Mike Tomlin is never afraid to speak his mind, and he did just that following a close win over the Baltimore Ravens.
After a great performance from TJ Watt, who collected 3.5 sacks, a reporter jokingly asked Tomlin whether Watt ever needed to practice again. Tomlin responded while taking a shot at Claypool over suggesting they play music during practice.
Yes. There won’t be any music either,” Tomlin said.
This is not the first time Tomlin took a jab at Claypool. When the wide receiver made the suggestion the last week, Tomlin said, matter-of-factly, ‘Claypool is a wide receiver. I will focus on practice.’
Though he wasn’t specifically asked about the Steelers’ alumni base, Tomlin also took the opportunity to speak out to them. Several former Steelers, including former Pittsburgh safety turned ESPN analyst Ryan Clark, created headlines with their public criticism of their former team’s recent play. Tomlin spoke of them when asked about the Steelers-Ravens rivalry.
“It’s about the men that have played in these games,” Tomlin said. “The standard that they hold the current players to. … Guys on this side like Alan Faneca, Troy Polamalu, those gold jacket types that I had an opportunity to watch for 15 years that really kind of set a standard in the series that we all have to play to uphold. Hopefully we made those Steelers alumni proud of our efforts tonight.”
At times, the Steelers looked like some of the past Pittsburgh teams on Sunday night. The defense, resembling the old Blitzburgh units of the 1990s, sacked quarterback Lamar Jackson seven times. Ben Roethlisberger looked like a younger version of himself during the fourth quarter, as the 39-year-old directed three consecutive scoring drives.
The Steelers dwindling playoff hopes got a boost when they beat the Baltimore Ravens 20-19.
Flip the page to watch a video of Mike Tomlin taking a jab at Chase Claypool’s practice request.