https://www.steelernation.com/2023/11/0 ... t-standard
After the books closed on the Thursday night prime time game, there was a lot to sift through. Schein seemed to echo a lot of restless Steelers fans by asking for a definition of Tomlin’s “standard.” The team may have won on the field, but it took all 60 minutes of the game to beat an inferior opponent. Of course, Tomlin has coined the phrase, “The Standard is the Standard,” but no one seems to know what exactly that “standard” is. According to Schein, that standard is something fans should expect to see come January.
“I think they’re going to make the playoffs and I think they get bounced early,” he said. “Mike Tomlin always says, ‘the standard is the standard.’ What is the standard? Is it just making the playoffs and being bounced in the first round? Is that the new normal in Pittsburgh? Print the tee shirts, ‘Tomlin goes over .500 again.’ Is that considered a success? I keep looking for reasons to fall in love with the Steelers… but I don’t know any Steelers fan that watched that game [on Thursday night] that feels great about anything other than the final score.”
Across the entire Steelers fan base, one of the common denominators within the angst of the group is the lack of playoff success in the last decade. Sure, Tomlin can avoid a losing record, but that doesn’t hold much weight without a win in the playoffs. But with that said, Tomlin is simply reverting back to the blueprint that was already set for him in his early Super Bowl success.
“Kenny Pickett and the Steelers are certainly at their best when their backs are against the wall,” Schein said. “But even though they came back, and even though Pickett has a knack, I mean, what Steelers fan feels good today? I don’t think anybody feels good, I mean, you take a look at the Steelers’ play on offense and Pickett missed more passes than he hit, and Matt Canada came down from the booth and called the plays, but there was still issues, and Pickett threw for under 200 yards, and he missed a wide open [George] Pickens on numerous occasions, the defense bailed them out, no question about it.”
Adam Schein 
