January 6, 2024 • 11 mins
Steelers Digest Editor Bob Labriola sits down with Head Coach Mike Tomlin ahead of the Steelers Week 18 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
He's the Mike Tomlin Gen Day podcast with Steelers Digest
editor Bob Labriola.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Okay, coach, Scared money doesn't make money has become the
unofficial motto of the last couple of weeks, and it
refers to approaching the game each week with an aggressive attitude.
Is it fun for you to coach that way?
Speaker 1 (00:18):
It is because pressure is ever present, and so you're
either feel in it or applying it. And that matra,
that mindset is a means for this collective to apply
pressure of these significant moments as opposed to feeling it.
We're gonna play and play the win. We realize the
road is narrow, we realize it's very little margin for error,
(00:40):
and in the midst of all of that is a
beautiful opportunity if you're right minded. And so that's the
meaning of the mantra in an effort to control the
perspective component of.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Where we are is scared money doesn't make money the
same as playing with nothing to lose. In terms of
attitude and approach.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
It is it's about play to win as opposed to
plan not to lose. And sometimes that includes calculated risk taking.
And notice I said calculated risk taking, not gambling, calculated
risk taking based on information and preparedness.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Okay, since you brought that up. When it comes to
the in game decisions, you have to make what's the
difference between reckless excuse me, between aggressive and reckless information.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
If there is enough information that you can make an
anticipatory decision based on that, then then you're not being
reckless if you're guessing, if you're hoping, Like we talk
about it all all the time in regards to trick plays,
the trick plays, if you got no information, it's calculated
risk taking. If you have information that reduces the possibility
(01:47):
of what it is you're gonna be running it against.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Well, like last week in Seattle, we went forward on
fourth and one on the opening series and the defense
bailed you out. So where did that?
Speaker 1 (02:00):
You know? That was just about setting a t setting
an attitude of trajectory early in the game that we're
here and we're here to win, we're not intimidated by
the environment. Then we'll take to calculate the risk and
an effort to do so.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
What makes Mason Rudolph such an effective deep.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
Ball throwing arm talent? You know it starts there. It
was on his Oklahoma state tape.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
He and James Washington Man the careers they had and
still with Oklahoma, throwing the deep ball was really impressive.
He's got arm talent. Uh, he's got arm strength. The
trajectory of it is a very catchable ball. It's the
physical things and it's the mindset that he has.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
The term bellcow isn't generally used to refer to offensive linemen,
but if we were to use that term to be
synonymous with the main guy who is your bell cow.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
On the offensive line, I think it's quickly becoming Broderick Jones,
to be quite honest with you. Although he is really young, Uh,
he plays with the desired demeanor and it is contagious.
He he took the fight to Seattle and his teammates
followed and and so uh, you don't have to be
a grizzly veteran or a great beard to lead. I
(03:12):
think he's finding his footing in that area, and that's exciting.
It's very similar to the way, uh that Marque's palsy
matured through his first year as a player, and and
the things that we saw in him that eventually became
captain worthy and things of that nature. UH.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
At your practice facility, you have grass fields as well
as an indoor turf field available. You've never been one
to be intimidated by weather, and so what goes into
your decision to practice outside or inside.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
If the ground is safe, we practice outside. And so
when a as a as it pertains the rain, UH,
it's about slippage, and as it pertains to cold weather,
it's about can we get our cleats in the ground
because you have soft tissue injuries when you have slippage.
As long as the ground is safe, we're gonna go outside.
It is always our desire to go outside because we
(04:03):
have an outside venue. All the venues in the AFC
North are outside venues, and so you know, we want
to take the mystique out of engineering victory, and so
we want to play in a practice in the environments
that we play in.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
If you're going to a game where it's turf, might
you go indoors because that's turf just to get we're
used to.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
The indy for example a couple of weeks back. Certainly
you know we're playing in an indoor environment. We're playing
on an artificial surface, and we have that type of
environment available to us in preparation and so we utilize it.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
Okay, today's opponent is the thirteen and three Baltimore Ravens,
and on Monday you said about them that they've been
steamrolling people. What does an opponent have to do to
prevent that from happening to them?
Speaker 1 (04:49):
You know, you got to show up for the fight.
You can't be intimidated by their record, or reputation or
the environment. Thankfully, we're highly familiar with them. I doubt
that there will be an issue for us. We've played
them a bunch, We've been in that venue a bunch.
We understand the underwritten rules of playing against them, and
some of their schematic things that are a little bit unique,
(05:10):
their level of aggression defensively schematically, the amount of design,
quarterback running, quarterback mobility, things that they do offensively, and
so you know, we're just better positioned probably to fight
that fight than most because of familiarity.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
Is it fair to say that the Ravens try to
bully their opponents?
Speaker 1 (05:29):
That that's true, But that's just our game, and I
think that's what makes this rivalry what it is. I
saw a couple of weeks ago Patrick Queen said that
a lot of people don't want to play their style
of football. I agree with them, but I also agree
in the fact that we play a very similar style,
and styles make fights, and that's why this has always
(05:51):
been such a highly anticipated matchup.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
It seems that at this point Lamar Jackson is the
overwhelming favorite to be voted NFL MVP. What makes him
VP worthy thirteen and three?
Speaker 1 (06:02):
First of all, the way he leads in Engineer's victory
for them, but the cleanliness in which he plays, the
prudent use of his mobility. He's their leading rusher man.
He's probably got nine hundred yards rushing man, but he
does it in such an efficient way. He doesn't assorb
a lot of punishment. He makes good decisions, He spreads
(06:24):
the ball around in the passing game, tight ends running backs.
He's got a new lead receiver in Jay Flowers that
that transition has been very fluid. He just he does
all the things that you want a signal caller to do.
He's experienced, while at the same time he's not been
beat up physically by the game. He's in that sweet
(06:44):
spot in his career where he knows what he's doing,
but he's still very talented and has experienced a boot.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
You talk about growth and development in players, what is
his what is his most recent Lamar Jackson, I mean,
what is his most recent area of growth and development?
Speaker 1 (07:01):
You know? And again i'm probably you know, describing this
from the outside end. I'm sure that they could tell
you with great detail. But I think it is the
prudent use of mobility. We say in this business man,
every meal is not a banquet. Sometimes it's just a snack.
And over the years been his prudent use of mobility,
(07:26):
His willingness to stay in the pocket, his willingness to
stay behind the line of scrimmage and look downfield in
the passing game as plays breakdown has matured and developed,
and I think that's why he and they are benefiting
from it. When he was young, man, you were concerned
about him taking off and running. Now you better be
(07:48):
concerned about him taking off and running and extending. And
there's some challenges from an extension standpoint in terms of
staying close to people downfield and zone. And in Man's
a classic example of that is in game one we
had him thirty and eighteen. He escaped out of the
pocket to his left and ran toward our bench. We
had a bunch of guys in chase. He hit the brakes,
(08:10):
stopped about a yard short of the line of scrimmage
man and found z Flowers down field beyond the sticks.
They converted a third and eighteen in a two minute drill.
That kind of led to that sequence right there at
the end of the half. We should have been off
that field. But that's just growth and development in him
and how he sees the game now and makes it
increasingly more challenging. His legs are dangerous, no doubt as
(08:34):
a runner, but his willingness and his ability to extend
and his full field vision in the midst of all
of those things is increasingly more difficult.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
You've referenced Zave Flowers a couple of times. He's a
rookie and he's leading the Ravens and targets and receptions
by significant amounts. How do the Ravens utilize him and
what is making him so effective?
Speaker 1 (08:56):
They do a nice job of moving him around. He's
not there down in one spot. He's got really good
football intellect and that allows that to happen. He's good
in the short passing game, screen game. He's a good
route runner. He's good in gadgets, he's good down the field.
I'm just highly familiar with him, obviously because my son
(09:16):
played with him at Boston College. Ben and I just
you know, got probably more exposure to him than the
rest of the National Football League, So I'm not surprised
by any of the things that I'm seeing from him.
I saw it in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
To run the football successfully on the Ravens defense. Who
is the one guy you absolutely have to get blocked consistently.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
I'll say two guys, Rokwan and Patrick Queen, that linebacker tandem.
They make a lot of plays. Oftentimes in this business
we say unblocked varsity linebackers make tackles, and no question
that both of those guys a varsity and so we
better not stick on combination blocks or double teams too
long because they'll run through gaps and make plays. We
(10:00):
got to be cognizant of where they are. We got
to get hats on those guys, and we're not going
to have a run game unless we're on those two.
And that's just the reality of it.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
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 iHeartRadio app,
or wherever you get your podcasts. That's the Mike Tommlan Show,
(11:12):
brought to you by your neighborhood Forward Store. The F
one fifty is the official truck of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
I'm Bob Labriola, Bill Hilgrove, Craig Wolfley, Max Starks, and
Missy Matthews are next as we calm down to kick off.
You're listening to the Pittsburgh Steelers Radio Network.
He's the Mike Tomlin Gen Day podcast with Steelers Digest
editor Bob Labriola.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Okay, coach, Scared money doesn't make money has become the
unofficial motto of the last couple of weeks, and it
refers to approaching the game each week with an aggressive attitude.
Is it fun for you to coach that way?
Speaker 1 (00:18):
It is because pressure is ever present, and so you're
either feel in it or applying it. And that matra,
that mindset is a means for this collective to apply
pressure of these significant moments as opposed to feeling it.
We're gonna play and play the win. We realize the
road is narrow, we realize it's very little margin for error,
(00:40):
and in the midst of all of that is a
beautiful opportunity if you're right minded. And so that's the
meaning of the mantra in an effort to control the
perspective component of.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Where we are is scared money doesn't make money the
same as playing with nothing to lose. In terms of
attitude and approach.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
It is it's about play to win as opposed to
plan not to lose. And sometimes that includes calculated risk taking.
And notice I said calculated risk taking, not gambling, calculated
risk taking based on information and preparedness.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Okay, since you brought that up. When it comes to
the in game decisions, you have to make what's the
difference between reckless excuse me, between aggressive and reckless information.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
If there is enough information that you can make an
anticipatory decision based on that, then then you're not being
reckless if you're guessing, if you're hoping, Like we talk
about it all all the time in regards to trick plays,
the trick plays, if you got no information, it's calculated
risk taking. If you have information that reduces the possibility
(01:47):
of what it is you're gonna be running it against.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Well, like last week in Seattle, we went forward on
fourth and one on the opening series and the defense
bailed you out. So where did that?
Speaker 1 (02:00):
You know? That was just about setting a t setting
an attitude of trajectory early in the game that we're
here and we're here to win, we're not intimidated by
the environment. Then we'll take to calculate the risk and
an effort to do so.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
What makes Mason Rudolph such an effective deep.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
Ball throwing arm talent? You know it starts there. It
was on his Oklahoma state tape.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
He and James Washington Man the careers they had and
still with Oklahoma, throwing the deep ball was really impressive.
He's got arm talent. Uh, he's got arm strength. The
trajectory of it is a very catchable ball. It's the
physical things and it's the mindset that he has.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
The term bellcow isn't generally used to refer to offensive linemen,
but if we were to use that term to be
synonymous with the main guy who is your bell cow.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
On the offensive line, I think it's quickly becoming Broderick Jones,
to be quite honest with you. Although he is really young, Uh,
he plays with the desired demeanor and it is contagious.
He he took the fight to Seattle and his teammates
followed and and so uh, you don't have to be
a grizzly veteran or a great beard to lead. I
(03:12):
think he's finding his footing in that area, and that's exciting.
It's very similar to the way, uh that Marque's palsy
matured through his first year as a player, and and
the things that we saw in him that eventually became
captain worthy and things of that nature. UH.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
At your practice facility, you have grass fields as well
as an indoor turf field available. You've never been one
to be intimidated by weather, and so what goes into
your decision to practice outside or inside.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
If the ground is safe, we practice outside. And so
when a as a as it pertains the rain, UH,
it's about slippage, and as it pertains to cold weather,
it's about can we get our cleats in the ground
because you have soft tissue injuries when you have slippage.
As long as the ground is safe, we're gonna go outside.
It is always our desire to go outside because we
(04:03):
have an outside venue. All the venues in the AFC
North are outside venues, and so you know, we want
to take the mystique out of engineering victory, and so
we want to play in a practice in the environments
that we play in.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
If you're going to a game where it's turf, might
you go indoors because that's turf just to get we're
used to.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
The indy for example a couple of weeks back. Certainly
you know we're playing in an indoor environment. We're playing
on an artificial surface, and we have that type of
environment available to us in preparation and so we utilize it.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
Okay, today's opponent is the thirteen and three Baltimore Ravens,
and on Monday you said about them that they've been
steamrolling people. What does an opponent have to do to
prevent that from happening to them?
Speaker 1 (04:49):
You know, you got to show up for the fight.
You can't be intimidated by their record, or reputation or
the environment. Thankfully, we're highly familiar with them. I doubt
that there will be an issue for us. We've played
them a bunch, We've been in that venue a bunch.
We understand the underwritten rules of playing against them, and
some of their schematic things that are a little bit unique,
(05:10):
their level of aggression defensively schematically, the amount of design,
quarterback running, quarterback mobility, things that they do offensively, and
so you know, we're just better positioned probably to fight
that fight than most because of familiarity.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
Is it fair to say that the Ravens try to
bully their opponents?
Speaker 1 (05:29):
That that's true, But that's just our game, and I
think that's what makes this rivalry what it is. I
saw a couple of weeks ago Patrick Queen said that
a lot of people don't want to play their style
of football. I agree with them, but I also agree
in the fact that we play a very similar style,
and styles make fights, and that's why this has always
(05:51):
been such a highly anticipated matchup.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
It seems that at this point Lamar Jackson is the
overwhelming favorite to be voted NFL MVP. What makes him
VP worthy thirteen and three?
Speaker 1 (06:02):
First of all, the way he leads in Engineer's victory
for them, but the cleanliness in which he plays, the
prudent use of his mobility. He's their leading rusher man.
He's probably got nine hundred yards rushing man, but he
does it in such an efficient way. He doesn't assorb
a lot of punishment. He makes good decisions, He spreads
(06:24):
the ball around in the passing game, tight ends running backs.
He's got a new lead receiver in Jay Flowers that
that transition has been very fluid. He just he does
all the things that you want a signal caller to do.
He's experienced, while at the same time he's not been
beat up physically by the game. He's in that sweet
(06:44):
spot in his career where he knows what he's doing,
but he's still very talented and has experienced a boot.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
You talk about growth and development in players, what is
his what is his most recent Lamar Jackson, I mean,
what is his most recent area of growth and development?
Speaker 1 (07:01):
You know? And again i'm probably you know, describing this
from the outside end. I'm sure that they could tell
you with great detail. But I think it is the
prudent use of mobility. We say in this business man,
every meal is not a banquet. Sometimes it's just a snack.
And over the years been his prudent use of mobility,
(07:26):
His willingness to stay in the pocket, his willingness to
stay behind the line of scrimmage and look downfield in
the passing game as plays breakdown has matured and developed,
and I think that's why he and they are benefiting
from it. When he was young, man, you were concerned
about him taking off and running. Now you better be
(07:48):
concerned about him taking off and running and extending. And
there's some challenges from an extension standpoint in terms of
staying close to people downfield and zone. And in Man's
a classic example of that is in game one we
had him thirty and eighteen. He escaped out of the
pocket to his left and ran toward our bench. We
had a bunch of guys in chase. He hit the brakes,
(08:10):
stopped about a yard short of the line of scrimmage
man and found z Flowers down field beyond the sticks.
They converted a third and eighteen in a two minute drill.
That kind of led to that sequence right there at
the end of the half. We should have been off
that field. But that's just growth and development in him
and how he sees the game now and makes it
increasingly more challenging. His legs are dangerous, no doubt as
(08:34):
a runner, but his willingness and his ability to extend
and his full field vision in the midst of all
of those things is increasingly more difficult.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
You've referenced Zave Flowers a couple of times. He's a
rookie and he's leading the Ravens and targets and receptions
by significant amounts. How do the Ravens utilize him and
what is making him so effective?
Speaker 1 (08:56):
They do a nice job of moving him around. He's
not there down in one spot. He's got really good
football intellect and that allows that to happen. He's good
in the short passing game, screen game. He's a good
route runner. He's good in gadgets, he's good down the field.
I'm just highly familiar with him, obviously because my son
(09:16):
played with him at Boston College. Ben and I just
you know, got probably more exposure to him than the
rest of the National Football League, So I'm not surprised
by any of the things that I'm seeing from him.
I saw it in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
To run the football successfully on the Ravens defense. Who
is the one guy you absolutely have to get blocked consistently.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
I'll say two guys, Rokwan and Patrick Queen, that linebacker tandem.
They make a lot of plays. Oftentimes in this business
we say unblocked varsity linebackers make tackles, and no question
that both of those guys a varsity and so we
better not stick on combination blocks or double teams too
long because they'll run through gaps and make plays. We
(10:00):
got to be cognizant of where they are. We got
to get hats on those guys, and we're not going
to have a run game unless we're on those two.
And that's just the reality of it.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
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 iHeartRadio app,
or wherever you get your podcasts. That's the Mike Tommlan Show,
(11:12):
brought to you by your neighborhood Forward Store. The F
one fifty is the official truck of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
I'm Bob Labriola, Bill Hilgrove, Craig Wolfley, Max Starks, and
Missy Matthews are next as we calm down to kick off.
You're listening to the Pittsburgh Steelers Radio Network.
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