Mike Tomlin put his balls on display for the whole world to see last night, but he could care less what you think about them. He just wanted to show them to you and prove they exist. Boy, do they! Faced with a 4th and 1 with 6:23 left in the first half and the ball at the Steelers own 30 yard line, Tomlin went for it. At the time, the Steelers were up 14-0 and compiled over 200 yards of offense. The Steelers defense had only surrendered 50 yards of Chargers offense and 3 first downs at that point and the obvious choice by most head coaches would of been to punt the ball. Not Tomlin though, he wanted to keep the gas pedal floored and knew a first down in that situation would demoralize the Chargers defense, and it did. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger bulldozed up the middle for 3 yards as Tomlin proudly displayed his balls.
Had Roethlisberger not gotten the first down, it could of been a momentious turning point in the game. The Chargers would of had a short field and most certainly would of put some sort of points on the board. The Chargers defense would also have had a play to build on as well. Had the Steelers eventually lost the game, that would of been one of many questions asked by the media and Steeler Nation, much like the decision to go for it on 4th and 4 in Cincinnati versus pinning the Bengals deep with a punt or attempting a 52 yard field goal.
Does Tomlin care what you, me, the media or anyone else think? No. He is trying to win games by enforcing his will on the other team. It will bite him in the ass occasionally, but the bite will never swell to the size of his balls. If it did, Tomlin would just say that would be an excuse, and we don\’t make those.
This video below is for you, Coach Tomlin, in honor of your chocolate salty balls you had on display last night.
