Coach Mike Tomlin: We have gotten a little better in some areas but obviously not enough to win the game and that's what we came to do. We didn't get that done because we were highly penalized and that not only put us behind the drive and made conversions more difficult, but we actually converted a couple of third downs that were negated because of penalties. Obviously, we are not finishing drives. Execution needs to improve in that area. We turned the football over three times in the first half and it going to be difficult to win football games. There were some positive things and some things to build off of but we aren't looking for comfort in that regard. We are going to watch this tape, grow from it and get better. We need to get better in a hurry and we will start that on Wednesday with the guys. From an injury standpoint Le'Veon Bell has a mid-foot injury. He has an MRI tomorrow. I will provide you information when I get it. The rest of the stuff appears to be minor bumps and bruises. Will Johnson has a rib injury, I think he should be fine. Baron Batch had a stinger. The rest of the guys should be okay.
What was LaRod Stephens-Howling injury that kept him out of the game?
Knee strain. He should be fine. He just wasn't well enough to go tonight.
What do you attribute the penalty problems to in the first two games and how do you correct them?
Poor execution. I just told the guys we are not going to provide lip service. We are going to practice how we intend to play. Maybe an official or two will be at our practices next week to help us in that regard.
What did you think of Jonathan Dwyer's performance?
I thought he did some nice things. Obviously putting the ball on the ground doesn't help him or us. Other than that I thought he did some nice things. He had his moments.
Re: Ben Roethlisberger and the interception for the touchdown?
Ben was Ben. That was a nice play by their left outside linebacker. I am not going to take anything away from him. Largely I am just looking at it from a group standpoint. We have to be better.
Is this the best you have seen Landry Jones so far?
I hadn't seen much of Landry Jones so that would be a stretch of a statement.
Did you see some improvement on special teams?
I saw some positive things in the area of special teams. There were some negatives there too. They had a few potential breakout punt returns. I think Mike Palmer did a nice job in two instances of getting a guy on the ground. We had some unblocked guys down there that didn't make plays. Unblocked men that are vying for jobs have to make tackles.
You held the ball, were able to move the ball, but weren't able to score. What does that say?
It says we are not playing with enough detail to win in situational football, to win when the field gets short. When you are not scoring touchdowns, when you are moving the ball and when you are possessing the ball, but you are not getting on the scoreboard, we are lacking the detail that is going to be required to finish drives, to finish games. We just have to continue to go to work.
Are you concerned about the way your line played?
Sure.
They gave up a lot of pressure?
Sure. I am not going to identify people. I'll just say we collectively have to be better than we were tonight.
Was there frustration not being able to get Le'Veon Bell going?
No. I don't get frustrated. I just deal with issues.
