When you add it all up (and I just did) – with weekly and postgame news conferences, daily training camp briefings, off-season workouts, plus drafts and other assorted availabilities – I have probably heard Mike Tomlin address the media over 800 times.
I have never heard him sound as he did after Thursday's Sunday's Tuesday's Wednesday's win over the Ravens. Even after losses I can't remember Tomlin being so upset with his team.
He ripped his players in his opening statement, calling their performance "Junior Varsity." Asked for a reason why, Tomlin said it was "us sucking."
Finally, when asked if he's ever been more frustrated after a win – a question that most times he would summarily dismiss – Tomlin actually gave it some thought.
"Ahhhhhhhhh," Tomlin pondered for a couple of seconds, "I don't know. I just know it was pretty frustrating." Not exactly vintage Tomlin.
Maybe a lot of that was because Bud Dupree's ACL injury was in the back of the coach's mind or probably the front of his mind; after all, it was the most significant development in an otherwise forgettable football game.
Rookie Alex Highsmith has made significant plays here and there but now has to go from playing 15 percent of the snaps spelling Dupree and TJ Watt to 75-80 percent with Ola Adenyi getting the rest. We haven't seen enough from either to predict how the defense will look moving forward.
Some other takeaways –
No indication when Maurkice Pouncey will come off the Covid list but to the naked eye back-up center JC Hassenauer did not appear to be a liability. Tomlin said he'd have to review the tape to give an accurate assessment but Ben Roethlisberger pointed out there were no center-QB exchange issues and "thought (Hassenauer) did a great job for being thrown into the fire."
The defense is obviously better with Stephon Tuitt but – just like last season - there is no problem with Tyson Alualu getting on the field more often. He was only credited with one tackle Thursday but Alualu is always a steadying presence.
Should we see more of James Washington? Washington is a clear number four in the WR pecking order yet made the most important catch of the game when he pulled in a Roethlisberger floater in the middle of 3 defenders on third-and-6 to sustain the game-clinching drive.
At some point, mistakes are going to hurt the Steelers. A half-dozen dropped passes, an inexplicable end zone interception, whiffed tackles, a 70-yard touchdown pass, another missed extra point … things like that will surely spell defeat against a better opponent.
It hasn't happened yet but Tomlin sees the signs and knows they have plenty to fix.
"We don't have to reinvent the wheel," said Tomlin, "we just have to coach better, play better when he get inside a bowl. So I expect our group to do that on Monday night, Monday evening or whenever it is we play."
So far, Monday's game against Washington at Heinz Field is still scheduled for 5PM.
