On Tuesday, HC Mike Tomlin spoke to the media in his weekly press conference where he talked about the team’s loss Sunday at home against the Baltimore Ravens and previewed the team’s upcoming Week 15 matchup on the road against the Carolina Panthers this upcoming Sunday.
When Tomlin was asked about QB Mitch Trubisky’s comments in his post-game press conference about being overaggressive with the football on Sunday which led to him throwing three INTs, Tomlin defended his former starting QB, saying that he wants aggressiveness from his QB to push the football down the field in attempt to make plays.
“That’s a balance that we always walk, you know, aggressively pursuit of victory,” Tomlin said to the media Tuesday on video from the team’s YouTube channel. “I’d rather say woah and sick ’em. It’s something to manage, but I’d rather manage that than to manage the opposite of that.”
Just two days ago, Tomlin was less forgiving in his post-game press conference when asked about Trubisky’s turnovers, stating that you can’t turn the football over in any game, let alone one with as much significance as Steelers/Ravens with Pittsburgh attempting to battle back in the AFC playoff picture. A few days removed from the moment, Tomlin now has softened his previous stance, backing Trubisky’s aggressiveness by saying that his backup QB was merely trying to claim victory in a pivotal game.
Tomlin is correct in saying that it’s a fine line to walk regarding being aggressive enough to take chances down the field in attempt to make plays, but also conservative enough to not put the ball in harm’s way and take a profit on what the defense is giving you. In the case of Trubisky against the Ravens, there were several instances where he did look good taking shots down the field to WRs George Pickens and Diontae Johnson, but also plenty of others where taking the check down would have been the better choice instead of turning the ball over.
Balance is key for any team on offense, let alone the Pittsburgh Steelers who have struggled to consistently score points all season long. They have been more conservative thus far this season despite the deep shot attempts, often settling for short, underneath completions rather than opening up the entire field. However, there is a time and place for everything, and for Trubisky who has been near the top of the league in ADOT this season, being more conservative than aggressive in this matchup with the Ravens in a low-scoring affair likely would have been the better strategy.
