PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Mike Tomlin acknowledged the fans frustrations after the Bills game and said he agreed with them on Tuesday. The Steelers head coach also discussed the team frustrations.
Fans booed often and loudly in the second half at Acrisure Stadium Sunday. They screamed at the home team’s bad plays on both sides of the ball. They booed the team hype video, ‘Renegade’. They also chanted ‘Fire Tomlin’ for the first time with that unison and impact.
“You know, in general I agree with them,” Tomlin said, likely referring to the overall frustration of the Steelers fan base.
“From this perspective, football is our game, we're in a sport entertainment business,” Tomlin said Tuesday. “And so, if you root for the Steelers, entertaining them is winning. And so, when you're not winning, it's not entertaining. And if you've been in this business, you understand that, and so I respect it. I share frustrations, I understand what makes this thing go, and winning is what makes this thing go.”
It’s not that they haven’t won, they were 4-1 to start the season, it’s just they don’t consistently win or consistently perform. That frustration is shared throughout the team facility. Tomlin addressed how the players at times didn’t express that appropriately on Sunday.
The whole team met on Monday at the South Side headquarters to discuss the frustrations. Tomlin said the overlying message was ‘being a tough team to beat is not beating ourselves’.
“I never want people to apologize for caring,” Tomlin said. “And I view the frustration displayed last week in that way. Guys were in fight mode, they care, the game wasn't unfolding the way that we desire, they didn't necessarily express it appropriately. And so, as a leader, it's about redirecting that and making sure it's channeled in the right ways.”
“But also, how do we move on from that? The source of that frustration is not playing the way that we would like to play. And so certainly putting together a good plan and putting them in position to play well is a component of moving on from it.”
After allowing the most rushing yards in Acrisure Stadium/Heinz Field history against Buffalo, they go to where they allowed 50 more rushing yards (299) in a playoff loss in January. Can this inconsistent Steelers team move on from this horrible performance and beat Baltimore on the road?
As if any of us inside or outside the Steelers facility knows that answer. The one answer from Tomlin’s news conference all can agree with came from a question from Associated Press reporter Will Graves in what this team’s identity is?
“it’s 6-6 and I don’t like it.”