playing time. Frustrated, Ford transferred across town to UCLA last year. He immediately realized that was a mistake and transferred back to USC this year. One of the hardest workers on the team, Ford finally had his shining moment. Clearly he was emotional after the winning TD. Pretty cool ending to a rollercoaster career.

 

 

A Penny For My Final Thought…

Deion Sanders wears his shades and his bling. He is now known as Coach Prime. His kids follow suit, whether deserved or not.

I’ve seen a lot of hate for “Coach Prime” the past few days. Feelings expressed like this one.

 

I get it. But that stuff isn’t on Deion. Blame the real culprit. That four letter bastion of poor journalism and biased coverage. E. S. P. N. Just be glad it wasn’t another LeBron highlight.

The media did it last year when Deion arrived in Boulder, and they did it again this year when Colorado proved to be better than expected.

Deion Sanders does everything with a purpose including promoting his players. Isn’t that what a coach should be doing?

He looks out for their best interest, pushing Colorado to be the first school to offer players insurance in case of injury in the bowl game. Every kid played for Colorado in the bowl game. Start to finish. They got thumped. The Sanders kids can be unlikable. But they all finished what they started. That was because of Deion Sanders.

Even the BYU players took a fun swipe at Coach Prime.

 

How did Deion react to that and the thumping his team took?

 

Class. All of it. There are probably no two people more different than soft spoken Kalani Sitake and Deion, yet the respect and love shown through in that statement.

Here was Deion’s message to his team.

 

Hmm, life lessons. Seems like a coach I would want my kid to play for.

 Let’s see, he promotes his players, he supports his players, he looks out for their best interest of his players, he respects his opponents, and he gives his players lessons that will benefit them in life. Yea, let’s hate on that guy.

Everyone is entitled to their opinions and feelings. And BYU fans have a right to be salty at the coverage their team received. In reality, the Cougars deserved to be in the playoffs more than SMU did. They finished with the same record and beat SMU on the road. So, I definitely get it.

Just point your anger in the right direction. It is natural to want to cover Travis Hunter’s exploits, but fair and balanced would have been appreciated.

But Deion didn’t do that. ESPN did it. That network has become a joke. They go for the low hanging fruit every time in this click bait era.

Deion Sanders should be applauded for how he coaches his players. Win or lose, those kids are getting a good education in life from a guy that succeeded just a little.

Channel that hate to the right spot, and it isn’t Coach Prime. How can you hate a guy who has befriended and taken care of his 100 year old biggest fan?

 

Deion had moments this year, like his war on certain media members. He allows his kids to showboat too much. He still occasionally talks too much trash.

I personally put that stuff aside when I view Deion Sanders. He is just so damn likable. And he is good for the sport.

Just my two cents…