On Tuesday, the Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin addressed the media to talk about last week’s loss to the San Francisco 49ers and the lead into this week’s game against the Cleveland Browns. The news was bad on all fronts but here are the big takeaways from the presser.
We take it on the chin like grown men and professionals do.
Taking it on the chin is a great way to characterize what the Niners did to the Steelers. Pittsburgh got bullied at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball by San Francisco. This isn’t something you just come
Failings in possession down football
Tomlin sounded like a broken record about the Steelers offense and defense losing on possession downs. This has been a weakness of this team for years and after Sunday’s performance, there seems to be no end in sight.
We look like a group that was in a loud environment for the first time.
This one is especially concerning. The fact that communication was an issue for the Steelers defense because of crowd noise at home is a real problem. It points to a lack of time working together with all these new parts and makes you wonder if the preseason was mishandled. The good news is if the Steelers keep losing, fans won’t show up and Acrisure Stadium will get very quiet.
Punting was a problem
Mike Tomlin clearly has a soft spot for Pressley Harvin III. We’ve heard his criticisms of Harvin before but there is never any action on it. How many drives does Harvin have to give away before Tomlin makes a move?
Not looking to feel good about ourselves.
Tomlin admitted there were positives from the game but he decided there was no point in talking about it because as he said, they are not looking to feel good about themselves. Hopefully this loss stings enough to motivate the players and coaches to not want to feel it again.
