If you missed the Monday Police Press Conference held in Milledgeville, Ga concerning the sexual assault charges on Ben Roethlisberger, you can listen to the unevenful presser below.

Corrected

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Audio from Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin season ending press conference following the 2009-2010 on Tuesday January 5th, 2010. Transcript to follow!

Head coach Mike Tomlin held his season ending press conference today and I will post the notes I have shortly, but wanted to get the audio up first. Bookmark this post and re-visit shortly.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Mike Tomlin: Good Afternoon. I probably would much rather be addressing this group in regards to preparing to play this week but that is not the case. What we are here talking about is what we’re doing at this moment, as a staff, as a team, as an organization. The evaluation of our ’09 performance is kind of in its infancy, but I’ll give you a little background in terms of what’s been going on to this point. I met with football team yesterday. It’s always a somber meeting. I haven’t been in one of those meetings that isn’t, unless you’re preparing for a parade, of course we aren’t, but we talked very directly about some of the things that had us a brought us to that point. The central point that I made to the football team in regards to evaluation of this season if you will, this thing is going to have so many layers, but first and foremost, we’re a team that was 2-4 in our division. To me, to us, it starts there. That is the only guaranteed ticket to this dance that we’re not participating in. If you want a team to be championship-caliber, it starts with division dominance. We weren’t that by any stretch, we’re 2-4 in our division, we were 0-3 on the road in our division. If you’re going to be a world championship-caliber team, you’ve got to be able to go into hostile environments versus known competitors and win. We weren’t able to do that. You could talk about the 0-5 stretch that we had, well I look at that 0-5 stretch as I sit here today and we were 0-3 in the division during that stretch. More disturbing than the 0-5, you know the importance of division play. We weren’t, so we’re watching. There’s a sting that comes with being on the outside looking in, particularly with the way guys fought back over the last three weeks, but that’s the reality of our business. We’re not going to cry over that spilt milk. We’ really were blessed to have a fighting chance if you look at it in Week 17. I think back to what New England did a year ago, they were 11-5 on the outside looking in, so 9-7 is us, we’re on the outside looking in and we accept that. What I’m doing today and over the next couple of days is meeting with everybody on our football team individually from captain to practice squad player to injured/reserved player. Information-gathering, directing, reviewing what happened, looking ahead towards the future with those guys individually, when I get done with that, I’ll begin to process and do the same thing with the staff. One of the things I’ve learned about this job, the longer I have it, is information-gathering is big, reviewing is big. It kind of provides insight in terms of moving forward, so these are very valued meetings that I’m having right now and will continue for the greater part of this week. Other than that, very little to say, I sure there’s a bunch of questions, I’ll be happy to field them.

Question: You often talked about championship-level football, that didn’t happen, but talk about the three wins at the end of the season, talk about the experience of that for players coming back.
Mike Tomlin: From my perspective, you learn more in failure than you do in success, I acknowledge that. I learned a lot about a lot of men that I worked with, watching these guys fight back over the last three weeks and giving ourselves a chance, I did. That’s a positive. In terms of a winning record and things of that nature, I think I was pretty clear after the game in Miami that my mentality is singular in that I want to be World Champs each and every year. That’s what we work toward, I have a tough time acknowledging levels of success shorter than that. That’s just how I’m wired, I think that’s how you need to be wired in order to be a consistent competitor in this league. That’s the mentality I want this football team to have and I believe that they have that, so I acknowledge that it probably measures a feel-good or what have you in regards to how we finished this thing, but the reality is that we’re not where we desire to be. So we’re going to make appropriate adjustments with that in mind as we prepare and push forward toward ’10 and we’ll have a singular focus in ’10, which will be the team that the confetti falls on.

Question: How important was it that you finished strong despite making the playoffs?
Mike Tomlin: I don’t know, I’m not one to believe that any kind of momentum or what have you carries over from one year to the next, I think there’s value in that, I learned a lot about the guys, their mental makeup, their willingness to fight, their willingness to stick together, I think that is useful. I think that’s something to build upon in that the guys that you continue to work with, you’ve got a better intimate knowledge about what they’re capable of in the midst of adversity, but to assume that’s going to carry over in any form or fashion in ’10, I think would be naïve and I don’t want to be that.

Question: James Harrison said there was an attitude problem that needed to change and that some players were playing for more individual goals than team goals, are you worried he said that? Did you notice that?
Mike Tomlin: Everybody has an opinion and I respect that. I’ve always believed that when pressed in the midst of losing, you say things maybe that you think people want you to say or you look for reasons why you lose, I tend to focus solely on winning. Anytime you’ve got a collection of men, I’m talking about 53 players, practice squad players and staff, there’s going to be issues and things of that nature, there’s going to be personal agendas and so forth. We had similar issues when we won the Lombardi. Anytime you’re working with a large number of people, it’s going to be very tough to have a pure environment, a utopia if you will. I’m a realist, I recognize that some of those things, selfishness, is part of putting together a football team, shoot, it’s part of putting together a basketball team and usually it’s 15-18 guys on those teams. Selfishness is part of it, it just is, it always will be, but wins and losses are black and white and it’s pure, it’s purity. I didn’t think it was anything uniquely different with any team I’ve been involved with, I didn’t think it prevented us from winning, I didn’t think it was abnormal if you will.

Question: I’m sure you do this every year, examining what you do and how you do it. Is that ratcheted up in a season where you were not as successful as you’d like and looking at some of the things that you do and thinking that they might be getting a little stale, doing some things a little too frequently?
Mike Tomlin: Sure it is. I think that’s natural. But I’d also like to think that I have that same mentality in the midst of success. I think I had that mentality at year ago, as I sit here today. Of course, it wasn’t very effective, but that’s what this part of the year is about for me and for us and for everyone. I wish that it started maybe a month from now, but it’s not. It’s the process of breaking down what it is that we did and how we did it and how we can make appropriate changes to improve it and increase our chances of being that singular team in 2010. So it is refreshing. That’s why this job never gets stale for me. I quickly transition into a different mentality and I really do the same job in a different way this time of the year. And really, I’m excited about doing that.

Question: More specifically, I’m sure if you had to sit and talk about on the field issues you could talk for hours about it. But focus on the situational aspects of third down offense, the red zone offense, and the third down defense which slipped and whether that’s a particular area of all of them where Troy’s [Polamalu] absence was felt.
Mike Tomlin: Situational football defines us. I’ve said that a lot in good times and in bad. It’s no surprise to me that we were below the line at times in that area because we’re sitting here today. That’s why I put the emphasis on it that I do. It’s the difference between winning and losing. When you’re good, you dominate those moments. When you’re average, you sometimes dominate those moments. And when you’re bad, very rarely do you dominate those moments. We’ve had our moments, not good enough, not championship caliber. The presence of Troy, or the lack of presence of Troy, is what it is. I think I’ve been pretty clear in regards to my mentality with that. Injuries are as much a part of football as blocking and tackling. We are paid to adjust, to improvise, to overcome, to still find winning formulas. We didn’t do that enough. There were times that we did it. We did it in Denver, when Troy didn’t play. We did it very less frequently after that. Such is life. It’s not a problem or an issue that’s singular to us. Troy is a unique kind of a player, I acknowledge that. Baltimore played a lot of football this year without Ed Reed, and they’re preparing to play this week.

Question: James Harrison also mentioned that he thought there would be major changes. Is this a team that needs major changes that you foresee making?
Mike Tomlin: I don’t approach making major changes in response to our record or anything. I like to use the term “appropriate change”. And those aren’t knee-jerk reactions, those aren’t quick decisions. It’s built over time as you evaluate what it is that we put on tape. It’s a process, starting yesterday. We’re at the infancy of that process, if you will. My mentality is and always will be to make appropriate changes, so big changes are not something that I necessarily buy into. Appropriate changes are.

Question: Do anticipate coaching staff changes?
Mike Tomlin: Again, I have yet to meet with our staff individually. I acknowledge in today’s NFL that’s potentially part of it. I know that Ken Anderson is retiring. He and I have already had that discussion. I appreciate the work that he’s done here for us. He’s an awesome guy, an awesome coach, and been in this league 40 years. I guess it’s okay to go play a little golf, if that’s what he desires. More power to him. I don’t have any hobbies like that. Maybe one day, my mentality will change. But Ken is retiring, that is one change that I know of. I have yet to visit with other people, so, like I said, in a lot of ways the evaluation of this season and the process of moving forward for 2010 is in its infancy as I sit here today.

Question: If there are coaching changes, how does that process work? Is it your decision, or is it a collaborative effort between you and Kevin Colbert?
Mike Tomlin: It’s primarily my decision, but it is a collaborative effort in a lot of issues. But I believe there will be an appropriate time to talk about that. We’re just trying to get our feet on the ground and start this process as I sit here today.

Question: When did Ken tell you he was retiring?
Mike Tomlin: It was a discussion that he and I had as early back as last offseason, the potential of. And then of course, once this season came to a close, we quickly had a discussion and he made that decision.

Question: When you sit down to have these individual meetings, is there a lot of give and take, or does it just depend on who you’re speaking to?
Mike Tomlin: It depends on who I’m speaking to. In order to have give and take, both parties have to be willing. Sometimes, I sit across from guys and they want to tell me what they I think I want to hear. Some guys tell you the truth. I quickly try to decipher what I’m working with and try to make the meeting as productive as I possibly can. It’s a natural process for me. It’s something that I enjoy, and it’s something that, more importantly, is necessary.

Question: The guys whose contracts are up, these meetings now, is there any discussion about that or is that further down the road?
Mike Tomlin: More review than looking forward, but you acknowledge that there are certain guys that that is an issue and something that you want to address and begin to process, if you will. I met with Casey Hampton yesterday and talked about what’s going to happen over the next couple of months, or what’s potentially over the next couple of months, with him. But it is a process. It is in its infancy.

Question: How soon do you meet with Kevin Colbert and other members of the organization and begin to evaluate the free agency situation?
Mike Tomlin: Yesterday (Monday). Yesterday morning at about 9:01. That’s where we are. It’s one of the things that I enjoy about the offseason, about how closely Kevin and I get to work together, to share ideas and to begin the process of building this thing. Of course, he’s much further down the road than I am with regards to the draft and things of that nature. But I enjoy it at times, that we do what it is that we do and try to put together a winning formula.

Question: What sort of vibe did you get from Casey? Where is his head as far as coming back to Pittsburgh?
Mike Tomlin: I think he’s been pretty clear that he would like to be here.

Question: Did the word “franchise” come up?
Mike Tomlin: “Infancy” is my catch phrase of the day. Do you guys get the gist of that? It’s in its infancy.

Question: What are your thoughts on the year that Casey had and would you prefer to have him back next year?
Mike Tomlin: It was Pro Bowl-quality. I think his round-trip flight to Miami is indicative of that. And I’m interested in Pro Bowl-caliber guys that happen to be great guys and great teammates.

Question: Can you talk about Troy? The injury was obviously more serious than you initially thought. And also, moving forward with him, do you sort of have to proceed with the idea that, with the way he plays the game, he’s going to miss “x” number of games?
Mike Tomlin: I’m not ready to proceed with that assumption. Everybody saw what happened to him. They’re freakish things, things that come with playing this game. He initially got hurt trying to recover a ball on a blocked field goal. And in the scrum, somebody came down on his leg. That’s football. When you play football, things happen. It’s out of your control, to a certain degree. It’s the hazards of the industry, if you will. So I’m not ready to proceed with that assumption. I think that if it was something that was a non-impact or a non-contact injury, if he was just running and it happened or something, that maybe I’d have a different approach. But somebody jumped on the side of his leg in the scrum trying to go after a loose ball. No matter who that was, they would’ve been injured. From the second injury, he didn’t respond as quickly as we’d like. Don’t have control over that. All I can do is follow the expert advice of our medical people. They provided it, we weren’t able to stay in the fight long enough for him to fight his way back. The shame of it is is that he looked better and better as the week wore on, moving around a bit. But that’s football. That’s life.

Question: How is Ben [Roethlisberger]’s shoulder and is it anything serious that he’s going to need off-season surgery for?
Mike Tomlin: No, I don’t think that it is, but I don’t have specific, detailed information regarding it. But I don’t think it’s anything that’s going to require a medical procedure of any kind.

Question: During the five-game losing streak, it seemed like even the players had trouble putting their fingers on it. You mentioned a moment ago liking the fight that you saw in the last three games. Even if it was because of the uncertainty as to what was happening, during that streak, did you have a sense that that fight might not have been there consistently?
Mike Tomlin: Really, the only time that I was legitimately concerned about our level of fight, I thought that our level of energy in Cleveland was below the line. I thought that we got out-hit and out-hustled in Cleveland, and that was a concern. In the other games, I thought we were out-executed at times, I didn’t think that we made timely plays at significant moments. Ultimately, and really, this is kind of a mantra, if you will, what you strive for- we look to be dominant. We want to win decisively. Very rarely in this league are you going to be able to do that consistently. I understand that. When you’re not, you have to make timely plays. We weren’t dominant during that stretch, we didn’t make timely plays during that stretch, and it created that stretch. But within that, I thought that was the only game where it was below the line from a getting beat to the punch standpoint.

Question: How do you account for that? Given the circumstances, you would think that a division opponent would be the most desperate.
Short week, hostile environment, bad weather-all of those things are excuses to me. It’s irrelevant. The reality is that we put it on tape. Discouraging, disappointing, hacks you off, however you want to describe it. But again, as much ownership as we have to take over that stretch and that performance, we take ownership over all the games and the complete body of work and performance. And give them credit, I like the way they responded and played over the last three weeks, even though the performances weren’t dominant. And I don’t want to get away from that, because that’s what we desire to be. But the performances were timely. We made enough plays to be victorious in those games and keep ourselves in the hung, if you will.

Question: All your losses were close. As you go through and evaluate things, do you get find you’re being deluded because you were this far away on so many games?
Mike Tomlin: No, that’s the National Football League. Look at how many of our victories were like that. This is a fragile thing. It is. There’s a fine line between being 12-4 and 9-7, or 7-9, for that matter. That’s why you desire to be dominant. The more dominant you are, the more you keep yourself out of harm’s way of a play here or a play there. That’s what we desire to be first and foremost. I don’t know that we were dominant enough in ’08, but we did make timely plays and significant gains to keep us alive and give rhythm and find that dominance at stretches, particularly in January. We weren’t able to do it this year.

Question: Is there an update on Limas Sweed and his situation?
Mike Tomlin: None.

Question: You talked about this earlier today, are you as confident in your schemes and your philosophies? Or is that something that you wipe clean and re-acquire?
Mike Tomlin: It really kind of gets wiped clean, if you will, as part of the evaluation process, reviewing, and moving on. It’s the nature of this thing. This game is in continual evolution. It is, from players to personnel, schematics, how it’s legislated and officiated. It’s organic. That’s ever-changing. So that’s why I have the mentality that I have.

Question: Do you expect any more retirements? Not only from coaches, but also any players?
Mike Tomlin: Again, I don’t know. I acknowledge that that’s a potential or a possibility. It will reveal itself over the upcoming weeks or months.

Question: Unlike the uncertainty at times with Troy, you knew for some period that you’d be without Aaron Smith. Can you talk about the response of the team without him, schematically, execution-wise, and what you expect with him forward?
Mike Tomlin: I thought the guys that played did a nice job. We played a bunch of guys, and at times Brett Keisel wasn’t in there. I thought that Travis Kirschke gave us quality play when called upon, Nick Eason did the same. Travis missed some time; it created an opportunity for Ziggy Hood to play some. I think his pedigree is obvious; the arrow is pointed up on that young man. So I’ve focused more on the contributions on those that played as opposed to the loss of Aaron Smith. Injuries are part of it. He’s a special guy. When you lose him, it hurts. But that’s football.

Question: Do you anticipate him coming back?
Mike Tomlin: Yes.

Question: You used the word “special” to describe Aaron, “unique” to describe Troy. Are they so “special” and “unique” that the system as it currently is aligned is too reliant on them?
Mike Tomlin: No. Guys, I’m not going to sit up here and make excuses about guys that miss stretches of games. I’m so over that. You guys know me. I don’t care about guys that are hurt. Guys are going to get hurt. Guys that play are capable of playing above the line. Anybody have any questions about anything other than guys that miss stretches of games?

Question: Can you update us on possible offseason surgeries and maybe how some of the guys who have had surgeries are coming along?
Mike Tomlin: We’ve had some guys who have had some procedures even way back. I just met with Sean McHugh today, he’s doing well. Guys are in the process of looking at some medical issues. Nothing that jumps out at you, but I’m not denying that over the fact that people will get some clean up surgeries here or there. I’d rather them have them sooner than later. I’ll get some clarity on those things here over the next couple of days or week or so, if you will. But nothing that jumps out at me at this point.

Question: Aaron’s coming along okay? Darnell Stapleton, coming along okay?
Mike Tomlin: Yes, and yes.

Question: Do you think age was a factor on the defense not being as dominant as it was, and do you need to get younger on that side of the ball?
Mike Tomlin: I could see how you could assume that. But I think our lack of dominance had more to do with lack of quality play.

Question: Your quarterback continues to take more hits than any other quarterback. Is that something you just have to live with moving forward, or are you looking to rectify that?
Mike Tomlin: I’m looking to rectify that.

Question: Is this a team that needs much to compete for a title next year?
Mike Tomlin: How much is much? We’re in the process of discovering that and finding that out, or reviewing that. I’d like to think that we had enough good, quality people and top-notch players and coaches that we’ll perennially be in the fight. That’s my feeling. But I’m going to let the tape talk to me and guide me as we prepare for 2010. One thing that I acknowledge is that, like I always say, is that things rarely stay the same and you have to proceed with that assumption in mind.

Question: I was just curious if there are areas in the draft that you’re looking at?
Mike Tomlin: I don’t know enough about the draft as I sit here right now. I’m still coming to grips with the fact that I’m not preparing to play somebody this week.

Question: How much of what we see on Sundays is you? How much of your stamp is on what we see, or are you of the theory “I’ve hired my staff, I’m going to let them do what I hired them to do”? Or are you going to say “No, I don’t want it that way, I want it this way”?
Mike Tomlin: I accept responsibility for everything that’s on tape.

Audio and video from Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin post game press conference following the 2010, week 17 win against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday January 3rd, 2010. Transcript to follow!

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Get the latest Flash Player to see this player.

(On game in general) – “How about a little adversity, huh? That game right there is kind of a snap shot of how it’s been for us. I’ve seen it quite a few times these past couple of weeks, this is our bed and we’ve got to lay in it. It was also us who made the best of a bad situation too. I mean let’s be real; there are a lot of teams that are capable of going 6-and-10 or whatever, and facing the circumstances this team was faced with. They knuckled down and hung together, and did the best of their ability to fix it. We won our last 3 ballgames and gave ourselves a chance. We handled our business here today and did all that we could do coming down here, it wasn’t easy, it never is, but I got a great deal of respect for our football team; not only in terms of their closeness, but their willingness to fight.”

(On scoreboard watching) – “I don’t know that it was available to us today. I didn’t see any scores. What’s done is done. (Asked about Houston’s win) – “You just told me. I didn’t know.”

(On 3-game win streak) – “We have a singular goal every year and that’s to be world champs. We understand that there are 32 teams going for it and there can only be one. I’ve been in this league nine years and seven times I’ve been disappointed. That’s the reality of it. So if we’re not that team, so be it. I’m not interested in correcting problems; I’m interested in pursuing Lombardi’s, and hopefully winning them.”

(On the Dolphins comeback) – “That’s how they play the last few weeks leading up to today. They stormed back on Houston and Tennessee the week before that. We didn’t expect those guys to lie down, and quite frankly, we’ve been in those kinds of games, we’ve been up and relinquished some leads. So that was some familiar territory for us. It irritates the heck out of you but we didn’t panic just made the necessary plays to stay in it.”

(On Willie Parker and his big plays) – “He gave us everything he had, running that ball into that front that’s committed to stopping him, but not only him, the big men up front did a good job.”

(On a possible turning point from losing streak to now) – “In the last three games we made timely plays, in the five prior to that, we didn’t. Same football team, that’s how fragile it is in the NFL, that’s how fine a line, it is in the NFL and we respect that and we know that. I think that knowledge enabled us to fight and win the last three games.”

(On if they don’t make the playoffs will he look back and say what if) – “I’ve done it seven of the last nine seasons I’ve been in this league. That’s the nature of it, that’s what you do when you’re not the one that the confetti’s raining on.”

(On momentum from last three games carrying over to next year) – “No, there is no carry-over. This body of work stands on its own. Next year’s body of work is next year’s body of work. We didn’t carry over from last year, so it is what it is.”

(On if this season’s a failure) – “Yea, along with 30 other teams that don’t hoist the Lombardi.”

(On LaMarr Woodley having sacks as of late) – “He’s a guy that’s come on the late part of the season all three years he’s been here; evidently that’s a part of his game. It’s about rhythm, his moves come together, he develops a feel for it, and he sharpens his sword over the course of the season, which is good. You look for guys who are on the rise as the season goes on, and he’s proven through his first three years in the league that that’s kind of how he plays the game. And that’s what you need; you need guys whose arrows are pointing up at the end of the road.”

(On Super Bowl chances if they indeed make the playoffs) – “If I’m in, heck yea! Why not?”

Audio from Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin press conference on Tuesday December 29th. Tomlin addresses the upcoming week 17 Miami Dolphins game on Sunday and takes questions on the past Ravens game as well. As far as injuries go, wide receiver Hines Ward (hamstring) is miserable with two hamstrings hurting. Tomlin says they are saving a seat on the bus for him and he should show up. Safety Troy Polamalu (knee) ran and did straight line work on Monday. He could see some limited practice work this week and the door is not closed yet on him playing. Defensive end Brett Keisel (stinger) aggravated his stinger again and will likely be limited this week. Guard Chris Kemoeatu (wrist) is still experiencing wrist weakness and his status is still up in the air for this week. Linebacker Rocky Boiman (calf) has a calf strain and will be limited. Running back Willie Parker (shoulder) has a shoulder sublexation and will likely be limited as well. Transcript to follow shortly.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Mike Tomlin: Good Afternoon. I met with the team yesterday, I kind of evaluated our performance from the game and assessed our situation and really set the stage for us moving forward here this week. In reference to the game, not a dominant performance by any stretch but we made the necessary plays at timely moments to deliver a victory. I thought the sequence of events prior to the half was big offensively. Of course I thought the sequence of events on third and fourth down, the pressure provided by LaMarr Woodley late in the game was significant. We aspire to be dominant, when we’re not we need those timely kind of plays to get victory. We were able to do that. We’ll put that one behind us and move forward. Not talking a lot about some of the playoff scenarios and things of that nature. Truth be known because we put ourselves in this situation so we’re going to deal with it the best way we know how. What we are going to do is focus on the things we can control, that’s our preparation and ultimately our play this upcoming Sunday in Miami. All scenarios include us winning if we’re going to get in the playoffs, so that’s our focus, taking care of the things that are in front of us.

Preparing to play the Dolphins and ultimately and hopefully, putting together a winning performance. Part of that is looking at some injury things. We’ve got some what of a laundry list of some bumps and bruises if you will. Rocky Boiman has a calf strain, he could be limited at the early part of the week. Willie Parker has a shoulder subluxation. He’s definitely going to be out tomorrow, we’ll see how he improves as the week goes on. Brett Keisel is still experiencing discomfort involving his stingers. Chris Kemoeatu still has weakness in his wrist, significant weakness, hopefully we’ll get him some work at the latter part of the week and see if he’s able to play. Troy [Polamalu] ran yesterday in a straight line, is doing the same thing right now as we speak. Maybe he’ll practice in a limited capacity but really we’re taking it day-by-day in terms of how he responds to the workouts. Yesterday I think was a positive step, I’ll find about it today I guess when I’m done here and then we’ll move on from there. The doors not closed on him participating. The rest are that, bumps and bruises and alike.

Talking about the Dolphins and looking at them, let’s do that for a few minutes. Offensively, Ricky Williams is there guy, he’s a 1,000-yard rusher. Very talented guy of course, he does a lot of things running and catching. [Chad] Henne spreads the ball a round to a lot of people, [Davone] Best, [Ted] Ginn [Jr.], [Brian] Hartline and others. They’re very good at the screen game to wide receivers and running backs, they employ it a bunch. Quick passing is a part of their game. Very good on third down on the season. I think they’re in the upper 40% range in terms of third down conversions, probably has them in the top part of the league in that category. They average 32 to 33 minutes time of possession per game. When you’re converting third downs, dominate time of possession, you’re going to be in a lot of football games and they’re in just about everyone you turn on. Defensively of course they’re led by [Joey] Porter and [Jason] Taylor, their outside pressure men, both guys active-career NFL sack leaders. The tape justifies that. They apply big time pressure on the quarterback. Their corner tandem, young guys Vontae Davis and [Sean] Smith, starting as rookies, playing beyond their years. Vontae [Davis] of course is a very talented and physical guy he’s got four interceptions, [Sean] Smith is a big guy at 6-3. Very tough to drop balls in on both guys because of their stature and the way they play the game with a very physical nature. I just got word, I guess Channing Crowder is out for the year so there will be some turn over in the interior of their linebacking corps, but they’re a rock-solid defense, they come from a lot of angles. Coach [Paul] Pasqualoni does an awesome job with those guys highlighted by outside linebacker play and corner play. Of course we’ve got to be ready to deal with Ted Ginn Jr., not only as a wideout, he’s big-play capable but also in the return game. I was disappointed with that return to mid-field late in the football game on Sunday. Giving their offense a short field, our defense thankfully stood up and preserved the league, but that was a hairy moment. We could have some more hairy moments kicking this ball to Ted Ginn Jr., we’ve got to be on the screws in regards to that. Of course we got a shot in the arm from our own return game with Stefan Logan, I hope that continues here this week.

Question: There have been a lot of ups and downs these last two weeks, but they’re wins. How do you balance the need to win and making the changes you want to correct?
Mike Tomlin: Really, it’s just about winning football games, you look at the things that need to be corrected for one reason and that’s so you don’t repeat the same mistakes and it doesn’t cost you games as you move forward. When we came in and evaluated our performance yesterday, good and bad and so forth, that’s the premise of which we’ll look at the tape, solely to increase our chances of winning next time out. These games never unfold the way you envision them, particularly this time of year. I like the spirit of the group, they’re staying together, they’re delivering timely plays and it’s what we need.

Question: You played your quarterback last year in a game that had no meaning, what’s your take on these teams that are already in and aren’t playing their starters?
Mike Tomlin: I really have no opinion. I trust that those coaches trust are going to do what they feel is best for those football teams. I’m going to do what’s best for mine, very rarely do I pass judgment on decision making of other coaches in regards to their team because I don’t have a pulse of their group, what they need and I’m sure those guys do.

Question: Is there any sense of obligation as a head coach for the integrity of other teams who are vying for playoff spots?
Mike Tomlin: I think we’re all competitors and we play to win, I know I do. Every time we come out of that tunnel that’s the intent. The ramifications in regards to other people really is irrelevant to me. It’s more about the people I come out of the tunnel with and our commitment to this organization, our fans and our community. So when we come out, we come to play to win.

Question: Is this the first time Troy [Polamalu] has been able to do the straight line running? Is being able to cut on the knee going to ultimately determine this?
Mike Tomlin: I think he did a little bit of straight line running last week. He’s been running in the pool. He’s just progressing, trying to get ready hopefully to play.

Question: Is being able to cut on the knee going to decide whether he plays or not?
Mike Tomlin: Yes, no question. The unanticipated movement that comes with playing football, change of direction, dropping your weight and so forth is going to be critical to him gaining clearance to play. Absolutely.

Question: You didn’t list Hines [Ward]. How’s he doing?
Mike Tomlin: Hines is miserable, but I’m going to save a seat on the bus for him. He’s got two hamstrings and a myriad of other issues, it gives him a bad disposition. But he’ll show.

Question: Do you think the second one is from compensating for the first?
Mike Tomlin: I’m sure, in some form or fashion. But that’s Hines. He’s going to leave it out on the field. He’s going to give us everything he has. He was lying on the table down there this morning with two ice bags on his hamstrings when I walked in to check on him, so he’s in his usual good spirits.

Question: Can you talk about the return game? The touchdown hasn’t been there yet, but Stefan Logan has broken the team record for yards.
Mike Tomlin: It’s been consistently good from a kickoff standpoint all year. We haven’t had the house call, but it’s been consistently good. It’s provided us quality field position, it’s been a shot in the arm, and it’s been a positive. I think the punt return game has improved of late, which is encouraging. But we’re growing by leaps and bounds with Stefan and I think a lot of it has to do with understanding him, what he does well, and establishing some continuity between him and the guys that block for him.

Question: You mentioned the key to the sequence at the end of the first half, cashing in offensively. We’ve seen that be particularly so in light of how the third quarter unfolded. Can you talk about that, whether the team came out as “up” as you would have anticipated? Because Baltimore was making a lot of plays, although they didn’t cash in.
Mike Tomlin: I really have no excuse or explanation for the third quarter other than the fact that we didn’t play well and Baltimore did. I thought the group was ready to attack the second half; we had a fluid, normal communication at halftime. They just outperformed us in that quarter of play.

Question: You mentioned after the game that you thought about throwing the flag on that Derrick Mason catch-fumble, and they told you that they were going to rule that way anyways. Doesn’t that go against the spirit of the instant replay?
Mike Tomlin: I appreciated the information. It saved me a timeout, although I didn’t necessarily like it. But I appreciated the information.

Question: Was that the ref that told you that?
Mike Tomlin: Yes.

Question: After looking at it on tape, there seems to be some controversy about the fact that if Ben [Roethlisberger] was out of the pocket, that the call on [Frank] Walker before the [Tom] Zbikowski interception- is that a legitimate call? What is the rule there?
Mike Tomlin: He was in the pocket when the flag was thrown or when the infraction occurred. The only reason that I know that is because I watched the tape; I didn’t necessarily see it unfold in that manner during the game. Ben saw the flag when he worked back to his left and assumed, because of the location, that it was a defensive penalty, so he took a shot downfield. He was aware of the penalty prior to letting go of the football.

Question: Were you aware of it?
Mike Tomlin: I was.

Question: What was the discussion about calling a pass play? They’re out of timeouts; if you run one, they’re going to get it back with 1:20, 1:15?
Mike Tomlin: We thought we could move the chains; we didn’t want to give them the ball back was essentially our approach.

Question: What did you say to Tyler Grisham after that dropped ball?
Mike Tomlin: I’ll leave that between him and me. He’s a quality young man, he’s improving, and he provided a third-down conversion for us. Like some of the things that he’s doing.

Question: Miami had a lot of success in the past couple of years up until a few weeks ago in December. What are you seeing more recently with them?
Mike Tomlin: Looked at both games here in the past 24 hours, and really, it’s a product of the teams that they’re playing, in my opinion. They really came out hot; Houston came out of the locker room on fire this past Sunday, and some of the throws that Vince Young came out and made were spectacular for Tennessee. You know what Chris Johnson is capable of. It’s the nature of this thing. They’re competing. I like the way they fought back in that Houston game and really took it down to a one-possession game, to an onside kick opportunity and a chance. Houston had to convert a third down to avoid giving them the ball back. That’s the nature of this thing. It’s competitive every week. I know those guys over there, those coaches- Coach [Tony] Sparano and others-they’re competitive people. They are going to come to play and play every week. I have a great deal of respect for them.

Question: Is your experience against the wildcat with the Browns help, and how much time do you have to spend this week preparing for it?
Mike Tomlin: It does. We didn’t wait until we played Cleveland or anticipation of this game to prepare for it. Something that we started in the offseason because we realized this is a copycat league and that we’d see more of it. Preparation is one thing, play is another. We’ll see how we perform against it.

Question: Do they use less of it without Ronnie Brown?
Mike Tomlin: Yes, they do. They use less. They employ Pat White some, in there at quarterback. Of course they give some direct snaps to Ricky Williams as well, but it’s not what it was with Ronnie Brown. That’s the case for just about anyone else in the league that has it; unless you have Ronnie Brown or Josh Cribbs, it’s not quite as effective.

Question: Are you surprised and/or disappointed in your rush defense in the past couple games?
Mike Tomlin: It’s been disappointing, but we found a way to win the game and that’s ultimately what we aspire to do. We realize that if we stop the run and make people one-dimensional, we increase our chances of winning. That’s what makes it disappointing.

Question: Mike Wallace has gotten behind the secondary obviously more than a couple times this year. Is there anything that Ben can do to get the ball out there to him?
Mike Tomlin: Throw it early. He can run. He runs by people. He’s a talented guy; he’s providing timely plays for us and has for the better part of the year. He’s shown great maturity, he doesn’t ride the emotional roller coaster; he’s pretty consistent from a personality standpoint in terms of respecting the preparation process. Some games, he gets a bunch of opportunities, some he doesn’t get as many. But he’s the same guy every day and that’s one of the things that we appreciate about him.

Question: Is that something you saw in the offseason workouts and training camp?
Mike Tomlin: Really, it’s about training camp more than anything. Football is played in pads. A lot of guys look fast running around in spring in shorts. He did. But he looked fast in pads as well. He wasn’t intimidated when it got sticky, if you know what I mean. He’s a mature football player.

Question: Miami’s supposed to be a running team, yet they threw 55 times last week. Is that really a cry for falling so far behind, or are they changing their M.O.?
Mike Tomlin: I get asked a lot of personality questions, and a lot of times game circumstances and sequences dictate your personality. Houston came out and dropped a bunch of points on them in a short period of time. They got behind in a hurry. It made them one-dimensional. They had to attack the field vertically, which is of course what they did, and it got them back in the football game.

Question: You still need help if you win, obviously. If you win in Miami, would you be disappointed if the Bengals don’t go all out to beat the Jets?
Mike Tomlin: I could care less how the Bengals approach what it is that they do. This is our bed; we are going to lay in it. We created this situation. What we are going to do is control what we can control, and that’s our preparation for the game. We’re not going to cry over spilled milk. If there’s any level of disappointment in terms of how this thing unfolds, it will be on us.

Question: Along those lines, either you or Miami could be eliminated this weekend, and both teams; you mentioned [Channing] Crowder is out with a foot, and all of the other injuries you have. Talk about the intangibles and the things that you rally upon right now to move forward and give yourself the best chance despite maybe not being as physically capable as you’d like to be.
Mike Tomlin: Everybody’s got injuries. There are 32 teams; there are 32 teams with injury issues. It’s week 17. I think the motivation factors are obvious. If they aren’t, we have big problems.

Audio and video from Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin post game press conference following the 2009, week 16 against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday December 27th, 2009. Transcript to follow!

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Mike Tomlin: You know, like I just told the football team, this is our bed, but I like how they’re laying in it. Not dead yet. Still got a pulse in this thing and we’ll continue to control the things we can control, playing winning football, preparing, doing the best we can. They did today and made enough plays to win, so we move on to next week and we’re hopeful that we’ll get the necessary help, but again, we make no excuses or have no explanations. We put ourselves into this position, but I like the way they’re dealing with it.

Question: How did dealing with your situation change in the past three weeks?
Mike Tomlin: You know, we’re in single-elimination football already in my perspective. It’s playoff football for us already and has been for the last two weeks. Again, there’s a different sense of urgency, but it’s one we’ve placed on ourself. We’re not looking to blame anybody, we’re just dealing with it the best way we know how. They’re staying together, they’re working hard during the week and they’re making enough plays to get out of stadiums with W’s and that’s what it’s about.

Question: Is it the matter of making the play here and there that’s changed this team?
Mike Tomlin: That’s all it is. I know that sometimes when you lose you look for deeper reasons why but, every week I come up here and tell you it’s a play here or a play there. You’ve got to make a play. You’ve got to make significant plays at significant moments. When we’ve lost, it’s because we haven’t, when we won, it’s because we have. We had that same football team at fourth-and-five in Baltimore with a chance to end that game in regulation, and Ray [Rice] beat us inside and had a 50-yard or 40-yard play, and they send the game in overtime and we lose. We had a similar situation out there today and we made the necessary play. That’s what this game of football is about, that’s what it’ll always be about. I know sometimes that’s not the answer you’re looking for but it’s really just that simple.

Question: Is it a relief to the defense that they pitched a shutout in the fourth quarter?
Mike Tomlin: I don’t know if they’re looking at it that way, I know I’m not. We just need enough plays to win. Style points, we’re way past that, we’re just trying to stay alive.

Question: Did something kick in with LaMarr Woodley in the second half? He seems to be playing better.
Mike Tomlin: He’s been that kind of guy since he’s been here. His rookie year, he came on late in the year, last year late in the year, playoffs he was playing good football. He’s a guy that’s on the rise at the appropriate time and that’s what makes him a good player.

Question: Could you give us an update on Hines Ward?
Mike Tomlin: He’s just beat up you know, hamstrings and so forth. We’ll do the best we can to get him to the party, he’ll take care of the rest. You know if he’s got a chance he’s going to show up for his team. He did today, but it was not comfortable by any stretch.

Question: Was Harrison close to not going?
Mike Tomlin: No, same guy. Same mentality. He played with one arm today, but he played pretty good for a one-armed guy.

Question: Talk about Ziggy Hood.
Mike Tomlin: He made a few plays for us. A young guy kind of taking advantage of opportunities. Of course, he was afforded more of an opportunity because of what Brett Keisel’s been going through. He made a few timely plays for us. He’s a quality young player, he’s going to be a good player, not soon enough for us, not soon enough for him but we’re seeing strides week in and week out. We’re excited about what he could be. He helped us today which is good.

Question: In the beginning of the game, [Andre] Frazier was out in the huddle instead of James Harrison until James Harrison showed up. What happened?
Mike Tomlin: No, he was just going to stay out there until he saw James [Harrison]. James [Harrison] was over there getting his arm heated up. Dre [Frazier] saw he wasn’t on the field. He was just going to cover so we had 11 on the grass until he showed. There was no indecision about whether 92 [James Harrison] was going to play or not, he was going to play, but Andre [Frazier] was just doing what quality backups do. He saw the guy that he plays behind not on the field and he took his place until he was replaced.

Question: Did Joey Galloway need more time learning the system?
Mike Tomlin: Yes, given some of the things going on at wide receiver of course, Mike Wallace had a laceration to his knee during the week, Hines [Ward] has a few things wrong with him, we felt like the backups needed to be multiple-position players, guys capable of playing more that one spot. Tyler’s [Grisham] been here all year. We’re comfortable with his ability to handle multiple positions from an assignment standpoint. Joey’s [Galloway] been here three or four days, not as comfortable. We’ll get him back in the lab and hopefully next week, he can be a multiple-position guy and hopefully that will give him an opportunity to help us.

Question: Was that incomplete pass to Derrick Mason in the fourth quarter reviewable for a fumble?
Mike Tomlin: I was told that I could challenge it, but if I did, it would be ruled as an incomplete pass, so why challenge it? That’s what I was told. I’m still trying to figure that out.

Question: Ziggy [Hood] caught a break on that last one.
Mike Tomlin: Man, we need a break or two don’t we? We’ve had our share of the opposite.

Question: You made a change in the secondary with Deshea [Townsend], how do you think it worked?
Mike Tomlin: You know, we’re looking for guys that make football plays. Deshea [Townsend] played pretty solid a week ago, made a football play down there in the red area. We wanted to reward him for it, but all those guys are going to play. You can see that we’ve got multiple packages with three corners and a safety and sub-package football. We’re going to need contributions from all those guys, I think they understand that and they know that. The big thing is that they’re in the right frame of mind in terms of being ready to deliver for us. I liked the way they fought today, I liked the way they were around the football, they didn’t play tentative today. That’s what’s going to be what’s required as we chase hopefully some January football, but our emphasis and our attention at this point is preparing and ultimately playing the Miami Dolphins. One shot, one kill football for us.

Question: Were the patterns based on substitutes or the other team?
Mike Tomlin: No, it was definite pattern based on their personnel and situation.

Question: Do you anticipate having Troy [Polamalu] back?
Mike Tomlin: Come to the press conference on Tuesday, I’ll give you the MRI update, or not.

Question: Are there any other injuries?
Mike Tomlin: Some minor things, of course Hines [Ward] is miserable, a few others, but nothing significant at this point. A lot of the preexisting things, Brett Keisel, stingers, Hines [Ward], hamstring, James Harrison, bicep, but nothing new, no.

Audio from Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin press conference on Tuesday December 22nd. Tomlin addresses the upcoming week 16 Baltimore Ravens game on Sunday and takes questions on the past Packers game as well. As far as injuries go, wide receiver Hines Ward (hamstring) experienced a setback with his hamstring against the Packers and is day-to-day. Safety Troy Polamalu (knee) is having another MRI on his knee today and the results will determine his availability. He has not been ruled out yet. Wide receiver Mike Wallace (knee) suffered a laceration contusion to a knee, running back Rashard Mendenhall (hip pointer) suffered a hip pointer and defensive end Brett Keisel (stinger) suffered a stinger last game. All injured may be limited in the early week of practice. Transcript to follow shortly. Tomlin also announced the signings of wide receiver Joey Galloway and long snapper Jared Retkofsky.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Mike Tomlin: Good Afternoon. I guess I’ll start recapping some of my thoughts there from the other night. Like I said the other night, it was great to provide some positive excitement for our fans, to get a win for those guys, to keep a pulse in this thing. That’s what we have. I like the way the men fought, we persevered through a little bit of adversity like always, like each Sunday provides. This time we came out on top , made a significant number of plays, in which to do that and hopefully we can build upon that this week as we get ready to play the Baltimore Ravens. Along those lines, a couple of announcements. Greg Warren was placed on IR, with an ACL injury, he’s been replaced by Jared Retkofsky. Of course, Jared [Retkofsky] snapped for us quite a bit of the season last year, through the playoffs and then the Super Bowl so it’s fortunate for us that a guy like that is available with that kind of experience but also, that kind of experience that comes with being a part of this thing and being in our locker room and kind of knowing how we do business. Jared’s [Retkofsky] ready to go, we’re looking forward to moving with him. Also, we placed Limas Sweed on the Reserved List, Non-Football Injury/Illness List, which will effectively end his season. He’s been replaced by Joey Galloway, who’s a guy of course is a guy that I have a background with, have some familiarity with, having worked with him in the past, but also, more recently, we’ve explored the potential of signing Joey [Galloway] last offseason. Of course, he went on from there to New England. He was available to us, he’s a veteran player whose resume speaks for itself. He’s one of those unique guys in that he’s in great physical condition for a seasoned veteran, he can run, he’s done just about all there is to do in this business other than win in the postseason which is what he told me. Hopefully he can provide us some energy and spirit for us in that regard, some savvy veteran leadership in a position that’s been depleted somewhat, that’s significant for us. Looking at the injury situation coming out of the game, Mike Wallace has a knee laceration or contusion that may limit him at the top of the week. Hines [Ward] may have experienced a minor setback with his hamstring injury, it’s probably definitely going to limit him at the earlier part of the week, we’ll evaluate him on a day-to-day basis. Rashard Mendenhall has a hip contusion, it’s probably going to limit him at the top part of the week. Brett Keisel has a stinger. Troy [Polamalu] is getting his MRI done today, I was hopeful that I could have some information for you by the time I got in here, but as you see in the recent weeks, I don’t always get what I want. We’ll update you when I get that information, the rest of the things appear to be minor bumps and bruises. Looking forward here to our challenge that we face here this week, the Baltimore Ravens, a familiar opponent. They have their personality, we have ours and when the two come together, it’s always pretty exciting. We’re fired up about that, we’re fired up about getting the opportunity to play in front of our home fans again. We’re fired up about having a pulse in this thing. That being said, we’ve got some work to do and a short period of time in which to do it. A lot of times, familiarity doesn’t breed comfort when you’re talking about a matchup such as this, they are who they are. Ray Rice kind of makes them go, running and receiving, we’ve got to contend with him better than we did the last time. Joe Flacco continues to get better and better in terms of leading them from the quarterback position. Derrick Mason is Derrick Mason, his usual body of work. Defensively, I think the key element of it is [Terrell] Suggs is back in action and we didn’t face him last time. We know what a game changing football player this guy is. That’s going to be a significant change in terms of preparing to play these guys particularly in and around the line of scrimmage from a run game standpoint and from the protection of our quarterback standpoint because this guy lines up in a variet of places, does a lot of things extremely well and a lot of what you do kind of starts with identifying where he is and what he’s capable of. Ray Lewis is still of course playing at a high level, Jarrett Johnson and the other cast of characters, [Haloti] Ngata, [Kelly] Gregg. Like I said, familiarity doesn’t necessarily make you comfortable. We’re excited about the opportunity. The staff’s working hard at putting together a solid plan. I met with the guys yesterday, reviewed our performance from the other day, took a little peek ahead at what we’re going to be facing this week and we’ll continue with that process starting tomorrow.

Question: Talk about how your team stacked up against the standards of being dominant and making timely plays.
Mike Tomlin: I think that’s where it starts for me, you’ve got a desire to be dominant, but at the same time I’m a realist. I acknowledge that every time you walk out of that tunnel, you’re not going to be a dominant team. When you’re not, you like to think that you put enough pieces in place and have a solid enough plan and enough understanding of your strengths in the matchups that you can make timely significant plays to win. Thankfully, we were able to do that on Sunday. I think it became increasingly clear as the game unfolded that the familiarity of the defense that the both offenses held was going to play a part in the outcome of the game, that’s how it unfolded. The offense that had the ball last one.

Question: Are you able to say what’s wrong with Limas [Sweed] and will Joey Galloway be your fourth guy?
Mike Tomlin: I think it’s appropriate right now that we say very little in regards to his personal issues. I will say this, it’s a non-football illness. He has our full support and anything else that I’ll say will be in regards to protect his privacy. Joey [Galloway], whether or not he’s a fourth wide-out or an active fifth wide-out or an inactive wide-out really depends on the speed in which he learns our football as we proceed through the week. He’s in the building right now working on those very issues. He’s played a little bit of football, it wouldn’t surprise me if he is capable of learning what to do.

Question: Regarding Joey Galloway, Corey Ivy, talk about the familiarity in the league.
Mike Tomlin: I think that’s just the signature of today’s NFL. There’s very few secrets from a personnel standpoint, you get exposure to a lot of guys. The information that you get leading up to the draft is so in-depth and significant that it starts there and as guys proceed through their career, you remain familiar with them either by playing against them or either studying them and evaluating them as they enter free agency. When you talk about some veteran guys that have been around and have been through free agency quite a bit and have played football in several cities, you’ve had an opportunity to come in contact with them professionally or informally. You understand what they’re capable of, you have a baseline understanding of their body of work. I really just think it’s a signature of today’s NFL.

Question: If Troy’s [Polamalu] MRI is positive, is there a good shot he plays this week?
Mike Tomlin: It is. The results of his MRI is going to dictate which direction we take like it has in recent weeks and we eagerly await those results.

Question: You played Joe Burnett a lot against Green Bay, do you anticipate any more changes in the secondary?
Mike Tomlin: We’re analyzing that as we put together this plan. I think each week, the matchup that your given dictates a lot of what you do. A week ago, we were playing Green Bay. Their signature’s multiple wide receiver sets three and four wide receiver sets. Their tight end is a big-time vertical threat. Baltimore likes to bring in an extra offensive lineman or tight end and fullback and things of that nature, so a lot of the decisions that we make in terms of the people we utilize will be based on the nature of the matchup and what we anticipate them doing.

Question: Have you gotten any feedback from the onside kick call, from around the team, around the league?
Mike Tomlin: You know I don’t look for feedback. I just try to win football games. My eight-year-old asked me what I was thinking. Other than that, I make no apologies. I try to get a feel for the flow of the game, try to decipher how it could potentially unfold, and how to increase my team’s chances of winning. What I told you after the game really was the thought process in the latter part of the third and all the way up through the fourth. I felt like both offenses were capable of moving the football, and making that decision to kick the onside kick started first and foremost with the belief that we could get the football legally. We weren’t able to do that, but even if we weren’t able to do that with four minutes and some change left in the game, if we were not able to stop them, I felt like we’d have a significant amount of time to navigate down the field. Now, that thought process of mine was geared toward them maybe kicking a field goal and being up by one and us having to kick a field goal to win, not necessarily with those guys scoring a touchdown, which is of course what they did.

Question: Based on that thinking and what’s happened in recent weeks, do you adjust what you feel it’s going to take on offense to win a game anymore because you’ve given up more on defense?
Mike Tomlin: I really approach it with how the game unfolds inside the stadium. I think a plan is one thing, but we all understand that games unfold differently than plans. I didn’t necessarily anticipate that game unfolding the way it did, but as you watch the game and watch it unfold, you realize that that familiarity that both offenses had with both defenses was going to be a factor in the outcome of the game. So you adjust plans and approaches accordingly, which is what we did.

Question: So that’s more a reflection of what went on than how you feel about your defense, sitting here right now?
Mike Tomlin: Absolutely. It was reflection upon how that game was unfolding inside the stadium on Sunday.

Question: Is that what you told your eight-year-old?
Mike Tomlin: No, I just told him to be quiet.

Question: Your familiarity with 3-4, did that in any way help you knowing some of their tendencies because their defenses are basically the same?
Mike Tomlin: I think it helped us in terms of indentifying potential blitz pickups, and finding holes in coverage, if you will. Of course it didn’t help us in terms of running the football; I think that Green Bay did an awesome job in defending some of our run formations and personnel groups. They brought in an extra defensive lineman and put in a 300-pounder in that C and D gap area, which made sledding tough in that regard. But that’s just the ebb and flow of football games and the strategy that comes with trying to play winning football. They did some nice things, we were able to do some nice things, and we were able to put together enough plays to win the football game.

Question: Rashard [Mendenhall] caught a lot of passes this Sunday. Can he be that triple-threat factor?
Mike Tomlin: I think that’s what we envisioned a few weeks ago when I said that his role would be expanding. With each day, this guy gains confidence and really, we gain confidence in what he’s capable of. He’s rock solid from an assignment standpoint and from blitz pickup, and I think it starts there. But he’s also increasingly sharp with regards to being where he’s supposed to be in terms of route distribution. He can catch the football; he’s been able to do that since the day that he walked in here. But he’s rounding out a complete game and really is becoming a guy that can help us in all areas, similar to what Ray Rice is doing in Baltimore.

Question: You mentioned about persevering in the face of adversity. That final drive seemed to have more negative plays of sacks, penalties, ineffective plays, and ultimately, plays that work. The plays that worked obviously, we see, cashed in. Talk about that last drive, please.
Mike Tomlin: It’s really kind of how our season has been. Some negative things, but guys persevered, made a significant, timely play. I thought that guys like Heath Miller were big-Ben [Roethlisberger] going to him on 3rd-and-15 with two deep men under coverage kind of speaks to the level of comfort that he has in that guy. I thought that was a significant play. We went back down to him in the middle of the field, which set us up around the 18-yard line where we utilized our last time out. We knew we could use the interior portion of the field because we had a time out, got us down to about the 18 where then we started taking shots at the end zone. Not easy shots to take based on the coverage we were looking at, and it was going to take the kind of throw that we had and the kind of catch that we had from Mike [Wallace] to be successful.

Question: Did Ben call all of the plays on that drive or did he receive those plays from the sideline?
Mike Tomlin: He received those plays from the sideline.

Question: You talked about the tight ends in this game-Heath had a good game against Chicago, you just talked about Heath having a good game- what kind of difference makers can they be in this kind of matchup?
Mike Tomlin: I think that’s an element of today’s NFL. These tight ends are unique animals. They’re tough men to cover, they’re usually too big and strong for secondary people, safeties and such, and just nifty enough and with enough vertical speed to create problems for most linebackers. I think those words can be used to describe both Heath and Todd Heap. They’re difference makers. They know how to work open spaces, they can find those spaces in zone, and they can create separation in man. A lot of what we do centers around Heath’s ability to work the inner portion of the field, and I think the same can be said for Baltimore.

Question: Has the game plan for the last two games been to get the ball to Heath a little bit more?
Mike Tomlin: No, we don’t necessarily respond to stats in terms of guiding us from a game plan standpoint. We want to play to our strengths and minimize our weaknesses. Obviously, Heath is a strength. Sometimes, he’s going to get more balls than others just based on how others formulate their plan.

Question: James Farrior said after the game that in the midst of a five-game losing streak, these guys question some of the things that they’re doing and second guess. Did that ever happen with you and the coaching staff?
Mike Tomlin: There’s an element of that, but I think that it’s constructive. I think that it wouldn’t be sharp not to deeply analyze what you’re doing and how you’re doing it when you’re in the midst of failure. So there’s an element of that. But is it manifesting itself in the form of mental weakness or anything of that nature? No. It’s just being committed to turn over whatever stone is necessary to win football games.

Question: When you game plan and identify certain guys defensively for the other team, I know Ed Reed is certainly one of them. Is he more so maybe than any other player than you guys face? Or is he just one of the guys right now?
Mike Tomlin: I don’t want to downplay the significance of Ed Reed. He’s one of those special guys, and he doesn’t need my endorsement. His body of work speaks to that. He’s a game-changer. He’s a defensive guy that’s capable of ringing up the scoreboard or getting the ball in his hands. It’s significant. He changes the way you attack the field vertically because of his range, and the cat-and-mouse game that he’s capable of playing with your quarterback, his understanding of route concepts. I think that he has physical talent that enables him to cover a lot of grass, but you don’t want to underestimate the mental capacity of a gentleman like that, because that’s required to cover the amount of grass that he covers as well.

Question: How did you evaluate Chris Carter as a corner? Do you expect him to do anything difference schematically in light of that throw?
Mike Tomlin: I’m not certain of their plans at this point, so I’d be speculating. I know that he is a viable both corner and return man, and that’s why we had an interest in him in the off-season.

Question: How have things changed psychologically now that you have a playoff pulse? Had this season been rendered over, would it have been a more difficult sell?
Mike Tomlin: I never pondered the possibility of losing, I never do. I don’t plan on failure. We had a pulse last week; we have a pulse this week. And that’s kind of my mentality.

Question: Your mentality is always to focus on the next game. How do you do that, balancing all of those issues out there about possibilities of the playoffs?
Mike Tomlin: Hey, if we don’t win, those possibilities out there are irrelevant. So it’s really kind of easy. It really is. We have to win. So that’s where our focus will be.

Question: Do you follow the possibilities?
Mike Tomlin: I have to; it’s the nature of my job. But really only from that standpoint. I haven’t looked at all of the playoff scenarios and things of that nature. I just know that we need to win to stay in the hunt. And that’s where my focus is. Usually, when I get those moments toward the end of the week where the plan is starting to take shape and you have a few moments to yourself, I’ll catch up on what’s transpired around the league over the course of the week. But as I sit here today, I have no idea what’s going on in the NFL this week.

Question: You talked about the familiarity of both teams with the 3-4. How much, if anything, do you think that played into them throwing the ball a lot, they didn’t have as much pressure?
Mike Tomlin: Very similarly to how we were capable to picking up their pressure and how we were able to attack those guys. I think they were able to do similar things to us. They didn’t throw the ball vertically down the field as much as we did, or as frequently as we did. I think their response was the quick game. I talked about them having some catch-and-run capable receivers. I think that was displayed in the game. But no question, I think that the familiarity from a schematic standpoint in terms of what the offenses were looking at was a factor in the game.

Question: With all the rules, changes, and the way they’re calling the games this year, is it tougher to play defense?
Mike Tomlin: If it’s tough for us, it’s tough for everybody. So I hadn’t analyzed it in that way. As long as the game is called the same way, I could care less how they call it.

Question: Last year, they said that [Jared] Retkofsky was moving furniture when he got the call. This year, he played in the UFL. Do you know his personal story since the season ended; do you know if he’d gone back to that furniture store?
Mike Tomlin: No, maybe he took a couple of weeks off after the UFL season. I’m not certain. I’m just glad that he was available because it is comforting to know, when you start talking about losing a long snapper- we’ve been down that road before here in Pittsburgh. So it’s good to have Jared available.

Question: In light of that familiarity with Green Bay and the changes that the respective offenses make, are you a little surprised at the lack of running with Green Bay? Did you anticipate more of that?
Mike Tomlin: I don’t control their play calling. They put their plan together to attack us, and let’s face it, the scored 36 points. So it’s tough to question.

Question: Is the running game becoming less significant also around the league? It seems like the top running teams are not the ones that are in the playoffs.
Mike Tomlin: I don’t know if that’s a new trend. People have their personality and they gear their personality towards how they want to play football. As long as it fits your people and there’s a level of belief in it, I believe there are many ways to skin a cat. Minnesota has a commitment to running the football, and they’re a winning football team. New Orleans has a commitment to running their offense through Drew Brees, and they’re a winning football team. I think it’s a level of commitment in terms of how you want to do football based on who your people are and put them in the best position to do what it is that they do.

Question: Have you changed your thinking over the past three years? Before you came in, you said how significant the running game was, a game of attrition, that sort of thing.
Mike Tomlin: Depends on when you ask me. Sometimes, when the plan is successful and we’re able to win by attrition, that’s the plan. When you have to make adjustments or when you’re unsuccessful like we’ve been of late, it doesn’t necessarily look like you intend it to look. That’s the nature of this thing.

Question: Did Santa pass over the South Side?
Mike Tomlin: Christmas is cancelled.

Audio and video from Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin post game press conference following the 2009, week 15 against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday December 20th, 2009. Transcript to follow!

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Mike Tomlin: Not dead yet. The guys hung together, fought, made enough plays to win. We haven’t won in a while so it feels good. To keep it in perspective, we’ve got a little pulse here. Hopefully we can use this as momentum to get ready to play Baltimore next week, which is of course a very warm football team. Good to stay in the fight, good to win one for our fans, we’ve got the greatest fans in the world. Good to perform for them and get them something to be excited about here at Heinz Field. Today, I’m just as excited about that as I am getting that five-week monkey off our back.

Question: Talk about the onsides kick, was it something you saw?
Mike Tomlin: I’ll be very bluntly honest with you, based on the way the game was going in the second half, first of all I thought with the element of surprise we had a chance to get it, but if we didn’t get it and they were to score, then we would have necessary time on the clock to score or match their score. Plan A didn’t work, we got the ball but we were illegal, that was the correct call, but it kind of unfolded the way you envisioned it. We had 30 minutes of evidence that we could drive the ball on them, we also conversely had 30 minutes of evidence to show they could also drive the ball on us. That’s why we took the risk when we did.

Question: Was the offensive kick a hunch?
Mike Tomlin: No, we were just trying to win the football game. There was time left in that game that had we kicked that ball away and the half had gone the way that it’d gone, they were converting third downs. They would have moved the ball down the field on us, we wouldn’t have had necessary time to respond. I’m just being honest, but it starts with feeling pretty good about the element of surprise and having a good chance to get that ball, but that part of it didn’t work out.

Question: You’re 19-3 when the Steelers score 24 points or more, your thoughts on that?
Mike Tomlin: No, I don’t care. I don’t care about the style points, I’m just trying to win if it’s 2-3 or 36-37 or whatever it ended up today.

Question: Was Mike Wallace the go-to-guy on the last play?
Mike Tomlin: It’s not many options when you’re talking about having to put the ball in the end zone and they had very good coverage. They had two deep with Charles Woodson acting as a middle linebacker in the middle of field. That P-2 or Tampa-Two as people call it. There’s not many places to throw the football and that’s probably one of the few places that you get to do it but it’s going to take that kind of throw and that kind of catch versus that coverage. That’s why we were throwing incomplete passes on the plays prior to that because that thing is tough to penetrate. Heck of a throw, heck of a catch. Gutsy, clutch performance by a lot of people.

Question: Did that play remind you of Santonio Holmes’ catch in Super Bowl 43?
Mike Tomlin: Oh my gosh, that’s so far in our rear view, we’re just trying to stay alive.

Question: Have you talked to other NFL coaches during this losing streak to seek guidance?
Mike Tomlin: No, I like to waddle in my own misery.

Question: Talk about Ben Roethlisberger’s play.
Mike Tomlin: It was clutch. We needed that kind of performance. We’re on life support here in terms of staying in the hunt for the playoffs so, we can’t save anything. This football team is individuals and he played with that kind of spirit.

Question: Talk about the kick before the onside kick.
Mike Tomlin: We tried a deep lob like we tried earlier in the game when they attempted to fair catch it and we didn’t kick the ball far enough but we were trying to drop the ball in that dead area around the 20 to 25-yard line like we had done earlier but we didn’t get it as far, but similar to that one that landed in that dead spot earlier.

Question: Do you think the onside kick gave confidence to your defense when they had to defend a short field?
Mike Tomlin: I was just trying to win a football game. First and foremost, I wanted the ball, we hadn’t stopped them in the second half and they hadn’t stopped us, both teams were driving the football. I wanted to maintain possession of it, we weren’t able to do that. I figured if they’re working on a short field and they were to happened to score, we’d have appropriate time to drive down the field, which is kind of how the game unfolded.

Question: Can you put your finger on why the Packers had success on offense?
Mike Tomlin: Sure, they’re good, they’ve got a good quarterback. He’s got 130.0 quarterback rating on third down coming into this game, he played like that on third down in this game. He’s got a good weapon of wide-outs, the tight end’s a vertical threat, they played to their personality. We didn’t make enough plays on third down to keep them cool.

Question: If you lost today, the onside kick we be talked about all week, your thoughts on that?
Mike Tomlin: I wear that. I wear that like a badge of honor. That comes with the job. I don’t live in my fear, I just play and play to win and I don’t worry about being judged, I really don’t.

Question: What’s the status on Greg Warren?
Mike Tomlin: Not good, looks like a torn ACL.

Question: the extra point?
Mike Tomlin: On the very last play of the game, yes, unfortunately. It’s in his other leg, he had an ACL [injury] last year, it’s the other leg.

Question: Have you lost confidence in your defense’s ability to close the game out with a lead?
Mike Tomlin: No, its not about confidence, it’s about plays. I believe in these guys, they believe in each other. Sometimes games unfold in different ways. We had a tough time stopping them in the second half and you do what’s appropriate to win the football game, but it doesn’t speak to anything moving forward. We analyze this game, we put it in our rear view mirror, we prepare for Baltimore. It’s not like we’re going to play scared or lack confidence in that football game in terms of what we’re capable of doing defensively, but today, I was concerned about our ability to stop them based on what I was looking at in that stadium.

Question: Was Mike Wallace the primary receiver on that play?
Mike Tomlin: We were just trying to get the ball in the end zone to a guy. You can’t break the huddle saying that you’re going to throw the ball on that weak side versus that cover two, but again, under those circumstances there’s not that many opportunities and what you’re looking for really is a one-on-one and then somebody’s got to win it. That’s probably about the only one-on-one on that field in terms of the way that ball unfolded. So we had a one-on-one opportunity, Ben [Roethlisberger] made the appropriate decision and Mike [Wallace] made a play.

Question: Talk about he two deep passes that you gave up in the game.
Mike Tomlin: Those aren’t one-on-one matchups versus linebackers. Those guys are covered up by half-field safety’s over the top, similarly to a few situations that we had them in. We had Mike Wallace down the middle of the field and seemingly a completion but Atari Bigby came in and banged the ball out. That’s how those plays happen, it’s the exact same coverage Dom Caper plays similar stuff to what we play. When they threw the ball down the middle of the field at times, they were able to catch it and hold on to it and in one instance, they were able to have a long score. We had a similar route versus a similar coverage and Atari Bigby banged the ball out versus Mike Wallace there. So that’s football, it’s about execution. There were very few secrets, we knew what coverage they were in at times, they knew what we were in and they executed a little better than we did at times if you’re talking about running down the middle of the field with number threes.

Question: What was the difference in Mike Wallace this week compared to the last couple of weeks?
Mike Tomlin: He made plays when given the opportunity, not that he’s had a bunch of opportunities and sometimes, it’s like that. It’s about what you do with them when you get them. He played big, he played older than a rookie for us today which was needed.

Question: Are there any other injuries?
Mike Tomlin: That’s the only one and that’s preliminary gut reaction, but it doesn’t look good in regards to his knee.

Audio from Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin press conference on Tuesday December 15th. Tomlin addresses the upcoming week 15 Green Bay Packers game on Sunday and takes questions on the past Browns game as well. As far as injuries go, Tomlin said Troy Polamalu (knee) is out this week as he continues to return from his PCL injury. He said Troy had an MRI last Wednesday and it showed there is still not enough healing that has been done yet. Guard Chris Kemoeatu (knee,wrist) will be out this week as well. Tomlin said the injuries have piled up on him and it his hurting his play. Ramon Foster will start at left guard in his place. Center Justin Hartwig (knee) and wide receiver Hines Ward (hamstring) could be limited early in the week of practice. Tomlin went on to say that running back Rashard Mendenhall could see more time on 3rd downs as running back Mewelde Moore has struggled with blitz pick-up. Transcript to follow shortly.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Mike Tomlin: Good Afternoon. I’ll start with a quick review of our Thursday night performance in Cleveland. Of course, it was a losing one, detailing the things that really contributed to that outcome. I think first and foremost, we were ineffective on third down, not only converting on third down but protection of our quarterback. We weren’t able to establish rhythm early because of that, it really put us behind the eight-ball in terms of our plan and what we wanted to do in the game. We didn’t capitalize on that red zone opportunity at the end of the first half. We knew potentially that red zone opportunities would be limited in this game due to weather and game circumstances. When we got those opportunities, we had to cash in on them. I thought we missed one there and it proved to be significant. I thought our tackling was below the line at points in this game, particularly on the perimeter. Joshua Cribbs hurt us in a variety of ways and that big punt return provided field position and a score for those guys early on and it was kind of a field position game in the first half. Our inability to convert first downs, plus with the conditions and that big punt return, I think we played quite a bit of the first half on our side of the field and we weren’t able to overcome that as the game unfolded. We didn’t make significant plays at significant moments and that’s why we lost the game. Moving forward, looking at where we are from an injury standpoint, a few updates. Troy [Polamalu] won’t play this week either. We got an MRI done on him Wednesday before we went to Cleveland and there’s not enough healing there with his PCL. We’re probably going to MRI him again, but just based on last Wednesday’s MRI, he wont be playing. Chris Kemoeatu will not be playing in this football game. I really have studied him quite a bit over the last two weeks and it’s an accumulation of injuries that are really rendering his play ineffective. He’s got the right wrist that’s forcing him to play one-handed at times. He’s got the right knee, which he missed the Baltimore game on. When you really look at his play, this is a guy that’s playing one-sided. You’ve got a great deal of admiration for his willingness to play amidst the circumstances, but just because he’s willing doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do. This guy is out there playing one-handed and one-legged at times, we’re going to try to get him at a better physical state before we proceed with him. So at this point, we’re looking at taking him out of the lineup and Ramon Foster being our left guard this week. Justin Hartwig got his knee drained yesterday, it may limit him at the top part of the week but expect him to play. Hines [Ward] will continue to get better with his hamstring injury, which he played with last week. The rest of the injuries are minor and we’ll push forward toward this week. Really, as we sit here today, you’ve got to have a singular focus toward this opportunity. We’ve got a good football team coming in here in the Green Bay Packers. Well-balanced team, seventh in the league offensively, second in the league defensively. If you look at what they do on offense, their featured runner [Ryan] Grant is over 1,000 yards, a slashing, zone-scheme runner. He does a nice job of finishing off runs. They supplement him with Ahman Green and some others. Their quarterback [Aaron] Rodgers is really playing well, and this really where he’s distinguishing himself is on third down. If you watch the tape, it’s obvious that he’s playing well on third down. If you look at the stats, it’s even more evident. This guy’s got a 130-plus quarterback rating on third down. He’s been sacked quite a bit, but it hasn’t forced him into interceptions and bad decisions and so forth. He’s really managed the game well specifically in that instance. He’s got a core of receivers that are seasoned and well-rounded. They’re very good at hand-to-hand combat, they’re very good down the field, after the catch. Talk about Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, [James] Jones, their tight end [Jermichael] Finley, [Jordy] Nelson, their fourth receiver, they’ve got a good receiving core. Defensively, under Dom Capers, they are very similar to some things that we see that we do, but they’ve got some guys that are doing it at a higher level and you can tell that they’ve grown over the course of the season into Coach Capers defense. Up front, they’ve got big time contributions from [Cullen] Jenkins, who’s a very talented high-motor player. A young guy B.J. Raji is a good player that’s playing both nose and tackle for them. The linebacker core when you watch them is very active and productive. [Nick] Barnett inside along with [A.J.] Hawk, they’re very good at the cross-dogs, applying pressure, they’re both active tacklers sideline to sideline. The young first-rounder [Clay] Matthews is really coming on at right outside linebacker. He’s rushing the passer and doing a lot of things well. In their secondary, they’re led by [Charles] Woodson who’s probably having a player of the year caliber-year along with their free safety [Nick] Collins, those two guys are the ring leaders back there for them and they provide a bunch of plays, they’ve got a bunch of turnovers, they’re getting off the field and they provide short fields for their offense. So, needless to say, we’ve got a lot of work cut out for us, we’ve started that process yesterday with our football team, reviewing the Cleveland performance, making corrections and introducing the Green Bay Packers and some of the things that they do and we’ll continue with this process tomorrow starting with the guys.

Question: How would you characterize the state of mind of the team?
Mike Tomlin: I think anger would be one, disappointment definitely, but like we talked about yesterday, it cannot rule us. We’ve got to focus singularly on the opportunity which is in front of us. Excuses and explanations for what has happened particularly recently is really kind of irrelevant. You want to know what kind of team you are, look at your record and turn the tape on. The tape hasn’t been pretty and neither is our record. Our focus is on what’s in front of us this week. Of course it’s natural with having the myriad of emotions that come with failure, particularly in a competitors business, but it has to have it’s place and when it’s time to work, we’ve got to focus on the work. I thought we did that yesterday, I’ll be watching it very closely as we move forward in the week in preparation for this game.

Question: Last week, you called this team, “An average team at best,” does this mean it’s a bad team at this point?
Mike Tomlin: Like I stated, explanations really are irrelevant, we are what we are. We’re a 6-7 team, which is a losing record at this point, so it’s disappointing. It hacks you off, all of those things. I think the team itself of course shares those same feelings because they are extremely competitive and want to do well and want to play winning football, but the reality is we aren’t at this point, so it’s important that we channel those emotions and feelings into productive action, which leads to preparation and ultimately, a change in some of the outcomes of these performances. Particularly this week, we’re singularly focused on Sunday and the Green Bay Packers.

Question: When you were 6-5, you said the players needed to forget how they got here, what’s the balance between forgetting about that but also reminding them that what you’ve done recently is totally unacceptable.
Mike Tomlin: There is a delicate balance there and it’s a tightrope if you would that you have to walk. The reality is and the totalities of all things that have happened here recently, first and foremost, we looked at if have a desire to play dominant football, we haven’t done that. When you don’t play dominant football, you have to be opportunistic and make timely plays, we haven’t done that either. When you’re not dominant and you don’t make timely plays, you lose football games. We’ve lost five in a row to this point. Again, desire to be dominant but not a requirement in terms of winning. We’ve lacked dominance in the past and have found ways to win, because we’ve made significant plays at significant moments. This year, specifically in this run, that has been the case, we haven’t been dominant, we haven’t made the significant plays to close out and win football games. So that’s what we’re working towards, we’re working toward dominance and if we cant have dominance, we definitely have to have timely plays, and we’ve been in position to make those plays, we just haven’t made them to be quite frank. We had an opportunity to win the Baltimore game in regulation, but we didn’t because we gave up a big play on fourth-and-five. We had an opportunity to win the Oakland game, we had a ball hit us in the chest during that last drive, we didn’t make that play. Conversely, at in the past, we have. We didn’t have a dominant Detroit Lions game, but we made a succession of dominant plays at the end of that game to preserve that victory. There’s a delicate balance, we acknowledge that it’s very fragile. In this league, there’s a very line between winning and losing. The line is not so fine when you’re playing dominant, that’s why it’s our goal, but when we’re not playing dominant, we’ve got to find a way to make significant plays at correct moments.

Question: Talk about the challenges that 10 days rest presents during a losing streak.
Mike Tomlin: I really don’t see a negative in 10 days. I know that it’s been helpful to me kind of putting a perspective of where we are in a formulation of this plan for this week and putting us in position to be prepared to play the Green Bay Packers, so I haven’t sensed any negatives of a 10-day layoff to this point.

Question: When you look back at the game on film, besides whether the mistakes were mental or physical, is effort or desire part of the problem?
Mike Tomlin: When you’re making mental mistakes, I put that in the category of effort. Because it’s discipline. We’re not playing well enough to win right now. We’ve got some errors. We’ve got some lack of communication at times. We’re physically being beaten. But again, I think that speaks to what I was referring to earlier in that we’re not playing dominant football. You’re not always going to play dominant football, but you still like to be opportunistic and rise up and make the significant plays to win. I thought about the game that we played up there a year ago, that had really similar adverse weather conditions. That wasn’t a dominant performance, but we had a possession there in the red zone before the half in that game that we connected with Hines Ward on third down-and-11 from the eleven-yard line and scored a touchdown. We tackled a little bit better in that game, and we won that game 10-6. We lost this game 13-6. It’s a fine line. We have to walk on the right side of it this week in preparation for Green Bay. Hopefully we’ll put together a dominant performance. If we don’t, it better be one that’s timely and make significant plays at the correct moments to win the football game.

Question: You made minor adjustments on the short week. Since you have longer to think about it, might you make bigger ones?
Mike Tomlin: We may, and some of the adjustments that we made-and let me say this. I think that it’s important that you guys understand that I don’t have ulterior motives in terms of making moves. I’m not a guy that tries to send messages in terms of making moves, or stir things up, if you will. They’re done with the emphasis of winning football games. The changes I made last week were done with the emphasis of winning the game in Cleveland. Any changes we make this week will be done with the emphasis in winning this opportunity versus Green Bay. Some of the things that we did last week, of course we played quite a few people in the secondary-looking for some guys to make some splash plays in that area. We played several corners, of course-Ike Taylor, William Gay, Joe Burnett, Deshea Townsend-we’ll continue to play those guys until someone reveals themselves or steps outside of the group, if you will, and can show some playmaking ability. If somebody makes a play, they are going to stay on the field. We’re doing the same thing, really, at the safety position. Ryan Mundy’s playing quite a bit, along with Tyrone Carter. We’re playing Deshea some at the safety in a package or two. We’re trying to find a combination of guys who can make a play for us and get us off the field or provide us a short field. Same thing offensively; Rashard [Mendenhall] has played consistently well since the latter part of September or October. We’ll increase his opportunities. He’s playing on third down now, and we’re going to continue with that. Of course, we’ve tried to get Santonio [Holmes] going as a punt returner, and of course, that never really materialized based on the nature of some of the punting situations in that football game due to the weather. So those are some of the changes that we’ve made. We’ll probably continue with some of those, we’ll probably add to some of those as we continue to develop our plan. But again, all of that is done with the emphasis toward finding an edge that will provide a victory for us.

Question: Will you continue with Santonio on the punt returns, and what about the kickoff returns?
Mike Tomlin: Yes, we will continue with him as a situational return man. I like some of the things that we’ve done as a kickoff team. I think that’s been consistently above the line for the better part of the year, so you won’t expect a great deal of changes there.

Question: Did you use Mewelde [Moore] because of the weather and the wind?
Mike Tomlin: Yeah, we wanted to have three returners back-not only in the punt return game, but also in the kick return game. So we put Mewelde back and put him in the middle in kick returns, because he was a central communicator in the punt return game as well. We wanted communication to flow in one direction; Mewelde, of course, is a very reliable guy from a communications standpoint. He wasn’t reliable in terms of fielding the ball in the game, but from a communications standpoint and because of the weather, we deemed it necessary to have multiple return men back there. And he’s a good, consistent judgment guy and communicator.

Question: How does your team get its mental edge back?
Mike Tomlin: By making plays. I think anything else is false enthusiasm or bravado, if you will. So we have to knuckle up and swallow some of the things that we’re swallowing right now in preparation for this game. We have to stay singularly focused on the preparation, and ultimately, we have to step into the stadium and make plays. The more plays we make, the more rhythm we get, the more confidence we’ll get, and hopefully we’ll be able to put enough of those together to win this game.

Question: When you’ve got a pretty clearly defined third down guy like Mewelde Moore, what are you looking for out of a guy like Rashard?
Mike Tomlin: Rashard has done a nice job from a blitz pickup standpoint. He’s, of course, an established runner. Mewelde has not been very consistent from a blitz pickup standpoint, so it’s created an opportunity for Rashard to expand his role.

Question: How did Joe Burnett do the other day?
Mike Tomlin: He did okay, he didn’t distinguish himself. So that’s why, at this point, we’re continuing with the rotation that we have in terms of playing a lot of people. He played four possessions in that game, and probably will have a similar role this week, unless he makes a play or somebody else makes a play. And of course, whoever the playmakers are will be the ones who stay on the field.

Question: Keenan Lewis doesn’t factor in?
Mike Tomlin: Keenan Lewis hasn’t factored in because he hasn’t had a helmet from a special teams matchup standpoint. If he’s able to get a helmet due to a special teams matchup opportunity this week, then of course I’ll put him into that mix as well.

Question: From what you’ve seen of the Packers, has their second-half surge been mostly because they’ve adapted to the new defense?
Mike Tomlin: They’ve adapted to the defense over the course of the year, they’ve gotten a bunch of turnovers defensively-and that speaks to, I guess, their understanding of what they’re doing schematically- but they’ve also improved as a third down offense. The protection of the quarterback has vastly improved. And they’re getting hot at the appropriate times. Aaron Rodgers is getting hot at the appropriate time. I think his third down quarterback rating kind of speaks to that.

Question: With the weather conditions the other night and with the kind of depleted state of your opponent, one play that stood out was that third-and-one early in the game where you guys went into shotgun. Why not do power formation and try to grind out those yards?
Mike Tomlin: No question, in hindsight, we probably should have. But we were preparing for a big third-and-one to two menu from a game standpoint. Our intent was to run the football in that football game, so when you do that, you end up with some ones and twos and threes like we did in the first two possessions of that game. In that particular instance in the first quarter, we were going with the wind, so we had an opportunity (in our estimation) to pass the football. We didn’t expect to get sacked, of course. So with how the game potentially was going to unfold in mind, the fact that we could be in a bunch of third-and-one, two, and three situations, at that point, we deemed it appropriate to maybe hold on to the run down calls for the second quarters when we were going against the wind. Maybe later in the game, we’d have an opportunity to protect the lead, to keep the clock running, to run the ball on third down. So in those instances, we passed the ball. And really, it was ineffective, and really not a good way to start a football game.

Question: Ben has had responsibilities with the changing of the protection. Did he have an off night, doing that on Thursday?
Mike Tomlin: I think that we all had an off night. And I know I say that often, and maybe it becomes a cliché. But it’s true. You look at the third down of the football game. As the primary receiver, Hines Ward trips over one of the interior nickel guys and falls coming out of his break, or else he’s going to be open for an out-route. The secondary receiver Heath Miller got taken on inside position and really did a nice job of covering him. And then our center, Justin Hartwig, got beat pretty cleanly by Corey Williams. So a combination of Hines falling down, Heath getting covered, and Justin getting beat by Corey Williams produced an ineffective play, and not only that but a negative play-a sack. If you look at the second third down of the game, of course we were down there, backed up in the dog pound-so communication is very difficult. We were working on the silent count; Ben was standing in the secondary. The snap came before he was ready to receive it. They brought a guy off of the open side. It’s a catch and throw- you move the ball versus a hot in that situation on a first down. But because the snap came before he was prepared to get it, it surprised him- he spun out versus the edge pressure guy and we got sacked again. So, a lot of explanation, a lot of excuses- really, it’s irrelevant. The protection of our quarterback and the conversion of third downs is an eleven-man job, and it’s a staff job. And we all failed. And I can go down the list of third down plays just in that fashion. But really, when you think about it, it’s irrelevant-isn’t it? We have to be more functional in those situations. We have to operate at a higher level. We can’t have the popcorn of breakdowns, be it physical-someone tripping out of a cut, falling down, someone losing a one-on-one battle, getting covered, someone losing a protection battle, getting beat by an interior lineman. Collectively, it all produces negative plays. We have to win more of those battles than we lose. And until we do that, we’ll continue to struggle. It’s not our intention to continue to struggle. We’re going to work our tail off this week to make sure we win more than we lose.

Question: Is there a value in saying “We’re going to impose our will on you, here we come, we’re going to run the ball”, and does throwing on third-and-one represent any lack of confidence in your offensive line’s ability to get movement?
Mike Tomlin: I think it does, particularly when you throw on third-and-one and you don’t move the chains. It does, and I can understand that assessment of it. And we haven’t been as dominant as we’d like to be, running the football on third-and-one or third-and-two. I think Rashard is 6-of-12 on the season in less than two on third down. 50% is not good enough. It’s not. So we’re not running away from that assessment of the situation either.

Question: Yesterday, James Farrior spoke in terms of playing for the team with pride and things of that sort. Regardless of wherever the next three games go, is that as important of a starting point as any other in trying to get out of this?
Mike Tomlin: I’ll agree with that, but again, to me, it’s about this opportunity. And for this team, it’s going to be about this opportunity. I’m not concerned about the final three games, collectively. I’m not concerned about how we push through the adversity we face as we sit here right now. It is what it is. We need to swallow that, we need to show our mental fortitude, and we need to prepare, and we need to prepare better, and ultimately we need to play better on Sunday in front of our home fans at Heinz Field against a good quality opponent. And that’s the driving force for me, and that’s going to be the driving force for our football team. We’ve lost two games in a row at Heinz Field in front of our home fans. And they deserve better than that. We deserve to give a better performance for ourselves that we’ve given in recent dates. All of those things are driving me and they’re going to drive us this week in preparation for this game.

Question: We’ve seen this offense-and before you came here, more from a 60% run to about a 60% pass. Could the reason that you’re passing more be the lack of confidence in the run?
Mike Tomlin: Like I’ve said several times, we strive for balance. We really do. We want to use all of our weapons. We believe that we have quality receivers; we believe that we have a quality quarterback. We believe that we have a quality offensive line and running back. We strive for balance. But our recent failures in third down have really skewed that balance. When you’re having three-and-outs, particularly to start football games-the way it’s happened here for us recently-or you move the ball via big plays, like we did at times-say, two weeks ago against Oakland-you don’t establish the balance that you ultimately desire. What we desire and what’s on tape are two different things right now. So I’m not going to try to explain away what’s on tape. I’m just trying to give you an understanding of how it evolves. Our intentions, or what we plan to do, and what’s unfolded are two different things here of late, and that’s we’re unproductive, and that’s why we’ve not won.

Question: When Troy got hurt the second time, you sounded much more optimistic about his chances of coming back from his injury versus the first time. Did you find further damage, or is he just been slower than expected to recover-has the MRI shown worse results?
Mike Tomlin: I really just think that the healing process is slower than we anticipated, just based on what I’ve seen-well, not what I’ve seen, because I couldn’t read and MRI if it was in front of me-but what our doctors have seen from an MRI standpoint, in terms of the healing of the PCL.

Question: You’ve spoken previously about the offense maybe looking similar to the Patriots’ offense. Is what we’re seeing a reflection of that? And in fact, as you look back at it, is there a flaw in maybe not having the personnel to do that?
Mike Tomlin: No, what you’re seeing is a reflection of ineffectiveness on third down, really. I mentioned the Patriots in passing several weeks ago now simply because that was one of the groups that came to mind when you talked about having a lot of ways of attacking an opponent. They have a dominant quarterback, they have several dominant receiving options, and they have a good running game. They have a nice back- who I believe is maybe the best third down back-in Kevin Faulk. We thought we shaped up, and still think that we shape up in a similar way- from a personnel standpoint, in that we have a quarterback that’s capable of delivering for us, we have some quality receivers, we have a featured back that we like, we have a stable of backs that we like, we have a third down back. But we haven’t performed well enough-particularly recently- on third downs to establish the kind of personality that we desire, which is balance, the ability to attack people in different ways, and ultimately ring the scoreboard up and win football games.

Question: Speaking of personality, Green Bay went to the 3-4 this year. Are you surprised, in some respects, in how quickly they’ve adapted, and in fact been successful in creating turnovers? Or is that personality being displayed for that?
Mike Tomlin: I think a lot of that was in place. I think a lot of what they did in the offseason was geared toward that transition as well. The drafting of Clay Matthews was big; the drafting of B.J. Raji was big. [A.J.] Hawk and [Nick] Barnett are quality interior linebackers; whether or not they play on 4-3 or 3-4 is irrelevant. [Cullen] Jenkins is a dominant defensive lineman; whether or not he’s in a 4-3 or a 3-4 is irrelevant. I think that sometimes skill set transcends scheme. And when you talk about dominant players, really good players-it doesn’t matter what scheme they’re in. Charles Woodson is a dominant corner, regardless of whether you put him on the line of scrimmage, you play bump in man-to-man every down, or you line him up in zone defenses, whether he’s a nickel back or a safety, or a corner-this guy can play. So I think they have a lot of pieces in place that were natural fits. I think that some of the moves that they made were geared toward that transition, and I think it’s kind of come together nicely for them.

Question: Obviously things are always highlighted during a losing streak like this, but those messages-“Redemption Sunday” and the “unleash hell”- does it worry you that those weren’t translated into results and when the phrase “Lost your team” is thrown out there, does that upset you?
Mike Tomlin: It doesn’t upset me. I think that those kinds of judgments and things come with losing. That’s a byproduct of losing. If you’re in this industry and you’re a competitor, you wear that. I wear that. I accept that. I’m always less worried about what’s said from an outside standpoint and more concerned about what I see from the people that I interact with and deal with and coach on a day-to-day basis. So some of those things hadn’t been a bigger concern of mine, based on my interactions with them. I understand that maybe those feelings or sentiments can be relayed through the media or from the outside. But that comes with losing. If we don’t like that, we need to win a football game.

Question: What do you see when you look at your players?
Mike Tomlin: I still see a determined group. I see a group that’s frustrated. I see a group that has a desire to win. I see a group that’s willing to take all of the decision that I make in an effort to win. I think they’ve done a nice job in that. We haven’t put together enough plays to be dominant, which is of course what we desire to do first and foremost. And if not dominant, at least opportunistic. And we’ve done neither. That’s why we’re where we are at this point right now.

Question: Even though Ike Taylor’s receiving skills are questionable, how many touchdowns has he given up in man-to-man coverage? And also, if the Steelers aren’t satisfied with him, is it a possibility that he might be released at the end of the season?
Mike Tomlin: I guess I’ll answer your last question first. We haven’t pondered any off-season decisions on any level at this point. I don’t think it’s the appropriate time to take that approach to anything that we’re doing. Our goal as an organization, as a football team, is to be singularly focused on Green Bay and what it takes for us to win this game. With regards to your first question, I don’t have an answer to that. I don’t know how many specific touchdowns Ike has given up this year.

Question: In that vein, players have said “We’re playing for our jobs now.” Is that so, and what does that mean? Could these next three games cost some of these guys their jobs?
Mike Tomlin: I think that that’s a natural assessment. I think that everybody understands the nature of this business-that when you’re unsuccessful, changes come with that. I think that is a natural assessment from a big picture standpoint. But from a football team’s standpoint, from an organization’s standpoint, that is not our focus in any form or fashion as I sit here today. But form a player’s standpoint, if asked questions along those lines, we have enough veteran players that understand the nature of this industry and this business that when you don’t win, changes are a part of it.

Question: If you look at tape from these last two games, defensively, are there a fair amount of times when it’s not about schemes or mistakes, it’s about guys who just aren’t physically able to get there and make the plays?
Mike Tomlin: That’s a fair assessment. I guess it’s highlighted by the fact that we’ve lost, and I mean that. Win or lose, people get physically beaten in every football game. You get schematically beat in every football game, particularly when you’re not dominant. But if you find a way to make significant plays, some of those failures are distant memory. If Joe Burnett catches the ball against Oakland, we probably wouldn’t think about the physical failures or the schematic failures that happened in that game. He didn’t. We lost, so it’s etched in your memory. That comes with coaching and playing in this business, particularly at this level. So I guess what I’m saying is that every game you roll the ball out, you lose some physical battles, you’re going to lose some schematic battles. You better win more than you lose, and you better make timely plays if you’re not dominant. And, of course, we haven’t done either lately.

Audio and video from Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin post game press conference following the 2009, week 14 loss against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday December 10th, 2009. Transcript to follow! No audio yet, you didn't miss anything though, trust me.

Get the latest Flash Player to see this player.

Get the latest Flash Player to see this player.

Mike Tomlin: To cut to the chase, we fell short in all three phases tonight. We knew we had to stop their perimeter run-game and wildcat football. We weren’t able to do that. They got on the perimeter and hurt us for big chunks. They controlled the time of possession and converted first downs and critical moments in that area. We knew we couldn’t give up the critical return due to the nature of the weather. We gave up the big return and got them started and it put us behind the eight ball. Offensively, the protection of our quarterback was a big time issue. We couldn’t move the chains on third down and we couldn’t establish a rhythm. We couldn’t get the run-game going that we felt pretty good about going into the game. That about sums it up. When you get beat in all three phases, schematically and performance-wise, we are all to be held accountable, and we are. I like the fight in the group and I trust they will continue to do that. It is a close-knit group and I trust that they’ll stick together. But fighting and sticking together are not going to win football games. Performance and preparation will. We have an extended week here in preparation for our next performance so we better make moves to get that done.

Question: (On not using the run-game as much on third downs)
Mike Tomlin: Hindsight is 20/20. I thought we used it a few times to start the second half. Early on, we had some looks that we wanted to catch them on and thought we could get the ball out of our hands quickly. We lost a few opportunities and guys didn’t come open and we got sacked.

Question: (On what was responsible for the sacks)
Mike Tomlin: It was communication there, initially. Once we got some things communicated, I thought we were soft at times and we lost a few individual battles. The protection of our quarterback is an ‘11-man and our staff’ job. We all take responsibility for that – players and coaches.

Question: (On if the sacks affected Ben Roethlisberger)
Mike Tomlin: I’m sure they did. But again, he is a tough guy so I don’t think it shook him in any form or fashion. Not having an opportunity to operate in those conditions is tough.

Question: (On being able to pin-point the reasons behind a five-game losing streak)
Mike Tomlin: We have found new and different ways to not rise up in critical moments and we are losing football games because of it. It happened in all three phases.

Question: (On anything surprising out of Joshua Cribbs)
Mike Tomlin: No, they did a lot of different things with him the first time we played them. He is a special player. He came out of some tackles and we did not do a good enough job of tackling. He did a nice job – they did a nice job.

Question: (On possibly kicking away from Joshua Cribbs)
Mike Tomlin: We actually, believe it or not, were attempting to put the ball on the sidelines. In weather conditions like that, it’s hard to control the flight pattern of the ball. That is what happened a few times when the ball ended up in the middle of the field. Not one time did we intend to put the ball in the middle of the field with that guy (Cribbs) because of the history we have with him.

Question: (On possibly making wholesale changes to the team)
Mike Tomlin: We wanted to get (CB) Joe Burnett in the mix and we did. He played at least four series in the football game at cornerback. We were trying to get his feet wet and exposed to some football. We wanted to use Santonio (Holmes) as a situational punt returner to try and provide a spark there. We used Rashard Mendenhall on third downs because of the spark he provides. None of those things were a factor in determining the outcome of the football game. We will continue to take that approach moving forward.

Question: (On what the team showed him tonight)
Mike Tomlin: I thought they fought, like I said earlier. I thought that they stuck together but it wasn’t enough to win the football game. This is a results-oriented business. That is a prerequisite for winning. I’ll encourage them and expect them to continue to do those things. Fighting and sticking together is not going to win football games. We are going to look beyond that as we prepare for our next opportunity to play.

Question: (On if preparation is an issue)
Mike Tomlin: You don’t feel that it is in the midst of it, but like I said, this is a results-oriented business. If the results are not what you desire, then you have to look at all elements of it and preparation is a part of that.

Question: (On if the Steelers are a playoff team)
Mike Tomlin: Man, we haven’t won a game in five weeks. We are just trying to win a football game.

Question: (On if this is a low point for the season)
Mike Tomlin: That is a safe assessment.

Question: (On the injury to DE Brett Keisel)
Mike Tomlin: He had a stinger and once he regained strength, he was able to get back in the game. I think that was the only injury that we dealt with of any significance tonight.

Question: (On despite the record, is this still a good football team)
Mike Tomlin: It is about where you are right now. Records are one thing, but it’s about momentum. That’s why the second half of the season and December football is so important. Based on recent trends, in terms of our record and how we’ve played recently, you cannot say that. I’m being very honest in terms of where we are right now.

Audio from Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin press conference on Monday December 7th. Tomlin addresses the upcoming week 14 Cleveland Browns game on Thursday night and takes questions on yesterday's Raiders game as well. As far as injuries go, Tomlin said Troy Polamalu (knee) will likely be sidelined once again. He reiterated that Troy's health will dictate when he returns. Defensive end Travis Kirschke (calf) could be back this week. Backup quarterback Charlie Batch (wrist) will be sized up for a soft cast and will try to work this week. Wide receiver Hines Ward (hamstring) is not looking good to play this week after suffering a hamstring strain late in the game on Sunday. Running back Rashard Mendenhall (ankle) has left ankle sprain and swelling and will likely be limited on Tuesday, but should be good to play this week. Cornerback William Gay (concussion) is going through test, but does not seem like he will be ready. Regardless, rookie cornerbacks Joe Burnett and Keenan Lewis will see time this week. Also Tomlin noted a change schematically in the secondary defense. Also receivers Mike Wallace and Limas Sweed will see their roles increase this week, especially if Ward is down. Transcript to follow shortly.

http://www.steelersdepot.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/mike_tomlin_12_7_2009_press_conference.mp3

Mike Tomlin: Good Afternoon. Very disappointed in the defeat yesterday. I think it’s appropriate at this point that we acknowledge that we have an undesirable pattern kind of behavior, which produces a series of outcomes that are not what we’re looking for. Moving forward this week and beyond, we can’t continue to do what we’ve been doing and assume that that pattern behavior’s going to change and those outcomes are going to change, so we’re analyzing all aspects of what we’re doing here, specifically this week and are going to be aggressive in terms of looking at potential changes. Not only what we do schematically but who we have do it in all three phases because it’s appropriate. I think that is evident, we have some things from a personality standpoint that are occurring continuously that are not acceptable. We’re not making plays at the end of the game particularly defensively on the back end, opportunities to close the game out from an interception standpoint, allowing people to get big plays on us. Offensively, we’re squandering scoring opportunities. We had two opportunities in the red area that were unsuccessful yesterday. We got stopped on a fourth and half-a-yard on a quarterback sneak. We threw an interception on first down in the red area that took other points of the board. We were in very reasonable field goal range, got sacked on a third down that put us on the outer perimeter of field goal range, of course, which we missed. When you’re squandering your scoring opportunities offensively, you’re giving up plays and not making plays at critical moment defensively, you have a pattern of behavior that’s unacceptable that’s going to produce some losses which of course is what has happened. We acknowledge that we accept full responsibility for that. We’re going to take appropriate action and at this time, I think appropriate action is looking at doing some things differently and potentially with different combinations of people. So, it gets increasingly difficult because we’re dealing with a short week, we understand that, but so is the Cleveland Browns. We’re going to proceed and prepare and ultimately try to find a formula that produces a win for us, which is of course what definitely need. When you look at us from an injury standpoint, in the game, William Gay sustained a concussion. We’ll take him through the procedure that we take guys through coming off a concussion. He’ll get a battery of tests which will determine whether or not he’s able to practice. If he’s able to practice, we’ll check him for levels of discomfort and see where it takes us here in the week. Hines Ward had a mild hamstring strain on the second to last play of the game when he caught that out around mid-field, so he’s going to be very questionable for this game. The hamstring is mild but we’re working on an extremely short week, we’ll see where it goes, but not favorable for him. Some existing injuries, we’re going to size Charlie Batch up here for a soft cast and I think we’re going to get some participation out of him at practice or at least attempt to and we’ll see where that goes. Travis Kirschke appears to be ready to go from the calf strain that he sustained a few weeks back and was able to play, and then wasn’t able to play in this game. Hopefully, that’s one that’s behind us. Rashard Mendenhall has a minor left ankle sprain or swelling. It may limit him tomorrow but he’s going to be fine and ready to play in the football game. Troy’s [Polamalu] continuing to be evaluated, I don’t think he’s going to play in this football game, and all the other bumps and bruises are just that, bumps and bruises. Including the emotional ones, we’ll mend those as well and we better do it quickly, because we have a game to play Thursday night.

Question: Is it at the point, “make a play give yourselves a chance, don’t make the play, basically go home?”
Mike Tomlin: Certainly, it is.

Question: Who starts at cornerback assuming William Gay doesn’t play?
Mike Tomlin: It’s going to be Joe Burnett, Keenan Lewis is going to get an opportunity to play. We want to see both of those guys, they’re young guys, they’ve been working. We want to see both of those guys play.

Question: You want to leave Deshea [Townsend] in the dime?
Mike Tomlin: Yes.

Question: Can you tell us what some of the other changes might be?
Mike Tomlin: You know, it’s very early in the week. If it was a normal Tuesday press conference, I’d probably have more information for you in that regard. But we’re in the early stages of development of our playing adjustments right now. But I can assure you, there are going to be some.

Question: Will there be many changes?
Mike Tomlin: Whatever we think is appropriate in terms of giving ourselves a chance to win based on the matchup with the Cleveland Browns. Subtle in some areas, not so subtle in others, but I’m acknowledging that I’m very open to that.

Question: Will they be on defense?
Mike Tomlin: All three phases.

Question: Talk about the mental wounds that need to be healed.
Mike Tomlin: You have to acknowledge the potential that this can be kind of a shaken group. We’ve swallowed a lot here of late. We’re going to have to become one with ourselves, if you will; individually and collectively. I’m going to be looking very closely at these men. It’s going to provide quality information for me, in terms of who, legitimately, is mentally tough and who can stand the test of adversity, because we have some. And who’s going to lead the charge, more than anything, in terms of getting us out of this and winning the football game. I’m going to be very interested to see who those people are, and who those people aren’t.

Question: Have they lost some equity some what they may have earned after winning a championship? Are you re-evaluating people in that regard now?
Mike Tomlin: Certainly, but I didn’t carry the equity of a championship into this season. I think I’ve been pretty clear about of my mentality with regards to that. I’ve said it since day one that each season is one that is very different, and that what we do stands alone even if a lot of the people are the same people. Nothing stays this same in this game, and players are ascending and descending; people catch up with schemes, schemes evolve. Playing and coaching, this thing is ever-changing. And we acknowledge that. You’re always slow to talk about equity from season to season in terms of some of the things that lead to discussion and decision-making. I’m more concerned, or more focused, on the equity that’s built over the course of a season, particularly as we sit here with this one.

Question: That said, some of the players publicly talked about how this season contrasts with last year. Is that the type of thing that you can do without, and maybe something that you view as a red flag, something that you just can’t have at this point?
Mike Tomlin: I think they comment on those differences because they ask those questions. Those are just questions that you’re asked, those are just questions that I’m asked, so I respond to them. I think a lot of those discussions are generated by questions that aren’t printed or aired, or given appropriate recognition. Those guys are going to be professional. They communicate with you guys, they answer questions; sometimes, those answers involve discussions that I’d rather not have. But they’re doing what they’re supposed to do.

Question: Are you satisfied with the leadership that you’re getting and do you challenge guys to step up?
Mike Tomlin: To this point, we’ve got quality leaders. We’ve got quality guys. It’s not about the type of leadership that we have or the type of people that we are; the type of football character that we display. It’s about making plays. It’s about the performance. Who we are and what we do are two different things. I’m going to call on that leadership and really look for others outside of some of those known leaders, to provide quality leadership. I think that at times such as this, everyone’s capable of being their best selves and positively affecting their environment or work situation.

Question: How is Mike Wallace, and is he ready to take on an expanded role on Thursday if, in fact, Hines [Ward] cannot go?
Mike Tomlin: Mike is a reliable young guy. He doesn’t blow a lot of assignments, he’s proven repeatedly that the situation isn’t too big for him, opportunities to play and make plays. I’d imagine that that will continue, and I’d imagine that if Hines doesn’t play, his role will be expanded in some form or fashion. But I also acknowledge that we may use Limas Sweed in some of the big body things that Hines Ward does. Because Hines Ward is a unique guy, in terms of what he does for our football team, in both the run and the passing game. That may require more than one person to fill that void.

Question: There seems to be a disconnect here in so many of the losses; you throttle a team for three quarters, and then the fourth quarter, it seems like a whole new game. Is it the defenses you call, the plays that the opponent runs-what changes?
Mike Tomlin: I don’t know if anything changes other than the fact that we’re not making the necessary plays to close out games. I think that that is the story of the National Football League. I think that most games are close, or move in a certain fashion for three, three and a half quarters, and then the cream rises at the end. Obviously, we’re a very average football team as we sit here today. Our record indicates that, and our recent record indicates that that might be a kind assessment. I’m just being very realistic about where we are, and I think that we all need to do that. Because that’s going to give us the necessary clarity to change it.

Question: You mentioned emotional wounds with the players. How difficult has this been for you to go through, and what do you do with your emotional wounds to try and lead this team down the stretch?
Mike Tomlin: I’m very thoughtful that I display the attributes that I ask my guys to. I think that’s part of leadership. I love the challenges that this profession provides, even when it’s miserable. It’s awesome, it really is. I love it. I don’t like where we are, I don’t like losing football games, particularly in the manner in which we’re losing them. But I love what I do. I love coming in here, I love building it, and I love the challenges. That hasn’t changed, and I doubt that’ll ever change. That’s just my perspective that I have on this game and my relationship that I have with this game, and one that I hope spills over to other people.

Question: Will you go with three wide receivers, or possibly add a fourth?
Mike Tomlin: We’ll possibly add a fourth, depending on Hines’ availability.

Question: Are you they kind of coach that gets involved a lot schematically, and will that change? Will you put more of your handprint on some of these things?
Mike Tomlin: I do, and I will, because it’s appropriate at this time.

Question: Was there a miscommunication yesterday in the secondary?
Mike Tomlin: I think there were maybe one or two instances, which is probably normal for a 65-70 play football game. I’m not going to let that be an excuse for our inability to close out and finish games. We have to make plays, we have to put guys in better positions to make plays. We have to do that.

Question: When do you anticipate having those lineup changes finalized?
Mike Tomlin: Maybe Thursday at 6:30. The hay’s not going to be in the barn this week; we’re going to keep bailing it until the eleventh hour with some changes, if possible.

Question: As far as Troy [Polamalu] goes, are you going to re-evaluate any position on his availability given your playoff position?
Mike Tomlin: No, his availability is based on his health. We’re not going to let circumstance change that approach, that’s not the right thing to do. So when he is ready to play, we’ll play him.

Question: I’m talking either way-would you consider not playing him the rest of the year, depending on how his health coincides with where the playoffs are? Or will he definitely come back?
Mike Tomlin: I play to win. I play to win. If that scoreboard is on, we’re playing to win. Last I heard, they’re going to have it on.

Question: There’s a lot of talk about teams, after winning a championship having a target on your back. Have you seen other teams giving you their best shot, particularly in the fourth quarter?
Mike Tomlin: I think it’s something that comes with being a Steeler that people understand how we play the game. I don’t know that it’s necessarily championship-driven; I’ve always felt that way. I know that when I worked with other teams, the week you play the Steelers, you know what kind of football game you’re going to be in. It’s something that you can’t put a price tag on. It’s legacy. So I don’t know how much the championship itself weighs into that. We always prepare with the anticipation of people being at their very best, and us getting their best shot. Ultimately, we’d like to think that that doesn’t determine the outcome of football games, that our play does. And I’m a believer in that.

Question: Six games losing streaks also seem to follow championships with other teams. Any idea of why that could be a trend?
Mike Tomlin: I don’t want to make excuses. I think that when you ponder those things and you look for a pattern of reasons why, it becomes excuse-making. And I’m not in the business of that. I don’t live in that world. I know it might be reasonable to some, but I’m not a reasonable person when it comes to football. I try to win at every opportunity.

Question: To that point, a lot of focus is on the fourth quarter, but the whole second half of the year’s gone backwards. Is that the type of thing that can potentially go back to the lengths of last year, the demands of the off-season? Or is this the deal right now that it comes down to scheme, execution and players?
Mike Tomlin: Scheme, execution and players. I’m not playing that game in terms of what happened last year. The reality is that over the second half of the year, the cream rises. The good teams show themselves. And the teams that aren’t show themselves. To this point, we’re showing ourselves to not be a good football team. And that needs to change.

Question: Did you think that Limas had a chance at that last catch?
Mike Tomlin: I thought he did, but of course the play wasn’t made. Given the circumstances, that’s about as reasonable of an opportunity that you’re going to have to make that play. When you talk about Hail Maries, if you will, a bunch of bodies coming to a point in the end zone-we had a 6’4” guy at the point with a pretty clean look at it. You like your chances, under the circumstances. But let’s face it, those aren’t very good circumstances, when you’re doing that.

Question: You mentioned Keenan Lewis before. Some fans were wondering why we haven’t seen him as much as earlier. Can you talk about where he is and why he hasn’t been on the field?
Mike Tomlin: Sure. He played in our opener and sustained an injury, missed the next several games due to that injury. He worked his way back into another opportunity to play. And really, in recent weeks, he hasn’t dressed the last two games because we’ve been making sure that we had big-bodied, special teams guys available and suited; Carey Davis, for instance, who we thought was critical as a punt protection guy, to block Ed Reed and his up-and-under rush and punt rush. Each week, we evaluate the matchups in all three phases. Some of them are special teams, sometimes the nature of the matchup dictates that we have a big-bodied special teams man suited, as opposed to a little-bodied special teams man. We like some of the things that Keenan has done; he’s been consistently on the rise since coming back from that injury. But due to matchups, he hasn’t been suited the last two weeks. Obviously, if William Gay doesn’t play, that won’t be a factor in determining whether or not he plays this week; he’ll have an opportunity to play.

Question: Even if William (Gay) plays, is he necessarily a starter or is that position kind of wide open with Joe [Burnett] and Keenan?
Mike Tomlin: I think at this point, we need to see what those young guys are capable of doing and seeing if they can make a play for us. Of course, Joe had an opportunity to make a play that should have finished that football game and didn’t. But we’ll give him some more opportunities.

Question: Were there missed assignments on the winning touchdown pass, and if so, what happened?
Mike Tomlin: We did. We had a couple guys out of place, in terms of applying pressure to the quarterback with a blitz package. We did have all the eligibles covered; it wasn’t anything from that structural standpoint. But we didn’t get what we wanted from a blitz entry standpoint, and it created an opportunity for the quarterback to step up in the pocket and find, I think it was Louis Murphy, in the left corner of the end zone.

Question: Shouldn’t have one of those corners been back with [Ryan] Mundy?
Mike Tomlin: Certainly, yes.

Question: Ike [Taylor] had some chances to make some plays and hasn’t. Will he be part of this equation where you’ll be looking at possible changes?
Mike Tomlin: Certainly, certainly. I think that it’s appropriate, that we look at giving some guys some opportunities to see if they can play. What that means, or to what extent that means changes should be made, I think that’s a little bit premature. But I acknowledge that that’s taking place.

Question: It looks like you used more of the fullback in David Johnson. How’s that been going?
Mike Tomlin: It’s been good. I like how he finished the game; I’d like him to start faster. He’s a young guy that I think, early on in the game, appears to be testing the waters and he just needs to jump in. And that’s part of youth, at times. But he’s got to grow up. He’s got to come out of the tunnel with a higher tempo than I think that he did yesterday. It got better as the game wore on, and I think that our results got better because of it. But early on, not enough of what we’re looking for, the third down play before the fourth down quarterback sneak being an example of that. He has to punch holes in fronts, particularly in third-and-one situations to allow us to move the chains. We don’t see any reason why we can’t always move the chains on third down and one.

Question: You talked about injuries being a part of football, and if someone goes down, someone has to replace them. But is it possible that Troy’s presence is that important, if you look at the losses early in the season when he was out, same story as now?
Mike Tomlin: I’m not going to make excuses for my level of expectation. I think that we’re capable of playing winning football with or without Troy. Are we different? Yes, because Troy is a unique individual. He brings a unique skill set. Maybe the ceiling is different, but the floor-the standard of expectation-is the same, that we’re capable of playing winning football. We’ve played winning football without him. We went and played winning football in Denver on Monday Night Football without him on the back end. So I don’t worry about that. I tend to focus my energies on the guys that do play and their level of preparation and their level of play, as opposed to the guys that are unavailable. You can waste a lot of time worrying about guys that are unavailable. I don’t want to waste that kind of time.

Question: This is a veteran team. How do you think they will respond if there are sweeping changes?
Mike Tomlin: They’re pros. I think they understand it, and I think, to a degree, they’ll agree with me. That’s the nature of this thing. We can’t stay status quo in terms of how we’re approaching this thing and expect the pattern of behavior or outcome to change. That’s unrealistic, that’s hoping. This is not a hope business. I’m not a “hope mentality” person. I think our guys are of the same mindset. So I don’t expect any surprise or discontent with regards to this approach, to be quite honest with you.

Question: Cornerbacks who don’t have interceptions perhaps can be explained by defending, very well, the receiver. Have you ever seen anything like cornerbacks going through 12 games without any interceptions?
Mike Tomlin: First time for me. And of course, I’ve been around some secondary play. Not good enough.