Steelers are cocky entering Cowboys' game

… part of problem: Tomlin one of the " ‘swaggiest’ coaches out there" 

The Dallas Cowboys are rolling, winning seven games in a row behind a rookie quarterback for their best start in decades. Since the Super Bowl success of the 90s, Jerry Jones' teams have not fared very well, multi-billion stadium and all.

Now, they roll into Pittsburgh with a 7-1 record, reading a USA Today story that quotes the Steelers' oft-missing running back Le'Veon Bell as demeaning them. He said in a somewhat arrogant way for a team that has lost three straight games, “We’re not going to throw a parade if we beat (the Cowboys). That’s what we expect to do … If we go and beat Dallas – yeah, it might surprise everybody in the world, but it’s not going to surprise us.”

Even the oddsmakers have them as 2.5 point favorites, giving the Cowboys some more incentive to continue their run and thrash the trash-taking Bell and his teammates.

You would think …

You would think that the Steelers would have been humbled by the embarrassing loss to a Baltimore Ravens team that had lost four in a row prior to last week.

You would think that the Steelers would still be embarrassed by the loss to the Miami Dolphins a few weeks ago, a team that, like Baltimore, had a losing record.

You would think that the Steelers would be disgraced by a 4-4 record when many, including themselves, had picked them to get to the Super Bowl this year.

You would be wrong.

Paul Zeise hammers Tomlin and his team

The one columnist in Pittsburgh who has been consistenly critical of the Steelers is the Post-Gazette's Paul Zeise. In a column earlier this week, he hammered Mike Tomlin and Ben Roethlisberger.

Here is part of what he says about Tomlin, and it is right on the mark: "I’m not saying Tomlin is a bad coach; I am saying, however, that lately he hasn’t been very good at his job … Tomlin’s early persona as the Steelers coach was as the ultra-disciplinarian coach, a guy who didn’t put up with much nonsense, a guy who had rules and held players to a higher standard. Recently, however, that doesn’t seem to be the case."

A major part of that problem is contained in one sentence in the USA Today story. It quotes cornerback William Gay that Tomlin is one of the " ‘swaggiest’ coaches out there." I could not find a definition of swaggy or swaggiest in the conventional dictionary, but an urban dictionary lists these synonyms: "awesome, best, most swell, most gangster, greatest."

Note that in the first years, when he was the disciplinarian, the teams reached two Super Bowls in four years, winningone. Since them, they have won just one playoff game in the past six years, that which was handed to them by the Gengals last year.

Awesome coach or the most gangster?

Well, Zeise would not agree with that definition as awesome, best, or greatest. He mentions the reasons that Tomlin is a bad coach right now. "The Steelers are sloppy. They don’t hammer the details. They kill themselves with penalties — many of the careless, dumb variety. They turn the ball over. They miss blocks at key times. In Sunday’s loss to the Ravens, they added a new twist: The special teams were a dumpster fire."

My interpretation is that the players think that Tomlin is "cool." Coaches are not supposed to be cool. They are supposed to be people who can give guidance and direction to adults. Being swaggiest is more like being a gangster on the streets than in being an admired leader.

Really not all the coach's fault

Zeise, however, is emphatic that the problems that the team is having right now are not limited to one or two individuals: "It is time to stop the excuse-making. It is time to stop rationalizing why this team is losing games. It is time for this team to look in the mirror and realize it needs to play better, more consistent football or it will be on the outside of the playoff picture looking in."

While the Steelers are 4-4 and tied with the Ravens for the lead right now in the AFC-Central, they are fortunate that their section is very weak. They should make the playoffs because of that.

Analysis

Tomlin pointed out to USA Today that many of his teams start poorly and then finish well. The story notes that Tomlin's teams went "from 3-3 to 11-5 in 2014 and from 4-4 to 10-6 last season."

That is a lame excuse. His teams have underachieved the past few years. They play poorly on the road, against teams with losing records, and against the Ravens, having lost six of their last seven to their despised "rival."

As for games on the road down the stretch, remember that they have the Bengals and the Browns on their schedule in Cincinnati and Cleveland. They are already talking about what a dirty player Benglas LB Vontaze Burflict is instead of keep their mouths shut about him. He will be in the heads of Bell and Antonio Brown when they play later.

And yes, the Browns could be a disaster loss despite having not won a game thus far. Tomlin's teams play down to their competition.

Still, I will not be surprised if the Steelers beat the Cowboys. Pittsburgh was devastated by another NFC East team that they have played, the Eagles, who are now at the bottom of their section, but I have questions about the overall strength of the NFC right now.

I honestly don't know if there is a good team in the NFC this year.

Zeise Column

http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/zeise-is-right/2016/11/07/Paul-Zeise-Steelers-need-Mike-Tomlin-and-Ben-Roethlisberger-to-be-better-in-second-half/stories/201611070153

USA Today Cowboys-Steelers

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/steelers/2016/11/10/pittsburgh-leveon-bell-mike-tomlin-dallas-cowboys/93618432/