Tomlin’s challenges mount on and off field
offense — specifically, the ball not landing in his hands nearly enough.
Add the fact that the Steelers are 0-1-1 (their worst start since 2013), that their defense is a sieve and now three of the five starters are hurt from one of the best offensive lines in the league, and the hole gets deeper.
One more thing: This is not a Steelers team predicted to finish in the middle of the pack or coming off one of those 8-8 seasons. The Steelers were the consensus No. 2 pick from the AFC behind New England to reach the Super Bowl after going 13-3 in 2017 and playing the Patriots in the AFC championship a year earlier. There were high expectations for the Steelers in 2018.
Tomlin’s coaching ability is about to be tested again in a major way as he takes the Steelers to Tampa, Fla., where the temperatures and football team are redhot. Bell is not likely to be there again, and we await word from Tomlin and Brown whether the troubled wide receiver will attend.
Tomlin would not say whether Brown’s absence from work Monday was excused or not, but said he will talk to him about it. That response points heavily toward unexcused absence. If there is no good excuse, would Tomlin discipline Brown? Surely, sitting him down for a game would make a big statement, but would hurt his team’s chances to win Monday against the 2-0 Buccaneers, maybe even throw gasoline onto a raging fire that could expand into the rest of the season.
Tomlin has disciplined players for a game in past seasons: Martavis Bryant a year ago, Eli Rogers in 2016, Santonio Holmes in 2008 and Rashard Mendenhall in 2009.
Despite all the turmoil on the Steelers — on and off the field — and the smashing success by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers through two games, the oddsmakers have that Monday night game as even. Maybe there are still disbelievers on both sides.
The Bell saga might last awhile, but Tomlin needs to head off any more drama from Brown immediately. If Brown can accept the idea that football is a team sport, perhaps the Steelers can start turning things around.
How they do that on defense is anyone’s guess. It looks as if Joe Haden will return this week at cornerback, so that’s one piece of good news for them. They’ll need the return of that pass rush as well, the one that led the NFL in sacks last season and produced seven in Cleveland.
They better hope the two new injuries to offensive linemen Marcus Gilbert (hamstring) and Ramon Foster (knee) that Tomlin revealed Tuesday don’t amount to much. Tomlin said David DeCastro has a chance to play this week after missing the game Sunday with a broken hand. By all accounts, B.J. Finney did a nice job filling in at left guard for DeCastro, but the Steelers don’t have the kind of talented depth in the line to adequately fill in for three starters in one game.
Then there’s the punter and kicker. Suddenly, the Steelers can count on neither. Tomlin said he’s not comfortable with what punter Jordan Berry has done through the first two games and might try out some punters this week. Chris Boswell hooked what would have been the winning 42-yard field goal in Cleveland and missed a 49yard field goal and extrapoint kick against Kansas City. Tomlin was not as critical of his kicker.
“He’s missed a couple of kicks,” Tomlin said. “I’m not painting with a broad brush.”
The coach, however, does need to paint a different picture both of his team and for it soon before what might be a little speed bump to open the season becomes a wall.