Steelers news and commentary Monday, February 5th

Welcome to the Terrible Towel Tales, where we’ll highlight some of the latest stories permeating Steelers media for your reading pleasure every Monday through Saturday. In today’s news…

Steelers’ T.J. Watt Wins DPOY Vote in Anonymous Player Poll | Nick Farabaugh, Steelers Now

Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt won the Defensive Player of the Year vote in a poll among 35 anonymous players conducted by Greg Auman of Fox Sports. Watt received six votes, ahead of Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland with 5.5. Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett and Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons received 3.5 votes and three votes, respectively.

Others receiving votes included Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby, Ravens defensive tackle Justin Madubuike, Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald, 49ers edge rusher Nick Bosa, Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield Jr., Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton, Falcons safety Jessie Bates, Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith, Jaguars edge rusher Josh Allen, and Lions edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson.

Former Bengals LB Vontaze Burfict admits he played dirty vs. Steelers | Curt Popejoy, Steelers Wire

In the least surprising NFL news of the week, former Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict admitted he played dirty when he went against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Burfict made the admission in a TikTok video in which he claimed he didn’t hit players late all the time other than against the Steelers. I’m sure fans of other teams would counter this given his extensive history of fines. Nevertheless, there’s no doubt Burfict always went above and beyond when it came to his dirty play against the Steelers.

Steelers Senior Bowl takeaways: Mike Tomlin eyes defensive playmakers, OL options | Mike DeFabo, The Athletic

A few weeks back, Tomlin half-joked that “the thought of going to Mobile turns my stomach,” meaning he’d rather be preparing to coach in the Super Bowl than scouting at the Senior Bowl. However, in Mobile this week, Tomlin was absolutely in his element. While virtually all other head coaches usually watch from the sidelines (and some don’t even attend), the Steelers’ head coach always gets right into the action.

For Tomlin, it gives him an opportunity to get to know prospects on a personal level and see how they react to his coaching points. But if you follow Tomlin, you can pick up a few nuggets along the way.