Pittsburgh Steelers: 5 offseason needs
HOUSTON, TX – DECEMBER 25: Head coach Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers looks at the scoreboard in the fourth quarter against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium on December 25, 2017 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
1. Attitude Adjustment
Despite having some holes on their roster, the Achilles heel for the Steelers this past season threatens to be the exact same in 2018. The Attitude Adjustment the Steelers need is not the finishing move that WWE star John Cena uses, although some fans probably wish it was. They are an arrogant bunch for last having won a Super Bowl in 2009. Almost a full decade since their last ring and the Steelers act like they are the kings of the NFL.
While all alpha athletes have to possess a swagger and confidence, Pittsburgh went over the line in their utter and inexplicable fascination with the New England Patriots. It started in full force in Week 14. Pittsburgh played the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday Night Football and coach Mike Tomlin was already talking about the following week against New England. It must have slipped his mind that they had a game against a division rival that night. Oh, they almost(and probably should have) lost that game.
The players followed the coach’s lead the rest of the way. Mike Mitchell made comments to Sports Illustrated in early January that the Steelers would play the Patriots again in the playoffs. The night before the Divisional game against Jacksonville saw Le’Veon Bell tweeting about round two with Jacksonville AND New England, ignoring the fact they hadn’t beaten the Jaguars. T
he lack of focus from the players was frankly astounding considering how talented the team is. Losing to Jacksonville didn’t sit very well with some of the leaders on the team, although maybe they should have spoken up before the loss, not after. Davis DeCastro had some strong words after the game-
"“They were ready to go, they were mad, they were angry, they had something to prove and they did it,” said DeCastro, who put the finger on teammates he did not name for riling up the Jaguars. “Yeah, it’s embarrassing. It really is, man. It just blows my mind. They beat us 30-9 [Oct. 9], we played like crap and we want to talk about New England! “I don’t know what to say about that. It’s just stupid. It’s just not what you do. You don’t need to give a team like that more bulletin board material.”"
This whole culture of talking too much and not backing it up starts with Mike Tomlin. This isn’t to be mistaken to say he’s a bad coach or should be fired; both of those things are false. This is to say he needs to reign in the distractions and needless talking that Pittsburgh does.
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The Steelers have the talent to win the Super Bowl next season. They do have some holes, but they are way closer than just a handful of teams based on their current roster. They have the quarterback, they have a good coach, and they have a lot of star players. Half the battle is already won. Now they just have to make the leap mentally and focus on what the true goal is.