Starkey: Steelers fans spoiled rotten

[stillers4me]

Sanity check: Am I the only person in town who thinks Mike Tomlin is doing a decent job this season?
Am I the only one who sees the Steelers (http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/) still controlling their playoff fate as an accomplishment rather than an embarrassment?
Immersed in the world of sports-talk radio, I am exposed to dangerous levels of hysteria, cynicism and utter nonsense. And every once in a while it becomes clear: A large chunk of this fan base is spoiled rotten.

Just this week, we fielded calls demanding Tomlin be fired. The season‘s over, time to rebuild, LeBeau‘s too old, and Cowher would never let his players get away with this.

A frequently heard argument is that Tomlin has always “played down to the competition.”

Actually, Tomlin has won 75 percent of his games (33-11) against losing teams. He went 16-0 against them the past two seasons.

This season, like in 2009, Tomlin has lost to a lot of bad teams. And like three years ago, the Steelers aren‘t all that hot themselves, mostly because they have been decimated by injuries. In his other four years, Tomlin was 28-3 against losing teams.

Am I the crazy one here? .....................


Read more: http://triblive.com/sports/joestarkey/3118531-85/games-missing-steelers#ixzz2FE9eOAs1

[Seven]

I usually don't like Starkey all that much, but I don't think I could have written a more accurate article.

[polamalubeast]

In his other four years, Tomlin was 28-3 against losing teams.

Not bad!



Just this week, we fielded calls demanding Tomlin be fired. The season‘s over, time to rebuild, LeBeau‘s too old, and Cowher would never let his players get away with this.


overreaction!



Am I the only one who sees the Steelers still controlling their playoff fate as an accomplishment rather than an embarrassment?


agree with you and even if they lost today,they still controlling their playoffs fate!

[GoSlash27]

Sanity check: Am I the only person in town who thinks Mike Tomlin is doing a decent job this season?
Am I the only one who sees the Steelers (http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/) still controlling their playoff fate as an accomplishment rather than an embarrassment?
Immersed in the world of sports-talk radio, I am exposed to dangerous levels of hysteria, cynicism and utter nonsense. And every once in a while it becomes clear: A large chunk of this fan base is spoiled rotten.

Just this week, we fielded calls demanding Tomlin be fired. The season‘s over, time to rebuild, LeBeau‘s too old, and Cowher would never let his players get away with this.

A frequently heard argument is that Tomlin has always “played down to the competition.”

Actually, Tomlin has won 75 percent of his games (33-11) against losing teams. He went 16-0 against them the past two seasons.

This season, like in 2009, Tomlin has lost to a lot of bad teams. And like three years ago, the Steelers aren‘t all that hot themselves, mostly because they have been decimated by injuries. In his other four years, Tomlin was 28-3 against losing teams.

Am I the crazy one here? .....................


Read more: http://triblive.com/sports/joestarkey/3118531-85/games-missing-steelers#ixzz2FE9eOAs1

Yeah, I'll go along with that. Some people are just that way. :noidea:

[Godfather]

He's an idiot. Tomlin sucks and his teams have no killer instinct. Haley sucks and should be fired. The game has passed LeBeau by. Time for him to hang it up. Colbert should be fired because he can't draft. We need to just get used to sucking. The sky is falling.

[Dwinsgames]

Sanity check: Am I the only person in town who thinks Mike Tomlin is doing a decent job this season?
Am I the only one who sees the Steelers (http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/) still controlling their playoff fate as an accomplishment rather than an embarrassment?
Immersed in the world of sports-talk radio, I am exposed to dangerous levels of hysteria, cynicism and utter nonsense. And every once in a while it becomes clear: A large chunk of this fan base is spoiled rotten.

Just this week, we fielded calls demanding Tomlin be fired. The season‘s over, time to rebuild, LeBeau‘s too old, and Cowher would never let his players get away with this.

A frequently heard argument is that Tomlin has always “played down to the competition.”

Actually, Tomlin has won 75 percent of his games (33-11) against losing teams. He went 16-0 against them the past two seasons.

This season, like in 2009, Tomlin has lost to a lot of bad teams. And like three years ago, the Steelers aren‘t all that hot themselves, mostly because they have been decimated by injuries. In his other four years, Tomlin was 28-3 against losing teams.

Am I the crazy one here? .....................


Read more: http://triblive.com/sports/joestarkey/3118531-85/games-missing-steelers#ixzz2FE9eOAs1


not sure those numbers are accurate but running on 3 hours sleep I am not about to do the research to challenge them whole heatedly

[X-Terminator]

Well, I've been saying for years that Steelers fans are spoiled rotten, and been roundly criticized for it at times. Whether anyone likes it or not, it's the cold, hard truth.

[GoSlash27]

He's an idiot. Tomlin sucks and his teams have no killer instinct. Haley sucks and should be fired. The game has passed LeBeau by. Time for him to hang it up. Colbert should be fired because he can't draft. We need to just get used to sucking. The sky is falling.
http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/list/000/070/808/OHNOES.gif :toofunny:

And don't forget that everybody on the field is either past his prime, average at best, or a wasted draft pick.

[salamander]

He's an idiot. Tomlin sucks and his teams have no killer instinct. Haley sucks and should be fired. The game has passed LeBeau by. Time for him to hang it up. Colbert should be fired because he can't draft. We need to just get used to sucking. The sky is falling.

http://images.benquick.net/d/7820-1/sky-is-falling.jpg

:chuckle:

[HollywoodSteel]

It's always funny to watch how people always project anyone who disagrees with them as having extreme and unreasonable positions. Of course he'd going to hear the callers that are most hysterical on talk radio because those are the ones the screeners put through as they make for interesting radio. Very few people around here say that everyone should be fired. We just want to talk about what's going wrong and why. It is absolutely true that injuries play a big part of it and the Steelers have been hit harder than most. But injuries don't cause your starters to fumble or drop passes, so clearly there's more to talk about.

I don't dislike Tomlin but once again I'll ask the question that no one, not Starkey nor anyone on the this board has answered -- what does Tomlin excel at? Is he a master strategist? Will he see things on film that others might not and pick apart other teams' weaknesses? Is he meticulous in practice about correcting every tiny detail until his guys are perfect every time? How does he coach better than others? I will be happy to listen to any reasonable points.

[pepsyman1]

He's a 100% right we are spoiled but at the same time most of us get at upset at the sheer amount of stress this team causes EVEN WHEN WE WIN. Lol. We have had inarguably the BEST defensive team overall in the league for the last decade. We have a franchise QB that has been great since he took the field as a rookie. So we all wonder why SO many games are decided by so little points in the waning moments of the game. We want to know why we are not a little more dominant. Since 2006 the Marsha, Belicheat and the Pats win their average game by almost 12 points per game...our average win is by less than 6. We know we are lucky...we've got the Lombardis...we just wish we could relax and enjoy it a little more.

[X-Terminator]

It's always funny to watch how people always project anyone who disagrees with them as having extreme and unreasonable positions. Of course he'd going to hear the callers that are most hysterical on talk radio because those are the ones the screeners put through as they make for interesting radio. Very few people around here say that everyone should be fired. We just want to talk about what's going wrong and why. It is absolutely true that injuries play a big part of it and the Steelers have been hit harder than most. But injuries don't cause your starters to fumble or drop passes, so clearly there's more to talk about.

I don't dislike Tomlin but once again I'll ask the question that no one, not Starkey nor anyone on the this board has answered -- what does Tomlin excel at? Is he a master strategist? Will he see things on film that others might not and pick apart other teams' weaknesses? Is he meticulous in practice about correcting every tiny detail until his guys are perfect every time? How does he coach better than others? I will be happy to listen to any reasonable points.

You really think that only goes on in talk radio? Do you actually live here in Pittsburgh and interact with the fan base on a regular basis? If you do, then you know that Starkey isn't just projecting talk radio calls onto the fan base at large. He is absolutely right, because he lives it every single day, whether he's on the air or not. Steelers fans are spoiled rotten, and not only that, they demand and expect perfection every single game, and dammit, if they don't get it...FIAR EVERYBODEEEEEE!!!

As for Mike Tomlin, he is a good coach. He is not a great one. He does not have all of the "intangibles" that a Belicheat* has. But then again, very few coaches, period, have those intangibles. That does not mean he should be fired, according to the ignorant masses in our fan base. That is just stupid, silly and an extremely lazy opinion...something else the fans excel at. You don't have to be a "great" coach to win Super Bowls...you merely have to be a good one.

[GoSlash27]

He's a 100% right we are spoiled but at the same time most of us get at upset at the sheer amount of stress this team causes EVEN WHEN WE WIN. Lol. We have had inarguably the BEST defensive team overall in the league for the last decade. We have a franchise QB that has been great since he took the field as a rookie. So we all wonder why SO many games are decided by so little points in the waning moments of the game. We want to know why we are not a little more dominant. Since 2006 the Marsha, Belicheat and the Pats win their average game by almost 12 points per game...our average win is by less than 6. We know we are lucky...we've got the Lombardis...we just wish we could relax and enjoy it a little more.

That's what I always tell the newly- converted Steeler fans; rooting for this team will make you old before your time :D

[X-Terminator]

He's a 100% right we are spoiled but at the same time most of us get at upset at the sheer amount of stress this team causes EVEN WHEN WE WIN. Lol. We have had inarguably the BEST defensive team overall in the league for the last decade. We have a franchise QB that has been great since he took the field as a rookie. So we all wonder why SO many games are decided by so little points in the waning moments of the game. We want to know why we are not a little more dominant. Since 2006 the Marsha, Belicheat and the Pats win their average game by almost 12 points per game...our average win is by less than 6. We know we are lucky...we've got the Lombardis...we just wish we could relax and enjoy it a little more.

Yeah, and they have won exactly 0 Super Bowls in that same time period. The Steelers? 2 appearances, 1 win. All of that "dominance" didn't mean shit when it came time to play for the big one.

[st33lersguy]

So I can't complain when the Steelers are 7-6 even though they have more talent than a 7-6 team scrapping for their playoff lives? I can't complain when they are 7-6 but should be 11-2 and fighting for home field advantage? I can't complain when this team blows an opportunity to gain on the division when they get their asses kicked by a 4-8 Chargers team? I can't complain when the team commits 8 turnovers and lose against a 2-8 team? I can't complain when the coach does not have this team focused enough to beat the god awful Raiders and Titans? I guess I have no right to ask Tomlin to have his team focused on playing football for consecutive weeks because we are in the playoff hunt and Tomlin has a winning record.

[stillers4me]

So I can't complain when the Steelers are 7-6 even though they have more talent than a 7-6 team scrapping for their playoff lives? I can't complain when they are 7-6 but should be 11-2 and fighting for home field advantage? I can't complain when this team blows an opportunity to gain on the division when they get their asses kicked by a 4-8 Chargers team? I can't complain when the team commits 8 turnovers and lose against a 2-8 team? I can't complain when the coach does not have this team focused enough to beat the god awful Raiders and Titans? I guess I have no right to ask Tomlin to have his team focused on playing football for consecutive weeks because we are in the playoff hunt and Tomlin has a winning record.

This.

I don't expect to win the superbowl every year. I don't even expect perfect games. I'll take an ugly win any day.

But I do resent being called spoiled when I expect them to play with urgancy every game. I expect my team to be competitive and play every game like it matters.

[st33lersguy]

7-6 and in position to merely squeak into the playoffs is great for systemically crappy teams like the Bills and Browns, but for a veteran team with a lot of Super Bowl experience and a vast array of pro bowl players, more should be expected

[Count Steeler]

So I guess Keisel/Roethlisberger are way off base for trying to fire up the troops. And the fans are seeing something that just isn't there?

It is incumbent for this team to be prepared week in and week out. We are in a playoff hunt. 4 of our losses came at the hands of teams that are NOT in the playoff hunt. Our last 2 efforts against the Browns and the Chargers were abysmal at best. NOT the effort we expect from teams in the playoff hunt. Tomlin fired? NO. Tomlin to answer some questions? You bet.

[Dwinsgames]

Super Bowl winning aspirations SHOULD be the goal of every player on every team every year , 32 teams should be aiming high each and every year , 31 will fail that goal but it should be the goal none the less and as a Fan that is my goal to see my team in that Super Bowl each and every year anything less is failure ..... there is but 1 winner of each season and that is the team hoisting the Lombardi , do you go into the season saying Gee I hope we draft in the mid to late 20s or do you go into the season wanting another Lombardi .... who routes to be a playoff team or a division winner when the true goal is to win the Super Bowl ...

it is not an unrealistic expectation it is the only expectation because to win the Super Bowl is the only crowning moment that matters and all goals should be at the end the highest level of achievement not somewhere in between ....

[fansince'76]

Since 2006 the Marsha, Belicheat and the Pats win their average game by almost 12 points per game...our average win is by less than 6.

See, this is what irks the shit out of me. I'm tired of the penis envy so many Steelers fans have for those assholes.

[X-Terminator]

So I can't complain when the Steelers are 7-6 even though they have more talent than a 7-6 team scrapping for their playoff lives? I can't complain when they are 7-6 but should be 11-2 and fighting for home field advantage? I can't complain when this team blows an opportunity to gain on the division when they get their asses kicked by a 4-8 Chargers team? I can't complain when the team commits 8 turnovers and lose against a 2-8 team? I can't complain when the coach does not have this team focused enough to beat the god awful Raiders and Titans? I guess I have no right to ask Tomlin to have his team focused on playing football for consecutive weeks because we are in the playoff hunt and Tomlin has a winning record.

This coming from the guy who calls Dick LeBeau "senile" and should be put out to pasture and calls Tomlin "Momlin," along with a billion other derogatory remarks about the team. Yeah, you are exactly the fan Starkey is talking about. And yes, fans like you are the majority, not the minority.


This.

I don't expect to win the superbowl every year. I don't even expect perfect games. I'll take an ugly win any day.

But I do resent being called spoiled when I expect them to play with urgancy every game. I expect my team to be competitive and play every game like it matters.

You, however, are NOT the fan he is talking about. Everybody expects the team to play with a sense of urgency every game. Nothing wrong with that. What IS wrong is when shit happens, the first thing out of the fans' mouth is "FIRE TOMLIN!" "FIRE LEBEAU!" "FIRE COLBERT!" Sorry, but that shit gets old REAL quick.

[Edman]

See, this is what irks the shit out of me. I'm tired of the penis envy so many Steelers fans have for those assholes.

No kidding. I used to be like that. Getting so pissed off whenever the Steelers lost.

http://forums.steelersfever.com/showthread.php?t=94742

I told them to go be Patriots Fans if they don't like what's going on here.

[zulater]

It's always funny to watch how people always project anyone who disagrees with them as having extreme and unreasonable positions. Of course he'd going to hear the callers that are most hysterical on talk radio because those are the ones the screeners put through as they make for interesting radio. Very few people around here say that everyone should be fired. We just want to talk about what's going wrong and why. It is absolutely true that injuries play a big part of it and the Steelers have been hit harder than most. But injuries don't cause your starters to fumble or drop passes, so clearly there's more to talk about.

I don't dislike Tomlin but once again I'll ask the question that no one, not Starkey nor anyone on the this board has answered -- what does Tomlin excel at? Is he a master strategist? Will he see things on film that others might not and pick apart other teams' weaknesses? Is he meticulous in practice about correcting every tiny detail until his guys are perfect every time? How does he coach better than others? I will be happy to listen to any reasonable points.

Great post! :applaudit:

[Edman]

Tomlin is a players coach.

He is not a master strategist/perfectionist X's and O's guy like Belicheat, he's a coach. He preaches toughness and winning at any cost affair. He doesn't care about HOW you win, but rather that you win. This of course has it's advantages and disadvantages, but it's working. If our way is so bad, how come Tomlin has been to two Super Bowls?

If Belichick's way was so excellent and infallible, how come the Patriots haven't won anything since Bush was in office? The master strategist lost to a wildcard team in the Super Bowl while his team was flirting with a perfect season, then he loses to the same team AGAIN five years later. If anything like that happened to Tomlin, we'd be calling for his head.

It's one thing to give players and coaches criticism, it's another to call for their firing because of a setback.

[pepsyman1]

No kidding. I used to be like that. Getting so pissed off whenever the Steelers lost.

http://forums.steelersfever.com/showthread.php?t=94742

I told them to go be Patriots Fans if they don't like what's going on here.

I surely don't want to be a Patriot fan, I just want to see our team put teams away instead of letting them linger or playing down to poor teams