Tomlin era for Steelers begins with a memorable win

Monday, September 10, 2007
By Bob Smizik, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

From a historical perspective, the dawning of the Mike Tomlin era will go down as monstrously successful as the Steelers steamrolled the Cleveland Browns yesterday, dominating in all phases of the game.

The operative words in that sentence are these: Cleveland Browns.

Which means, from a realistic perspective, this 34-7 thrashing yesterday at Cleveland Browns Stadium was a memorable NFL debut for Tomlin, but virtually meaningless.

Teams that play like the Steelers did in their opener are serious Super Bowl contenders, unless, that is, the opposition is of a hapless bent. The Browns were that, and more. In the first quarter alone, they offered up a botched punt, an interception and a fumble to give the Steelers 17 easy points. It was hard for the Browns to get much worse from that point, but they hardly got better.

The Steelers defense totally stymied the Cleveland rushing game, limiting it to 46 yards on 16 carries. Two Cleveland quarterbacks were sacked six times. Although they combined to throw for 218 yards, most of that was done on desperation heaves. Ben Roethlisberger threw four touchdown passes and Willie Parker ran for 109 yards. Except for a sputtering second quarter, it was a near-flawless performance.

The obvious question of the day was this: Are the Steelers that good or are the Browns that bad?

"I thought we did a good job of making them look bad," said inside linebacker James Farrior, who had a sack and forced one of three Cleveland fumbles.

"I think we're going to be good," said defensive end Brett Keisel. "I think we're going to be very good."



We'll know better as the season progresses.

Regardless of the caliber of the win, it was one Tomlin will cherish, although true to his unflappable persona, he wasn't about to let that be known.

"They [the players] gave me a game ball," he said. "I tried to give it to Dick LeBeau [the defensive coordinator who was celebrating his 70th birthday], but he wouldn't take it. So I guess I'm taking it home."

It could well be the first of dozens if not hundreds of victories for the first-year coach, who continually conducts himself at a level far above the crowd. This is one cool guy, who understands football, the men who play it and the NFL in general. That doesn't guarantee success, but it's a long step toward it.

Those who believe a coach must maintain a pose of controlled fury during the game, not unlike the early-Bill Cowher years, will be disappointed in Tomlin. He's not a screamer. He's a thinker.

"I was pretty successful in keeping my emotions in check," he said at a post-game news conference. "This is not my story. It's the story of the 2007 Steelers.''

Asked a few minutes later if it was his habit to remain unemotional on the sidelines, he said, "Absolutely. I don't play the game; those guys do. I try to manage it. In order to do that, you have to have clarity of thought."

How profound is that. So much is made of the intellectual nature of coaching the NFL, yet too many believe the game requires a near-raving lunatic on the sidelines to inspire the players. In truth, if players need a coach to inspire, they're in the wrong business.

It only requires a look at the sideline style of these coaching greats -- Chuck Noll, Tom Landry, Bill Walsh, Bill Belichick -- to realize the Tomlin approach is the absolutely correct one.

So far, Tomlin has had one other quality necessary for success -- luck. The NFL did him a large favor when it made out the schedule. The Steelers first four opponents, Cleveland, Buffalo, San Francisco and Arizona, were a combined 23-41 last season and none had a winning record. If he had, say, the same schedule as the Cincinnati Bengals, whose first four opponents, Baltimore, Cleveland, Seattle and New England, were a combined 38-26 last season and won two division titles, his path toward early success would be considerably more difficult.

When the game ended, Tomlin barely cracked a smile. He walked to mid-field, shaking a hand or two but no more along the way and shook hands and embraced losing coach Romeo Crennel. He then trudged to the locker room, shaking a few more hands but never doing anything to indicate his team had won or he was immensely happy.

One victory, of course, is nothing. Noll won his first game and then lost 16 straight, over two seasons, but he, uh, pretty much righted the ship after that.

In today's NFL, there are not four Super Bowls in the sights of any first-year coach, or just about any other kind. But as the days go by and the games pass, it's pretty easy to understand why Tomlin walked into an interview with the Rooney family last January pretty much an unknown and walked out with one of the best jobs in football.

First published on September 10, 2007 at 12:00 am
Bob Smizik can be reached at bsmizik@post-gazette.com.