Week 6 vs. The Buccaneers

Bob Labriola sits down with Head Coach Mike Tomlin ahead of the Steelers game against Tom Brady and the Bucs.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
He's the Mike Tomlin Game Day Podcast with Steelers Digest
editor Bob Labriola. Okay, coaching your recap of the game
in Buffalo, you said, largely we were a disaster in
all three phases, and we have to own that, starting
with myself and I do. How do you own that?
You know, first is just acknowledging it and and analyzing

(00:21):
why in review. Review a performance is a big component
of moving forward. I don't care whether it's positive results
or negative results. And then you formulate this week's planing
with that growth and understanding in mind there's some things
that happen in game mix of people, UM best accentuating
your positives and minimizing your negatives. I just think particularly

(00:41):
um on the front side of this journey. Uh, there's
growth in all performances, and how we analyze it, how
we review it, how we take that information to formulate
the next plan in an effort to grow. It's significant.
And again I'd be in that mindset regardless of outcome,
but obviously, UM, when it was as negative as it
was last week, it makes that process and that mindset

(01:02):
regarding that process doubly important. How do you expect the
players to own it in the same ways that I do. UM,
the things that I say to them, that I expressed
to them, that I live out for them, I expect
them to model UM. I expect them to own it.
I expect them to analyze it. I expect them to
formulate this week's playing and be all in and their
roles regarding it, and get singularly focused on the opportunity

(01:24):
to redeem themselves. It's part of owning it about words
spoken in public, like in sessions with what the media
as an example, it can be UM. But but I'm
talking more intimately. I'm talking about not kidding ourselves, not
looking in the mirror or among our groups, and and
and pretending that it's something that is not now it

(01:45):
can be in regards to the media. I don't want
our guys wasting any energy defending themselves or what transpired
in the media. UM is fruitless. UM. We understand where
we are. This is big boy football, this is professional football.
There's certain negativity that comes with negative performances, and so
we shouldn't waste any energy trying to combat that or

(02:06):
deflect that in any way. And and that's what owning
it means. As it pertains to the media. In my opinion,
when it comes to owning it, it's Kenny Pickett showing
you what you need to see from a young quarterback.
He is, um, but he's showing me what he needs
to show me in in a lot of areas, not
only owning it, but just enjoying the process of preparation,

(02:26):
of of being open um and honest in in in
the process of growing as a leader, UM, and having
difficult conversations with teammates. Um, he's owning it in a
lot of ways. Are you aware or are you made
aware of what players and maybe you and coaches are
saying in the microphones when they're asked about the team's

(02:47):
current situation. UM, I'm I get that information in a
variety of ways, UM, formally, informally, but it's not something
that I've spent a lot of time seeking out, to
be quite honest with you. UM, When you hold a
position that I hold, a lot of information ends up
on your death, particularly negative information. People can't wait to

(03:07):
tell you or you know, maybe do you deal with
it proactively? Tell them you know what you expect in
terms of how they handle things before they get behind
the micro Sometimes I do. Sometimes I don't. Sometimes it's
an opportunity for growth and lessons of better learn through organically. UM.
Sometimes I work to protect certain individuals because I understand

(03:28):
where they are from a maturity standpoint or understanding standpoint
relative to professional ball and so forth. UM. I'm thoughtfully
utilizing UM both approaches, just depending on who we're talking about,
and when I just think that's just a realistic perspective, UH,
and talking about how the team might be able to
dig itself out of the whole it's currently in. You

(03:49):
said that some of it was about the development of
players and concepts. What are concepts, whether it's a defensive call,
an offensive call, or a special teams call. UM. Const
ups grow within a group. UM. The concept itself doesn't grow,
but as our understanding of the concept grows, then so
does the concept. Not only guy's global understanding of the

(04:10):
concept of what we're trying to get done with something,
but their roles in it. It allows it allows them
to play fast and fluid individually and collectively. And oftentimes
that's the difference, particularly in weighty downs. A receiver knowing
his space in a zone on a possession down and
and and tight turn into the quarterback, will give him
the necessary space to produce run after, maybe move the

(04:33):
chains on the first down, maybe produce a much bigger game.
A guy that doesn't know and understand his space and zone,
he's slow to react to that space, there's less likelihood
opportunity for run after, etcetera, etcetera. And so that's what
I mean when I'm talking about concepts growing. I'm talking
about guys understanding of concepts and their roles in it

(04:54):
allows concepts to grow and work more effectively. It's the
same thing on the defensive side in the blitz game.
Once we understand the timing of particular blitzes, those blitzes
really grow um in effectiveness. Um. A late blitz is
a bad blitz oftentimes, a poorly designed blitz run right
oftentimes is a good blitz because timing is such a

(05:15):
critical component of the blitz game, for example, and so
individuals within a defensive unit learning how important time it is.
The collective understanding how important timing and disguise is allows
a defensive call to grow. And that's what I meant
by it. It's a phrase that seems to be used
a good bit, and it's been used over the years
applied to a variety of team sports. Lose the team

(05:39):
if something bad happens, but the players continue to compete.
The coaches praised because he didn't lose the team. If
a team gets off to a bad start early, the
situation will be monitored to see if the coach loses
the team. What does lose the team mean? I I
think lose the team has very little to do with
performance and has everything to do with attention. UM. I

(06:01):
think losing to the team and things that happened outside
the stadium as opposed to what happens inside the stadium.
I know, oftentimes from a lay person's perspective and from
a media perspective, UM, it's described and talked about based
on what transpires in the stadium. But I think for
those of us that are inside the business and and
inside team collectives, UM, they understand that you know, losing

(06:23):
the team is something that happens day to day, is
something that happens in the drudgery and the routine, UM,
lack of attentiveness, etcetera. UM. What happens inside the stadium
is just kind of a result or the tells of
what it is that you describe so then how does
you mentioned what happens day to day? So how does

(06:44):
it manifest itself? How how do you know? Um, I
don't know that you do. UM, you know, I don't
know that anybody that's ever lost the team is standing
in front of the mirror, sam M, I've lost this group.
I think everybody knows, but that guy. Okay. When the
team is on a regular weekly schedule, in terms of
games being seven days apart, what's the process of putting

(07:06):
the game plan together on both offense and defense day
one and two? Um of prep um, this first and
second down football, high volume things, alumni zone football is
what you call it in college. UM. The stuff that
happens between the twenties on first and second downs, that
that don't carry any weight, that aren't situational in any way,

(07:27):
aren't two minute, aren't possession downs, aren't red zone. Uh.
It's that high volume stuff that's often UM described as
offense and defensive personality. UM, those are the things that
are focused on day one and day two. Day three,
you start moving to moving into possession down football. Excuse me,
you start moving into possession down football. UM. And that's

(07:48):
a big component of it. UM. And then day four
and five you're really focused on other elements of situational
play reds on short yartist, goal line, two minutes, um, etcetera.
But you tee up that possession down football on day three,
you get out in front of that. You you have
two good days of that because those downs are so
important in terms of keeping the drive alive from an

(08:08):
offensive perspective and getting off the field from a defensive perspective.
And then obviously special teams has a similar progress UM
along that, along that developmental train, but that's usually less interesting,
so I don't talk about about it. So how much
adjusting has done once you get into the practice days,
I mean it's a lot Wednesday, Thursday, Friday being the
practice days daily, UM, daily UM. But again, adjustments UM

(08:33):
oftentimes are subtractions as opposed to attention additions. UM. You
have an idea that the concept is is potentially fruitful,
You work at it, you look at it on a Wednesday, UM,
you don't like it. You take another look at it
on Thursday, you confirm it yea or nay. And so
many times these discussions about fine tuning or adjustments are
are subtraction based discussions. Although not exclusive to that. I

(08:57):
imagine it's probably three to one some tractions to additions
as you're leaning in on on the weekend. Okay, so
you get to the final list. Once you get to
that final list, do you call those plays once each No,
it depends on some plays. You know. Some plays again,
like I mentioned, some alumni zone plays are high volume plays.
You might run a base run four or five times

(09:18):
in a football game. You might make a base run
stopping defensive call, you know, five or seven times in
the football game. Some things are high volume calls. Some
things are called multiple times, but they're dressed up differently,
and so you might have a third down and medium
call that you're like, you might dress it up a
couple of different ways and and call it two or
three times, and so um. Some things get called multiple times,

(09:40):
and to be quite honest with you, based on circumstance,
oftentimes there's certain certain things that don't get called for
a myriad of reasons. Matchup related things, player availability, attrition
that happens in game, the moment never presented itself, etcetera, etcetera. Um,
there's more preparation than often times gets displayed in terms
of what what's called because you you'd rather have it

(10:02):
and not need it than to need it and not
have it. So, if you call something offense or defense whatever,
and it doesn't work first time, you scratch it off
come back. It depends on why it didn't work. If
it didn't work because of execution, you you might have
a conversation and go back at it. You might insert
a different guy and go back at it. If it
didn't happen because of schematics, maybe we didn't get the

(10:24):
look from our opponent that we wanted, and so maybe
you take another shot at it hoping to get the
look that you intended. And so sometimes eat success or
or no um, you run things back and an effort
because you're looking for something and so um, it's not
as simple as that didn't work, put it on the shelf.
No um, it's much more complex than that. Why did

(10:47):
it break down? As it personnel related? Why did it
break down? Is it scheme or matchup scheme related? Is
it worth taking another shot in an effort to get
a desired schematic that you wanted to run it against.
It's just complexities to the conversation. Okay, flip it around.
You call something the first time, and it works. Do
you ever call it again right after that same conversation? Um? No,

(11:09):
but I mean right after first intend, you hand the
ball off, the guy runs for thirteen yards first intent again,
your same play. You're capable. Um. But but the time
if you do, is dressed in a different way. And
so that's what I mean. You give life to a
concept by dressing it up different formation, variations, different personnel groupings, pace, um,

(11:32):
all our variables in terms of how people digest opposing concepts.
Whether it's offensive, defense and so you put a different
look on it. If it's a defensive blitz, you run
it out of base, you run nickel out there, you
run the same call. You run it out of nickel.
If it's offense, you do three wides. If you like it,
you run two wides out there. You're presented in a
different way. Um. Oftentimes repeat things, Um that are repeated

(11:57):
because the success are dressed up differently. But at its
core or it's the same concept. Okay. Today's challenge, Tom Brady,
even though he's forty five years old, is that how
you have to look at it today? That today's challenges
Tom Brady without question, because his intellect is what makes
him unique and special. But that would have been true
if he was twenty five, UM, as opposed to forty five.

(12:19):
It's always been his above the net game and the
way he processes information and and his competitive spirit that
drives him. And that's why, you know, as some of
his physical skills maybe a road because we're all human,
father time is undefeated. Uh, he's still highly effective, uh
and something to be reckoned with because UM, it's it's

(12:41):
intangible things that make Tom Brady tom Brady. His processing,
his competitive spirit, his leadership, UM, his pinpoint accuracy UM
oftentimes doesn't get highlighted enough. Arm strength is one thing.
Arm strength leaves you. Uh, pinpoint accuracy man. Uh, I
would imagine Uh, Terry Bradshaw's pretty accurate right now. UM.
Probably not a great distances, but probably still very accurate.

(13:04):
So you mentioned all those intangibles. If you had to
pick one of those, what makes Storm Brady what he
has become competitive spirit, UM, it's in the eyes that
that guy's You know, that guy's a lot of things
and I hadn't spent time around him, UM, but one
of the things you know about him if you in
this business, is that boy he seeks competition. Um, that's

(13:25):
why he's still doing it. I mean, there there's nothing
that's missing on his trophy shelf in his basement at
his house. Okay, Um, why is he still doing this
Because he's a competitor and that was competitive spirit still
burned and he's gotta feed that beast. That's the Mike
Tomlin Game Day Podcast. Subscribe in, download new episodes every week,

(13:45):
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