Tomlin: Santonio's still a "dynamic playmaker"

Pittsburgh knew what it was giving up when it dealt Santonio Holmes to the Jets for a fifth round pick in the offseason. In the end -- courtesy of trade with Arizona -- the Steelers wound up with veteran cornerback Bryant McFadden, who now has 65 tackles and one interception, and the Jets have sinced reaped the benefits of having Holmes, an explosive and sure-handed (barring Sunday's mind-boggling drop against Miami) playmaker. 

So as you can see, said Tomlin, it's a move that's been beneficial to both teams. 

“We felt it was the best for all parties involved," he said of the organization's decision to trade Holmes. "Obviously, he had one year remaining on his contract, a portion of which he was going to miss. We had an opportunity to get value for him. We realized that we were going to potentially weaken ourselves at one position, but our hope was that we would eventually strengthen ourselves in another position, which is ultimately what we did.

"We used that pick to reacquire Bryant Mcfadden a starting corner for us. And we were optimistic about what [second-year wide receiver] Mike Wallace was capable of becoming. And I think he and some others have done a nice job in trying to step up and make the kind of plays Santonio’s capable of."

Tomlin said Holmes still is "a dynamic playermaker, no doubt," but when asked how the Steelers' offense has changed due to Holmes' absence, the coach said briskly: "It hasn’t changed at all.”