Julian Edelman provides concrete proof Steelers and Mike Tomlin haven't changed in decades

If you had to pick one word to describe the last few years of the Mike Tomlin era with the Pittsburgh Steelers, you could do a lot worse than "stagnant". Every year, Tomlin does enough to keep the team reasonably competitive ... and every year, the team runs smack into its ceiling in the first round of the playoffs. At first it seemed a sign of the coach's ability to do more with less; after watching the same script play out over and over again, though, it just seems like Tomlin might not be willing to adapt as necessary.

Especially after hearing what one of his old nemeses thinks about the Pittsburgh defense these days. If anyone would be able to offer an opinion on whether the Steelers have gone stale or not, it's former New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman, who waged countless battles against Tomlin's teams over the years. And while the faces have changed since then, it doesn't seem like Pittsburgh's strategy has.

Julian Edelman says what Steelers fans are thinking about Mike Tomlin's defense

Edelman welcomed former Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia on to his podcast this week, in which the two rewatched New England's showdown with the Baltimore Ravens in the 2011 AFC Championship Game. The conversation soon turned to the Steelers, though, and Edelman didn't have too many nice things to say about the current state of the Pittsburgh defense.

Edelman's exact quote is below.

"You knew exactly what they were doing. And they still do what they did. They still do the same God d*** s*** [as] when I was playing [Mike] Tomlin's defense. I'm like, 'We still have linebackers covering the three slot?’ Every time we play Steelers, I have at least nine catches. You would think that they would change it but no, they do what they do."

Edelman and Patricia also acknowledged that the Steelers coached the fundamentals well, and their relatively simple defensive scheme allowed for players to play fast and minimize mistakes. But they also made clear that they thought it was holding Pittsburgh back, and it's hard to avoid coming to the same conclusion based on recent history. The Ravens certainly made things look easy in the Wild Card Round this season, the best offenses have had no trouble exploiting the Steelers in the team's most important games. If Tomlin wants to finally get the team deeper into the playoffs for the first time since 2016, he needs to start by looking inward.