Kaboly: Diontae Johnson Physically Separated From Coach Before Long Discussion With Tomlin In Cleveland
Kaboli: Deontay Johnson has physically separated himself from Coach Tomlin’s future talks in Cleveland.
If you think this Pittsburgh Steelers offense is disappointing to watch, imagine playing that offense. As we clearly saw this week, there is growing anger in the dressing room about the state of the department. It becomes visible to more and more people and appears in more places.
According to Mark Kaboli of The Athletic , there was a moment in the second half of Sunday’s loss to the Cleveland Browns when T Broderick Jones stepped in when WR Diontae Johnson went after a member of the coaching staff. He wrote that Jones had to “pick him up and take him away” to separate him from the unnamed trainer, prompting an emotional intervention from coach Mike Tomlin. The veteran wide receiver, who did not say anything after the game, admitted to reporters yesterday that he was disappointed. “I’m upset, but I can’t continue to blame [QB Kenny Pickett],” he told reporters, citing several instances of miscommunication between the two that led to incomplete passes at key moments in the game. “It’s part of the game.” He also declined to elaborate on his conversation with Tomlin. “You all saw that game,” he said. “I don’t have to say anything about it.”
When you’re playing in a division where you should be far more talented than your results indicate, frustration is completely reasonable. Johnson himself is a Pro Bowl wide receiver, but as things stand, finding the end zone is difficult. In fact, that’s the only touchdown Pickett has thrown since a game against the Baltimore Ravens in early October. Nowadays it is hard to mention the many evils caused by this crime. For whatever reason, players have a hard time hiding their emotions. There certainly seemed to be a lot of mistakes, especially last week.
The Cleveland Browns have one of the best defenses in the league, but it was a tough environment that was a much bigger problem for the Steelers as things went wrong more than once and everyone was forced to play the same I play in the same situation. route But given the long-standing issues that have persisted throughout the year, it’s hard to see how things will change in the short term. Pittsburgh is scheduled to play the Bengals this Sunday in Cincinnati. They may be without QB Joe Burroughs, but they’ve shown they can handle losing Cleveland’s backup.
