September 29, 2024 • 13 mins
Steelers Historian Bob Labriola sits down with Head Coach Mike Tomlin ahead of the Steelers Week 4 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
He's the Mike Tomlin king Day Podcast with Steelers Digest
editor Bob Labriola, heay coach. During your news conference on Tuesday,
one of the things you said was, so, although we're
playing good ball, it's still about us. It's still about
how we function. Is that belief the reason why you
have had the team practice and pads during each Wednesday
(00:21):
of the regular season.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Absolutely, we're very much still developing in all areas and
expertise relative to the positions that we hold technically, schematically,
the overall things that we're trying to get done in
all three phases, the cohesion associated with that, redefining and
sharpening the division of labor. I think with each passing week,
(00:45):
particularly with the new guys, we have a better understanding
of what they're capable of. They have a better understanding
of what they're capable of, and so we're getting more
pointed in terms of the things that we're asking them
to do. All of those things rolled into one meaning
mean that we're still very much in development, and pads
are a component of that. This week, for example, we're
playing an attacking, penetrating interior front. Has been different than
(01:08):
some of the things that we face recently, and so, boy,
you need to carry paths because those combination blocks happen
a little bit differently when you're playing penetrators as opposed
to guys that read blocks. And so there's a lot
of reasons why you carry paths. There's a lot of
reasons why you work with an edge. The bottom line is, man,
we're still growing in a lot of ways.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
You have said you want justin fields focused on starting
at quarterback. When the week of preparation begins, what is
Wednesday morning like for the starting quarterback?
Speaker 2 (01:36):
You know he meets with me at seven am. Always
want to see the leaders first. I want to give
them information prior to others getting it. It aids them
in their leadership. The next time I talk in the
team meeting at eight thirty is the second time is
hitting their ear and so they're able to digest it
differently and thus lead and make the deal a little
(01:57):
bit more fluid for the collective. And that's an important
meeting for us, meeting with the quarterbacks, talking about the
things that are important in terms of the base level
game plan things, but also just the general things we're
trying to get done on a Wednesday. All in an
effort to elevate their leadership. Leadership is a part of
his job, and it's my job to assist him in that.
(02:18):
And a big assist comes just from information. So every
Wednesday morning starts with a seven and eight o'clock meeting
with me talking about things not only that we're trying
to get done on Wednesday, but largely with the offense.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
That week about your ongoing getting to know you process
with Justin you mentioned part of that is challenging him
to improve in all areas. How does that happen? I mean,
is that a verbal thing? Do you set up competition
and practices or situations or how does that work?
Speaker 2 (02:45):
No? And it can be summarized in the phrase that
I've been saying this week. Don't allow routine to become routine.
They are things that we do in the preparation process
on any given day or the totality of the days,
and we do those routines because it positions us to win.
We can't be desensitive to that process, and so don't
(03:07):
allow a routine to become routine. And that's what I
mean when I'm saying he's capable of improving in all areas. Man,
he just needs to be so cognizant of everything that
we do and engaged in it and just cast a
big net. From an improvement standpoint, As we gain experience
together and we see trends and things that need to
be addressed, we will narrow that focus. But initially, man,
(03:29):
I just don't assume anything. We start with a broad
net and it gets more narrow as we step into
more stadiums together, he and I.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
During games, how is the information passed to the players
to get the proper personnel groups on the field and
then communicate that same information to the guys on the
field so they know who's supposed to be coming off.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
It happens in a lot of ways. There are coaches
that are capable of signaling from the sideline, as players
that are coming on the field that are potentially capable
of carrying signals. And then there's also the coach to
players component where Arthur Smith communicates it to Justin in
the huddle, and Justin has an opportunity to tell those
in the huddle, and so there's several fail safes if
(04:09):
you will, to make sure things get communicated.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
In talking about your offensive lineman, you mentioned the finish
mentality what does finishing mean.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
It's whether it's a play, a drive, a half, or
a game. It's about leaning in on the finish of
things and being an individual and a collective on the rise.
Football is a competitive game from the first snap, but
oftentimes the outcome of games aren't decided early, and particularly
among the bigs, is more of a war of attrition
(04:42):
in the line of scrimmage for offense and defense. And
so when you talked about the end of a game,
you want to be able to end the game the
way we ended the game last week in terms of
the running game, or you want to be able to
be conditioned enough physically and mentally to finish off a
twelve fifteen play drive and get a touchdown as opposed
settling for a field goal. And so that finished component
(05:03):
is a physical thing, but it's also a mental thing
in terms of a mindset and the ability to stay
wired and execute through a series of events.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
Roman Wilson has been a full participant in practice for
the last couple of weeks. Just in general, what are
some of the challenges a rookie wide receiver has and
adjusting from the college game to the game that's played
on the professional level.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
Well, you know, there's a lot obviously, but I don't
want to overstate it, because you see young wide outs
transition and perform at a high level every year. I think,
and specifically as it pertains to Roman, he got hurt
on the sixth practice of training camp, I mean the
sixth play of the first practice of training camp, and
so there's some developmental things. There's some physical plays and
(05:47):
conditioning and learning and things that go on to go
into his process that's not reflective of overall globally. The process.
Roman doesn't have a whole lot of in helmet experience
to draw from. He's healthy, but he's still got a
whole lot of work ahead of him in terms of being.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
Game ready, okay, playing in tight games and doing what's
necessary to win them. What does that do for a
team beyond stacking numbers in the wind calling?
Speaker 2 (06:13):
You know, I think there's growth and experience, and particularly
when that experience can be positive, it aids in the
buy in. There's growth in negative experiences, but it doesn't
necessarily help the buy in When you can be faced
with challenges and persevere and come out the other side
of it. There's a warm and fuzzy feeling individually and collectively.
(06:35):
That aids you in facing the next challenges. And so
obviously there's growth in all circumstances. You win or you grow,
as we say in our business, but growing wild. Winning
is optimally what we all seek.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
Is there carryover from one of those situations to another,
I mean as a belief then foster itself on the
sideline within these guys' heads or.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
No question, because when you're dealing with an NFL collective, Man,
these guys come from a variety of backgrounds, and you
better not assume people know how to win. And there's
growth in experiencing winning and it becoming a normal state.
That's one of the reasons why I love scouting to
the blue blood programs. Nause is used to winning. Winning
(07:20):
is a normal state for him. The Georgia Boys, Darnell,
GP Broderick, they're used to winning. There's a normal state
for them. I like to do business with people that
winning is a normal state. You come from a losing program.
Losing is a normal state. There's some things to overcome
from a mentality standpoint, from a fight standpoint, when you
(07:44):
have that experience. Dante Jackson, for example, Man, we're in
the locker room last week after I win, and he said, man,
I won more games this year than I did last year.
And it hits you like a lightning bolt. You know,
you can get loose to winning, you can get used
to losing. I prefer to get used to winning.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
How did the Marvin Leal experiment at outside linebacker come about?
And what did he'd show you to give you some
clues that it was something he could be able to do.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
He's a uniquely talented big. He's got good body control,
he's a good athlete. He can run. He's also one
of the few defensive linemen that's on kickoff and that
speaks to what makes him an interesting animal. He's on
a kickoff team. He's made two tackles in three weeks.
(08:33):
He's a problem in that space because he's a big.
You can't block below the waist on kickoff and things
of that nature, and so that just speaks to his versatility.
The more that you can do is something that we value.
Here's a guy that's capable of playing D line he's
capable of playing outside linebacker. He makes us big and
strong and run circumstances when he's playing that position. He
(08:53):
makes us really athletic and passing circumstances when he's rushing
over a guard as a defensive lineman, and so those
hybrid talented athletes really help you.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
Man.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
Lamar Woodley was like that, you know, and and that's
who the Marvin kind of reminded me of. Although his
home position is D line, he reminded me a lot
of Lamar Woodley.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
In terms of a challenge to a defense, how would
you compare running back Jonathan Taylor who's today's challenge to
running back JK Dobbins who was last week's challenge.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
His home running in long speed is much more significant
than Jk's. Not that JK is not explosive, you know,
but I think you know, some of the injuries he's
had has minimize some of that. This guy, man, when
he gets into your second and third level, ten yard
game can turn into a sixty yard game. And that's
what makes him extremely dangerous. He's got a complete game.
(09:46):
He's not a one hit wonder. He's got picking, vision, impatience.
He's just a well rounded running back. But that long
speed is an X factor. In a similar way, when
you're facing Dereck Henry for a big man his long
speed is unique, and when he gets into the second
and third level, ten can turn into fifty real quick.
(10:09):
And so obviously mister Taylor has our attention. You recently
signed cornerback CJ. Henderson to the practice squad. What were
some of the things he had or show that made
him the ninth overall pick of the twenty twenty NFL Draft.
You know, he checked all the boxes. You're not a
top ten pick and hugging Roger Goodell unless you got
some real measurables. He was six foot two hundred and
(10:30):
five pounds man. He ran extremely fast, His tape was
really impressive. He just had a well rounded game. You know,
I don't know some of the things that's transpired during
the course of his career, but oftentimes in free agency,
our interest is not based on what's transpired in terms
of their professional careers. But going back to draft prep,
(10:51):
that's why we were so excited about acquiring Patrick Queen,
for example, or Dante Jackson. Is not about what Pat
did in Baltimore, although we were really familiar with he
did in Baltimore, and same with Dante because we were
preseason partners with Carolina. You know, the draft prep component
for us is big. We built our team primarily through
the draft. We saw some things in Draft PEP that
(11:13):
were attractive to us, and so it continues.
Speaker 1 (11:16):
So is the practice squad in any way used as
a way to give a player an extended tryout, so
to speak.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
It goes even beyond that. Sometimes it just placed there
for an extended period of time until they can learn
what to do so that we can activate them. You know,
James Pierre was on practice squad for a short period
of time, for example, because we're familiar with him. We
just wanted to make sure he was in shape. One
week later, he's on our fifty three man roster.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
Quarterback Anthony Richardson isn't a rookie because this is his
second NFL season, but he doesn't have a lot of
game experience, either in college or so far in the
NFL generally speaking, What are some of the things an
NFL defense might do in a game to take advantage
of an inexperienced quarterback.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
You know, inexperience doesn't necessarily dictate our approach in terms
of a cookie cutter. There's some inexperienced guys that show
experience beyond their years. Bo Knicks, for example, is inexperienced
in Denver, but he was a six year college player
who had a career at Auburn and a career at Oregon.
I mean like he had two college careers, and so
(12:26):
the inexperienced component is not necessarily an end all be all.
But in terms of guys that just are raw, you know,
you want to play a mental game with them, particularly
when they're in one dimensional circumstances when they got to
throw it. You want to make them work. You want
(12:46):
to play the cat and mouse game with with him,
if you will. You want to make them uncomfortable, and
sometimes making them uncomfortable is not with physical things. It's
the mental approach, if you will.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
That's the Mike Tomlin Game Day Podcast. Subscribe ib 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, heay coach. During your news conference on Tuesday,
one of the things you said was, so, although we're
playing good ball, it's still about us. It's still about
how we function. Is that belief the reason why you
have had the team practice and pads during each Wednesday
(00:21):
of the regular season.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Absolutely, we're very much still developing in all areas and
expertise relative to the positions that we hold technically, schematically,
the overall things that we're trying to get done in
all three phases, the cohesion associated with that, redefining and
sharpening the division of labor. I think with each passing week,
(00:45):
particularly with the new guys, we have a better understanding
of what they're capable of. They have a better understanding
of what they're capable of, and so we're getting more
pointed in terms of the things that we're asking them
to do. All of those things rolled into one meaning
mean that we're still very much in development, and pads
are a component of that. This week, for example, we're
playing an attacking, penetrating interior front. Has been different than
(01:08):
some of the things that we face recently, and so, boy,
you need to carry paths because those combination blocks happen
a little bit differently when you're playing penetrators as opposed
to guys that read blocks. And so there's a lot
of reasons why you carry paths. There's a lot of
reasons why you work with an edge. The bottom line is, man,
we're still growing in a lot of ways.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
You have said you want justin fields focused on starting
at quarterback. When the week of preparation begins, what is
Wednesday morning like for the starting quarterback?
Speaker 2 (01:36):
You know he meets with me at seven am. Always
want to see the leaders first. I want to give
them information prior to others getting it. It aids them
in their leadership. The next time I talk in the
team meeting at eight thirty is the second time is
hitting their ear and so they're able to digest it
differently and thus lead and make the deal a little
(01:57):
bit more fluid for the collective. And that's an important
meeting for us, meeting with the quarterbacks, talking about the
things that are important in terms of the base level
game plan things, but also just the general things we're
trying to get done on a Wednesday. All in an
effort to elevate their leadership. Leadership is a part of
his job, and it's my job to assist him in that.
(02:18):
And a big assist comes just from information. So every
Wednesday morning starts with a seven and eight o'clock meeting
with me talking about things not only that we're trying
to get done on Wednesday, but largely with the offense.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
That week about your ongoing getting to know you process
with Justin you mentioned part of that is challenging him
to improve in all areas. How does that happen? I mean,
is that a verbal thing? Do you set up competition
and practices or situations or how does that work?
Speaker 2 (02:45):
No? And it can be summarized in the phrase that
I've been saying this week. Don't allow routine to become routine.
They are things that we do in the preparation process
on any given day or the totality of the days,
and we do those routines because it positions us to win.
We can't be desensitive to that process, and so don't
(03:07):
allow a routine to become routine. And that's what I
mean when I'm saying he's capable of improving in all areas. Man,
he just needs to be so cognizant of everything that
we do and engaged in it and just cast a
big net. From an improvement standpoint, As we gain experience
together and we see trends and things that need to
be addressed, we will narrow that focus. But initially, man,
(03:29):
I just don't assume anything. We start with a broad
net and it gets more narrow as we step into
more stadiums together, he and I.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
During games, how is the information passed to the players
to get the proper personnel groups on the field and
then communicate that same information to the guys on the
field so they know who's supposed to be coming off.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
It happens in a lot of ways. There are coaches
that are capable of signaling from the sideline, as players
that are coming on the field that are potentially capable
of carrying signals. And then there's also the coach to
players component where Arthur Smith communicates it to Justin in
the huddle, and Justin has an opportunity to tell those
in the huddle, and so there's several fail safes if
(04:09):
you will, to make sure things get communicated.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
In talking about your offensive lineman, you mentioned the finish
mentality what does finishing mean.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
It's whether it's a play, a drive, a half, or
a game. It's about leaning in on the finish of
things and being an individual and a collective on the rise.
Football is a competitive game from the first snap, but
oftentimes the outcome of games aren't decided early, and particularly
among the bigs, is more of a war of attrition
(04:42):
in the line of scrimmage for offense and defense. And
so when you talked about the end of a game,
you want to be able to end the game the
way we ended the game last week in terms of
the running game, or you want to be able to
be conditioned enough physically and mentally to finish off a
twelve fifteen play drive and get a touchdown as opposed
settling for a field goal. And so that finished component
(05:03):
is a physical thing, but it's also a mental thing
in terms of a mindset and the ability to stay
wired and execute through a series of events.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
Roman Wilson has been a full participant in practice for
the last couple of weeks. Just in general, what are
some of the challenges a rookie wide receiver has and
adjusting from the college game to the game that's played
on the professional level.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
Well, you know, there's a lot obviously, but I don't
want to overstate it, because you see young wide outs
transition and perform at a high level every year. I think,
and specifically as it pertains to Roman, he got hurt
on the sixth practice of training camp, I mean the
sixth play of the first practice of training camp, and
so there's some developmental things. There's some physical plays and
(05:47):
conditioning and learning and things that go on to go
into his process that's not reflective of overall globally. The process.
Roman doesn't have a whole lot of in helmet experience
to draw from. He's healthy, but he's still got a
whole lot of work ahead of him in terms of being.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
Game ready, okay, playing in tight games and doing what's
necessary to win them. What does that do for a
team beyond stacking numbers in the wind calling?
Speaker 2 (06:13):
You know, I think there's growth and experience, and particularly
when that experience can be positive, it aids in the
buy in. There's growth in negative experiences, but it doesn't
necessarily help the buy in When you can be faced
with challenges and persevere and come out the other side
of it. There's a warm and fuzzy feeling individually and collectively.
(06:35):
That aids you in facing the next challenges. And so
obviously there's growth in all circumstances. You win or you grow,
as we say in our business, but growing wild. Winning
is optimally what we all seek.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
Is there carryover from one of those situations to another,
I mean as a belief then foster itself on the
sideline within these guys' heads or.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
No question, because when you're dealing with an NFL collective, Man,
these guys come from a variety of backgrounds, and you
better not assume people know how to win. And there's
growth in experiencing winning and it becoming a normal state.
That's one of the reasons why I love scouting to
the blue blood programs. Nause is used to winning. Winning
(07:20):
is a normal state for him. The Georgia Boys, Darnell,
GP Broderick, they're used to winning. There's a normal state
for them. I like to do business with people that
winning is a normal state. You come from a losing program.
Losing is a normal state. There's some things to overcome
from a mentality standpoint, from a fight standpoint, when you
(07:44):
have that experience. Dante Jackson, for example, Man, we're in
the locker room last week after I win, and he said, man,
I won more games this year than I did last year.
And it hits you like a lightning bolt. You know,
you can get loose to winning, you can get used
to losing. I prefer to get used to winning.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
How did the Marvin Leal experiment at outside linebacker come about?
And what did he'd show you to give you some
clues that it was something he could be able to do.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
He's a uniquely talented big. He's got good body control,
he's a good athlete. He can run. He's also one
of the few defensive linemen that's on kickoff and that
speaks to what makes him an interesting animal. He's on
a kickoff team. He's made two tackles in three weeks.
(08:33):
He's a problem in that space because he's a big.
You can't block below the waist on kickoff and things
of that nature, and so that just speaks to his versatility.
The more that you can do is something that we value.
Here's a guy that's capable of playing D line he's
capable of playing outside linebacker. He makes us big and
strong and run circumstances when he's playing that position. He
(08:53):
makes us really athletic and passing circumstances when he's rushing
over a guard as a defensive lineman, and so those
hybrid talented athletes really help you.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
Man.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
Lamar Woodley was like that, you know, and and that's
who the Marvin kind of reminded me of. Although his
home position is D line, he reminded me a lot
of Lamar Woodley.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
In terms of a challenge to a defense, how would
you compare running back Jonathan Taylor who's today's challenge to
running back JK Dobbins who was last week's challenge.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
His home running in long speed is much more significant
than Jk's. Not that JK is not explosive, you know,
but I think you know, some of the injuries he's
had has minimize some of that. This guy, man, when
he gets into your second and third level, ten yard
game can turn into a sixty yard game. And that's
what makes him extremely dangerous. He's got a complete game.
(09:46):
He's not a one hit wonder. He's got picking, vision, impatience.
He's just a well rounded running back. But that long
speed is an X factor. In a similar way, when
you're facing Dereck Henry for a big man his long
speed is unique, and when he gets into the second
and third level, ten can turn into fifty real quick.
(10:09):
And so obviously mister Taylor has our attention. You recently
signed cornerback CJ. Henderson to the practice squad. What were
some of the things he had or show that made
him the ninth overall pick of the twenty twenty NFL Draft.
You know, he checked all the boxes. You're not a
top ten pick and hugging Roger Goodell unless you got
some real measurables. He was six foot two hundred and
(10:30):
five pounds man. He ran extremely fast, His tape was
really impressive. He just had a well rounded game. You know,
I don't know some of the things that's transpired during
the course of his career, but oftentimes in free agency,
our interest is not based on what's transpired in terms
of their professional careers. But going back to draft prep,
(10:51):
that's why we were so excited about acquiring Patrick Queen,
for example, or Dante Jackson. Is not about what Pat
did in Baltimore, although we were really familiar with he
did in Baltimore, and same with Dante because we were
preseason partners with Carolina. You know, the draft prep component
for us is big. We built our team primarily through
the draft. We saw some things in Draft PEP that
(11:13):
were attractive to us, and so it continues.
Speaker 1 (11:16):
So is the practice squad in any way used as
a way to give a player an extended tryout, so
to speak.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
It goes even beyond that. Sometimes it just placed there
for an extended period of time until they can learn
what to do so that we can activate them. You know,
James Pierre was on practice squad for a short period
of time, for example, because we're familiar with him. We
just wanted to make sure he was in shape. One
week later, he's on our fifty three man roster.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
Quarterback Anthony Richardson isn't a rookie because this is his
second NFL season, but he doesn't have a lot of
game experience, either in college or so far in the
NFL generally speaking, What are some of the things an
NFL defense might do in a game to take advantage
of an inexperienced quarterback.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
You know, inexperience doesn't necessarily dictate our approach in terms
of a cookie cutter. There's some inexperienced guys that show
experience beyond their years. Bo Knicks, for example, is inexperienced
in Denver, but he was a six year college player
who had a career at Auburn and a career at Oregon.
I mean like he had two college careers, and so
(12:26):
the inexperienced component is not necessarily an end all be all.
But in terms of guys that just are raw, you know,
you want to play a mental game with them, particularly
when they're in one dimensional circumstances when they got to
throw it. You want to make them work. You want
(12:46):
to play the cat and mouse game with with him,
if you will. You want to make them uncomfortable, and
sometimes making them uncomfortable is not with physical things. It's
the mental approach, if you will.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
That's the Mike Tomlin Game Day Podcast. Subscribe ib 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.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Therapy Gecko
An unlicensed lizard psychologist travels the universe talking to strangers about absolutely nothing. TO CALL THE GECKO: follow me on https://www.twitch.tv/lyleforever to get a notification for when I am taking calls. I am usually live Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays but lately a lot of other times too. I am a gecko.