This article from NFL.com is what we are all thinking

[CASTEELER]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000778219/article/patriots-bill-belichick-outcoaches-mike-tomlin-yet-again


Patriots' Bill Belichick outcoaches Mike Tomlin yet again

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Sunday's AFC Championship Game was won days before the raucous Gillette Stadium crowd sang along to Bon Jovi during a kickoff, before Patriots broadcaster Scott Zolak sent them into a frenzy by holding up a "Where is Roger?" sign on the jumbotron.

The game was won by Tuesday, when coach Bill Belichick and his staff put the finishing touches on yet another Patriots game plan that Steelers coach Mike Tomlin had no answer for. Home-field advantage is nice, but there is no advantage greater than being more prepared than your opponent. After seven conference titles in the last 16 years, Belichick keeps his group in line, one step ahead of the rest of the AFC.

"I'm cattle. I just go with the herd," wide receiver Julian Edelman said after a convincing 36-17 victory over Pittsburgh, unknowingly coining another Patriots catchphrase to replace "Do your job."

***

From the very first drive Sunday, Belichick and Tom Brady set out to make Pittsburgh's young secondary uncomfortable. New England opened the game in hyperspeed, often snapping the ball with more than 25 seconds left on the play clock, forcing the youngsters in the Steelers' secondary to make quick decisions under pressure unlike any they've ever experienced -- and they crumbled.

"It's something we'd seen on film that was going to work against them," offensive tackle Nate Solder explained of the up-tempo approach, which carried over into the second half. "But it only works if you're making completions."

No matter how many Steelers dropped back in coverage, Brady found receivers wide open. Tomlin told Ross Tucker on Westwood One at halftime that his young guys were "scatterbrained." The Patriots were 9 of 12 on third down through the first three quarters because Brady knew the Steelers' zone defense better than the Steelers did. Brady focused on Chris Hogan and Edelman because they were the open ones.

"No one cares who gets the ball," tight end Martellus Bennett said. "You may not get any passes, I don't give a s---. I just want to win."

Tomlin and his staff were outclassed, appearing to coach against the Patriots team they saw in Week 7. The Steelers did a great job shutting down New England's running game, unlike in that October contest. But no coach is better at adjusting on the fly than Belichick, so the Patriots gave up on the run early.

The Steelers, on the other hand, stubbornly stayed in their soft zone pass defense all night. The Steelers coaches didn't ask their cornerbacks to press the line of scrimmage to disrupt New England's receivers early in their routes. Giving Brady the same looks repeatedly over 60 minutes is asking for a slow death. The only constant in a Belichick game plan is constant change.

The last few times the Steelers faced New England, Belichick left his best cornerback, Malcolm Butler, to fend with Antonio Brown in man coverage. This time, Belichick sent his two best defensive backs at Brown much of the night, with safety Devin McCourty over the top. During one goal-line sequence, the Patriots had three defenders on Brown's side of the field with no other receiver in the area. The Patriots were determined to make young receivers Cobi Hamilton and Sammie Coates beat them on the outside, and they couldn't oblige.

"It's an explosive team," Patriots safety Duron Harmon said when discussing the strategy. "We knew we would try to keep them in front of us, no shots, and really make them drive the whole field."

Brown didn't have a play over 20 yards, again proving the cliche that Belichick takes away an opponent's best weapon. Then again, the Patriots didn't have to worry about running back Le'Veon Bell after he left the game in the first quarter with a groin injury. Bell and backup DeAngelo Williams wound up with only 54 rushing yards on 20 total carries.

"We didn't do a good enough job or a quick enough job adapting to the circumstance," Tomlin said.

Failing to adapt is not a criticism you hear often of Belichick, who had his cake and ate up the Steelers' offensive game plan. The Patriots often kept five defenders on the line of scrimmage to stop the run, but they also kept five or six defensive backs on the field nearly the entire game to prevent big plays.

While Tomlin failed to understand the game flow, choosing to punt early in the second half rather than going for it on fourth down, Brady and Belichick were in attack mode all night.

"When you get in a game with [Brady], there's no better way to say it: He's a stone-cold killer. He's all business. Very confident. It's fun to be around," Solder said.

Brady had so much fun throwing for 384 yards and three touchdowns that he had to be reminded after the game of his second touchdown toss to Hogan, a one-time afterthought in Buffalo who finished this season tied for the NFL lead in yards per catch.

"Oh, the flea flicker," Brady said. "How could I forget that? It was just a great call. They were a little winded, I thought."

That 34-yard touchdown -- which came in response to Pittsburgh's first touchdown -- neatly summarizes the difference in these coaching staffs. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels knew Steelers safety Mike Mitchell gets overaggressive in run defense, and he bit hard on the play. He knew the Pittsburgh defense was sucking wind due to New England's hurry-up approach.

Mitchell, meanwhile, told reporters that the flea flicker wasn't part of the team's film study this week. That's despite the Patriots using the same play against Baltimore in December. That's despite the Patriots famously using a similar flea flicker to expose Tomlin's secondary way back in 2007, during his first season as Steelers head coach. It's hard to imagine the Patriots' staff failing to coach their players up to that possibility.

Tomlin noted earlier in the week that the Patriots "haven't had to go through us" during his tenure as Steelers head coach. But that's only true because the Steelers didn't get far enough to make it happen. While the Patriots have made six straight AFC Championship Games, this was Tomlin's first trip to the doorstep of the Super Bowl since the 2010 season. The Patriots are 5-2 against Tomlin's teams, making him one of many coaches who have won an occasional battle against Belichick while losing the war.

This game shouldn't have been such a blowout. The teams appeared evenly matched in the first half, and Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was moving the ball well. Pittsburgh's offensive line dominated the Patriots' pass rush up front. But the Steelers struggled in situational football, like their goal-line offense. The Steelers had two separate trips inside the 5-yard line that didn't result in a touchdown. The Patriots have the No. 1 scoring defense because they bend but don't break.

"It was really 11 points there that we saved, so yeah, it was huge," Belichick noted.

While the Steelers were moving backward on the goal line late in the first half, Belichick was smartly taking timeouts to give his offense another chance to score before halftime. Brady didn't capitalize on that opportunity, but it was another example of the Patriots being given every possible chance to succeed. With one more brilliant game plan against the high-flying Falcons, Belichick could put to rest the debate about who's the greatest NFL coach of all-time. But that excellence starts with a level of attention to small details that defines his organization.

"Every coach prepares and has their scouting reports," Bennett said. "The difference is, every guy here is taking notes and making sure they get all the coaching points, because that's what they expect. The expectations are so high. If you aren't in the right spot, it makes such a big difference. They hold those high standards for everybody. If Bill calls a bad play, coach will say, 'That was a bad play, but you guys made up for it.' Every guy is held accountable. That's the biggest difference."

This victory, coming at the end of a season that started with Brady suspended, felt like it had special resonance for the Patriots organization. Belichick was effusive in his praise of the team, liberal with his smiles. Brady and friends talked about "finishing the job" in Super Bowl LI but took time to enjoy the tail end of a run that has gone on longer than anyone could have dreamed, longer than the rest of the AFC can stomach.

"I mean, we're going to the Super Bowl, man. S---. You've got to be happy now," Brady said.

[swissvale72]

What this tells us....simply put....is Mike Tomlin SUCKS!!

And glad to see him taken to task for punting on 4th & 7 from Patriots 44 or so, down 20-9, 3Q.

[jeemie]

Where is the coach who had storage container full of plays he would study?

Where is that Mike Tomlin?

The Steelers need him back.

PS Now we see why the Patriots took the ball first, rather than defer like they usually do.

[Steelperch]

Mitchell never saw the Pats run a flea flicker in film study despite them running it against the team in the league most similar to the Steelers. Bud Dupree said the defense was surprised by the Pats up tempo offense despite the fact they do it often and have beat the a Steelers this way before.

And people are trying to defend the coaching, preparation, and gameplan.

[jeemie]

What this tells us....simply put....is Mike Tomlin SUCKS!!

And glad to see him taken to task for punting on 4th & 7 from Patriots 44 or so, down 20-9, 3Q.

Everyone sucks when compared to Bill Belichick.

[Legacy User]

good lord...how sickening it is.. they own us worse then imagined.
..they laugh and giggle playing our ill prepared and winded defense..
how embarrassing..
rooney should mail this to the whole team with the last paychecks..

[swissvale72]

What this tells us....simply put....is Mike Tomlin SUCKS!!

And glad to see him taken to task for punting on 4th & 7 from Patriots 44 or so, down 20-9, 3Q.

Everyone sucks when compared to Bill Belichick.

Harbaugh doens't suck when compared to Belichick....always plays him tough, wins sometimes, in Foxboro....and even in an AFCCG.

And oh.....punt was from Patriots 39.

[jeemie]

good lord...how sickening it is.. they own us worse then imagined.
..they laugh and giggle playing our ill prepared and winded defense..
how embarrassing..
rooney should mail this to the whole team with the last paychecks..

I'm thinking of mailing it to Mike Tomlin with the question I asked in my first response in this thread.

Belichick is great because it's clinical with him.

[Legacy User]

tomlin needs to hire Kelly ann Conway to explain the alternate facts here!

[Orangesteel]

Why were his DBs scatterbrained? Is it because the zone defense they were asked to play in was confusing as fuck? Or because none of them knew what the others were doing which would explain why Hogan and Edelman were running free all night ?

Tomlin Butler and Haley should all sacrifice their game checks from this week (if they get a AFCCG bonus, that too). You could see it all game; guys had their hands up, they were looking at each other presnap, dudes were completely confused at their assignments.

This was the knock on Lebeau for years and why it was said rookies could never play in his system; it's too goddamn complicated. I have to guess that last evening was a combination of them realizing what they "worked" on all week was failing miserably and Butler/Tomlin had absolutely no adjustments because they too knew we were totally fucked.

All that said, two guys killed us yesterday; Edelman and Hogan. Bennett had a couple, Amendola had a few, Lewis a couple, but seriously they couldn't really run on us and Brady wasn't using the others that much, that often.

Brady and two receivers named Hogan and Edelman fucking destroyed us yesterday. I hope Tomlin doesn't sleep for a month.

[BethlehemSteel]

Mike Tomlin is an incompetent ball of gas

We the Steeler Nation have a major stomachache.......again

Indictment of epic proportions .......will he change?

No...he won't

Incapable always

Insert colorful Swissvale72 Tomlin adjective here

Verdict - Guilty

Sentence - into the cold Allegheny waters and let the current wash him downriver

[Legacy User]

Why were his DBs scatterbrained? Is it because the zone defense they were asked to play in was confusing as fuck? Or because none of them knew what the others were doing which would explain why Hogan and Edelman were running free all night ?

Tomlin Butler and Haley should all sacrifice their game checks from this week (if they get a AFCCG bonus, that too). You could see it all game; guys had their hands up, they were looking at each other presnap, dudes were completely confused at their assignments.

This was the knock on Lebeau for years and why it was said rookies could never play in his system; it's too goddamn complicated. I have to guess that last evening was a combination of them realizing what they "worked" on all week was failing miserably and Butler/Tomlin had absolutely no adjustments because they too knew we were totally fucked.

All that said, two guys killed us yesterday; Edelman and Hogan. Bennett had a couple, Amendola had a few, Lewis a couple, but seriously they couldn't really run on us and Brady wasn't using the others that much, that often.

Brady and two receivers named Hogan and Edelman fucking destroyed us yesterday. I hope Tomlin doesn't sleep for a month.

they would destroy us with Gilligan and skipper..just run with the cattle!!

[Orangesteel]

Mitchell never saw the Pats run a flea flicker in film study despite them running it against the team in the league most similar to the Steelers. Bud Dupree said the defense was surprised by the Pats up tempo offense despite the fact they do it often and have beat the a Steelers this way before.

And people are trying to defend the coaching, preparation, and gameplan.

We all know Tomlin & Co. don't get bogged down in the minutiae. If you call the other team "assholes" and "do what we do", that usually amounts to a W.

[jeemie]

Why were his DBs scatterbrained? Is it because the zone defense they were asked to play in was confusing as fuck? Or because none of them knew what the others were doing which would explain why Hogan and Edelman were running free all night ?

Tomlin Butler and Haley should all sacrifice their game checks from this week (if they get a AFCCG bonus, that too). You could see it all game; guys had their hands up, they were looking at each other presnap, dudes were completely confused at their assignments.

This was the knock on Lebeau for years and why it was said rookies could never play in his system; it's too goddamn complicated. I have to guess that last evening was a combination of them realizing what they "worked" on all week was failing miserably and Butler/Tomlin had absolutely no adjustments because they too knew we were totally fucked.

All that said, two guys killed us yesterday; Edelman and Hogan. Bennett had a couple, Amendola had a few, Lewis a couple, but seriously they couldn't really run on us and Brady wasn't using the others that much, that often.

Brady and two receivers named Hogan and Edelman fucking destroyed us yesterday. I hope Tomlin doesn't sleep for a month.

I got the distinct impression they were holding back, and had we gotten close, they would have simply unleashed another barrage.

[jeemie]

The best part is next year our DBs will be ready for the hyper speed barrage...and Blount will run all over our asses.

[Stosh-67]

Sunday's AFC Championship Game was won days before the raucous Gillette Stadium crowd sang along to Bon Jovi during a kickoff, before Patriots broadcaster Scott Zolak sent them into a frenzy by holding up a "Where is Roger?" sign on the jumbotron.

The game was won by Tuesday,

Been saying it for years.
This staff loses more games long before kick off than any top ten team in football

[Donnie Brasco]

From Dk
****
Tom Brady and his bevy of heady receivers eviscerated the Steelers’ zone-based pass coverage, as Dustin Dopirak detailed from Foxborough, Mass. Christopher Carter broke it down further, an analysis the rookie Burns agreed with when pressed on whether man-to-man coverage would’ve been preferable.

“Man probably would’ve worked,” Burns said. “The limited time (Brady) would’ve had … the pressure would’ve hit home.”

[Orangesteel]

And it's foolish to think that employing a press coverage scheme would have "worked" or even had a big difference on their offensive success.

Hell, if we lose that game by a score, my mood is completely different than it is today. Beating Brady & Co. in Foxboro is a monumental feat. It takes balls and it takes smarts (both severely lacking from yesterday's performance)

Reason I think we are all so pissed is that they didn't go for broke, didn't try anything ballsy, didn't try and outsmart anyone. This is why I don't have faith in this coaching staff. The 9 game winning streak, the preseason expert picks on who would represent the AFC in the Super Bowl, the whole shebang came down to that game last evening and we couldn't have played more vanilla, more risk adverse more boring football. It was a colossal let down when Ben played very well.

And what I hope really grinds Tomlin's gears in the offseason is how easy it was for the Pats. That wasn't a stern test for them, a challenge, a grind it out win against a talented steelers team. It was a fucking pitch and catch scrimmage.

Shame on you Tomlin. You dick.

[steelheadtrout]

A (not-so) stunning indictment of incompetence. "A fish rots from the head first". And so, as I've been saying for quite a while, Tomlin is not as smart as he thinks he is. He's got great "E.Q." but he can't game plan, can't make adjustments and can't be creative. Look at the way they figured out how to get Mitchell. They knew his tendency to be baited and they just executed. This is quite amusing considering Mitchell is supposed to view film all the time with Sean Davis.

[franco32]

The worst part of it is that they played almost ZERO press coverage. They disrupted none of Brady's timing. None. I get that you want to play zone. But mix in some press man for Christ sakes. That was so retarded.

Is Chris Hogan really going to athletically beat Artie Burns in press man very often? I can see Gay struggling with Edelman...I'll give you that. On the other side, Cockrell isn't strong, but it is not like he was going to be asked to press Julio Jones. He's done well against receivers that were leaps and bounds better than what he faced last night.

I understand we don't have Chris Harris and Aqib Talib...but we don't exactly suck that badly at corner that we couldn't have mixed it up.

Oh...and the brilliant idea of dropping OLBs in coverage and blitzing up the middle? That was pathetic. The Pats Oline just crashed inside and kept swallowing that up for seconds that seemed like an eternity. And, Butler kept doing it over and over!! The blitz packages employed last night completely lacking creativity and were beyond PATHETIC when they were rarely used.

[Steelafan77]

I know they say don't believe everything you read but, this is just too 'informative' to pass on. The line I especially took notice of was the tomlin quote. 'They haven't gone through me yet'. I thought that was indicative of tomlin having the troops well prepared understanding they were going to have to play the game of their lives to win in boston. I was misled and apologize for my boneheaded blind faith. Well Mike... hows that egg feel on your face you disgraceful incompetent well developed line of bullshit artist. Go fuck yourself. Excellent article Thank you for posting CASTEELER.

[Orangesteel]

The worst part of it is that they played almost ZERO press coverage. They disrupted none of Brady's timing. None. I get that you want to play zone. But mix in some press man for Christ sakes. That was so retarded.

Is Chris Hogan really going to athletically beat Artie Burns in press man very often? I can see Gay struggling with Edelman...I'll give you that. On the other side, Cockrell isn't strong, but it is not like he was going to be asked to press Julio Jones. He's done well against receivers that were leaps and bounds better than what he faced last night.

I understand we don't have Chris Harris and Aqib Talib...but we don't exactly suck that badly at corner that we couldn't have mixed it up.

Oh...and the brilliant idea of dropping OLBs in coverage and blitzing up the middle? That was pathetic. The Pats Oline just crashed inside and kept swallowing that up for seconds that seemed like an eternity. And, Butler kept doing it over and over!! The blitz packages employed last night completely lacking creativity and were beyond PATHETIC when they were rarely used.

This.

If Artie Burns can't even play press man against Chris Hogan, then why the fuck are we drafting Artie Burns?

[Steelafan77]

Not sure of the count and far too lazy to research it in this forum either. Seemed like Everyone has said at one time or another and said it often over the last week while the football world was busy talking about the stupidity of brown and tomlin we were hoping the defense would play bump and run. Disrupt receiver routes allow your pass rush more time. Dropping pass rushers into coverage and playing zone we all knew it would be the end. It unfolded the way Everyone here feared. Classic overconfident assholes. Who are the assholes Mike? Be sure to look real hard in the mirror before you answer that question.

[Legacy User]

of all the clips and articles showing and debating steelers god awful game plan this one was the most disturbing and anger inducing! ouch!

[franco>madden]

It unfolded the way everyone here feared. Classic overconfident assholes. Who are the assholes Mike? Be sure to look real hard in the mirror before you answer that question.

[Legacy User]

That article is incriminating.

One of the reasons I'm still so pissed about the loss....is because it was so damn embarrassing. I caught myself thinking this year "give us the Pats, it's time to right all the wrongs". And it wasn't even a fight.

Watching the Chuck Noll special the other day, I couldn't help but be reminded of Bellichik...and I was disgusted with myself. But no wonder these are the 2 most successful coach's in the SB era. I think the film even referenced BB losing to Noll's teams as an assistant.

Now I'm left but wondering....what if Noll retired 1 year earlier. In '92 (as it was with Noll and now with Tomlin) it is clear the Steelers like the model of hiring an up and coming young DC as head coach. Well, BB was coming off being DC of the giants through '90 at the age of 38 when he was hired by Browns in '91. Connections with Maras/Rooneys well-documented, so they'd get all the info they needed on him. Would he have been our HC for the past 26 years, surpassing Noll's length of tenure and, perhaps, number of trophies? Huge "what-if". What QB's would've been drafted....etc. But it was just a thought that crossed my mind.

[955876]

The best part is next year our DBs will be ready for the hyper speed barrage...and Blount will run all over our asses.

Yep.

Where is the coach who had storage container full of plays he would study?

More of his BS.

[CASTEELER]

Its going to be hard to win another SB with this coaching staff. Every year in playoffs if we face a coach who is good at game planning and game time adjustments its over!

[Legacy User]

"doing the same shit over and over again expecting different results"

we've played the soft zone against Brady for years, and for years he eviscerates us. every single time we go to play the Patriots, EVERYBODY says "please, no soft zone". What do we get every damned time? A soft zone.

fucking indescribably stupid

[Jobu]

That article is incriminating.

One of the reasons I'm still so pissed about the loss....is because it was so damn embarrassing. I caught myself thinking this year "give us the Pats, it's time to right all the wrongs". And it wasn't even a fight.

Watching the Chuck Noll special the other day, I couldn't help but be reminded of Bellichik...and I was disgusted with myself. But no wonder these are the 2 most successful coach's in the SB era. I think the film even referenced BB losing to Noll's teams as an assistant.

Now I'm left but wondering....what if Noll retired 1 year earlier. In '92 (as it was with Noll and now with Tomlin) it is clear the Steelers like the model of hiring an up and coming young DC as head coach. Well, BB was coming off being DC of the giants through '90 at the age of 38 when he was hired by Browns in '91. Connections with Maras/Rooneys well-documented, so they'd get all the info they needed on him. Would he have been our HC for the past 26 years, surpassing Noll's length of tenure and, perhaps, number of trophies? Huge "what-if". What QB's would've been drafted....etc. But it was just a thought that crossed my mind.

Laying in bed after the loss, going through it in my mind, I suddenly got the vision of the AB video in my head...AB and others in a different wing of the lockeroom, gooning, texting, facebooking, and yukking it up while Tomlin was addressing the team. Not really a big deal...right? Then I'm thinking...Bellicheck is likely at this moment addressing his team in victory. I'm sure that every single one of his players, coaches, and staff were down on one knee with both eyes pointed directly at him.
There are players coaches...and then there are players coaches.