Tomlin's Take: news conference
By Scott Brown
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
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Steelers coach Mike Tomlin on ...

Whether the Steelers will ease strong safety Troy Polamalu, who missed all of training camp with a hamstring problem, back into action ...

"We're going to toss him in. That's the nature of this thing. Training camp is important. Preseason's important. He missed a bunch of that due to injury. But we play on Sunday and he's going to be a part of it. Hopefully he gets his legs under him pretty quickly."

Texans defensive end Mario Williams, who had 14 sacks last season ...

"(Tuesday) morning, I counted he took four steps to get to the quarterback on a stunt. That's not a lot of time. Somebody better block this guy. That's why they drafted him first overall (in 2006). They're going to move him around if what they've done in the past is any indication. We anticipate them moving him around again."

Why the Steelers, who were 7-1 during the regular season at Heinz Field in 2007, are so good at home ...

"Steeler Nation is out and always ready for some action, and we feed off of that. It's what makes it mystical. I love it. The hair on the back of your neck stands up when you cross that bridge to the North Side and you start getting close to that stadium. I can't wait until that feeling on Sunday."

Whether the Steelers will move cornerback Ike Taylor around so he is matched up against Texans wide receiver and four-time Pro Bowler Andre Johnson ...

"That's to be determined. Ike doesn't back down from those challenges. He's capable. He's willing to step up and meet them. That's always an option for us."

Whether the Steelers are ahead in any area of where Tomlin hoped they would be at this point ...

"We can trick ourselves into feeling good in a certain area or we can worry ourselves to death about another area, but the reality is when we go out to play on Sunday that will be an indication of where we are. That not only applies to us but everybody that's playing ball this weekend."

Scott Brown can be reached at [email="sbrown@tribweb.com"]sbrown@tribweb.com[/email] or 412-481-5432.