- Improving all around:* *The Steelers offense finished second overall in the NFL in 2014, but Coach Mike Tomlin definitely sees room for improvement.
"If there is a ceiling in this thing it's because you put it on yourself from a perception standpoint," said Tomlin. "Why can't we, as I sit here today, get better in all areas? Not only offensively but defensively and special teams. It's amazing how we as humans are capable of limiting what we are capable of just simply because we set parameters on our own expectations. I try to consciously not do that. You asked a question what areas can we get better in? My answer is what areas can we not get better in? That needs to be our mentality and hopefully it will be." 2.
Getting offensive:* *The emergence of the offense has people talking about the Steelers as an offensive team this year, and while Tomlin is a defensive coach, he doesn't mind the new label.
"I like to win," said Tomlin. "The goal is to score one more point than your opponent. If it is low scoring, great. If it is high scoring, great. We are just trying to get out of stadiums with wins. We have to put our own personal agendas behind. The agenda is winning, and winning in the right ways. I like the fact that we have a good, balanced offense with a lot of weapons. That is not a negative. I am not going to make it one." 3. Part of the process: Tomlin, a member of the NFL competition committee, didn't watch the Dallas-Detroit Wild Card game on Sunday but did hear about the play where Cowboys linebacker Anthony Hitchens was flagged for pass interference on a third-and-one play, but the flag was picked up and there was no penalty. The call has raised the conversation again about expanding replay rules and coach's challenges.
"I am not opposed to expanding the capacity of coaches challenging plays in an effort to get it right," said Tomlin. "As a coach, I would love that autonomy. I am not opposed to the discussion. I am also into being a part of the solution as opposed to sitting around and complaining about the present state. I have an opportunity to do that because of some of the things that I do with the Competition Committee. I take a great deal of pride in that. I just don't want to sit on the side and be a complainer. I like to be a part of the process."
