Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is known for a number of things. People who don’t like him might call him a player’s coach for all the wrong reasons. Those who have played for him and love him will inevitably talk about Tomlinisms, the coach’s iconic quotes that get burned into people’s minds.
When LB T.J. Watt joined Jason Fritz of Yahoo Sports on Thursday, Fritz asked Watt about his favorite Tomlinism. Watt did not disappoint, and neither did Tomlin.
“There’s a fine line between making wine and squishing grapes,” Watt said, drawing a surprised laugh from Fritz. When pressed, Watt explained. “It’s true. There’s such a minute difference between an All-Pro player and a special teams player. There’s just that one percent extra [that] is what separates guys in the NFL. You’re either squishing grapes or making fine wine, and I want to be making fine wine.”
This quote isn’t about disparaging career special teamers. Even players who rarely see snaps on offense or defense are still some of the best football players on the entire planet. What Tomlin is reinforcing is that at the NFL level, everyone is great. It’s about what each player does above and beyond that makes the difference.
So what the heck does that have to do with wine versus squished grapes? Well, grape juice is extracted from grapes by pressing them, and, according to winemakersacademy.com, if you press too hard, it can cause problems by crushing the grape seeds themselves, which can make “funky wine.” If you don’t apply enough pressure, “you’ll be leaving juice behind.”
So making fine wine versus simply squishing grapes applies to both the coaches and the players. Coaches need to apply the right amount of pressure to get the best out of a player without ruining them. Players need to commit to the extra work to excel without burning themselves out. Otherwise, they will never be the best they can be.
Sure, Watt didn’t win the Defensive Player of the Year award even though he sacked opposing quarterbacks 19 times in 2023. That doesn’t change the fact that he’s averaged almost a sack a game through his career (96.5 sacks in 104 career games.) He also has 107 tackles for a loss in that same span along with seven interceptions, 27 forced fumbles, 10 fumble recoveries, and one fumble recovery returned for a touchdown.
I don’t think there’s any argument to be made that T.J. Watt isn’t making fine wine according to this Tomlinism.
You can watch the entirety of Watt’s conversation with Fritz below:
