Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin holds his weekly press conferences every Tuesday. Each week, we will take a glimpse at what stood out from coach’s comments about the previous week and heading into the Steelers next game.

Injury Updates

Coach took a few minutes to update the public on some of the dings and dents on the team:

Stephon Tuitt and Marcus Gilbert can both be put in the same category. They may be available to us this week. We’ll give those guys an opportunity to work. We will evaluate that work. If it’s above the line, we’ll leave the door open for those guys. Gilbert with his soft tissue injury, and Tuitt with his back.

In-game injury, JuJu [Smith-Schuster] reported concussion-like symptoms after the game. He has been placed on the protocol. He will be evaluated appropriately. We’ll keep an eye on that and inform you as we get information.

Vance McDonald had a knee injury, I think he can be characterized as a bruise but it may affect his availability at the early portions of the week and maybe even his effectiveness. If it does then obviously we’ll do what’s appropriate there but we’ll keep an eye on those guys.

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Martavis Bryant situation

Coach went in great detail about Bryant, but also mentioned that how he would handle the situation would be mostly kept private.

Really, just to provide great clarity and maybe answer any questions that you guys might have, I have no desire to sit up here with a catcher’s mitt and field questions about Martavis and his social media habits to be quite honest with you.

We invested a lot in Martavis since we drafted him. He is not available via trade.

We have invested a lot. We have covered a lot of ground. It’s obvious, that we still have more ground to cover with him because we are having a conversation about him that’s not football-related but we have. He’s done a lot in the period of time that he’s been here in terms of improving, not only as a player but a man. We still have a ways to go. He was out of bounds with some of his actions in terms of what he said on social media. It will be dealt with appropriately so.

That ball is in my court. I have not visited with him yet. To be quite honest with you yet because I’ve had bigger fish to fry. The preparation and overall readiness getting ready for this opportunity with the Detroit Lions really takes precedence. They are coming off of a bye. I’ll visit with him at some point. When I do, I’ll rain down my judgement and we’ll move forward.

He is a good guy to work with in the building and has been. We’ve been very clear about this process about getting him reacclimated to us. Not an easy one but he’s worked diligently. I like his approach but he said some things when he’s not around us that are somewhat of a distraction. I say somewhat because we are having to field questions regarding it. Not because it’s high on my damn agenda but because I am fielding questions. It is somewhat of a distraction so we’ll deal with it as such and move on with it.

Following those comments about Bryant, Coach Tomlin avoided most other questions…

I’m going to leave that [talk] between he and I. I do not believe that is for public consumption. I do not believe that is appropriate. I think that is one of the reasons he and I are having this discussion. It is ok to want more playing time and want to be a central reason why we are successful provided that you relay that in an appropriate way. Social media is not the appropriate way.

Like I said repeatedly in here, weekly as a matter of fact, in discussion of it, I acknowledge that he’s going through a process of getting reacclimated to professional ball. It happens when you sit out for an extended period of time. He’s been getting progressively better. He had a great week last week of practice. Usually when that happens, it’s only a matter of time before it shows up on the field.

He dismissed further questions.

I don’t not deal with surprises. I do not deal with disappointment. I do not deal with things relevant to emotion. I lead a football team.

Whether or not his gripe is legitimate, the means by which he’s going about it is inappropriate. It creates situations like this where I’m wasting time out of my day fielding questions from you guys. That’s why it’s an issue.

Again, I’ll discuss the particulars regarding his role with him, as it should be, not with you.

Coach also acknowledged Bryant missing Monday’s team meeting.

I think you guys had the correct information. He was at the doctors. So, if someone’s sick, you have the excuse.

End of first half

Tomlin mentioned that he attempted to call a timeout near the end of the second quarter, but was ignored by the officiating crew.

I did [call a timeout]. They didn’t acknowledge it. Sometimes that happens. I communicated with the officiating crew prior to the play, and I thought that was enough in anticipation of it but it wasn’t.

Coach mentioned whether or not the officials can put time back on the clock in that circumstance, and whether the timeout call comes from the sidelines or if Ben Roethlisberger has the authority to call timeout:

They chose not to. Sometimes they choose to. Sometimes they choose not to. I don’t know what the variables are. Obviously, I was a proponent of them putting some more time on the clock. I didn’t think that was a nine second football play, but you don’t always get what you want.

Years ago the timeouts were given to the sideline. I think that’s the best way to go about it.

I don’t play. I’m able to look at the end of the play and things of that nature. I’m able to communicate with the officials and tell them what I anticipate doing even prior to the play, so there are a lot of reasons why you don’t put that on somebody on the field. I’m comfortable with where we are procedurally. It just was an unsuccessful sequence of events in that particular instance.

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Running the football

The topic changed to the Steelers having success running the football.

I think week in and week out – and you guys have heard me talk about this routinely over the years – we seek balance. That balance allows us the be successful regardless of circumstance. So, our personality the last couple of weeks is a reflection of us, but it’s also a reflection of the variables that the week’s challenge presents.

We were run-heavy because we felt confident in our ability to run the football and the blocking of the guys up front, but also the matchups that we had lended themselves to those things. I think if you want to have any type of sustainable success in this league in any phase, you better have balance. You better be able to do multiple things with multiple people, and that’s what we’re hunting.

Roosevelt Nix has been an integral part of Pittsburgh’s success on the ground. Tomlin commented on a question asking if “Nix is developing as an elite fullback in the league” and whether or not some teams are more succeptable to the run versus the pass:

I know he’s elite and important for us. He’s an important component for us. I know some of those global questions about where he stacks up to others, I’m not prepared to answer because I don’t study others. I’ve been pleased with his contributions here and I can compare his use to other fullbacks we’ve had here in recent years. It’s impressive. He’s an asset to us…

There are. That’s why some games you will see more usage of Rosie [Nix] than others, but also, game circumstances sometimes bear those things out. We weren’t able to run the ball the way we’d like in Jacksonville for instance because we were down by multiple scores midway through the third, so you probably didn’t see a lot of Rosie in the fourth quarter. So, game circumstances are an element of it as well.

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Vontaze Burfict

Again, the Bengals linebacker was a topic of discussion, but Coach Tomlin took the high road when discussing the troubled player.

I’m not getting into my reaction to that. It’s fruitless. The league office is going to do what they’re going to do, and we’re going to get ready to play the Detroit Lions…

I imagine there will be a lot of interest in it next time we play the Bengals. It’ll be Monday Night ball. You guys will get to talk about it then.

Replacing JuJu

Who will step in if JuJu Smith-Schuster can’t go on Sunday…

I haven’t thought about it yet. We’re not sure of the candidates, but I just haven’t placed a lot of time in that area yet. I will.

I like the work that [Eli Rogers has] done. That’s another guy who’s really been doing well in practice and really focused. I’m excited about him getting an opportunity whether JuJu is available or not. I just like the overall trajectory of his game, particularly in recent weeks.

Celebrations

Coach was asked about the celebrations thus far this season. Here was his reaction.

We revisited the concept of celebration and the reality is, I don’t think any of us are really solid on what the rules are because of how the change happened. It happened kind of late in the spring after meetings and so forth. To get consistency and clarity in that area is important for us, but for those that celebrate, it’s important that they air on the side of caution if necessary.

I have no problem with the celebrations – JuJu’s cute and all of that – provided it doesn’t cost our football team. I think they’re doing the necessary research to make sure they’re within the lines. I don’t anticipate that being an issue moving forward.