Coach Mike Tomlin: It was a good, necessary win for us. We did a good job in all three phases. I particularly like the effort from Trai Essex. You are talking about a guy that's our emergency third center. Doug Legursky went down early in the game. We didn't have any problems with our center to quarterback exchanges. We were able to run the football. We declared fronts. I tip my hat to him and his efforts. Charlie Batch and others did an awesome job. Doug Legursky is the only injured player. He has a shoulder strain. He could have gone back in the game and finished it if it was necessary. But more than anything, it was a good team win for us. It was a good way to finish off our home regular-season schedule. We are moving forward.
Why didn't Marcus Gilbert start?
He was less than professional in preparation this week. We acknowledge he is a talented young guy. He's going to be a really good player in this league, and he's done a lot for us to this point. But I didn't like the way he prepared this week. I wanted to make a point that it wasn't what we like. So I set him down for a veteran player who was prepared in the manner of which we wanted him to in Jonathan Scott.
Is that move permanent?
We will see where this week takes us. Gilbert's preparation and professionalism will be a big part of that discussion.
What made you decide to start Batch?
A week ago, when we played Ben Roethlisberger, we were coming off of a Thursday night performance for a Monday night performance, so we had 11 days. Had we had six or seven days, we probably wouldn't have played him in San Francisco. The collateral damage coming out of a game like Monday night, on a short week, we made the decision pretty early that we weren't even going to attempt to try to work him in during the latter parts of the week, and give him reps and preparation, given that it was a short week.
Was Roethlisberger the emergency quarterback today?
Yes.
Do you feel like you gave Roethlisberger enough time to heal?
We will discuss that the first of next week and we will see where that takes us. We made decisions exclusive to this week. Next week we will do the same.
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Re: Batch:
I thought he did a nice job in all areas, not only throwing but pre-snap communication. I thought he did a nice job of handling verbiage and getting people set at the line. He is a veteran guy. We've won games with him in the past. If need be, we will win games with him in the future. We are very comfortable with our depth at the quarterback position.
Did you decide to rest John Clay after his only series?
No, he got in – he played after that. He just didn't score any more touchdowns. Pay attention Ed (Bouchette).
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What based your decision on not playing Roethlisberger?
A myriad of factors.
Like what?
Pick one.
Re: Rashard Mendenhall:
Guys were doing a nice job of opening up holes for him. It takes 11 men to run the football effectively, up front, the quarterback and play fakes after the handoff, and even the receivers on the perimeter. I thought all our guys on offense did a nice job in the run game today.
Re: Antonio Brown's tackle on special teams:
I didn't see it actually. I was talking to Ike Taylor and William Gay on a defensive adjustment.
Are you concerned with your team heading into the postseason?
I am not looking to learn lessons. I am simply looking to win football games and move on to the next challenge the new week presents.
