It has been a very frustrating season for Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Steelers have struggled on both sides of the football this year. Pittsburgh is 5-5-1 heading into Sunday afternoon’s game against Baltimore.
Tomlin, one of the game’s most-respected head coaches, reportedly took a big step at practice this week.
The Steelers reportedly held a very physical, in-pads practice on Wednesday. Tomlin wanted to take a drastic measure amid his team’s struggles.
“More than anything, it’s about the messaging,” Tomlin told the Steelers website. “Not good enough. And it’s as simple as that. Forget if there’s any production out of the act of doing it, but there’s a message to be sent there. Our physicality, the physical component, the shedding of blocks, the making of tackles, the sustaining of blocks, the finishing of blocks weren’t up to the standards of our expectations. And so we put pads on, and we got a good day’s work in. Now whether or not that was productive is based on the result of our performance today.”
Tomlin was also asked if the move was “punishment” for his players.
“You know, it just depends on your perceptions of punishment,” Tomlin said. “Punishments are for building. It’s for growth. And so, if you want to look at it in those terms, certainly, but I tend to look at it as an opportunity for growth. As a point of emphasis. As a statement. As a setting of our mentality for the things that we need to do this week in that regard.”
Mike Tomlin explains his reasoning for having a padded practice on Wednesday, and he doesn't dispute the notion that it partially was a punishment for last Sunday's showing against the Bengals. https://t.co/TRtBnI8FwD
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) December 5, 2021
NFL fans like the news, though. However, many believe the coaching staff is deserving of punishment, too.
“All the players were bad but so was the play calling,” one fan tweeted.
“Who punishes the coaches when they have a bad game?” one fan added. “Blame the players all week, punish players for poor performances but the coach gets off free and clear.”
“Steelers by 100 today lol Tomlin wasn’t playing this week after last week’s trash performance,” one fan added.
The Steelers and the Ravens will kick off at 4:25 p.m E.T. on CBS.
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