Mike Tomlin holds 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 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 today from the press conference:
Injury Update: Steelers Get Positive News Ahead Of Bengals Game
Mike Tomlin Not Interested In Expanding Jaylen Warren’s Role: ‘Cannot Play Every Down’
‘Play Wasn’t Up To Snuff:’ Mike Tomlin Explains Why Steelers Released Juan Thornhill
‘James Is Always Game’: Tomlin Praises Pierre As ‘Rising Defender’ For Steelers
Mike Tomlin ‘Certainly Open’ To Elevating Marquez Valdes-Scantling From Practice Squad
‘No Long-Term Concerns:’ Tomlin Analyzes Rodgers’ Play
Ramsey Poised To Stay At Safety While Tomlin Admits Plan For Bengals’ Chase Remains ‘In Development’
Steelers Leave Door Open To Punt-Return Change
LACK OF COMPLEMENTARY FOOTBALL LEADING TO INCONSISTENCY
The Pittsburgh Steelers have struggled with consistency this season. When the offense plays well, as it did in Week 7 against the Cincinnati Bengals, the defense failed to show up. In Week 10, the defense kept the Steelers in the game for most of their matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers, but the offense and QB Aaron Rodgers struggled. It’s led to a team that’s shown it’s capable of beating some of the best teams in the league, but hasn’t been able to string together wins in the second half of the season.
The lack of complementary football has been a recurring problem, and Mike Tomlin said that it’s the biggest reason why the Steelers have struggled to be a consistent football team.
“I think it’s just complementary football, or lack thereof at times. There’ve been some games where we haven’t played the way we desire defensively due to tangible and intangible reasons. There’ve been a couple of games offensively where we’ve done similar things. And I just think that the more that you can come to the party with a high level of consistency in all three phases, the better chance you have to play complementary, positive complementary football. And there’s certainly been several weeks where one way or the other, we’ve been lacking in a certain component of our collective that’s made the engineering of victory a little bit more challenging.”
When the Steelers show up in all three phases, they’re hard to beat. Even in Week 9 against the Indianapolis Colts, the offense wasn’t perfect, but it was good enough, and the Steelers upset the No. 1 team in the AFC. They have the talent to win, but they just haven’t been able to put it together consistently across the board. That’s led to them sitting at 5-4 and hanging onto the AFC North by a thread.
COMFORTABLE WITH CORNERBACK DEPTH
The Steelers may be without CB Darius Slay on Sunday due to a concussion, and that puts the team’s already-thin cornerback depth to the test. The team moved Jalen Ramsey to safety, and with CB Cory Trice Jr. not likely to be activated off IR after popping up with a knee injury, the Steelers really only have four healthy corners, even with Slay, in him, James Pierre, Brandin Echols and Joey Porter Jr. The team currently has three corners on the practice squad in Daequan Hardy, Daryl Porter Jr. and D’Shawn Jamison. Still, Tomlin said he’s comfortable with the cornerback depth currently on the roster.
“When [Slay]’s limited, that provides additional reps for other people. James Pierre, for example, played a good football game on a limited amount of reps last week. If Slay’s unavailable this week, that just means more reps for him throughout the course of the process of preparation, so I’m comfortable with our depth there.”
The cornerback depth is especially notable this week due to the fact that the team is going up against the Bengals and WRs Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. If Slay is unavailable and one of Pittsburgh’s corners goes down, then Ramsey would likely have to slide to cornerback. If Ramsey went down, the Steelers wouldn’t have a capable replacement at corner. That could lead to the team potentially elevating a practice squad corner for Sunday.
The Steelers are signing Asante Samuel Jr. to the practice squad, and he could be a potential option this weekend. That addition further bolsters their depth and protects them from injury.
However, Pierre has played well when called upon, and assuming the Steelers remain healthy beyond Slay, it’s not a bad group. But the risk of injury is always there, and the Steelers may need to add some depth from the practice squad if Slay isn’t healthy.
PLANNING ON PLAYING HENDRICKSON
While Bengals’ HC Zac Taylor ruled EDGE Trey Hendrickson as doubtful to play on Sunday, the Steelers are operating as if Hendrickson will be available, Tomlin said.
“I know from a planning perspective, this time of week, as you start to put together plans, we better be inclusive. We better assume that he’s playing. We better have enough schematic answers because he’s the type of guy that can really dictate what transpires in stadiums.”
Hendrickson didn’t play in Cincinnati’s Week 7 win over Pittsburgh and has been dealing with a hip injury, but the Steelers can’t assume Hendrickson will be out. He’s a game-wrecker, and the team is doing their due diligence by ensuring they’re ready for him on the off-chance that he is available. Putting together a plan for him is smart, and it can always be adjusted if he’s ruled out ahead of Sunday.
Related Items:Brandin Echols, Cincinnati Bengals, D'Shawn Jamison, Daequan Hardy, Darius Slay, Daryl Porter Jr., Jalen Ramsey, Joey Porter Jr., Mike Tomlin, Tomlin Tidbits, Trey Hendrickson
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