What Did We Learn During the Mike Tomlin News Conference

The head coach can be critical of players when he wants to be.

On Tuesday, Tomlin singled out cornerback Curtis Brown and punter Zoltan Mesko for what he might term as below the line play. He said Brown wasn't given a helmet Sunday against the Ravens because his special teams play has slipped precipitously. Brown hasn't been getting on the field much as a defender one play all season so special teams were keeping him active.

Tomlin said Mesko, who replaced Drew Butler at the start of the season, has had one "junior varsity" punt per game and needs more consistency. Mesko ranks next to last in the NFL with a 42.4 yards per punt average, and his net average of 37.2 is fifth from the bottom.

However, Tomlin emphasized that he singled out running back Le'Veon Bell for praise following a 34 yards on 16 carries performance against the Jets because he wanted to keep his confidence up. Bell responded by running for 93 yards against the Ravens, the most by a Steelers running back in almost a year. the background noise that might suggest he had a bad game against the Jets.

During his 20 minute media session, Tomlin also said he was "too (mad)" after Emmanuel Sanders' apparent end zone to end zone kickoff return touchdown was erased to noti