Mike Tomlin couldn’t have been more complimentary about the Texans’ defense — but did Reggie uncover something deeper about the Steelers’ game plan by pointing out what Pittsburgh does better than we realized?
00:00Mike Tomlin, the opposing head coach and obviously a well-respected man in the league when it comes to his accolades and his time in.
00:09He stepped to the podium to talk about this game upcoming, and he started by talking about this Texas team and how they play like the head coach played when he was on the field.
00:18That group sets the pace for them.
00:20They play with great energy and emotion.
00:22They play well as a collective.
00:24They have an appetite for rising up in moments.
00:26It just seems like every week you're seeing game-changing and game-deciding plays from their defense in terms of closing close ballgames out.
00:34They make the necessary plays in waiting moments, but you don't get in this tournament unless you had your moments.
00:40You certainly don't win nine straight unless you have continuity and complementary play.
00:45They're good in all three phases.
00:46I think about D'Amico Ryans when I watched their tape and how he played the game and a tip of the cap to him.
00:52I think that Houston-Texas played collectively the way that he did.
00:58They're tough and smart.
00:59They play and play to win.
01:00They play with emotion, as I mentioned.
01:02And so, man, really excited.
01:04Don't take home playoff games for granted.
01:06Certainly don't take home Monday night playoff games for granted.
01:08Man, it's an honor to be in this position.
01:10I'm excited about it.
01:12I'll show respect to that.
01:14All right.
01:14So, first of all, it's just always a pleasure to listen to Mike Tomlin.
01:18He just says things in weird ways.
01:20Well, stay tuned for confessions.
01:22Stay tuned for confessions.
01:24I just want him to do a we do not care, and that's it.
01:29Yeah, stay tuned for confessions.
01:30But beyond that, I mean, could not have been more effusive about what D'Amico Ryans is,
01:36what his defense has done.
01:38And then he got a little bit more specific on the rush ends.
01:41And I want to hear that because that'll lead to a question I have for you,
01:45and that is Mike Tomlin talking about Daniil Hunter and Will Anderson.
01:48Now I turn my attention toward Houston.
01:52Man, they're a top-notch group.
01:54They need no endorsement from me.
01:57On the defensive side of the ball, they just got a kick-butt unit.
02:00They do.
02:01They got a top-flight edge tandem in Hunter and Anderson.
02:04They got a top-flight corner tandem on the outside, and so they rush very well.
02:09They cover very well.
02:11They're not trying to split the atom schematically.
02:13They don't have to when you have corners and edge rushers like that.
02:17I'll start first with the edge rushers.
02:19Will Anderson and Hunter are simply the most dynamic edge rush tandem in the National Football League in 2025.
02:25They got 27 sacks between them.
02:28I think it's 12 for Anderson, 15 for Hunter.
02:31They're a formidable group.
02:33You can talk about the things that you need to do schematically to minimize them and all of that.
02:37It's nothing that they haven't seen.
02:38We better stay out of a bunch of one-dimensional passing circumstances because if we're in those circumstances, we're going to be in trouble.
02:44And that's just the reality of it.
02:46They do a good job of being aggressive and combative in coverage.
02:49They got a really good secondary.
02:52He slaps nickel, very versatile, and he displays that versatility on the back end and safety circumstances
02:58and also in his ability to cover and blitz as a nickel.
03:02They got a real good linebacker tandem, man, that's highly active and productive.
03:06They minimize big plays.
03:08I was just looking at their statistical profile.
03:11They're top five in most statistical categories.
03:14Points, I think they're number one in yards per game.
03:17They're in the top five in rush defense and pass defense, scoring, yards.
03:22And so certainly they've been top tier and elite in just about all areas all year with that group.
03:28All right, so Tomlin was like, I bet he had a blast.
03:31Oh, my God.
03:32If Tomlin was not playing against this team, he would just be in here.
03:35Well, I don't want to say that portion of this, but yeah.
03:38We get it.
03:39But in a weird way, so effusive about the defense.
03:42Don't split the Adams.
03:43They just come straight at you.
03:44We talked about this a little bit yesterday.
03:45The rush chants.
03:47We better not be in some, however he put it, compromised positions or whatever.
03:51No, he said we should not be in very basically simple passing circumstances, which is funny
03:56because when you talk about trying to stop edge rushers like this, you would think max protect,
04:01and that ends up with two guys in a route, which again is what he's talking about, which
04:06interestingly enough, does that give his hand away?
04:09Because if you are in passing situations, even if you're going to take shot plays, which
04:13it feels like the Steelers need to have.
04:15I think Dan Orlovsky on NFL Live was talking about the idea that, or actually he was on
04:19with McAfee.
04:19He was saying the Steelers need to take shots.
04:22Well, in order to do that, you've got to make sure you give Aaron Rodgers time to take
04:25the shot, and in that instance, you'll be likely in a circumstance where you have few
04:30guys in a route, and he's saying, is it possible that they just go, we're going to match the
04:35physicality that they have with our physicality, which is running the damn ball?
04:39In a weird way, all he's talking about is pass rush and don't get in these bad positions,
04:42and it got me thinking about a text that you sent us yesterday afternoon.
04:45Look at you actually liking one of my texts.
04:47I like all your texts.
04:48No, you don't.
04:49Don't lie to me.
04:50That is a lie.
04:50But I'm like, okay, I think Reggie might be on to something here.
04:55You know, because this is also a little bit of politicking here.
05:00He's just going, look how great they are passing rushing.
05:02Yeah, but typically when they're politicking, they keep it pretty cut and dry.
05:06He started getting into the statistical profile of why the pass game was going to be rough.
05:10It sounded like he was doing this just in case I lose.
05:13Well, maybe.
05:14Well, that's also a good point.
05:15Damn good team right here.
05:16That's politicking in an entirely different way.
05:17But it speaks to what you said.
05:19Tell the people what you said, because I think there's a lot to it.
05:22The Steelers, the last eight weeks of the season, because sometimes full season,
05:25some metrics don't give you a good idea.
05:27What they did 10, 12, 14 weeks ago doesn't often give you as much of a picture.
05:32So in the last eight weeks, the Steelers, ninth in rushing DVOA, fourth in rushing EPA,
05:39and seventh in rushing success rate.
05:40That's good.
05:41They are good at running the football.
05:43Both Jaylen Warren and Kenny Gainwell have good, interesting things,
05:48and they do it in different ways.
05:50And so I was looking at some of their reps, some of the different ways they do it,
05:53outside zones.
05:54But they are a physical running team.
05:57And especially if you have these kind of concerns about what the opposing defense,
06:02in this instance the Texans defense, is going to do to make it tough for you to throw the football.
06:06And he talks about how physical they play.
06:08Why not meet fire with fire with the physicality and be able to run the football
06:13as they have been over the last two months?
06:15I think that's what they're going to do.
06:16I kept coming back to that.
06:18I'm like, you know, I didn't know those numbers.
06:20I didn't break it down to the last eight games.
06:21I'm a sick human being.
06:23But that's why you're here.
06:24And so I started thinking, you talk about mirror images of each other.
06:30They're going to run the ball on first down, second down, and if they can't on third down.
06:34They're going to run the ball.
06:35That actually reminds me because I was looking at a lot of stats.
06:38And yes, you're going to get a lot of those over the next few days.
06:41Deal with it.
06:42But the Steelers actually have a pretty heavy first down under center run profile.
06:48So you see them get under center.
06:50There is a high likelihood that they're running the football.
06:52And I imagine that might tick up, especially because of the likes of Daniil and Will in this game.
06:57I think that's what's going to happen.
06:59So as much as he's raving about, you know, hey, we got to be careful.
07:02They're going to rush the passer.
07:03He wants them to pin their ears back as much as they can on these, you know, sort of in-between downs
07:10because he's going to run the ball.
07:10And that's not to say that they won't throw the football, right?
07:13Because I think it would be absurd to go, well, he said they make it tough to take shots,
07:17so we're not going to take any shots.
07:18That'd be an absurd way of going.
07:20And he should be fired if that's the way that he operates in all reality.
07:23But there's a good chance that they try and run the damn ball in this game.
07:27And honestly, I'm interested to see, because the Texans have been, in a similar stretch,
07:32have been really good at stopping the run.
07:34This could be, you know.
07:35But then we can talk for another 20 minutes if we had to about the interior of the defense.
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