MIKE TOMLIN: Good afternoon. As always, I'll start with a quick synopsis of the last performance. Really after combing through the tape, my perspective hadn't changed a whole lot on the significant components of the game and why it unfolded the way it unfolded.
We certainly were not good in possession down play on offense, and that affected us in a lot of ways, first and for most the scoreboard. You got to possess the ball in an effort to score, and certainly if you're not doing a good enough job on possession downs you need to have some big play splash, and we didn't really have either.
Sometimes you get a 50-yard ball or what have you and flip the field and change the trajectory of that. And so combination of possession down failures coupled with a lack of big time field-flipping plays produced the outcome that it did.
At the same time, it alters your time of possession. I thought we had the bones of a really good run game by plan and performance. I think Jalen only had 14 carries. That happens when you don't win enough possession down and maintain possession of the ball.
Flip side, on the other side, the defense ends up on the field, time of possession a lot. I thought we had the bones of a good run stopping defense for the game, but as the game wore on I thought we wore down defensively because of the imbalance in terms of time of possession.
Just speaks to the significance of playing good ball on third down offensively. We certainly know that, but we suffered the consequences of not doing so on Sunday night in LA.
For us, it really wasn't anything earth shattering to be quite honest with you or things that we haven't seen. They didn't pressure us a lot. Most people don't pressure Aaron a lot. They did things schematically to make us distribute the ball elsewhere other than DK. We see that week in and week out.
I just think from a planning and playing perspective all of us involved, coaches and players, we didn't do a good enough job positioning the others to be impactful and the others didn't make enough it plays. And that's just a reality of it.
So with that understanding, man, we go back to work.
I think on the other side I'm feeling some stability there that we got really solid with Jalen Ramsey and Kyle Dugger at safety. I think there has been a reduction in some of the big plays. We're making people earn it more. I think that's helping us in a lot of ways.
I thought our possession down play was improved in that space. So I'm excited about that stability that we've got at the safety position between those two. Hadn't had a lot of it, and so it was reasonable to expect the trajectory of some of those things to improve.
Certainly we didn't win the turnover battle. That's the X factor. When some other things aren't going well you can always lean on that, and that's why culturally we value the protection and preservation of the ball, be it running, throwing, or catching.
And the ball searching on defense, wasn't a good day for us in that regard. We turned the ball over a couple times on offense. Man, dropped passes and over-throws. Certainly we didn't settle under a punt in the kicking game as well.
So it was a lot to be learned from that performance. Usually when you're learning that means you're not successful, but it's an opportunity to learn nonetheless.
We're excited about getting back in AFC North play and getting hyperfocused on the opportunity that is this week and Acrisure versus the Cincinnati Bengals.
Before I get into that, just I want to give a quick injury update. Cole Holcomb is still working his way back to us. He'll be a limited participant to start the week and we will see where that participation goes in terms of the amount and the quality of it.
Slay is in the concussion protocol and so we'll let the protocol determine his availability.
Pep, Peppers, was running in a limited capacity a lot of part of last week. I imagine that will make him a limited participant tomorrow and we will go from there.
Isaac Seumalo is expected to participate in some capacity and then kind of build and go on from there, but we're optimistic about his return.
Scotty Miller has been cleared to practice with his broken finger.
We have some other bumps and bruises associated with play that may limit some people. May be some veteran players, et, cetera that we manage at the early portions of the week this time of year, but none of those we expect to be significant in terms of player availability. If so I'll give you guys an update.
Now, on to the Bengals. I'll start first with the defense. You know, they traded Logan Wilson and so they got a young linebacker tandem. That's kind of the mentality I've had. What's new with the Bengals? We played them just a short number of weeks ago. They just played only two games since then, and so moving on from Logan Wilson, man, and the young linebacker tandem has my attention.
Studied both guys a lot in the draft. Both guys are wise beyond their years and displayed that in their play. It's not shocking that they're getting an opportunity to play because of that personal maturity that I observed from those two in the draft process.
They're certainly doing a nice job communicating being a hub of communication for the defense. They've had some instability on the edge with Trey missing some time, Shemar missing some time, and so we're certainly respectful of what they're capable of on the edge, particularly if Trey is available. We just don't understand what that might be.
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.
As I mentioned the last time we were getting ready to prepare for them, this guy had 35 sacks the last two years, in '23, '24; 17 and a half in both. That's the most in football excluding no one.
So he's the type of guy that can obviously change the climate. Last time we played these guys in Acrisure I think he had three sacks. We better proceeded with that understanding.
In the secondary, they're really gaining some traction with a collection of guys that's been working together now for a couple of years. DJ Turner is playing really well. I think he leads the NFL in passes. He had a big game against us last time we played him. He largely traveled with DK for one-on-one matchup purposes.
Dax Hill is versatile, plays inside and out. The last time they played versus Chicago he was a major component of the pressure game. They blitzed him a lot from that nickel back position.
They got a safety tandem now that's played together for a couple of years as we get to the hump of the season, get on the other side of it with Geno Stone and Battle, man, they been back there for 20-plus games now. You see that cohesion that comes with working together, how they divide the labor up and work together.
Geno Stone is usually the guy in the middle of the field and plays free safety. He has got ten interceptions in '23 and '24. He has good angles to the ball, ball judgment, vision on the quarterback, things of that nature.
So we'll do a really good job there managing our talents versus theirs. Al Golden, I think we got a better sense of how he's trying to do it having been in the stadium with him. He's new to them as a coordinator but we got a pretty decent sample size as we lean in on this game in terms of some of the things that he tries to do within their schematics and how he deploys people.
On the offense, four games now with Flacco at quarterback, and so it's less mystical about how are they going to utilize his talents, how he's going to utilize the talents of those that he works with, how he distributes the ball in a variety of circumstances, possession down ball versus pressure, et cetera, the lens through which he sees their schematics.
As I mentioned, the last time we played them his process and the fluidity of it, his experience is an asset to him and to them. I imagine that's why with they acquired him. That's played out and unfolded in a big way for him and them with each passing week. He threw for 470 yards last week. I think with each passing week you're seeing another dynamic of him getting comfortable within their attack.
The Bears, for example. Spent a lot of time in two high safeties trying to minimize Tee and Chase, and he hit eight passes to Brown for 75 yards in the form of check downs.
So I just think he's getting increasingly comfortable with the totality of his group, when to go, to who and why. That creates a challenge for us but also creates clarity for us, because the more snaps they have on video, the more evident his and their personality is for those that compete against them.
So excited about pitting our skills against theirs. Certainly the receiver tandem is awesome, special, but they do a nice job distributing the ball. Noah Fant has made a lot of plays since Gesicki has been injured. As I mentioned last week, I really think Joe really found Brown in the passing game as well.
They have other supplementary guys that you got to be able to deal with, and certainly you better be ready to deal with them as you do some of the things that you do to minimize those top two targets.
I would be remiss if I didn't talk about their run game. I think they have done a nice job running the ball as well. I think Joe Flacco handles the RPO game very well. They're able to call more runs. When appropriate they hand the ball off and have been getting good yards per in that area.
When you load the box, man, he'll throw the ball on the perimeter to Chase. Chase has caught a lot of balls, particularly against the Jets for example. Man, I can't tell you how many run game alternative passes he caught on the perimeter as the Jets loaded the box.
So just with each passing week you're seeing more and more what they're capable of with Joe. It aids you in had prep but didn't make the challenge of the work any less daunting. That's what we're here for as competitors. It's big time AFC North ball.
I would be remiss if I didn't talk about the special teams component. Darren has been the coordinator for a long time. Charlie Jones ran a kick back the other week. I think he's got three returns for touchdowns in his three-year career, one punt return, and two kickoff.
So the field position component of this game is and always will be significant. Darren and Danny Smith been going at it a long time, man, those two grizzled veterans, it will be another chapter in their story in weekend.
All of above will be reasons to tune in and be big factors for why this game is a big one for us. I'm excited about the prep process. You show your excitement for a game like this through the prep process. Been a good couple days from a staff perspective of formulating strategy, dividing the work up, et cetera. Can't wait to get on the field with the team tomorrow and continue.
I'll pause and open up for questions.
Q. You mentioned this at the beginning, the play disparity, on average like 14 or 15 plays, is that concerning to you? How do you change that?
MIKE TOMLIN: On some level it is; on some level it isn't. Sometimes it can get out of whack because you're taking the ball away, for example, and if you're taking the ball away a bunch like we did a couple weeks back, you're giving the offense the short fields, it can alter your time of possession or like our last outing if you're not converting on third downs it can be a negative thing.
And so I am largely not over-concerned with that in general, but how we are coming to that is a bigger discussion for me.
Q. Aaron expressed a desire to maybe get Jaylen Warren some more touches. Can that dovetail with your hopes to get better on third down?
MIKE TOMLIN: We win more third downs, we'll get Jalen more touches. It's as simple as that. Jalen was having the trajectory of a good day in LA, but we didn't convert enough third downs for you to really, really feel it.
Q. So you don't have any interest in leaving him on the field for third downs as opposed to putting Kenny out there?
MIKE TOMLIN: I'm comfortable with both backs in possession down ball. Not taking anything away from Jalen. He plays a lot on first and second down. You got to give him opportunities to catch a break, and so sometimes it's on third down, sometimes it's not. Sometimes we'll give other ball carriers the start of a possession.
He just simply cannot play every down. I'm completely comfortable utilizing both guys on possession down play.
Q. You mentioned teams are still paying DK a lot of attention. Eight, nine games in, should the other guys have taken steps to mitigate that?
MIKE TOMLIN: At times we certainly have, but last week was an example of us not doing so. But in other weeks it certainly has been the case. Each and every week it seems like somebody, whether it's from the wide out room or the tight end room, steps up and has quality contributions that balance that out. Certainly that was not the case in LA.
Q. You guys had some moving pieces up front on the offensive line. How do you assess the job they did in pass protection? And within that, Rodger's ability to move and adjust to the pass rush?
MIKE TOMLIN: You know, specifically talking about Spencer Anderson and Pete, I thought they were above the line, and so that's the new component of it relative to the question that you asked. But just largely, as an offensive line, certainly we could have protected better in that football game.
Q. Would that be because Spencer, you like him so much that that role that you did kind of that...
MIKE TOMLIN: Correct.
Q. How much does moving Ramsey to safety kind of affect the plan for Chase and Higgins in this game relative to what you guys did last time?
MIKE TOMLIN: You mean their plan or our plan?
Q. Your plan.
MIKE TOMLIN: I think we're still very much in development. Jalen is not the issue. He's got flexibility. It's about the flexibility of those around him and the talents of those around him.
But certainly over the last two weeks, man, just his presence consistently at free safety has been a stabilizing force for us on the back end, and I'd imagine that's not going to change.
Q. What have you seen from James Pierre the last couple weeks filling in there at outside corner?
MIKE TOMLIN: James is always game. I thought he played really well, but I thought he's played really well when called upon all year. I think it's reflective of how he prayers and the level of professionalism that he brings day in and day out.
Man, it's been cool to watch the growth and development of his career over the time that he's been here. If you remember, man, he was an undrafted COVID guy. I think globally it was single-digit guys that made rosters undrafted that COVID year, and he's been one of them.
I didn't meet him until we reported to camp, and that's a memory. Over the course of his career I think since he's been here he's played in more games than anyone on our roster. He's always available. He's a dynamic special teams player. He's a rising defender, particularly in 2025.
Q. Mike, what can you do to -- actually what do you think is some of the biggest reasons you guys have been a little more inconsistent this year when it comes to great performance against the Colts and then this performance against the Chargers?
MIKE TOMLIN: I think it's just complementary football or lack thereof at times. There have been some games where we haven't played the way we desired defensively due to tangible and intangible reasons. Been a couple games offensively where we've have done similar things.
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 positive complementary football. There has 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 engineer to victory a little bit more challenging.
Q. Obviously there is individual aspects of whatever unit was struggling, but is there anything you do globally for the whole team to try to foster a better -- is there something you can inject into the team at this point?
MIKE TOMLIN: Largely on a routine basis, not in a reactionary sort of way, we work to have as much competitive football as we can have. Steelers versus Steelers. We start most of our practices with some form of competitive football. One offense versus one defense. We finish most of our practices with one offense versus one defense in some form of competitive football.
I just think competing is the catalyst for raising the floor on both sides of the ball and providing an avenue for complementary football play. But we don't wait for us to be lacking in a particular area before we do that. That's just part of how we choose to approach it culturally.
I think there is no substitute for high-level competition. That's what waits on us in stadiums. So as much as you can do that in preparation I think is beneficial.
At the same time, you have to provide looks because you're going against somebody that deploys different talents, different schematics, and so it's something worth balancing.
Q. (Regarding Jesse Minter.) What do you guys have to do coaching-wise to counter what you guys saw there and keeping it from being a blueprint to use against this offense?
MIKE TOMLIN: As I mentioned, it wasn't the first time we saw that blueprint. I'm not going to pretend like some of the things we saw that created the negative result was new. We conquered it before. It's reasonable to expect us to conquer it again. We did not have a good day Sunday night certainly.
Q. With Aaron not having a good day, the high throws, some of the misses, are there any long-term concerns or just an off night?
MIKE TOMLIN: I'm not going to chalk it up to an off night, but there are no long-term concerns.
Q. What are the concerns from a third down standpoint offensively here over the last three games?
MIKE TOMLIN: As I mentioned, we haven't done a good enough job of putting others other than DK in position to win and win big, and they haven't won big enough.
We got to do a better job there.
Q. Mike, you say you're not going to chalk it up to an off night, but no long-term concerns. Is that because of Jesse Minter or is there something else?
MIKE TOMLIN: I'm just not going to allow your words to be my words. That's all.
Q. How would you describe it?
MIKE TOMLIN: Sunday night was what it was, but I have no long-term reservations about his ability to play the position and play the position at a high level for us.
Q. (Regarding MBS being here a week now.) Will he have an opportunity to show you guys what he's got this week?
MIKE TOMLIN: We'll see what the week holds for him and all the others on practice squad. We're not opposed to elevating people and giving them an opportunity to contribute. I think it's just been about every game this year where we've elevated someone and utilized their talents.
Last week it was Mark Robinson who we just reacquired. Several other weeks it's been Trey Sermon for example. So I'm certainly open to evaluating Scantling, his ability to know what to do and the quality of that execution and how it might fit into what we're trying to do offensively in an effort to engineer victory. Certainly.
Q. Mike, you guys went from Juan Thornhill being a starter to a player you guys didn't even call upon as a backup. What happened that led to that?
MIKE TOMLIN: You know, the play wasn't up to snuff. Castro was available to us. We went through the team development process with Castro. Thought he had a good camp, good preseason. He played his tail off in that practice against the Bucs. I think that's why they stole him from us. We had an opportunity to reacquire him. We've absorbed some attrition since he left, so it was an opportunity get him back. It's more about Castro and less about Juan.
Q. When it comes to time of possession and the number of plays run, do you like to see the running game leaned on a little bit more?
MIKE TOMLIN: Again, as I said a million times, man, if we win enough third downs we'll run the ball more because we'll have more snaps.
Q. Mike, you talk about results or process. Obviously some games are six takeaways, five takeaways and zero. A game like Sunday night a lot, you see it as, I don't want to say a lot, but the other team took care of the ball, (indiscernible) the process in terms of getting splash plays defensively?
MIKE TOMLIN: Yeah, we don't chalk it up to luck. It's a culture that we work on. The ball awareness, ball hunting, when to appropriately do so where tackling isn't compromised, et cetera.
It is an agenda of ours. Sometimes it turns up in the form of five or six takeaways; sometimes it turns up in the form of zero. It doesn't lessen our attention to that area and commitment to that area.
But it's twofold. It's not only the hunting of the football. It's the preservation of the football on the other side of it. That's one of the things that I was referring to when I was talking about the competition component of practice, Steeler versus Steeler.
When we place an emphasis on ball searching and hunting, we're also fortifying our ball security from an offensive perspective. Certainly the turnover ratio is something we desire to be great in.
So it's two sides to that coin. But when you work, you're working both sides of it.
Q. ..has frequently had success against Cincinnati over the years. Is that because of something how his skillset meshes against their defensive approach or is that something that's transferrable to Jonnu and your other tight ends potentially?
MIKE TOMLIN: They play a lot of zone, or they've played a lot of zone, particularly with their previous coordinator, and that's why he's had some big games against those guys. There is no secret that Muth has very good zone awareness and he is a zone killer, and that's why he's had some of the games he's had against those guys.
Q. Even when Calvin came back from injury, Ke'Shawn stayed as a punt returner. Was that on merit because of what he was doing, and how does his lack of ball security affect...
MIKE TOMLIN: You know, as Calvin came back from injury we wanted him to focus on getting back to up to speed offensively. Ke' had done an above-the-line job in that space, but certainly we will look at this week and make plans accordingly given what transpired in the last game.
Q. What do you need to do better this time stopping Lamar Chase?
MIKE TOMLIN: You know, make him throw the ball elsewhere. When you make him throw the ball elsewhere, guys like Tee Higgins that are capable of getting you as well. They got big time talent. They're unique in the ways they distribute the ball. Got some RPO football where they have some call runs.
If you load the box or throw him the ball on the perimeter, it might not be significant; might be five or six yards here, but it keeps him engaged and included in what it is they're doing. Dynamic players like that, man, they got to touch it. The more he touches it, the more impactful he's going to be on the game.
So it starts first and foremost with working to minimize his touches. You don't always have control of that, but when he does touch the ball you certainly have to tackle the catch because he's one the best run-after guys on the planet, and that's without question.
Q. Mike, are you worried that you guys have been predictable with offense with your personnel groups?
MIKE TOMLIN: I don't.
Q. Why not? You said Chargers didn't have -- like they didn't do something new, but you guys weren't successful at it.
MIKE TOMLIN: We didn't execute well.
Q. Are Will Howard and Cory Trice on track to return from IR?
MIKE TOMLIN: Yeah, we have a decision to make and I'm sure when we do we'll let you guys know.
Q. You've seen the blueprint for the stop that stopped your offense. What do you guys as coaches have to do to better counter that?
MIKE TOMLIN: As I mentioned, we've worked to put guys in a variety of positions to move the chains on third down other than DK. It's their job to do so when we do. We've done a better job of that in the past in other games than we did on Sunday. The results speak for itself.
So with that understanding we are going back to work this week and we got to put together a better plan, we got to make more plays.
Q. You talk about having depth at corner as a part of the decision to move Ramsey to safety. With Slay potentially out, do you still feel like you have enough depth there to do that?
MIKE TOMLIN: I do.
Q. What guys maybe -- Echols and Pierre, but are there more options available?
MIKE TOMLIN: All of those guys have played and have played quality ball and played quality ball in the last game, so it's reasonable to expect them the position themselves, particularly with a week's work, if Slay is unavailable to do so again.
He certainly will be limited in the course of the week because he's in the protocol. When he's limited that provides additional reps to other people. James Pierre for example played a great football game on a limited amount of reps last week. If Slay is unavailable this week, that just means more reps for him during the process of preparation, and so I'm comfortable with our depth there.
Q. When you play a game that's in the 30s against a team, play them again four weeks later or whatever, do you have a more aggressive mindset in terms of you decisions or what you want the playcalling to be?
MIKE TOMLIN: I just been in this league long enough to know that every game unfolds a little bit differently. I try to put together a plan in totality to engineer a victory regardless of circumstances. Sometime some of those discussions are better had when you're there.
You can waste a lot of time pondering hypotheticals environment this early in the week. We better just put together a really good plan in totality.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports