mesaSteeler
11-24-2009, 06:11 PM
Tomlin press conference
http://pit.scout.com/2/923000.html
By SteelCityInsider.com
Posted Nov 24, 2009
At Mike Tomlin's press conference, the Steelers' coach said Ben Roethlisberger will play, Chris Kemoeatu will not, Troy Polamalu is questionable, and Travis Kirschke will practice, plus much, much more.
Mike Tomlin, coach, Pittsburgh Steelers
(TV still in commercial break as he begins; radio picks up Tomlin talking the evils of turnovers and returns) … If we address our ills and really don’t blink in the face of adversity and really let that guide our energy and decision making and continue to do the things well that we’re doing well, we should be fine and should be able to correct these issues. In the short term? Uncomfortable? Absolutely, because this is a competitors’ business and we’re competitors, but Redemption Sunday, if you will, is coming for us in the form of the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday Night Football, so we’re excited about that. That medicine is just what the doctor ordered when you look at where we are, having the opportunity to play our rivals on prime-time television.
Along with that, I thought I’d discuss some injuries. The big one of course is Ben (Roethlisberger). As you guys know, Ben sustained a concussion in the game. To give you a little background in terms of what happened with him after that, Monday, yesterday morning, we brought him in and he took a battery of neurological tests done with our medical staff. He was asymptomatic. He was fine. He passed all those tests. He felt fine. So, given that information, we can anticipate him practicing and preparing to play this week, provided he remains to be symptom-free and he remains to feel fine. I met with Ben yesterday. He felt normal. He felt fine. The battery of tests he took showed that he showed no symptoms. We’ll continue to monitor his symptoms and let that guide our decision-making, but as I sit here today he’s symptom-free and feeling fine so we should anticipate Ben practicing (Wednesday).
Charlie Batch’s injury situation is something that occurred after I visited with you guys after the game, or else I’d have given you that information. He sustained a break in his arm or his wrist area. He’s going to have surgery (Wednesday) morning. They’re going to insert a plate in his wrist or arm and he’s going to be down anywhere from two to four weeks, based on the outcome of the surgery. I’ll have more information in regards to his status after he gets that surgery done (Wednesday) morning.
Travis Kirschke continues to come back from his calf strain. He’s going to get some work this week. Hopefully, he’ll be able to help us. You know we’re going to need the services of Travis, if we can get it in a game like this the way the Baltimore Ravens are capable of running the football. Troy (Polamalu) is still questionable at best with his knee sprain. We’ll continue to monitor him. Chris Kemoeatu will definitely be out for this game. He has an MCL sprain. Carey Davis should be fine after missing a few weeks of games from his hamstring injury.
Now, talking about the Baltimore Ravens, you know it’s fireworks every time we play these guys. We’re excited about preparing for them. They’re a similar team that we remember competing against. They can say similar things that we’re saying at this point. They’re a 5-5 team and not happy where they are. When you watch them on tape, they don’t have the appearance of a 5-5 team, but that’s how it goes in this game. We anticipate those guys to be at their best and it’s going to be fireworks as usual when the Ravens and Steelers get together.
Offensively, they’re led by their quarterback Joe Flacco, who does a nice job administering Cam Cameron’s offense. He’s very efficient. He’s got a great arm. He can make all the throws on the field, particularly the sideline throws, the 15 to 17-yard comebacks he continues to excel at. He’s throwing the deep ball very well right now to a group of receivers led by Derrick Mason. Their running game is exceptional. They’ve got three quality running backs. Ray Rice is a darting, powerful, small-hitting-surface runner who does a nice job of finishing off runs. He can stick his foot in the ground and change directions on you. He’s doing a lot of things well for them. He’s a security blanket for Joe Flacco in the passing game. This guy has caught a bunch of checkdowns. And they do a nice job of understanding where he is in the passing game. (Le’Ron) McClain is a guy we know is capable of being a feature runner. He ran for over 900 yards last year. Now he’s playing fullback and plowing open holes for Ray Rice. He’s also catching balls out of the backfield and at times he’s a runner himself. And of course Willis McGahee has distinguished himself as a short-yardage, goal-line, backup, situational runner who of course is capable of carrying the load. Up front they’ve acquired Matt Birk who I’m familiar with; savvy, veteran, Pro Bowl-caliber player, Harvard man, extremely smart. He’s going to be a tough guy to trick in terms of making declarations and attacking protections. There’s a reason why they went out and acquired Matt Birk. He’s going to be tough to fool. Can’t go in assuming you’re going to fool these guys. You’ve got to be prepared to beat them physically from a rush standpoint. This guy is that good at getting fronts and potential blitzes declared. Of course, Michael Oher is their extremely talented young right tackle who is fully capable as a run blocker and a pass blocker. He’s going to present a big-time challenge for LaMarr Woodley.
On defense, it’s still Ray Lewis and company, Ed Reed. Jarret Johnson is playing in my opinion better than he’s ever played. He’s playing at a Pro Bowl-caliber level. He’s an impact player. The rest of the guys fit in nicely. They’ve got great continuity, even though Coach (Rex) Ryan is now in New York. It appears to be the same group with the same mentality and the same approach to attacking people. So we’ve got our work cut out for us there. We respect those guys. It’s going to be a physical, physical football game.
In the special-teams game, they’re rock-solid. Coach (John) Harbaugh has big-time special teams experience. They’ve got a bunch of talented guys in that phase of their football team. Lardarius Webb, a rookie, has distinguished himself as a return man, a special teams-capable guy. Of course, with the injury to Fabian Washington at corner, I would expect that he’s going to play quite a bit of defense. There doesn’t appear to be anything that he can’t handle. He performed well against Cincinnati a few weeks back as a defender and as a special-teams performer.
We’re preparing with an edge because we’d better. The situation dictates it and definitely the opponent dictates it. Questions.
Q: How are you going to replace Charlie Batch?
A: What we’re going to do at this point, I think we’re going to sign a practice squad-eligible quarterback to provide an arm, if you will, in preparation for the Ravens in terms of practice. In terms of playing in the game, we’re simply at this point going to go with Ben, provided he remains symptom-free from his concussion and feels fine, and of course Dennis Dixon.
Q: How do you work on lessening the turnovers?
A: We’ve turned the ball over 19 times in 10 games. We have to work at being more efficient in terms of protecting the ball. Our WRs alone have put the ball on the ground three times in the last two football games. It’s fundamental, it’s an awareness, it’s an understanding of what our ills are. … We just need to prepare with an edge and really prepare with efficiency in mind and limit the number of opportunities that maybe we expose ourselves to turning the ball over. By the same token, our defense has gotten 14 turnovers in 10 games, definitely not enough for a No. 1-caliber defense. … I don’t think opportunity has been the issue in regards to getting turnovers. I really just think we haven’t taken advantage enough of the opportunities. We’ve had our hands on balls. We’ve had balls on the ground that we didn’t come up with. We’ve had tipped passes that just fall harmlessly to the ground. We have to work with those things in mind as we prepare to play this game and others to turn the tide in regards to that. If we do that, and we stop getting kicks returned on us, we’ve got a chance to be a good football team.
Q: Did Ben officially suffer a concussion?
A: It could be characterized as a mild concussion. I hesitate to use the term mild. Concussions are not anything to be taken mildly. He was symptomatic at the game. That’s why after the game he was down with concussion-like symptoms. When we were able to do appropriate testing yesterday, he was symptom-free. He felt fine. So we’re proceeding with caution, but we will monitor him each and every day this week as we push forward towards game day, because if any symptoms re-occur, or he feels less than fine, we’re going to act appropriately.
Q: Would Dennis start in that case?
A: Absolutely.
Q: Would that change your strategy in terms of a practice-squad quarterback?
A: It would definitely change our strategy in a lot of ways.
Q: If Dennis plays, what are your thoughts on his progress here and how would the offense operate?
A: I’ve been very pleased with Dennis’s progress as a third quarterback. That’s different of course than playing against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night television. No question that we would have to do some things to help him. If he plays in this game, and plays extensively in this game, we have to do some things schematically. His teammates would have to be at their absolute best to assist him, but in terms of where Dennis is as a second-year player and a third quarterback, the arrow’s pointing up with him. We’re extremely excited about where he is as a young quarterback.
http://pit.scout.com/2/923000.html
By SteelCityInsider.com
Posted Nov 24, 2009
At Mike Tomlin's press conference, the Steelers' coach said Ben Roethlisberger will play, Chris Kemoeatu will not, Troy Polamalu is questionable, and Travis Kirschke will practice, plus much, much more.
Mike Tomlin, coach, Pittsburgh Steelers
(TV still in commercial break as he begins; radio picks up Tomlin talking the evils of turnovers and returns) … If we address our ills and really don’t blink in the face of adversity and really let that guide our energy and decision making and continue to do the things well that we’re doing well, we should be fine and should be able to correct these issues. In the short term? Uncomfortable? Absolutely, because this is a competitors’ business and we’re competitors, but Redemption Sunday, if you will, is coming for us in the form of the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday Night Football, so we’re excited about that. That medicine is just what the doctor ordered when you look at where we are, having the opportunity to play our rivals on prime-time television.
Along with that, I thought I’d discuss some injuries. The big one of course is Ben (Roethlisberger). As you guys know, Ben sustained a concussion in the game. To give you a little background in terms of what happened with him after that, Monday, yesterday morning, we brought him in and he took a battery of neurological tests done with our medical staff. He was asymptomatic. He was fine. He passed all those tests. He felt fine. So, given that information, we can anticipate him practicing and preparing to play this week, provided he remains to be symptom-free and he remains to feel fine. I met with Ben yesterday. He felt normal. He felt fine. The battery of tests he took showed that he showed no symptoms. We’ll continue to monitor his symptoms and let that guide our decision-making, but as I sit here today he’s symptom-free and feeling fine so we should anticipate Ben practicing (Wednesday).
Charlie Batch’s injury situation is something that occurred after I visited with you guys after the game, or else I’d have given you that information. He sustained a break in his arm or his wrist area. He’s going to have surgery (Wednesday) morning. They’re going to insert a plate in his wrist or arm and he’s going to be down anywhere from two to four weeks, based on the outcome of the surgery. I’ll have more information in regards to his status after he gets that surgery done (Wednesday) morning.
Travis Kirschke continues to come back from his calf strain. He’s going to get some work this week. Hopefully, he’ll be able to help us. You know we’re going to need the services of Travis, if we can get it in a game like this the way the Baltimore Ravens are capable of running the football. Troy (Polamalu) is still questionable at best with his knee sprain. We’ll continue to monitor him. Chris Kemoeatu will definitely be out for this game. He has an MCL sprain. Carey Davis should be fine after missing a few weeks of games from his hamstring injury.
Now, talking about the Baltimore Ravens, you know it’s fireworks every time we play these guys. We’re excited about preparing for them. They’re a similar team that we remember competing against. They can say similar things that we’re saying at this point. They’re a 5-5 team and not happy where they are. When you watch them on tape, they don’t have the appearance of a 5-5 team, but that’s how it goes in this game. We anticipate those guys to be at their best and it’s going to be fireworks as usual when the Ravens and Steelers get together.
Offensively, they’re led by their quarterback Joe Flacco, who does a nice job administering Cam Cameron’s offense. He’s very efficient. He’s got a great arm. He can make all the throws on the field, particularly the sideline throws, the 15 to 17-yard comebacks he continues to excel at. He’s throwing the deep ball very well right now to a group of receivers led by Derrick Mason. Their running game is exceptional. They’ve got three quality running backs. Ray Rice is a darting, powerful, small-hitting-surface runner who does a nice job of finishing off runs. He can stick his foot in the ground and change directions on you. He’s doing a lot of things well for them. He’s a security blanket for Joe Flacco in the passing game. This guy has caught a bunch of checkdowns. And they do a nice job of understanding where he is in the passing game. (Le’Ron) McClain is a guy we know is capable of being a feature runner. He ran for over 900 yards last year. Now he’s playing fullback and plowing open holes for Ray Rice. He’s also catching balls out of the backfield and at times he’s a runner himself. And of course Willis McGahee has distinguished himself as a short-yardage, goal-line, backup, situational runner who of course is capable of carrying the load. Up front they’ve acquired Matt Birk who I’m familiar with; savvy, veteran, Pro Bowl-caliber player, Harvard man, extremely smart. He’s going to be a tough guy to trick in terms of making declarations and attacking protections. There’s a reason why they went out and acquired Matt Birk. He’s going to be tough to fool. Can’t go in assuming you’re going to fool these guys. You’ve got to be prepared to beat them physically from a rush standpoint. This guy is that good at getting fronts and potential blitzes declared. Of course, Michael Oher is their extremely talented young right tackle who is fully capable as a run blocker and a pass blocker. He’s going to present a big-time challenge for LaMarr Woodley.
On defense, it’s still Ray Lewis and company, Ed Reed. Jarret Johnson is playing in my opinion better than he’s ever played. He’s playing at a Pro Bowl-caliber level. He’s an impact player. The rest of the guys fit in nicely. They’ve got great continuity, even though Coach (Rex) Ryan is now in New York. It appears to be the same group with the same mentality and the same approach to attacking people. So we’ve got our work cut out for us there. We respect those guys. It’s going to be a physical, physical football game.
In the special-teams game, they’re rock-solid. Coach (John) Harbaugh has big-time special teams experience. They’ve got a bunch of talented guys in that phase of their football team. Lardarius Webb, a rookie, has distinguished himself as a return man, a special teams-capable guy. Of course, with the injury to Fabian Washington at corner, I would expect that he’s going to play quite a bit of defense. There doesn’t appear to be anything that he can’t handle. He performed well against Cincinnati a few weeks back as a defender and as a special-teams performer.
We’re preparing with an edge because we’d better. The situation dictates it and definitely the opponent dictates it. Questions.
Q: How are you going to replace Charlie Batch?
A: What we’re going to do at this point, I think we’re going to sign a practice squad-eligible quarterback to provide an arm, if you will, in preparation for the Ravens in terms of practice. In terms of playing in the game, we’re simply at this point going to go with Ben, provided he remains symptom-free from his concussion and feels fine, and of course Dennis Dixon.
Q: How do you work on lessening the turnovers?
A: We’ve turned the ball over 19 times in 10 games. We have to work at being more efficient in terms of protecting the ball. Our WRs alone have put the ball on the ground three times in the last two football games. It’s fundamental, it’s an awareness, it’s an understanding of what our ills are. … We just need to prepare with an edge and really prepare with efficiency in mind and limit the number of opportunities that maybe we expose ourselves to turning the ball over. By the same token, our defense has gotten 14 turnovers in 10 games, definitely not enough for a No. 1-caliber defense. … I don’t think opportunity has been the issue in regards to getting turnovers. I really just think we haven’t taken advantage enough of the opportunities. We’ve had our hands on balls. We’ve had balls on the ground that we didn’t come up with. We’ve had tipped passes that just fall harmlessly to the ground. We have to work with those things in mind as we prepare to play this game and others to turn the tide in regards to that. If we do that, and we stop getting kicks returned on us, we’ve got a chance to be a good football team.
Q: Did Ben officially suffer a concussion?
A: It could be characterized as a mild concussion. I hesitate to use the term mild. Concussions are not anything to be taken mildly. He was symptomatic at the game. That’s why after the game he was down with concussion-like symptoms. When we were able to do appropriate testing yesterday, he was symptom-free. He felt fine. So we’re proceeding with caution, but we will monitor him each and every day this week as we push forward towards game day, because if any symptoms re-occur, or he feels less than fine, we’re going to act appropriately.
Q: Would Dennis start in that case?
A: Absolutely.
Q: Would that change your strategy in terms of a practice-squad quarterback?
A: It would definitely change our strategy in a lot of ways.
Q: If Dennis plays, what are your thoughts on his progress here and how would the offense operate?
A: I’ve been very pleased with Dennis’s progress as a third quarterback. That’s different of course than playing against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night television. No question that we would have to do some things to help him. If he plays in this game, and plays extensively in this game, we have to do some things schematically. His teammates would have to be at their absolute best to assist him, but in terms of where Dennis is as a second-year player and a third quarterback, the arrow’s pointing up with him. We’re extremely excited about where he is as a young quarterback.