Steelers' Mike Tomlin Gives Disgustingly Ignorant Answer For Severe Lack Of Work Ethic

The Pittsburgh Steelers are looking to figure out what went wrong to cause them to lose back-to-back games to two 2-10 teams. Even though the Steelers seemingly fumbled a free path to the playoffs, the struggles from the conference have put them right back into the playoff picture. They will have to go against another team with playoff aspirations in the Indianapolis Colts, with both teams coming into Week 15 at 7-6. To fix this team, they will have to listen to one of their star players. 

Minkah Fitzpatrick questioned the team's work ethic, claiming that certain players feel entitled to have plays go their way. Mike Tomlin was asked about Fitzpatrick's comments by Brooke Pryor during his weekly press conference. As opposed to addressing the issue, he completely ignored everything and pretended that there is not the slightest bit of concern over work ethic in the locker room.

"[Fitzpatrick] probably was talking about smiling in the face of adversity. These are going to be tough games. There's going to be some adversity, there's going to be challenges. Nothing is going to be given to us, and we got to fight that. We got to smile in the face of that. He's a guy that does that and lives that life, and I'm sure he's just challenging others to do the same. We got to do a better job of that in an effort to try and change the outcome of games, certainly."

Tomlin has a long history of making excuses, especially this year, and this is no different. Numerous players have voiced their concern over preparation and motivation, yet Tomlin acts like it's all sunshine and rainbows in the locker room. With every loss, the blame game and the excuse game grow stronger for the Steelers, as opposed to team chemistry and individual player development. 

Steelers Prove Tomlin Wrong During Games

Pryor followed up the question by asking if there were enough Steelers that currently are smiling in the face of adversity. Once again, Tomlin's ignorance showed up with a confident one-word answer.

"Certainly."

The Steelers have not smiled in the face of adversity. They have handled that adversity poorly. The Arizona Cardinals handled the weather delays properly and proved it on the field. Meanwhile, Steelers players were trying to figure out who Trey McBride was and why he was torching them. The Cardinals came out of all breaks looking prepared, while the Steelers lied down to adversity throughout the game. 

The Steelers attempted to make a comeback after looking unprepared and uninspired against the New England Patriots, but the adversity was too much for most of them to handle. The only player who seemingly smiled in the face of adversity was Miles Killebrew. He made a very crucial play to get the Steelers back into the game immediately after his worst game on special teams of the season, and possibly his worst game ever.

The easy portion of the Steelers' schedule is behind them. Their last four opponents are all against teams with playoff aspirations, including two divisional games. While players have been admitting to taking opponents lightly and not playing hard, their opponents won't do the same. The Steelers have to start taking things seriously if they want to be a true threat in January. If they don't, then the best they can do is just The Standard. Steeler Nation is more than tired of The Standard. They want playoff success. 

What do you think about Mike Tomlin deflecting from Minkah Fitzpatrick's comments, as well as the team's recent performances? Are there truly enough players that smile in the face of adversity? Let us know in the comments.

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