Tim Benz: Only 1 storyline will matter coming out of Steelers-Colts
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Coming out of their Week 9 bye at 2-6, there was a path toward postseason contention that the Pittsburgh Steelers franchise had walked in the past.
In 2013, the team began 2-6 and ended up 8-8, staying alive for the playoffs until the final week of the regular season. By dispatching the New Orleans Saints 20-10 in their ninth game, the Steelers kept that theoretical hope alive.
However, a blown lead and a dreadful second-half performance against the Cincinnati Bengals on Nov. 20 sent the Steelers to 3-7.
Steelers history shows that there’s a big difference between 2-6 and 3-7.
As detailed by TribLIVE’s Chris Adamski, since 1970, the Steelers have only been 3-7 (or worse) three times prior to this year (2003, 1998, 1986). The ‘03 and ‘86 teams finished 6-10. The ‘88 squad went 5-11. Barring a 6-1 finish down the stretch of this season, the Steelers will be under .500 for the first time since that ‘03 season and will most assuredly miss the playoffs.
So, let’s admit it. The Steelers are playing out the string and evaluating for next year.
As a result, for Monday night’s game against the 4-6-1 Indianapolis Colts, there’s just one storyline of consequence in my eyes. That’s the matchup of head coaches.
Established, Super Bowl-winning, 16-year veteran Mike Tomlin of the Steelers versus two-game veteran Jeff Saturday of the Colts.
Literally two games. The guy has no coaching experience beyond that. Not in the NFL. Not in college. Not as a head coach. Not as an assistant.
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You’ve probably heard about that by now. Certainly, if you were paying attention to any NFL coverage three weeks ago when Saturday was hired as the interim coach to replace Frank Reich you did. Certainly, if you heard ex-Steelers coach Bill Cowher’s rant of outrage against the hire, you did.
The hire by Colts management has been mocked for its apparent, whimsical dismissal of coaching experience. It has been criticized as cronyism. It has been cited by some as a potential
Tomlin has never publicly echoed Cowher’s disdain of the hire. Probably with this specific week in mind. He didn’t want to create a storyline and throw raw meat to the media.
My guess is Tomlin’s opinions on the hire are a heckuva lot closer to Cowher’s than they differ from them.
Whether Tomlin admits it or not.
“My opinion doesn’t matter. I’m not a part of that organization,” Tomlin said Tuesday. “I’m not a part of the decision-making process. I know Jeff. I like Jeff. I think he’s a dynamic personality and football lover and charismatic leader. But I have no opinion worth mentioning regarding their hiring practices or that selection in particular. It’s irrelevant to me. I’m focused on the preparation of this group relative to us stepping in that stadium against that group on Monday night.”
It seems like many people in NFL circles employ that disarming “I know Jeff. I like Jeff” preamble as a way to dilute anything that could be construed as personal animus toward Saturday, even if they (as Cowher does) take issue with the hire.
That said, if Tomlin had no problem with what the Colts did by hiring Saturday as an interim with absolutely no dues paid as an assistant, he certainly had the opportunity to say so on Tuesday.
He didn’t. So draw your own conclusions.
I’ll draw mine. I think the Saturday hire bothers Tomlin. Maybe not as much as it does Cowher. But I bet he’s at least irked by it.
And I bet Tomlin knows how things will be interpreted in Pittsburgh Tuesday morning if his Steelers lose to the Colts. The loss will be all about him. It’ll be all about Tomlin getting out-coached by a guy in his third game on the sidelines.
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It won’t be about Matt Canada’s play calling or offensive design. It won’t be about Kenny Pickett’s rookie shortcomings. Or a shaky offensive line. Or a disappointing defense.
It’ll be about Mike Tomlin and why he couldn’t beat a guy who was perceived as a punchline three weeks ago.
Frankly, that’s how it should be. One of Tomlin’s more admirable traits is how seriously he takes his profession — and how seriously he takes himself within that profession. Given that, this isn’t a game that he can lose.
Talent-wise, if the Colts are better than the Steelers, it’s not by much. And if the Steelers are significantly worse than the Colts, then that’s on Tomlin for being part of some shoddy roster construction. We can’t praise him for that aspect of the job when the Steelers are good and ignore it as part of his responsibility when the Steelers are bad.
The fact that the Steelers are 2.5-point underdogs, given the Colts’ record and the coaching matchup, is a bitter reality check for the Steelers as it is.
Don’t let the gambling line be an excuse, though. Nor should the fact that Saturday’s Colts won his first game against the Las Vegas Raiders and nearly upset the Philadelphia Eagles last week. If Tomlin truly is who we have made him out to be — a very good coach at worst, a potential Hall of Famer at best — he simply won’t let his team lose this game.
He’ll have a superior game plan. He’ll make better in-game decisions. He’ll come up with better halftime adjustments. He’ll substitute better. He’ll manage the clock better.
Everything that a coach with two Super Bowl trips and 15 straight .500 or better seasons should do against a guy who is about to coach his third game.
Ever.
If Tomlin doesn’t do those things, then this short week before Sunday’s trip to Atlanta will be one of the longest of his career.
And whatever criticism he gets will be warranted.