More verbal gold from Mike Tomlin

During a week where most Steelers fans are looking for something positive, I really enjoyed several of Tomlin's statements from this week's press conference.

Q: You used Mewelde Moore and Rashard Mendenhall in the same backfield and gained 12 yards. Will you look to expand on that?

A: Potentially, yes.

Q: Is that the Pony backfield?

A: You know I don’t get into specifics of what we call things. I call it Two Tailbacks in the Game.

"Two Tailbacks in the Game", I love it.

Q: Should Jeff Reed have done more as a tackler on the last two returns for touchdowns?

A: Man, I am not going to go down to evaluating Jeff Reed as a tackler. When it comes down to that, we have failed as a coverage unit. I don’t lose any sleep on the quality of Jeff Reed’s tackles … or tackle attempts.

Looks like Tomlin's standing by Reed, though he does seem to get a little jab in talking about "tackle attempts".

Q: Has Brett Keisel played better since Aaron Smith went down?

A: No, he’s been playing well all year. He really has, even when Aaron was available. Brett is a solid, solid professional. He does a lot of dirty work. He’s really underappreciated. I think it’s the nature of the position he plays in our scheme, similar to Aaron Smith. There are a lot of people that ride the wave of destruction that he provides. I think on both of those sacks he was disruptive, but that’s nothing new for Brett Keisel.

"The wave of destruction that he provides" - cool wording, in my opinion.

Q: Were you surprised by what Bill Belichick did the other day?

A: No, I wasn’t surprised. I heard his comments after the game. He made a decision he felt was appropriate for his team and gave his team the best chance of winning, and for that I applaud him. There are only 32 of these jobs. We have decisions to make that are not always going to be popular. I always appreciate men that are bold enough to do it even when it’s potentially unpopular. Obviously Bill has the stomach to make those decisions.

Interesting commentary about Belichick's decision. (which I happen to agree with, by the way)