Early in the Week Four matchup against the Houston Texans, it was quite clear that the Pittsburgh Steelers simply weren’t ready for the road trip from a physicality standpoint.
Pittsburgh got punched in the mouth early and often on both sides of the football and never really recovered, dropping a very disappointing, disheartening 30-6 decision to the upstart Texans.
A few days later after the dust had settled and things could be looked at in a non-reactionary way, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin came away from the blowout not concerned about the offensive scheme and overall play calling, but instead the complete lack of physicality that his team showed. That led to comments Tuesday about padded practices and making sure the team is ready to go physically.
It all sounded rather ridiculous, which has generated more discussion regarding Tomlin’s comments and the plausibility – or lack thereof — behind them. For Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, who appeared on the 93.7 The Fan PM Show with co-hosts Andrew Fillipponi and Chris Mueller, it’s “very troubling” that Tomlin freely admitted the Steelers were physically dominated by a team like the Texans.
“I think it’s very troubling that he so freely admits that they were out-physicaled by the Houston Texans, which has been — for the last few years — one of the most dysfunctional franchise in football,” Florio told Fillipponi and Mueller, according to audio via 93.7 The Fan. “And I listened to his press conference yesterday, and I understand the whole idea with padded practices. It’s hard to fit them in early in the season; you’ve got to be very sensitive to your players’ overall health and their readiness, etcetera.
“But the Texans were able to do it and that allowed them to be dramatically more physical than the Steelers in that game on Sunday, so that’s what’s alarming to me. And I suspect it’s going to be a challenging week of practice …”
While it was rather concerning to see the Steelers lack that physicality on the road against a beatable opponent — a win would have set them up quite nicely heading into the Week Five matchup at home against the Baltimore Ravens — coming out of that loss to the Texans thinking the only real issue was not being ready from a physicality standpoint is baffling.
The Steelers lacked a real game plan on both sides of the football, couldn’t adjust to anything Houston was doing to them and really, quite simply, got outcoached. Period.
Though it might be a bit troubling for Florio to hear Tomlin make those comments about his team coming out of the Texans game, it’s nothing new with Tomlin. He’s not worried about public perception regarding his comments. He speaks bluntly. His players know it, the local media knows it at this point, too. He’s not going to sugarcoat things.
Still, that thought process from Tomlin is troubling.
So instead of looking to make changes from a game-plan, play-calling, or coaching standpoint, Tomlin is focused on padded practices ahead of a rivalry matchup against the Ravens that will be a blood bath from a physicality standpoint, as it always is.
Hopefully his players aren’t worn down from a tough week of work entering a game that they must win to stay afloat in the AFC North race.
