Steelers LB LJ Fort Comments On Playoff Kickers

[86WARD]

[pczach]

Pretty ballsy tweet for a role player....

[Steelerchad]

Look, I thought Boswell sucked this year just like most Steelers fans, but this BS is exactly what's wrong with this team. You have a backup/special teams guy indirectly taking a dig at a team mate. This shit needs to stop and cutting a guy like this who I deem expendable is a pretty good start. If he's been a model citizen to this point, give him another chance, but if I'm Tomlin I call him in and explain to him this is not acceptable and this is his warning, next time it's free agency.
The petty blame game in this locker room is disgusting. I watch other teams support their team mates even when that team mate directly costs them an important game.
Boswell probably needs cut. He mentally lost it and kicking is largely mental, but this guy piling on and further dividing a divided team is not helping.

[Mojouw]

I'm just gonna guess that since (again a total guess based on other social media events) that the dozens of people who have tweeted at Boswell telling him to kill himself have already driven him off social media and he doesn't even notice this.

[Fire Goodell]

It's the truth, you can honestly say Boswell possibly single handedly tanked our season

[st33lersguy]

Just shut Fort, what have you ever done to help this team?.....Exactly

[fansince'76]

Pretty ballsy tweet for a role player....

And he may very well be be sent packing because of it.

[pczach]

And he may very well be be sent packing because of it.

Boswell was elected a team captain. The team seemed to feel much more about Boz than they did about Fort.

[GoSlash27]

Please bear with me, as I don't bother with social media. Honest question:

Has anyone considered the possibility that he was simply making an observation and didn't mean anything disparaging to anyone by it? Or is that not how Twitter works?

[Fire Goodell]

Just shut Fort, what have you ever done to help this team?.....Exactly

What did Boswell do to help this team? I'm not talking about last year, now is what matters, and he fucked our season from week 1

all of a sudden he forgets how to kick after we give him a big contract? Seriously, fuck that guy

[Steeldude]

And he may very well be be sent packing because of it.

Or promoted.

[DesertSteel]

I have no issue with his comment. Nobody cares what a backup thinks or says.

[EzraTank]

It's the truth, you can honestly say Boswell possibly single handedly tanked our season

With a helping hand from officiating, and a defense made of Swiss cheese.

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Please bear with me, as I don't bother with social media. Honest question:

Has anyone considered the possibility that he was simply making an observation and didn't mean anything disparaging to anyone by it? Or is that not how Twitter works?

I'm with you. Now if he said it wearing a MAGA hat, he must die (according to the NY Times/CNN/MSNBC/CBS/ABC ... ah, F it almost all the "media").

[El-Gonzo Jackson]

I have no issue with his comment. Nobody cares what a backup thinks or says.

Exactly! Who is following the influential world of NFL special teams, backup LB tweets?

I'm gonna check in on what the Chiefs Ben Neimann has to say next.

[Steelerchad]

The issue for me is the lack of team unity. It started when Bell didn't report and is still going on a month after the season is over. These guys don't have each others back, they can't count on their brother, they're not fighting in the trenches together or whatever other saying you want to use. The defense is bad, but what I saw in addition to the lack of talent was effort. I'm watching other teams with 3-4 guys gang tackling. That's how you don't miss tackles. When one guy misses the next guy is coming in to finish it off.

[Dwinsgames]

With a helping hand from officiating, and a defense made of Swiss cheese.

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I'm with you. Now if he said it wearing a MAGA hat, he must die (according to the NY Times/CNN/MSNBC/CBS/ABC ... ah, F it almost all the "media").

1 quick hitter comment on the bold then back on topic ...

shows how ridiculously stupid the media is pandering to one side of an issue instead of reporting the news ... so stupid that they do not realize they are alienating themselves to half ( or more ) of the potential viewership .....

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as for Fort ..... he likely will be wearing another jersey sooner rather than later regardless of his words intent .... and Boswell likely will too if he does not get it figured out by training camp as he will have competition in camp this year for sure

[Born2Steel]

Players get the ‘Yips’. Seldom do they make it back. Hopefully this is not the case for Boz. We need 2017 Boz back.

[Mojouw]

Ok. Can we get a list going to help us all get on the same page. When does a player's social media antics matter? Because if AB or James Harrison does something it appears to mean that the locker room is riven with dissent and Tomlin has lost all semblance of control. When Fort does similar, it just means nothing and no one cares. Fair enough. Is it the # of followers the player has on social media? The amount of retweets and national media attention it drives? How many press conference questions about it Tomlin gets? How it makes fans feel? Or is it just if a "star" does a thing it matters and if a bottom 1/3 roster guy does a thing who cares?

If we are going to live and die on the statements, thoughts, and antics of one group of players to provide some sort of window into the soul of the locker-room, why not others?

I think this clearly means that the divide between the defense and everyone else was real. The defense feels unfairly blamed for the failures of the last several seasons and thinks that if the kicker just did his job and the offense stopped turning the ball over, the team would be far more successful. To top it off, they have to hear how their coaches are terrible and even see some of them fired. Clearly Fort and the other defenders feel besieged and if Tomlin can't heal the divide in the locker-room, I don't see how 2019 is even worth fielding a team for.

[hawaiiansteeler]

this is all clearly Tomlin's fault

[AtlantaDan]

I think this clearly means that the divide between the defense and everyone else was real. The defense feels unfairly blamed for the failures of the last several seasons and thinks that if the kicker just did his job and the offense stopped turning the ball over, the team would be far more successful. To top it off, they have to hear how their coaches are terrible and even see some of them fired. Clearly Fort and the other defenders feel besieged and if Tomlin can't heal the divide in the locker-room, I don't see how 2019 is even worth fielding a team for.

If they forfeit the season does that allow the front office to disband the team and assure the #1 pick in the 2020 draft to get a replacement for Ben or Boz or, even better, have the league office force AJRII to sell the team? Makes sense to me since this team will never be worth watching unless a total tear down occurs.

As an alternative to your explanation, maybe it was just someone was relaxing with the mild intoxicant of his choice while enjoying the games with someone else who reminded him team's kicker sucked, so someone tweeted something he thought was amusing only to find out it was going to be spooled up into a major story since Steelers social media never sleeps and everything must be yet another example of the bigger story of a Team In Crisis

[DesertSteel]

Ok. Can we get a list going to help us all get on the same page. When does a player's social media antics matter? Because if AB or James Harrison does something it appears to mean that the locker room is riven with dissent and Tomlin has lost all semblance of control. When Fort does similar, it just means nothing and no one cares. Fair enough. Is it the # of followers the player has on social media? The amount of retweets and national media attention it drives? How many press conference questions about it Tomlin gets? How it makes fans feel? Or is it just if a "star" does a thing it matters and if a bottom 1/3 roster guy does a thing who cares?

If we are going to live and die on the statements, thoughts, and antics of one group of players to provide some sort of window into the soul of the locker-room, why not others?

I think this clearly means that the divide between the defense and everyone else was real. The defense feels unfairly blamed for the failures of the last several seasons and thinks that if the kicker just did his job and the offense stopped turning the ball over, the team would be far more successful. To top it off, they have to hear how their coaches are terrible and even see some of them fired. Clearly Fort and the other defenders feel besieged and if Tomlin can't heal the divide in the locker-room, I don't see how 2019 is even worth fielding a team for.

Their opinion on social media matters when their play on the field matters. Simple.

[Mojouw]

If they forfeit the season does that allow the front office to disband the team and assure the #1 pick in the 2020 draft to get a replacement for Ben or Boz or, even better, have the league office force AJRII to sell the team? Makes sense to me since this team will never be worth watching unless a total tear down occurs.

As an alternative to your explanation, maybe it was just someone was relaxing with the mild intoxicant of his choice while enjoying the games with someone else who reminded him team's kicker sucked, so someone tweeted something he thought was amusing only to find out it was going to be spooled up into a major story since Steelers social media never sleeps and everything must be yet another example of the bigger story of a Team In Crisis

Nah. That couldn't be it. These guys aren't human beings. They are football playing robots whose every action is a coded message into the inner recesses of NFL success and failure.

Steelers 2.0 will be lead into a brave new era where each major decision will be partially determined by the # of Twitter mentions each side of the debate garners. #FireTheCoach!

[Mojouw]

Their opinion on social media matters when their play on the field matters. Simple.

So, coaches should only worry about guiding and monitoring the behavior of "star" players who make impactful plays on weekly basis? But I thought a team driven by "splash" was antithetical to sound fundamental football and that different rules for different types of players was a major component to underachievement in the NFL?

FWIW, Fort was actually a critical component of the Steelers 2018 stretch run defense. That is clearly more of condemnation of the Steelers ILBs and sub-package players than praise of Fort, but still.

All I am really trying to say in a smart-ass manner (honestly was attempting to make people laugh a bit) is that maybe we, as fanatics, take this all a bit too seriously? We make declarative arguments and judgements when Bell, AB, or Deebo pops off that represent definitive statements on the make-up of the franchise but when it is someone we deem as too minor to worry about, broadly similar (I understand all antics are not created equal) things are no big deal? It seems that would point to the idea that what we are really responding to are media hyping some narratives and the fact that our favorite team didn't win a championship made us all sad/angry.

[zulater]

Please bear with me, as I don't bother with social media. Honest question:

Has anyone considered the possibility that he was simply making an observation and didn't mean anything disparaging to anyone by it? Or is that not how Twitter works?

Possible. He seems to have walked it back a bit, as he should.

But right or wrong imo the Steelers should have cut Boswell after the Atlanta game. where he missed an xp. This 2 weeks after missing a momentum changing fg in the 3rd quarter against the Bucs . That a week following a missed xp and crucial fg against the Chiefs and of course that followed blowing the season opener. All but one of these kicks was done so in perfect weather. It was apparent at that point that his case of the yips wasn't a passing thing. He should have never been put in position to cost this team further as he obviously did against the Raiders.

[86WARD]

Ok. Can we get a list going to help us all get on the same page. When does a player's social media antics matter? Because if AB or James Harrison does something it appears to mean that the locker room is riven with dissent and Tomlin has lost all semblance of control. When Fort does similar, it just means nothing and no one cares. Fair enough. Is it the # of followers the player has on social media? The amount of retweets and national media attention it drives? How many press conference questions about it Tomlin gets? How it makes fans feel? Or is it just if a "star" does a thing it matters and if a bottom 1/3 roster guy does a thing who cares?

If we are going to live and die on the statements, thoughts, and antics of one group of players to provide some sort of window into the soul of the locker-room, why not others?

I think this clearly means that the divide between the defense and everyone else was real. The defense feels unfairly blamed for the failures of the last several seasons and thinks that if the kicker just did his job and the offense stopped turning the ball over, the team would be far more successful. To top it off, they have to hear how their coaches are terrible and even see some of them fired. Clearly Fort and the other defenders feel besieged and if Tomlin can't heal the divide in the locker-room, I don't see how 2019 is even worth fielding a team for.

When winning, none of it matters. When losing, it all matters.

[AtlantaDan]

Possible. He seems to have walked it back a bit, as he should.

But right or wrong imo the Steelers should have cut Boswell after the Atlanta game. where he missed an xp. This 2 weeks after missing a momentum changing fg in the 3rd quarter against the Bucs . That a week following a missed xp and crucial fg against the Chiefs and of course that followed blowing the season opener. All but one of these kicks was done so in perfect weather. It was apparent at that point that his case of the yips wasn't a passing thing. He should have never been put in position to cost this team further as he obviously did against the Raiders.

Boswell's $2 million roster bonus is payable in March. If they are going to make a clean break the time to release him is before that comes due.

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/pittsbur...boswell-14890/

FWIW, Fort was actually a critical component of the Steelers 2018 stretch run defense. That is clearly more of condemnation of the Steelers ILBs and sub-package players than praise of Fort, but still.

Yep - Fort's participation picked up as defenses started picking more on Bostic & Williams in pass coverage, with defensive snaps peaking in the Chargers (82%) and Raiders (77%) debacles along with the Cincy game (100%) where Williams was out - interesting he was only on the field for 3 snaps in the Pats game (injured?). So his contributions were meaningful although not necessarily in a good way.

https://www.pro-football-reference.c...0/fantasy/2018
https://www.pro-football-reference.c...nap-counts.htm

[DesertSteel]

So, coaches should only worry about guiding and monitoring the behavior of "star" players who make impactful plays on weekly basis? But I thought a team driven by "splash" was antithetical to sound fundamental football and that different rules for different types of players was a major component to underachievement in the NFL?

FWIW, Fort was actually a critical component of the Steelers 2018 stretch run defense. That is clearly more of condemnation of the Steelers ILBs and sub-package players than praise of Fort, but still.

All I am really trying to say in a smart-ass manner (honestly was attempting to make people laugh a bit) is that maybe we, as fanatics, take this all a bit too seriously? We make declarative arguments and judgements when Bell, AB, or Deebo pops off that represent definitive statements on the make-up of the franchise but when it is someone we deem as too minor to worry about, broadly similar (I understand all antics are not created equal) things are no big deal? It seems that would point to the idea that what we are really responding to are media hyping some narratives and the fact that our favorite team didn't win a championship made us all sad/angry.

It should matter on some level to the coach, but it doesn’t matter at all to me. If the coach doesn’t like it, he gets cut. That’s the pecking order. That’s the way it’s always been.

The reality of it is that Fort was right.

[86WARD]

How does it not compute in Fort’s head though that the Steelers “locker room” (especially on social media) is a questionable mess and that maybe tweeting something like that isn’t the best idea at this moment...doesn’t matter what he did or didn’t imply, just the fact that it’s out there is questionable.

[cubanstogie]

It should matter on some level to the coach, but it doesn’t matter at all to me. If the coach doesn’t like it, he gets cut. That’s the pecking order. That’s the way it’s always been.

The reality of it is that Fort was right.

In my mind it was Fort being passive aggressive. Just because his statement was correct doesn't mean its right. Its like a player getting on twitter saying AB is a prima donna, fur coat wearing quitter. Sure its true but its certainly not going to have any productive outcome. This whole twitter/instagram shit is why I don't want my 15 year old daughter to have social media. I really think owners should start putting incentives in guys contracts for not using social media.

[DesertSteel]

How does it not compute in Fort’s head though that the Steelers “locker room” (especially on social media) is a questionable mess and that maybe tweeting something like that isn’t the best idea at this moment...doesn’t matter what he did or didn’t imply, just the fact that it’s out there is questionable.

Because there is no cultural pushback in that locker room. Tomlin created a monster with what he allowed and now you have backups getting theirs.