Look.. I've been a Steelers fan my whole life and I'll tell you why the "Mike Tomlin should be fired" talk is perfectly legitimate and has nothing to do with race
First of all, I'll start by saying I do give him credit for winning that SB and getting to another one. It is a skill to guide a team of ready-made veteran superstars to stay focused on the goal and get over the hump. He did a great job in his first few years.
But ever since 2011 (so cut that "it's week 2!" crap), the Steelers have been trending down. A big reason for that is the personnel, yes, but who is responsible for developing the young guys brought in? The Steelers build through the draft. Kevin Colbert gets the players (with input from coaches) and Tomlin & co. is entrusted to get the most out of them. When Cowher was here, Colbert had no problem bringing in a future Pro Bowler or two almost every damn year through the draft. Yet somehow, with Tomlin's input in the draft room, we've come up with nothing but crap in early rounds. So is it bad players? Or is it players with bad development? The bottom line is that the further the Steelers get from the 2008/2010 core of players, the WORSE the team is. Tomlin-drafted players are accomplishing next to nothing in the NFL unless they are HIGHLY self-motivated (see Antonio Brown).
And let's review some disturbing trends. The team has been steadily getting worse since losing to the Pack in the SB. This team regularly blows big leads (look no further than last week needing a last second FG to beat the Browns after being up 27-3). This team regularly only plays well for half a season (started 6-3, ended 8-8 in 2012, started 2-6, finished 8-8 in 2013). This team regularly underestimates weak opponents and comes out flat for losses (or at best, W's where they look awful and barely pulled it out). Let's review the Steelers against bad teams starting with 2011, and watch as it progressively gets worse:
2011:
-Eeked out 23-20 win over Curtis Painter-led Colts (Who finished 2-14) in prime time.. game came down to the end
-Eeked out ugly, flat, completely uninspired 13-9 wins over 7-9 KC and 4-12 Cleveland
-In grandiose fashion, lost 29-23 to the Broncos in OT in the playoffs, TOTALLY underestimating Tebow, loading up 8 or 9 guys in the box on every play and inexplicably allowing the worst passing QB in the league to throw all over them for 316 yards and the game-winner in OT.
2012:
-Lost 34-31 to the 4-12 Raiders.. Do I really need to elaborate?
-Lost 26-23 to the 6-10 Titans..
-Eeked out flat, unprepared, uninspired 16-13 primetime W in overtime against the 2-14 Chiefs.. may I add that in this game, our offensive line got Ben R killed and he missed several weeks after this and the team spiraled COMPLETELY downhill afterwards? May I add that, in this game, Kansas City held its first regulation lead OF THE SEASON against us... IN WEEK 10.
-Lost 20-14 to the 5-11 Browns.. Brilliant preparedness there, Mikey
-With a playoff spot seemingly on the line, laid eggs in two games in a row to Dallas and Cincy (13-10.. really.. you manage 10 points with a playoff spot on the line against a division rival?) to secure missing the playoffs
2013:
-Opened the season with horrifying 16-9 loss to the eventual 7-9 Titans.. Lost Pouncey for the year taken out by his own teammate in the first drive of the game. Offense accomplished next to nothing.
-Embarrassed 40-23 by the.. Bears? The fantastically average Chicago Bears made this team look punchless.. It wasn't even as close as the score
-Lost in London to the 5-10-1 Vikings.. Came out COMPLETELY unprepared, dominated in the trenches.
-Lost to the 4-12 Oakland fukking Raiders, managing 18 points against them when the Raiders gave up 28 ppg on the season
-Gave up the most points in franchise history the following week, getting thrashed by the Pats who hung 55 on them
All this and yet they still should made the playoffs. Had they actually got off the bus for ANY of these games last year, they woulda been in the playoffs
2014:
-Week 1 need a last second FG to beat Cleveland after jumping out to a 27-3 lead. WTF?!
-Week 2 completely and utterly embarrassed by biggest rivals in prime time who just happened to be distracted by one of the biggest scandals in league history and the least talented roster they've had in years. But hey, only score 6 points and look like you've never played football before anyway. Who cares?
It is to the point where the games that scare me the most on the Steelers schedule are the games against the worst teams, because we don't prepare for them. We don't take them seriously, we just come out and expect to dominate them, and usually lose or eek out some ugly victory, and sustain bad injuries.
It's the same story. When the team doesn't feel they NEED to be at their best, they're not. And they get punched in the face. Whether it's within a game where they get a big lead and piss it away, or whether it's within a season where they start hot and finish bad, or whether it's preparing for a weaker opponent, the story is the same. The team relaxes, lets off the gas. The team thinks it can coast. The team thinks as long as it just shows up, everything will take care of itself. Well, no, it doesn't. You go 8-8 in consecutive years and look like the worst team in the NFL this year when you do that. And that attitude, that carelessness, that lack of preparation, that inability to get motivated unless you absolutely have to, starts at the top. Not to mention, he doesn't design or call the offense, doesn't design or call the defense, obviously isn't developing our young talent, and obviously isn't preparing the team week in and week out to play 60 minute games. What DOES he do? What is his mark? What is his contribution? What can I trust is HE bringing to this team that wouldn't get instantly better with the hiring of another coach? Tomlin is a god damn cancer to the team, brehs, black or white.
defense.
who thinks Fisher is a better coach than Tomlin?
