Almost any time a coach in the NFL takes the podium, there is a level of calculated intent behind their words — the Miami Dolphins have experienced this phenomena already this season. Entering Week 2, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick offered some positive words on the 2019 Dolphins — who then proceeded to lose to Belichick by a score of 43-0.
And while it isn’t expected that the Pittsburgh Steelers will hand out such a brutal defeat to the Dolphins, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is playing the game and offering words of praise for Miami. According to an interview with Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune, Tomlin believes the Dolphins are “a very capable group” with “talented people at every level.”
“They’re a professional football outfit, you know?” Tomlin is quoted. “There’s a fine line in our game between winning every game and losing every game. Look at how our games have unfolded…We’ve lost a significant number of games by very small margin but they’re losses nonetheless, so that’s just life in the National Football League.”
Calling the Dolphins capable doesn’t appear to be so much of a stretch as it was just a few weeks ago — the Dolphins easily could’ve taken the Washington game into overtime with all of the momentum in Week 6 and a Ryan Fitzpatrick interception flipped the Dolphins’ Week 7 contest on its head. Miami led at the time 14-9 and was two yards from another touchdown to move the team to a 21-9 lead with 5 minutes remaining in the 4th quarter.
And Tomlin is also accurate with the fine line between wins and losses. Pittsburgh, at 2-4 could just as easily be 1-5 or 3-3. But alas, you are what your record says you are — and so Tomlin is treading carefully ahead of Monday night to ensure his team stays focused on the task at hand.
