Tuesday afternoon, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach, Mike Tomlin addressed the media again for his weekly press conference following what he described as a "tough" and "disappointing" loss to the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium last Sunday. The Steelers had three total turnovers, while not being able to force any themselves on defense.
Tomlin then jumped right into his thoughts and what exactly happened with the departure of offensive line coach, Adrian Klemm. He expressed his appreciation of Klemm's efforts and that he was never concerned about where his priorities were. Tomlin however finally made the decision last week to allow Klemm to move forward with the Oregon Ducks to prevent any distractions for the team as they finish out the regular season, starting the with Cleveland Browns on Monday night. Tomlin mentioned that this situation also gives the team an opportunity to evaluate Chris Morgan who will be taking over Klemm's responsibilities with the offensive line.
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As far as injuries with the team go heading into this week, Tomlin mentioned that the Steelers will have several opportunities to get a bunch of guys back, whether that be from injury, or the Reserve/COVID-19 List:
Coach Tomlin said Pat Freiermuth (concussion), Kevin Dotson (ankle), Kendrick Green and Trai Turner all have a chance to get back this week including some guys on the Covid-19 List with the extra day before MNF.
— Missi Matthews (@missi_matthews) December 28, 2021
As far as the upcoming matchup against the Browns at Heinz Field in primetime, Tomlin expressed his full awareness of the likes of DL Myles Garrett, CB Denzel Ward, and the Browns' potent running attack. The Steelers will need to continue their trend of getting off to much quicker starts at home vs. when they play on the road if they want to secure this must-win opportunity.
When asked about quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger and this possibly being his last home game, Tomlin responded:
"Ben has really done a nice job of setting the pace regarding that throughout the season. He's been singularly focused on the next challenge and where we are in terms of the here and now. And so it's been easy to follow his lead in that regard and I'm sure we'll all do the same as we press forward towards Monday Night Football."
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To watch the full press conference, check out below:
#LIVE: Coach Tomlin addresses the media ahead of Monday night’s game against the Browns. https://t.co/QpMf1pqNrG
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) December 28, 2021
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