The 2023 regular season is moving through December. With the Steelers bouncing back with a decisive win over the Bengals on Saturday, thoughts of the posteason are starting to creep back in. Getting back to a regular Sunday game for Week 17, head coach Mike Tomlin took to the podium on Tuesday to address the media. With plenty of questions asked by those in attendance, it is once again time for a players mentioned article. Remember these are players where a specific question was asked during the Q&A period.

Mason Rudolph & Kenny Pickett

Coach Tomlin was asked if there was any pause or hesitation about putting Mason Rudolph back as the starter to begin the week after what he saw the other day.

“No, and really there’s multiple variables in the discussion, and Kenny’s (Pickett) health or his relative health is a component of it as well. Obviously, we feel better having the tangible evidence of performance this week then we did a week ago. But really as I stand here, we’re kind of in the same mentality in terms of how we are approaching the week in terms of the day-to-day aspect of it.”

In a follow-up question, Coach Tomlin was asked if Kenny Pickett is cleared if he will go in the game Sunday.

“I’m not into hypotheticals, we’ll see what the performance looks like tomorrow. Mason Rudolph has the ball as we stand here today.”

For the next question, Coach Tomlin was asked how much did Rudolph self-confidence grow after a performance like he had on Saturday.

“I think he was confident prior to the performance. And so, that’s why I characterized it last week the way that I did.”

Coach Tomlin was in asked how he evaluated Rudolph‘s leadership on Saturday.

“I thought it was a very natural act. And I think that confidence in self allows for thoughtfulness regarding others to happen. And so, oftentimes leadership is reflected in just thoughtfulness in terms of how you interact with others, and you better be confident in what you’re doing before that has a chance to reveal itself. And so, I know he’s a confident guy. And so, I wasn’t surprised that he was thoughtful about his interactions with others and displayed natural leadership skills in play.”

In a follow-up question, Coach Tomlin was asked if that is something, having been on the sidelines for the past few seasons, Rudolph can watch and learn and jump right into.

“I think it’s probably something that was cultivated in Stillwater. He had a lot of success in Stillwater, Oklahoma, man. He might be a College Football Hall of Fame type guy, and I don’t think you unlearn those experiences.”

For the next question, Coach Tomlin was asked what benefit he feels there was to Rudolph going against the Steelers defense every week in practice by leading the scout team.

“He’s a competitor and he competes daily. And there’s growth obviously associated with that. And so, that’s just a very natural thing. Certainly.”

Coach Tomlin was asked how much Rudolph helped to get the run game going and open.

“I don’t know that he did that. First play of the game, we had six yards. Third play of the game we had eight or nine yards, so it was a possession and 10. I think the run game started itself.”

Coach Tomlin was asked if he was surprised with Rudolph’s touchdowns on deep passes with the inactivity he has experienced.

“You know inactivity in stadium but not inactivity. And so, performing and performing in stadiums are two different things. And so, it was good to see it show up in the stadium, but I don’t think any of us were shocked by it. We’ve all seen it in stadiums with him before.”

In a later question, Coach Tomlin was asked if after the way Rudolph played the way he did if there would be a reason to go to Pickett if he is at 100% health.

“Again, I’m not into the hypotheticals. That’s just the plan that we have laid out for the week. It’s comfort in it because it’s similar to the front part of last week. We’ll see where Kenny’s (Pickett) availability is there. Then we’ll make judgments from there. But it doesn’t serve us in any way to talk hypotheticals and things of that nature. We focus on information that we have, and we plan day-by-day accordingly.”

In a follow-up question, Coach Tomlin was asked how Pickett looked at practice last week.

“Obviously, he wasn’t, he didn’t look good enough because we had him positioned as an inactive.”

In another follow-up question, Coach Tomlin was asked if there was anything Rudolph could have done differently on Saturday to solidify the starting spot regardless of Pickett’s health.

“I’m sure some plays he would like to have back man, as we all seek for perfection, but I think he and we were all pleased overall with his performance.”

In yet another follow-up question, Coach Tomlin was asked if the previous term he used of “calculated risk taker” was the best way to describe what Rudolph put on tape against the Bengals.

“Yes.”

In a later question, Coach Tomlin was asked how much did the familiarity with the Bengals play into the aggressive offensive approach and if we can expect Rudolph to be as aggressive this week against an NFC opponent.

“I think there’s, you know, intimacy in divisional relationships. And I think it’s reflected in all aspects of play. And so, you know, we’ll be less familiar with Seattle than we were Cincy for sure.”

Eric Rowe & Myles Jack

In another question about Mason Rudolph, Coach Tomlin was asked if him being a guy who hadn’t played in two years yet he stayed ready and prepared if it could be an example to others. In his response, Coach Tomlin mentioned Eric Rowe and Myles Jack.

“I think we’ve got a lot of examples of that. And particularly, this time of year, I think there’s a lot of examples of that on a lot of teams because of the attrition component of play. I don’t know how much Eric Rowe has played for example. Myles Jack, man, we got off the couch. And so, those are things that happened this time of year. Certainly, it could be things to learn from, for young players in terms of maintaining focus as they work for opportunity. We’re not in a patient man’s business. And so, you better be working for opportunity and what transpired with him can be an example of that, certainly.”

In a later question, Coach Tomlin was asked about the kind of characteristics that are important for a player like Jack coming back from retirement and not really thinking about football to now being in a big role.

“I think that’s probably, you hit it on the head when you said not really thinking about football. I just don’t think that’s in his DNA. He’s a football lover. He might have been pushing towards retirement but probably because of lack of opportunity. It didn’t take him long to ponder the opportunity when we reached out to him for example. He’s a football lover. And so, I would imagine he was waiting for the call.”

George Pickens

Coach Tomlin was asked what he believed keyed the game we were able to see from George Pickens on Saturday.

“We got him the ball with fluidity.You know, we got him in some one-on-one circumstances and his talent showed.”

Patrick Peterson

Coach Tomlin was asked what qualities about Patrick Peterson allow him to step into the situation of starting at safety that he did on Saturday.

“He’s a really sharp football player first and foremost, who’s very experienced. He sees the game from a coach’s perspective in that he can step outside his helmet, that allows for versatility. But this is not the first time we’ve talked about Pat’s (Peterson) versatility. Oftentimes, you guys ask about it, I bring up that we thoughtfully pursued that in free agency. We lost a versatile guy in Cam Sutton. We realized that Pat (Peterson) was a guy that had versatility and intellect and communication skills and a passion for the game. And so, we thought it would be helpful and it’s proven to be.”

Chandon Sullivan & Levi Wallace

In a follow-up question to the Patrick Peterson one, Coach Tomlin was asked about the trickle down effect of other players having to step into his position to play corner. In his response, Coach Tomlin mentioned Chandon Sullivan and Levi Wallace.

“You know, I’m appreciative of the efforts of all the guys involved.You know, they did the job.Sully (Chandon Sullivan) played more snaps, Levi (Wallace) played more snaps, but it was a group effort, certainly.”

Pat Freiermuth

Coach Tomlin was asked about the emphasis of the Bengals to take away the middle of the field after what Pat Freiermuth did in their previous matchup.

“But that’s, you know, that’s what I was referring to when I was talking about some of the intimacies of the relationship. I don’t think we’re shocked by that. I’m sure they’re not shocked by some of the things that we did.That’s divisional play, particularly the second time around. That’s why I think I referred to it last week as chess not checkers. And that’s an example of it. It’d be naive to think that they weren’t going to do some schematic things differently to minimize (Pat) Freiermuth based on what happened the first game for example.”

Mason Cole

Coach Tomlin was asked about the work Mason Cole has put in with his snaps to three different quarterbacks and how he is trying to rebound from some bad snaps.

“We expect him to snap the ball. It’s fundamental things relative to his position, regardless of who’s playing quarterback.”

Mike Tomlin’s complete press conference can be seen here:

Coach Tomlin speaks to the media ahead of our Week 17 game against the Seahawks. @PNCBank

📺: #PITvsSEA 12/31 at 4:05 PM ET on FOX https://t.co/uRAp176fcw

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) December 26, 2023