Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin gives his press conference early in the week before each game, 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 Tomlin had to say.
If you want to hear the full press conference, visit the Steelers’ YouTube page here.
Before we get into tidbits, here’s everything we’ve written so far today:
Injury Update: Minkah Fitzpatrick To Practice, Elandon Roberts Ruled Out For Seahawks Game
Mike Tomlin: Team Will ‘Probably Give Blake Martinez Another Opportunity This Week’ Against Seahawks
‘He’s A Football Lover:’ Mike Tomlin On Myles Jack’s Return To Steelers
Mike Tomlin Not Surprised By ‘Natural Leadership Skills’ Mason Rudolph Displayed Against Bengals
Tomlin: WR George Pickens’ ‘Talent Showed’ In Big Game Against Bengals
VETERAN PREPAREDNESS SETS GOOD EXAMPLE
Over the past month, the Steelers have dealt with a three-game losing streak and all the negativity that comes with it. One of the things that former players and national media figures were pointing to was a lack of leadership in the locker room. One specific aspect of that was Tomlin not having people to point to on offense to show young players an example of what it takes to be a true professional in the NFL.
Tomlin was asked about QB Mason Rudolph’s big performance after sitting as the third quarterback on the depth chart for most of the last two seasons and how that could be an example for other players.
“I think we’ve got a lot of examples of that,” Tomlin said. “Particularly this time of year, I think there’s a lot of examples of that on a lot of teams because of the attrition component of play. I don’t know how much Eric Rowe has played for example, Myles Jack, we got off the couch…Certainly it can be things to learn from for young players in terms of maintaining focus as they work for opportunity.”
NO NEED TO SIMPLIFY PLAY CALLS, LIKE THE WEEK PRIOR
In the Steelers’ Week 15 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, they suffered a bunch of attrition in a short period of time at the safety position. Damontae Kazee and Minkah Fitzpatrick were lost for the rest of the pivotal game on back-to-back plays and Trenton Thompson was in and out of the lineup dealing with a neck injury. Tomlin talked after the game about the need to simplify the defense, saying they “can’t make December calls with September people.”
Tomlin was asked about that statement again on Tuesday following the win over the Bengals, specifically because ILB Elandon Roberts had to exit the game in the second quarter with a pectoral injury.
“As I mentioned, sometimes when you’re adjusting in-game because of in-game attrition like we were a week ago, it’s much more challenging than when you have seven days to prepare,” Tomlin said. “The guys that played in the game were the guys that prepared all week. We brought the game to them, but they also brought themselves to the game. And so it was pretty good fluidity in terms of calls and execution in that regard.”
One of the big reasons why it wasn’t necessary to simplify play calls on defense was Myles Jack’s ability to step in and fill Roberts’ role. Jack played with the Steelers in 2022 and had over 100 tackles. He spent the last month on the practice squad and had been preparing as if he would be playing over the last couple weeks as the inside linebacker unit struggled with injuries. Even guys like S Eric Rowe, and CB Patrick Peterson, who was getting his first start at safety with the team, prepared all week and so there wasn’t an in-game change like the Steelers had experienced the previous week at safety.
VETERAN QB GENO SMITH TO PRESENT CHALLENGES
QB Geno Smith is a self-made player in the NFL. He busted in New York with the Jets after being selected in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft and has enjoyed a career revival with the Seattle Seahawks. Last season, he was named to the Pro Bowl for the first time in his now 10-season career. He also won NFL Comeback Player of the Year and received a vote for the league’s MVP award.
“Just have so much respect for him and the trajectory of his career,” Tomlin said. “He’s a big-time competitor. He’s a prudent-use-of-mobility guy. You better respect his ability to move while at the same time, his experience shows in terms of keeping his eyes down field and really stressing you late in a down. He’s got some big-time receivers obviously in that trio. We’re gonna have to make some tough decisions about who to work to schematically.”
The Seahawks feature a number of weapons on offense. WRs DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett have been around for a number of years now, and they also have young guys like first-round rookie WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba and rookie UDFA WR Jake Bobo. The number of weapons Seattle features will be a challenge for Pittsburgh’s injury-depleted defense.
SEAHAWKS’ PASS RUSH EXCELS WITH FOUR-, FIVE-MAN RUSHES
The Seahawks’ pass rush is tied for the sixth-most sacks in the NFL with 45. They have a deep group along the defensive line and rotate a number of guys throughout games to keep their players fresh.
“They’re a fundamentalist group and they provide a lot of pressure up front with four- and five-man rushes,” Tomlin said. “They play a lot of people up front. I think that can be best reflected by the acquisition of Leonard Williams to an already-deep group. They got 45 or so sacks, so [if] you get one-dimensional facing a rush like that in an environment like that, it’s not a good thing. And so we gotta stay on schedule. We can’t be highly penalized. We gotta have an effective run game. We gotta block ’em.”
For the time being, the Steelers are preparing as if QB Mason Rudolph is the starter once again. He was only sacked once last week against the Cincinnati Bengals, who have 39 sacks this season. The Steelers’ offensive line will have its hands full preparing for all the different players the Seahawks rotate along the front, and protecting Rudolph will be critical to their success. It will be even more important if Kenny Pickett ends up starting since he is coming back from a high ankle sprain and likely not 100 percent healthy.
