Junto Boys

STEEL

The more I see and hear new Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, the more I like him, and the more I understand why he was hired. The Steelers organization has been a model of stability, consistency, predictability and sanity for more years than we have been alive to watch. They hire head coaches with grit, determination and energy and they keep them around. They dump players whose price next season will exceed their worth. They draft and acquire players to fill specific needs and who will play hard and not get into trouble in late-night shootings outside strip clubs -- and when they don't bring the ability, attitude or image, Plax, they find themselves looking for another team. So in this short-attention-span, quick-fix, instant-gratification, knee-jerk culture, I love that Tomlin, after watching his team allow kick returns of 90 and 100 yards and a couple of lengthy punt returns as well, responded calmly and sanely. That approach is why the Steelers compete pretty much year in and year out, while other teams are busy trying the next big thing and hoping it works. There won't be drastic changes on the kick coverage unit. That is not how the Steelers operate. Tomlin understands that he is not the guy. He is the coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, with emphasis on Pittsburgh Steelers. It's not all about him, and yet it is. He is so suited for that job. I like the way he does business, how he intuitively understands what the Pittsburgh Steelers are all about, and what his role is in the greater scheme of things.

The Philadelphia Eagles once found a good special teams player by opening their stadium doors to all comers in an open tryout. Not only did Vince Papale, a bartender and Eagles season-ticket holder, make the team, he played three seasons for the Eagles and became their special teams captain. Disney even filmed a 2006 movie about his story, "Invincible."

Any Pittsburgh bartenders out there who think they can cover kickoffs?

Apparently, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin is not willing to follow the Eagles' approach of 30 years ago, even though he does not appear to have many players now who can consistently tackle on kickoffs.

"Just because things go bad, I don't want to have a knee-jerk reaction and be emotional," Tomlin said during his news conference yesterday.

"We are not in that business. We are professionals. We have some guys that need to do a little better job at shedding blockers and tackling. We have to do a better job at getting them in position to do that.

"There won't be drastic changes. That is not how we operate."