As a Steelers fan, I will say this: the Steelers have actually disgusted me this week. First, a team with James Harrison has no business calling anyone else dirty. A team with a rapist as the quarterback has no business calling the integrity of anyone into question. How many players started this season under suspension due to off-field antics? 4 or 5 if memory serves. This team has no business calling anyone's professionalism into question. And even if they did have the moral high ground to be making these comments...DON'T. Be professionals. Quit whining about how dirty the Bengals are any time someone puts a microphone in front of you. Quit giving them bulletin board material. If you don't like their behavior, take it out on them on the field. Quit talking and start acting.
However, Tomlin's remarks have disgusted me more than anything. He basically said
that the Bengals invaded their "area" so his players were right in "defending themselves aggressively."
WHAT!?!
1) This is not a ****ing gang war. You should be encouraging professionalism at all times. Your players should walk away like adults, not "defend their turf."
2) You, as head coach, should NEVER condone that type of nonsense. Do you think Bill Cowher would be pointing a finger at the Bengals and childishly crying "well they started it!"? What about Chuck Noll? Would he pass the buck? HELL NO. They would say "Our players were entirely wrong...even if the Bengals were out of line, our guys should never get physical outside of a game. They should make them pay on the field and the players who failed to do so will be disciplined."
Instead, Mike Tomlin is encouraging his team to act like thugs. There is a reason that this team went from one of class, integrity, and discipline under Bill Cowher, to one of the most penalized teams in the NFL and one of the teams with the most off the field incidents since Cowher left. And that reason is Mike Tomlin.