FLOWERY BRANCH – Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin, who's set to face the Falcons at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Georgia Dome, spoke to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Wednesday.
Here’s what he had to say:
Q: How big was the win over Cincinnati last week?
A: Is was December football. That's what the NFL is about. Two teams who are fighting tooth and nail for positioning at this time of the year. It's going to be a similar storyline as we go to Atlanta this week.
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Q: What’s been the problem with the consistency this year? (They have bad losses to Tampa Bay, Jets and Saints)
A: We are just trying to win the game in front of us. We are not trying to tell a big picture story. We don't care a whole lot about what has transpired. There is nothing that we can do about it. It's in the books. We are singularly focused on the opportunity that we have this week. From that standpoint, we are searching for consistency. We need to put together a winning formula for this week.
Q: What’s your situation in the secondary with injuries and Ike Taylor?
A: We are going to let practice participation be our guide and overall effectiveness. We are going to give those guys an opportunity to prepare and we're going to evaluate them in terms of what they are capable of. Ike being central in that discussion and then kind of make decisions at the latter part of the week.
Q: How has Jarvis Jones (shoulder) played since coming back from short-term injured reserve?
A: It was a good start for him. I think he played 34 snaps last week in his first action since Week Three. We played him in some situational football. Maybe that role will get an opportunity to increase this week. But he has a great attitude. It was a good start. Obviously, he's very talented player. He's a positive contributor on special teams. We are going to need all of the help in that area that we can get this week covering kicks against the great Devin Hester.
Q: How has Cameron Heyward (son of Falcons legend Craig “Ironhead" Heyward) been playing?
A: Cam is not only a really good player, but he's a good leader and teammate for us. He does everything right. He's an attention to detail guy. He's a big accountability guy. He takes responsibility for not only for his work, but for the work of the guys in his position group that are younger than him. He's done a nice job of mentoring the likes of Stephon Tuitt (Monroe) and Dan McCullers.
Q: Have you been blown away by the play of second-year running back Le’Veon Bell?
A: He's a back for all situations. He can run inside. He can run outside. He can catch it. He's highly conditioned. He's a big-time competitor. He wants to be one of the central reasons why we are successful.
Q: How have you all tried to use wide receiver Antonio Brown?
A: We simply throw him the ball in all situations. He has like 105 catches at this point. He's a really good player. Much like I said about Le'Veon, the thing that defines them is that they are highly conditioned. They are in ridiculous shape and they can run all day.
Q: How do you assess the Falcons defense?
A: As of late, they've created turnovers in bunches. I think that's one of the reasons why after the bye week, there has been a transition in their play. When you look at the Carolina game, they created turnovers. The Tampa Bay game., they created turnovers. Arizona, they created turnovers. They are a splash play group. They are making plays particularly on the back end when given the opportunity and they have a disruptive front.
Q: Does cornerback Desmond Trufant jump out at you when you’re looking at that group?
A: You know, I have respect for all of those guys. He seems to be a talented young guy who's making plays.
Q: What’s your assessment of the play of Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones?
A: He needs no endorsement from me. All you need to do is turn the tape on. He's a dangerous guy. He's big . He's strong. He's fast. He's got polish to his game. He's a big time football player forget wideout. He's a big-time player.
Q: Are you expecting a shootout?
A: We are just trying to use the pieces that we have in place to produce victory. We don't care about the point total as long as it's one more than our opponent. I'm sure the Falcons feel the same way.
Q: What have you seen from Matt Ryan on tape?
A: He has total command of the offense. It's been a number of years since we played them and his maturation over that time, the autonomy that he has to change plays and so forth, the things that he does in terms of directing the offense is really impressive. His play is his play. You know he's a talented guy and he's tough. He' mobile. He can make any throw on the field. …His mastery of the offense is really impressive.
FALCONS FAN MAILBAG: We take your questions from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Friday.
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