The Mike Tomlin Show: Week 1 at New York Jets | Pittsburgh Steelers

The Mike Tomlin Show: Week 1 at New York Jets | Pittsburgh Steelers

I appreciate the efforts of the guys, man. We just weren’t good enough to be quite honest with you. Organizationally, we have to be better. The process starts now. Moving forward happens pretty quickly. DK Metaf is headed to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Mr. Rooney called me and was like, “Am I ready to be a Steeler?” And I said, “Yes, get me in the black and gold.” The Pittsburgh Steelers select Derek Carman. Caleb Johnson. We got a lot of guys with Steeler DNA. Breaking news. Aaron Rodgers is now a Pittsburgh Steelers. I’m excited about making this home. You know, we traded for Jaylen and Johnny Smith. This is a story franchise. I want to play football. The Pittsburgh Steelers and TJ reached agreement. It’s going to be a special year. So now we embarked upon this journey that will be our 2025 season. Here we go. His fastest card and that’s a touchdown. That’s the way to work. Come on. He’s hit that sack. The Steelers win the football game. Let’s go. Go get it. You know what it is. This one is an answer. Here we go. Welcome to the 84 Lumber Mike Tomlin Show. Hi everybody and welcome to the 84 Lumber Mike Tomlin Show. and Missy Matthews. We have finally made it to kickoff weekend and the Steelers have drastically changed their roster due to multiple trades, big free agency signings, and of course the draft. This season, they have a new starting quarterback, wide receiver, and running back. And for more on how we got here on the eve of week one, let’s welcome in Bob Pompenni, who’s standing by with Coach Tomlin, guys. All right, Missy, thanks very much. Here we go. A new season is upon us right off the bat. Lots of changes for the Steelers in 2025. Here to talk about that is head coach Mike Tomlin. Coach, you guys made a lot of changes. Uh but first, I want to ask you about year 19 for you. Uh this has been going on for a long time. Have you changed? What have you learned about yourself in 19 years? I I certainly have changed. I’ve changed a lot. Um I think the job requires me to change. I need to be what they need me to be and certainly um that changes because trends in the game change. um you know, points of emphasis, the rules, um and the players themselves and so um I’m a product of my my life experience and certainly a lot has changed in this job over 19 years and I’ve had to change with it. One of the big changes you guys made at quarterback here. You brought in Aaron Rodgers u and from all accounts he seems to have fit right in. You’ve had a long discussion in the offseason with him leading up to his signing. What do you see from Aaron Rogers that makes you think that he is going to be the guy this year? Because I’m in the industry and space, you know, and I’ve been for a long time. I’ve I’ve known certain things about him uh that maybe the the media narratives don’t represent. You know, this guy has a love affair with football. He loves the process. He loves to work. Um he has really good patience and he’s engaging with young teammates. And so, um I knew all of those things about him. And so we’ve gotten what I’ve anticipated as opposed to maybe some of the narratives that are capable of being out there. Um he’s been a breath of fresh air. Um he loves to work. Um his talents certainly are unique and have been unique. Um and so that remains the same, but I’m equally as excited about the intangible quality that he brings uh particularly as it pertains to his liking to work and relationship with the game. Uh, other changes, uh, George Pickkins no longer here, but you brought in DK Medaf and immediately signed him and the guy is a big- time I look at him as a freak of nature. U, what are your expectations of him with Rogers as a combination? I expect him quite frankly to be dominant. He is a matchup issue, one that we’re intimately aware of. We competed against those guys rather recently. We played him late in the season out there in uh what 23 in a significant game and and so we we know what he does to defenses not only defensive players uh but defensive coaches uh in terms of being sensitive to the matchup component of him and a guy like him um their impact goes beyond their statistics. Uh it is that matchup component. It is the opportunities that they provide others because of the things you have to do schematically to minimize them particularly in situational moments. With him there, he’s going to garner a lot of attention obviously, but you’re looking for a number two and currently it looks like Calvin Austin is that guy. Is that something that’s still kind of unfolding as this season goes on? You know, I I I think we’ll always be in that number two discussion just simply because of how we’re built. We have some uh elite veteran tight ends that we feel good about and and Fri Mof and Jonno who can represent that quote unquote number two at times uh in positionless football if you will in multiple tight end sets. Certainly Calvin and and Roman are both evolving as professionals and are capable of of absorbing that role. Um but again, we’re not going to subscribe to the conventions of a quote unquote number two. We got a bunch of eligibles that we feel good about. Make no mistake, uh DK is a major component of it and dictates a lot of schematics, but they’re going to be a committee of others um based on circumstances and offensive personnel package that could fill the quote unquote number two uh role. We have not seen John Smith in a game, didn’t play in the preseason, but Arthur Smith loves those tight ends. Uh can we expect something different from the utilization of all those four? He he is a unique matchup. Um he’s an oversized athlete, if you will. Oftentimes too big for DBs to deal with, too fast uh and too knowledgeable in the passing game for linebackers to deal with. And that’s what I mean when I’m talking about positionless football. He is just one of those unique guys. Had an enormous year last year for the Dolphins, over 800 yards receiving, eight touchdowns, was a pro bowler, and I’m excited about, you know, including that in some of the things that we do defensively. Now, you brought in a lot of guys there as well. Jaylen Ramsey being among them. It gives you sort of u a flexibility component to what those guys can do because they’re all good cover guys, but you move them around. What What do you think you’re going to utilize those three? I’m talking about JPJ, Slay, and him. Uh in what roles? You know, let’s forget JP and Slay for a minute cuz cuz Jaylen is a guy that makes it all go. He’s a utility back. He can play outside corner, he can play inside corner, he can play safety. He’s displayed all of those capabilities in the process. Um, but we knew that about him to be quite honest with you. Uh, when he came out of Florida State, he was the number one corner and the number one safety on our draft board. He was that highly regarded and displayed uh those capabilities in Tallahassee. And so, it’s not anything that’s foreign to us. Uh, when he was in LA a couple years ago, 2021, uh, they used him a lot uh, inside at Nickel. And so he’s done it in college, he’s done it in the pros. Um that was one of the things that made his acquisition exciting for us. Uh having the ability to to match offensive personnel and specialization, unique animals like we were just talking about Janu. Um Jaylen is that unique animal on the other side uh that’s capable of covering a variety of people or blitzing and things of that nature. And so we’re really excited about him. Uh the other guys will play more traditional corner if you will. talked about JPJ and Slay. They’ll play outside. All right, we have much more coming up with Mike Tyler. We get set for the Jets, the first opponent. We’ll talk in depth about what they have going for them and later the keys to the game. It’s all coming up. But Missy, let’s go back to you. All right, thanks so much, Bob. And earlier this week, the Steelers players voted for the 2025 team captains. No major surprises here. For offense, the team selected Aaron Rodgers. And on defense, Cam Hayward moved into a tie for second place in team history for being a captain for the 11th consecutive year. Voted for again is TJ Watt and Miles Kilibru for defense and special teams. The 84 Lumber Mike Tomlin Show. We’ll be right back. Welcome back to the 84 Lumber Mike Tomlin Show. Neither quarterback for the Steelers or Jets on Sunday is making a big deal about swapping teams. Aaron Rogers and Justin Fields will open the season against the team for which they were the week one starter the previous year for that and much more on the Jets. Let’s send it back over to Bob and coach Bob. All right, Missy, thanks very much. It’s the Jets. It’s almost like trading places here. Rogers there now here and Justin Fields here now there. But they also made some changes in their coaching staff. Aaron Glenn is there now. Is it difficult to, you know, to get a sense of what those guys do strategy-wise going into a new coaching staff? Um, it is. Um, there’s some speculation speculation there whenever you don’t have hard video evidence. Um, there there’s some speculation, but I think that occurs for everyone this time of year. It somewhat complicates it because there are new staff and so there’s a little bit more of that speculation, but that’s not something that’s foreign to us. We we opened up in Atlanta 12 months ago with a new staff, first time offensive play caller in Robinson and so it was very very similar circumstances. I think any of us that have been in this business any length of time uh you come across those challenges particularly this time of year. Justin Fields as a quarterback, you know him well. Um how do you think they will deploy him in the mobility factor of his game and down the field? He has not had a lot of success on a consistent basis. Yeah, certainly mobility is a component of his game. Um the ability to change launch points to move the pocket, the design running game, the ad lib quarterback running game from via the scramble. Um I imagine they’re going to utilize all components of his game in those areas. I know that we did. I know that Chicago Bears did. Um I think if you’re working with a talent like his, it’s it’s pretty much common sense to to deploy some of those things schematically that highlight those. Does it help having him here for a year just for tendency point? I mean, you know him well. Certainly it does. Um, but but by the same token, I’m sure he’s had an inhelmet view on some of our defensive schematics which will probably make that somewhat of a mute point. All right, talk about their running game because I think that they’re going to lean on that pretty heavily. They have some guys in Allen and Bree Hall who can deliver there. You guys had some problems down at the end of last year stopping the run. What has to change there? You know, it’s a new year. I I don’t tote the bags from last year. Um but make no mistake, the run game commitment is a big component of what they do. Coach Glenn hadn’t been bashful about that. Um they’ve got two two a real three really quality capable backs that allow that to happen with Bree Hall and Allen was a rookie a year ago from Wisconsin leading that charge. Uh they got a a varied skill set. Uh Bree is really good on the perimeter. Allen is is is a tough downhill runner. their coordinator comes from Detroit. And when you think about Gibbs and Montgomery, you think about a a nice division of labor with two backs with different skill sets and a and a commitment to running the ball. And so, we’re speculating, but it it’s not gross speculization um based on the background of their play caller and their talents at their disposal. The Jets have a similar situation in that they don’t have quote unquote a number two wide receiver, but they do have Garrett Wilson who’s a difference kind of maker out there. Is that an assignment that Jaylen Ramsey will have right off the bat? You know, uh, we’re gonna we’re gonna ask Jaylen to do a lot of things to be quite honest with you. Um, you know, they do have a second round tight end and Mason Taylor who was a big-time vertical threat in his time down in in LSU and and that’s a further evidence of the discussion that we’re talking about traditional or non-traditional number TWS. uh they invested quite a bit in that young man and uh it’s been reported in the team development process that he’s been a significant component of their passing game and so um there’ll be someone representing the quote unquote number two. It might come at us in the form of a vertical threat tight end and like Mason Taylor and so we better be thoughtful about how we match up on people certainly. All right, let’s talk about their defense because the strength of their team seems to be they got some studs over there. your biggest concern with their defense and try to neutralize some of their star makers, their commitment to to um the acquisition of talent up front. Quinny Williams is a is a is a firstrounder. Um Will McDonald’s a firstrounder. Uh Jermaine Johnson uh opposite of Will McDonald a firstrounder. Um the organization even prior to this staff has made a commitment to acquiring high-end upfront talent and it happens to fit with what it is they’re doing with Steve Wils uh their coordinator. He’s primarily a four down guy and they ride the wave that those guys provide. Um they’ve done a nice job of the acquisition of talent to to make that go. Couple that with the with the preseason trade to pick up big Harrison um from from Minnesota, you see the commitment they’ve made to acquiring top quality talent up front to make their make their system of defense go. Like your team, the Jets have also invested a lot in their offensive line. Back-to-back number one picks. You got a rookie over there and membu I wonder about TJ W because you guys have tried to experiment maybe moving him around a little bit, but that’s a matchup that seems to be in your favor. Yeah, I assume that they’re not going to give us a bunch of looks at that matchup. Um they work all week like we do. That’s that kid’s first game. I doubt that you’re going to see a bunch of onstage one-on-one uh football between that rookie right tackle and TJ. It I just give them too much credit um to play football like that. All right, we’ll talk about the keys to the game coming up as we continue here with Mike Tomlin. It’s the Steelers and the Jets. You’ll see at one o’clock on KDKA this coming Sunday. Missy, let’s head back to you. All right, sounds good, guys. And coming up next, we check in with Mel Hodgej for our first playbook of the season. He breaks down how the Steelers defense can slow down Justin Fields in New York’s offense to start 2025 in the win column. Show off your black and gold knowledge with Immaculate Prediction. Make picks each week for your chance to win autographed jerseys, footballs, or even a trip to the 2026 home opener. This week’s first place prize is an autographed DK Metaf jersey. And here’s the question. Will Aaron Rodgers have over or under 250.5 total passing yards? This game is exclusively in the Steelers mobile app, so go get your picks in now and good luck. Don’t go anywhere. Our show continues after the break. Welcome back to the 84 Lumber Mike Tomlin Show. Neither the Steelers or the Jets have been bashful in wanting to run the ball this season. As you will find out in this week’s playbook, Mel Hodgej explains why who can control the line of scrimmage the best will start the season off 1 and0. [Music] Hi everyone. Welcome into the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex for the playbook opening day. We’re going to actually create a theme. We’re going to talk about the two most important aspects to win consistently in the NFL for over a hundred years. Number one, you have to control the tempo of the game. Number two, you have to control and win the turnover battle. When you win those two things, there’s a high percentage chance you’re going to win. That leads us to opening day. There is no doubt the Jets are going to run the football. They’re committed to running the football and their quarterback, as we know, brings a wrinkle to this that is a big concern and an issue. So, let’s first take a look at them and how they run the football with their back. They’re a strong side running team. So, what does that mean? In this case, the tight end is to the right and so they’re going to run to that side. Now, initially, they do a good job with their blocking scheme. That defensive uh tackle right there over 75. He slants inside and 75 does a good job of adjusting the tackle and the tight end, they’re going to double to the outside guy. What is interesting on this play, and this happens a lot, sometimes you don’t get people accounted for. Now, 75 will adjust to the middle linebacker. The wide receiver is coming in to block the other inside linebacker, but they miss him. But this is why Hall is so good. He makes the guy miss and you have what amounts to almost a 10 yard run or even more than that. I mean, that’s chunks of yards. That’s things you can’t afford if you’re going to get hurt in the league with running the football. Now, this one is interesting because it’s third and eight. They will run the ball on third and eight. Most teams won’t do that. But here is what the the Giants did. They got six defensive backs. They got six defensive backs on the field. And when you have small people like that on the field, the Jets are going to run the football. This is third and eight. There’s not very many teams that are going to run on third and eight, but the Jets will run on third and eight. Especially if you present a personnel package to them that is a bunch of small people. They will try to run the ball at you because they trust their ability to run the football over really throwing it for obvious reasons. And on this third down, it’s exactly what they do. They run their big offensive line, those small people, and they smash them, you know, and this combination of runners they have is dangerous. So, it doesn’t matter what down and distance it is. You present the wrong package, they’re going to run the ball on you. Now, this might be the biggest wild card of the whole thing is Justin Fields in passing situations. Here is probably the hardest thing for the Steeler defense in this matchup. You can’t, here’s the rule, you can’t get beyond the quarterback. That is a critical component to playing Justin Fields. His legs are more dangerous than his arm. So, you have to push him laterally if he escapes. You cannot let him go vertically right away or you’re in trouble. So, even though it’s a preseason, they probably didn’t really game plan a lot of this. So, you got to keep that in mind. But, this is what you can’t do. And if you do, this is what happens. If you get beyond the quarterback like they eventually do here, okay, everybody’s beyond the quarterback. Okay, that when that happens, it is over. All Justin Fields will do is score a touchdown on you with his legs cuz his legs are more dangerous than his arm. So, the running game for the New York Jets is the primary perspective of this particular matchup. They have to stop that. If they do stop that, that gives them an awesome chance to win opening day. And make sure you check out more exclusive content like Merryill’s playbook on the team’s official YouTube page. Well, the Steelers are 116 and one under coach Tomlin on kickoff weekend. Tomlin joins Andy Reid, John Harbaugh, and Pete Carroll as the only active coaches who have won at least 10 games in week one. It’s time now for your keys to the game presented by your neighborhood Ford store. Let’s send it over one final time to Bob and Coach. [Music] All right, Missy, thank you very much. Uh, coach, let’s talk about the thing we hadn’t gotten into, and that’s your punting situation. You had to make a tough choice there. You had two very good guys battling out all the way to the end. You chose Corus Weightman. What went into that decision? Because field position in a game like this could be very big. They they both were they both were varsity, as we like to say. Um, we just feel like uh Corass was a little bit better, a little bit more consistent in the process. it may maybe not have showed up in stadiums, but we watch those guys closer every day and he’s to be congratulated for his efforts. It was a high level of consistency. And a side note, in my opinion, is the fact that he’s left footed and when you’re left footed, that creates some some issues in the return game. If you remember the last year, there were four or five punts on the ground last year, punts that were tough to handle cuz returners don’t see a lot of it. Uh you can think about our second preseason game when we were playing the Bucks and they had the young returner TZ Johnson back there. Um and he mishandled one of Corus’ punts. And so he had a high level of consistency um dayto day in his performance and coupled that with the fact that that he’s left footed and that generally creates problems is why he got the job. Plus I imagine he had a very good relationship with Boswell last year and he was an all proseason. The holding aspect of it is probably big and and really Bos is low to no maintenance in that regard to be honest with you. Bos is not a highmaintenance kicker in terms of who’s who’s holding and that’s one of the things that makes him such a unique athlete. Real quick, I want to ask you about your two rookies. I know Derek Harman’s had some injury concerns, but you had YA Black. Just assess those two, what you saw and how important they will be for this season. They’ve been exactly what we’ve expected them to be. They’re big men who who run. Um they’re talented. Uh they’re certainly going to be contributors um to our efforts this year and beyond. It’s times have changed. Rookies used to sit and wait. Now they plug right in and play, don’t they? Have to if they’re good. That’s true, coach. Thanks very much. All the best. You know it. All right, we got the Steelers and the Jets coming at you on Sunday 1:00. Our pregame begins at 11:30 in the morning and then we have postgame to follow. It’s the lid lifter, as they say. The Steelers getting set for their first game of the regular season. Everyone’s excited about it. We hope you are, too. We’ll see you next week for another edition of the Mike Tomlin Show.

On this week’s episode of The Mike Tomlin Show, Bob Pompeani and Coach Mike Tomlin talk about the Pittsburgh Steelers Week one matchup against the New York Jets and the keys to winning the game.

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