Mike Tomlin 'Not Overly Concerned' About Potential Headset Issues In New England
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- After the 2015 season opener -- a night which featured a banner ceremony and a convincing victory for the Patriots -- visiting head coach Mike Tomlin had a complaint about Gillette Stadium.
"We were listening to the Patriots' radio broadcast for the majority of the first half on our headsets," Tomlin steamed. "That's always the case [in New England]."
Now set to take his Steelers into Foxboro for another opening night and another banner ceremony for the home team, Tomlin said that accounting for any potential headset issues is not part of his game plan for Sunday night.
"I'm not overly concerned about that," Tomlin said at his Tuesday press conference. "We have technicians, and the league also has technicians on site. That's their area of expertise. I'm gonna worry about preparing and coaching the football team."
Of course, the facts weren't particularly friendly to Tomlin on that September night back in 2015, as the league explained that the NFL -- not the Patriots -- provides and maintains the headsets for coaching staffs, a fact which threw some cold water on the suggestion that something fishy was afoot in Foxboro. The Patriots also dealt with communication issues that night, but still managed to function as a football team.
The Steelers own an 0-4 record in Foxboro under Tomlin when facing Tom Brady, and they're 1-5 overall in Gillette Stadium. (That win came in 2008, when Matt Cassel was the starting quarterback.) The Steelers got the better of Brady and the Patriots last December in Pittsburgh, but the Steelers' record in Foxboro remains an issue. In his last three games at home against the Steelers, Brady is 80-for-107 (74.8%) for 1,174 yards, (391 yards per game, 11 yards per attempt) with nine touchdowns and zero interceptions. The Patriots have won those three games by an average score of 40-23.
Despite that, Tomlin doesn't hope to outsmart Brady with confusing concepts come Sunday evening.
"I'm less concerned about that -- tricking him or matching wits. I'm more concerned about more Week 1 things," Tomlin explained. "Our level of communication, our readiness, our positioning, our eyes. We have to make sure that those things are consistently above the line. If we don't, he will exploit 'em. I think that is the issue for us as it relates to him at this stage of the season."
Tomlin also appreciated hearing from a reporter who noted how several veteran players enjoyed the challenge of heading to Foxboro, despite the lack of success.
"That doesn't surprise me at all, man," Tomlin said. "Like, cooks like to be in the kitchen. You know what I mean? These guys are competitors, man. That's a competitor's environment up there. So I'm not surprised by that at all. I'd like to change the outcome of some of them, and the only ones that we can control is the one that happens this weekend. So that's our focus."
WBZ-TV gets you ready for the 2019 Patriots season opener on Sunday morning with Patriots GameDay at 11:30 a.m., and we'll break down everything about their clash with the Steelers and show Tom Brady's and Bill Belichick's press conference after the game on Patriots 5th Quarter!
