Monthly Archives: December 2013

[Audio] Coach Tomlin Addresses Media About Sideline Snafu

Mike Tomlin addressed the media today during his weekly Tuesday press conference. He strayed from his normal format to make a statement about what happened Thursday night in Baltimore, and to allow reporters to ask any and all questions they had about the incident. The first twenty minutes of his press conference were dedicated to the sideline topic.

“My descriptions of my actions on that play are a lot of things. Embarrassing, inexcusable, illegal, a blunder.” Tomlin said about his actions on the sideline. “I take full responsibility for my actions on that play. I acknowledge that my actions unfortunately became part of the play. I embrace that as head coaches we are held to the highest standards of conduct and I realize that blunder fell woefully short of that expectation.”

Coach Tomlin emphasized that what he did was unintentional. “I think my biggest error on Thursday night is not realizing that play jeopardized the integrity of the game from a perception standpoint,” said Tomlin. “That is a mistake on my part. Since I left the stadium it’s been shocking to me that my actions have been perceived in any way intentional. I would never do such a thing. I would never consider doing such a thing. It was a blunder.”

After addressing the elephant in the room, Coach T. talked about the upcoming Dolphins game, gave injury updates, and more. You can listen below.

[Audio] Le’Veon Bell: ‘I’m Just Glad To Be OK’

Le’Veon Bell spoke to local media today after practice. Bell looks and sounds much better than you’d expect somebody would after taking such a devastating hit just a few days ago.

Le'Veon Bell Helmet Hit Ravens

 

“I started feeling better the next day. I kept progressively feeling better.”, Bell said about his recovery. When asked what he thought after seeing a replay of the hit he said, “I’m happy, I’m surprised. It was a bad hit…I mean, I just got lucky. I’m happy nothing serious happened. I’m just glad to be OK.”

What did you think about the touchdown being taken back?

“It’s unfortunate, but it is what it is.”

Bell participated on a limited basis in practice today. In terms of how much he could do today he said, “just what I could do”. You can listen here:

[Video] New Video Of Tomlin’s Sideline Incident

KDKA has released new video footage of Mike Tomlin’s sideline affair in Baltimore. This video provides a different perspective of the event.

[xyz-ihs snippet=”TomlinSidelineVideo”]

The NFL is expected to make their decision today as to what, if any, punishment will be dealt to Coach Tomlin and the Steelers organization. There has been a lot of tabloidesque ‘junk journalism’ the last few days pertaining to what that punishment might be. It’s sad how easy it is for sports journalists to get away with passing off sensationalistic speculation as legitimate news.

2013-12-01_1601

From the NFL site

Some of those news outlets cite the punishment the league handed to the Jets organization 3 years ago after one of their staff members tripped a Dolphins player as a ‘precedent’, which is absurd, because that incident was completely different and far, far worse. I would not be surprised though if Coach Tomlin and the team are fined, and it would also not surprise me if he were sanctioned in some way from the competition committee. Hopefully not, but we’ll find out soon.

OT Rashad Butler Has Left Team For Personal Reasons

The Steelers announced that newly signed OT Rashad Butler has left the team due to personal reasons. No further details are available at this time. The team signed him on Saturday, along with C Eric Olsen. One could only speculate as to why he left so abruptly. I imagine the team will be signing another lineman soon.

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