Tomlin - "There has been a cleansing"

[AtlantaDan]

Man who allowed his front yard to turn into a junkyard now glad it has been cleaned up

He was asked about his comments from earlier in the offseason when he said the Steelers want volunteers, not hostages.

“There has been a cleansing, if you will. I meant what I said when I said it,” Tomlin said of his volunteers quote. “I didn’t say it to be a cliche.
“I think when you’re trying to compete at the level we’re trying to compete at and be world champs, that desire, that collective will, the things that you can’t measure, I think that guys that really have a strong desire to be a part of it, there’s a significant element of that.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl...ers/ar-BBWmkLi

[JayC]

we got rid of two jackasses that thought they were bigger than the team...hopefully we can get back to football this year

[st33lersguy]

Now cleanse the bad coaches starting with Butler and Smith and we'll be good

[AtlantaDan]

Now cleanse the bad coaches starting with Butler and Smith and we'll be good

Everybody is questioning Butler and all that stuff but I think Butler is going to be a good football coach. There is some minute stuff they have to correct on him.

[Mojouw]

Did this cleansing involve an old priest and a young priest?

[Born2Steel]

I have to wonder....was Jesse James becoming an issue too? We didn't really put up much to keep him and the Lions have already made him a backup. His parting shot on the way out could just be that he's an ass as well. Same with Bucky Hodges. He can't seem to stick with a team after being so highly regarded during his draft year. Maybe he's one of those locker room culture cancers. We know Morgan Burnett started making noise as soon as the offseason got here, and after contributing next to nothing for the season. What about LT Walton or LJ Fort? Just some cap casualties or were there issues with them as well? Guess we will never know the answer to these 'wonderings' but on with the "Cleansing".

[munchy]

kind of a bush league move by tomlin.
he didnt have the balls to put them them in their place under his watch but talks tough once colbert and rooney come to his rescue and dumps them for basically nothing

[Born2Steel]

If Busch League is what it takes then Busch League it is. "F" the high road.

[polamalubeast]

kind of a bush league move by tomlin.
he didnt have the balls to put them them in their place under his watch but talks tough once colbert and rooney come to his rescue and dumps them for basically nothing

Maybe it's true, maybe not, but we'll find out in the next few years, since if the steelers are still a circus, Tomlin has to be fired.

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I have to wonder....was Jesse James becoming an issue too? We didn't really put up much to keep him and the Lions have already made him a backup. His parting shot on the way out could just be that he's an ass as well. Same with Bucky Hodges. He can't seem to stick with a team after being so highly regarded during his draft year. Maybe he's one of those locker room culture cancers. We know Morgan Burnett started making noise as soon as the offseason got here, and after contributing next to nothing for the season. What about LT Walton or LJ Fort? Just some cap casualties or were there issues with them as well? Guess we will never know the answer to these 'wonderings' but on with the "Cleansing".

The price for keeping Jesse James was too high, I do not think he was a problem in the locker room.

[vader29]

[El-Gonzo Jackson]

I saw that interview and it was an interesting phrase to use and answer the question.

Tomlin also said they liked Bennie Snell as a football player, an energy guy and a guy that helped turn that program around. I think they like his attitude and what he brings to the team, as well as his 1400 yards rushing last year.

[munchy]

Maybe it's true, maybe not, but we'll find out in the next few years, since if the steelers are still a circus, Tomlin has to be fired.

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The price for keeping Jesse James was too high, I do not think he was a problem in the locker room.

agreed on both
if jesse was one of the kardashians i wouldnt think he would make a reference to the team being the kardashians

[Edman]

The Steelers only got rid of the tumors and the symptoms, not the source of the cancer. Mike Tomlin's profoundly stupid comment showcases this. There is no accountability or real leadership in that locker room. Tomlin instead should blame himself for allowing Brown and Bell to become cancer. Antonio Brown if I recall correctly, wasn't a diva when he was first drafted. He became corrupted over time.

A new cancerous tumor will just emerge eventually. It's the culture of that locker room that created the cancer, not the player. The Steelers will never get "cleansed" until Mike Tomlin is gone.

[pczach]

Did this cleansing involve an old priest and a young priest?

…...and lots of pea soup.

[Steeldude]

Man who allowed his front yard to turn into a junkyard now glad it has been cleaned up

He was asked about his comments from earlier in the offseason when he said the Steelers want volunteers, not hostages.

“There has been a cleansing, if you will. I meant what I said when I said it,” Tomlin said of his volunteers quote. “I didn’t say it to be a cliche.
“I think when you’re trying to compete at the level we’re trying to compete at and be world champs, that desire, that collective will, the things that you can’t measure, I think that guys that really have a strong desire to be a part of it, there’s a significant element of that.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl...ers/ar-BBWmkLi

Tomlin still remains so it will resurface. I can't see this team being focused all year under Tomlin.

[GoSlash27]

Antonio Brown if I recall correctly, wasn't a diva when he was first drafted. He became corrupted over time.

AB was a prima donna before he was drafted, but I do agree that Tomlin fed into it.

[BlackAndGold]

Tomlin still remains so it will resurface. I can't see this team being focused all year under Tomlin.

We'll see. The two names that were mostly in the news are officially gone.

It's a rumor but the locker room "snitch" DHB is gone also.

Tomlin has a lot of respect from the leaders on this team to be "mostly" blamed. These guys are not kids, players like AB are going to be who they are.

[86WARD]

Is this like the trailer for the Force Awakens? “There has been a cleansing. Have you felt it?”

[EzraTank]

Talk is cheap Mike. Now let's see you "coach up" the "next guy in line" and see if you bullshit sticks.

[tube517]

Pretty much cleaning up. Most of the free agents signed from other teams have been cut or have not been re-signed.

DHB
Morgan Burnett
Jon Bostic
Nat Berhe
Justin Hunter
Stevan Ridley
Coty Sensabaugh

[polamalubeast]

Tomlin still remains so it will resurface. I can't see this team being focused all year under Tomlin.

Maybe, maybe not but if the culture is not very good again, the steelers have to do something they have not done in the last 50 years, this is fire the Head Coach!

Under Cowher, the culture was great for the most part in his 15 years as HC and for Tomlin, it was not a big problem in his first 5 years since the leaders under Cowher was still here, but when the leaders like Hines Ward and James Farrior left,the culture began to be terrible and it was worse in worse from year to year.

The steelers locker room were turned into a circus since the playoffs in 2016 and it never stopped

[Born2Steel]

Bell maybe went about it the wrong way but he was holding out for what he thought he was worth. Turned out he was wrong in the end. I think he would have still been just fine otherwise had he gotten what he wanted. I don’t know I just think he would still be a good teammate had he gotten his way.

AB turned out to be the worst. No defense for this guy at all.

Jesse James cost was too much? I guess so when a rookie can come in and pretty much do what he did. But was he a locker room problem? Don’t know. He did have a parting shot which tells me he at least left with hurt feelings.

Morgan Burnett isn’t worth the conversation. Good player for his career but no contribution as a Steeler. Maybe not a problem in the locker room but he actually asked for a release because he wasn’t being used correctly? Really?

Berhe pretty much the same as Burnett just not a locker room issue as far as we know.

I liked Bostic. He is just not what this defense needs but hardly a locker room cancer.

Thoughts on DHB, Hunter, or the fumbling RB as it pertains to the locker room?

[tube517]

Bell maybe went about it the wrong way but he was holding out for what he thought he was worth. Turned out he was wrong in the end. I think he would have still been just fine otherwise had he gotten what he wanted. I don’t know I just think he would still be a good teammate had he gotten his way.

AB turned out to be the worst. No defense for this guy at all.

Jesse James cost was too much? I guess so when a rookie can come in and pretty much do what he did. But was he a locker room problem? Don’t know. He did have a parting shot which tells me he at least left with hurt feelings.

Morgan Burnett isn’t worth the conversation. Good player for his career but no contribution as a Steeler. Maybe not a problem in the locker room but he actually asked for a release because he wasn’t being used correctly? Really?

Berhe pretty much the same as Burnett just not a locker room issue as far as we know.

I liked Bostic. He is just not what this defense needs but hardly a locker room cancer.

Thoughts on DHB, Hunter, or the fumbling RB as it pertains to the locker room?

I wasn't mentioning these guys as locker room cancers. Only that they were free agents brought in and began w/other teams.

The team seems to be just starting new and starting w/a clean slate. Yes, they did sign 3 free agents but you can't go without fitting in some pieces here and there which was what they used to do. They normally get a minimal amount of free agents and build through the draft.

The Outlaw was alredy pissed off when they signed Vanimal. He was probably ready to go after the season ended and didn't like the way the soap operas were going. He got his paycheck. Good for him.

[AtlantaDan]

Maybe, maybe not but if the culture is not very good again, the steelers have to do something they have not done in the last 50 years, this is fire the Head Coach!

Under Cowher, the culture was great for the most part in his 15 years as HC and for Tomlin, it was not a big problem in his first 5 years since the leaders under Cowher was still here, but when the leaders like Hines Ward and James Farrior left,the culture began to be terrible and it was worse in worse from year to year.

The steelers locker room were turned into a circus since the playoffs in 2016 and it never stopped

There are a few exceptions (Belichick, Tom Landry) but even great coaches (Noll, Lombardi, the very underrated Joe Gibbs) did their most successful work in their first decade or so

Just as the Steelers annually face whether to sign a player to another contract going into his last year under the current contract, the Steelers have to decide whether to follow their standard practice of extending the HC with two years left on the contract - with all the static of the past two seasons (even given the 13-3 regular season) there are good reasons not to extend Tomlin this year.

Of course if he is not extended this summer and the Steelers have a bounce back 2019, Tomlin (like Harbaugh this past season) may decide I now am as wary of you as you were of me and decide he is ready to cash in somewhere else unless the Steelers pay his price

Probably the toughest decision AJRII has faced

[polamalubeast]

There are a few exceptions (Belichick, Tom Landry) but even great coaches (Noll, Lombardi, the very underrated Joe Gibbs) did their most successful work in their first decade or so

Just as the Steelers annually face whether to sign a player to another contract going into his last year under the current contract, the Steelers have to decide whether to follow their standard practice of extending the HC with two years left on the contract - with all the static of the past two seasons (even given the 13-3 regular season) there are good reasons not to extend Tomlin this year.

Of course if he is not extended this summer and the Steelers have a bounce back 2019, Tomlin (like Harbaugh this past season) may decide I now am as wary of you as you were of me and decide he is ready to cash in somewhere else unless the Steelers pay his price

Probably the toughest decision AJRII has faced

I do not think Tomlin deserves a new contract but I think Tomlin is going to have a new contract because the steelers do not want to be a big story.

[Mojouw]

Goodness me. Here we go again.

Dude gave a straight answer to a straight question and some want to hang him out to dry for it.

What was he supposed to say? We're screwed? I treat my players like grown ass men, but some of this jerk-offs can't handle that, so I'm glad they're gone?

[polamalubeast]

[Edman]

Goodness me. Here we go again.

Dude gave a straight answer to a straight question and some want to hang him out to dry for it.

What was he supposed to say? We're screwed? I treat my players like grown ass men, but some of this jerk-offs can't handle that, so I'm glad they're gone?

Tomlin's inability to hold people accountable is what created monsters like AB and Bell in the first place. He blames them for the team's problems instead of looking at the source.

That is the fundamental issue with the Steelers: No discipline and no accountability. 2018 wasn't the first time the team shit the bed under Tomlin. Late season collapses have been a trend for years now.

[polamalubeast]

Tomlin's inability to hold people accountable is what created monsters like AB and Bell in the first place. He blames them for the team's problems instead of looking at the source.

Maybe, but I have hope that Tomlin will learn from that ..... And Tomlin has no choice, otherwise he could lose his job.

[Mojouw]

Tomlin's inability to hold people accountable is what created monsters like AB and Bell in the first place. He blames them for the team's problems instead of looking at the source.

That is the fundamental issue with the Steelers: No discipline and no accountability. 2018 wasn't the first time the team shit the bed under Tomlin. Late season collapses have been a trend for years now.

This isn't HS JV football. What was he gonna do make them run suicides after regular practice? Wear the smelly practice jersey? OR perhaps there was a playoff game or regular season game you would have preferred the team take the field with out 2 of its best players?

Two guys got pissed off over money and revealed themselves to be jerks. One guy gets pissy over playing time because he refused to acknowledge he was out of gas and father time had come for him.

These "culture" issues are far different from being too stupid to execute assignments or the assignments being too stupid to execute. Different issues and different sins. One is on the players exclusively and one is on an intersection of players and coaches that we, as fans, struggle to get enough information to understand.

The late season collapses are troubling. And I would buy the "culture" and "discipline" arguments if guys stopped playing hard or doing the little things. But that isn't, to my eye, what is happening. What is happening, again to my mind, is that teams get about 6 games of the Steelers on tape and they can see all the duct tape and bailing wire that is patching holes on defense. They see how they can attack the lack of talent in the middle of the field. They see how they can force the Steelers into "no win" match-ups because they have to give safety help to the crappy CB (Sensabaugh/Burns), the aging CB who plays better with over the top help (Haden), the overwhelmed rookie SS (Edmunds), and the physically overmatched LBs (VW/Bostic/Fort).

Then you force basically zero turnovers, the offense gives the ball away a bit too much, can't kick FGs, and during the later 3rd of the season, teams expose your weaknesses and beat you. That is on the field stuff. That can not be just waved away as "discipline makes it better". There is a serious lack of playmaking talent. What playmaking or potential playmaking talent there is can not be unleashed to make plays because much of it has to be directed towards covering up the limitations of teammates.

Coty Sensabaugh
Artie Burns
Jon Bostic
Tyler Matakevich
Jordan Dangerfield

Those are not starting NFL caliber players. Yet each was forced into significant roles in the defense. And when teams needed plays, they isolated and exposed one or more of those guys. Over and Over again. Not surprisingly, the team just spent 6 months obtaining different players for each of those roster spots.