It’s no surprise that it has been this season more than ever in which Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has adopted new favorite aphorisms pertaining to the notion that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts and emphasizing the importance of team over the individual.
After all, after years of being a superstar-oriented group—specifically on offense—all of their stars are either out of town or standing on the sidelines injured. They have had no choice but to install some moving parts and keep the whole ship running. For the most part, it has, and it’s been an exciting time, not only for Tomlin, but for those who have stepped up to the plate.
“We often talk about ‘one man’s misfortune is an opportunity for someone else’, and we’ve just got a lot of trust in all of these guys that have been a part of the preparation process and the developmental process of many of them”, Tomlin said yesterday during his regular appearance with Bob Pompeani for The Mike Tomlin Show.
“You’re really excited, not only for us, but for them as men, when they make the type of plays that they were able to make in terms of being able to help us secure victory”, he went on. There are any number of examples of this, chiefly Devlin Hodges at quarterback, but one that he singled out was a deep cut at wide receiver.
“Guys like Tevin Jones, who’s been on our practice squad for over a year, having an opportunity to move up in the ranks and then provide a play”, he cited as an example. “I thought that play down the seam that he made for us was a significant play for us. But there are a lot of examples of that”.
He also talked about Robert Spillane making plays on special teams, but he could have just as easily decided to go with Deon Cain or Kerrith Whyte, two very new faces inside the organization. You can opt for Trey Edmunds, who has unselfishly switched over to fullback in the absence of Roosevelt Nix.
“We couldn’t do it without all those individual stories of guys seizing an opportunity, and that’s what this is about”, Tomlin wrapped up. “Adversity’s gonna strike in this game, and you could waste a lot of time talking about the misfortune of a few. We like to spend our energy and time preparing those who replace them for their opportunity”.
As long as they keep winning, it sure is a feelgood story.
