December 21, 2023 • 10 mins
The Week In Review looks back at a tough loss in Indy, while getting ready for an AFC North clash with Cincinnati.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
He's the Steelers we can review with Wesley Eueler on
Steelers Nation Radio at Steelers dot com.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Hello Steelers Nation, and welcome to the Steelers we can review,
your one stop shop for all the current news and
headlines for your Pittsburgh Steelers. I'm Wesley Uler, host of
the Steelers Blitz on SNR. Let's get you up to
speed on all the latest for the Black and Gold.
The Steelers struggles continued Saturday in Indianapolis as they fell
(00:27):
to the Colts thirty to thirteen at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Mike Tomlin opened his press conference on Monday discussing what
went wrong in the defeat.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
It was really a disappointing loss for us, but especially
considering what was at stake, and so I'll just outline
kind of how the game unfolded. I thought, I thought
we got off to a solid start. That was one
of the reasons why we wanted to take the ball.
We felt good about our plan in terms of being
able to get off to a fast start. We felt
like that that was important because of the magnitude of
(00:57):
the game, the venue, and things of that nature. I
was comfortable with with with the beginnings from that perspective
really kind of in all three phases. I thought the
punt block was significant, and I can't say enough about
our punt block our block units. They've been really consistent.
They've been an advantage for us for the better part
(01:17):
of the season. But that was a component of the
good start. I thought that as we got into the
second quarter, things begin to unravel, first and foremost from
a from a personnel perspective, I think we lost both
of our safeties on back to back plays. KZ got
ejected from the game and then Mika got hurt, and
(01:38):
so we were really stressed there. We've talked a lot
about down the middle of our of our defense, whether
it's interior linebackers or safeties, and the end game attrition
component of that made it made it difficult at times
to operate. I thought that that was reflective kind of
in the in the two minute sequence where they were
able to drive the field and get a touchdown before
(01:59):
the half, before we could reconfigure the people at our
disposal and kind of get really comfortable with how we
were dividing the labor up. I thought we felt it there.
I thought we had a chance to avoid that if
we converted a very makeable third down on the front
side of that two minute when we still had the ball.
I think we had friar mouth over the ball in
(02:20):
the middle middle of the field versus own defense, and
we weren't able to connect there. And I just think
that you know, playing connected in and around the half
or our inability to was significant in terms of how
the game unfolded. We missed a significant possession down there
and wasn't able to maintain possession of the ball and
maybe put some points on the board ourselves prior to
(02:42):
the half flip it they go to length of the
field and score before the half coming out. In the
second half, we did get a three and out, but
I thought that that was lessened obviously by the fumble
to start the half, and then they were able to
put seven points on the board. And so there was
some sequences on halftime, the bookending of halftime that I
(03:03):
thought really kind of affected how this game was unfolded
and eventually did unfold. We didn't do anything to help ourselves,
as I mentioned. Aside from that, the penalty component, particularly
when you're you know, when you're leaking from a personnel perspective,
getting behind the chains offensively or major penalties and so
(03:26):
forth on defense don't help you, and they didn't for us.
Communication and leverage and fundamental things need to be improved.
The schematic component of it needs to be improved. What
I mean is, and I was really transparent with our
team at times, components of our ball looks like September ball,
(03:46):
where some of the guys that are playing have September
levels of plan experience, and so we can't make December
calls with September people with plan experience. So I think
it's important as we formulate a plan this week that
were really oughtful about the configuration of people that we
have at our disposal and making sure that they're capable
of delivering what we're asking them to do. That's as
(04:09):
big a component as anything when you're managing less than
ideal circumstances from a personnel standpoint, and our outline that further,
as I get to some of the personnel related things,
I also talk about after the game that we're definitively
open to making whatever change is necessary and an effort
to change the outcome of football games. Man, you don't
(04:30):
need more than two or three weekends to see a pattern,
particularly ones that you don't like, and so we're not
going to sit on our hands and hope for a
different outcome. And so we're in the midst of working
through some of those things right now. Oftentimes the discussion
comes down to players or divisional labor, but make sure
(04:51):
that you understand that those conversations are not exclusive to that.
The strategic component of it is huge in terms of
what we're asking people to do collectively in their ability
to execute it. From a player perspective, it's our intention
as we sit here today, to give Mason Rudolph an
opportunity to start. He's a veteran guy. He's a backup,
(05:13):
but he's also a veteran guy. He's been in our
program a long time. He's here for those reasons. We
got a great deal of comfort with him. Why are
we making the change, man? We don't like what we're
looking at in the consistency of it. What I mean
is we're not scoring enough points.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
And as he always does, Coach Tomlin outlined injury concerns
and updates for the Steelers ahead of this weekend's clash
with Cincinnati.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Kenny Pickett, obviously, as I mentioned, can be described as questionable.
He'll be working in a limited capacity. We'll see where
his availability leads us. Mika can be described as out
with the knee injury. Cam Heyward is in the concussion protocols.
I won't add any color to that. We'll see what
(05:57):
a protocol leads us. Trenton Thompson, as I mentioned, was
able to finish the game, but had a stinger d
game that that limited his effectiveness. We'll see his availability.
And Elijah Riley is a guy that has the potential
(06:18):
to be available to us, and particularly with some of
the attrition things going on at the safety position, his
potential availability could be an asset to us with Maker
down obviously, with Kean O'Neill being on I R Eliza oh'reiley,
Eric Rowe, as I mentioned, those type guys man are
(06:39):
under strong consideration as we divide the labor up and
formulate a play here. At the early portions of the week.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
There's certainly a sense of urgency as Pittsburgh is coming
off of three straight losses returning home to face a
familiar AFC North foe. Mike Tollins spoke on the challenge
that Cincinnati will present at akrosure Stadium on Saturday.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
Their group there appears to be trent in the right
direction since the last time we played them, they gaining
some real traction. I'll start first with their offense. Browning
is doing a really good job of taking care of
the ball. His completion percentage speaks to that. Their lack
of turnovers or their ball security speaks to that. But
it's not just him, it's them. They've done some schematic
(07:20):
things to really do a nice job of staying on schedule,
not being one dimensional, or working to keep defenses off
balance changing launch points. Again, He's new to playing, but
not new to their program, and I think we talked
about that last time, but I think that that is
increasingly evident as he's gained more in helmet perspective on
(07:41):
play over the last three weeks. At running back man,
you know, we got to minimize mixing and his impact
on the game, whether it's run or in the passing game.
We got hit on a big screen, and the significant
moment screens are a big component of what they do,
particularly with him. The rookie chads has come on in
(08:01):
recent weeks. That is something to consider also from a
running back perspective, that might be a little bit different
than the last time we played them. Uh. T Higgins
is a component of what they're doing. We didn't see
tea last time, and so you know, we were able
to allocate a lot of schematics towards Chase when you're
when you're dealing with a full arsenal, you got to
(08:23):
deal with T. Higgins and Chase and Tyler Boyd. So
obviously we got some more schematic challenges in those situational
passing moments because he's got a you know, a full
repertoire people to spread the ball around too, and so
you know, those are some of the things that have
our attention on that side of the ball. On the
defensive side of the ball, they're playing really good situational ball,
(08:46):
standing up in big moments. Mike Hilton big interception in
the red area, I thought really kept that thing in
striking distance for him the other day. But we know
and are familiar with Mike. He is a big catalysts
for them. I think he's third or fourth and tackles
for them. He's always had an appetite for the big play.
He shows up off the edge in the run game
(09:08):
a lot. They're they're bringing some pressure in the run game.
They're bringing battle as well at the safety position. They
got really good continuity in terms of the things that
they do. We're familiar with them, but it doesn't necessarily
provide comfort for us. They're familiar with us as well,
and I just think that's a texture of divisional play,
(09:29):
particularly this time of year. It's not only the knowing,
the familiarity in terms of being in the same stadium
repeatedly over the last several years, but it's also you know,
the volume of tape from this year where there's less
speculation about what personalities might be theirs and ours. I
think that always adds h to the intensity of divisional play. Obviously,
(09:52):
it's gonna be in an intense atmosphere. It's a big
game for us. It's a divisional game, it's our last
home regular season game, and for those reasons. Man, we're
working with an age here on a Monday as we
get ready.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
Back home, and they're all must win games at this point.
Cincinnati Pittsburgh, Sunday afternoon on the North Shore. I'm as
and our host wes Ley Yuler, thanks for listening to
this episode of the Steelers Weekend Review. Take care, have
a merry Christmas, and I'll talk to the ends next week.
He's the Steelers we can review with Wesley Eueler on
Steelers Nation Radio at Steelers dot com.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Hello Steelers Nation, and welcome to the Steelers we can review,
your one stop shop for all the current news and
headlines for your Pittsburgh Steelers. I'm Wesley Uler, host of
the Steelers Blitz on SNR. Let's get you up to
speed on all the latest for the Black and Gold.
The Steelers struggles continued Saturday in Indianapolis as they fell
(00:27):
to the Colts thirty to thirteen at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Mike Tomlin opened his press conference on Monday discussing what
went wrong in the defeat.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
It was really a disappointing loss for us, but especially
considering what was at stake, and so I'll just outline
kind of how the game unfolded. I thought, I thought
we got off to a solid start. That was one
of the reasons why we wanted to take the ball.
We felt good about our plan in terms of being
able to get off to a fast start. We felt
like that that was important because of the magnitude of
(00:57):
the game, the venue, and things of that nature. I
was comfortable with with with the beginnings from that perspective
really kind of in all three phases. I thought the
punt block was significant, and I can't say enough about
our punt block our block units. They've been really consistent.
They've been an advantage for us for the better part
(01:17):
of the season. But that was a component of the
good start. I thought that as we got into the
second quarter, things begin to unravel, first and foremost from
a from a personnel perspective, I think we lost both
of our safeties on back to back plays. KZ got
ejected from the game and then Mika got hurt, and
(01:38):
so we were really stressed there. We've talked a lot
about down the middle of our of our defense, whether
it's interior linebackers or safeties, and the end game attrition
component of that made it made it difficult at times
to operate. I thought that that was reflective kind of
in the in the two minute sequence where they were
able to drive the field and get a touchdown before
(01:59):
the half, before we could reconfigure the people at our
disposal and kind of get really comfortable with how we
were dividing the labor up. I thought we felt it there.
I thought we had a chance to avoid that if
we converted a very makeable third down on the front
side of that two minute when we still had the ball.
I think we had friar mouth over the ball in
(02:20):
the middle middle of the field versus own defense, and
we weren't able to connect there. And I just think
that you know, playing connected in and around the half
or our inability to was significant in terms of how
the game unfolded. We missed a significant possession down there
and wasn't able to maintain possession of the ball and
maybe put some points on the board ourselves prior to
(02:42):
the half flip it they go to length of the
field and score before the half coming out. In the
second half, we did get a three and out, but
I thought that that was lessened obviously by the fumble
to start the half, and then they were able to
put seven points on the board. And so there was
some sequences on halftime, the bookending of halftime that I
(03:03):
thought really kind of affected how this game was unfolded
and eventually did unfold. We didn't do anything to help ourselves,
as I mentioned. Aside from that, the penalty component, particularly
when you're you know, when you're leaking from a personnel perspective,
getting behind the chains offensively or major penalties and so
(03:26):
forth on defense don't help you, and they didn't for us.
Communication and leverage and fundamental things need to be improved.
The schematic component of it needs to be improved. What
I mean is, and I was really transparent with our
team at times, components of our ball looks like September ball,
(03:46):
where some of the guys that are playing have September
levels of plan experience, and so we can't make December
calls with September people with plan experience. So I think
it's important as we formulate a plan this week that
were really oughtful about the configuration of people that we
have at our disposal and making sure that they're capable
of delivering what we're asking them to do. That's as
(04:09):
big a component as anything when you're managing less than
ideal circumstances from a personnel standpoint, and our outline that further,
as I get to some of the personnel related things,
I also talk about after the game that we're definitively
open to making whatever change is necessary and an effort
to change the outcome of football games. Man, you don't
(04:30):
need more than two or three weekends to see a pattern,
particularly ones that you don't like, and so we're not
going to sit on our hands and hope for a
different outcome. And so we're in the midst of working
through some of those things right now. Oftentimes the discussion
comes down to players or divisional labor, but make sure
(04:51):
that you understand that those conversations are not exclusive to that.
The strategic component of it is huge in terms of
what we're asking people to do collectively in their ability
to execute it. From a player perspective, it's our intention
as we sit here today, to give Mason Rudolph an
opportunity to start. He's a veteran guy. He's a backup,
(05:13):
but he's also a veteran guy. He's been in our
program a long time. He's here for those reasons. We
got a great deal of comfort with him. Why are
we making the change, man? We don't like what we're
looking at in the consistency of it. What I mean
is we're not scoring enough points.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
And as he always does, Coach Tomlin outlined injury concerns
and updates for the Steelers ahead of this weekend's clash
with Cincinnati.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Kenny Pickett, obviously, as I mentioned, can be described as questionable.
He'll be working in a limited capacity. We'll see where
his availability leads us. Mika can be described as out
with the knee injury. Cam Heyward is in the concussion protocols.
I won't add any color to that. We'll see what
(05:57):
a protocol leads us. Trenton Thompson, as I mentioned, was
able to finish the game, but had a stinger d
game that that limited his effectiveness. We'll see his availability.
And Elijah Riley is a guy that has the potential
(06:18):
to be available to us, and particularly with some of
the attrition things going on at the safety position, his
potential availability could be an asset to us with Maker
down obviously, with Kean O'Neill being on I R Eliza oh'reiley,
Eric Rowe, as I mentioned, those type guys man are
(06:39):
under strong consideration as we divide the labor up and
formulate a play here. At the early portions of the week.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
There's certainly a sense of urgency as Pittsburgh is coming
off of three straight losses returning home to face a
familiar AFC North foe. Mike Tollins spoke on the challenge
that Cincinnati will present at akrosure Stadium on Saturday.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
Their group there appears to be trent in the right
direction since the last time we played them, they gaining
some real traction. I'll start first with their offense. Browning
is doing a really good job of taking care of
the ball. His completion percentage speaks to that. Their lack
of turnovers or their ball security speaks to that. But
it's not just him, it's them. They've done some schematic
(07:20):
things to really do a nice job of staying on schedule,
not being one dimensional, or working to keep defenses off
balance changing launch points. Again, He's new to playing, but
not new to their program, and I think we talked
about that last time, but I think that that is
increasingly evident as he's gained more in helmet perspective on
(07:41):
play over the last three weeks. At running back man,
you know, we got to minimize mixing and his impact
on the game, whether it's run or in the passing game.
We got hit on a big screen, and the significant
moment screens are a big component of what they do,
particularly with him. The rookie chads has come on in
(08:01):
recent weeks. That is something to consider also from a
running back perspective, that might be a little bit different
than the last time we played them. Uh. T Higgins
is a component of what they're doing. We didn't see
tea last time, and so you know, we were able
to allocate a lot of schematics towards Chase when you're
when you're dealing with a full arsenal, you got to
(08:23):
deal with T. Higgins and Chase and Tyler Boyd. So
obviously we got some more schematic challenges in those situational
passing moments because he's got a you know, a full
repertoire people to spread the ball around too, and so
you know, those are some of the things that have
our attention on that side of the ball. On the
defensive side of the ball, they're playing really good situational ball,
(08:46):
standing up in big moments. Mike Hilton big interception in
the red area, I thought really kept that thing in
striking distance for him the other day. But we know
and are familiar with Mike. He is a big catalysts
for them. I think he's third or fourth and tackles
for them. He's always had an appetite for the big play.
He shows up off the edge in the run game
(09:08):
a lot. They're they're bringing some pressure in the run game.
They're bringing battle as well at the safety position. They
got really good continuity in terms of the things that
they do. We're familiar with them, but it doesn't necessarily
provide comfort for us. They're familiar with us as well,
and I just think that's a texture of divisional play,
(09:29):
particularly this time of year. It's not only the knowing,
the familiarity in terms of being in the same stadium
repeatedly over the last several years, but it's also you know,
the volume of tape from this year where there's less
speculation about what personalities might be theirs and ours. I
think that always adds h to the intensity of divisional play. Obviously,
(09:52):
it's gonna be in an intense atmosphere. It's a big
game for us. It's a divisional game, it's our last
home regular season game, and for those reasons. Man, we're
working with an age here on a Monday as we
get ready.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
Back home, and they're all must win games at this point.
Cincinnati Pittsburgh, Sunday afternoon on the North Shore. I'm as
and our host wes Ley Yuler, thanks for listening to
this episode of the Steelers Weekend Review. Take care, have
a merry Christmas, and I'll talk to the ends next week.
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