Kovacevic: Want to vent at Tomlin? Do it yourself

Nov 15, 2016 • 12:14 am

11.3K

A few seconds before noon today, Mike Tomlin will sit down at his news conference table, take a cue from the TV folks, lean into the microphone and speak the same two words he always does: "Good afternoon."

It's at this point that the angry citizens expect the two dozen reporters to rise up in unison and storm the table with pitchforks.

And the citizens never get that.

And they get all the angrier.

So in lieu of the standard football talk to open this week's Takes, let me instead offer some background into a professional sports team's news conference, this based on a lifetime spent at these things:

1. Reporters aren't fans of the teams/people they cover.

If you can't get beyond this one, we can't have much of a discussion. This is how it's been for 250 years of American journalism, and sports aren't an exception. If a reporter is a fan, he or she is removed from that beat. And if that policy isn't in place somewhere, then that outlet is not to be taken seriously.

Our passion is for our work, not for the teams/people we cover.

2. We aren't happy after wins or angry after losses.

Thus, questioning won't reflect the emotions that a fan experiences. At all. On the night the Steelers lost that playoff game in Denver and grown men were in tears, people I like and admire, my focus was on the column I had to write. On the night the Penguins raised the Stanley Cup in San Jose and grown men shed different kinds of tears, people I like and admire, my focus was on the column I had to write.

On my long flight to Rio for the Olympics, I watched a full video of Game 6. As I'd remark to my wife later, it felt like watching it for the first time. All I thought about through that game and all the way to sunrise when I'd finally finished writing was about the job at hand. There's a switch that gets flipped.

And if you put yourself in this position, you might get it: If the Penguins win a championship, and I write a column that falls woefully short, I lose big-time. The site loses big time. The pressure on me that night wasn't to see the Penguins beat the Sharks. It was to do good work.

So again, we don't go into these news conferences all emotional. We have an idea of what our specific coverage will be about. And when we're asking questions, we're asking them as they relate to our specific coverage.

I asked Tomlin the first question of his news conference Sunday at Heinz Field. I wanted to hear if he felt the defense was progressing, as that was going to make up a big portion of my column. I didn't ask it to finger-wag. I didn't ask it to make him uncomfortable. None of that has anything to do with my job. I asked it because I felt his response to that topic could make the column more insightful for the readers.

3. No one grades journalism by news conference performance.

No editor in this history of history has ever asked a possible reporting hire, 'Yeah, but how do you do in news conferences? Do you ask the tough questions?'

Because it's got nothing to do with the job. If the subject matter is genuinely tough, and that's what your coverage will be, then hell yes, you ask whatever question you want, regardless of consequence. I've asked a ton of them and heard all kinds of attaboys when I do, but it's never, ever been the goal. It's just that the subject matter lined up. You don't go into it thinking, 'Man, I could really be a big hero in here if I asked the tough question and everyone sings my praises on Twitter.'

Who cares?

The objective is to produce the best possible content, not to make a star of yourself.

4. There's professional decorum involved.

Yeah, believe it or not, it's our workplace. These stadiums and press boxes, that's where we do our jobs.

You don't make a complete fool of yourself at your job and get away with it. Ideally, neither do we. There's a proper way to behave, and that's policed on our end, not by the teams and players we cover.

Ask whatever question on whatever topic, but don't stand up wagging a foam finger while wearing a Jerome Bettis school bus on your head and shout out, 'WHY CAN'T YOU GUYS BE ACCOUNTABLE 'N AT? HAVE YOU LOOKED IN THE MIRROR? ISN'T IT TIME FOR YOU GUYS TO GO?'

That's no more appropriate than the reverse, meaning giggling and fawning over the subject matter when things are going well.

And yes, there are exceptions at both ends, as there are in any professional workplace. But the exceptions don't define the norms, and trust me, what I'm describing to you here are very much the norms. When someone makes a fool of themselves in these settings, the reporters want that person gone infinitely more than the team does, because it embarrasses all of us.

5. You won't believe any of this.

I know when I'm slamming a forehead against a wall, and this is one of those times. Journalism is a highly unusual profession. There's a reason we don't ever leave these jobs to do something else, and it's because we aren't made for anything else. Anyone who's ever done this at any level knows what I'm talking about, just as they know of the exasperation in trying to explain it even to their own family members.

That doesn't make us superior in any way shape or form. If anything, we're inferior. We have weird jobs, with all kinds of behind-the-scenes, under-the-breath, sticking-it-to-someone-you've-known, avoiding-being-buddies nuances that can't possibly apply to many other lines of work. That's why I always advise students, if you're interested in being a sports reporter, get out now. If you're interested in being a reporter, you've got a chance. Because this has so, so little to do with sports and absolutely zero to do with wanting to be around your favorite team.

Just accept this much: News conferences, like any media access, have nothing to do with placating or satisfying the public. I couldn't care less what anyone thinks of the questions I ask. I only care what you think of the column that results.

If you're angry with Tomlin or whoever, grab a brick and throw it through your television. Or buy a ticket to a game and yell it at him all day long. Because what we're really talking about here is anger transference. The fan wants to see the guy squirm or get uncomfortable. And I get that. Fans are fans because they're really, really into it.

This has nothing, nothing, nothing to do with media.

• I hate writing about this. But man, when you read, see and hear the same nonsense for a month straight — meaning the duration of this losing streak for the Steelers — enough is enough.

• Tomlin is deserving of heavy criticism for his four-game losing streak, but I had little issue with the 0-for-4 on two-point conversions beyond some seriously lousy execution.

Going for two after the first touchdown was no big deal. The Steelers converted 83 percent of these last season, and they've practiced these obsessively dating to OTAs in the spring of 2015. Tomlin's explanation, "We want to be aggressive," was fine by me. If it's the only one they try, no one complains.

The second fail was the only decision that was iffy. It had the feel of a gambler trying to recoup an early loss.

But the third and fourth ones were absolute no-brainers, as each came after fourth-quarter touchdowns that gave the Steelers a one-point lead, 24-23 and 30-29. It's right there on the old Dick Vermeil chart: When you're ahead by one, you go for two to try to put a field goal between you and the opponent. Kicking for a two-point lead that late accomplishes nothing.

So we're really talking about one decision that could be questioned.

• What's worth talking about is this:

https://vimeo.com/192093643

That's the final play of the game. The Cowboys had seven men about a mile off the line of scrimmage, so the Steelers, needing a touchdown, made the right call: Just flip it over the Dallas line to your most dynamic player, then set up laterals behind him for when the Cowboys inevitably surround him.

He ran out of bounds.

He ran out of bounds.

There are a billion acceptable things to do in that situation, and not even the billion-and-first allows for running out of bounds. You've got to stay in the middle of the field to, at least, try to keep the ball in play.

This was his explanation Sunday: "In that situation we were just trying to make the most of it, just trying to get to the end zone. Obviously, those guys were playing deep, and we just couldn’t get it done."

We?

He never allowed for any 'we' to enter the equation. He ran the play as if it were aimed at gaining maximum yardage for himself rather than the only thing that mattered.

• AB's fellow receivers have been nothing less than the team's biggest disappointment. And I use the term literally, as in relative to expectations. Even without Martavis Bryant, the Steelers should have been able to get something out of Markus Wheaton, Sammie Coates and crew. They've gotten next to nothing. Eli Rogers makes catches in traffic, but he often creates his own traffic by running through teammates' routes. Cobi Hamilton had a nice drive Sunday, but he's limited.

There's no area of the team that needs to be upgraded more. Which was oh-so-unthinkable just a few short months ago.

• The Ravens and Bengals aren't any better. Remember that. And remember, too, that winning the division has been the best, most realistic target for a while now.

• Hockey, anyone?

Yeah, thought so.

• Just going to toss this out there: In watching youngsters around the NHL excelling, notably the Oilers' Connor McDavid and the Jets' Patrik Laine, and then having their surges accompanied by so much discussion about how the league needs to embrace their creativity ... I'm wondering about how long the Penguins should wait to give Daniel Sprong a real chance once he's healthy.

He isn't McDavid or Laine, but his offensive skills, especially the shot release, are exceptional for any age. And he'll have the freshest legs of anyone on the roster, which will matter a lot after a 106-game championship season.

• On the other hand, never mind. Here's Bill Daly, the NHL's vice president and Gary Bettman's right-hand man, telling the Canadian Press this week why the league doesn't prioritize its stars:

For proper context, here's the full Bill Daly quote at @PrimeTimeSE on marketing teams vs. individual players: pic.twitter.com/9n9XiZikcA

— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) November 14, 2016