Jerome Bettis On Mike Tomlin: ‘He Loosened Up Too Much’

[Shoes]

Seeing as he is a former Los Angeles Ram, Hall of Fame running back Jerome Bettis was doing his rounds in the media leading up to Super Bowl LIII and you can bet he was going to be asked about the state of affairs of his former team, the Pittsburgh Steelers.

https://steelersdepot.com/2019/01/jerome-bettis-on-mike-tomlin-he-loosened-up-too-much/

[86WARD]

Oh no...another veteran player criticizing Mike Tomlin...

Pretty soon there’s not gonna be any former players allowed back at Heinz Field...

[cold-hard-steel]

Well the thing is that, that is the thing.The big thing is the main thing and the main thing is that the "standard is Not the standard."
But just the same "THAT" is a big thing.:hmm::bored:

[FrancoLambert]

Pay no attention to his criticism. He’s another disgruntled retiree.

He wants attention. Mike Tomlin has full control of the locker room. Discipline is the standard.

:sarcasm2:

[AtlantaDan]

Seeing as he is a former Los Angeles Ram, Hall of Fame running back Jerome Bettis was doing his rounds in the media leading up to Super Bowl LIII and you can bet he was going to be asked about the state of affairs of his former team, the Pittsburgh Steelers.

https://steelersdepot.com/2019/01/jerome-bettis-on-mike-tomlin-he-loosened-up-too-much/

Sounds like Esiason not surprisingly took a shot a Ben in the interview and Bettis agreed by saying the root cause of problem is not Tomlin giving too much freedom to AB but to the franchise QB:stirthepot:

The former Steelers’ running back was asked by Esiason if he believes quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was given too much freedom by Mike Tomlin and Bettis’ answer could not have been more transparent.

“Absolutely, no doubt about it. I think that’s where it started and it just permeated through the entire locker room.

Not too hard to conclude Bettis is taking a further shot at Ben as self-appointed Team Leader with this comment

“Its frustrating because we set a standard that we saw from the guys before us. We said we have to maintain the standard and we’re the stewards of the standard. We’re passing the standard on and to see that standard be eroded, that’s the hurtful part of it,” says Bettis.

https://steelersdepot.com/2019/01/jerome-bettis-on-mike-tomlin-he-loosened-up-too-much/

So in addition to the standard plot line of former Steelers criticizing Tomlin we get the bonus plot line of former Steelers from the 2005-2008 glory days not being fans of the franchise QB :behindsofa:

[86WARD]

It’s not like Harrison, Bettis, any of these guys aren’t telling the truth. It’s clear as day what is happening/has happened.

[Michael]

Mike Tomlin is the head coach. Ben is the franchise QB who is an extreme competitor. Tomlin can't control, the time clock, the replay challenges, poor behavior attending meetings on time, tolerates locker broom video shooting, Looks to & talks about the future AFC championshis game with "the Elephant in the room" and gives up 45 points & makes a mediocre QB look like a Hall of Fame QB, allows players to sleep in meetings, perhaps allowing the diva to have his own house at pre season camp. doesn't play Ben enough time in pre season to get his timing down & we tie (lose) to the Browns, the guy goes to see his son play a high school football game and smokes cigars in a no smoking zone and is asked to leave----a great example of discipline, answers questions consistently because he is either simply stupid, or a bull shitter/liar when he explains keeping Dobbs in the game. " I like the flow of game". Ben is not the problem because he is frustrated. Many of us are. I totally 110 percent get it when it comes to Ben. I find no fault with Ben. The big brother should not have to take care of the spoiled child when there is father in the house. It is the father's job . Get it. Real simple my friends. Final statement... the media is so full of shallow people just trying to keep their jobs by just saying anything that gets the NFL followers attention. Don't by it. But this is just my opinion.

You want to find out the truth. Trade Ben get a great defensive player, pay Brown a return home bonus, Start Dobbs, and enjoy the FLOW.

[Born2Steel]

Mike Tomlin is the head coach. Ben is the franchise QB who is an extreme competitor. Tomlin can't control, the time clock, the replay challenges, poor behavior attending meetings on time, tolerates locker broom video shooting, Looks to & talks about the future AFC championshis game with "the Elephant in the room" and gives up 45 points & makes a mediocre QB look like a Hall of Fame QB, allows players to sleep in meetings, perhaps allowing the diva to have his own house at pre season camp. doesn't play Ben enough time in pre season to get his timing down & we tie (lose) to the Browns, the guy goes to see his son play a high school football game and smokes cigars in a no smoking zone and is asked to leave----a great example of discipline, answers questions consistently because he is either simply stupid, or a bull shitter/liar when he explains keeping Dobbs in the game. " I like the flow of game". Ben is not the problem because he is frustrated. Many of us are. I totally 110 percent get it when it comes to Ben. I find no fault with Ben. The big brother should not have to take care of the spoiled child when there is father in the house. It is the father's job . Get it. Real simple my friends. Final statement... the media is so full of shallow people just trying to keep their jobs by just saying anything that gets the NFL followers attention. Don't by it. But this is just my opinion.

You want to find out the truth. Trade Ben get a great defensive player, pay Brown a return home bonus, Start Dobbs, and enjoy the FLOW.

Santonio???????

[AtlantaDan]

I find no fault with Ben. The big brother should not have to take care of the spoiled child when there is father in the house. It is the father's job . Get it. Real simple my friends. Final statement... the media is so full of shallow people just trying to keep their jobs by just saying anything that gets the NFL followers attention. Don't by it. But this is just my opinion.

Jerome Bettis disagrees. It was the "big brothers" who addressed the problems in the Bettis/Farrior days, not the head coach/father

Bettis was one of the great leaders in Steelers history — right there next to Joe Greene — and described himself as an “intermediary” between the players and Bill Cowher...

“Those players have to hold each other accountable. If they don’t, it never ever works. It has to start with the players, a strong leadership saying, “Enough is enough. You start that dumb stuff? You’re out of here. We’re kicking you out.’ When your peers hold you to a standard, it’s much different than when the coaches hold you to a standard. I think it has to start there.”

https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/ron-cook/2019/01/30/antonio-brown-steelers-news-jerome-bettis-hall-of-fame/stories/201901300064

And as far as blaming "the media" it was not a member of the media who was interviewed by Esiason yesterday. Bettis gave the quote to Esiason about the problem starting when Tomlin gave too much freedom to Ben.

[fansince'76]

This the same JB that faked injury to avoid being cut by the Steelers?


My belief is there wouldn’t be a mess if Bettis were around. The locker room wouldn’t be the circus it has become. He wouldn’t have allowed the Antonio Brown situation to race out of control.

Ummm, OK...


The eighth player picked in the 2000 NFL draft, Burress joined the Pittsburgh Steelers. He only played 12 games in his first season because he needed surgery to repair a wrist injury. During the next two seasons, Burress performed well, scoring six touchdowns in 2001 and seven in 2002. He also caught 78 passes for 1,325 yards—a career high—in 2002. Off the field, however, Burress developed a reputation for being a problem player. He was known to show up late to team meetings, and skipped a training camp program without informing the team, according to Sports Illustrated.

https://www.biography.com/people/plaxico-burress-392496

Not to mention his locker room poutfest after the 2004 AFCCG where he whined about not getting enough touches after alligator-arming what would have been a sure TD...

[AtlantaDan]

This the same JB that faked injury to avoid being cut by the Steelers?

Winning leads to folks forgetting the bad times and remembering the good times when looking back on the glorious past

Before the Super Bowl years Joe Greene took himself out of a game (aka quit) becuase he did not like the way the team was playing, which did not go over well with some of his teammates, but that is pretty much forgotten too

[Mojouw]

I find the truly hilarious part of all of this is that EVERYONE criticizing Tomlin basically says that Tomlin chooses to treat his players like grown men and not football playing idiot children that need every moment of their lives micromanaged. So this leads me to conclude that either the NFL is chock full of idiot man children that can not function without someone telling them what to do and not do on a consistent basis OR football “knowers” are so ingrained in the mythology of the iron discipline of a coach and locker room that they can not believe that any deviation from that model could provide a path to success.

Either way is just really sad. The basic conclusion is the same. NFL players, for the majority, are unable to self-sustain the motivation and mental discipline to be successful without coaches and the minority of players (“leaders”) imposing rigorous structure and discipline on them. That’s just sad.

And also underscores my long held belief that most of these dudes are almost complete morons.

[st33lersguy]

Well the thing is that, that is the thing.The big thing is the main thing and the main thing is that the "standard is Not the standard."
But just the same "THAT" is a big thing.:hmm::bored:

the standard is a non-losing season

[El-Gonzo Jackson]

... we get the bonus plot line of former Steelers from the 2005-2008 glory days not being fans of the franchise QB :behindsofa:

Buh, buh, buh…. Keisel likes him, so all those guys like Bettis, Ward, Clark, Harrison, etc that criticized him must be wrong. :Cry:

[GoSlash27]

Not saying "Da Bus" is right or wrong, but really... He doesn't know any more about this subject than anyone else. He never played for Tomlin or witnessed the "loosening up" he speaks of.
Just more uninformed opinion masquerading as "news".

I understand why the media pushes this garbage as "news" (they're stupid, incompetent, and lazy), but I don't understand why we take it seriously. It's just high school gossip.

[hawaiiansteeler]

Well the thing is that, that is the thing.The big thing is the main thing and the main thing is that the "standard is Not the standard."
But just the same "THAT" is a big thing.:hmm::bored:

it is what it is, such is life in the National Football League...

[AtlantaDan]

Gerry Dulac of the P-G on the lack of locker room leadership

Hello, Gerry. Do you feel this team has lacked locker room leaders since our last Super Bowl team in 2010, and has the front office taken notice as something to be addressed? Thanks.

Gerry Dulac: I don't buy into the locker-room leader stuff. The team has enough players such as Cam Heyward and Maurkice Pouncey and Joe Haden and Dave DeCastro who are viewed as leaders and role models for younger players. Even guys like Vance McDonald. And don't underestimate Ben's impact on them. But also understand today's locker room is different than it was even 10 years ago. The days of a Ray Lewis player are gone. Look around the league: With the exception of Tom Brady and Drew Brees, name me one player who sets a tone as THE leader of the team? Too many disjointed personalities who feel it is their entitled right to act and do whatever they want.

https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2019/01/30/Gerry-Dulac-s-Steelers-chat-01-30-19/stories/201901300112

[DesertSteel]

Oh no...another veteran player criticizing Mike Tomlin...
These ex-Steelers must be spending too much time here at SU forum because we're the only ones who are critical of Tomlin, obviously.

[pczach]

These ex-Steelers must be spending too much time here at SU forum because we're the only ones who are critical of Tomlin, obviously.


Don't you think that some of this is the "Get off my lawn!" side of players?

I think to guys like Bettis, social media, self-branding, doing the JuJu traveling road show and funny videos must seem like complete nonsense. I think some of it is a generational thing, and hanging on to how it was when they played. There's also a lot of jealousy from older players about the money current players make, and what they perceive to be a lack of seriousness and team concepts.

They see all that, and look at it as control issues by the head coach of "their team ".

As for guys like Harrison that tried to turn the locker room upside down and is as bitter as you can get....his opinion doesn't hold any water.

Players that actually played for Tomlin generally have glowing things to say about him. That means a lot more to me than the opinions of players that retired two decades ago or more. They don't have firsthand knowledge of the respect or the grip he has on that locker room. They never even played for him.

[teegre]

Not saying "Da Bus" is right or wrong, but really... He doesn't know any more about this subject than anyone else. He never played for Tomlin or witnessed the "loosening up" he speaks of.
Just more uninformed opinion masquerading as "news".

:nod: BINGO!!!

[86WARD]

Don't you think that some of this is the "Get off my lawn!" side of players?

I think to guys like Bettis, social media, self-branding, doing the JuJu traveling road show and funny videos must seem like complete nonsense. I think some of it is a generational thing, and hanging on to how it was when they played. There's also a lot of jealousy from older players about the money current players make, and what they perceive to be a lack of seriousness and team concepts.

They see all that, and look at is as control issues by the head coach of "their team ".

As for guys like Harrison that tried to turn the locker room upside down and is as bitter as you can get....his opinion doesn't hold any water.

Players that actually played for Tomlin generally have glowing things to say about him. That means a lot more to me than the opinions of players that retired two decades ago or more. They don't have firsthand knowledge of the respect or the grip he has on that locker room. They never even played for him.

That’s not totally true. Although they haven’t played for him, they are at the facilities, they are involved with the team on occasions, they probably have relationships with players more so than anyone else would, they have relationships with other coaches, they have relationships with office staff, they have relationships with all forms of ownership, so yeah, they may not have played for Tomlin but they still have plenty of information to base a valid opinion.

[teegre]

So, Bettis thinks that Cowher should have cut him when he was injured in 2001 (and lied about it).

[pczach]

So, Bettis thinks that Cowher should have cut him when he was injured in 2001 (and lied about it).


Exactly

So many of them pulled shit themselves when they played. Now they're in the media or trying to figure out how to get a piece of the NFL pie... and they suddenly know everything about everything, and how it should be handled.

People are going to point to whatever information suits their argument. When a lot of players that were coached by Tomlin or have been in his locker room say he's losing it or has lost control, I'll pay more attention.

[pczach]

That’s not totally true. Although they haven’t played for him, they are at the facilities, they are involved with the team on occasions, they probably have relationships with players more so than anyone else would, they have relationships with other coaches, they have relationships with office staff, they have relationships with all forms of ownership, so yeah, they may not have played for Tomlin but they still have plenty of information to base a valid opinion.


What isn't totally true?

Their opinions are simply that......opinions. Opinions based on what they've heard second and third hand.

They aren't reporting facts. They are reporting opinions, and sometimes slanting things for their own self interests. Some of these people are disgruntled and have an axe to grind. Some had their own indiscretions and now sit high above it all in judgement.....or they simply get paid to comment on situations and play it up for exposure.

This is how the game works.

Nobody here is saying Tomlin is perfect. There are plenty of things that he can improve on, but in my opinion....he deserves the right to get things back on course.

[86WARD]

What isn't totally true?

Their opinions are simply that......opinions. Opinions based on what they've heard second and third hand.

They aren't reporting facts. They are reporting opinions, and sometimes slanting things for their own self interests. Some of these people are disgruntled and have an axe to grind. Some had their own indiscretions and now sit high above it all in judgement.....or they simply get paid to comment on situations and play it up for exposure.

This is how the game works.

Nobody here is saying Tomlin is perfect. There are plenty of things that he can improve on, but in my opinion....he deserves the right to get things back on course.

But you don’t know that they aren’t reporting facts. There’s probably some truth to your comment it but there also is a good chance there could be some truth to what these players have said...based on their circles of contacts.

[tube517]

Now Hines has chimed in.

I wonder if they will get Jason Gildong's opinion...

[pczach]

Now Hines has chimed in.

I wonder if they will get Jason Gildong's opinion...



His opinion doesn't count......just like his sacks. :tongue1:

[DesertSteel]

Don't you think that some of this is the "Get off my lawn!" side of players?

I think to guys like Bettis, social media, self-branding, doing the JuJu traveling road show and funny videos must seem like complete nonsense. I think some of it is a generational thing, and hanging on to how it was when they played. There's also a lot of jealousy from older players about the money current players make, and what they perceive to be a lack of seriousness and team concepts.

They see all that, and look at is as control issues by the head coach of "their team ".

As for guys like Harrison that tried to turn the locker room upside down and is as bitter as you can get....his opinion doesn't hold any water.

Players that actually played for Tomlin generally have glowing things to say about him. That means a lot more to me than the opinions of players that retired two decades ago or more. They don't have firsthand knowledge of the respect or the grip he has on that locker room. They never even played for him.
Whatever it is, I don't think it can be dismissed. Nationally, they are being seen as underachieving drama queens. Add to that the criticism by different ex-players who played for Tomlin in the first half of his tenure or are still around the facility, and it adds up to something.

Personally, I was a supporter of Tomlin until the past 1.5 seasons. The final straw for me was the Oakland game and the "not disrupting the flow of the game" remark. I can't move past that stupidity.

[pczach]

Whatever it is, I don't think it can be dismissed. Nationally, they are being seen as underachieving drama queens. Add to that the criticism by different ex-players who played for Tomlin in the first half of his tenure or are still around the facility, and it adds up to something.

Personally, I was a supporter of Tomlin until the past 1.5 seasons. The final straw for me was the Oakland game and the "not disrupting the flow of the game" remark. I can't move past that stupidity.


There are definitely concerns.

This upcoming season likely decides how much longer he stays.

[Mojouw]

The national media has a vested interest in keeping this going. This is intended to be the lead-up to the SB and what are these shows talking about? Not how the Pats will slow Donald and Suh on the interior or how the Pats defense will attempt to match-up with Gurley or literally anything else related to the actual championship game that is going to be played, but about the locker-room culture of the Steelers. But, shouldn't Bettis be able to address that? I don't know. Maybe?

Point is why is he being asked to address that? Answer -- the national media is largely too stupid and the consumers of the national media are generally far too ignorant of actual football stuff for serious discussions to take place. So the media has to create content. The easiest content to create is fluffy, speculative, "human interest" stories. Anyone can grasp issues about "leadership", "character", "culture", or whatever almost meaningless word you want to put on it. Then these talking heads can all appear to be relevant and important by nodding sagely and thanking the great "Bus" Bettis (did you know he was a longtime fixture in Pittsburgh?) for his important insight and perspective from about a decade ago. Then they can throw it over to another 10 minute time suck where Chad Johnson (for some reason) is going to be asked to provide us all with an analysis of the AB situation from the player's perspective. It is all a con job. They tease these things like they are actual information, but none of these morons knows much more than you or I do. The print stuff is just as bad. The headlines are written to be titillating and generate views. Then you read the actual text and it often either directly contradicts the headline or at least softens it to the point that it clearly isn't the "explosive" breaking news that was claimed in the headline.

The NFL produces around 15,360 minutes of actual tangible content over 17 weeks. That means all the print, internet, television, and radio shows that are entirely dependent on that content to fill their airtime need to pull and stretch those weekly games like taffy to cover their entire schedule. Take a national drive time radio show. 3 hours a day, five days a week, 48 weeks a year. That is 900 minutes of talk per week! During the NFL season that is basically the same amount of time as the total game minutes played per week. These national shows can not do deep dives into the nuts and bolts of every single game. So they do quick surface stuff. Brady hates the coach and conspired with the owner to get Grappalo traded. AB is a petulant man child. Gronk might retire. Kareem Hunt beats random women. These are easy targets to generate public outrage and interest to generate listeners/viewers and you don't need to know a thing about football to hold forth for hours on this stuff.

Does stuff like AB, the flag crap, Bell's antics, etc have an impact on a team? Sure. But this whole hand wringing about different rules for different folks is so out of proportion. On my crappy non-competitive (as in we stunk) HS team, we all knew that some guys got away with more crap than the rest of us could. They produced far far better than the rest of the team on the field. So everything from ditching school, to drinking a beer before practice, to playing in games high as a kite, were all over-looked because these dudes were better than the rest of us. If 14-18 year old kids can get that, how much you want to bet that grown men that have been on elite teams since they were 12 know the score?

[Michael]

Whatever it is, I don't think it can be dismissed. Nationally, they are being seen as underachieving drama queens. Add to that the criticism by different ex-players who played for Tomlin in the first half of his tenure or are still around the facility, and it adds up to something.

Personally, I was a supporter of Tomlin until the past 1.5 seasons. The final straw for me was the Oakland game and the "not disrupting the flow of the game" remark. I can't move past that stupidity.

I totally understand and agree 100 percent. I saw Tomlin for what he was and is. That bull shit remark was so weak and IMO dishonest. I look forward to the day Tomlin is gone .

[AtlantaDan]

The national media has a vested interest in keeping this going. This is intended to be the lead-up to the SB and what are these shows talking about? Not how the Pats will slow Donald and Suh on the interior or how the Pats defense will attempt to match-up with Gurley or literally anything else related to the actual championship game that is going to be played, but about the locker-room culture of the Steelers. But, shouldn't Bettis be able to address that? I don't know. Maybe?

Point is why is he being asked to address that? Answer -- the national media is largely too stupid and the consumers of the national media are generally far too ignorant of actual football stuff for serious discussions to take place.

Agreed that the national sports media, which is reporting on what is supposed to be an entertaining diversion, not surprisingly is going to direct its coverage to what those seeking a diversion want to read or hear, given that ESPN (the E stands for Entertainment not Education) and its fellow members of the media are in the business of attracting the maximum number of eyeballs in order to make $$$. Niche sites like Pro Football Focus can address the hard core fans but there is not a lot of leverage with the size of that audience to generate significant revenue.

Call it stupid or ignorant if you want since it does not suit your preferences, but from a business standpoint some presumably intelligent people who are in front of the camera and particularly in the front office at ESPN as well as elsewhere have discovered a way to make a very comfortable living off of it. ESPN did not not dump the Sunday morning show with Ron Jaworski where Jaws broke down film because it preferred to run something dumb - it now runs something that makes more $$ because Disney is running a business and ESPN needs to max out its revenue.

But of course you need a supply of talkers to fill the demand for that sort of infotainment. If the current Steelers want folks to quit talking about the so called drama perhaps consider not giving interviews like this that popped up today.

"Keeping Up With The Steelers" is the best reality show going in the NFL.

Pro Bowl wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster (http://www.espn.com/nfl/player/_/id/3120348/juju-smith-schuster) compared his team with the Kardashians during a Super Bowl appearance on ESPN's First Take on Thursday.

"I think everyone has to stop being divas. I think we need to stop being the Kardashians and just play ball," said Smith-Schuster, who led the team in receptions (111) and yards (1,426).

Asked which Steelers (http://www.espn.com/nfl/team/_/name/pit/pittsburgh-steelers) players are divas, Smith-Schuster laughed subtly and didn't discuss names, focusing on himself.

"Being in that locker room, I've learned a lot," he added. "I know that I would never want to be a problem to any franchise."

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/25893413/juju-smith-schuster-steelers-got-stop-being-divas-kardashians

[Mojouw]

Agreed that the national sports media, which is reporting on what is supposed to be an entertaining diversion, not surprisingly is going to direct its coverage to what those seeking a diversion want to read or hear, given that ESPN (the E stands for Entertainment not Education) and its fellow members of the media are in the business of attracting the maximum number of eyeballs in order to make $$$. Niche sites like Pro Football Focus can address the hard core fans but there is not a lot of leverage with the size of that audience to generate significant revenue.

Call it stupid or ignorant if you want since it does not suit your preferences, but from a business standpoint some presumably intelligent people who are in front of the camera and particularly in the front office at ESPN as well as elsewhere have discovered a way to make a very comfortable living off of it. ESPN did not not dump the Sunday morning show with Ron Jaworski where Jaws broke down film because it preferred to run something dumb - it now runs something that makes more $$ because Disney is running a business and ESPN needs to max out its revenue.

But of course you need a supply of talkers to fill the demand for that sort of infotainment. If the current Steelers want folks to quit talking about the so called drama perhaps consider not giving interviews like this that popped up today.

"Keeping Up With The Steelers" is the best reality show going in the NFL.

Pro Bowl wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster (http://www.espn.com/nfl/player/_/id/3120348/juju-smith-schuster) compared his team with the Kardashians during a Super Bowl appearance on ESPN's First Take on Thursday.

"I think everyone has to stop being divas. I think we need to stop being the Kardashians and just play ball," said Smith-Schuster, who led the team in receptions (111) and yards (1,426).

Asked which Steelers (http://www.espn.com/nfl/team/_/name/pit/pittsburgh-steelers) players are divas, Smith-Schuster laughed subtly and didn't discuss names, focusing on himself.

"Being in that locker room, I've learned a lot," he added. "I know that I would never want to be a problem to any franchise."

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/25893413/juju-smith-schuster-steelers-got-stop-being-divas-kardashians


I understand and acknowledge all that, but it is still simply lowest common denominator programming. It is cheap as hell to produce - most of these shows are essentially talk radio with television cameras. It requires a host with a basic command of the English language, but no real knowledge of football. 90% of media content on the NFL is basically the toothless cousin of reality TV programming. Yet it is treated as "hard hitting and insightful" commentary on the individual teams and the league in general. Like everything else, people that consume this "infotainment" are not seeking answers but easily digestible cliches that conform to their existing opinions.

Additionally, simply because a perception and a thing is claimed to exist, doesn't mean I have to buy it. A major part of the reason that the Steelers are "team drama" is that media outlets keep writing about them, sticking microphones in peoples faces to talk about them, and paying people to make an appearance to provide their outside opinion. Why? The team has a massive fan base and some amazingly popular star players. So it is cheap content that generates $$$. But it doesn't mean that the team itself is falling apart at the seams. Not like there is a massive rush by current players other than AB and Bell to discuss any of this. Juju recently because he is building a "brand". But there are several dozen other people who have no interest in talking about this.

60-80% of all of this is fan and media created tempest in a teapot kinda stuff, but it gets treated like a very serious and critical thing that requires immediate and dramatic action. Something must be done! The TV men said so!

[AtlantaDan]

I understand and acknowledge all that, but it is still simply lowest common denominator programming.

Of course it is. That ship sailed when the model for broadcasting in the U. S. was set in the 1920s when radio became popular as being advertiser supported rather than through anyone owning a radio (and later a television) paying a license to fund the programming, as was the case with the BBC in Great Britain. So for better or worse you get The Beverly Hillbillies, which I confess to having enjoyed at the time it was on CBS while preferring to have alternatives as well.

Be glad telecommunications has evolved and there are niche sites available that address your interests rather than the not so good old days when you had the local news outlets for most sports reporting other than the weekly delivery of Sports Illustrated which provided something more insightful. The dreck has always been around but at least there are alternatives if you want to ignore it

[86WARD]

One of Tomlin’s jobs as a head coach is to read the team and if he wants to treat some players as adults, that’s fine but at the same time he has to see which players are mature enough to be treated like adults and which ones need to be treated with more structure

[pepsyman1]

Either way is just really sad. The basic conclusion is the same. NFL players, for the majority, are unable to self-sustain the motivation and mental discipline to be successful without coaches and the minority of players (“leaders”) imposing rigorous structure and discipline on them. That’s just sad.

And also underscores my long held belief that most of these dudes are almost complete morons.

Unfortunately, your belief is probably 90% dead on. Think about it. Most of these players were the top athletes on their high school teams, then one of the elite on their colleges teams. They've been catered too most of their playing lives and had people spoil them to make them happy. It's not all of them but the majority. If they don't have a strong leader, if they've don't have some type of discipline and structure how many of these guys would get to a championship? We all hate them but how are the Patriots able to do what they've done with just a very few big name players? Bellichick appears to not put up with too much shit. They blow people out pretty quick when they don't fit. We'll never know what really happens behind closed doors in New England cuz Bellichick doesn't allow the drama we've gotten used to. The Steelers HAD a reputation (whether it was correct or not) of being a team where the leadership didn't put up with a lot of crap. I think whatever teeth were behind that reputation have been pulled or filed down to nothing.