Coach Tomlin Press Conference (Week 15 vs Miami Dolphins) | Pittsburgh Steelers

Coach Tomlin Press Conference (Week 15 vs Miami Dolphins) | Pittsburgh Steelers

Heat. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Music] down. Down. [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] [Music] [Music] down down down. [Music] Hey Heat. Heat. [Music] Hey. Hey. Hey. [Music] [Music] Good afternoon everyone. I’m Bob Pompiani. Welcome to the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex here on a Tomlin Tuesday. Missy Matthews will join me shortly as we break down what Mike Tomlin has to say. Steelers are coming off a big win in Baltimore. They are in first place all by themselves. 2722 that final. They’re taking on a team that may be as hot as any team in the NFL this week on a Monday night. Miami beat the Jets last week pretty soundly and they are now six- seven after starting the season 2-7 and they appear to be sellers at the trade deadline. So, what’s turned them around? We’ll get that and more from head coach Mike Tomlin who is addressing the media right now. Good afternoon. As always, I’ll start with a quick review of our last performance. Um certainly it was a physical football game and attrition was a component of it. I guess a component of reviewing it is talk about some of that um as we lead into this week. Um Calvin Anderson at tackle can be characterized as out again this week with his knee. Certainly we have several guys in the concussion protocol. Uh we’ll let that process run its course and the medical experts will be center stage in terms of determining availability of those guys. Uh those guys are are Pete, um Malik Harrison, uh Darnell Washington. We have some other guys who got banged up during the course of play. Um Ken Benton had an ankle. He was able to go back and finish. I’m sure that’ll limit him some at the at the early portions of this week. James Pierre suffered a calf inj injury. He was able to finish, but it certainly could impact him at the early portions of this week. Ben Scoranic, YA Black, um, and some others. Um, Kyle Duggar certainly’s got a chance this week to come back from his hand injury. Um, and the rest are kind of bumps and bruises associated with play. Thankful that we have an additional 24 hours or so or plus this week. And, um, that’s why we adjusted our schedules in the way in the way that we’ve done. Uh sometimes when we play on Monday, particularly at the early stages of team development, uh we’ll do Friday twice and hit a lot of our situational football and really get solid on some of that stuff. Uh we just deemed it appropriate to get give ourselves another additional 24 hours of recovery this week. And so that’s why we’ve taken the approach that we’ve taken this week. Thursday will be like a normal inseason Wednesday and then we’ll proceed on from there. And hopefully we’ll get better clarity regarding some player availability. uh will give guys some additional time to to to rest and recuperate and and and be able to put their hand in the pile in terms of participating in the process of game readiness. And it’s certainly important this time of year um that we have that uh as the road gets narrow. Things that I thought were significant in terms of determining the outcome of the game uh on Sunday um I thought we were aggressive uh schematically on offense. Um and and beyond that though, we had we had the playmaking to go along with it. Um we were aggressive down the grass in some instances. I thought DK obviously was a central component of that, but so was guys like Calvin Austin. That was a big third down and three down the grass in the third quarter for him and really was a whisker away from going uh 75 or so. Um we were able to hit Jaylen Warren out of the back field versus some pressure uh on a third down play and he was a able to run it in from about roughly 40 yards out and so we got we got some yards in chunks. Um that certainly aids execution. Uh it flips the field and often times chunk plays are the central component of scoring drives and certainly it was for us. We’re able to put seven points on the board. our first possession of the game. We were able to put three points, I think, on the board the first possession of the second half and kind of go on from there. From a defensive perspective, I thought um our third down play, particularly at the early stages of the game, sent the message um and and quell the environment um and allowed us to find our footing and play. Um Brandon Eckles, I thought, was central to that. Um he broke up a a pass in the red zone early in the game, made him settle for three on the first possession. He had a sack on the next third down on a subsequent drive. He had a third down coverage play, I think, on the next down. Um largely we did what we needed to do on third down in the first half of the game, and I thought it really set the stage for game one, if you will. Um we had a stop there at the end of the half, but we were penalized and that was a four-point penalty. um they were able to go in and score a couple of plays later and it also minimized our opportunity to maybe go back at them in a two-minute drill prior to the half and so certainly that was a costly penalty but largely I thought third down in the first half really kind of set the stage from a competition standpoint um from a defensive perspective and then certainly in the second half man standing up on the short field um was big um making them settle for three or or getting off and I just think this time of here. Um, that’s where the game is played for offenses and for defenses. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention special teams. I thought we had some timely playmaking in that space. Guys like Ben Scoronic um and Carson Bruner, man, really uh were productive. Um, we talk about activity and productivity and it being a difference. And those are two guys, man, that have been highly productive uh at whooping blocks and making tackles in that space uh with a high level of consistency. and it was needed um as you battle for blades of grass in the field position game in games like that. Um largely though, I just I I liked everyone’s smile in the face of adversity mentality. The environment was a tough and competitive one. Certainly uh the Ravens are a worthy dance partner and uh we were able to get the job done. Now, as we lean in on Monday Night Football, um this week we’re excited about Monday Night Football at Akasher. Um certainly the Dolphins are as hot as any team in in the NFL. I’ll start first with their defense. If you look at these guys statistically over the last five weeks, man, they’re they’re tops in football. I think they’re giving up 13.2 points per game over that span. Uh third down conversion rate is like at 31%. Um they got nine turnovers. I think that’s second in football. And so that some of the very critical statistics that measure how you’re playing. Um they’re checking those boxes and that’s why they’ve won they’ve been the winners of four straight. when you keep the point total down, you take the ball away, you’re good on third down. Um, I think they’re 22% uh TD rate in the red zone. Um, and so they’re stingy in that area as well. Um, they’re doing all the things you need to do to play really good defense. Uh, I love their linebacker tandem. Um, both highly productive instinct football players, volume tacklers. Um, you better get hats on those guys if you want to make plays, not only in the running game, but just in the perimeter game, etc. a very active tandem. Uh they leave them on the field quite a bit. Uh they don’t go to dime on third down and things of that nature like a lot of teams do this time of year. Uh 20 and 25 are going to be in the middle of everything. I think they’ve been really solid in the secondary once they solidified some of their, you know, divisional labor. And I think Minka has been significant in that regard. He’s been playing nickel for them. Um and they’ve got more depth certainly at at safety than they do at corner. and and and Maker’s versatility has been an asset to him. He’s done an awesome job as a as a guy that plays closer to the line of scrimmage um in the nickel position, a guy that blitzes. Um certainly in base, he plays free safety um and is a hub of communication and center fielder back there for him there. Um they got two really good solid veteran corners who do a nice job of keeping things in front of them. Uh they’re very aware and instinct players. Raul’s been around a long time. Um Jones has been around a long time now. Um they’re ball guys. Um you see it. They’ve taken the ball away. Um they hunt the ball uh via the turnovers and uh punching and collective is really impressive. Um really impressive by um Bradley Chubb’s efforts. You know, I think he missed a significant time amount of time over the last year or two. Um he certainly appears to have found his footing. Um he’s a challenge for us in terms of the edge rush. um particularly with some instability that we have at tackle. Um it’s going to be a challenge minimizing his impact on the game, but but Chop is a designated rusher. Judon, um they they’ve got a quality edge group. Um and certainly they got some capable guys inside as well. On the offensive side of the ball, I can’t say enough about Achain and their running game and and how they’ve been playing behind uh that over the course of the last month or so when they’ve been on that win streak. Um even last week uh with Wright um they were able to do similar things that they’ve done. Uh they’ve really anchored down and established a personality there. Um the offensive line is running off the ball. Uh they’re certainly capable of attacking you vertically down the field still. Waddle is a dangerous guy. He’s capable of going over the top. Uh he’s capable of run after um Waller uh in particular in the red zone is is a force to be reckoned with. He’s a big bodied guy. he’s good along the the inline and so forth in that space and he’s certainly been an asset to him um over the second half of the year um since his acquisition and activation been a central component of what they do. Um they utilize a lot of people um they utilize a lot of personnel groups that work to keep you off balance that way. They got a veteran offensive staff, know a lot of guys on the offensive side of the ball. And so certainly we’ll be utilizing the additional time to prepare ourselves not only uh strategically, but also just getting really familiar with their personnel. It’s been a number of years uh since we’ve seen these guys and and certainly I’ll take the additional day to get familiar uh with that component of the matchup as well. I’ll pause and open up for questions. Mike, you didn’t mention Derek Harman. Is he ready to go? And two, why black played more than snaps at any defensive line. Where is he in his development? Yes. Um Derek Harmon will be limited at the early portions of the week and we’ll let the amount of participation and how quickly it picks up and the quality of that participation um as we go through the week uh to determine whether or not he’s available. Certainly excited about an additional day as it pertains to him. Ya is a guy that’s just gotten better throughout the process. And sometimes, as I often say, one man’s misfortune is another man’s opportunity. We’ve certainly absorbed some attrition in the front with guys like Dean Lowry and Loudermilk um going down on IR, Derek Harmon, um having two separate injuries and and so YA has been a guy, man, that’s really taken advantage of the opportunities um not only in terms of his play, but just the general growth associated with gaining uh inhelmet snap experience. And so I think it’s reasonable to expect him to continue to get better. He brings a good attitude. Um he is getting better from a production standpoint and I just think last Sunday was a reflection of that. Mike, the uh the the numbers you guys have uh in against the run when Harmon’s in versus whenever he’s not in there are pretty it’s almost 100 yard difference per game. What does Derek do so well that helps you guys defend the run? He’s a firstrounder. That’s why we that’s why you draft first rounders. Um he’s really talented. Um but you know you know it’s not a one-man gang certainly. Um I knew we were in for a tough run day last week when Malik went down uh because that’s also a component of his job description in in terms of being a nine on seven runs stopping type linebacker for us. And so um it’s never a one-man discussion. Usually it’s a multi multipleman discussion. But certainly um Harmon is is an asset to us in that space. Mike you mentioned MA. How do you feel like you guys have done in terms of replacing him not only schematically but also leadership-wise? You know, I don’t think we’re devoid of leadership by by any means. Um certainly uh we’ve gone through some adjustments schematically um in terms of how we divide the labor up, but it’s not exclusive to him. Um I think the loss of of of D. Elliott has been a a major component of that as well and guys like Miles Killer Brew. It’s just the attrition component that’s associated with with football. But at the same time, that’s why we’re really excited about having uh Jaylen Ramsey, man, with his position flexibility. Um his ability to play outside corner and nickel and safety. Um we we envision that being a big- time asset to us in terms of keeping people off balance and from a matchup standpoint. Um in recent weeks and and I guess you could say month and some change, we haven’t been afforded that because of some of the other things I mentioned. And we’re thankful that that he’s been rock solid for us at safety as well. Mike, if you wasn’t able to travel back with you, do you have an update on him? Um, he he’s moving in the right direction. Um, I I I don’t think, um, it’s going to jeopardize his availability at all, but it certainly may jeopardize his availability at the early portions of the week from a practice standpoint, but thankfully, um, he’s fine. Um, I’m appreciative of our medical staff and how quickly they acted, um, and making sure that he was safe and taking care of him. uh post game. Mike, you opened by talking about some of the explosive plays you were able to create in the passing game. Um what do you need to do from either a game planning or execution standpoint to replicate some of that going forward? You know, both um you know, it’s a mentality thing, particularly as the road gets narrow, but also um the schematics are component of it. Um we knew we would have opportunities. We’ve just been in those circumstances with Baltimore so many times over the years, and I’m in the process of getting familiar with Miami and what that might look like this week. Mike, what was the impact you think that the and MBS had um on the receiving court? You know, just veteran guys, been there, done that guys. Um, as I mentioned, as the road gets narrow in December, it’s good to have those guys in the fold. Um, guys that that that have experience and rising up in those moments and certainly um statistics might not bear it out, but um I I thought they were an asset to us and it’s reasonable to expect um that to improve and increase as we as we continue. Mike, your your record as a head coach the week after losing by 15 plus, Michael has this in the notes every week is is really good. Why do you think and you’re two and0 this year, why do you think you guys have consistently been able to respond after a really rough patch? I just think that’s what this business is about. Um it it’s week to week. Um they’re going to be good weeks and you you can’t wear your hand out patting yourself on the back um when you have those good weeks and you certainly can’t hate yourself uh when you have those negative weeks and as a leader I think it’s important that I show that steady presence um to provide that compass if you will for the collective. Mike, is that something that you’ve always done dating back to your early days as a coach or is that something that you kind of had to learn and adjust to? I just think I understand my role um as a leader um to be what my guys need me to be. And uh certainly um when you’re coming off a negative performance, they need stability and and and belief. Um you always say, “What gives me confidence?” And I tell you, life um ditto. One thing that Johnny said yesterday, having played with Miami last year, he said they’re particularly good at getting their fast backs in space. Um from your standpoint, uh how do they do that? How do they how do they manage that? And from your run game defense standpoint, how do you combat that? You know, they’re really good with their personnel groups. They’ll they’ll go pony backs or two two running backs in the game. They got a lot of pre-nap shifts and motions. They personnel you a lot. Um and so with some of those pre-nap movements, they they gain an advantage on the edge from time to time. And um they really do a nice job um schematically, but um as you mentioned, those running backs are dynamic. Um they’re all, you know, a couple of them are sub 44 and you certainly see that in video. How dynamic is as Alex Heismith and his ability to play the horizontal kind of football he did on the jet sweep and pop passes the Ravens try to get at you guys? You know, that’s why we like uh stand up edge players. Um that the their field of vision, their feel for the game um is broader than DNS and some of the things you mentioned I think is reflective of that. But I think that’s not only characteristic of him, it’s characteristic of all our edge guys, TJ, um, Herb, Jack Sawyer. Um, that’s the benefit to me of of being a hybrid or or a standup edge group. Mike, going back to your wide receivers, what went into the decision to have Roman down versus Scotty being active? You know, Scotty’s a capable backup punt returner, and I thought that was the difference. Mike, in terms of Scoranic and his special teams play, I mean, does take a unique individual to be a gunner because we saw some of those where he was getting destroyed out there the time he fought through it. I mean, did you notice that from him in LA or is that something you more developed here, you think? Certainly, I noticed it. Um, he’s a football player first and receiver second. Uh, he has an appetite and thirst for the competition the way that Darius Haywood Bay did when he was here. Um, and certainly, uh, we’re appreciative of of not only his efforts, but also, as I mentioned, his production. Does it say something that DK like basically volunteered himself to then go in and fill in late? And as a coach, when you got a guy that’s as valuable in other areas of your team is that was there any like, wait, what’s Ford doing out there? No, I just think that’s what time of year it is. That’s what type of game it was. Um, I’m thankful for his efforts, but he wasn’t the only one. Uh Jaylen Warren for example returned kicks in the game. Uh the roads get narrow. It’s AFC North football etc. There are a lot of reasons why that that that type of attitude and approach was required. Like DK said DK said it felt different last week. The practices felt different. The details were different. What do you do as a coach to kind of get that out of them finally? I’m sorry. What do you do as a coach to kind of get that out of them finally at this point of the season? I think we’re always working to improve our process and thus our play. Um and certainly as you get into December, it’s reasonable to expect um your process to be cleaner, to continually elevate the floor in an effort to do so relative to your play. Mike, you guys haven’t been able to run the ball recently. Uh what what what do you guys have to do better to get that going? And do you see any reliability from the deep pass game that was not existent for a month and then flipped on this week? You know, um I’m comfortable with our approach to running the football. Certainly uh we haven’t gotten what we wanted from a production standpoint, but there’s a lot of layers to that discussion. Um I thought particularly last week the loss of of Darnell in game was significant in that regard and and Pete at tackle u but that’s just football. You adapt um you keep moving. Things are going to be less than ideal at times uh particularly during this stage of the journey. I’m excited about putting together a good and complete plan and an effort to do so this week. Mike, James Pierre is one of the league leaders in yards allowed since he’s been in the starting lineup. Can you explain how a guy goes from on the couch at the beginning of last season to six years into his career somehow one of the best cornerbacks in the league? Manny, it it’s it’s it’s him. Um, ask any of his teammates. Um, he has unwavering belief in himself. He’s an unbelievable professional. He’s tough- minded. He’s physically tough. Um, he’s willing to do anything and everything. He’s he’s earned everything that he’s gotten in this business. As I mentioned in in this setting before, you know, he was an undrafted uh college free agent in the co year. And so, man, um you know, the the the the tough road is not something that’s that’s new to him. I just think that he’s played it up mentally and I just think it’s an asset to him and us. Mike, you did the discount double check celebration after Erin did. What’s it like seeing him a have that rushing touchdown, have that celebration in 2025? Did you know he still had wheels like that? You know, I don’t want to make more out of it than than should be. It’s just fun. We were we went down the field and scored on the opening drive in a hostile environment and that’s what it was about. It looked like he had one of his best games of the season on Sunday. Was there any indication in practice leading up to that week or what do you think maybe was the difference for him? You know, as I mentioned before, um you do business with a guy like Aaron for environments like that in this time of year. Um he’s a been there, done that guy. His resume reflects that, but beyond his resume, um he’s a competitor and he’s not running from it. He’s running to it. And certainly that was a big game. And so, um I’m not surprised by big things from him. Mike, you hit a third and modern. I think it was third and five to Calvin Austin in the second half and the 31 yer down the sideline. Uh, were you hunting for any more of those in the fourth quarter that just didn’t manifest on those three possessions that like I don’t I don’t know that I’m going to tell you my intentions. We got to play that group again here in a couple of weeks. Can you do the things that you like to do with Darnell Washington in the game with other people or is he so unique that you kind of have to scrap some of that stuff? Um, you certainly can, but they’re weight classes in combat sports for a reason. Um, and you know, he’s significantly bigger than others that you replace him with, and sometimes that’s the difference. Mike, you guys are 0 and4 in games that kick off with 425 or later. Is there any explanation to that or how do you kind of maybe break that streak this week? I make no excuse. Mike, you’ve had Dylan Cook for three or four years. What did you think? How do you think he handled his opportunity? And what’s the comfort level if he’s your guy going forward? You’re excited for a guy when he gets an opportunity to to to play. Um he certainly has worked hard and has been professional. Um I I I loved his his mindset when when he went in. Um happy for him. Um often times one man’s misfortune is another man’s opportunity and uh he may get another opportunity this week. We’ll see where the week leads us. Mike, I think this is the third time in the last like four or five years that you guys have beaten the Ravens and they’ve outrushed you by like 100 yards or more. What goes into a game plan to mitigate that vast of a difference in in the ground? you know, they’re they’re built different than a lot of teams and so the nature of our matchups are different. You know, you can almost substitute their rushing yards for passing yards and vice versa. The bottom line is you better win the turnover game. You better be good in the red area. You better make timely situational plays. And you know, that’s kind of the formula for playing those guys from our perspective. Mike, Mike, you said you understand your role as a head coach to when negative things happen. DK after the game said, “Mike takes a lot of bullets for us.” So, I’m curious. 19 years in, does taking those bullets get rearing at any point for you? It’s the job. Like, one of those bullets was at the Bills game, fans calling for your job. Did you feel like you were in the hot seat at all last week? Man, I’ve been in the hot seat for 19 years. Did you feel like you had something to prove to the fans at all? I always feel like I got something to prove. Um, not necessarily to anyone in particular, but that’s just the spirit in which I go about what I do professionally. What do you expect from the fans Monday night, man? I expect him to show up, man. It’s Monday night football in Akashure. It’s going to be a big game. Mike, can you clarify a little bit about what happened with DK after the game and we all met with him in the media room and then all the reports came out last night? He um he got hit in the abdomen or stomach in game. Um I think they gave him some basic over-the-counter remedies in game like Pepto or something like that. and um it it got probably progressively worse um after the game and and so I’m appreciative of our medical experts. Um we just exercise an abundance of precaution. Uh we didn’t want to get him in the air without having a complete understanding about what he was dealing with and and they did a good job of that. Mike, is there something to appreciate about Joey’s, you know, battling back from two penalties that he had early in the game and then, you know, helped make a breakup uh unlikely at the end at the end of the game and keeping that sort of resil resilience in, you know, in important moments. Joey is always trying to make plays and he certainly um being a Pittsburgh kid understands the nature of of Steelers, Ravens. He always wants to be a Raven killer. Um he’s made some plays against those guys in the past. He had a big interception against Odell Beckham as a rookie. Um, he tackled Lamar, I think, on a two-point conversion a year ago. Um, I think that’s just how he’s wired. A lot of what you talked about with Miami secondary certainly manifested on the stat sheet last week. They’re going up against a 24y old quarterback. Obviously difference from you guys and the veteran leadership that you have there. But like their aggressiveness, their break on the ball, that sort of thing. Is that something that is painting a a picture of them throughout the whole season or is that specific more to going up against New York last week? Um I I think that’s reflective of who they are after they found their footing. Certainly they’ve absorbed some attrition particularly at the quarterback position. Guju Brents and others um have been injured but I think they’ve settled in to that veteran tandem as I’ve mentioned. Um solidifying makers as a nickel and utilizing their safety depth and getting stability there. Um what they’ve done over the last five weeks is kind of reflective of where they are. Um but I’ll let them speak to that. But I’m just, you know, um, viewing it from an outsers’s perspective. Mike, I’m sure you like the three-step catch role on Sunday, but in general, as a member of the committee, competition committee, do you like that? You know, it’s always been debatable. Um, it seems like um I’ve just learned to kind of move on to be quite honest with you. I I moved on from from um Jesse James, for example. I don’t even know what year that was. Um, they’re going to be controversial calls and big games. I think I always focus my energy on making enough plays to minimize uh that in terms of determining the outcome of the game. Uh that’s why you won’t hear me calling New York postgame for explanations and things of that nature. You guys ask me that maybe early in the year regarding something. Um it’s not going to change the outcome. I just work to keep moving and I just like to put together a comprehensive enough plan and make enough plays um where the game’s outcome doesn’t hinge on a on one play or or a couple of plays. You have a pretty good feel for what what a catch is and what a catch isn’t. I do. Do you worried when you see the results on Sunday though? I mean when you have to make the scoring play is one thing but the thing but is it difficult to how do you what do you how do you process information? Who do you rely on to say hey we should challenge this? I just think that I just think that football is so bang bang and exciting. I think that’s why our fans love it. Um it’s a difficult game to play because of the speed. It’s a difficult game to officiate. I think as a collective, we have some things in place that kind of, you know, protect us all in an effort to get things right. Um, ruling that catch a touchdown makes it automatically reviewable where I don’t have to decide the challenge, etc. And so, there’s a lot of things in place um interrelated variables relative to that discussion. Going through four left tackles in three games, what kind of stress does that place on an offense? And how does having Isaac there, a veteran like that next to that position, help mitigate that? You know, I don’t know that Isaac is blocking any of those edge guys. Um, but certainly from a communication and coordination perspective, uh, his presence is helpful. Um, it’s been a challenge. Um, but that’s why we work hard at making sure that we prepare the collective. Um, this next man up for us and and not only at that position, but others, you get a chance to prove that over the course of the journey. And certainly we’ve been challenged in that space in in recent weeks. Can’t say enough about those guys. I think we largely kept Aaron clean in game. Um and and it’s a credit to those guys. Cam is uh about 70% snaps as an interior defensive lineman. At 36 years old, those things don’t happen in the league maybe ever. How do you explain that that he’s able to do that at this age? He’s an outlier. Um there are some outliers in every discussion. Um, and guys like he and Kus Campbell, for example, are outliers. Mike, uh, you have a 42-y old quarterback. Can a 44 year old who hasn’t played in 5 years come back and play Bill River? I have no idea what you’re talking about. Col was supposed to work him up. That’s none of my business, man. I’m trying to get ready for the Dolphins. When you talk when you talk about Kim, was it fair to say that the attrition, he’s played more than you planned on or expected him to in terms of the snap share? And we do what we got to do. He certainly does what he has to do, man. He is a quality leader in every way. Uh and I think certainly he understands um our collective circumstance at times and he’s always willing to do um whatever he needs to do to to help us win. With the left half situation being what it is, it’s kind of forgotten the three your three linemen from the center out are secondyear guys and you kind of have they been taking that secondyear step collectively as you they have and they have in a big way to be honest with you. I don’t even really think about it. Um but we we invested a lot of draft capital in those guys. Man, I’m not surprised that they’re capable players and that they’re emerging and as individuals and a collective and I think it’s reasonable to expect that to continue. Mike, you’re probably you’re probably deeper at linebacker than you have been in quite some time. How much did that come into play on Sunday? And how important is that going to be down the stretch? It it was certainly needed. I’m appreciative of Cole Hulcom’s contributions and um as I mentioned, man, um Malik has a certain job description for us and when he went down, I thought Cole did a nice job. Um, but depth is big. Um, certainly, um, at the linebacker position and, um, we’re continually working not only in terms of, uh, the acquisition of players, but the development of players as well. Um, oftentimes guys make plays in special teams before they make plays on defense. And one of the guys I mentioned is a special team highlight for us was young Carson Bruner. And so, he’s in the hopper as well. Thank you. Thanks, guys. All right. That’s Mike Tomlin. We’re back here in the studio. Bob Pompiani joined by Missy Matthews as always. And a lot of concussion protocol guys this week. That was a hard-hitting physical game, but actually just one player is out at this point. We’ll see. Yeah, Coach Alman said Calvin Anderson is out with that knee injury. And then we have Andreas Pete, Darnell Washington, Malik Harrison, who you said those guys are in concussion protocol. And some guys that will be limited to start the week. DK Metaf, uh, Keanu Benton, YA Black, Ben Skironic, also James Pierre, and there is a chance that Kyle Dungar could come back. He missed the last game with a hand injury. Yeah, Dererick Harman is another guy that, you know, they really need and miss him, although YA Black has stepped up in his presence or absence from being there. So, we have a lot to get into. Uh, Steelers and Dolphins. Steelers in first place now. They are in the driver’s seat. Miami is really playing well. We’ll break down this big Monday night matchup as we continue right here on the Mike Tomlin press conference day. It’s a Tom on Tuesday. [Music] Get all your Steelers gear direct from the team. Shop the Steelers Pro Shop in store or online for all things black and gold. You can get jerseys, hats, authentic memorabilia, custom gear, and exclusives you can’t find anywhere else. And of course, get the ultimate Steelers game day accessory, the terrible towel. Steelers Nation shops here. Get your gear in store or online at shop.steelers.com. Well, I mean, I hate to sound like a broken record, but it’s all about practice. You know, when you when you go out there and execute and practice like we did this week, gives you the confidence to be able to make some of those plays. And I thought it was uh our most crisp week of preparation on the field. I think off the field we’ve been really good, but I thought the energy was good. Um, not a big believer in coincidences. So, I got to think that uh just Marquez and and Adam out there, you know, made a difference from a professionalism standpoint. Not saying those other guys don’t have professionalism. I love G and Roman and all of our other guys, but just think there was an extra level of focus this week. And uh you know then Art wanted to be aggressive on the first play. You know, as you guys were talking about, we hadn’t completed a pass, you know, over 20 yards in a while. Um and took a shot. DK got it and then he was kind of on one, but he was on one in practice on Thursday. Uh and then he was on one on practice on Friday. So, love that from our guy. I think he even ran down on a punt. So proud of DK, proud of our defense standing up there at the end and that the offensive line dominated line of scrimmage from a pass game standpoint. We didn’t run it very well, but uh when we had to have some conversions on third down and we made some plays. [Music] Our fans are here. Give them something to cheer about today. The crowd at Acure is so loud. There’s nothing like game day in Pittsburgh. Oh my TJ, this defense is swarming. And it’s kicked off. Wow, what a catch. Get two. Touchdown Pittsburgh Steelers. We’ll see you at AAR State. Here we go. [Music] Manny, it it’s it’s it’s him. Um, ask any of his teammates. Um, he has unwavering belief in himself. He’s an unbelievable professional. He’s tough- minded. He’s physically tough. Um, he’s willing to do anything and everything. He’s he’s earned everything that he’s gotten in this business. As I mentioned in in this setting before, you know, he was an undrafted uh college free agent in the co year. And so, man, um you know, the the the the tough road is not something that’s that’s new to him. I just think that he’s played it up mentally and I just think it’s an asset to him and us. That’s Mike Tomlin talking about James Pierre big interception in this game but you got to really appreciate guys who were undrafted guys like Jaylen Warren also and and had to really earn their stripes along the way and never really guaranteed opportunities and sometimes you have to just wait and when they happen pounce on them u so far this season James Pierre has done that he’s been a big playmaker when they need it. Yeah and he’s played a ton of special teams probably looking for that chance to play a significant amount of snaps on defense. We’ve seen him in spurts here and there throughout his time here in Pittsburgh. But, uh, a big game for him in Baltimore. Obviously, a timely a timely turnover. Um, and Lamar Jackson is some kind of distant cousin, so he said that his mom would be bragging about the fact that, you know, he got the pick off of his cousin. Yeah, he did. It was a big play. It turned into some points for the Steelers and came at a big time. But, you know, he’s been contributing a lot of different ways. U and, and that’s what it takes in this NFL, Missy. see all these injuries that are stacking up on every team this late in the season. Guys are going to get chances. What you do with them often define how they go. It’s not just him, too. Eckles, as Mike Tomlin talked about, has come up with some big plays and there was a pass defense on that first opportunity for the Ravens. So, you got to you got to have depth. It’s hard to do it in this NFL given the, you know, salary structure of the league. But, man, you got to have it. Well, and absolutely, coach talked about it, you know, being in Baltimore, not having Derek Harmon going in. Um, and then you start to lose some guys that help stop the run. and you know what you were doing in terms of having Derrick Henry on the other side of the field. So, it is something that you know there were a lot of injuries, a lot of guys, the Steelers are dealing with a concussion protocol, but it’s December football. This is when the games matter. This is when you want to be on the rise and you have to kind of work through the adversity of maybe a lack of ail of availability uh to some of your players. But the good news for the Steelers is playing on Monday night, you’re playing at home. um gives you a little bit of extra time and time to also take care of your body. The Steelers aren’t practicing tomorrow, which is normally their first day of practice. They’re going to wait till Thursday. Yeah, that’s a good move. Uh just get some guys healed up a little bit to get out there and practice. And uh you know, this week Aaron Rogers said the practice was different. He could feel it was different. And then, you know, last week after that game, you thought maybe they needed to do something more, but the guys got together at his house. I from what I understand, and sang happy birthday to him and then went into film study. He’s the kind of guy who I think demands, you know, accountability from everyone on his offense. And I would imagine that also takes place on the defense. It trickles over. He, you know, you look at this run here, the discount doublech checkck run. Um, he seemed to really have a lot of emotion in this game and he’s still playing with that soft cast on and yet, uh, I think he rise raises the level of everyone on that team. Well, and I think people follow him, too. Um, and you know, just how meticulous he is on the details, the routes, everything that he wants precisely done. You see him get um, you know, angry when something doesn’t go right because it could have worked, maybe one little thing didn’t, but, you know, the quarterbacks are in this building right now. They’re always here on Tuesdays. DK uh, Metaf has said that on Mondays he meets with Aaron separately just to go over things. He invites guys over his house. And as Roman Wilson put it last week, uh, when Aaron Rogers is saying, “Hey guys, come over so we can watch film.” like who’s going to say no to that and nobody does. Uh they all want to get better. They all want to learn from him and luckily it feels like this offense is taking a step and everybody really got it together especially with a passing game. Yes. Uh clearly in Baltimore. Yeah. I mean their first um you know 16 plays of this they were going down the field out of 22. And they wanted to make I I think you know all the talk about uh not having a reception over 20 yards you know made them perk up a little bit and say okay we’re going to show you. But I also think it was a good strategy against the Baltimore Ravens, you know, who normally expect a kind of a, you know, one of those games where you’re just going to run the ball a lot, physical game, 6-3 at halftime. It wasn’t that. They came out and made a statement and it was very important, I thought, to score on that first drive of the game. Absolutely. And the way that they did it, uh, you know, that 52 yard pass to DK Metaf, even he said that you could tell that Aaron was excited when he was reading what the defense was lined up at and, you know, the opportunity that they had. So, good to see that that worked and they were, you know, it wasn’t just the first play. Uh, it continued throughout the game as well. And you even saw some, you know, explosive plays in the run game, too. Really? And this is just a great catch here. It was actually pretty good coverage, too. But the ball was perfectly thrown. And when you throw it like that, and I think the other thing is you got to give credit to the offensive line of the Steelers because they had some injuries there, banged up. Ravens, you know, wanted to get to Rogers, uh, and wanted to force him to move, which he did, but also it gave him time for some of those plays to develop down the field. Yeah. Yeah, and I thought Aaron moved the best that we’ve seen him move um you know all season. And I think with the wrist injury sometimes when he starts to look to extend the play a little bit. You almost get a little nervous um similar to watching Justin Herbert play last night with his wrist injury, but Aaron just took command of that offense and um the guys followed and they were able to do enough to score enough points to win that game. I mean, this is a prime example, this play right here. Nothing’s open. he finds some time. And this is the stuff that really, you know, it it happens over time that you spent. Medaf was not the original receiver. If he was, he was covered. And then all of a sudden, you have to buy time, keep running, and they did a good job of making that available. And and that’s a big part of those kinds of plays because he had time. Everybody’s covered. Baltimore did a good job. And then it broke down just because the play lasted as long as it did. And I hope that continues on Monday night when the Dolphins come to town in a brisk 14 degrees I think at kickoff it’s set for right now. Well, I’m going to be anxious to see what you’re wearing in that night because you’re going to have layers probably on because on the field there’s a lot going on and the wind kicks up. Look out. Miami won’t like that weather. I can guarantee you that. So maybe that’s a big advantage for the Steelers. We’ll take a break. Come back with more of our analysis of what just happened and also look ahead to the Red Hot Dolphins. They’ve won four in a row. That’s next right here as we continue with the Mike Talon press conference. Our [Music] [Music] fans are here. Give us something to cheer about today. The crowd at Acure is so loud. There’s nothing like game day in Pittsburgh. Oh my TJ. His defense is swarming and it’s kicked off. Wow, what a catch. Get two. Touchdown Pittsburgh Steelers. We’ll see you at AAR State. Here we go. Uh I think we just knew what was at stake. Uh first place uh for the division and you know we we knew we were coming in facing a good team. Um and they had just come off a loss a loss as well. So, we know we were going to get their best shot. But, I think we had a great practice all week. Uh, we were, you know, on all the details um throughout the whole week and, um, I think it came to fruition out there on the field. You guys saying to each other about, you know, how to approach this game during the week? Um, I mean, I just felt it. Um, everybody kept talking about the rivalry, uh, between the Steelers and the Ravens. And, you know, that’s all that needs to be said. Uh Mike T would show old clips of uh the previous years u and how the games came down to you know last second uh you know plays made by um you know our team but um I think we just knew what was at stake and um you know that’s what that’s what happened. Attacking right off the bat with a deep ball and then even the start of the second half was that part of the plan just attacking him and be aggressive all day. Yes sir. Uh, and then I think uh, you know, we all got our opportunities downfield and uh, got our opportunities to to make plays and when the ball was in there, we capitalized on it. It’s one thing to decide you want to throw the ball deep a lot, but you guys executed at a really high level. What were the details that you feel like you did right today that able to do it on a lockdown? U, I think just the us connecting at practice on Wednesday, Thursday um, and even on Friday. Um, the defense of scout team gave us great looks. Uh, we were competing all week at practice. Um, and then like I said, man, we’re we’re on all the details, all the checks, all the all the looks at, uh, practice. We were communicating all all week. So, um, yeah, I think it was just just a perfect storm. Um, you know, for everything to just come together and for us to play a good game like that. Get all your Steelers gear direct from the team. Shop the Steelers Pro Shop in store or online for all things black and gold. You can get jerseys, hats, authentic memorabilia, custom gear, and exclusives you can’t find anywhere else. And of course, get the ultimate Steelers game day accessory, the Terrible Towel. Steelers Nation shops here. Get your gear in store or online at shop.steelers.com. [Music] Um, I think the loss of of of D. Elliott has been a a major component of that as well and guys like Miles Killer Brew. It’s just the attrition component that’s associated with with football. But at the same time, that’s why we’re really excited about having uh Jaylen Ramsay, man, with his position flexibility. Um his ability to play outside corner and nickel and safety. Um we we envision that being a big- time asset to us in terms of keeping people off balance and from a matchup standpoint. Um in recent weeks and and I guess you could say month and some change, we haven’t been afforded that because of some of the other things I mentioned. And we’re thankful that that he’s been rock solid for us at safety as well. as Mike Tomlin. He always stresses next man up because you never know when you’re going to get into these games and they’ve had a lot of injuries just as every team in the NFL watching last night. You you talked about the Chargers offensive line is out and and that’s just part of it. You have to come up with answers and they’ve had some answers guys who’ve stepped up uh when needed. Yeah. And you know, I think uh Jaylen Ramsay coming in as a veteran, as coach was saying, they’re not void of leadership on this team um on both sides of the ball. I think it was even more so important with Aaron Rogers coming in and having leadership for a young group on offense. On defense, you have your main stays of, you know, Cam Hayward and TJ Watt. Um, so would have loved to see Mega Fitzpatrick play with Jaylen Ramsey and Deshawn Elliott, but that’s how it kind of goes going back to the Dolphins after the Steelers traded for him in 2019, but he’ll return. He knows the Pittsburgh weather for Monday night playing a little bit of a different role in terms of what their defense is asking them to do, asking him to do, excuse me. So, we’ll be interesting to see this matchup and, you know, to see a familiar face. Well, he’s a guy who came up with a big, you saw in one of those highlights, a big pick, uh, two on a two-point conversion. He stepped in front and ran the other way. He’s still one of those guys, you know, they’ve been using him in different ways, but up at the line at times, but mostly back, you know, protecting the center field area, which is what he did here. And you don’t see a lot of success against them in that area. So, he’s he must be doing a good job there. He does have one interception. Um but in this kind of game I would imagine uh that he’s going to be ramped up and I I’m sure the Steelers will be as well get a chance to go up against him and make some plays against Fitzpatrick. Yeah, absolutely. And I think you know what him and Deshawn Elliott uh were able to build and the relationship that they had on and off the field uh you definitely saw you know Deshawn carrying that on uh after MA left to go back to the Dolphins. But then unfortunately, as coach said, you lose Deshan Elliot and that has been very unfortunate uh twice this season and just what he brought in terms of the communication. Unfortunate to see, but it’s good to see he’s been around the team. Coach also mentioned Miles Kilibru. He traveled to Baltimore with us. He was there for the game and on the sideline, so we told him he’s a good luck charm and has to keep traveling with the team moving forward. Yeah, why not keep things going this late in the season? You got to believe in that kind of stuff. All right, when we come back, we’ll talk more about Miami on offense, what they’ve been able to do. You know, they were once two and seven and at the trade deadline, they were kind of sellers and now here they are all of a sudden winners of four in a row and they have thoughts on getting into the playoffs. What have they done recently that has turned things around? We’ll talk about that and more as we continue right here on a Tomlin Tuesday. [Music] Get all your Steelers gear direct from the team. Shop the Steelers Pro Shop in store or online for all things black and gold. You can get jerseys, hats, authentic memorabilia, custom gear, and exclusives you can’t find anywhere else. And of course, get the ultimate Steelers game day accessory, the terrible towel. Steelers Nation shops here. Get your gear in store or online at shop.steelers.com. Yeah. Um, I don’t think last May last year really mattered to us. I think it was just more of us um coming out here and fighting for what’s at stake. Um you know, everything is about the future. Um so today we just had to be present and do what we had to do to control our destiny in the future. So Mike, did you survive this game? I thrived. No, I had a little hiccup here and there, but I made it through. Made it through. Mike said that the offense had a aggressive mindset. You guys kind of feed off a similar type mindset heading into this game? Yeah, like that first play was not expecting that at all. So, that definitely got us fired up. Um, you know, we we really trust our offense. Um, I was talking about it early in the year. We let them down a couple times and stuff. So, um, just we know we know we got on offense. We just got to get them the ball. Um, get them get it to them in good field position. Um, we trust every single guy on our offense to go out there and do their job and do it at a high level. So, it comes back to us as a defense, be able to do our jobs at a high level, get the ball back to them. What does getting out a win like this do for this team’s confidence going forward? Uh, I think we just got to stack it. I don’t think, um, you know, it’s a confidence booster. I think it’s just the fact that we just got to go out there and do it again. Um, bless you. Um, I think it’s a more of us being consistent. Um, it was flashes this game. We still wasn’t as consistent as we need to be. Um, but it’s just a whole thing. I think it’s more momentum than confidence if anything. How big was it to hold the field goals instead of touch the second? Yeah, it’s huge. Anytime you cancel out some points like that, um, you know, it gives us a chance. It gives our offense a good chance to go down there and score and get seven. Um, so, um, we it’ll be better to stay out of those situations and keep them from getting field goals, too. But, um, at the end of the day, you know, it’s three or nothing in those situations. [Music] Our fans are here. Give them something to cheer about to them. The crowd at Acure is so loud. There’s nothing like game day in Pittsburgh. Oh my TJ, this defense is swarming. And it’s kicked off. Wow, what a catch. Get two. Touchdown Pittsburgh Steelers. We’ll see you at AAR State. Here we go. [Music] Joey is always trying to make plays and he certainly um being a Pittsburgh kid understands the nature of of Steelers Ravens. He always wants to be a Raven killer. Um he’s made some plays against those guys in the past. He had a big interception against Odell Beckham as a rookie. Um he tackled Lamar I think on a two-point conversion a year ago. Um I think that’s just how he’s wired. That’s Mike Tomlin talking about Joey Porter Jr. who did not give up on that what looked like a touchdown to Baltimore which would have given them the lead on Isaiah likely. He he didn’t he knocked the ball away or got his arm moving in that direction but it always leads to this conversation of what is a catch. Now they I guess had their Jesse James moment. The Steelers had theirs over here and you know it’s interesting Mike Thomas on the competition committee and the rule was correctly enforced. So that is the rule but it’s always met with a lot of like okay what is a catch? What are we doing? Yeah. At first glance in real time, I didn’t think it was uh but then it’s always, you know, when you go and they show what the officials are looking at when they’re reviewing the play, uh, and when New York’s looking at it on the scoreboard. And when you slow something down and parse it, uh, of course things look a lot differently, too. Um, but I guess at least the good thing is that it was ruled a touchdown, so they had to review it um to try to figure out what was happening. Obviously, the Ravens not very happy about it, but I did see John Harbaugh spoke to the media yesterday. Um, of course, this was a a topic of conversation. There was a full report done about this and two other plays and basically said the league, you know, stood pat um on this call, but did say in terms of the taunting play on that field goal attempt that then led to a Steelers touchdown that that one they did get wrong. So, but you can see um that that sideline was a little feisty as I’m sure if it was reverse it would be the same way. But it’s just how it goes unfortunately and by the letter of the law that was the correct call right uh there are those who will debate it and say well once you get in the end zone ball crosses the plane you whatever the case may be but Steelers did what they and I got to give a lot of credit to Joe Porter because a lot of people would have given up on that and just said okay it’s a touchdown he did not he got his hand in there and he caused the u the fumble or miss incompletion whatever it was. Yeah, absolutely. Uh definitely met something. We know how this game goes whenever you play the Ravens. Field position matters, special teams, everything matters. Um so probably a totally different ballgame if they decided to, you know, go with what they originally called it not. It’s Monday Night Football and the Steelers have been very good at home on Monday night. We’ll talk about that and the matchup of Pittsburgh Miami coming up when we return right here on this Tomlin Tuesday. Our [Music] fans are here. Give us something to cheer about today. The crowd at Acure is so loud. There’s nothing like game day in Pittsburgh. Oh my. TJ, this defense is swarming. It is picked off. Wow, what a catch. Get two. Touchdown Pittsburgh Steelers. We’ll see you at Acer State. Here we go. Just, you know, just like just listen to my coach, keeping my eyes on the quarterback. That was huge. like just to this organization, to this team, just like the mentality our defense have, like we trying to get off the field, three plays, that’s just our our mentality. James, how important was this after last week? Did it feel like it was necessary for you guys to bounce back? Most definitely. Like each week we we try to like do our best, try to get the win. Our business is winning. J, what’s your thoughts on the overturning after it play? Um, you know, next play mentality. You know, no matter what, no matter what happens in the game, we just next play. You you guys had a number of injuries. Speak to the play of the linebackers with different guys going in and out today. Um, you know, just next man up, we just knowing like we got to tackle hard and you know, tackling her, Derek Henry, you know, guys go down. So, we just be ready. Next got be ready mentality. Do you need that interception? Some family bragging rights? Nah, not necessar not necessarily. You know, it’s just my mom. You know, my mom going to be talking a lot about it. Have you ever intercepted him before? Um, we always played on the same team. Okay. James, with so much at stake the first place and what happened here last year, how big was the win to come here and win? Oh, it was big. Just playing last year in the playoff and just having them run running ball on us last year in the playoff. just had that mentality like we got to see them again, you know. Get all your Steelers gear direct from the team. Shop the Steelers Pro Shop in store or online for all things black and gold. You can get jerseys, hats, authentic memorabilia, custom gear, and exclusives you can’t find anywhere else. And of course, get the ultimate Steelers game day accessory, the terrible towel. Steelers Nation shops here. Get your gear in store or online at shop.steelers.com. [Music] All right, Bob Piani, Missy Matthews wrapping this up. You got Miami coming to town Missy and all of a sudden they become a run first team and Devon Achan has been really good at doing it. Last week 239 yards in a win against the Jets. Uh it’s not what you expect from that team when but you know Tyreek Hill’s out waddle still big but they run it first right and I think they had to you know change things around with how their offense flows but they still do a lot of the pre-nap motions um all the fancy things that you’re typically see in a Mike McDaniels offense. Um but they have been redot as you said and this will definitely be a tall task for the Steelers especially when it comes to stopping the run not knowing if you’re going to have Derrick Harmon or not and some other guys dealing with bumps and bruises among the Dline. So, will be a good test. Uh, Monday Night Football, 22 consecutive home wins for the Steelers. I’m pumped for it. And color rush jerseys. Steelers are 8 and three. We like that. And also, Miami is going to be a little uh a little cold. A little cold. They’re not used to playing in this kind of weather, and that should help the Steelers. You never know how it’s going to work out. One other note that just happened, it looks like Philip Rivers at age 44 will uh sign with the Colts. I’m not sure if he’s going to be on their active roster, right? You say it’s practice. He signed to their practice squad. It’s official. Okay. So, he was semi-finalist for the Hall of Fame. And he may become the first grandfather, I believe, to be in the NFL. Would that be true? I don’t know. That That’s a fun fact we might have to research. All right, we’ll find out. But Indie has a lot of problems. It’s It’s a war of attrition. Thanks for joining us today. That’s going to do it on this Tomlin Tuesday. We’ll see you next Tuesday after the Steelers in Miami on Monday night. Have a good day. [Music]

Coach Tomlin addresses the media ahead of our Week 15 game against the Miami Dolphins.

#miavspit 12/15 at 8:15 PM ET on ESPN

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