Mike Tomlin Presser
Pittsburgh Steelers met the media this afternoon coming off the heels of a 35-3 blowout win against the Oakland Raiders on Sunday afternoon.
It was a bounce back win for the Steelers who got back to their game.
“It’s what was required, ” Tomlin said. “I thought the energy was awesome. Leaders stepped up…. Guys like Ben, James Farrior and James Harrison, ” Tomlin said.
On Monday, Raiders defensive end Richard Seymour was fined $25,000 for delivering a sucker punch to Ben Roethlisberger. Tomlin said on Sunday that the hit wouldn’t change his perception of Seymour who Tomlin spoke highly of at the time and today he had no reaction to the fine.
“None, I don’t have a reaction, ” Tomlin said. “I focus on the things relevant to our team.”
The Steelers have not received any word from the league on possible fines for this week yet. James Harrison is a candidate to be fined once again but his agent Bill Parise tells Inside Pittsburgh Sports that as of 12:00 p.m. has hasn’t received any notice from the league.
The passing game for the Steelers broke out offensively against Oakland as Ben Roethlisberger threw for 3 touchdowns and got everyone involved.
The Steelers young receivers are becoming involved in the passing game, especially 2010 3rd round pick Emmanuel Sanders.
Sanders has replaced Antwaan Randle El as the No. 3 receiver and has 7 receptions for 76 yards and 2 touchdowns in his last two games.
Sanders is still prone to a mistake or two, such as running a bad route or dropping a pass, but his ability to rebound mentally from mistakes has been a major difference between him and the talented Limas Sweed.
” He’s made plays when given the opportunity, ” Tomlin said. “When he makes mistakes he doesn’t go into the tank. Rebounds relatively quickly, ” Tomlin said.
On the injury front, Pittsburgh enters Sunday’s game against Buffalo without any significant injuries (excluding Aaron Smith).
Starting center Maurkice Pouncey is fine after sustaining a quad contusion, Tomlin said this afternoon. The Steelers have suffered a few scares of late with Pouncey whose been getting banged up. He maybe limited earlier in the week but is fully expected to play.
Meanwhile, Tomlin fully expects Will Allen and Brett Keisel to return to the lineup. Allen has been cleared to practice and Tomlin expects Keisel to be at 100% this week.
“Anticipate getting Brett Keisel back, ” Tomlin said
Keisel maybe slowly worked back into the rotation as Tomlin has been pleased with the work from veteran Nick Eason and 2009 1st round pick Ziggy Hood. Tomlin praised Hood’s development today.
“Ziggy is continuing to emerge, ” Tomlin said. “Was a consistent presence in providing pressure to the quarterback, ” Tomlin said who noted Hood played over 50 snaps which was a positive for him.
Two players are questionable at this point, including wide receiver….

Anontio Brown has swelling in his knee. Tomlin said the injury is going to slow him down early in the week but as Tomlin stated, anytime a young player misses practice time, his availability is in danger.
Tight end Matt Spaeth sustained a concussion and his status is up in the air until he passes the appropiate tests.
Troy Polamalu for the second straight week will be rested on Wednesday and Thursday.
Other notes of interest is that Tomlin was asked about Rashard Mendenhall’s play. Tomlin said Mendenhall is playing very well and the type of game he played Sunday isn’t going to show up on the stats sheet.
Tomlin said the the Steelers left 40-to-50 yards on the ground as big runs by Mendenhall were called back due to holding calls and missed blocks.
On the season, Mendenhall has rushed for 811 yards on 211 carries (4.0 avg), scoring a career high 8 touchdowns. Mendenhall’s numbers are down since the return of Ben Roethlisberger but he’s still making an impact in all areas of his game, despite rushing for under 90 yards in five of the six games since Roethlisberger has returned to the lineup.
Notes
*A week after being favored by 7 at home against the then 5-4 Oakland Raiders, Pittsburgh is 6 point favorites this Sunday against the 2-8 Buffalo Bills.
*LB James Harrison, SS Troy Polamalu and Keyaron Fox (special teams) are among the top AFC vote getters by fans for the Pro Bowl.