Mike Tomlin has his press conference early in the week before each game, breaking down 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.
For the full press conference visit the Steelers’ YouTube channel.
Before we get into tidbits, here is everything we have written about so far from the press conference:
Injury Roundup: Tomlin Says Skowronek Has Shoulder Injury, Seumalo ‘Getting Close’ To Return
Tomlin: Steelers Preparing Justin Fields As Week 3 Starter With Russell Wilson Still On The Mend
Steelers Bringing Officials To Practice All Week In Attempt To Limit Penalties
Mike Tomlin Told Justin Fields To ‘Challenge His Unit’ To Clean Up Penalties Against Broncos
Broderick Jones Will Be ‘Given Opportunity To Rebound’ After Benching, Mike Tomlin Says
QB Pecking Order With Russell Wilson On Top ‘Has Not Changed,’ Mike Tomlin Says
‘Troy Had Been Lighting It Up’: Tomlin Explains Why Fautanu Got Starting RT Nod In Week 2
Tipping His Hat To Broncos’ Game Plan, Tomlin Says ‘A Lot’ Went Wrong For Steelers’ 2nd-Half Offense
‘That’s His Life:’ Mike Tomlin Comfortable With Joey Porter Jr. Shadowing Best Receivers
‘Made Quite A Few Plays’: DeShon Elliott Has ‘Done A Nice Job’ Early In Steelers Tenure, Mike Tomlin Says
‘Can’t Give You All The Ingredients To The Hot Dog:’ Mike Tomlin Mum On Reasoning Behind ‘Petty Game Balls’
LACK OF DEEP SHOTS PART OF MINDSET
The Pittsburgh Steelers have had a fairly conservative offensive game plan through two weeks, taking shots down the field occasionally but prioritizing the run game and shorter completions. Mike Tomlin said that isn’t an indictment of Justin Fields. Instead, Fields is just doing what the team wants him to do.
“That’s not reflective of his capabilities and mindset. That’s probably reflective of our mindset as a collective,” Tomlin said. “We want to be aggressive in terms of going downfield, but we also want to be prudent. Because incomplete passes and things of that nature get you behind the sticks. And we’ve been in hostile environments through two weeks that we wanted to minimize. It’s important, guys, in September that you avoid third and long, particularly if your first two games are on the road.”
Fields has made some nice completions down the field, but some of them, including a 51-yard gain to George Pickens in Week 2, have been wiped off the board due to penalties. Penalties and incompletions knock the offense off schedule and playing on the road especially, the Steelers want to make sure they’re moving and controlling the ball and not getting off schedule.
As the season progresses, the Steelers will likely get more aggressive, but in two road environments, including a tough one in the altitude against Denver in Week 2, Pittsburgh is playing it safe. And given that the Steelers are 2-0, it’s worked so far.
FAMILIARITY WITH CHARGERS’ OFFENSE
The Los Angeles Chargers are coming to Pittsburgh in Week 3 with a new coaching staff led by head coach Jim Harbaugh, but the Steelers have some familiarity with the Chargers’ staff on the offensive side of the ball. Los Angeles’s offensive coordinator is Greg Roman, who spent 2017-2022 on the Baltimore Ravens’ coaching staff, including as their offensive coordinator from 2019-2022. Tomlin said that what they’ve seen on tape from Los Angeles is familiar from Roman’s time in Baltimore.
“If you talk about the offense, it starts first and foremost with the architect Greg Roman. Have a lot of respect for Greg, competed against him a lot obviously in the AFC North,” he said. “A lot of what I see on tape and what we see on tape is very familiar. He has a mode of operation, but all the good ones do.”
Roman helped devise a run-centric offensive scheme around QB Lamar Jackson in Baltimore, and with Harbaugh as the Chargers’ head coach, they’re a team that likes to run the ball as much as Pittsburgh. Their two main running backs are guys the Steelers are familiar with in J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards, and Dobbins has had a nice start to the season. The key for Pittsburgh on Sunday will be to limit what Los Angeles can do on the ground, and the familiarity the Steelers have with Roman and the Chargers’ offense should help in that regard.
NOT CONCERNED WITH WR PRODUCTION
Through two games, wide receivers not named George Pickens have five receptions for 29 yards for the Steelers. But Tomlin isn’t concerned with the lack of production through two games, giving a succinct answer when asked.
“I’m not,” he said.
The receivers outside of Pickens were a concern all offseason, even more so after the Steelers failed to trade for Brandon Aiyuk. The first two games haven’t been promising from the wide receiver room, but Pat Freiermuth has been involved in the passing game and the Steelers are 2-0.
Right now, it shouldn’t be a huge worry given Pittsburgh’s rather conservative game plan, but if the other receivers continue to fail to produce, it could wind up being worrisome. The Steelers might wind up in the market for a receiver come the trade deadline, but right now, they aren’t fretting over what guys like Van Jefferson and Calvin Austin III have done.
