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Julian Edelman Laid Into Mike Tomlin With Brutally Honest Critique of Steelers
Former New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman took a trip down memory lane this week on his podcast, Games With Names, as he had one of his former coaches, Matt Patricia, on the show to talk some football.
One of the things Edelman brought up was the success he had against the Steelers and how he couldn't believe Mike Tomlin's defenses haven't seemed to change at all over the years.
"They still do the same G----- s--- [as] when I was playing Tomlin's defense," Edelman said. "I'm like, 'We still have linebackers covering the three slot?’ Every time we play Steelers, I have at least nine catches. You would think that they would change it but no, they do what they do."
Here's that moment:
Watching Julian Edelman talk about how easy it was to play against a Mike Tomlin defense really makes my skin crawl. I’m getting angry all over again just re-posting this. pic.twitter.com/MJIgrrsfOE
— Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) January 30, 2025
Edelman faced the Steelers six times in his career and had 34 catches for 341 yards with no touchdowns. Those numbers include a game from his second season when he didn't have any catches.
Many Steelers fans seemed to agree with Edelman:
Every single fan knows this 😂 INSANE!!!!! https://t.co/n5DeWH7aZH
— Juice (@SteelersNYYAvs) January 30, 2025
Definition of insanity is to keep @CoachTomlin as head coach of the @steelers and expect to win. Teams salivate to play them, esp late in the season. https://t.co/qZNtUWYx4y
— Andrew. (@ACB716) January 30, 2025
Yet, Mr. Rooney doesn’t think he needs to add to the coaching staff in order to win a Super Bowl. SMH https://t.co/AArpz7wdUt
— Parris Knight (@parrisknight) January 30, 2025
But I’m crazy to say Tomlin isn’t a great coach? He’s a great motivator but refuses to change. Especially with the new game… https://t.co/99Juoe7hYy
— Darion Lycksell (@Darion_Lycksell) January 30, 2025
Tomlin led the Steelers to the playoffs this year, but they lost their last four games of the regular season and fell the Ravens in the wild-card round.
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Andy Nesbitt is the assistant managing editor of audience engagement at Sports Illustrated. He works closely with the Breaking and Trending News team to shape SI’s daily coverage across all sports. A 20-year veteran of the sports media business, he has worked for Fox Sports, For the Win, The Boston Globe and NBC Sports, having joined SI in February 2023. Nesbitt is a golf fanatic who desperately wants to see the Super Bowl played on a Saturday night.