The 2023 regular season is moving through December. With the Steelers coming off three-straight losses, thouts of the posteason are a distant memory. After playing on Saturday and yet another Saurday game for Week 16, head coach Mike Tomlin took to the podium on Monday to address in 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.

Keanu Neal

Coach Tomlin was asked if Keanu Neal‘s injury is season ending.

“I’m not ready to speak to whether or not Keanu’s (Neal) injury is season ending, but he’s not available to us this week.”

Mason Rudolph

Coach Tomlin was asked what it is about Mason Rudolph if he can help to generate some offense.

“(Mason) Rudolph man, he’s been a part of our program. He knows us, we know him. He’s tough minded. He’s got a lot of confidence in himself. He’s a competitor. And so, those are some of the things that are really attractive about giving him an opportunity this week.”

In a later question, Coach Tomlin was asked if there are specific attributes that Rudolph has that he believes can help more than what they have seen so far at the quarterback position.

“He’s just good under tough circumstances, man. He is a competitor. He believes in himself. He’s a calculated risk taker. I believe that mentality is helpful to us under these circumstances.”

In a follow-up question, Coach Tomlin was asked how he likes the way Rudolph has handled himself in the role he’s had over the last few years.

“Man, he’s a professional. He is always prepared. When given an opportunity, he competes. He’s extremely supportive of others, whether it’s guys at his position or whether it’s anybody on the offense, you know. And all our quarterbacks are. We got a really good group in that way in terms of communicating, gaining cohesion and understanding, having informal conversations in an effort to get on the same page. We got a really good group in that regard and he’s been a critical component of that.”

In another follow-up question, Coach Tomlin was asked if there is a rust factor component that will need to be knocked off.

“Certainly, there is,and I think that that’s why, you know, when you asked me about his potential availability in recent weeks, I’ve been less apt to say so. But again, as I said, after the game, you know, we’re not going to sit on our hands and hope for a change in terms of some of the things that we need to change. We’re going to actively pursue it.”

In yet another follow-up question, Coach Tomlin was asked if this was why he wanted to give Rudolph some reps at the end of the last game.

“Exactly.”

Kenny Pickett

Coach Tomlin was asked what he would need to see out of Kenny Pickett for him to play this week.

“First of all, the medical experts lead the charge in that regard in terms of medical clearance. And then it’s just overall effectiveness. First and foremost, his ability to move and protect himself. And secondly, his effectiveness in terms of movement. his ability to ab lib, etc.”

Mitch Trubisky

Coach Tomlin was asked how Mitch Trubisky responded to the news of Rudolph starting the week as the first quarterback.

“You know, I’ll leave that between he and I. I think that’s appropriate. But rest assured he was really professional.”

George Pickens

Coach Tomlin was asked about how he believed George Pickens responded to a conversation he had with him about his frustrations.

“I thought he was better but still has obviously, room for continued improvement.”

In a follow-up question, Coach Tomlin was asked if it was a discipline or an effort issue about Pickens not blocking close to the goal line on a potential touchdown.

“That’s one of the examples that I’m talking about in terms of still obvious room for improvement.”

Coach Tomlin was asked in a follow-up question how he continues to get Pickens attention.

“We keep working.”

Pat Freiermuth

Coach Tomlin was asked about a specific play he brought up in his opening statement where Trubisky was unable to connect with Pat Freiermuth on third down and if it was something where Freiermuth was supposed to sit in the zone or if the quarterback simply missed the throw.

“I’m not going to assign blame. It was a miscommunication. We’re all responsible for making sure that we throw and catch that ball versus zone coverage in a makable down and distance. It was a significant play, to be quite honest with you. Not only in terms of our ability to maintain possession of the ball and move forward and maybe, you know, put some points on the board before the half. But also, as I mentioned, they were subsequently able to drive the field and book in the hash themselves.”

Blake Martinez, Myles Jack, & Eric Rowe

Coach Tomlin was asked if there will be opportunities for Blake Martinez or Miles Jack this week. In his response, he also mentioned safety Eric Rowe.

“Yes, I mentioned Myles Jack earlier, I think when I was talking about he and Eric Rowe. Yeah, particularly when given an opportunity to assess and plan every week, man, all of those guys are given an opportunity and under strong consideration. Sometimes things that happen in game, the way the attrition happened at safety in our last game, obviously, you’re not afforded those opportunities on some in game circumstances.”

Chris Boswell

Coach Tomlin was asked about the decision to not kick the 57-yard field goal and if Chris Boswell was dealing with anything such as an injury.

“No, he was dealing with nothing. You know, on the play before I wanted to be aggressive and take a shot down the field, and that wasn’t afforded to us. And so, then I wanted to check the ball down, we didn’t. We threw the ball out of bounds, and we didn’t improve our field goal positioning. And so, we were looking at a 56, 57-yard field goal with our defense leaking the way that it was leaking. I wanted to maintain a posture where we protected them, as opposed to potentially put them in harms way. If you miss a long field goal, the defense is working on a short field. And I just didn’t feel like we were positioned to expose them in that way. Under normal circumstances you guys know routinely, we don’t mind challenging our defense and putting them in challenging circumstances, but given the attrition that had transpired, particularly at the safety position, and some things that had transpired right there at the beginning, excuse me at the end of the first half. I thought it was more prudent given the amount of time left in play, to try to work them on the long field and protect the defense.”

Pressley Harvin

Coach Tomlin was asked about the punt from Pressley Harvin when the Steelers passed on the long field goal and if he expected the kick to go inside the 10-yard line.

“Certainly, a significant component of that failure, strategic failure a punt as much as anything else, man. If you’re trying to put people on the long field man, we’re talking about 95 plus yards is what we’re looking for under ideal circumstances. And I think they ended up with the ball roughly around the 17. That’s not what we were looking for.”

Patrick Peterson & Trenton Thompson

Coach Tomlin was asked about improving the defensive communication as Patrick Peterson said he wasn’t sure who had the communication helmet. In his response, Coach Tomlin talked about the loss of the safeties during the game including Trenton Thompson.

“Well, you know, those issues are those issues. In game issues that happen, you know, the attrition component, those two guys going down. And then Trenton Thompson going down created some challenges. And so, that is what it is. I am so appreciative of Pat (Peterson) and his position flexibility and what that gave us, to be quite honest with you. I probably should have mentioned that earlier. Man, position flexibility and his willingness and ability to do that really allowed us to function. But given you know, a normal cycle in terms of preparedness, it’s going to be less of an issue. Obviously, it’d be an issue again if two safeties go down again in game. Not only in terms of the loss of their playmaking ability, knowledge and in helmet perspective on the prep that leads to play, but also the guys that replace them, they get thinned out because they don’t you know, their special teams responsibilities aren’t lessened in any way. And so, you’re losing some talent, some experience, some expertise, some preparedness, and you’re also exposing those who are getting an increased role, because they are, you know, getting an increased role. And as fatigue, individual and collective fatigue sets in communication, cohesion and detail gets more challenging.”

Minkah Fitzpatrick

Coach Tomlin was asked if Minkah Fitzpatrick‘s injury is a multi-week situation.

“I don’t know that and that’s why I specifically said it the way that I did. You can characterize him as out for this week. I’ll have further
information as the week goes on.”

Damontae Kazee

With the press conference coming before the news of Damontae Kazee’s suspension, Coach Tomlin was asked if he was planning on having Kazee this weekend or if he thought the NFL might discipline him.

“I am by no means going to speculate on that. Doesn’t help me, him or football itself.”

In a later question, Coach Tomlin was asked about his coaching points for Kazee and other safeties on that specific play where Casey was ejected.

“You know, usually I talk about lowering the target. The target was low, and both guys were going. It was just unfortunate. I know he is not a dirty player. He doesn’t aspire to do some of the things that came to light under those circumstances. Sometimes it’s just, you know, professional football today and how difficult it is to operate. But the National Football League is really clear man. They put 100% of the onus on the defender in those circumstances. It’s unfortunate but we understand it.”

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

Coach Tomlin speaks to the media ahead of our Week 16 game against the Bengals. @PNCBank

📺: #CINvsPIT 12/23 at 4:30 PM ET on NBC https://t.co/NTi5eLZjeZ

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) December 18, 2023