Tomlin’s rhetoric cranks up Steelers

The Steelers’ transformation, in coach Mike Tomlin’s estimation, from a team that had been “enduring” training camp into one that was suddenly “enjoying” it didn’t occur without a little prompting.
Tomlin sensed as much was necessary after observing a Monday morning workout that suggested his team was stuck in neutral, or, as Tomlin put it, “in survival mode.”

“He gave a little speech (Monday) morning after practice,” nose tackle Chris Hoke said. “He said, ‘Hey, listen, let’s start thriving and not surviving in this camp. Let’s get to work.’

“I think (Monday) afternoon guys were trying to buy into it a little bit.”

The Steelers were so crisp and enthusiastic in that Monday afternoon session that Tomlin suspected a “threshold” might have been crossed.
Tuesday’s scheduled festivities, especially last evening’s practice at St. Vincent College, offered “spirited” confirmation, especially a second live goal-line drill that was “much better” than the one the Steelers had conducted Sunday.

Still, the response from Tomlin was more prodding.

“It’s easy to come out here and have a great time and compete when you know you have ‘goal line’ at the end,” Tomlin said. “We’ll see what the dog days are like (today) when there’s a less attractive drill waiting at the end of practice.”

Full Story: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review