PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Probably the best news overall from the Mike Tomlin news conference on Tuesday was what he didn't say about injuries.
The Steelers head coach admitted there were a couple of guys 'somewhat limited' during practice on Monday, but said 'as I sit here today, we feel pretty good about player availability'. He then added 'as we stand here today'. So to use a Tomlinism, 'we'll see how the week plays out' as far as injuries go, but it was a good camp in that regard.
Porter ready
Tomlin said to not judge Broderick Jones based on his performance. He has come along well, but he won't start because there is someone more experienced than him, who has had a good camp. Similar situation at corner with Patrick Peterson in front of second-round pick Joey Porter, Junior.
"We're able to get him a lot of reps, particularly over the last several weeks," Tomlin said. "Obviously, he missed a game and there's consequences for that from a development standpoint, but he made a lot of plays in team development in Latrobe. Highly competitive, feel really good about his growth and development and the trajectory of it and what he's able to provide is not only in the short term, but the long term."
King DB
After his first practice with the Steelers on Monday, veteran defensive back Desmond King said he was built to play in Pittsburgh. He feels like he can play corner, nickel or safety for his new team. Tomlin as of yet isn't sure how he will be deployed.
"We've had one kind of bonus practice," Tomlin said Tuesday. "We had the infancy of planned development this week. And so, it's just a lot of layers to that discussion, our ability to get to know him, how quickly he learns what it is that we do here and in the need component. And so, we're excited obviously about his acquisition, but I don't necessarily have an answer to that as I stand here today."
Getting hyped?
Asked if he's had conversations with people outside of the facility about the excitement around the team this year?
"They know better than to feed me anything because I do not care," Tomlin said. "I just respect the process, the professional component of what we do. And I asked my guys to remain singularly focus and ignore outside noise that's really irrelevant in terms of our growth and development and trajectory of what we're doing. And so, I stay away from those things."
