Also asks Steelers to be thoughtfully rhythmic on offense
SOUTH SIDE --- After a hard-fought win over the Cleveland Browns, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin is backtracking on some of his coaching philosophies. Although the first-year leader had talked frequently about overcoming the adversity of an unusual schedule and the losses at Arizona and Denver, he is now ready to coast a little.
SOUTH SIDE --- After a hard-fought win over the Cleveland Browns, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin is backtracking on some of his coaching philosophies. Although the first-year leader had talked frequently about overcoming the adversity of an unusual schedule and the losses at Arizona and Denver, he is now ready to coast a little.
“I’m only 34, and I got more than a few gray hairs from that Cleveland game,” Tomlin said in a news conference today. “A lot of our fans are older and can’t take the stress, either, so I think we’ve had enough adversity for the season. The men [Steelers players] believe that, too. Coasting to victories will be our goal from now on, and playing the Jets this week will probably start us down that path.”
In addition, Tomlin had previously extolled the virtues of being “thoughtfully non-rhythmic,” but that too has gone by the wayside. “I want the offense to be rhythmic from now on. I want them to score a touchdown on every drive. No more of those field goals, or punts, or fumbles. Establishing a scoring rhythm will go a long way towards helping us coast to victory.”
Tomlin is not including special teams in his drive for rhythm. “Unfortunately, I can’t set high goals for them -- they are not getting the job done,” he said, referring to the two long kick returns in the Cleveland game. “It would be nice if they had a positive rhythm, but for now all I ask of them is, for God’s sake, at least tackle someone.”
