That was about as guarded a press conference as I have ever seen. He told us nothing, total waste of time.
He managed to sidestep most of the questions neatly.

On the plus side he didn't sound like a maniac and was nervous at first then he found himself a bit.

Never heard that hew would use a fullback

He's the new face of the franchise, the man responsible for wins and losses. Well losses anyhow.

He told us nothing, total waste of time.

The guy got hired two days ago and I suppose he has talked to very few (if any) players. What did you expect him to say?

Never heard that hew would use a fullback

Well if he's "not a system guy" and he's going to build the offense around the roster, why would he come out now and say anything about a fullback?

-I thought Haley a great job in his meeting with the media..I like that he mentioned that they have work to do on the Oline..

- Chief Big Diva & Bruce Arians apologist Ron Cook is radio right now criticizing Tomlin.. for saying one of reasons he hired Haley.. is because understands the high standards that the Steelers have.. Cook still seems really hurt that Arians gone to Indy.. I expect Ron to write another column or two of him crying about it.. maybe with some quotes from Big Diva saying how much still loves his "Uncle" Bruce and his offense ...

I thought the press conference was fine and I think it was a good move to have Tomlin introduce him. None of the questions were stupid (except for whoever asked him if him being a former head coach would help Tomlin). A few questions I would have asked:

--your chiefs held the steelers to 13 points this season. how and will that inform whatever tweaks you make to the O scheme in 2012?

--do you anticipate making any changes to the offensive position coaches?

--When you worked with Kurt Warner, a veteran, highly capable QB, in Arizona, how much influence did he have over the design of the offense and play calls?

I thought he did a great job - he even stated that the super bowl was the goal starting out.....bold statement IMHO.

heard most of it on the radio......not much to listen to. Will not be till the season starts until any comments can be made pro or con.

Ron Cook, in his mind, is far more qualified to make football decisions than AJR II. However, he has NO PROBLEM scoffing at fans/callers who do the same.

Like I have said before, I don't recall too many instances where a member of the media has been brought in my a Big 4 franchise to make personnell/gameday decisions.

I really do believe the Steelers offense underachieved the last few years. Did not score enough points and with the talent available, that simply should not be the case. That is not entirely Arians fault, but it is easier to change one coach than 11+ players.

I like guys who have Pittsburgh in their blood. Cowher grew up in the area - he was like that. Charlie Batch was a Pittsburgh native. Chuck Noll and LeBeau and Roethlisberger grew up in Ohio, but got to the 'Burgh as soon as they could. You can tell that Tomlin has really embraced the city, with his nice house in Shadyside.

Maybe he'll stick around for awhile. It won't be hard to win in Pittsburgh - he's got all the weapons. If all he does is refuse to settle for absolute crap play from the o-line and from the short-yardage running game like his predecessor, he should start to get his hands on some hardware soon.

Do you remember 2 years ago in super windy and cold Cleveland, the Steelers lost to an inferior team? The Steelers kept passing, passing, passing, passing, over and over and it was fruitless because it couldn't be done with those wins. There was no change after halftime. I hope even if Haley is a little pass happy, that he will have some common sense and have the ability to adjust. If he does, the offense will be improved and we may win an extra game or two a year because of it. I am not sold on him, but I like him way better than BA.

And can we please scrap the 3rd and two gun with 4 or five wide? Please Haley, bring back the common sense!

Ray Rice is an unrestricted free agent. The Steelers should cut an injury prone Mendenhall and go after Rice. Yes, I know they have cap issues and the Ravens will do everything they can to re-sign him, but the Steelers could sell Rice on the fact that Ben has 2 rings and Flacco has none.

written by alexpo, February 09, 2012 - 02:24 PM
Ray Rice is an unrestricted free agent. The Steelers should cut an injury prone Mendenhall and go after Rice. Yes, I know they have cap issues and the Ravens will do everything they can to re-sign him, but the Steelers could sell Rice on the fact that Ben has 2 rings and Flacco has none.

...do you really think that's going to happen? Like, really really?

And I mean both ends of the street. Do you really think Rice (who has probably already been negotiating with the Ravens for MONTHS), will all of a sudden sign with the Steelers?

The last "big ticket" free agent the Steelers signed was James Farrior, 10 years ago. And back then, that wasn't even really a "big ticket" free agent. I doubt the team already $25M over the cap will sign a running back to what would probably be the most lucrative RB contract in the league.

^No I don't think it'll happen. That's why I said the :Steelers should", not "will"

Bob:

I understand the entire Steelers "braintrust" i.e. Rooney,Colbert&Tomlin was involved with the interview/hiring process.Tomlin commented that he did a lot of "research" on Haley prior to the interview. Do you believe this was done to better understand Haley as a "candidate" for the position or to feel comfortable with Haley knowing his hiring was a "fait'accompli"?

Thank you,Bob.

Corri


Call me naive, Corri, but I think this was Tomlin's hire. -- Bob Smizik

...

The man the Steelers hired to coach the wide receivers in 2004 -- the second choice, according to what Haley said -- was Bruce Arians.

Real classy guy, that Haley, saying HE was the first choice back in 2004.


And the best part is, about the only thing Tomlin can do is fire Haley. Like Max has posted before, Tomlin can't bench Haley for a game, like he can a rookie.

Sure, Tomlin could call the plays himself, and bust Haley that way, but then Tomlin would expose his own abilities "in that regard." And Tomlin is too smart to take a chance on shooting himself in the foot like that.


Hee, hee, hee! It's going to be a fun season.

...

Do you remember 2 years ago in super windy and cold Cleveland, the Steelers lost to an inferior team? . . . There was no change after halftime.

Can you remember a time, other than when The Chin let the air out of the ball with a lead, that the Steelers EVER made a change after half-time?

Ah, I see no move can be made by the Steelers without Max assuming it to be political posturing by the Steelers, or part of some grand conspiracy that will finally "expose" the inadequacies of Mike Tomlin.

The guy has won 70 percent of his games as a head coach. He's done it over five years. For all his crippling weaknesses (mismanagement of the clock, challenges), it rarely seems to bite him in the rear.

Then again...I think we all know what's going on here.

...
There's about as much chance the Steelers will make any big play for a RB, as there is a chance Ben will be benched for anything less than 2 life threatening injuries.

They have that celebrated, high draft pick, "feature" back, Mendenhall coming back. That have Redman with almost no mileage on him, and 2 or 3 promising guys like Dwyer and Baron Batch. And they could always sign Melwede Lesse to another contract.

And while we're at it, Hampton has the Steelers by the short hairs. They have nobody but McClendon(?) with experience. If they move Ziggy Who to the middle, where Ed writes he would be adequate, then they have to spend a yet another very high draft choice on a DE who they won't play for a year or two.

I appear to bein the minority on this, but I dont care if Haley uses a fullback or not. Mike Wallace and Antonio Brown are the 2 biggest difference makers on the team, and any OC's main concern is to get them the ball as often as possible.

Im not saying you run endless bubble screens, but few teams have 2 guys that can do what Brown and Wallace can.

No matter what style of play is in vogue few assets are as valuable as a viable deep threat. Haley is fortunate enough to inherit 2 guys who can change a game on 1 play.



The bubble screen is still getting trashed despite an average of 6.2 yards per attempt last season. Amazing.-- Bob Smizik

Funny how everybody has a solution to the offense's "shortcomings" (bring in a fullback, no more bubble screens, etc.) But giving up 316 yards to TIM FREAKIN' TEBOW isn't even a blip on the "maybe there's a problem on defense" radar screen. Plus, Peyton Manning HATED the fullback in Indy when guess who was the QB coach from '98 to 2000? That's right kids. Your old buddy BA. Anybody want to argue with the Colts' success over the years?

Wait. Did Bruce Arians retire? Get a new job? Why hasn't there been any new Bruce Arians, in like, 2 hours??

Funny how everybody has a solution to the offense's "shortcomings" (bring in a fullback, no more bubble screens, etc.) But giving up 316 yards to TIM FREAKIN' TEBOW isn't even a blip on the "maybe there's a problem on defense" radar screen. Plus, Peyton Manning HATED the fullback in Indy when guess who was the QB coach from '98 to 2000? That's right kids. Your old buddy BA. Anybody want to argue with the Colts' success over the years?



Yes, the Colts have won one championship with one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. Ben has won 2 in half the time.

Well I listened to it, was it on TV?

He didn't divulge any trade secrets other than he likes Heath and Ben. It also sounded like he will use the current system, but bring in new wrinkles. Then he said he would work with a clean slate. Well which is it?

So he actually turned down "the chin"? Very interesting, I wonder with the Steelers in his blood why he would.



He went with Parcells, who, I believe, have him start in the business. -- Bob Smizik

The smart answer was given by Haley:
"We’ll figure out what gives us the best chance to succeed and to score points."

You need to be a running team against certain teams and you need to be a passing team against certain other teams. As long as you win.
Therefore the Steelers will need to be good at both running and passing in 2012. You can't ask for more than this.
I believe the Steelers will choose a NT in this upcoming draft. But my hope is that they don't get a NT that is good for stopping the run.
THE NT SHOULD BE SOMEONE WHO CAN SERIOUSLY RUSH THE QUARTERBACK TOO.

written by SonnyDrysdale, February 09, 2012 - 03:13 PM
So he actually turned down "the chin"? Very interesting, I wonder with the Steelers in his blood why he would.

Because Bill Parcells his coaching mentor was going to Dallas and wanted Haley as his Wr coach...

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg...84-100.stm

Big Diva speaks...

I agree with those who find Ron Cook's constant blubbering over "everything Ben" quite disturbing...how many times do we have to hear "when Ben and I were alone at his locker for a one-on-one session..."...

Perhaps that morsel tells you why Ben is praised so often [actually, 100% of the time Ben's name is involved in an issue] by the supposed "hard-nosed" journalist...a little quid pro quo perhaps??

Roethlisberger is far from the consumate professional that Cook claims; his off field troubles aside, he is considered a certified jack-ass by many in the locker room [not an opinion, mentioned separately to me by two media colleagues]...and maybe, just maybe, Art Rooney [who is shelling out Ben's $100 million) doesn't trust his QB to be the co-offensive coordinator...based on the QB's penchant for bad decisions and tarnishing the Steeler brand, can anyone blame the owner??

Ben make a 100 million? that can't be right. The salary cap is 125 million.

Look if you hate Big Ben that much find another team to root for. Hes gonna be here a long long time.

I suppose Cook/Bouchette will ask Cowher about that interview.

BobinVegas,

You are absolutely right. They have to get the ball to Wallace and Brown. That should be a focal point of this offense. Those guys are the difference makers (other than Roethlisberger) on this offense.

About those bubble screens, there's a dirty little secret that nobody really wants to talk about ever. The bubble screen itself was a pretty good play under BA. The main problem they had for a while with it was that the primary target of it was the aging Hines Ward. I love Hines, and think he's one of the all-time greats, but he should NOT have ever been the target of the bubble screen. Brown and Wallace are both better receivers for that play.

Getting the ball to Wallace or Brown outside and giving those guys a chance to make a defender miss is a smart play, so long as you don't overuse it.

BenRulz:

This is Pittsburgh. We NEVER are allowed to blame the defense, criticize the defense, or even imply that the defense could have performed better. Even in 2009, when in at least 4-5 games the Steelers blew 4th quarter leads, many argued that the offense was entirely to blame for it. They didn't control the ball enough and allow the defense to rest, making the defense's job too difficult.

Along those lines, let me propose a similar theory about the 2011 season, one which I'm sure will draw a major chorus of criticism from my fellow bloggers. The offense did a good job of moving the football, with a 4000 yd passer, and two 1000 yd receivers, and ranking near the top of the league in yardage. They also ranked 21st in points scored. Conventional wisdom is that the red zone offense was to blame.

While that may be true, perhaps another reason for the low scoring output in relation to the yardage totals might be that the DEFENSE didn't do its job well enough. It's difficult to consistently put together long TD drives in the NFL. Offenses rely on their defense to generate turnovers, leading them to have short fields which increases their ability to score.

The Steeler defense only generated 15 turnovers. With a turnover total that's more in line with their historical norms, might we not have seen the offense score more? Of course, we can't mention that, can we?

Rothlisberger's comment, of how he hopes Haley doesn't set the offense back a couple years, is flabbergasting. Extremely immature and unprofessional crap, if you ask me. This egomaniac needs reigned in immediately. Uncle Bruce is gone, Ben. Get over it.

...

Then again...I think we all know what's going on here.

Yes, we do.

The Steelers under performed on offense, and for more than just this season, getting their $100 million QB banged up.

Tomlin couldn't see the problem, or wouldn't address it, so his boss did.

That's what is going on here.

Don't know if you ever worked for a large company, or even a medium sized company, but the Steelers haven't done or said anything publicly that Max hasn't seen dozens of times.

Ben is right it would set them back to install a new offense. Baltimore kept Cameron because Flacco and his new receivers would have problems adjusting. The owner said as much.

Ben is 30 next month he doesn't have a couple years to wait for a new offense to work well.

Of course the Ben haters out there never think of that.

Don't know if you ever worked for a large company, or even a medium sized company, but the Steelers haven't done or said anything publicly that Max hasn't seen dozens of times.

I was referring more to your sheer glee in hoping that Tomlin is exposed as some sort of fraud. I think we're all frighteningly award of why that is the case.

...
That was a pretty immature comment by Ben about setting the offense back 2 or 3 years.

Then again, wasn't the offense better a few years ago, maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing.

...
YO! Bob Smizik!!

Are you aware of the childish attempts by SeanAY to somehow insult Max here?

Seems to Max like a violation of the kinder, gentler blog (KGB) thing.

Bob,

I believe you misunderstood my meaning concerning the bubble screen. Never was I one of the people questioning its effectiveness.

I just assumed when I said they need to get Brown and Wallace as many touches as possible it was a matter of time before someone said "oh yeah, like the bubble screen."

To me you have to get the ball in your best players hands any way you can.

This hire may turn out to be great, but the process has certainly tarnished the image of Art II. I realize that under Art's watch (which has had considerable influence from father Dan) the team has experienced success, but I'm just not impressed with the man - he lacks charisma and presence. And he also doesn't appear to have that authentic connection to the players and public that his father and grandfather had. Maybe it will come with time. Hopefully, he learns from this experience.

I wonder how he plans on using Isaac "Redstone" Redmond? (sp?)

OK? Bob.

When Moses came down from the mountain with the tablets, I don't think he got this much coverage.

written by sean t, February 09, 2012 - 04:20 PM

BenRulz:

This is Pittsburgh. We NEVER are allowed to blame the defense, criticize the defense, or even imply that the defense could have performed better. Even in 2009, when in at least 4-5 games the Steelers blew 4th quarter leads, many argued that the offense was entirely to blame for it. They didn't control the ball enough and allow the defense to rest, making the defense's job too difficult.

Along those lines, let me propose a similar theory about the 2011 season, one which I'm sure will draw a major chorus of criticism from my fellow bloggers. The offense did a good job of moving the football, with a 4000 yd passer, and two 1000 yd receivers, and ranking near the top of the league in yardage. They also ranked 21st in points scored. Conventional wisdom is that the red zone offense was to blame.

While that may be true, perhaps another reason for the low scoring output in relation to the yardage totals might be that the DEFENSE didn't do its job well enough. It's difficult to consistently put together long TD drives in the NFL. Offenses rely on their defense to generate turnovers, leading them to have short fields which increases their ability to score.

The Steeler defense only generated 15 turnovers. With a turnover total that's more in line with their historical norms, might we not have seen the offense score more? Of course, we can't mention that, can we?

And to think mine was the LONE voice in the wilderness!!! Thanks sean t!!!

I don`t know what you people expect when a coach gives a press conference. He`s not Moses bringing the tablets down from the mountain. He`s going to do coachspeak as they all do (notwithstanding Max`s belief that only Tomlin speaks in cliches).

"The emphasis will be on winning, however we can." Not exactly original, but I suspect he actually means it. What else would a coach say?

cramden: Did you intentionally misspell Isaac`s name? "Redmond"? You were warned about that. I hope you get banned.

@heartbeatsings: So the Chiefs held the Steelers to 13 points this year and you would ask Haley how that might affect his tweaking of our offense? Well, I suspect Haley watched the game closer than you did, so he would have seen Wallace drop a pass in the end zone, Mewelde Moore fumble on the KC two yard line, and several other on-the-field mistakes.

So the tweaking would be thus: "Receivers: Catch the ball when it hits you in the numbers. Running Backs: Don`t fumble. Linemen, don`t hold or false start."

And so on.

Sheesh!

written by Curmudgeon, February 09, 2012 - 07:33 PM

When Moses came down from the mountain with the tablets, I don't think he got this much coverage.

Well of course not silly! That is because Mr. Gore had yet to invent the internet and the Hebrews didn't all have laptops!

written by Max, February 09, 2012 - 04:57 PM

...
YO! Bob Smizik!!

Are you aware of the childish attempts by SeanAY to somehow insult Max here?

Seems to Max like a violation of the kinder, gentler blog (KGB) thing.

get some thicker skin, Max, who refers to himself in the 3rd person constantly....sheesh...

@bornintheburg,

I've been thinking about ARII as well. I don't know if this tarnishes his image or not - but he certainly put it out there one way or the other ... further out than Dan or the Chief ever did in my recollection. He could be perceived as a genius or he could be a goat.

This is the guy that said it's time to bring back that Lombardi trophy, and that happened. He also said we need to run more effectively (NOT more) and that hasn't really happened consistently. But this is really the furthest he has put his reputation out there.

He does lack charisma, more of a slick guy, it seems, than the previous Rooney's. But the fact he puts his ideas and influence out there publicly - I don't mind at all - it takes a certain amount of guts to do that.

If they don't win 12 games next year, you can blame Jerry Daniel Rooney, who operates with 1/10 of the class and integrity of his father and grandfather.

And Dokish' next piece will outline the Pirates return to the Series, Andrews Carnegie and Mellon's resurrection and return to run the town, and PSU hoops making the Final 4 ... all intriguing sci fi.