Steelers' Mike Tomlin Embraces The Horror Of Playing Game 3 Of The Preseason With The Full Support Of Kenny Pickett

The Pittsburgh Steelers are no strangers to bucking the accepted norms of the NFL. Mike Tomlin coaches on the ragged edge of what is allowed physically in 2023 football. It sounds cooler than it is. The line for physical football is about as blurry today as trying to remember what a middle school dodgeball looked like before they were outlawed.

Tomlin is currently taking heat for his latest decision to play the extremely young Steelers offense on Thursday night against the Atlanta Falcons. The NFL added a regular season game last season and took away a preseason game in 2022. Few coaches embrace the mundane details of the business of playing football as Tomlin does in Pittsburgh, so his decision to use all three games should be, at the very least, an expected development.

“I lean towards playing in general,” Tomlin said at the beginning of the preseason. “If we are gonna box, we have to spar.”

Tomlin said those words before the first preseason game, and nothing that has transpired over the last month has changed his opinion. The Steelers' head coach will play everyone. However, if the first two games are a guide, that may be an ever-so-brief appearance. The Steelers' offensive unit has looked phenomenal so far this preseason, and his quarterback is on board with continuing the momentum, according to Teresa Varley from Steelers.com.

Kenny Pickett and Tomlin are kindred spirits. The fact that Pickett spent his college career around the Steelers has been well publicized. Tomlin was well aware of who he was getting in the 2022 NFL Draft. A gym rat who loved football as he did, and unlike his previous quarterback, a player who could not rely on talent alone to carry him into battle. 

Pickett's embrace of his coach's philosophy is essential. The Steelers' previous signal-caller Ben Roethlisberger was only sometimes on board with what transpired on the offensive side of the ball. He rebelled against Todd Haley and Matt Canada. Despite ample reason not to do it, Pickett embraced Canada, and the offense has looked diametrically opposed to the trash fans were subjected to in 2021 and 2022.

Steelers' Kwon Alexander Absolutely Infuriated By League Office Assessment Of Ridiculous Fine

The NFL has enjoyed a respite from the physicality of Tomlin's Steelers for the last few years. Tomlin's teams have not been in serious contention for over half a decade, but that time is over. The Steelers have the look of a contender again. The league office is about to be very busy if they are going to issue fines for routine tackles like the ridiculous fine levied against Kwon Alexander. 

The Steelers and the NFL's feud over what is allowed on the football field is going to heat up in 2023. Art Rooney II has already voiced his displeasure about what transpired with the Steelers' schedule for the upcoming season. There should be no mistake; the league is not happy with Tomlin directly bucking the Sean McVay precedent of rendering the preseason meaningless. 

Fans of the black and gold have been highly critical of Tomlin as the Steelers slipped further and further down the ladder in the modern NFL. Whispers about the modern game passing Pittsburgh by have been growing louder. The Steelers were supposed to slink off and be irrelevant, but Omar Khan, Andy Weidl, Tomlin, and Mr. Rooney had other ideas. 

Pittsburgh has pushed all of its chips into the middle of the table and is going to embrace good old-fashioned football. Run the football, play bruising defense, and take big shots down the field with Pickett and his treasure trove of weapons on the outside. Tomlin is not scared to play his starters for fear of injury because he knows they are primed to dish out the punishment. 

Roger Goodell, fantasy football shills, and the gambling sites that make up the unholy trinity of modern football hate this plan. They are using the minions they control in the national media to criticize the Steelers and Tomlin for wanting to play football in August. Pittsburgh is thumbing its nose at a conventional wisdom that wants to outlaw the way it approaches football. It's about time, Bravo Coach Tomlin. 

What do you think, Steeler Nation? Are you happy to see Tomlin bucking the league-wide trend of how to approach the preseason? Let me know what you think. Please comment below or on my Twitter/X:@thebubbasq. 

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