Tomlin on Steelers' struggles: 'It starts with me'

PITTSBURGH -- In the aftermath of the Pittsburgh Steelers' worst nonaccomplishment successful much than 3 decades, Mike Tomlin took accountability and owned his team's failures Tuesday.

"We were a catastrophe successful each 3 phases, and we person to ain that, starting with myself and I do," Tomlin said. "... When it's that atrocious crossed the board, it starts with me. We don't request to question comfort, due to the fact that there's capable blasted to spell around. We request to beryllium solution-oriented."

After the 38-3 nonaccomplishment to the Buffalo Bills connected Sunday dropped his squad to 1-4 with 4 consecutive losses, Tomlin said helium would see making immoderate changes indispensable to get the squad going successful the close direction. The nonaccomplishment to the Bills was the Steelers' astir lopsided decision of the season.

Even with a backmost change, the Steelers recorded their lowest scoring output, portion allowing the Bills to people 38 points -- the astir allowed by the Steelers' defence this season. The Steelers are averaging 6.1 passing yards per attempt, second-to-last successful the league, and person scored a league-low 2 passing touchdowns. They're besides averaging a paltry 3.9 yards per transportation and nary runs of much than 20 yards -- 1 of conscionable 3 teams successful the league without one. Defensively, the Steelers are giving up 7.5 yards per walk effort and 1,438 passing yards, 2nd worst successful the NFL.

Tuesday, erstwhile asked if among changes imaginable helium would see changing violative coordinator, play-calling duties oregon personnel, Tomlin said portion helium was sincere successful his words aft Sunday's game, helium wasn't going to marque changes unless they could nutrient amended results.

"I stay unfastened to it, but I don't mean to alteration for the involvement of changing, to sprout a hostage, if you will, oregon thing of that nature," helium said. "If changes nutrient amended outcomes oregon seemingly nutrient amended outcomes, oregon we consciousness similar it puts america successful presumption to nutrient amended outcomes, past I'm unfastened to it, certainly."

After the nonaccomplishment successful Buffalo, antiaircraft backmost Arthur Maulet challenged teammates successful the locker room, questioning their tendency and effort. Tomlin said aft watching crippled movie helium noticed his players' vexation and disappointment successful the last minutes of the game, but helium said helium took much contented with his team's deficiency of execution than their demeanor. Asked astir the precocious postgame emotions, Tomlin added helium didn't person a occupation with his players expressing frustration.

"When you're getting smashed similar that, emotions and pissed-off-ness and each of that is simply a constituent of it," helium said. "You're naive if you deliberation that it's not. We don't similar getting smashed. ... All of those things are mean expressions of frustrations, the questioning of tendency and things of that nature. That's what competitors do, peculiarly erstwhile you get smashed. I'm not going to work excessively overmuch into it."

While Tomlin and the Steelers are aiming for a antithetic result successful the Week 6 matchup against Tom Brady's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the manager acknowledged that his squad has big-picture issues that can't beryllium resolved quickly, and helium preached unity successful the look of adversity.

"We're not going to cure our ills successful 1 oregon a mates of bully days oregon a bully program oregon bully show for that matter," helium said. "The authorities that we're in, we're going to person to enactment our heads down and enactment hard and diligently and enactment unneurotic for an extended play of clip arsenic we grind our mode backmost to respectability. I conscionable deliberation it's a mindset that we each request to person knowing wherever we are."

"They're not speedy fixes. It's not going to beryllium based connected 1 bully show oregon 1 bully plan. And I conscionable deliberation arsenic we hole and thin successful for this adjacent accidental that we conscionable accidental that we're going to beryllium moving our tails off.

"We didn't excavation ourselves into this condition successful 1 day. We're not going to excavation ourselves retired of this condition successful 1 time oregon 1 performance."