Scrub of the Weekend: Mike Tomlin
Entering this weekend, the Miami Dolphins were arguably the joke of the league with a 1-4 record, with many arguing within the media that they might even be worse than the winless Cleveland Browns. Meanwhile, the Dolphins were preparing for the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers, owners of a 4-1 record and arguably the second best team in the AFC behind the New England Patriots. The matchup called for blow out city and Steeler Nation was feeling very good about themselves heading into this game.
Well, the joke is on you Pittsburgh! The Steelers were embarrased by the hapless Dolphins 30-15 in Miami on a hot Sunday afternoon. Now, if results like this were an aberration, Steelers fans like myself could just chalk this up to a bad week. However, as CBS Sports writer Ryan Wilson is about to show us, this is far from an aberration. No, this is a trend!
The Steelers’ loss to the Dolphins certainly feels familiar. https://t.co/jOSqS48Ei2 pic.twitter.com/G4eBjeAwSC
— ryan wilson (@ryanwilson_07) October 16, 2016
Yes, since 2009, the Steelers have dropped 14 games to teams with a combined record of 25-87. While Ben Roethlisberger and a porous run defense were the biggest culprits in this latest debacle, the blame ultimately rests with head coach Mike Tomlin. While different players have come and gone since 2009, Mike Tomlin has coached every one of these 14 losses to teams with losing records. If you look at the above graphic, the Steelers were not fielding bad teams in most of these losses. This season is no different. My conclusion is that Coach Tomlin fails to prepare his players to take crappy opponents seriously. How he has managed to allow this to happen again and again the last 8 years is beyond me. In fact, there is no excuse. Coach Tomlin, you are the Scrub of the Weekend. If the Steelers miss the playoffs by 1 or 2 games like they did in 2012 and 2013, we will all look back at games like this and gnash our teeth. Coach Tomlin, be a stud, not a scrub. Motivate your team to destroy bad teams, not lose to them.
