Steelers keeping their edge

[SD2042]

http://news.steelers.com/article/101585/

The Steelers began to take advantage of their bye week on Tuesday, preparing for their AFC Divisional Playoff game on January 11 by doing one main thing.

“We met with them and talked to them about what we needed to accomplish during the bye week and that is quite simply to get better,” said head coach Mike Tomlin. “Individually and collectively, identifying some areas that maybe we are deficient in from a technical standpoint.

“We had a great deal of individual time at our practice to work on their growth and skill development. I am a true believer that we need to continue to sharpen our tools for the battles that await us and we are capable of getting better even at this juncture of the season.”

The team will continue with the same approach on Wednesday and Thursday, before getting the weekend off. Tomlin feels that this approach will help the players maintain their competitive edge even while they have some time off.

“Doing the program we prescribed for the men this week and that is to identify minute details, areas in which we can improve, specifically in things that we are doing positionally and technically (will maintain the edge),” said Tomlin. “That is why you schedule the practices in the way that we have done it, where defensive linemen spend a great deal of time with Coach John Mitchell working on their skills, etc.