2012 Post Game Quotes

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Heinz Field ▪ Sunday,October 7, 2012

Coach Tomlin:It’s awesome to get out of here with a win against a very good team. Obviously, we weren’t really sharp early, particularly with some self-inflicted wounds, some things that usually occur when you come out of a bye, penalties and so forth. We have to get better in that area. But I am thankful that we were able to do what was necessary to win. Offense, defense, and special teams, a lot of contributions from all three phases. More than anything, the guys were resilient. They stayed together. They delivered the necessary plays down the stretch, which is important and the difference between winning and losing. From an injury standpoint, there’s a few to note. [LaMarr] Woodley has a right hamstring; we don’t know the severity of it. We’ll see. Working on a short week is probably not a good sign for him, but we’ll go day-to-day with that. Troy [Polamalu] re-aggravated his calf. Again, we don’t know the extent of it. Same thing, working on a short week, we’ll see. Ike Taylor was able to go back in the game. He should be fine. The rest are bumps and bruises that go along the way. I tip my hat to Philly. They’re a good team and I’m thankful we were able to win.
Re: RB Rashard Mendenhall’s performance:
I thought it was a good start. He’s always a highly conditioned guy. Obviously, he has to get a little bit more ball security. It was a great place to begin and I though he not only ran well and hard and caught the ball, but he was a source of energy for the unit. That’s what great players do. They inspire those around them. I thought he did that for the group.
Re: LB James Harrison’s conditioning:
James is another guy that’s highly conditioned. He’s in the building on off days working on conditioning and at lunch time on a daily basis. We’re going to watch him but it became evident that he was game-ready from a conditioning standpoint. It was tight ballgame and we needed his services.
Re: The weather playing a factor in getting into field goal range:
I wasn’t worried about the rain. I just was worried about his range. That was pre-determined before the game and we don’t vary from that. We don’t let the game circumstances get us tight in terms of our decision-making. We knew where he was. The weather wasn’t significant. I was more concerned about young Drew [Butler] on the hold. He did a nice job.
Re: Performance of the offensive line:
We ran the ball well. I think we were over 4.5 yards per carry. We protected the quarterback. They did the job today.
Re: The game-winning drive:
We had the ball last. Such is life. A week or so ago, before went into the bye, Oakland had the ball last. Sometimes, it’s who’s got the ball last.
Re: Defense forcing turnovers:
Sometimes they’re just a by-product of doing what it is you’re supposed to do and doing it in the manner that you’re supposed to do it. I thought we did that. We were aggressive. The guys were where they were supposed to be. They were playing hard and pursuing the ball. Sometimes it’s just a by-products and I think that was the case in most instances.
Is it troubling that the defense gave up a fourth-quarter lead again?
No.
Does the fourth quarter bring out the best in QB Ben Roethlisberger?
Yep.
What do you attribute that to?
I think all of the guys that you can make an argument for being franchise quarterbacks, I think that’s the common tie that binds them. They come in many different forms, shapes, and sizes and skill sets. Some of them are pocket passers. Some of them are mobile. But, the reality is if they’re in that discussion it’s because they deliver when it’s time to deliver. No question, I don’t care who you’re talking to, [Roethlisberger] is in that discussion.
Re: WR Emmanuel Sanders third down catch on the game-winning drive:
I’m not going to go through the progression with you. Obviously, he was an option.
Steelers Players
Rashard Mendenhall
When did you start feeling really comfortable out there?
From the beginning I felt comfortable. I felt comfortable throughout the week. Day in and day out just working at it throughout the week. I knew when I stepped out there I knew that I would be comfortable and just wanted to go out there and play the best that I could, and I was able to do that.
Was there a play to let you know that everything was alright?
I wasn’t really thinking about it. I have just been preparing for this moment and this time. I wasn’t really thinking about my leg at the time, I was just doing everything that I could for the team.
Were you disappointed that you didn’t get to get the last first down on the last drive?
Not really, I’m just taking it a play at a time, doing everything that I can. Luckily we were able to get the ball down there and get the win, so I’m just happy with that.
How did the touchdown feel?
It felt great, but there is a lot more work to be done, and a lot more to come.
Re: On the touchdown play:
I just chipped and got out on a swing. I guess Ben Roethlisberger didn’t have anywhere to go with the ball, so I was an outlet. As a one-on-one a running back wants to win those and I was able to do that.
Did you know that the touchdown play was running yards?
I saw that later. Thinking about it the ball did hit me on the back shoulder, so I could see it being behind the line, and we’ll take free rushing yards.
Was that the same play as the pass on the final drive?
No, I looked similar but some of them are play calls, and some just end up happening like that.

That was a designed swing and the tackle was able to get down the field to get some blocks, and it worked pretty well.
Could you have come back a few weeks ago?
I’m not sure, it just wasn’t the time. There was still some steps that I needed to take, and everybody wasn’t fully comfortable. I think everything happened as it should, being out here today.
Are you worried about the short week coming up?
Not really, like everything I’ll just take it a day at a time. Luckily today they held me out some. I wasn’t in for an extensive amount of plays this week. We’ll see how it shapes out next week, but I’m not worried about it.
What did you think about last night? Was it similar to your first game as a rookie, or the Super Bowl?
To tell you the truth I don’t really think about the game the night before. I take every moment as right then, so last night was last night, I woke up this morning and ate breakfast, took it just one step at a time I didn’t think about the game until I stepped out there.

QB Ben Roethlisberger

Talk about Rashard [Mendenhall]’s return.

“Our savior is back. No, we’ve been teasing him all week. It was great to see him out there and he did a great job.”

Were you setting up for the field goal at the end? Did you get a little conservative there?

“We knew we needed that. We got down into field goal range and I was still ready to go if we wanted to. But we kind of were just dominating a little bit up front. We were getting three, four yards at a pop and I was mixing up the snap count on them there so they couldn’t anticipate it. I think that’s probably the smart way to go, I guess.”

On that drive, you were bent over a little bit. Did you get hurt?

“Yeah, I just got hit in the wrong spot, if you know what I mean.”

You made some mistakes today with some penalties and a few dropped balls. But did it feel like you kind of had it figured out? Was it more comfortable playing that defense that you’ve seen previously?

“They are a great defense. They get after it. I don’t think we had any sacks today and that’s such a credit to our guys. We felt like we left some things out there, obviously. But when you play a great team like that, you just want to get the win. Of course, you’d want to win 50-0, but when you are playing a team like that, it’s probably not going to happen. So we’ll evaluate it. We know we need to get better in certain areas, but a win’s a win.”

You were never really under siege. You had to move around a little bit, but you had some passing lanes.

“They did a great job against a great pass rush. They rotate nine guys and they’re fresh and our guys are tired. But they never gave up. I’m just so proud of that group, as always.”

Can you talk about the difference between 2-2 and 1-3 and going on the road after a short week?

“Obviously, every game is a must win for us. It is even when we are in training camp. We want to win every game. It’s a must-win. We just need to play like the Pittsburgh Steelers.”

After a pretty jagged first half, the second half kind of flew by. When you got the ball after their scoring drive, was that a quick wake-up call where you knew you had to get it done there?

“We got into the fourth quarter and everything just kind of flew by in the second half. They took a lot of time to go down and score. We figured it’s now or never. We went 80 [yards] and then ended up going longer. So, just like I said, I’m proud of the guys to fight all the way to the end.”

On the third down play to Antonio [Brown] over the middle, was he your first guy to go to?

“Yeah, we ran that game earlier in the game. And I ended up hitting Heath [Miller] out of the backfield because they got a little bit of pressure and I didn’t have time. I saw Antonio was open in the first quarter when we ran it. So [when] we came back to it, I thought ‘same coverage, same route, maybe I can get him.’ The offensive line did a good job of pushing the defense around me. I stepped up and A.B. just made a play.”

If you don’t get that, do you punt from there?

“I have no idea. What did Mike say?”

Willie Colon is making the change moving from tackle to guard. He had two or three holding penalties on him today. What do you say to him?

“Absolutely nothing. Willie is a fighter. He’s a tough son of a gun. He’s in there pancaking people. I mean, he’s putting guys on their backs. Unfortunately, he’s getting calls. You look at it, and without getting fined for saying something about the officiating, I think Willie’s just flat-out pancaking people. He’s putting them on their backs and defensive lineman are kind of throwing their hands up because there is nothing else they can do. I just stay positive with him. And he needs to stay positive because he’s doing a great job.”

After seeing what Rashard [Mendenhall] did today, was it the right call to wait so long to get him back in there?

“Yeah, he looked great. I don’t know if he feels good, but I’m sure he does. He didn’t really take too many big shots and made some big plays. We just hope that he made it out of this game without any more injury.”

Mike [Wallace] seemed to have a tough day. Was it just one of those days?

“Yeah, there were some tight ones. But those DBs are good. They are all over you and there are some really small windows. I have to put some of them in better spots for him to make the play. But, you know what, it’s a frustrating day when you get a great defense because you want to do so much and there are so many plays you feel that you’ve left out there. That’s what I just told him. We can be frustrated right now, but let’s move on. And he’ll move on. He’ll be fine. He’s frustrated because he holds himself to a high expectation, high standards. And that’s good. You want that.”

Talk about the shot in the arm that getting an game-winning drive is.

“I pride myself, and we pride ourselves on offense, if we get the ball, whether we are up, down or it’s tied – whatever it is – we want to go down and win the game. I want the ball in my hands. We had a couple of key third downs that we converted, which were huge. Those were big. Those are momentum things that I always have confidence in myself that we can do it. I always have confidence in myself and the guys that we can do it. But sometimes younger guys, unless you’ve been here to do it, you are not really sure if it gets done as much as we talk about it. It’s good to go down. That was everybody on that drive.”

The sequence where you had the option on one on of your scrambles. How long as that been in your arsenal?

“About two seconds, because that kind of happened right there. I don’t know what I was thinking. I think I saw in the program that I needed 44 yards for 1,000, so I started to crazy. No, it was just kind of silly on my part.”

What were you thinking on the sequence where Brown lost his show and Cotchery tripped. It was kind of crazy on that sequence.

“On the first one, I got A.B. the ball and I thought he could have stayed to the outside and could have scored because he’s got the speed and the quickness. But he’s a great cutback guy. I think the guy made a good play because even when he cut back, I thought he was going to score. It was the next play or a couple of plays later where Jerricho was coming across – it’s hard for a receive with their back to the defense when he’s coming across the field because I can see that there is really no one around him because he cleared the last linebacker. I can see that, he can’t. When you are on the goal line, you have to expect – and we preach this all the time – that the second you catch it, you are going to get hit, because it is so tight down there. So when I threw it, you could see him make sure he had the catch and brace [for contact]. That’s my assumption, that he was kind of waiting for the hit and he just got caught up. It’s unfortunate because we could have had a touchdown there. And I could have hit Heath [Miller] later. That’s 14 points we left off the board.”

What’s the biggest challenge with a short week like this?

“Rest and health, seeing who’s healthy, [and] who’s banged up. You only have a couple of days to get ready to go. And going on the road is always tough.”

How much does it change what you are able to do?

“Well it depends on who’s banged up. We’ll get to work on Tuesday and see where we go from there.”

Re: You hit Rashard [Mendenhall] twice and one was ruled a running play:

“Yeah, I’m going to protest that [smiles]. He did a great job. We had one guy in the pattern run the wrong route. We hit that check-down and I made a forward pass and Rashard made the rest of that happen. We’re in Pittsburgh, so we call it a run.”

Do you have any jitters about how he wakes up tomorrow?

“No. He’s an animal. He’ll be fine. I assume; I don’t think he had any injuries.”

LB Jason Worilds

Re: Having to fill in when LB LaMarr Woodley got hurt:

It’s a testament to the linebacking crew. We pride ourselves on being able to step in when somebody goes down.

Re: Losing S Troy Polamalu:

I think him being in the game is definitely something for the offense to think about. Fortunately, we were still able to out there and execute and I think we did that.

What went wrong on the Eagles’ long scoring drive in the fourth quarter?

Penalties. We had a lot of penalties. When you play against good teams, you can’t give away free yards. That’s what we did.

G Willie Colon

What went right on the last drive?

Like anything, it takes time to figure the defense out. We started a little choppy. Holding penalties don’t help at all and I damn sure had enough of them. I have to cut that out and I have to get better at not holding. I take all ownership. I’m hurting the team in that regard. One thing I give us credit for is we stood up, we fought, we were able to run the ball successfully and that’s what we aim to get better at.

Re: The offense picking up the defense after the Eagles scored late in the fourth quarter:

That’s what teams do. I remember a couple of years ago we were like them. We couldn’t score points. We couldn’t help that defense out and they were number one in the league. It’s not about one side helping each other. It’s about being a brother and being a team. When things get heavy, we have to pick each other up and we did that today.