Steelers HC Mike Tomlin conference call (12.30.20)
Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin conference call:
On his sympathy for Cleveland given he worked with Romeo Crennel and if part of him wants to see the Browns do well:
“Their business is not my business in that regard to be honest with you. I am focused on the team that I work for and work with. That is my focus. That just happens to be the group we play this week.”
On how he will address last year’s incident with the Steelers heading into this week’s game, particularly with Steelers QB Mason Rudolph returning to Cleveland:
“I will not. I will not address it. There will be no need for that.”
On if he feels the Steelers and Rudolph have moved well past last year’s incident:
“That is so far in our rearview mirror that we can’t see it.”
On if his exchange with DE Myles Garrett prior to the Week 6 matchup at Pittsburgh ‘smoothed over any kind of waters’:
“Again, we left ’19 in ’19. There is no residue from that from my perspective or our perspective.”
On Rudolph’s strengths and expectations for Rudolph on Sunday:
“This is his first opportunity at extended play in 2020 so I am excited to see his growth and maturation. He has worked hard behind the scenes daily. He has brought an approach as if he is going to start. Now, he gets an opportunity to apply that approach and apply that work that he has had. I am excited about the prospects of his performance, but again, the play will define itself.”
On if he believes the Steelers receiving game got on track in the Colts game last week:
“Yes.”
On comparing the Browns now to Week 6 based on film study:
“I see a lot of similar things. They are a very good run offense. I can’t say enough about (RBs Nick) Chubb and (Kareem) Hunt and what that group in front of them is able to do in the running game. Their rhythm is born out of that. We have a tough tasks in terms of trying to minimize what they do in the run game. We were fortunate enough not to see Chubb last time. We will not dodge that bullet this time. I have a lot of respect for him and his game and their game when he is playing.”
On QB Baker Mayfield’s improvement since earlier in the season:
“It is not my job to evaluate Baker. I do not even look at him in that way. I look at him in terms of somebody that we play this week. I am sure (Head) Coach (Kevin) Stefanski can give you a detailed description of his development over the course of the season.”
On how the Steelers offense changes this week with Rudolph starting at QB:
“I do not know that it does. Obviously, we are going to do a good job of communicating with Mason this week and highlight the things that he is comfortable with and the things that he does well. Those things will be highlighted on the ready list. I do not know that the ready list itself will be different, but the plays that we select or the plays that are high-volume plays are going to be in his comfort zone.”
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