Who is Responsible?

[flippy]

Who's responsible for our success or failure?

Who deserves credit, blame, etc?

It's hard to know for sure. Some are so confident it's Tomlin. Others blame Colbert? Fewer point the finger at the Rooneys? And yet others think certain coaches are untouchable while the coordinators and many on their staff belong unemployed.

I don't know the answer myself. Do you? And why?

What I do know is when Tomlin was hired, he wasn't allowed to bring in his own coaches. So does he really own the full credit or blame in any of this? Some say he won his SuperBowl with Cowher's roster. I haven't really heard anyone give credit to Cowher's coaches, but the Rooneys forced him to keep the existing coaching staff.

Did Tomlin ever gain ownership of the roster over Colbert? I'm guessing if he couldn't pick the coaches, he probably couldn't pick the players at least in the early days.

We all know Tomlin brings good things to the table, but how responsible is he really for that first SuperBowl. It's documented his hands were tied by the Rooneys no matter how we want to retroactively paint the story through our modern lenses.

Clearly at some point, Tomlin earned more power. And deservedly so. And he has likely earned more credit for the current product.

I'd go as far as to suggest the 2018 Steelers have more of Tomlin's fingerprints than the 2008 SuperBowl champs.

And I'm not taking anything away from him. It feels like everyone wants a scapegoat. Whether it's a player, a coach, an owner, everyone wants to discover the easy fix. And none of will ever know. And the more we believe we know, probably the less we actually do.

It's great to be able to compartmentalize things in life. It's human nature to want easy explanations.

So who deserves credit for this current mess.

I've seen people with confidence say Joey Porter should get fired. He's just one example, but what did he do to deserve being the scapegoat? Even Keith Butler. How much has he really contributed to this mess in the grand scheme? Probably more than Porter, but there's a lot he doesn't own.

I wish there was an easy answer, but I don't think there is one. Every thought we have is probably wrong. Yours, mine, and everyone else. WTF do we know any way? I just want it to be simple and see us win. But even if we get there, none of us will know why. And we'll still argue about....stuff.

[williar]

People will do anything to deflect the blame from Ben Roethlisberger. I mean, look! He's already burned through three OC's and quickly working his way through a fourth one. So, of course, now it's Tomlin, Porter, Butler, AB, LB, (UB and OB) along with Lottie, Dottie, and Everybody (not named Roethlisberger)!!!

This guy sucks, has no heart, leadership, focus, or accuracy! He's lazy, that is why he doesn't practice, study film, play in the preseason, nor workout with his receivers. He is being exposed again (without LB or a Defense). But go ahead, let's give him a new contract and keep blame off our fake HOF QB...

[pittpete]

Your mentally ill bro

[williar]

Your mentally ill bro

Well, of course, I am, bro! If that is what you want to call a non-yinzer-apologist, I'm going to buy my t-shirt

[williar]

And throw Colbert and Rooney in there why you're at it, for thinking they could bully LB into signing a b.s. contract while they continue to ask him to do everything on offense but throw himself the football. And would probably allow him to do that if they thought they could get away with it.

[pittpete]

And throw Colbert and Rooney in there why you're at it, for thinking they could bully LB into signing a b.s. contract while they continue to ask him to do everything on offense but throw himself the football. And would probably allow him to do that if they thought they could get away with it.

Hmmm, why not Tomlin?

[williar]

Hmmm, why not Tomlin?

He has been part of the problem too, however, I am going to cut him a little more slack than most do because like the guy said above, I'm not sure how much control Tomlin really has in player personnel decisions, coaching hires, and getting a QB of his own choosing, as in someone who he can actually coach up and hold accountable. I don't think (with Ben's history of throwing him and all coaches under the bus) he really can coach Ben. Just my opinion...

[pittpete]

Got it...The Head Coach gets cut more slack than the owner and the GM..

[williar]

Got it...The Head Coach gets cut more slack than the owner and the GM..

Like I was saying, I don't believe Tomlin has the control over this team that we are sometimes led to believe... Of course, he will probably never have the luxury of Belichick or Gruden control. But I truly want to see what he does when Ben retires and he can groom a QB that will take to coaching... Again, just my opinion..

[Disco1981]

Who's responsible for our success or failure?

Who deserves credit, blame, etc?

It's hard to know for sure. Some are so confident it's Tomlin. Others blame Colbert? Fewer point the finger at the Rooneys? And yet others think certain coaches are untouchable while the coordinators and many on their staff belong unemployed.

I don't know the answer myself. Do you? And why?

What I do know is when Tomlin was hired, he wasn't allowed to bring in his own coaches. So does he really own the full credit or blame in any of this? Some say he won his SuperBowl with Cowher's roster. I haven't really heard anyone give credit to Cowher's coaches, but the Rooneys forced him to keep the existing coaching staff.

Did Tomlin ever gain ownership of the roster over Colbert? I'm guessing if he couldn't pick the coaches, he probably couldn't pick the players at least in the early days.

We all know Tomlin brings good things to the table, but how responsible is he really for that first SuperBowl. It's documented his hands were tied by the Rooneys no matter how we want to retroactively paint the story through our modern lenses.

Clearly at some point, Tomlin earned more power. And deservedly so. And he has likely earned more credit for the current product.

I'd go as far as to suggest the 2018 Steelers have more of Tomlin's fingerprints than the 2008 SuperBowl champs.

And I'm not taking anything away from him. It feels like everyone wants a scapegoat. Whether it's a player, a coach, an owner, everyone wants to discover the easy fix. And none of will ever know. And the more we believe we know, probably the less we actually do.

It's great to be able to compartmentalize things in life. It's human nature to want easy explanations.

So who deserves credit for this current mess.

I've seen people with confidence say Joey Porter should get fired. He's just one example, but what did he do to deserve being the scapegoat? Even Keith Butler. How much has he really contributed to this mess in the grand scheme? Probably more than Porter, but there's a lot he doesn't own.

I wish there was an easy answer, but I don't think there is one. Every thought we have is probably wrong. Yours, mine, and everyone else. WTF do we know any way? I just want it to be simple and see us win. But even if we get there, none of us will know why. And we'll still argue about....stuff.

Not being a smartass really...But you said " We all know Tomin brings good things to the table " What exactly...

Offensive stategy ?
Defense?
Special teams?
Clock management?
In game adjustments?
Second half adjustments?
Opening series preparedness?
Discipline?

What exactly are his strongpoint?

[Slapstick]

More often than not, his teams win?

[BURGH86STEEL]

Not being a smartass really...But you said " We all know Tomin brings good things to the table " What exactly...

Offensive stategy ?
Defense?
Special teams?
Clock management?
In game adjustments?
Second half adjustments?
Opening series preparedness?
Discipline?

What exactly are his strongpoint?

It's really all of the above. People are down on the team now because they are 1-2-1. In years past he was able to help lead the team to perform better. Let's see what happens.

[Eddie Spaghetti]

Got it...The Head Coach gets cut more slack than the owner and the GM..

classic...

some posters here seem to think tomlin deserves a lifetime contract for winning 1 SB

[SanAntonioSteelerFan]

I don't think there's any one finger to point at "who" is responsible, I think it's an unfortunate perfect storm of a bunch of things:

1) Ben is getting old, and playing that way more and more each season. He's fading into the sunset, and that's just the way it is.
2) Tuitt, Heywood, and Hargrave have all gotten fitted for invisibility cloaks. Where are they this season? If they got any bit of pressure on the QB, our defensive backs would look a whole lot better than they do.
3) Could it be we drafted a bunch of studs in the defensive backfield with IQs about about the same as their wingspan measured in inches? They sure seem confused out there. (So, that's Tomlin and Colbert, right?).
4) Or is it possible that those are average to good DBs, and our defensive coaching is really that bad? (That's Tomlin and Butler, right?)
5) Is AB slowing down, getting old too? He seems to have a bit of a harder time breaking away from defenders this year, and he is dropping balls that other mere mortals would drop all the time, but he never would in the past. Maybe injured?
6) Lack of a productive Bell in the backfield, who's fault is that - Rooneys?


I don't see an easy fix here. Maybe Tomlin will become Superman and make it all come together and work amazingly well despite all this … I sure hope so!

[SteelBucks]

Is there an Ignore feature on this board?