According to Dulac, the first Cincy game was Wilson inprovising

[jeemie]

https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/ste ... 2502040067

So the "butting heads" was Wilson wanting to attack downfield but Smith preferring run first, and he didn't like Wilson's audibles and route changes at the line...even though Art II professes to want a QB who could "get them into the right play".

Now I can't say this is what caused Wilson's decline in the second half but essentially what Wilson was doing his first five games was working...so naturally Smith wanted to make him stop?

Jesus...Fucking... Christ...every story I read about the Steelers makes me wish I hadn't.

PS view in an incognito tab if you don't have a subscription

[W&M_Steeler]

https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/ste ... 2502040067

So the "butting heads" was Wilson wanting to attack downfield but Smith preferring run first, and he didn't like Wilson's audibles and route changes at the line...even though Art II professes to want a QB who could "get them into the right play".

Now I can't say this is what caused Wilson's decline in the second half but essentially what Wilson was doing his first five games was working...so naturally Smith wanted to make him stop?

Jesus...Fucking... Christ...every story I read about the Steelers makes me wish I hadn't.

PS view in an incognito tab if you don't have a subscription

So Wilson got in trouble with the coaches because he was scoring too fast with too many touchdowns? I am really starting to hate this team.

[blu]

Here's a partial copy & paste from The Sporting News ::
"According to several sources, Smith did not want Wilson changing plays at the line of scrimmage, like he did in Cincinnati, and deviating from the game plan," he added. "Wilson’s desire to attack with the pass and throw down the field clashed with Smith’s run-first mentality, causing philosophical friction between the two."

As Dulac notes, it was all downhill for the Steelers' offense after that game. The unit struggled mightily over the final five games of the season, leading to a one-and-done postseason trip for Pittsburgh for the fifth-straight time.

Smith's mentality is a microcosm of what's wrong in Pittsburgh. The Steelers are stuck to old ways — like Smith's run-first mentality — and there is not even an inch of space for anyone to come in and upset the apple cart, so to speak. That would be fine if the Steelers were getting better results, but they're not.

If what Wilson was doing was working, Smith should have just went with it. If anything, he at least should've allowed Wilson to return to changing things up at the line of scrimmage while his offense stunk down the stretch run of the season.

[BouldernBun]

And Smiths mentality is undoubtably <= Tomlins. What a dynamic duo.

[Orangesteel]

This team is such an effing joke.

Wilson has a CAREER GAME against the Bengals, a game where we finally see what having a real QB can bring in a game where you have to score points given you went against arguably the best offense in the entire NFL.

We ride high, get to 10-3 then lost 5 straight to end the season.

Also, week 18 against the Bengals was such a winnable game and would have meant a trip to Houston instead of against Derrick Henry.

Tomlin and Smith, dumbshits #1 & #2, get smart and try to go run heavy against 5 and 6 DL fronts. We turn out one of the worst offensive games of the season in holding the Bengals to 19 points. Why? Because they deviated from what worked 5 weeks earlier in Cincy where Wilson and the offense looked as good as it look led IN FOUR GODDAMN YEARS.

Oh and Aranumo was fired after that game, to boot! Haha.

I hate this team with the burning intensity of 1000 suns.

[DumlinBumlinStumlin]

The team needs gutting top to bottom, start over, new blood everywhere, Danny Rooney taking the reigns. We cant take another 2 years of Art/Mike Tomlin

[MWS71]

I don’t buy it. Russ sucks. He doesn’t have a contract, and the one he wants is going to Justin fields. Oh would you look at that sources say actually the coaches wanted him to score less. Please.

I think somewhere after Ben’s elbow exploded Tomlin’s conservatism crossed over from doing the best with what he had to protecting NHAL at all costs and that’s why I want him fired. But I don’t think him or his coordinators are holding grudges against guys for playing well.

[955876]

I dislike Jibbs, Dunce, Smith, Austin etc etc etc so much that I’m going to start enjoying losses more than the wins.

Actually had this conversation with another Steelers fan yesterday. Told him short of winning the SB pretty much nothing (NFL related) would make me happier than seeing this team go 0-17.

I want Dunce, Jibba Jabber, all the yes-men coaches, and all players who love their HC to get humiliated on the field.

Now I realize we can’t possibly pull off a miracle season of 0-17 but we also can’t possibly pull off a SB win either.

Fuck this team and the idiots in charge.

Oh noes, we won a shootout against a premier QB but can’t be doing that because it’s not how we want to win….

[langer]

Then they panicked and tried to get Fields to make magic out of nothing. Too funny.

[jeemie]

I don’t buy it. Russ sucks. He doesn’t have a contract, and the one he wants is going to Justin fields. Oh would you look at that sources say actually the coaches wanted him to score less. Please.

I think somewhere after Ben’s elbow exploded Tomlin’s conservatism crossed over from doing the best with what he had to protecting NHAL at all costs and that’s why I want him fired. But I don’t think him or his coordinators are holding grudges against guys for playing well.

Dulac's a company man.

I don't think he'd spread a story designed to help Russ and make the team look bad.

He could, but I doubt it.

[DumlinBumlinStumlin]

I don’t buy it. Russ sucks. He doesn’t have a contract, and the one he wants is going to Justin fields. Oh would you look at that sources say actually the coaches wanted him to score less. Please.

I think somewhere after Ben’s elbow exploded Tomlin’s conservatism crossed over from doing the best with what he had to protecting NHAL at all costs and that’s why I want him fired. But I don’t think him or his coordinators are holding grudges against guys for playing well.

Russ' game @ Cincy was unintended consequences (Hence a high scoring win)

[CKSteeler]

I don’t buy it. Russ sucks. He doesn’t have a contract, and the one he wants is going to Justin fields. Oh would you look at that sources say actually the coaches wanted him to score less. Please.

I think somewhere after Ben’s elbow exploded Tomlin’s conservatism crossed over from doing the best with what he had to protecting NHAL at all costs and that’s why I want him fired. But I don’t think him or his coordinators are holding grudges against guys for playing well.

Dulac's a company man.

I don't think he'd spread a story designed to help Russ and make the team look bad.

He could, but I doubt it.

Dulac is also frequently incredibly wrong.

This story wouldn't surprise me at all. But there's a disconnect here. You have the owner saying he wants a QB who can get the offense into the right call at the line (like Ben did, when allowed to and often to little fanfare unlike the great Peyton Manning). And apparently an offensive coordinator and yea head coach who care more about how it gets done.

The conservative approach is about protecting Tomlin's defense. He cares very much about how he wins as much as that he does win. His defense can't be getting shredded and the team can't be having shoot-outs. His defense was left exposed against Cinci in the first game.

[CKSteeler]

Aditi says this is bullshit from Wilson's camp to try and drum up interest in another contract. Pass the buck for how the season ended.

But after saying it was completely false, she hedged the statement and said it's "one-sided." So, who the fuck knows what actually happened.

[Steelperch]

Imagine how pissed Tomlin was winning a game 44-38 with an old washed up QB. It couldn’t have sat well with him. Tomlin’s entire gimmick is feigning that he has no offensive talent, shortening games, then having his defense make a play at the end to make it look like his coaching genius is the only reason the team wins.

It’s just like why they neutered Arians and the Ben/Brown/Bryant/Bell teams. You can’t be a self proclaimed defensive guru and win games by out scoring teams and having your defense give up big chunks of points and numbers in a shoot out.

I 100% believe this story.

[CKSteeler]

Imagine how pissed Tomlin was winning a game 44-38 with an old washed up QB. It couldn’t have sat well with him. Tomlin’s entire gimmick is feigning that he has no offensive talent, shortening games, then having his defense make a play at the end to make it look like his coaching genius is the only reason the team wins.

It’s just like why they neutered Arians and the Ben/Brown/Bryant/Bell teams. You can’t be a self proclaimed defensive guru and win games by out scoring teams and having your defense give up big chunks of points and numbers in a shoot out.

I 100% believe this story.

There's sadly truth to this, I think. Tomlin was never comfortable with an offensive team. 2018 was the ultimate proof of that. A Juju who still had his knees and could run along with Antonio Brown and a strong run game. They were out-dueling the Drew Brees Saints when Tomlin decided to turtle with a lead.

Just had to keep throwing the ball.

That was the best Steelers team I've seen not make the playoffs.

[tbsteel]

I genuinely hate them all. Well, a good amount of them.

They deserve complete and utter failure.

Praying that next season is the worst Steelers season of most of our lifetimes.

[Dan Smith--BYU]

Well this is the equivalent of marrying a hot woman then making her walk around in a burqa.

[Havoc]

.

[DumlinBumlinStumlin]

I genuinely hate them all. Well, a good amount of them.

They deserve complete and utter failure.

Praying that next season is the worst Steelers season of most of our lifetimes.

Let’s go Oh & Seventeen !!

May this old Covid year photo become the norm

[bradshaw2ben]

I genuinely hate them all. Well, a good amount of them.

They deserve complete and utter failure.

Praying that next season is the worst Steelers season of most of our lifetimes.

That's a low bar for those of us alive in 1969!

[tbsteel]

I genuinely hate them all. Well, a good amount of them.

They deserve complete and utter failure.

Praying that next season is the worst Steelers season of most of our lifetimes.

That's a low bar for those of us alive in 1969!

I came of age in the mid 90s during Blitzburgh. We always had so many interesting, gregarious characters and personalities. Those teams had some serious personality and oozed likability.

But last year's team was honestly the least liked group of players that the Steelers have had in my lifetime.

You had fake Russ begging to be crucified at the 50 yard line at halftime of each game and saying the lamest sports culture shit ever ("C'mon team, let's give it 110% and we can make our dreams come true!!"), the undeserved arrogance of Najee (the story about him taking part in some offseason meeting with the other "top" RBs in the league to bitch about the RB market really pissed me off, dude is a backup level talent who is only in the NFL because he's built like a brick shithouse), Pickens' childish outbursts and folding hard when dealing with any ounce of adversity, Freirermuth always dropping a key pass in a big moment and otherwise being as mundane as a Wednesday, Broderick Jones' lazy ass getting half out of what his talent is, Scam Heyward doing his classic late season no-show and carrying himself like he's some living legend (newsflash Cam, you can keep playing to 40 and you're still not a HOF player, get over it), Minkah going from an impact player to a complete disappearing act, Patrick Queen as the Najee of the defense: a guy that thinks he far better than what he actually is, and T.J. who is fine but is as bland a Fig Newton and overrated (down-to-down, he's just not the level of impact player as a guy like Garrett is).

And then at the top you have Mike Tomlin. Our fat and carefree captain who presents like he's some living legend who we should gather around in awe and soak in all the bits of wisdom he blesses us with, who coaches like a caveman deathly afraid of the magical fire that the others are cooking with and enjoying the warmth of, who has been a head coach for 18 years and hasn't taken really any young coach under his wings and actually grown them, and is ultimately a stubborn, arrogant, cowardly fraud who is in completely over his head trying to build a team, as opposed to being handed the keys to a Maserati in 2007 and just asked to keep it washed and serviced.

Just such an arrogant, unlikeable group. I genuinely hope they all lose badly. Rub their noses in the shit.

[SteelerDayTrader]

Imagine how pissed Tomlin was winning a game 44-38 with an old washed up QB. It couldn’t have sat well with him. Tomlin’s entire gimmick is feigning that he has no offensive talent, shortening games, then having his defense make a play at the end to make it look like his coaching genius is the only reason the team wins.

It’s just like why they neutered Arians and the Ben/Brown/Bryant/Bell teams. You can’t be a self proclaimed defensive guru and win games by out scoring teams and having your defense give up big chunks of points and numbers in a shoot out.

I 100% believe this story.

[CKSteeler]

...and T.J. who is fine but is as bland a Fig Newton and overrated (down-to-down, he's just not the level of impact player as a guy like Garrett is).

There isn't a single aspect of Garrett's game that is superior to Watt's. If there's on element of this organization that isn't overrated and that fans should actually enjoy watching right now, it's TJ Watt.

Teams started chipping a stationary Watt damn near every pass play in the second half of the season, and people act as if he's washed.

Myles Garrett disappeared for the entire second half of last season and won DPOY somehow. On a shit team at that.

The Browns build their entire defense around allowing Garret to have an impact, and he still vanishes more often than Watt ever has. You just saw the quietest stretch of Watt's career and it was still on par with what Garrett was doing on a weekly basis.

[StillerInCT]

I have a feeling my turn in line for season tickets is fast approaching but I don't know if I'd be willing to spend the money at this point.

[jebrick]

And Smiths mentality is undoubtably <= Tomlins. What a dynamic duo.

It is the steeler way coming from AR2.

I read the report yesterday and I would fire some people if it is true. AR2 being the first. This is back to Cowher's first years as a coach. you can almost pull out Noll's playing philosopy and match it up.

I understand being cautious if you do not have a franchise QB with experience/abilities but they did.

[.Kodiak]

Imagine how pissed Tomlin was winning a game 44-38 with an old washed up QB. It couldn’t have sat well with him.

Tomlin literally said after that game he is not comfortable with games unfolding that way.

Occasionally, Tomlin lets slip who he really is. And that is a guy who only knows how to play attrition football.

[R_S]

I don’t buy it. Russ sucks. He doesn’t have a contract, and the one he wants is going to Justin fields. Oh would you look at that sources say actually the coaches wanted him to score less. Please.

I think somewhere after Ben’s elbow exploded Tomlin’s conservatism crossed over from doing the best with what he had to protecting NHAL at all costs and that’s why I want him fired. But I don’t think him or his coordinators are holding grudges against guys for playing well.

I kinda get annoyed with all the Russ bashing. He still has some good football left in him. I just don't think any QB, outside of Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen could consistently look good playing in this offense as its been constructed for the last 10 years. The predictability of the game plans, the lack of play makers, yeah, good luck.

[langer]

Read it and weep. The idiots that run this team are as one would say, if you will, JV.

Art II going out and talking about stability and all that shit is hilarious when you look at those 5 Ls in a row. Not even close to competing. That's the truth in these numbers.

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/ ... lsRu00.htm

[jeemie]

Aditi says Russ' team leaked this.

[Steelperch]

I genuinely hate them all. Well, a good amount of them.

They deserve complete and utter failure.

Praying that next season is the worst Steelers season of most of our lifetimes.

I’m off to church to dunk this post in holy water. I’m going to be 2024 season TB x 100 next year.