Mike Tomlin might no longer be the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, but his message is still resonating when it comes to discussions about his former team.
One of his former players still uses his messaging, too.
When discussing the schedule and the need for a fast start early in the season, particularly in September with matchups against the Atlanta Falcons, New England Patriots, Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns, former Steelers offensive lineman Willie Colon stressed the importance of starting strong, borrowing a Tomlinism in the process on Good Morning Football Friday.
“They can’t treat September like a warmup, right? Because in December they have a bunch of heavyweight fights. Can we get right to it?” Colon said of the Steelers needing a fast start. “This is no joke and this is why the Aaron Rodgers situation goes from like, ‘oh, we’re hoping Aaron comes back’ to, ‘no, we’re praying Aaron Rodgers comes back’, right? Look what they start with.
“Then you talk about Houston, Jacksonville, right? Baltimore, Carolina and then Baltimore Week 18, two primetime games to open a month and two Ravens matchups in the final four weeks.”
The stretch of games from Week 10-15 featuring the likes of Cincinnati Bengals, Philadelphia Eagles, Denver Broncos, Houston Texans, and Jacksonville Jaguars before then playing the Baltimore Ravens is rather brutal. That’s a tough way to kick off the second half of the season after the Week 9 bye week.
But that’s nothing new to the Steelers. They’re used to having tough second-half slates.
This time though, the importance of starting fast, particularly under McCarthy, is heightened. As Tomlin used to say, you can’t warm up to it. The Steelers can’t afford to be slow out of the gate, especially against the likes of the Atlanta Falcons, Bengals and Cleveland Browns in the first four weeks of the season.
The first half of the schedule isn’t as difficult, so the Steelers need to take advantage and stack some wins before a brutal second half. Colon thinks it’s even more important now that Rodgers gets back in the building for OTAs.
“We gotta understand like this Aaron Rodgers situation is no longer funny, right? Like, once again, they need a five-star general to lead the troops, not some young captain who’s never been in battle. This Steeler team has to start fast,” Colon added. “And if you look at the way their AFC North games are spread out in a way that could define their whole season.
“…So if you’re the Steelers, man, I mean the minimum coming out the gate you have to be three and two, four and one so you don’t go into December just biting your nails, hoping you can survive some of these dog fights.”
As Colon pointed out, it’s imperative the Steelers come out of September and into early October on the right side of things. A slow start and a .500 record won’t help matters late in the season, especially for an older team.
Coming out of the gate strong, stacking wins and taking care of business early in the season will do wonders for the Steelers later in the season when the road gets narrow. Anything less than a fast start could really hinder Pittsburgh in 2026.
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