The Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense has given up nearly 1,000 yards and 68 points over their last two games. They currently rank 30th in total defense, 25th in defensive EPA per play, and 22nd in success
rate.
So naturally, Mike Tomlin began his Tuesday press conference by blaming the offense for the Steelers’ loss to the Green Bay Packers, saying that settling for field goals was a big problem and led to an “inability to play clean.” And while he’s not wrong in that assessment, beginning the list of issues with the offense that scored 25 points, and has averaged 28 points in the team’s last two losses, is everything wrong with Mike Tomlin in a nutshell.
Rather than opening by blaming the obvious – the horrid defensive play – he blamed the unit that has kept the Steelers afloat. The unit that ranks 10th in the NFL in EPA per play and 11th in points. That’s the big issue in the eyes of Mike Tomlin.
When he was asked about the adjustments the Steelers’ defense should make, Tomlin brushed it off.
“We just gotta keep doing what we’re doing, and do it better,” Tomlin said.
When asked about Teryl Austin, he says he’s pleased with his work.
“I’ve largely been pleased with his work. But certainly, he and I are not pleased where we are.”
Hearing all of this after the defense squandered what should have been a win over the Bengals to get the Steelers to 5-1, and after that same defense surrendered 21 fourth-quarter points to the Packers, is why Pittsburgh will forever be in this purgatory as long as Tomlin is the guy in charge. The lack of innovation, the same nothing word-salad press conferences that result in more questions than answers, the predictable defense that gets eaten alive by any semblance of a good offense – something has to give at some point.
But it won’t.
Whether you agree with me or not, we all agree that Tomlin isn’t going anywhere. Not anytime soon, at least. This highlights the even larger issue at hand, which is that Art Rooney II is hampering the Steelers just as much as Tomlin by enabling this lack of frustration with mediocrity. Nothing changes if nothing changes, and the Pittsburgh Steelers are the patron saints of never changing anything, no matter how obvious it is that a new voice is needed.
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