A problem with the Steelers quarterback situation

By Ron Cook / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Remember the fabulous line from "Cool Hand Luke," one of Paul Newman's all-time great movies?

"What we got here is a failure to communicate."

I'm thinking Steelers coach Mike Tomlin has that problem with his quarterbacks.

Either that or Tomlin has absolutely no faith in third-stringer Charlie Batch.

Either way, there's a problem.

In a 13-10 loss Sunday night to the Baltimore Ravens, Tomlin allowed Byron Leftwich to play the entire game after Leftwich broke two ribs, apparently when he fell into the end zone on his 31-yard touchdown scramble just 43 seconds into the game. Leftwich kept telling Tomlin he was OK. Tomlin kept him in the game even as Leftwich was taking a fierce beating, perhaps the most punishing blow coming from safety James Ihedigbo on a blind-side blitz with fewer than five minutes left. Leftwich went back out for the final possession and clearly had difficulty throwing the ball. I guess Tomlin thought he was a better option than Batch.

Late last season in a 20-3 loss to the 49ers in San Francisco, Tomlin allowed Ben Roethlisberger to play on a badly sprained left ankle, an injury from a week earlier in a win against the Cleveland Browns. Roethlisberger kept telling Tomlin he was good to go. Tomlin kept him in until late in the game, long after the outcome had been decided, even though Roethlisberger had no mobility. He threw three interceptions and lost two fumbles that game. I guess Tomlin thought he was a better option than Batch.

Do you sense a trend here?

Tomlin blew it in both games.


Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sports/ron-cook/a-problem-with-the-steelers-quarterback-situation-662850/#ixzz2Ck8kHrt9

Sometimes I just want to slap the shit out of Tomlin and scream "What the hell are you doing?!?" right in his face. He's been a good coach for us, but there are moments like these where you wonder if his brain is removable and he forgot it on his night stand by the bed. Stupid and costly decision not to pull Lefty in that game or Ben in the Browns game.

"Wallace108" can tell you that I have been skeptical of Tomlin from the day he was hired. His handling of Ben last year vs. 49ers AND Cleveland then and Monday with Leftwich and Charlie Batch should give pause to even those among us with a basic room-temperature I.Q. My skepticism is quickly turning to suspicion, that maybe Tomlin is NOT nearly the coach that his record might indicate. Meanwhile, stay tuned for the latest absurdities involving Charlie Batch, who could not be blamed if he told Tomlin and the Steelers to go take a flying f... at a rolling donut.

i think Tomlin was thinking might as well get a full game out of lefty since we been paying him the last couple of years him being hurt and could not play.

or Tomlin was thinking well we have two broken QBs now lets not break the third one just yet.

hope Heath Miller is getting some snaps as a QB the way are QBs are breaking down.

burgboy41 wrote:

"Wallace108" can tell you that I have been skeptical of Tomlin from the day he was hired. His handling of Ben last year vs. 49ers AND Cleveland then and Monday with Leftwich and Charlie Batch should give pause to even those among us with a basic room-temperature I.Q. My skepticism is quickly turning to suspicion, that maybe Tomlin is NOT nearly the coach that his record might indicate. Meanwhile, stay tuned for the latest absurdities involving Charlie Batch, who could not be blamed if he told Tomlin and the Steelers to go take a flying f... at a rolling donut.

Hater.

Me and burgboy have argued about Tomlin for 5 years. Here's my take ... Tomlin is a great coach, but no, he's not perfect. He makes some mistakes. But so did Cowher. The Chin used to do a bunch of things that irritated the crap out of me. Like keeping Kordell as the starting QB for what seemed like 20 years. Like not starting young guys like Hines Ward and Joey Porter when they were clearly better than the veterans starting ahead of them.

The bottom line is that no coach is perfect. They all are going to do things that irritate you as a fan. But at the end of the day, I wouldn't trade Tomlin for any other coach in the NFL, including Cowher if he wanted to come back.