Something new we’re doing for Steelers Depot. Every Tuesday is a Tomlin Tuesday, his noon press conference outlining what happened the previous weekend and focusing on the upcoming one. While we’ll write about the most notable things Tomlin had to say in separate articles, we’ll throw in a couple of smaller nuggets of information in this post. A one-stop shop for the rest of what Coach T had to say.
And if you want to hear the full press conference, hop on over to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ YouTube channel by clicking the link here.
Before we get into tidbits, here’s everything we’ve written so far today.
Injury Roundup: Three Steelers Could Be Limited Early In Week
‘Getting Better Every Week’: Mike Tomlin Excited By Growth Of Joey Porter Jr.
‘We Were Out Of Place Less:’ Mike Tomlin Explains Key To Steelers’ Improved Run Defense
‘That’s What Team Is About’: Mike Tomlin Expects Keeanu Benton To Keep Seizing Opportunity
Mike Tomlin Refutes Report, Says There’s Been No Change To Matt Canada’s Role
Tomlin Seeing Kenny Pickett Grow
It became more of a generic response applicable to the entire team, but Tomlin was asked about Pickett’s growth coming off his best game of the season, throwing two touchdowns in a game for the first time in his NFL career. Here’s what Tomlin said.
“General growth. Again, like I routinely talk about, we’re putting plans together better, presenting them better. He’s probably absorbing them better with more understanding and thorough understanding, and thus more fluidity and decision making and more detail and performance, whether it’s accuracy or what have you. It’s never exclusively him, although I know the job garners a certain amount of attention. We are working in improving as a collective, whether it’s offense or defense or special teams.”
Pickett went 16-of-28 for 235 yards, two touchdowns, and most importantly, zero interceptions. He was also only sacked once. The Raiders didn’t capitalize on their opportunities, CB Marcus Peters dropped a walk-in pick-six after a miscommunication between Pickett and TE Connor Heyward, but the Steelers stayed on schedule and showed more cohesiveness than they had the first two weeks. Pickett and the Steelers will look to carry that over in Week Four against the Houston Texans.
Tomlin Loves Him Some Will Anderson
Similar to what he once said about Chase Young, Mike Tomlin knew his team wasn’t bad enough to be in position to draft a blue-chip prospect like Alabama EDGE Will Anderson, who became this year’s draft third overall pick. In fact, the Houston Texans loved him so much they traded back up to get him after nabbing QB C.J. Stroud second overall.
Speaking to reporters, Tomlin shared a lengthy story about dining with Anderson at his Alabama Pro Day last March, an opportunity he didn’t even think would take place.
“Love Will Anderson. Really talented guy. We go to Tuscaloosa the night before the Pro Day, we invite guys out to dinner. And oftentimes a guy in Will [Anderson’s] position turns us down respectfully on that dinner invite. He realizes the pick that we had and where he was projected to go. Man, he came to dinner, he sat to my left man, we talked ball all night. Engaged, loves football, got a desire to be great, asked awesome questions for a guy in that position. Passionate about the game. It just showed through. So I’m not surprised with what I’m seeing from him.”
Through three games, Anderson has a sack, and he also blocked a kick in Sunday’s win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. One of the most prolific pass rushers in recent college football history, he finished his Alabama career with 58.5 tackles for loss and 34.5 sacks. That included a bonkers 2021 season where he recorded 101 tackles, 31 of them for a loss, with 17.5 sacks. He finished his career as the SEC’s all-time leader in tackles for loss and sacks.
In the same breath, Tomlin also gave S Brian Branch props for having a similar mindset as he accompanied Anderson on his dinner with the Steelers. A second-round pick of the Detroit Lions, Branch has 18 tackles and a pick-six this season. Tomlin said he had the same experience with Jalen Ramsey years ago.
No Excuses For Delayed Flight
Instead of flying straight back to Pittsburgh following their road game in Las Vegas, Steelers’ players, coaches, and staff were stuck in Kansas City overnight after their plane made an emergency landing due to an oil-pressure issue. The Steelers had to wait on the plane for hours before a second plane could pick them up. Ultimately, they didn’t put wheels down in Pittsburgh until 1:30 PM/EST, a delay of around eight hours. It forced the team to adjust its schedule, essentially losing Monday, but Tomlin won’t use that as an excuse going forward.
“We’re gonna make it a non-issue, to be honest with you. It’s in our rear view now. As I stand here today, it’s a non-factor. I’ve got so many days and hours to prepare. We have not lost any physical preparation opportunity with our football team or classroom opportunity with our football team. It created a few hours yesterday and today that our staff has to absorb from a preparation standpoint.”
There are some extra sleepy coaches this week but Tomlin’s right that the bump in the road can’t be used as an excuse for whatever happens Sunday against the Houston Texans. This is a Steelers team that truly just played on a short week, a Monday night game to a Sunday road game and came out on top. It’ll be the same goal this Sunday.
Bringing San Fran to Houston
As he outlined the Texans, Mike Tomlin noted the similarities between them and the San Francisco 49ers, the Steelers’ Week One opponent. That’s because new head coach DeMeco Ryans previously served as the 49ers’ defensive coordinator. Upon being hired, he brought over a chunk of their coaching staff, too, including OC Bobby Slowik.
“They collectively do a really nice job of staying on schedule. If you remember in talking about San Fran, we respected them in that way. Coach Slowik, their offensive coordinator comes from San Fran with DeMeco. You see some of those prevailing philosophies of staying on schedule and minimizing negativity because of it. In the run game component that, that [RB Dameon Pierce] provides them.”
So far, the Texans’ run game has struggled to gain much traction. Through three games, Pierce is averaging 2.5 yards per carry with his longest carry going for only 10 yards. But schematically, the Texans could replicate what the 49ers did to give the Steelers so much trouble.
