Steelers' Mike Tomlin May Continue To Attack The Media During Massive Collapse And Deflect Blame Off Of Himself

The Pittsburgh Steelers have started playing the blame game after losing their third contest in a row. Both the offense and the defense have put up poor performances that have everyone asking questions, from people in the facility, to the media, to Steeler Nation. Everyone is looking for answers. Unfortunately, it appears Head Coach Mike Tomlin is more interested in protecting his own reputation, as opposed to figuring out the real issue and getting it fixed. Until he takes responsibility for these consistent failures, it's safe to expect more of the same from this underachieving team. 

While making an appearance on 93.7 The Fan, Mark Kaboly was asked about Tomlin's response to the defense being frustrated and calling out unnamed members of the team. He claims that the coach will do what he usually does and point fingers at something completely unrelated: the media.

"He might blame us (the media)," said Kaboly. "'Oh, they're just answering a question, giving you what you want,' or something like that. Well, sorry, these guys pretty much offered this up without much resistance. Patrick Queen started it last week in Baltimore, where he just decided to go off a little bit as well, talking about other players have to do their jobs and stuff like that."

When multiple players are coming out and getting angry at their own team after a major losing streak, you can't just blame the media for starting internal wars. While the questions can be aggravating, especially after a bad loss, it's still not the media's fault that everyone is having miscommunication problems on the field. Tomlin and his staff need to do a deep search to find the real answers. 

Kaboly continued on, saying that whatever message Tomlin has for the Steelers will stay in-house, and that he will tell the media something completely different.

"Whatever [Tomlin] tells us won't be what he tells the team behind closed doors, but the players will then turn around and end up parroting what he says. It's just a big game."

Tomlin is known for how he handles the media, especially with him using cliches, as opposed to giving straightforward answers most of the time. When his players get interviewed during the week, it's normal for them to say the same thing. It will be interesting to see how the players respond to the media before their Week 18 game, especially guys like Patrick Queen and DeShon Elliott.

Newest Steelers Have Been The Most Vocal With Frustrations

Queen is in his first season with the Steelers, and he is already angry with how things are being done. As Kaboly mentioned, Queen has been going after his teammates since their loss to his former team: the Baltimore Ravens. After yet another loss, he has the same exact problems, as guys are either over-stepping or underperforming, as opposed to doing their job.

Elliott parroted Queen's thoughts in an expletive-filled postgame rant to the media. The ex-Ravens both believe that players are not doing what they are supposed to be doing. Elliott has played on three different teams prior to signing in Pittsburgh, so he knows how things usually are outside of Pennsylvania.

Elliott even claimed that he signed with the Steelers because of their winning culture. The source of his frustrations likely comes from the fact that he has not experienced the supposed "championship football" that he thought he would be in. 

The concerning part is that these frustrations are coming from first-year Steelers. Other players that have grown in this system and culture usually don't question any part about it. Cameron Heyward and TJ Watt, the leaders of this defense, almost always talk about just having to play better. It's taking outsiders coming in to see that something is seriously wrong.

What do you think about Tomlin potentially blaming the media, as well as the Steelers' culture? Let us know in the comments.

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