HEAD COACH MIKE TOMLINWednesday, July 30
Coach Mike Tomlin: We had a really productive day today, a lot of highlights actually. I thought the nine on seven drill was particularly physical. There was movement on both sides of the ball. We saw some play action passes offensively. I thought we had a nice pocket. With the guys competing it's like the dog days of summer. It is where it starts to, you know, wear on people; a little bit of mental and physical warfare. I thought they did a nice job of fighting through it. Part of that, we've got some injury updates. James Farrior had a groin, he wasn't able to go this afternoon, it should be day to day. Limas Sweed wasn't able to finish, Jeremy Parquet wasn't able to finish here at practice in the afternoon. They had cramps. Mewelde Moore has just an illness. He'll be day to day. And Marvel Smith has a groin injury as well. He is day to day. So tomorrow morning practice off is right on time. That's what it's about. I guess I did pretty decent with the schedule. I will answer any questions at this time.
Is Limas Sweed okay or did he just go off with cramps?
He just went off with cramps and you know we took him off to protect him. I think tomorrow morning off will help him and hopefully he'll be able to get back out there tomorrow. But like I said in reference to him yesterday, he's a guy that runs all day and he's run a bunch and had some opportunities so his body betrayed him just a little bit.
Do you make sure the players get extra hydration?
It's just part of camp. We take a lot of steps to make sure that we protect them but it's part of the process, it comes with the territory.
Santonio always seems to have some space, is he creating that himself?
He does. He's a good football player. He has a knack for getting behind people. You know there's a reason he led the NFL in yards per catch last year, it's a part of his game.
Ernster was the punter for the first time, I know you really can't make a conclusion, but what are your thoughts after one day?
I thought he just simply got in and got acclimated to some of the things that we are asking him to do, asking him to do pretty quickly. He's a professional. He did a nice job this afternoon holding the football. We're just continuing to be in an evaluation process on that front.
Has there been a date set for Sepulveda's surgery?
Tentatively right now it's next Wednesday, but we'll see how that goes.
Will you be making a roster anytime soon?
We will here in the upcoming days, but no hurry. We've got enough guys here in camp, you know. We are going to wait and see how this thing plays out.
Mike, is there even any chance of considering (Chris) Gardocki as a punter this year?
That hasn't been brought up. Maybe it will. We're playing catch up if you will in regards to that and looking at some people as part of the process. We'll see where it goes.
Will you consider Mike Barr?
Again, like that, we'll see.
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Let's talk about the energy of practice. With a gloomy day of rain, what is it like to come out here in the afternoon and still performing?
It was a great day from that standpoint. We're blessed that we didn't get rained on. I'm not going to be too choosy. I wish the sun would have been out a little bit more and made it a little bit more miserable, but it was miserable enough. We had a good afternoon.
Do you want to talk about the flexibility of positions, you know, Trai has been playing guard all week, now he played a tackle today. What are your thoughts on why he played left tackle and how's he's doing in both of those squads?
Kudos to him, you know the lines are getting short because the men are down. You know he played left guard, he played left tackle and he also played right guard today to finish this day when Parquet went down. It's part of his value. He's a veteran player. He has great position flexibility, it's a distinguishing characteristic. It's one that we strive for in a lot of our men.
Do you have an update on Hampton, Polamalu and Chris Kemoeatu?
Status quo with those guys.
Can you update on how Casey's program is going?
I will be happy when we get him back out on the field.
