By: Brandon J. Wallace
SteelerNation.com
Another year under Pittsburgh Steelers head coach, Mike Tomlin, another year of strong criticism from Steeler Nation in regards to "playing down" to the competition. Despite an 8-0 start, an unexpected nail-biter victory against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday was another game under Tomlin where the Steelers once again faced a foe they were favored to win by over two touchdowns. Squeaking out a win is better than a loss, but yesterday left many in Steeler Nation once again wondering why the team can't seem to "blowout" the teams they're supposed to? Although some may look at this as a cop out, this was by far my favorite quote from Coach Tomlin, and makes a lot of sense. I stand with coach!
"We're the Pittsburgh Steelers, everybody knows what that means," said Coach Mike Tomlin. "We get everybody's best punch, regardless of record. I think people respect our brand and they respect our franchise and its history. That's been my experience over 14 years here. Regardless of our record, people know when they are playing the Pittsburgh Steelers and a certain responsibility that comes with our reputation. We're going to get people's best shot."
Although that statement still might not fix some of the past losses the franchise has had in recent years where Pittsburgh was highly favored, it speaks directly to why games have been closer than they probably should've been.
"Thankfully we've got a group that sticks together, that's mentally tough, that's able to persevere," said Tomlin via Steelers.com. "I am thankful for that."
What do yinz think, Steeler Nation? Should we be seeing more "convincing" wins? Or, is a win simply a win. Comment below!
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