- Embrace the hype: All eyes will be on the Steelers-Patriots game on Sunday afternoon, one of the most hyped games of the season. And if you ask Coach Mike Tomlin, he wouldn't want it any other way.
"I love it," said Tomlin. "It's good to be in big games. It's better to be in big games than ones nobody is watching.
"We better be appreciative of this spot, and not resist it in any way, but embrace it. This is what we've been fighting for since March. To be in these type of games, against these type of people. Why
would you fight that? It's an awesome thing."
- Keeping it official: Ryan Shazier was placed on the reserve/injured list on Tuesday, a result of the spinal injury he suffered. And while he might not be on the field anymore this season, his spirit is still felt by his teammates and gives them strength.
"I go see him and he wants to talk about the game plan," said Tomlin, "He wants to know how the guys are doing. He wants to talk specifically about what's transpiring in practice settings and so forth."
Tomlin welcomed the opportunity to speak about Shazier's spirit, but when it comes to the medical side of it, he is letting official statements from the team be the method for the way information is shared.
"Regarding his medical status and things of that nature, or moves relative to it, I think the cleanest way to continue to address this matter is to do so in a very formal manner," said Tomlin. "That way no words are misunderstood, nothing is misleading in terms of our descriptions of where he is.
"I will talk about his spirit, his mood, the things he is doing for us and the things we are doing with him. Some of those medical expert things I am going to be thoughtful about staying away from."
What to look for: Tomlin said the coaches will watch film of the Dolphins win over the Patriots on Monday Night Football, not so much because they defeated them, but because they are division opponents and how you go against a division opponent is revealing.
"I think that is always something to do when you are talking about people that know them," said Tomlin. "Anytime you are playing them, you better study AFC East people because I'd imagine they spend of a lot of time thinking and preparing for them and it should be revealed in their play, in the schematics of their play. But that is not anything extraordinary. I'd imagine they would be looking at our Baltimore games and our Cincinnati games because of the frequency in which we play them and the level of understanding that Baltimore and Cincinnati has regarding us. That's just something that you do when you're playing people in the NFL outside of your division. You look at how people that know them play them. If it's anything from last night's game in that regard it would be because of those reasons, not because of the result of the game."
