PITTSBURGH — You have heard of the good, the bad and the ugly?
Mike Tomlin had it all last week.
Here we go, in reverse order:
UGLY
There was no need for Tomlin to curse at a fan last Sunday in the tunnel at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium. If he wants to drop an F-bomb in his heated talks with the referee during a game, fine. If the television cameras catch him and the lip readers blush, OK. But this was so unnecessary. It was a rare negative look for Tomlin, who generally is so much more focused and composed.
BAD
Tomlin's defense of rookie George Pickens' antics in the Atlanta game was disappointing. By now, you know the cameras caught a disgusted Pickens saying, "Throw me the [bleeping] ball." It didn't seem to matter to him that the Steelers were winning at the time. Back home in Georgia, where he played his college ball and had family and friends in the stands, I'm sure he was frustrated because he was targeted just twice and caught one pass for 2 yards. But to react like that?
"I'd rather say, 'Whoa,' than, 'Sic 'em,' " Tomlin said, dropping one of his favorite Tomlinisms.
"I want a guy that wants to be a significant part of what we do. The appropriate and mature way to express that? We're growing and working on it. But that spirit, that competitive spirit, the guy that wants the ball, I want that guy."
Tomlin should have stopped there.
"We've got competitors. This is professional football," he continued. "These guys know they have to deliver. So, for a guy that wants to do that, I'm not going to make that a negative no matter how silly I think the commentary is or people talking about him expressing frustrations and trying to make it a negative storyline. I laugh at that. That's one of the reasons why we're continually progressing. We're capable of tuning that B.S. out."
Funny that Tomlin got annoyed by something he said he laughs at and tunes out, right?
Pickens clearly was emboldened by Tomlin's stance. He met the media on Wednesday and wasn't the least bit contrite even though his actions could be interpreted as showing up Kenny Pickett. Pickens said all wide receivers do similar things, mentioning Terrell Owens by name. That's downright frightening. T.O. was known to be a disruptive presence on a number of teams.
Defending Pickens was in character for Tomlin. In June, he appeared on Ryan Clark's "The Pivot" podcast and went into great detail about how he handles emotional players.
"I desire to create a culture where, first and foremost, people can be themselves," he said. "We waste a lot of damn energy trying to be appropriate. If you give people latitude to be their authentic selves, the collective is going to come together better. There are going to be moments [with all players]. But there are going to be so many more moments with that dude giving to the cause."
Tomlin pointed at Clark, who played for him with the Steelers from 2007-13.
"I can't give him five minutes to snap every now and then?" Tomlin asked. "In all likelihood, the snap is warranted in some way or he's legitimately irritated in some way that I recognize. To me, being emotional is giving a damn. Should you have to apologize for caring?"
That approach works for a lot of players. It worked long enough for Antonio Brown to become the greatest receiver in Steelers history. But, in the end, Brown self-destructed and quit on the team. It's fair to blame Tomlin for enabling Brown until he finally snapped.
I'm not suggesting Pickens will turn into Brown as a receiver or as a distraction. But it is a little troubling that he has shown this level of frustration this early in his career. How long has he been in the NFL? About 10 minutes?
GOOD
Just when you thought Tomlin might be losing his team for the first time ...
The Steelers beat the Falcons for their second consecutive road win. That's three wins in the past four games. At 5-7, the Steelers aren't a serious playoff contender just yet. But if they can beat the Baltimore Ravens without Lamar Jackson at home on Sunday and then win on the road against a 4-8 Carolina team on Dec. 18, they very much will be in the conversation.
When the Steelers got blasted by the Philadelphia Eagles on Oct. 30 to fall to 3-7, I had them dead and buried. Clearly, Tomlin didn't. Give him credit for keeping things together.
"I have so much respect for Coach T," Steelers offensive lineman Mason Cole said after the Atlanta game. "The type of leader he is, it's really cool to be around it, the way he gets his guys going. ...
"He was talking to us earlier about not trying to play great but just doing whatever it takes to win. That's been our attitude the past few weeks. If you put pressure on yourself to try to play great, that's when you make mistakes and stuff happens. But just playing to win the game is the attitude that we've had.
"I've got so much respect, so much love for Coach T. His leadership and the way he communicates with the guys, I've never seen anything like it. Hats off to Coach T."
I also asked Pickett about Tomlin's ability to keep the team on track.
"You always know where you stand," he said. "There are no hidden agendas. That's why I think we all really appreciate him. He's the same guy every single day. He's a guy you want to go to war for. It feels great to have that in your head coach. Every time you walk in that building, you know what you're going to get."
A lot of good, as far as the players are concerned.
