September 22, 2024 • 15 mins
Steelers Historian Bob Labriola sits down with Head Coach Mike Tomlin ahead of the Steelers week 3 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
He's the Mike Tomlin King Day podcast with Steelers Digest
editor Bob Labriola. Okay, coach. At your news conference on Tuesday,
you clarified the quarterback situation by explaining that until Russell
Wilson is cleared medically to return to practice, you will
proceed with justin fields as the starter. Beyond what the
medical staff might tell you, what would you need to
(00:22):
see as a coach from Russell to make you comfortable
that he's healthy.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
The medical staff component of it is centered around his
health and his ability to protect himself. The coach component
of decision is centered around his ability to be productive,
to not be limited schematically, pocket movement, play pass, things
of that nature where he's got to have some reactionary
quicksit movement and utilize his legs. And so those are
(00:46):
the really the hardcore variables in the equation. Health and
then his ability to do all the things that we
asked someone in his position to do.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
What would a healthy Russell Wilson look like?
Speaker 2 (00:58):
You know, the guy that we watch for ten plus
years in this game. Mobility and reactionary movement is a
component of his game and always has been. Pocket movement,
getting on the perimeter, the long ball component that's that's
associated with play pass and launch point changes, and so
you know, that's what that's what he's about.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
Also, you said this about justin fields, the development off
of our relationship and me getting to know and understand him,
him getting to understand me. It just grows in in
game environments. What does he need to know to understand
about you?
Speaker 2 (01:34):
You know, I think we all have a personality, if
you will, and and I think that when you don't
work together, man, there's some things to be explored there.
You know, some people have an off the field demeanor
that could be dramatically different than the in game demeter
players and coaches, and so I'm just acknowledging the existence
of that. I'm probably not one of those guys, but
(01:55):
I think people need to grow and understand that the
same tone in the way I interact on the course
of the game week is generally the same tone that
I have in game and that's to be discovered probably
by those that are new to me. And I just
you know, respect the fact that the real components of
our relationships are born in real adversity, and that real
(02:17):
adversity is produced on game day inside bowls.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
You will sometimes offer praise to one of your players
by saying he runs to a challenge. How does a
player display that to you.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
You know, smiling in the face of adversity, showing a
general enthusiasm maybe when they shouldn't. That's why we do
some of the drill work that we do at training camp.
I tell the guys all the time, drill work is football, Like,
it's not football. We're putting someone at an advantage, We're
putting someone at a disadvantage, and then we want to
see him to compete. I want to see if the
(02:50):
guy in the advantage can win and win consistently. I
want to see the guy that's placed at a disadvantage
if he smiles in the face of that adversity and
fights every single snap. When we do backs on backers,
the backs are the disadvantage. Obviously, they're not allowed to
cut in that drill for example, and so you know
there's somewhat sitting ducks. And so that's why I was
(03:12):
so excited on Friday night lights when I saw a
running back group smile in the face of that and
compete with the energy and the enthusiasm that they did
and That's just an example of it. That's why we
do and work do drills that we do and work
the way that we work because I got to create
an environment where that gets revealed to me, and we
trained guys how to respond to adversity.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
And last week's winning denver Broderick Jones, was flagged for
three penalties within six snaps, and afterward, when asked if
you pulled him from the game because of those penalties,
you said you got it specifically? Was it how many
penalties he committed, what kind of penalties he committed, or
the frequency with which he committed them in a short
span that caused you to act lab all of the above?
Speaker 2 (03:58):
All of the above. Uh, you know, you know when
it when it's talking to you, you listen penalties or
drive killers, particularly the early portions of the season. And
so yes, the type of penalties that he was getting,
the frequency in which they occurred, the speed in which
they occurred, all were components of the decision. And really
it was no decision. I tell our guys all the time,
(04:20):
I don't make decisions. I just squeezed triggers. They load
the gun. Uh, he loaded the gun in that instance when.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
That happens to a player. Is the breakdown a physical
one in terms of his fundamentals that he loses poise?
Was he Is he just immature as a player, or
is it something else? You know, it can be a
myriad of things. You know, I'd be painting with a
broad brush if I characterize those those circumstances in any
one particular area. It's usually a myriad of things that
(04:49):
are that are occurring when you're not getting the desired
technique that you wish. Lack of physical repetition that creates
muscle memory, anxiety, lack of knowledge, lack of experience. It
could be it could be a myriad of things, to
be quite honest with your combinations of the above when
that happens. And then in your follow up dealings with
that player, do you go with encouragement? Is it tough love?
(05:13):
Do you challenge him as a professional? What's the quickest
way do you think rehabilitates him?
Speaker 2 (05:18):
To use a phrase, you know, I don't know that
I'm looking for quick I'm just looking for appropriate and
and really that mode depends on a lot of things.
The player, the nature of the infractions, our relationship, you know,
his coach ability, in terms of the things that he
responds to from a from a coaching standpoint, and so
(05:40):
there's a lot of variables that that that's a component
of that equation. I don't think there's a cookie cutter
answer to that, particularly if you're trying to coach at
a high level. Different people need different things, and it's
our job to know what it is they need and
how it is they need to receive messaging.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
How would you evaluate your wide receivers besides George picking
so far, you.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
Know, I like the work that they've done. I don't
know that statistics reflected, but people oftentimes don't know our
intentions in game. We were in two road game environments
to start the season. We were committed to being not
behind the chains, to be on schedule, to minimize the
crowd component of it, to realize that at early stages
of unit development, you're not going to overcome behind the
(06:23):
changed moments. We run the ball in terms of attempts
more than anybody in the NFL over the course of
two weeks, and so that's going to produce numbers that
lead you to ask that question. But I'm not in
any way discouraged by the contributions of those guys. As
a matter of fact, I'm pleased with the work of
those guys, and I just think that that is going
to continually be revealed once we get a larger sample
(06:44):
size we get at home venues and things of that nature.
The Atlanta Falcons, for instance, had a quality safety tandem
and Simmons and Baits. To be quite honest with you,
they're the very best players on that unit. So we're
not throwing the ball in the middle of the field.
For instance. If you notice any ball we threw down
the field in that game was outside the numbers. And
so there's a lot of things that happened from a
(07:05):
game planning standpoint that could produce questions or statistics that
produce questions this time of year. My answer to that
always is it's a small sample size. Keep watching, okay,
and talking about today's game against the Chargers. You use
the boxing analogy that styles make fights. What's the Steelers
style as we sit here today, you know, we like
(07:28):
to mix it up. You know, if you're making it
to boxing analogy, we like to wager war of attrition
in the line of scrimmage with our bigs on both
sides offense and defense. I believe that, you know, Jim Harbar,
teams live the same life, and that's why I think
it's going to be a really exciting game. We lead
the league in rushing attempts, they lead the league in
(07:50):
rushing yards. For example, got two top nightch defenses. I
think they're number one in points per game. We're number
two in points per game. And so that's what I
mean when I when I talk about the analogy that
styles make fights. It's also an opportunity for me to
educate our young guys about boxing history and just competition.
I said, it's like Hagler Hearns, but most of these
(08:12):
guys don't know Hagler Hearns, and so it's an opportunity
for them to get on YouTube and watch about nine
minutes of action of what might be the greatest boxing
match of all time.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
You know, when you were talking about last week's game,
you said Denver tried to protect this rookie quarterback by
running the football, and so the job won for your
defense was to attack the run. How does a defense
attack the run.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
You know, by by minimizing it. And we characterize football
as a game of inches, and it gets key clichesh
at times, but it is real. Sometimes winning and losing
in terms of the run game is just what direction
the powerfalls from the moment of initial contact. What direction
does a powerfall? For us? We want that power to
(08:58):
fall backwards when our defense is on on the grass.
Who want that power to fall forward when our office
is on the grass. And so although subtle, repetitively, over
the course of sixty minutes, it becomes a major factor
in the game of football. And so what I was
speaking to there is I want that power to fall
a certain way. And so we got to play in
a certain spirit. We had to shed blocks, we gotta
(09:20):
make tackles, we got to turn ball carriers back. And
these guys got some talented ball carriers that we're very
familiar with in JK and Gus, and particularly Gus in
terms of being a downhill guy, Gus's Powell almost always
falls falls forward. And so we got a big challenge
in that regard.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
The Chargers and their offensive coordinator Greg Norman. Greg Roman,
excuse me, also figure to want to run the football?
Can your defense attack the run today the same way
it did in Denver? Or does justin Herbert being a
veteran quarterback force you into something a little bit different,
you know.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
For us, you know, it's a coaches challenge in that
we need to anticipate through a variety of means when
they're running football and make sure that we have ourselves
in an appropriate defense to do so. The Herbert factor
is a coaching challenge. It's our job to ascertain when
they're gonna run it, when they're gonna pass it, and
schematically put ourselves in a position to defend each And
(10:16):
that's the strategy component of the game that I love.
That's not our guys responsibility and run down circumstances. If
Herbert is having a good day, it's my fault. I
work all week trying to ascertain when that's gonna happen.
And really I feel really comfortable about our position in
that area. But that's every week. That's the challenge. Every week.
(10:39):
They can run it, they can throw it. Usually it
requires a single high safety to stop the run. If
you knew they were gonna throw it, you'd take a
two high safety principle. And that's the strategic component of
play weekend and week out, not only for us, but
for most of us in the league.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
Herbert was the sixth overall pick of the COVID draft
in twenty twenty, so you're working a little bit behind
in that group. But now he's in the NFL, you've
had an opportunity to study him on video a little
bit break him down for me.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
You know, in twenty twenty one when we played him,
we underestimated his mobility and all you got to do
is look at the box score to get a sense
of that man. He probably ran for about eighty yards
on scrambles in that game, and we didn't have the
proper schematics to minimize that. And so you learn from
your mistakes. At least you try to learn from your mistakes.
(11:34):
We were aware of his arm talent, his talents in
the passing game, his ability to diagnose in the timely
manner how well he operates against five or more rushers.
What we didn't have a feel for was his escapability
and his athleticism. Sometimes you really don't feel that into
in stadium with someone, and so we learned a tough
(11:56):
and painful lesson in twenty twenty one in LA we better,
we better show that we learned that lesson. This guy's
multi talented is throwing exploit so well documented. But but
he's got some danger to him from a mobility standpoint
that we better respect to minimize in this game as well.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
You talked about Gus Edwards earlier. What kind of style
does JK. Dobbins have as a running back man?
Speaker 2 (12:22):
He is patient, and he's got great vision and and
I think that's what makes him a good side car runner.
He was drafted in Baltimore to be a side car runner,
meaning they operate a lot out of shotgun to enhance
quarterback mobility, zone read zone read keeps and so forth,
and and generally the backs that operate in that in
(12:43):
that structure have to show a great deal of pick
and patience and vision, and that's something that he does.
He's a D to D runner, if you will. What
I mean is he can get a ball on the
midline around the center and a gaps and and bounce
it or cut it back. It's a major component of
what they do. He's popped some big time shortyardist runs
(13:05):
this year by showing that picking vision, that d D vision,
and so not only do we have to deal with
him in first and second down circumstances, but he's got
a forty six yard run. He's got a forty three
yard run in third down and one already this year,
and it speaks to his vision and his ability to
go D to D. And sometimes you load the box
(13:26):
and you get people close to the line of scrimmage.
When you plan a back with that type of patience
and vision, when they come out of it, man, they
can turn short to long. And so there's a lot
of challenges involving him, but we're familiar with them and
we're excited about facing that challenge this weekend. We got
the NFL's leading rusher coming in here. And if you're
a competitor, that turns you on.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
Chargers also have a couple of flamethrowers at the edge positions,
Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa. How do the Chargers deploy them, you.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
Know, in a very similar way that we utilize TJ
and Alex. To be quite honest with you, not that
we're being disrespectful to their talents or their resumes, but
through team development, we we practice good on good, and
so our office is used to functioning against unique edge
people and people that can change the outcome of a
(14:15):
drill or the outcome of a play or a game.
We function in that in that mode for the month
of August. To be quite honest with you, in training camp,
because if you're not careful, not only in terms of individuals,
but in terms of the collective, in terms of schematics,
t J Y can ruin a practice and and and
so it's good. There's so many benefits of having really
(14:37):
good players on your team. When we face with dynamic
edge tandems, we go right back to training camp mode
because we got an AS tandem that's capable of taking
over a practice. They got an S camp tandem that's
capable of taking over a game, and so we got
physical experience, both schematically and as individuals in terms of
(14:58):
dealing with that. For me, when we get in games
like this, it's all about what edge tandem recks the
game first? It better be ours? Is a messaging that
I send to our team is no different than we
play Cleveland and I always say, who's gonna wreck the
game first? TJ or Miles Garrett? It better be TJ.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
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.
He's the Mike Tomlin King Day podcast with Steelers Digest
editor Bob Labriola. Okay, coach. At your news conference on Tuesday,
you clarified the quarterback situation by explaining that until Russell
Wilson is cleared medically to return to practice, you will
proceed with justin fields as the starter. Beyond what the
medical staff might tell you, what would you need to
(00:22):
see as a coach from Russell to make you comfortable
that he's healthy.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
The medical staff component of it is centered around his
health and his ability to protect himself. The coach component
of decision is centered around his ability to be productive,
to not be limited schematically, pocket movement, play pass, things
of that nature where he's got to have some reactionary
quicksit movement and utilize his legs. And so those are
(00:46):
the really the hardcore variables in the equation. Health and
then his ability to do all the things that we
asked someone in his position to do.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
What would a healthy Russell Wilson look like?
Speaker 2 (00:58):
You know, the guy that we watch for ten plus
years in this game. Mobility and reactionary movement is a
component of his game and always has been. Pocket movement,
getting on the perimeter, the long ball component that's that's
associated with play pass and launch point changes, and so
you know, that's what that's what he's about.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
Also, you said this about justin fields, the development off
of our relationship and me getting to know and understand him,
him getting to understand me. It just grows in in
game environments. What does he need to know to understand
about you?
Speaker 2 (01:34):
You know, I think we all have a personality, if
you will, and and I think that when you don't
work together, man, there's some things to be explored there.
You know, some people have an off the field demeanor
that could be dramatically different than the in game demeter
players and coaches, and so I'm just acknowledging the existence
of that. I'm probably not one of those guys, but
(01:55):
I think people need to grow and understand that the
same tone in the way I interact on the course
of the game week is generally the same tone that
I have in game and that's to be discovered probably
by those that are new to me. And I just
you know, respect the fact that the real components of
our relationships are born in real adversity, and that real
(02:17):
adversity is produced on game day inside bowls.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
You will sometimes offer praise to one of your players
by saying he runs to a challenge. How does a
player display that to you.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
You know, smiling in the face of adversity, showing a
general enthusiasm maybe when they shouldn't. That's why we do
some of the drill work that we do at training camp.
I tell the guys all the time, drill work is football, Like,
it's not football. We're putting someone at an advantage, We're
putting someone at a disadvantage, and then we want to
see him to compete. I want to see if the
(02:50):
guy in the advantage can win and win consistently. I
want to see the guy that's placed at a disadvantage
if he smiles in the face of that adversity and
fights every single snap. When we do backs on backers,
the backs are the disadvantage. Obviously, they're not allowed to
cut in that drill for example, and so you know
there's somewhat sitting ducks. And so that's why I was
(03:12):
so excited on Friday night lights when I saw a
running back group smile in the face of that and
compete with the energy and the enthusiasm that they did
and That's just an example of it. That's why we
do and work do drills that we do and work
the way that we work because I got to create
an environment where that gets revealed to me, and we
trained guys how to respond to adversity.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
And last week's winning denver Broderick Jones, was flagged for
three penalties within six snaps, and afterward, when asked if
you pulled him from the game because of those penalties,
you said you got it specifically? Was it how many
penalties he committed, what kind of penalties he committed, or
the frequency with which he committed them in a short
span that caused you to act lab all of the above?
Speaker 2 (03:58):
All of the above. Uh, you know, you know when
it when it's talking to you, you listen penalties or
drive killers, particularly the early portions of the season. And
so yes, the type of penalties that he was getting,
the frequency in which they occurred, the speed in which
they occurred, all were components of the decision. And really
it was no decision. I tell our guys all the time,
(04:20):
I don't make decisions. I just squeezed triggers. They load
the gun. Uh, he loaded the gun in that instance when.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
That happens to a player. Is the breakdown a physical
one in terms of his fundamentals that he loses poise?
Was he Is he just immature as a player, or
is it something else? You know, it can be a
myriad of things. You know, I'd be painting with a
broad brush if I characterize those those circumstances in any
one particular area. It's usually a myriad of things that
(04:49):
are that are occurring when you're not getting the desired
technique that you wish. Lack of physical repetition that creates
muscle memory, anxiety, lack of knowledge, lack of experience. It
could be it could be a myriad of things, to
be quite honest with your combinations of the above when
that happens. And then in your follow up dealings with
that player, do you go with encouragement? Is it tough love?
(05:13):
Do you challenge him as a professional? What's the quickest
way do you think rehabilitates him?
Speaker 2 (05:18):
To use a phrase, you know, I don't know that
I'm looking for quick I'm just looking for appropriate and
and really that mode depends on a lot of things.
The player, the nature of the infractions, our relationship, you know,
his coach ability, in terms of the things that he
responds to from a from a coaching standpoint, and so
(05:40):
there's a lot of variables that that that's a component
of that equation. I don't think there's a cookie cutter
answer to that, particularly if you're trying to coach at
a high level. Different people need different things, and it's
our job to know what it is they need and
how it is they need to receive messaging.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
How would you evaluate your wide receivers besides George picking
so far, you.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
Know, I like the work that they've done. I don't
know that statistics reflected, but people oftentimes don't know our
intentions in game. We were in two road game environments
to start the season. We were committed to being not
behind the chains, to be on schedule, to minimize the
crowd component of it, to realize that at early stages
of unit development, you're not going to overcome behind the
(06:23):
changed moments. We run the ball in terms of attempts
more than anybody in the NFL over the course of
two weeks, and so that's going to produce numbers that
lead you to ask that question. But I'm not in
any way discouraged by the contributions of those guys. As
a matter of fact, I'm pleased with the work of
those guys, and I just think that that is going
to continually be revealed once we get a larger sample
(06:44):
size we get at home venues and things of that nature.
The Atlanta Falcons, for instance, had a quality safety tandem
and Simmons and Baits. To be quite honest with you,
they're the very best players on that unit. So we're
not throwing the ball in the middle of the field.
For instance. If you notice any ball we threw down
the field in that game was outside the numbers. And
so there's a lot of things that happened from a
(07:05):
game planning standpoint that could produce questions or statistics that
produce questions this time of year. My answer to that
always is it's a small sample size. Keep watching, okay,
and talking about today's game against the Chargers. You use
the boxing analogy that styles make fights. What's the Steelers
style as we sit here today, you know, we like
(07:28):
to mix it up. You know, if you're making it
to boxing analogy, we like to wager war of attrition
in the line of scrimmage with our bigs on both
sides offense and defense. I believe that, you know, Jim Harbar,
teams live the same life, and that's why I think
it's going to be a really exciting game. We lead
the league in rushing attempts, they lead the league in
(07:50):
rushing yards. For example, got two top nightch defenses. I
think they're number one in points per game. We're number
two in points per game. And so that's what I
mean when I when I talk about the analogy that
styles make fights. It's also an opportunity for me to
educate our young guys about boxing history and just competition.
I said, it's like Hagler Hearns, but most of these
(08:12):
guys don't know Hagler Hearns, and so it's an opportunity
for them to get on YouTube and watch about nine
minutes of action of what might be the greatest boxing
match of all time.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
You know, when you were talking about last week's game,
you said Denver tried to protect this rookie quarterback by
running the football, and so the job won for your
defense was to attack the run. How does a defense
attack the run.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
You know, by by minimizing it. And we characterize football
as a game of inches, and it gets key clichesh
at times, but it is real. Sometimes winning and losing
in terms of the run game is just what direction
the powerfalls from the moment of initial contact. What direction
does a powerfall? For us? We want that power to
(08:58):
fall backwards when our defense is on on the grass.
Who want that power to fall forward when our office
is on the grass. And so although subtle, repetitively, over
the course of sixty minutes, it becomes a major factor
in the game of football. And so what I was
speaking to there is I want that power to fall
a certain way. And so we got to play in
a certain spirit. We had to shed blocks, we gotta
(09:20):
make tackles, we got to turn ball carriers back. And
these guys got some talented ball carriers that we're very
familiar with in JK and Gus, and particularly Gus in
terms of being a downhill guy, Gus's Powell almost always
falls falls forward. And so we got a big challenge
in that regard.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
The Chargers and their offensive coordinator Greg Norman. Greg Roman,
excuse me, also figure to want to run the football?
Can your defense attack the run today the same way
it did in Denver? Or does justin Herbert being a
veteran quarterback force you into something a little bit different,
you know.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
For us, you know, it's a coaches challenge in that
we need to anticipate through a variety of means when
they're running football and make sure that we have ourselves
in an appropriate defense to do so. The Herbert factor
is a coaching challenge. It's our job to ascertain when
they're gonna run it, when they're gonna pass it, and
schematically put ourselves in a position to defend each And
(10:16):
that's the strategy component of the game that I love.
That's not our guys responsibility and run down circumstances. If
Herbert is having a good day, it's my fault. I
work all week trying to ascertain when that's gonna happen.
And really I feel really comfortable about our position in
that area. But that's every week. That's the challenge. Every week.
(10:39):
They can run it, they can throw it. Usually it
requires a single high safety to stop the run. If
you knew they were gonna throw it, you'd take a
two high safety principle. And that's the strategic component of
play weekend and week out, not only for us, but
for most of us in the league.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
Herbert was the sixth overall pick of the COVID draft
in twenty twenty, so you're working a little bit behind
in that group. But now he's in the NFL, you've
had an opportunity to study him on video a little
bit break him down for me.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
You know, in twenty twenty one when we played him,
we underestimated his mobility and all you got to do
is look at the box score to get a sense
of that man. He probably ran for about eighty yards
on scrambles in that game, and we didn't have the
proper schematics to minimize that. And so you learn from
your mistakes. At least you try to learn from your mistakes.
(11:34):
We were aware of his arm talent, his talents in
the passing game, his ability to diagnose in the timely
manner how well he operates against five or more rushers.
What we didn't have a feel for was his escapability
and his athleticism. Sometimes you really don't feel that into
in stadium with someone, and so we learned a tough
(11:56):
and painful lesson in twenty twenty one in LA we better,
we better show that we learned that lesson. This guy's
multi talented is throwing exploit so well documented. But but
he's got some danger to him from a mobility standpoint
that we better respect to minimize in this game as well.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
You talked about Gus Edwards earlier. What kind of style
does JK. Dobbins have as a running back man?
Speaker 2 (12:22):
He is patient, and he's got great vision and and
I think that's what makes him a good side car runner.
He was drafted in Baltimore to be a side car runner,
meaning they operate a lot out of shotgun to enhance
quarterback mobility, zone read zone read keeps and so forth,
and and generally the backs that operate in that in
(12:43):
that structure have to show a great deal of pick
and patience and vision, and that's something that he does.
He's a D to D runner, if you will. What
I mean is he can get a ball on the
midline around the center and a gaps and and bounce
it or cut it back. It's a major component of
what they do. He's popped some big time shortyardist runs
(13:05):
this year by showing that picking vision, that d D vision,
and so not only do we have to deal with
him in first and second down circumstances, but he's got
a forty six yard run. He's got a forty three
yard run in third down and one already this year,
and it speaks to his vision and his ability to
go D to D. And sometimes you load the box
(13:26):
and you get people close to the line of scrimmage.
When you plan a back with that type of patience
and vision, when they come out of it, man, they
can turn short to long. And so there's a lot
of challenges involving him, but we're familiar with them and
we're excited about facing that challenge this weekend. We got
the NFL's leading rusher coming in here. And if you're
a competitor, that turns you on.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
Chargers also have a couple of flamethrowers at the edge positions,
Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa. How do the Chargers deploy them, you.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
Know, in a very similar way that we utilize TJ
and Alex. To be quite honest with you, not that
we're being disrespectful to their talents or their resumes, but
through team development, we we practice good on good, and
so our office is used to functioning against unique edge
people and people that can change the outcome of a
(14:15):
drill or the outcome of a play or a game.
We function in that in that mode for the month
of August. To be quite honest with you, in training camp,
because if you're not careful, not only in terms of individuals,
but in terms of the collective, in terms of schematics,
t J Y can ruin a practice and and and
so it's good. There's so many benefits of having really
(14:37):
good players on your team. When we face with dynamic
edge tandems, we go right back to training camp mode
because we got an AS tandem that's capable of taking
over a practice. They got an S camp tandem that's
capable of taking over a game, and so we got
physical experience, both schematically and as individuals in terms of
(14:58):
dealing with that. For me, when we get in games
like this, it's all about what edge tandem recks the
game first? It better be ours? Is a messaging that
I send to our team is no different than we
play Cleveland and I always say, who's gonna wreck the
game first? TJ or Miles Garrett? It better be TJ.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
That's the Mike Tomlin Game Day Podcast. Subscribe and download
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