Tag: Mike Tomlin

Is Mike Tomlin a frontrunner for Coach of Year?

Mike Tomlin has found a way to keep the Steelers successful despite a rash of injuries.

At some point, even the strongest critics of Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has to acknowledge what he’s been able to accomplish this season. After weathering the storm of numerous injuries and player losses including a franchise quarterback, Tomlin has found a way to continue to keep this team relevant and in the hunt for the playoffs.

But is what he’s done enough for Tomlin to be a frontrunner for Coach of the Year?

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Many pundits want to hand the award to Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh. What the Ravens have done this season is impressive. But when you have Lamar Jackson playing quarterback it’s more about giving him the scheme to be successful and less about adapting to adversity.

Injuries to starting quarterbacks have been rampant this season. But the Steelers are one of the only teams to continue to win in spite of injuries to the team’s most important position.

Cast your vote and let us know if you think Tomlin has done enough to be Coach fo the Year?

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Steelers players credit Mike Tomlin for saving the game with halftime adjustments

Mike Tomlin coached up the defense at halftime to slow down the Browns offense.

When Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin spoke to the media after his team’s win over the Cleveland Browns, he gave all credit for the 20-13 win to the players. He emphasized the importance of team and the effort of the guys.

But in the locker room, the players told a different story. According to ESPN reporter Dianna Russini, the players gave credit to Tomlin for his halftime adjustments. We especially saw this on defense after Pittsburgh struggled to slow down the Browns run game. Once the Steelers were able to get Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt under control, they could start going after Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield.

Tomlin takes a lot of heat from a significant portion of the fanbase for his inability to scheme up games and make adjustments. But on Sunday we saw the best of Tomlin and that led to a win.

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Things we learned from Sunday’s games in Week 13

Baltimore’s win against San Francisco was a Super Bowl preview and what else we learned from Week 13.

Here are nine things we learned from Sunday’s games of Week 13 in the NFL season.

9. The Bengals messed up

David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports

Cincinnati brought back veteran quarterback Andy Dalton after he was benched for three games in favor of rookie Ryan Finley. The Bengals got a win against the Jets, their first of the season. Sounds like a good move, right? No. It was totally wrong. Dalton won’t be with the Bengals next year. They need to take a long look at Finley. But they paused that. Worse, they hurt their chances of getting the No. 1 pick in the 2020 draft, where they can get a sure-fire quarterback.

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Steelers HC Mike Tomlin hints at quarterback change

Mike Tomlin has to name a starting quarterback soon.

In Sunday’s game, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was put in the unenviable position of benching his quarterback. Mason Rudolph was completely ineffective through two quarters and to get a spark to the offense made the switch to Devlin Hodges. The move paid off and the Steelers ended up winning 16-10.

But this leaves Tomlin with a decision to make about the upcoming week. The Steelers have to take on the Cleveland Browns this week in a must-win game. Which quarterback will Tomlin start? He didn’t share any of his insight in the postgame press conference but teased he might already know.

There will be a great deal of debate about this but we shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves. No doubt Hodges gave the Steelers something of a spark when he came off the bench in the third quarter. But after throwing for 90 yards and a touchdown in his first drive could only muster 28 passing yards after that.

Who will Tomlin start at quarterback this week? We should know something on Tuesday at his first press conference of the week because whoever it is will need plenty of reps ahead of the Browns game.

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Steelers HC Mike Tomlin fires shot at Browns over fight

Obviously, Mike Tomlin doesn’t think the Steelers were to blame for the fight last week.

Despite the fact the Pittsburgh Steelers are preparing for a game this week against the Cincinnati Bengals, head coach Mike Tomlin had to spend a significant amount of time at his Monday press conference talking about the fight from last week.

Tomlin made it clear he didn’t want to discuss the fight because for him it was irrelevant. Ultimately, it had no impact on the final outcome of the game. But it didn’t stop Tomlin from slipping in a shot at the Browns and their head coach Freddie Kitchens before he was done.

There’s no doubt blame for the fracas at the end of the game fell on the Browns, specifically defensive end Myles Garrett. His late hit started the brawl and his assault of quarterback Mason Rudolph was the part no one is ever going to let him forget.

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Steelers HC Mike Tomlin on fight at the end of the game: ‘No comment’

Mike Tomlin bit his tongue when asked about the debacle at the end of the game.

It was bad enough Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin had to step up to the microphone and talk about the team’s 21-7 loss to the Cleveland Browns. And it was worse because he had to address the massive number of injuries the team suffered. But one thing he was not going to address was the crazy fight that broke out at the end of the game.

Tomlin wanted no part of that conversation and quickly shut it down when asked more than once. You can see Tomlin just seething under the surface and you know he wanted to just come uncorked about what Myles Garrett did to Mason Rudolph at the end of the game. But Tomlin understands the NFL will handle this and he does not in any way want to taint the situation with an emotional reaction.

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Is Steelers HC Mike Tomlin a favorite for coach of the year?

Mike Tomlin has done a masterful job of coaching this season.

The most polarizing figure in Pittsburgh sports might just be Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. It seems the media and fans display very little middle ground when it comes to the head coach in his 13th season with the Steelers. For many, Tomlin is the perfect fit for what it means to be a Steeler head coach and his consistency is what keeps fans and media endeared to him.

But on the other side, you have those who view the near-decade absence from a Super Bowl championship and a perceived lack of institutional control as his biggest flaws and the reason the Steelers need to move on from Tomlin.

However this season, it is hard to argue with the job Tomlin has done with this team. Few teams could absorb the loss of its best wide receiver and a franchise quarterback in the same offseason along with the litany of other injuries along with the starting lineup and rally a team to four straight wins and having a team once 1-4 in the playoff hunt.

If the Steelers continue on this path and can find their way to the playoffs after a start that mathematically was the longest of longshots, he will be a strong candidate for coach of the year. This would be a bitter pill for many of his critics to swallow but from an objective standpoint, you cannot undersell the coaching job Tomlin has done this season.

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Mike Tomlin on the future of his team: ‘We’re not a big picture team’

Don’t expect to ever get Mike Tomlin to talk about the future or the big picture with the Steelers.

The Pittsburgh Steelers won their fourth straight game on Sunday and find themselves in the thick of the playoff hunt after beating the Los Angeles Rams. But don’t talk to head coach Mike Tomlin about that. Tomlin was his usual all-business self in the postgame press conference almost to a fault.

One reporter asked Tomlin what he was the proudest of as the team has come back from1-4 to win four in a row. Tomlin indicated all he’s proud of is that the team won on Sunday and that they are not a big-picture team.

Tomlin has taken his usual stoic approach to speaking to the media to a whole new level this season. If you didn’t listen to his words and only his tone you’d have a hard time distinguishing between wins and losses.

Pittsburgh has no time to sit back and enjoy this win. After three home games the Steelers must now hit the road and head to Cleveland and take on the Browns on Thursday night.

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Steelers HC Mike Tomlin takes heat for play call that cost team a safety

The Steelers have allowed a safety in two straight games.

For the second week in a row, the Pittsburgh Steelers gave up a safety. Last week against the Indianapolis Colts the blame for the safety fell squarely on the shoulders of quarterback Mason Rudolph. But this week against the Los Angeles Rams, it really felt like the play call was wrong in that situation.

And as we all know, when it comes to offensive playcalling, it is offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner who bears the brunt of the hate from fans. But head coach Mike Tomlin, in his postgame press conference, make it clear this call was on him, not on Fichtner.

As unfortunate as the outcome was, it’s hard to get too down about the call regardless of who it was. The Steelers continue to scramble to try to manufacture offense, especially in the passing game. I have to believe if James Conner had been in the lineup, this scenario goes very differently.

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