We love our Tomlinisms – Mike Tomlin's unique turns of phrases heard before games, after games and (for all we know) during games.
Whether it's letting the week speak and practice being his guide for players dealing with the bumps and bruises associated with the game of football as they get ready for AFC North Road Action, or praising even nameless gray faces as splash playmakers, vertical disruptors and men for all situations, Tomlin has his own words to fit the occasion.
Even when faced with adversity, Tomlin does not seek comfort and, above all, he does not live in his fears. Well, not exactly.
Sunday in Dallas, leading by 5 points and facing a 4th-and-1 at the Cowboys' 15-yard line with 43 seconds left, Tomlin passed up a 32-yard field goal to make it an 8-point game. Instead, James Conner tried to run around left end and lost 4 yards. Suffice to say, it did not meet the standard.
The Steelers survived, of course, and you could say that Tomlin didn't live in any fears of an atrocious run game that struggled throughout against the league's worst run defense and several times was stopped on 3rd or 4th-and-1. But Tomlin was afraid to attempt a chip shot field goal.
"Man, we had struggled so much with our field goal group early in the game I just didn't feel good about it," Tomlin explained, "We missed an extra point, the blocked (another one), I had just seen enough of their dominance in (special) teams.
"That block, that was easy," Tomlin later continued, "that guy was standing in the backfield on two feet. That was a problem for us and we'll get back in the lab and go through a week of corrections and fundamentals as opposed to try to fix something in game and hear that double-thud again. I am not about that life."
Oddly enough, it was a mistake on a field goal that may have won the game. Chris Boswell pulled a 54-yard attempt at the end of the second quarter, but Cam Heyward was called for a false start that negated the play and gave Boswell a do-over from 59 yards and he drilled it – the longest FG in franchise history.
"They do that shift, trying to get you to jump all the time," Tomlin said, "we worked it and we failed in that instance. You know, I'm thankful that we did (chuckle) actually."
I know situations may have changed as the game progressed, but without those 3 points, Dallas may have been able to win with a field goal at the end instead of needing a touchdown.
So Tomlin isn't about the double-thud life, but he is about being the only Steelers coach to start 8-and-0, although he probably isn't seeking comfort in that.
