Tomlin should be placed on the hot seat

[Shawn]

Tomlin should be placed on hot seat


By Dutch Wydo


When they say an NFL team is well coached, what does that mean?


A well coached team is one that gets the most out of the talent that it has. The head coach does this by putting a team on the field that doesn’t beat themselves. They minimize mistakes and force the opposition into their fair share of them. They also capitalize on their opponents blunders. A well coached team is one that often wins the battle of field position. For example, knowing when to kick a field goal, punt the ball, or go for a 4th down conversion goes a long way in winning the battle of field position.


Most would agree that Bill Belichick’s Patriots are well coached. It doesn’t seem to matter who they have playing Wide receiver or Running back; they still perform at a very high level week after week. So let’s take the time and do a little comparison between Belichick and Steelers coach Mike Tomlin since 2007.


TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL SINCE 2007


Belichicks team = +92


Tomlin’s team = -2


Belichicks teams since 2007 have forced 92 more takeaways than they have committed. That is an astonishing figure. Belichicks team rarely coughs up the football, and their defense has continued to give their offense short fields to work with due to their ability to take the football away.


Meanwhile Tomlin’s team is in the hole at -2.





TEAM PENALTIES SINCE 2007


Tomlin’s team has been penalized 82 more times since 2007!





NET AVERAGE STARTING FIELD POSTION RANKINGS


2012 Belichicks team = Ranked #1
2012 Tomlin’s team = Ranked 28th worst

2011 Belichicks team = ranked #1
2011 Tomlin’s team = ranked #22


2010 Belichicks team = ranked #3
2010 Tomlin’s team = ranked #19

2009 Belichicks team = ranked #3
2009 Tomlin’s team = ranked #14


2008 Belichicks team = ranked #1
2008 Tomlin’s team = ranked #18th

2008 Belichicks team = ranked #3
2007 Tomlin’s team = ranked #7

Just take a look at the above statistics at how superior and consistent Belichick is when it comes to managing a game.

OFFENSIVE REDZONE PRODUCTION (TD) RANKINGS

Belichicks’s team ranking

2012 Ranked #2
2011 Ranked #4
2010 Ranked #6

Tomlin’s team ranking

2012 Ranked #21
2011 Ranked #17
2010 Ranked #15

One could even take a look at special team’s rankings.

2012 SPECIAL TEAMS RANKINGS

Ravens #1
Patriots #2
Steelers #20

Some might say that Tomlin has a Super Bowl ring since 2007, while Belichick does not. But if your criteria for a well coached team is that simple, then perhaps the Cowboys should have kept Barry Switzer.

Some will point to a survey that shows Tomlin is the coach most players want to play for. But that survey doesn’t mean much. After all, Belichick and Coughlin were two of the most hated coaches to play for not long ago.

The evidence above isn’t a one game sample size. It’s mostly 5 years of work that shows that Mike Tomlin will struggle mightily as head coach just as soon as some of the talent begins to leave. That talent comes in two words.
Ben Roethlisberger.

Belichick’s team went 11-5 without Brady. This Steelers team under Tomlin might not go 5-11 if Roethlisberger missed the entire season.

In fact Steelers fans might as well face the facts. This Steelers team that you have watched the past 2 weeks is the one you will start to see on a regular basis under Tomlin, once Big Ben retires. Sure, they might not turn the ball over 8 times a game. But the evidence doesn’t forecast much hope.

The Steelers do not take care of the football. They do not force the opposition into mistakes on a regular basis. They shoot themselves in the foot with penalties. They lose the battle of field position and often settle for field goals in the red zone.

When it comes to coaching, Belichick takes Tomlin out to the woodshed and just beats the hell out of him.

The Steelers are not a well coached team. They haven’t been a well coached team under Tomlin. The time has come to place Tomlin firmly on the hot seat.

Dutch Wydo
Wmbs 590 radio

[Prowler]

Good stuff Shawn. I agree 100%.

[SteelCrazy]

I dont think he is a good coach at times, but it may be a little early to put him on the hot seat. Maybe he got a little relaxed and comfortable. Lets see the moves made in the off season, including the draft and next season. If we miss the playoffs again, then........well, it might still be too early. We have to give this guy a good chance at redemption and I think that is the next 2 seasons.

[Shawn]

I hear ya SC. I have always been a Tomlin supporter, but these are some serious areas which need improving. It indicates a team that lacks discipline and that concerns me. That starts with the top.

[anger 82&95]

There seemed to be a lack of discipline with certain components of this year’s team; an example being the WR group. Maybe it’s unfair to pin this on Tomlin, but it has to be addressed in the off season.

[SteelCrazy]

I hear ya SC. I have always been a Tomlin supporter, but these are some serious areas which need improving. It indicates a team that lacks discipline and that concerns me. That starts with the top.

Yea, it starts at the top, but you have to give the top a bigger body of work before you consider cutting off your head. He's been way too successful to entertain any thoughts of change. However, when I listened to his normal presser I too, at that moment, would have instantly fired him and promoted Haley. I've calmed down now and believe Tomlin is the right man. He just needs to re-dedicate and do whatever its going to take to bring us back from the dead.

[Shawn]

Yea, it starts at the top, but you have to give the top a bigger body of work before you consider cutting off your head. He's been way too successful to entertain any thoughts of change. However, when I listened to his normal presser I too, at that moment, would have instantly fired him and promoted Haley. I've calmed down now and believe Tomlin is the right man. He just needs to re-dedicate and do whatever its going to take to bring us back from the dead.

I hear you about his success, and while I don't disagree...the stats posted are from his entire career. So, Tomlin has produced winning teams even though they don't take care of the ball...are not overtly impressive in the take away categories, and are highly penalized.

What that tells me isn't that Tomlin needs replaced. It means that there is room for improvment and these areas stand some scrutiny.

[BURGH86STEEL]

The last time the Steelers faced the Pats they won. Steelers are 2-2 vs the Pats since Tomlin took over as HC. Tomlin's teams have shown they can win game without Ben. Teams do struggle to win when they don't have players. Look how Billichick coached teams performed in Cleveland. That's a much larger sample size then one season without Tom Brady.

People want to simply place the focus on Tomlin. All coaches fortunes are tied directly to how their players perform. I believe more of a microscope should be placed on Ben. He hasn't gotten it done when the team needed it most this season. Denver, Oakland, Tenn, Dallas, and Cin were games where Ben and the offense had the opportunity to win those games. The offense didn't get it done. When talent doesn't perform all teams struggle to win games regardless of coaching. Coaches don't usually make that much of a difference unless their players are good enough. The team didn't get good enough play from the QB.

[NorthCoast]

The last time the Steelers faced the Pats they won. Steelers are 2-2 vs the Pats since Tomlin took over as HC. Tomlin's teams have shown they can win game without Ben. Teams do struggle to win when they don't have players. Look how Billichick coached teams performed in Cleveland. That's a much larger sample size then one season without Tom Brady.

People want to simply place the focus on Tomlin. All coaches fortunes are tied directly to how their players perform. I believe more of a microscope should be placed on Ben. He hasn't gotten it done when the team needed it most this season. Denver, Oakland, Tenn, Dallas, and Cin were games where Ben and the offense had the opportunity to win those games. The offense didn't get it done. When talent doesn't perform all teams struggle to win games regardless of coaching. Coaches don't usually make that much of a difference unless their players are good enough. The team didn't get good enough play from the QB.

I am willing to give Ben a pass on the early games. Installing a new offense and offensive philosophy there was bound to be some adjustment. (ok, you can point to Manning in Denver, but the fact is they are running Manning's offense, not someone else's).
Ben needs to man-up and make the new offense his next season. There were early signs this season that he could thrive in this offense. I still think he sorely misses Ward on broken plays. Some point to Heath as that go to guy, but unfortunately due to a porous OL, he isn't running patterns on every play like a Hernandez.

[BURGH86STEEL]

I am willing to give Ben a pass on the early games. Installing a new offense and offensive philosophy there was bound to be some adjustment. (ok, you can point to Manning in Denver, but the fact is they are running Manning's offense, not someone else's).
Ben needs to man-up and make the new offense his next season. There were early signs this season that he could thrive in this offense. I still think he sorely misses Ward on broken plays. Some point to Heath as that go to guy, but unfortunately due to a porous OL, he isn't running patterns on every play like a Hernandez.

I am not certain how Ben is going to make the new offense his. Offenses can generally thrive around the league if QB's play well.

Now if people are tying the team's fortunes to the way Ben performs then they need to hold him mostly accountable for when the team fails. But no, people will continue to blame everyone else under the sun because Ben is the franchise QB.

Ben played inconsistent football this season like he always did for all of his career. The huge difference from the past vs this season is that Ben always found ways to win games in the past. He wasn't able to lead this team down the field in 5 of the close games they loss. Ben has never been the type of QB that helps an offense produce a lot of points. Making plays at key times in games to help the team win was Ben's thing. If he can't win games in the end, the Steelers could be in for more rocky seasons.