November 9, 2025 • 11 mins
Steelers Digest Editor, Bob Labriola sits down with Head Coach Mike Tomlin ahead of the Steelers week 10 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
He's the Mike Tomlin Game Day podcast with Steelers Digest
editor Bob Labriola, Okay coach last Sunday against a seven
to one Colts team that had the best running back
in the league spearheading and offense averaging over thirty points
per game. Your defense held that running back to forty
five yards and a three point two average, which forced
(00:20):
fifty pass attempts, which allowed you to get to your
pressure packages, which led to five sacks, three interceptions, and
two fumble recoveries. Is that the vision or expectation you
had for this defense in terms of the way it
needed to play.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
It is certainly the mode of operation in terms of
how you play defense, or how we envision playing defense.
You minimize the running game, you get people one dimensional,
you get them behind the chains. You're in more advantageous
possession down circumstances, and the better advantageous possession down circumstances
you're in, the higher probability is for defensive splash that
(00:55):
comes in the form of sacks, sack, fumbles, interceptions, and
so it's certainly the formula that we envision, but it's
easier said than done.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Certainly, when watching the video of that game, What specifically
did you see that was happening to allow your defense
to control Jonathan Taylor.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
We did a nice job of constricting and containing guys
were in their gaps, and we set good edges. We
didn't play on a field that was fifty three and
the third yards wide. You know, our edged people constricted
the horizontal space. The linebackers played downhill and minimized vertical holes.
And when you do that, and you do that highly consistently,
(01:34):
you got a chance to have a good day. And
I think that that was really the bones of the day.
We set edges. You didn't see him bouncing any balls
to the perimeter for games, and you didn't feel any
vertical holes where he can go lateral to get vertical.
And those are the two major components to playing really
good run D.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
Two individual defensive stats. We always see our tackles for
loss and passes defence when you're grading the video. What
constantitutes a tackle for loss and what constitutes are past defense?
Speaker 2 (02:04):
You know, I don't define it. It's defined by you know,
by the powers that be National Football League, Elias or
whoever does officially our stats. But anything I think for
less than zero, So a half a yard loss, anything
of that nature is classified, and even zero At times,
you tackle quarterback for a zero yard gain is registered
as a sack, for example. And then the past defenses
(02:26):
are you know, it's somewhat judgment. Sometimes they are pure breakups.
Sometimes there are disruptions. You get to somebody's elbow, you
dislodge them from catching the ball by getting to their elbow,
and so anything where where you're close enough to be
a factor in terms of a ball being incomplete is
characterized as a pass defense. Certainly, that includes things that
(02:49):
are that are much more than that, interceptions, et cetera.
But by definition as defined by the NFL, those those
are the two categories.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
A few weeks ago I asked you about what Are
Rogers had said unsolicited about Jalen Ramsey getting himself on
the field for a Thursday night game and what he
thought of him as a teammate and as a professional.
Last week, Ramsey accepted a full time move to safety,
helped to get Kyle Dugger ready and able to play
on a few days notice, and then he spoke to
(03:19):
the team the night before the game where Rogers said
it was meaningful to me on the offensive side. You
knew what kind of player you were getting when the
trade was made to bring Ramsey here, But did you
know what you were getting in him as a leader
and as a teammate.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
I did.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
You know?
Speaker 2 (03:37):
We do our due diligence and draft prep, and I
remember vividly Kevin Colbert and I taking that trip to Tallahassee.
We expressed frustration, to be quite honest with you, during
the trip because we were so attracted to his intangible
qualities as well as his talent. We certainly realized that
we didn't have enough draft capital to put ourselves in
(03:59):
that conversation, but we really appreciated all that we discovered
about him, nonetheless, the intangible things, the leadership, the relationship
with the game, being on campus and at Pro Day,
you saw how his younger teammates felt about him, the
charismatic leadership component of it. We're playing a dynamic player
today in Darwin James. And Darwin James was his little
(04:20):
brother in Tallahassee. Like wherever I saw Jalen go that day,
Derwin James was on his hip and so it just
speaks to who he is, and that certainly hadn't changed.
I've been able to follow him throughout his football journey
in the league, and he's been held in that regard
wherever he's been.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
Both Rogers and Ramsey came here with some questions about
what kind of teammates they had been, but it seems
they have been everything you could want in terms of
positive leaders and teammates. How does that happen? That disparity
between reputation and reality?
Speaker 2 (04:51):
You know, narratives are just that narratives. Oftentimes they are
created by those outside of our collective speculating on what
is real. And so, you know, if you're in this
business man, you just realize how how inaccurate some of
that stuff can be. To be quite honest with you
and a citizen. As a citizen, it makes me question
(05:12):
some of the other news that goes on because a
lot of it in our business, as they say, it's
fake news.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
During your Tuesday news conference, you refer to Roman Wilson's
fumble as a quote boneheaded lack of ball security. Generally speaking,
when it comes to those kinds of things, do you
have a doghouse?
Speaker 2 (05:34):
I certainly do. I don't necessarily know that I have
any hard and fast, black and white guidelines in terms
of what constitutes what puts someone in the doghouse. I
just know when I'm there.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
So how does a guy get back into your good
graces once he's in the doghouse.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
I don't know that he does, to be quite honest
with you, I've been told long ago, man, once a
player shows you who he is, believe him. And so
if I'm at that point, I don't know that there is.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
You have a long history coaching against Ravens coach John
Harbaugh and the Chargers are coached by his younger brother Jim.
When it comes to style and what's important to them
as coaches, are they more similar or different?
Speaker 2 (06:15):
You know, I think they're I think they're probably different
in a lot of ways, to be quite honest with you, Jim.
Jim is a former quarterback, and I think he's more
of a general risk taker, to be quite honest with you,
I think his approach in all three phases is three phases,
a little bit more wide open. John's a little bit
(06:36):
more buttoned up, and I think that and I think
that probably defines them as individuals as well. I hadn't
thought about comparing them in contrasting them in general, but
I say that's probably my general synopsis of it.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
What are the characteristics of a Greg Groman running attack?
Speaker 2 (06:57):
You know, big personnel groups, two tight ends, two running backs,
three tight ends, one running back, one receiver, gap scheme,
running downhill, and you couple that with quarterback mobility and
the potential of design quarterback runs and keepers, I think
is a real signature of his game.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert was the sixth overall pick of
the twenty twenty NFL Draft. What do you remember about
the pre draft process as related to him that year?
Speaker 2 (07:27):
I don't remember a lot, to be quite honest with you.
I think it was the COVID draft and we were
working remotely, and so I ain't waste a lot of
time interacting on the sixth overall pick based on where
we were picking in that draft. It was a unique time.
We left work one day expecting to be back at
(07:49):
work the next day, and it was several months before
we all saw each other again, and so it certainly
was challenging. It altered our approach, and I'm sure everyone's
approached in a lot of ways, and that's one of
the ways that it altered mind. I'm probably a little
bit less familiar with him than I am, say the
sixth overall picking the other drafts, and I think some
(08:11):
of the challenges of COVID and the remote working was
a component of it.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
When you look at herbert titan weight, it's almost exactly
the same as Josh Allen's when it comes to mobility
and how they use it. Are they almost exactly the
same there too?
Speaker 2 (08:25):
No, I wouldn't describe him that way, and and I'd
probably hesitate to believe the listed weights. You know, Josh
is a bigger man, and he certainly plays bigger down
the field. As a runner, He's combative, he leans into people,
he runs over DB's routinely, and I don't think that
(08:48):
that's reflective of Herbert's game. And I would imagine, although
they're listed in a very similar way, I imagine if
we stood to both of those men's side by side,
they'd be a difference in terms of the thickness of
the two.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
In talking about the Chargers defense, you said Derwin James
is just the straw that stirs the drink for them.
What did you mean and how does that drink stirring
manifest itself on the field.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
His position, flexibility, puts him in position to be impactful
just about in all circumstances in personnel groups. He's a
very good blitzer. He's a good tackler, he plays safety,
he plays nickel, he plays dime linebacker in sub situations,
and all of that is done so that, regardless of
(09:36):
how you play, you can't stop him from doing what
he does, which is play downhill, play off the edges,
blitz tackle people, sideline the sideline. They do an awesome
job schimmatically of being multiple enough where that guy gets
a chance to do what it is that he does
just about on every snap, regardless of the circumstance or
(09:58):
the offensive personnel group.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
If I was one of your defensive backs this week,
what would you be telling me about Keenan Allen?
Speaker 2 (10:05):
That he is crafty, that you know, he's one of
those guys whose game didn't defined or predicated by speed.
He has enough, savvy, enough wiggle enough know how he
can lose you in a non vertical way. And I
think that's a special trait. I think oftentimes we spend
a lot of time talking about the fast receivers of
guys that can run by people, those of us that
(10:28):
in this business man We got a lot of respect
for those that can beat you in a variety of ways,
and he certainly falls into that category. He's got a
great feel for the game, he's got great routes, he's tough,
he's got good and strong hands. He's just got a
really complete game.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
That's the Mike Tomlin Game Day Podcast. Subscribe and download
new episodes every week and check out all of the
other shows we have to offer on the Steelers Podcast
Network that's available on the Steelers Mobile app, the iHeart
Radio app, or wherever you get your podcasts.
He's the Mike Tomlin Game Day podcast with Steelers Digest
editor Bob Labriola, Okay coach last Sunday against a seven
to one Colts team that had the best running back
in the league spearheading and offense averaging over thirty points
per game. Your defense held that running back to forty
five yards and a three point two average, which forced
(00:20):
fifty pass attempts, which allowed you to get to your
pressure packages, which led to five sacks, three interceptions, and
two fumble recoveries. Is that the vision or expectation you
had for this defense in terms of the way it
needed to play.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
It is certainly the mode of operation in terms of
how you play defense, or how we envision playing defense.
You minimize the running game, you get people one dimensional,
you get them behind the chains. You're in more advantageous
possession down circumstances, and the better advantageous possession down circumstances
you're in, the higher probability is for defensive splash that
(00:55):
comes in the form of sacks, sack, fumbles, interceptions, and
so it's certainly the formula that we envision, but it's
easier said than done.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Certainly, when watching the video of that game, What specifically
did you see that was happening to allow your defense
to control Jonathan Taylor.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
We did a nice job of constricting and containing guys
were in their gaps, and we set good edges. We
didn't play on a field that was fifty three and
the third yards wide. You know, our edged people constricted
the horizontal space. The linebackers played downhill and minimized vertical holes.
And when you do that, and you do that highly consistently,
(01:34):
you got a chance to have a good day. And
I think that that was really the bones of the day.
We set edges. You didn't see him bouncing any balls
to the perimeter for games, and you didn't feel any
vertical holes where he can go lateral to get vertical.
And those are the two major components to playing really
good run D.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
Two individual defensive stats. We always see our tackles for
loss and passes defence when you're grading the video. What
constantitutes a tackle for loss and what constitutes are past defense?
Speaker 2 (02:04):
You know, I don't define it. It's defined by you know,
by the powers that be National Football League, Elias or
whoever does officially our stats. But anything I think for
less than zero, So a half a yard loss, anything
of that nature is classified, and even zero At times,
you tackle quarterback for a zero yard gain is registered
as a sack, for example. And then the past defenses
(02:26):
are you know, it's somewhat judgment. Sometimes they are pure breakups.
Sometimes there are disruptions. You get to somebody's elbow, you
dislodge them from catching the ball by getting to their elbow,
and so anything where where you're close enough to be
a factor in terms of a ball being incomplete is
characterized as a pass defense. Certainly, that includes things that
(02:49):
are that are much more than that, interceptions, et cetera.
But by definition as defined by the NFL, those those
are the two categories.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
A few weeks ago I asked you about what Are
Rogers had said unsolicited about Jalen Ramsey getting himself on
the field for a Thursday night game and what he
thought of him as a teammate and as a professional.
Last week, Ramsey accepted a full time move to safety,
helped to get Kyle Dugger ready and able to play
on a few days notice, and then he spoke to
(03:19):
the team the night before the game where Rogers said
it was meaningful to me on the offensive side. You
knew what kind of player you were getting when the
trade was made to bring Ramsey here, But did you
know what you were getting in him as a leader
and as a teammate.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
I did.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
You know?
Speaker 2 (03:37):
We do our due diligence and draft prep, and I
remember vividly Kevin Colbert and I taking that trip to Tallahassee.
We expressed frustration, to be quite honest with you, during
the trip because we were so attracted to his intangible
qualities as well as his talent. We certainly realized that
we didn't have enough draft capital to put ourselves in
(03:59):
that conversation, but we really appreciated all that we discovered
about him, nonetheless, the intangible things, the leadership, the relationship
with the game, being on campus and at Pro Day,
you saw how his younger teammates felt about him, the
charismatic leadership component of it. We're playing a dynamic player
today in Darwin James. And Darwin James was his little
(04:20):
brother in Tallahassee. Like wherever I saw Jalen go that day,
Derwin James was on his hip and so it just
speaks to who he is, and that certainly hadn't changed.
I've been able to follow him throughout his football journey
in the league, and he's been held in that regard
wherever he's been.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
Both Rogers and Ramsey came here with some questions about
what kind of teammates they had been, but it seems
they have been everything you could want in terms of
positive leaders and teammates. How does that happen? That disparity
between reputation and reality?
Speaker 2 (04:51):
You know, narratives are just that narratives. Oftentimes they are
created by those outside of our collective speculating on what
is real. And so, you know, if you're in this
business man, you just realize how how inaccurate some of
that stuff can be. To be quite honest with you
and a citizen. As a citizen, it makes me question
(05:12):
some of the other news that goes on because a
lot of it in our business, as they say, it's
fake news.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
During your Tuesday news conference, you refer to Roman Wilson's
fumble as a quote boneheaded lack of ball security. Generally speaking,
when it comes to those kinds of things, do you
have a doghouse?
Speaker 2 (05:34):
I certainly do. I don't necessarily know that I have
any hard and fast, black and white guidelines in terms
of what constitutes what puts someone in the doghouse. I
just know when I'm there.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
So how does a guy get back into your good
graces once he's in the doghouse.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
I don't know that he does, to be quite honest
with you, I've been told long ago, man, once a
player shows you who he is, believe him. And so
if I'm at that point, I don't know that there is.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
You have a long history coaching against Ravens coach John
Harbaugh and the Chargers are coached by his younger brother Jim.
When it comes to style and what's important to them
as coaches, are they more similar or different?
Speaker 2 (06:15):
You know, I think they're I think they're probably different
in a lot of ways, to be quite honest with you, Jim.
Jim is a former quarterback, and I think he's more
of a general risk taker, to be quite honest with you,
I think his approach in all three phases is three phases,
a little bit more wide open. John's a little bit
(06:36):
more buttoned up, and I think that and I think
that probably defines them as individuals as well. I hadn't
thought about comparing them in contrasting them in general, but
I say that's probably my general synopsis of it.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
What are the characteristics of a Greg Groman running attack?
Speaker 2 (06:57):
You know, big personnel groups, two tight ends, two running backs,
three tight ends, one running back, one receiver, gap scheme,
running downhill, and you couple that with quarterback mobility and
the potential of design quarterback runs and keepers, I think
is a real signature of his game.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert was the sixth overall pick of
the twenty twenty NFL Draft. What do you remember about
the pre draft process as related to him that year?
Speaker 2 (07:27):
I don't remember a lot, to be quite honest with you.
I think it was the COVID draft and we were
working remotely, and so I ain't waste a lot of
time interacting on the sixth overall pick based on where
we were picking in that draft. It was a unique time.
We left work one day expecting to be back at
(07:49):
work the next day, and it was several months before
we all saw each other again, and so it certainly
was challenging. It altered our approach, and I'm sure everyone's
approached in a lot of ways, and that's one of
the ways that it altered mind. I'm probably a little
bit less familiar with him than I am, say the
sixth overall picking the other drafts, and I think some
(08:11):
of the challenges of COVID and the remote working was
a component of it.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
When you look at herbert titan weight, it's almost exactly
the same as Josh Allen's when it comes to mobility
and how they use it. Are they almost exactly the
same there too?
Speaker 2 (08:25):
No, I wouldn't describe him that way, and and I'd
probably hesitate to believe the listed weights. You know, Josh
is a bigger man, and he certainly plays bigger down
the field. As a runner, He's combative, he leans into people,
he runs over DB's routinely, and I don't think that
(08:48):
that's reflective of Herbert's game. And I would imagine, although
they're listed in a very similar way, I imagine if
we stood to both of those men's side by side,
they'd be a difference in terms of the thickness of
the two.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
In talking about the Chargers defense, you said Derwin James
is just the straw that stirs the drink for them.
What did you mean and how does that drink stirring
manifest itself on the field.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
His position, flexibility, puts him in position to be impactful
just about in all circumstances in personnel groups. He's a
very good blitzer. He's a good tackler, he plays safety,
he plays nickel, he plays dime linebacker in sub situations,
and all of that is done so that, regardless of
(09:36):
how you play, you can't stop him from doing what
he does, which is play downhill, play off the edges,
blitz tackle people, sideline the sideline. They do an awesome
job schimmatically of being multiple enough where that guy gets
a chance to do what it is that he does
just about on every snap, regardless of the circumstance or
(09:58):
the offensive personnel group.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
If I was one of your defensive backs this week,
what would you be telling me about Keenan Allen?
Speaker 2 (10:05):
That he is crafty, that you know, he's one of
those guys whose game didn't defined or predicated by speed.
He has enough, savvy, enough wiggle enough know how he
can lose you in a non vertical way. And I
think that's a special trait. I think oftentimes we spend
a lot of time talking about the fast receivers of
guys that can run by people, those of us that
(10:28):
in this business man We got a lot of respect
for those that can beat you in a variety of ways,
and he certainly falls into that category. He's got a
great feel for the game, he's got great routes, he's tough,
he's got good and strong hands. He's just got a
really complete game.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
That's the Mike Tomlin Game Day Podcast. Subscribe and download
new episodes every week and check out all of the
other shows we have to offer on the Steelers Podcast
Network that's available on the Steelers Mobile app, the iHeart
Radio app, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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