Kovacevic: Steelers disciplined? Please, Mr Rooney

[ZoneBlitzer]

Great article. This goes beyond drafting. It points to leadership. I don't think the players respect Tomlin.

[madtowndrunkard]

This is good news for our issues at NT. The steelers FO clearly has no tolerance for players that are not starter material. The fact that they kept Ta'amu speaks volumes about their opinion of his playing ability. Maybe we have our future starter at NT and we didn't even know it.

[VaDave]

If he was that good, or even remotely close to filling Hampton's shoes, he would have played in the Cleveland game. Woods and McClendon both got snaps, and Ta'amu was not even activated if I remember correctly.

[Riddle_Of_Steel]

Originally Posted by ZoneBlitzer

Great article. This goes beyond drafting. It points to leadership. I don't think the players respect Tomlin.

I don't think it is quite that.

In a recent NFL.COM poll, all the players on the 32 teams voted Mike Tomlin the coach they would most want to play for, with Bill Belicheck coming in a close second.

The problem is that Tomlin is more of a "player's coach", than a disciplinarian like Cowher was. Alot of the veteran leadership that was here (Ward, Farrior, Faneca) when Tomlin first got here, are gone. The mature professionals that could be counted on to have some self-dignity and help guide the younger players, have been replaced by a bunch of young, hot-headed, loud-mouthed kids.

The hands-off approach might work with seasoned, mature, veterans who already have a high level of proessionalism, but not 21 year old thugs who just got millions of dollars slipped into their pockets.

Their roster management has changed drastically in the last few years as well. We did not use to give out $51 million contracts to guys like Harrison or Woodley. The Steelers way was to let them walk, like we did with Joey Porter.

Most people point to Mike Tomlin, but they are missing teh other major management change that happened at the same time Tomlin came onboard-- Art II taking over Steelers ownership in full.

He has made some questionable decisions since then, that need to be rectified to get things back on track.

Overall, I still think the Steelers are in good shape for next year, they just need to:

a) draft a little heavier on the defense this spring
b) work out a new conditioning regimen
c) run a stricter camp

[desertsteel]

Interesting Database...

I don't remember this one:

5/10/2007 Pittsburgh LB Richard Seigler

Arrested on charges he ran a prostitution ring in Las Vegas, three felony counts.

Cut by team same day. Case dropped in March 2008.

[LVSteelersfan]

Not sure why Taamu is even on the street. Guess these millionaire kids have no problem making bail. I think he is doing jail time once his court case comes around. Might be NT for the prison team. Is Burt Reynolds still the coach of that team? Taamu will break the prison guard's effing neck.

[steve314]

Originally Posted by VaDave

The man has a point. In our last draft, we landed a serial women abuser with a mostly unknown gambling habit, and a drunkard, with another incindent in his record, and a druggie. In polite terms, for a franchise that prides itself on the character of it's players, we have slid a long ways off the standard.

The nonstandard is the nonstandard.

[TRH]

the article has a good point. In no way do i justify anything Rainey did and i'm glad he's gone (and i wasn't aware of his past until yesterday).
However...
What Ta'amu did was far, FAR worse. He literally almost killed that girl sitting in her car, meanwhile endangering lives of dozens of others - then there was the leaving the accident scene, and the resisting officers of the law, etc.
They should have laid the hammer down on that one in 5 seconds flat. Still don't understand that one.
Maybe this is just a sign that the organization has had enough - and nothing more will be tolerated - that would be fantastic.

[BLACK_AND_YELLOW]

Originally Posted by maddog78

Yep, that's the Steeler Way. We don't accept criminals unless they can ball.

Im not saying we only keep criminals that can only ball cause we got rid of Holmes for a 5th round pick after he blew his second chance.

Rainey already had this problem in college and we gave him his 2nd chance by drafting him & he blew it.

[GoFor7]

James Harrison got convicted after hitting his wife, that was swept under the rug rather quickly.