Throughout the summer, Mike Tomlin was asked over and over for some of his favorite “Tomlinisms,” phrases he’s either borrowed or invented that make his interviews and press conferences all the more colorful to listen to. His players were asked the same, sharing their favorite ones or sometimes, ones they didn’t fully understand.
It seemed like we had heard them all. The Standard Is The Standard. Routine Things Routinely. It’s A Fine Line Between Drinking Wine And Squashing Grapes.
But Diontae Johnson offered a new Tomlinism that I hadn’t heard before. Appearing on the latest episode of the Steel Here podcast hosted by Kevin Adams and Jersey Jerry, he revealed what it is as he rattled through a few of his favorites.
“He’s got a bunch of them,” Johnson said. “‘We do not care how you got here.’ ‘Together, we all eat.’ ‘Don’t be a burger-flipper.’
“Don’t be a burger-flipper.” That’s a first from Tomlin, even if it came indirectly from Johnson. So what does it mean? Johnson explained.
“When he said that it’s like, don’t put junior varsity stuff on film.”
“Junior varsity” is a phrase we’ve heard from Tomlin many times over the years. Most often, it’s related to a poor punting performance, of which there’s been too many of during his tenure. A shank is junior varsity. Ditto with a touchback. The good news is Pressley Harvin III had a strong summer and held off Braden Mann’s valiant challenge and is poised to have the best season of his young career. But JV has been used by Tomlin to describe anyone’s performance that hasn’t been up to snuff.
Johnson is looking for a more varsity performance in 2023. Last season, he struggled through a combination of being misused, running too many sideline routes that limited YAC (yards after catch), and his own problems of running backwards and going through mental lapses as one of the most highly penalized receivers in football.
But as he told Adams and Jerry, he believes 2023 was one of the best summers he’s ever had. Our assessment was similar, noting how good he looked in camp after a quiet first few days. Here’s what we wrote about him in our post-camp grades.
“Statistically, Johnson finished first on the team in receptions (26), third in targets (34), and fourth in yards (319) right behind Pickens’ 321. Over about a one week stretch, Johnson had just one incompletion among more than a dozen passes thrown his way, a drop in seven shots. But it was the only one we charged him for in camp, the same number as Pickens, so it shouldn’t be cause for concern…
Johnson had a strong and full camp, a stark contrast to last year when he missed the first week with his hold-in and then was dinged by an injury and missed out on reps with Mitch Trubisky. He later had to adjust to Pickett taking over as starter, and Pickett basically didn’t throw him the ball in the summer. Like the offense, Johnson is hitting the ground running and overall, it was a successful summer.”
For the Steelers’ offense, they don’t have to be a gourmet chef to have a successful year. But they need to whip up a better meal than they have been. Based on what they’ve shown this summer, this offense has all the right ingredients.
Catch the whole podcast below.
