Super Bowl XLIII News Conference
Tampa, Florida — January 30, 2009
Opening Statement:
”Good morning. Let’s get started, if people want to sit down. First, let me welcome all of you. We’re glad to have you here and we hope you’ve had a good week. It’s great to be here in Tampa for Super Bowl XLIII. As always, we’d like to thank our host. The city of Tampa, the St. Petersburg area and all of Florida have been great hosts for us. We thank them very much.
“I know you have a lot of questions, but let me first offer a quick perspective on our season. I think it’s been an incredibly exciting season for our fans. The one word I like to use is unpredictable. Each week, there’s another unpredictable event, and I think that is the hallmark of our season, and frankly, the hallmark of the NFL. But there are three ways I’d like to describe this season, thinking back about it, and it’s with three key words: hope, inspiration and teamwork, all of which are very important in football. Hope that your team always can succeed and overcome the obstacles. We saw that with Atlanta, Miami and Baltimore coming from a difficult season the year before and going into the playoffs with first-year coaches. Inspiration from the efforts by some of our great players each week and our coaches and the teams when they come together and inspire communities, and we see that very clearly. And of course teamwork, which is so critical for what we all need to achieve. It’s working together and coming together at exactly the right time. And that’s particularly evident with our two teams at the Super Bowl. My congratulations to the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals for representing their conferences. To Dan Rooney; the Bidwill family, Mike and Nancy and Bill Bidwill, that are here. They have great organizations and they deserve to be here and I’m sure it’s going to be an exciting matchup. With that, let me open it freely to take questions. I think we’ll start with Mr. Goldberg, so you’re up Dave.”
We all are going through hard economic times, but there seems to be mixed signals coming from the NFL. For example, your TV ratings are up, but you’re laying off employees and teams are laying off employees. Going back to the other direction, you’re paying some coaches a lot of money – $20 million dollars in one case – to not coach for the next three years. Just how do you assess where the NFL is at this point economically, and what the future may hold?
“Well Dave, I’ve been very clear that we’re not immune to what’s going on out in the economy. There’s a tremendous amount of uncertainty; uncertainty clearly breeds fear. And I’ve said to you before, it’s in three buckets for us: First, what’s happening for our business partners? They’re all going through difficult times. Some have, obviously for us, significant financial commitments and they’re being stretched. We hear from them every day, and it’s important to us how we manage through that. Clearly our fans, which is the most important thing. For people who’ve lost their jobs, can they continue to afford to come to an NFL game, or to any other event? The good news for us is that we have a tremendous product. People want to continue to be associated with that. People want to continue to be involved with the game and get emotionally involved with the game, and I think that’s to the benefit of the NFL. There’s a healthy quality to times like this. I also believe, very firmly, that in a time like this, the NFL can become an extremely invaluable escape for people. This Sunday will be a great example of it. As you see, we have a lot of issues in our country and around the globe, and we have to be able to deal with those aggressively. I think for a few hours Sunday, hopefully we’ll all be able to come together and enjoy a great football game and come together as Americans around a great event.”
When the celebration is over on Monday, what are some of the specific things that the NFL will do to address the impact of the economy?
“We’re not part of the economic crisis in the sense that we have any specific steps that we can take for the broader economy. As it relates to the NFL, we have announced, very aggressively, that we are going to look at all of our season ticket prices. Each team is doing that evaluation. I believe about three quarters of the league will hold their ticket prices flat. They’re going to have to work harder and be more creative and offer extended terms in some cases to our fans to allow them to try to get through this difficult cycle. We’ll continue to work with our business partners, who are facing challenges on their level, to figure out what we can do to help them during this time. Unfortunately also, we’re doing our own cuts at the league level. You’re seeing it across the league. Many of our clubs are having the difficult process of letting go employees. We’re doing that at the league level, and it’s incredibly difficult to do. But it is a difficult period of time. There is uncertainty out there, and we have to cut our costs so that we can continue to keep this business a successful business and grow this business at some point.”
How does the NFL determine that a shared stadium project in Northern California is the best option for those franchises, and if so, how would the league assist the San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland Raiders in the construction of this badly needed facility?
“The point that you point out is that this facility is badly needed in the bay area. We have asked both teams to evaluate the possibility of a shared stadium. We can’t come to a conclusion right now if that’s the best solution. And in these times, when it’s more challenging to get these stadiums built, we have to be more creative. It’s been successfully done in New York with the Jets and the Giants, and we think it’s something that at least can be explored and evaluated by the two teams and by both communities. If it ends up being the best solution, then I think that’s a great thing.”
When the NFL goes outside U.S. borders, usually the response has been overwhelming. The Bills and the Dolphins played a game in a 54,000-seat stadium where there were visibly empty seats in December. Can we get your reaction to that, and can I get your working relationship between the NFL and the CFL?
“Let me start with your second question about the CFL. We’ve had a great relationship with the CFL. We’ve had long negotiations with them, and they determined – in their perception – that they did not need an alliance or any type of formal arrangements. We will continue to look into the best interests of football. We would love to see our CFL partners be successful, and we’ll continue to communicate with them. I just reached out to the CFL commissioner this week. Your second question: the two games up at Toronto this year were tremendously successful for us. We said that the objective was to regionalize the Buffalo Bills, and it achieved those objectives. We were able to increase our season ticket sales in the Toronto area significantly - over 40 percent. And I think from that standpoint, we achieved what our initial goal was. The other issue is that it’s a building process. When we first got in, we wanted to make sure it was a good experience for the two teams, that they were successful and that they could do it without any negative competitive consequences, and we achieved that objective. I met with the people that are promoting the game, Rogers Communications, along with the Bills this week, and I’m very confident that next year’s game is going to be bigger and better. I think we’ll evaluate every aspect of the game, including pricing, and I think they’ll do a terrific job and it’ll be a great game.”
The year 2016 will be the 50th anniversary of the Super Bowl and also the 70th anniversary of the first integrated major professional sports team, the Los Angeles Rams. How seriously will the league consider returning to Los Angeles for the 2016 game and would it be nostalgia enough, or would it have to be tied in to a team returning to Los Angeles? Also, if the decision could be made before the 2014 or 2015 games are awarded?
“Let me start with your initial point, which is 2016 being the 50th anniversary of the Super Bowl and being that LA was the site of our first game. We think that is a very attractive opportunity. It’s something we want to evaluate. We’ve heard from some of the people in Los Angeles that this would be a great way to celebrate our 50th anniversary and we will do that; we will evaluate that. It is something that we will probably do sometime over the course of this next year. Whether the timing is before the next awarded Super Bowl, I wouldn’t commit to that at this point. But it is significant in that we would like to celebrate our 50th anniversary. The 70th celebration is also important to us and I think it would be a unique opportunity for the fans in Los Angeles.”
What is the latest with the negotiations to bring back a regular season game to Mexico City and maybe even be a Monday Night game?
“Specifically, we would love to be back in Mexico. As you know, it was the first city outside of the United States, in Mexico City, to host a regular season game and it was a great, successful one. We would love to be back there. It won’t happen this year, but we are in negotiations with our partners down in Mexico. I am confident that we will get there for the 2010 year.”
The union released an economic study this week that concluded essentially that the clubs remained financially healthy and profitable and contending that the players, therefore, should not have to take less in terms of revenues in this next labor negotiation. You have some owners that feel otherwise. How difficult and contentious do you feel this negotiation will be, and are you wary at this point that you’re looking at the labor peace you’ve had for so long could be interrupted in 2011?
“Let me start with your first point. I haven’t had the chance to review the report in great detail. But, I’ve seen some of the broader summaries of the report and let me just say there is a lot of fiction in that. That report is not accurate. We are very clear and we understand our system, we understand the numbers. The ownership has spent a tremendous amount of time evaluating the current collective bargaining agreement. They came to the conclusion that it was better to terminate that agreement and go into a negotiation where we could work to try to come up with something that would work for all clubs and our players rather than continue on with that system. The economics were difficult prior to the economy turning south on us. What’s happened now with the economy turning difficult for all of us, I think that it just accentuated the negatives in that collective bargaining agreement. I think the owners feel that it’s critically important for the future of the game, for the future of the business, that they re-evaluate this. It is being done all across the country in every industry. We’re evaluating our product. Labor unions and management have to work together to address this. In many cases, labor unions have voluntarily come in saying, ‘We’d like to avoid layoffs. We’d like to give concessions because we understand the circumstances.’ I am optimistic that we’re going to be able to sit down with the union and reach an agreement that will continue labor peace and allow the players to continue to flourish, but most importantly, allow the owners to continue to invest in the game.”
I have two questions. One, taking the Thanksgiving game away from the Lions is an issue every year. Will that become an actual league issue? Two, five Lions games were blacked out this year with a bad economy, a bad team with an unfilled stadium. Will you revisit the blackout rule concerning the economy in certain situations?
“Let me address the second part of your question first, which is we will not. The blackout policy is a long-standing policy in the NFL. It’s served us well. It’s served the public well. I do not anticipate any changes for the blackout policy. With respect to the Thanksgiving Day game, as you know, I attended that game a little bit over a year ago. I understand it’s a great tradition in Detroit and in Dallas. It’s something that our owners have raised from time to time. It will not change for this season. As to whether the ownership feels the same, we will discuss it as we get later into the year. We certainly will raise it.”
There are plenty of questions from the floor this morning about global expansion regarding our friends in Toronto and Mexico City as well. Your London project is continuing with the game between New England and Tampa Bay. 70,000 tickets sold out in a matter of minutes this week so it appears to be successful and ongoing. I spoke to one of the senior executives from your office yesterday who actually said he spoke to you about the possibility of a London franchise and you said, ‘Hopefully within 10 years.’ What are your thoughts on a London franchise in the NFL?
“Give me his name. We are so thrilled with the reception that we’ve got from our fans in the UK. Each year, the excitement, the passion has grown. We saw that this year when we went back with the Saints and the Chargers. The event was bigger and better, and I think that they have demonstrated that they are tremendous football fans and that we’re continuing to grow the game over there. As you pointed out, earlier this week, the tickets went on sale in a difficult economy and were sold in a record time. With that passion, if it continues, maybe someday they will have an NFL franchise, but I’ve never put a time frame on it. Let me know his name, or hers.”
If the NFL is suffering through financial difficulties, why won’t you open up your books and prove it to them?
“It’s very simple; the union has very in-depth knowledge about our economics. They know all of our revenue down to a penny and they share in all of that. It’s part of our system. They also know our largest costs are player costs. What’s happened, very clearly here is the system has changed and our environment has changed. We’re now investing in stadiums. We’re operating stadiums. Those are significant costs and significant risks to our ownership and that’s a risk that’s borne by the ownership alone. So, the model has shifted over the years and we have to address that and we will do that directly at the collective bargaining table.”
Is the league concerned that the lease is up on the Vikings stadium and will force the team to relocate, and would Los Angeles be an option for the Vikings?
“I know that Zygi Wilf and Mark Wilf want to continue to have the Vikings in Minnesota and a new stadium and I share that. They have worked very hard to be able to get to that point. They have understood the priorities of the community. They have stood by and allowed the baseball stadium and the Gophers stadium to move forward because they recognize those priorities and there are all these priorities in the community. I think we have to continue to work with the governor and the leadership in that community to understand those priorities and figure out how we get a new stadium built. That is necessary for the Vikings and we all want the Vikings to be there in the long term successfully. They need a new stadium. That’s clear. I think it’s recognized by all parties and we need to get down to the difficult business to figure out how to do it.”
Dallas experienced an ice storm this week and the Super Bowl is coming to North Texas in a couple of years, do you have any concerns?
“I did notice that. I don’t think so. I heard the next day that it was sunny and beautiful, too. We understood that risk when we awarded the game to Dallas and we’re all excited about being there. It’s a great community. It’s going to be a terrific stadium. I can’t wait to see it this season, but I think it’s going to be a great event for us.”
Football should not be decided by a coin flip in sudden death and I think there should be a rule change just like the college game and as other sports have. Will this be explored, and your thoughts on if Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson should be in the Hall of Fame?
“Well he’s sitting right over here, and I bet there are a lot of people in this room who agree with you. He’s a great man and has contributed an awful lot. With this being the 50th anniversary of the AFL, we all know the tremendous things that he’s contributed to the game, so I appreciate you saying that. And your first point, let me address overtime for you. I think every year we look back at our overtime rules. I would disagree very strongly with your point that the game is determined by a coin flip. The point of the game is to win it in regulation. There is a great coach over here, Tony Dungy, who said something to me earlier this year and I think it’s important -- that once that coin is flipped and you’ve determined who gets the ball, you still have to get into scoring position. So, this game is about teamwork. It’s about offense, defense and special teams. You have to earn your way to get that opportunity and if you do, you win the game. So, there is a lot of debate about all overtime rules, including the college overtime rules. We’ll look at that. We’ll look at every alternative and we’ll try to come up with something that we think makes sense. We think the rule we have is a terrific rule and it’s served us well.
In the meeting, Mr. (Richard) Berthelsen talked about — in the extended CBA from a couple years ago — there was a mechanism in there that adjusted to revenues going up or down, that if in our economy … revenues were down, then the players would get an adjusted amount. But because the owners opted out, that got thrown out and that doesn’t apply. Is that fiction or non-fiction? If it’s non-fiction, was that a mistake opting out in retrospect because of what’s happened?
“I’m glad you asked the question because it is fiction. There is a rule in the Collective Bargaining Agreement that says the cap can’t go down. It’s a long-standing rule since we started this new collective bargaining system back in the early nineties. The cap continues to increase. It will be up to $123 million per club this year. The players do a great job, and deserve to be paid fairly. In 2008 and 2009, they will be seeing an increase of $500 million, just in those two years. That averages about $250,000 per player over those two years, so those are pretty significant increases. But I would tell you that the cap can’t go down is the long-standing rule.”
The league hasn’t taken any action on the Plaxico Burress situation and we were told from your office you’re going to let the legal situation play out first. I’m curious (as to) why, because players have been suspended in the past when charges were filed. Chris Henry is certainly one. Reportedly, the suspension could’ve been lifted if he was acquitted of charges. Is the difference here that it was in season with Burress, number one? And number two, if you do take action, you do suspend him, will you count the Giants’ four-game suspension as – for lack of a better term – time already served?
“Let me start with your first question. It is not because it was in season. Our rules and our policy are quite clear from when we revised our personal conduct policy that we’re looking to deal with repeat offenders. We may not wait for the legal process to conclude when we have repeat offenders. You can have a false accusation once, maybe twice. When you start getting into multiple accusations, you are putting yourself in the wrong position. You are making the wrong decision. You are in the wrong places. At that point in time, you are reflecting poorly on the NFL, yourself, your teammates. That does damage for all of us. I’m very firm on the fact that everyone deserves the opportunity to be defended, everyone has the opportunity, if they make a mistake, to deal with that, and deal with it within the legal process. We understand that many times, our players are targets, and we can’t rush to judgment. But again, multiple offenses over a period of time, you are putting yourself in the wrong position. And it reflects poorly. We have three great players sitting right over here, nominated for Man of the Year. All terrific young men – Brenda, excuse me, because Kurt’s not here right now – Kurt Warner, Brian (Dawkins), Matt (Birk), they’re all great people, and they represent this league extremely well. I think it’s unfortunate when people get a stereotype of an NFL player. I think these men do great things on and off the field, and their families do also.”
A somewhat related question: there’s no doubt that the security of your players off the field has become an issue over the last couple of years … But because of their status in the community and because they’re so easily recognizable, there are a few of your players that feel they may be targets in the community. Is this something that the league feels it needs to address?
“I think we have. One of the things that we try to talk to our players every year about is you have to be aware of your surroundings. If you’re going to go certain places and you feel unsafe, you probably shouldn’t be in that surrounding. But yes, we recognize that there are people out there that make our players targets. We make sure that we provide all the services we can from a security standpoint to advise players on how to make yourself safer, and put yourself in a position where you can make good decisions, and in a position where you can’t be accused of something falsely, or put you or your family at risk.”
All this talk of labor rancor and strife, one of the many cooperative ventures that you have with the union is the “88 Plan.” You and some others have occasionally mentioned that in your efforts to help former players with dementia, it can be hard to find those who need the help. Can you explain why that is and where the challenges are?
“It’s very simple if you know NFL players: they’ve got a lot of pride. When they have a lot of pride, they don’t always want to come forward with their needs. I don’t think it’s as big an issue as it relates to medical issues, but it happens from time to time. The good news is, we have a number of programs that reach out to our players. We’re communicating more with our retired players; we’re recognizing that we have to do more in this area with greater programs that are responsive. The “88 Plan” is a very good example: we have 99 players and their caretakers that are taking advantage of that, and it’s been a tremendous program. We have a joint replacement program. Again, a number of players and their families are taking advantage of that to get the best possible medical care. I think that’s been very responsive to their needs. So all of us need to do a better job of communicating the facts, making sure we identify people who are in need, making sure that we can help their caretakers, and do a better job of helping the people who helped build this game.”
The mayor of the city of Chicago has raised the possibility of having two teams in the city – two NFL teams. I just wanted to get your reaction to that.
“I’ve heard his comments. He’s made those comments for several years. I respect the passion he has for football and for his community. The Bears are a great team in that community. We are engaged in efforts to try to make sure all our teams are successful in their current markets, and I hope we’re going to be successful in doing that.”
This has to do with excessive celebration which the league has always taken a proactive role to try and stop; you’ve got the 15-yard penalty on kickoff. It seems, without knowing statistics though, that there are some players who could care less about that and are seemingly repeat offenders. Any thought of taking it a stop further, even radically taking away the play and penalizing 15 yards and taking away a touchdown? Don’t you think that would stop it in its tracks?
“Right now, we deal with it the way we deal with most issues and violations of policies which are: there’s a penalty on the field and if necessary, we will fine for that. I don’t sense that that we need to do an awful lot more on that. We’ve been aggressive in enforcing our policies, and we think we’ve found a balance with respect to the excessive celebration. When it becomes excessive, it’s unsportsmanlike and it becomes taunting, and it usually gets a response from the opposing team, which is usually not good. We think it is important as far as sportsmanship that when you achieve something great on the field, be professional. Deal with it. You are going to go make another play. I think our policy serves us well, and I think the way we enforce it serves us well. We do a good job with it.”
I am curious what you think of the current negotiations that are going on with the Saints lease, and how optimistic are you that a deal can be put in place in the next couple of months? If there is a deal in place in time for the bid for a Super Bowl, how important is it that the Super Bowl comes back to New Orleans?
“Let's take your questions one at a time. Clearly a long-term arrangement between the Saints and the state of Louisiana is something that we would like to see occur. The Saints have been terrific for the community, and I think the community has been great to the Saints. It's a partnership that works very well. We hope that those negotiations will be successful and we’ll do that as quickly as possible, but we understand the priorities that are going on. Beyond that, it's been a great Super Bowl city. If the stadium can be put into a first-class condition that we believe would make a great host stadium, along with a great city, when they go up against the competition, it will serve them quite well.”
A couple of things, can you comment on the impact of Wayne Huizenga’s 15-year run of ownership, and secondly, what are the primary challenges generally faced by a new ownership group?
“Wayne has been a terrific owner for the NFL, the Miami Dolphins and that community, not only in football but in multiple sports. I think he's had a huge impact in the Miami area. He’s had a great impact on me personally as well. He's one of those smart guys who knows how to get to the bottom of a problem pretty quick. He’s not afraid to give you his opinion, and he's done that from time to time with me. I think that’s helpful. I think the ownership will miss him at that level. On the other hand, in typical fashion, he's left the franchise in good hands. Steve Ross is a terrific man. He’s a very successful businessman and he’s spent the last year or so learning the business from Wayne. He has good people who he has surrounded himself with and I think that’s the key to everything – surround yourself with good people and put them in a position where they can make the decisions and ultimately, you’ll have a successful franchise.”
In the past I’ve talked about the development of programs for players off the field. You’ve talked about your concern for that. You hear about the few players who do get in some problems and that you’ve helped, but as you said the majority of players we’ve found are guys who do it right in the community and are mentors and make a difference in young peoples’ lives. Could you elaborate on some of the other programs since last year that you are working on in this area? With these three behind me (finalists for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award) who are deserving of this award, what will you be doing in the future in terms of mentoring and using these examples for young players coming into the league?
“You’ve touched on a lot of issues here, but as it relates to programs, services and resources that we can provide our players, we evaluate that constantly. What is it that we can do to provide these players coming into our league, or the veterans, what services (can we provide) to help them make better decisions? It covers everything from training to special programs that they believe are high priorities. We spend a lot of time talking to our Player Advisory Council, and I speak individually with players to ask what are the priorities? What are things that can be most helpful to players as they continue their career, and move onto another career? The one thing every player shares in common is that you will be a retired player someday, and you need to make that transition and you need to start thinking about that almost from the time you enter the league, and hopefully before you enter the league as you go through your college years and get your education. I think we've been really successful in these, but you can always improve them and that’s the focus for us.”
The NFL, its teams and players have an excellent program to welcome home the troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. I’d like to know what made you most proud that the NFL or teams did this year for the veterans, and also, what do you think needs to be done to bring spirit, support, honor and teamwork to those men and women who return from Iraq and Afghanistan?
“There are a number of things. First off, I think the thing that made me proudest was the personal opportunity I had to go with Drew Brees and Osi Umenyiora to Iraq and Afghanistan last summer. To see our troops and what they go through on a daily basis was extraordinary – the sacrifices they make, the commitment they make. It’s just something that would make you all very proud. I know I can say on behalf of Drew and Osi, it was an honor to be over there. As it relates to different programs, in fact, we were over there as part of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral [Mike] Mullen’s entourage and we spent an awful lot of time talking about that because they face similar issues. As one example, an issue that we share is concussions. Those issues are impacting veterans. We have been working with the Defense Department to share our knowledge of what is happening and make sure that they can treat concussions in a conservative fashion, and they can do for our veterans the things that we are doing for our players. I think there are a lot of things that we can do that will be beneficial and we’ll continue that dialogue.”
With the gradual increase of Australian punters coming over here, is there a way the league can parlay that into promoting the game in Australia, even if it’s impractical for the game?
“We had a game over there, a preseason game and it was successful. And I think we’ll continue with our television policies over there. I think they continue to expand interest in the game. I do think the more that players come over from Australia and play American football, as we call it, I think that that will lead to greater and greater interest, and I encourage that.”
Can you say what your impetus was to shift the Pro Bowl from Honolulu to Miami? Was it a farewell gift to Wayne (Huizenga), and is it just an experimental basis?
“Well if it was a farewell gift, he left. No, the entire premise of shifting the Pro Bowl was to make our event bigger and better than it is right now. We’ve had a great experience in Hawaii. We expect to continue to be in Hawaii. We expect it will be in the rotation. What we thought, though, would be a very interesting alternative would be to play the game as part of the lead up to the Super Bowl. So we’ll be playing it on Sunday night in Miami in advance of the Super Bowl. That will bring more interest, clearly. It will bring more exposure for our great players, and we think be a positive. In addition, we think that while we’ll miss the Super Bowl guys, it really puts an emphasis on team accomplishment. Make it to the Super Bowl: that’s the crowning achievement. But if you get the opportunity to play in the Pro Bowl, it’s a great opportunity and it’s something that you deserve as an individual player, those accolades, and we’d like to put you on the biggest stage, and we believe the biggest stage is prior to the Super Bowl. But we do continue and hope to be in Hawaii.”
You said that there was a lot of fiction in the NFLPA’s report. In another answer, you said that they know your finances down to the penny, because they’re a partner with it. Considering those two statements, where’s the fiction if they know your finances so well? Second question is, what are your concerns with their election of a new leader coming up in March?
“You’re going to have to address a lot of the first part of your question to the union. I said they know our revenue to the penny. Our finances, they know the cost side, the most significant of all our costs are the players. About $4.5 billion goes to our players. They know all of that. The also know a great deal about the costs that are associated with building stadiums. As I said, I haven’t studied their report yesterday. It was not done by them. It was done by somebody independently, and I don’t know how much knowledge they have of the NFL. But I do know our finances, and our ownership knows our finances. And I think our players know enough to know that adjustments need to be made so that we can continue to grow this great game. Second part of your question was union leadership, I believe? Well, you know, eventually whoever is selected as the head of the NFLPA is an important decision for us. We will obviously work closely with that individual. We’ll rely on that individual to set their priorities and make sure that they’re giving us feedback. Their leadership will be critical in making sure we continue to grow this great game, and we do what’s right for our players as well as the game, as well as for the ownership.”
Would you and the Competition Committee ever consider simply removing a field goal as an option on the first drive only of overtime, and if not, why not?
“It’s been considered before, and I’m sure it will be considered among the alternatives. There are other ways of addressing the field goal on the first drive, and I think it is something the Competition Committee needs to consider because what we’ve seen in our statistics is that historically about 30 percent of the games in overtime are decided with a team who wins the coin flip scoring on the first possession. That number has risen to about 47 percent, and I think that’s significant, and I think it’s something our committee needs to look at. When you couple that with the fact that our field goal kickers are much more accurate than they have been in the past, that is a danger. We have talked about different concepts, and the committee will discuss this. And I’ve had some discussions with some of the committee members individually. Should we move the kickoff so that the ball, theoretically at least, would be, the drive would start further back? If they drive down and they kick a long field goal, they deserve to win. So, that suggestion that you’re making has been discussed. We’ll discuss it among the other alternatives, and I’m sure they’ll come up with a recommendation by the end of March.”
Super Bowl XLIII marks the end of John Madden’s 30th season as a broadcaster from the booth. Can you speak about his impact from a league-wide perspective?
“John Madden has contributed on so many different levels. I think that makes him very special. First he was a great coach. Then he went on and had a great broadcasting career. And of course his name is associated with the most popular game of all time in the electronic game world. That, and I think he’s had a huge influence over millions of people, both young and old, who watch our game, play our Electronic Arts game, and I think that’s something that he’s uniquely qualified to do because he has such a tremendous role. He has such a great way of communicating the game of football, the importance of football, and he’s so passionate about the game. At his core, he just loves the game of football, and that’s one of the reasons I love John Madden.”
You said that all the owners have made their finances available, and that the players are very aware of all of that.
“I didn’t say that, by the way, but go ahead.”
What did you say?
“I will repeat it for the third time. What I said was that the players know our revenues down to the penny. They also are well aware of the fact that we have $4.5 billion in our player costs. They are well aware of that, and because of the stadium involvement, they have a very good understanding of the cost of building our stadiums. So, they have a very good understanding of our economics, and they understand the risks associated with running a football team. It has heightened in this kind of environment with this economy.
Since it’s a point of contention with them, in good faith on your part, would you compel the owners to open their books to the players to make it a more open and honest negotiation as you go forward?
“I am confident it is going to be an open and honest negotiation. As I said, we don’t have to open the books for everyone to evaluate that. The people at the table, the players and the owners, will understand the economics in the NFL. I think that will be done and will lead to a constructive dialogue, and hopefully a very positive agreement for both parties.”
I know you haven’t seen details of the economic report by the union, but off the cuff could you comment on their finding that the average team is making $24.7 million in profits a year?
“The best way to answer that is it’s completely inaccurate.”
The solution they seem to come up with in the CBA is you better share revenue among yourselves rather than cut into their pie?
“Let me address that because I think it is a very important issue. The National Football League shares more revenue amongst their teams than any other league by far. It has been the foundation of the success of the NFL and they do it in a way that I think has created a tremendous product. It has made it a tremendous gain. It goes back to my original point. It’s about hope. It’s what allows teams to compete against one another. We have a great game and a large part is due to those types of policies. Our ownership continues to evaluate how to share revenue. We have done it more and more over the last several years, including when we realigned, including when we extended the last agreement. More money went into revenue sharing. I think we exceed any expectation about revenue sharing. That is not the issue. The issue is the collective bargaining agreement and what the economics are to our ownership and our players.”
“I will take one more question, but before I do I would like to more formally thank everybody here in Tampa for their hospitality – most particularly the Glazer family, our hosts as the Buccaneers. They have done a marvelous job. Clearly, we would not be here without their leadership and we thank them for everything they’ve done. Of course, the governor and the mayor who I’ve seen frequently this week, they’ve done a terrific job. We are so grateful for all of their hospitality. The Tampa Bay host committee – again a terrific job – terrific leadership. We are thrilled to be here and thank them for their hospitality.”
This is a health question. We lost Tom Brady early in the season and there have been some tremendous hits. We all know it’s a dangerous game. Are you worried about losing the stars of the game in that way? And are you worried about the studies on head injuries that seem to be coming in, that players – maybe not immediately – but within 10, 20 or 30 years will have onset Alzheimer’s and the other problems that they may not be aware of?
“Well, you are drawing connections there that I wouldn’t necessarily agree with. Let me start with the safety of the game because I think that is a high priority for all of us, and it’s not just about the stars of the game. It’s about every player that puts on a helmet and wears a uniform in the NFL. We have to do whatever we can to remove any of the techniques and any of the tactics that can unnecessarily risk injury to those players. We have very aggressively done that. We have worked with the committee in the offseason. We made changes this season and aggressively penalized and fined, and we had an impact. The second half of the season, we saw a dramatically different game. I watched the tapes myself. We saw techniques that were being used in the first half of the season that were completely removed. It made the game safer for our players, and I think we’ll continue to evaluate that. I spoke to the committee about low hits to quarterbacks. We are still looking at defenseless receivers. Should we eliminate the launch entirely? Should we be careful of any hits to the head, including shoulder hits? Should there be rules against that? These take a lot of study to consider and they take a lot of time and energy. For the Competition Committee, the number-one priority for them will be player safety, but for all players.”
“I thank you all very much. Thank you for being here and enjoy the week.”
viernes, 30 de enero de 2009
HEAD COACH MIKE TOMLIN
Super Bowl XLIII – Friday, January 30, 2009
QUOTES FROM PITTSBURGH STEELERS PRESS CONFERENCE
HEAD COACH MIKE TOMLIN
(on the team’s schedule for Saturday and Sunday leading up to the game) “Really it is going to be the way Saturdays and Sundays have been for us all season. We will have a final walkthrough on Saturday morning, and guys will have free time after that to get some final things and adjustments made in terms of taking care of their families and personal business. We will rally in the evening, go to an undisclosed location and go through our normal night before the game routine in seclusion. We will get up on Sunday morning and have chapel service – things guys need to do and routines they go through to prepare themselves for the game, like message therapy or what have you. We will have a pregame meal, board buses and go to the stadium. We will approach the locker room time in the same way that we always do. It has been a pretty good formula for us. We are going to try to move as close to normalcy as we can. The kickoff time is somewhat obscure, but it’s not like we had a bunch of 1 o’clock kickoffs this year either. I don’t expect it to be very different at all.”
(on the developing culture of the veteran players with rings encouraging the players on the team without rings) “I think that is one example of the way our team motivates one another. I have an accountability group. We have great leadership. They apply pressure to one another to deliver, and that is just one of the many ways that they do it. The guys that haven’t been there and done that want to know what that feels like. We have some guys that play significant roles on our team that weren’t a part of a world championship. They hear the stories, and they want to be a part of those stories in the future. I am talking about significant guys like Santonio Holmes who wasn’t on that Super Bowl team a couple of years ago. He was in college. LaMarr Woodley, Lawrence Timmons, and the list goes on and on. It is just a motivation tool that our veteran players use to get the best out of the guys that haven’t been there.”
(on getting out of coaching and going to law school) “It is true. Like a lot of other young people, I considered things that other people thought were appropriate for me as opposed to what I thought was appropriate for me. I knew right away that coaching was something that I was meant to do – something that I wanted to do. But, I didn’t give some consideration to law school. It didn’t require much bribing from coach (Rip) Scherer to pull me in that direction. As a consolation prize, I could tell my parents that I was going to graduate school, so that’s how I ended up at the University of Memphis.”
(on thinking back how he felt the moment he was hired from the Steelers) “It is an interesting story. When I found out I got the job, I was in Minnesota playing foosball with my sons. I got off the phone and they were interested in finishing the game, so we did. Really, that is the approach I have taken to it. Pressure is something that I embrace. I love the competition. I love the feeling that pressure gives me. Some people are built for those things and I always have been. I am a competitor. In regards to building relationships with the veteran players, that is old hat for me. Those are things I have had to do in every stop for me. I approached this stop no different. Truth be known, whether it was in Tampa when I had to coach John Lynch, who of course was older than me, or dating as far back to VMI when I coached three receivers that were my age – they were three seniors. It’s old hat for me.”
(on Tony Dungy, Dick LeBeau and the Rooney family’s input and guidance in his young career) “It is very significant. Let’s be real, you don’t get into the position that I am in without great influences and mentorship coming from some of the people you mentioned. One thing that I am is, I am sharp enough to realize when people can help me and I listen. I pride myself in trying to do that. Those people have always provided great advice and opportunities for me, but there are many others along the way as well who are as equally deserving as those people who are not a household name as some of those people are, but they are just as meaningful to me.”
(on the injury status of WR Hines Ward and QB Ben Roethlisberger) “Like a lot of the situations that go on with Ben’s medical status, I don’t know where that report came from. Ben is fine, he is going to play. Hines looked pretty good yesterday. We will see where he is at today and continue to push forward towards Sunday. As for the mentality regarding Hines, it has not changed. He is intent on playing in the football game. I have been here with this guy before under these circumstances through the injury he had to deal with last year in the playoffs. It was questionable whether he could perform in the game. We didn’t win the game, but he went out and played great football. I have a level of expectation for him to deal with this situation. It is not going to be an excuse for us, it is not an excuse for him, and I really expect him to be Hines Ward on Sunday.”
(on if his team playing in the Super Bowl was part of his goals when he first took the job as head coach) “It was, and I think that every head coach in the National Football League puts together a four-month calendar with this in mind. I don’t see myself any different than anyone else. I put this plan together last year, I wasn’t successful but the plan was put together. I think that is the mentality that all of us share when we go to training camp and build our football team to be the one at the end of the thing to say they are world champs. Thankfully this year, things came together for us and we are at the brink of that. Of course Sunday is going to determine the outcome of that. That is always my mentality. That was my goal a year ago, and it will continue to be my goal as long as I do what I do.”
(on if he is pleased with his team’s preparation this week, and if he has any concerns going into the game) “You know, performance always defines preparation. I can trick myself into feeling good about it. The reality is, if we play well on Sunday, it was great preparation. If we don’t play well on Sunday, then it wasn’t good enough. I feel good about where we are, and I think the guys have dealt with the things that have been presented to them this week really well. When we are by ourselves and doing what we do to prepare ourselves for this game, it was very normal. That is encouraging but ultimately, how we play on Sunday will define that.”
(on if he has heard from any of his former players or coaches) “No I haven’t, and I think because of that rich tradition, they understand that I am somewhat unavailable. Some of those guys I consider good friends and I have had the opportunity to form a great relationship with those guys in the last two years. They know what comes with this territory, we know that we have their support, but they are also sharp enough to know that we are extremely busy.”
(on coaching a team with such a large national following) “As far as the national fan following, that is not a problem at all, that is a problem we would all like to have. I embrace that. Steeler nation drives me on a day-to-day basis. They are why it is that we do what we do. We appreciate it. There is nothing like going into a hostile environment and seeing so many faces, rabid friendly faces, so that is something that is a pleasure to be apart of. I think that everybody that is in our organization has been a part of another organization appreciates it differently than people that have only had that exposure. A lot of time, talking to guys that were drafted into our circumstance, they have an understanding of how special it is because all it takes is some time in another organization. I think you develop a better appreciation for the relationship we have with our fan following.”
(on if he will stick with the same style of play that made him successful thus far) “I think one of the reasons that we have had consistent excellence over a long period of time in our organization is because we are under the leadership of Dan and Art Rooney. Their vision of what Steeler football is about is very clear. I think I have my job because my vision is similar to what their vision is. I have learned more about their vision since I have been there, so of course, I am going to play to it.”
(on what affected his decision to go into coaching instead of law school) “You know, coaching was ‘Plan B’ for me. Truth be known, I thought I’d still be playing. I thought I’d be playing on Sunday. That’s something that all players, I think, go through. When I was younger, I was just focused on playing the game. Coaching was something that came to mind as it became evident that maybe I wasn’t going to play anymore. That’s why we coach; we coach because we can’t play. Either ability dictates that we can’t play, or age dictates that we can’t play, but that’s a common bond that all coaches share. We love the game, we can’t play it, we do the next best thing which is we instruct, help and get a chance to be close to those that do. In regard to the law school thing, it was just on the radar. It was something, again, that I thought I was supposed to do. Maybe the people that were around me and the people that were influential in my life wanted to see me do great things, my mother being central in that. But I think in hindsight, she likes what I’m doing right now.”
(on his relationship with the team as a young coach and on the role of faith in his life) “I believe that we have a great relationship, talking about my relationship with the football team. I think it’s in the process of getting better because I think all relationships have an opportunity to do that over a period of time. We’ve had shared experiences to call on: successes, failures, work. I think all those things forge great relationships and friendships. That’s not something that I shy away from; That’s something that I embrace. I don’t let it rule me. What I mean is that we have tasks in front of us – challenges and things that we need to do – and you understand that those relationships are forged along that way. That’s been as fun as meeting the challenges specifically themselves. As far as faith, faith is No.1 in my life. It’s central to who I am. It allows me to keep all the things that I’ve been blessed with in complete perspective. I realize that coaching is what I do; it’s not who I am, and it’s because of that.”
(on cautioning players this weekend) “Like a lot of things, when things come up or situations arise, you often get asked how you deal with it. The reality is that if you wait until these moments to address those issues, you’re extremely late. For someone in my position, it’s part of our culture, it’s part of what we do. I wouldn’t disrespect a preseason opener. I wouldn’t treat it any different than I’m treating the Super Bowl in regards to where we need to be mentally, preparation, distractions, etc. It’s part of our culture. It’s things that are instilled on day one. It’s things that are talked about continually, so I don’t have to push the panic button as I stand here today, and we’re getting ready to play in the Super Bowl and trying to play catch-up.”
(on preparing his final message to the team) “I haven’t. I make a conscious effort to wing it. I think that’s real. I think our guys relate to that. It’s that way that I deal with them, for the most part. This week has been tougher than most in terms of trying to keep those thoughts out of my mind because there’s a lot to say. But at the same time, I’m intent on doing that (winging it). I’m going to just walk in and communicate with them like I always do. I never prepare for the night-before-the-game speech.”
(on preparing to play coach who knows the team as well as Ken Whisenhunt) “Really, we prepare like we always do. I’ve fielded questions along those lines a bunch this week, and the reality is that in today’s NFL there’s a bunch of that. There’s a bunch of fluidity in coaches and in players. I understand that this situation is getting a lot of attention because it is the Super Bowl, but I would imagine every week in the National Football League there’s somebody playing where there’s a significant coach who has a first-hand relationship with the people they’re playing against. That’s not the first time that’s happened for us. It won’t be the last. It’s something that happens all the time because there is a bunch of movement in our business, so it’s not as groundbreaking a situation as one might think it is or it may appear to be. It is because this is the Super Bowl, but we’ll deal with it as we always do.”
(on if he can learn anything from this season’s Colts game) “I hope the outcome is a little different, I’ll start there. There are some parallels that you can pull from that game and really, we had complete clarity about how that game could unfold as we prepared for it. I talked to our guys about how we could not miss opportunities against a quarterback with the capabilities of Peyton Manning. (I said) that when we had opportunities when the ball hit us in the face, that we had to deliver the goods. If we didn’t, then he was going to kill us. And that’s how that game unfolded. We had some interception opportunities that we dropped. One went through our hands and turned into a 65-yard touchdown. The other one, he produced a touchdown as the drive continued. You can draw the same parallels when you’re playing a guy like Kurt Warner - that when you’ve got him, you better get him because he’s going to come back and get you. That’s where I draw the parallel when I think about that game, but every game is different, particularly when you’re talking about two different teams. They’re a different team than the team in Indianapolis, and really, we’re a different team than the team that played against Indianapolis. That’s just football.”
(on what advantage the Steelers might have because of how many of their players have played in a Super Bowl) “I think that if there is an advantage, it is in the week leading up to the game. I think the people who have been here before help the guys with some of the things that go along with game: taking care of personal business, taking care of family members, not letting those things be a distraction and helping them stay focused on what it is we need to do in terms of playing. In terms of the game itself, I would imagine whether you have been in it before or not, it’s going to be pretty big. Some people are going to be nervous, and some people are going to be more nervous than others. If they were nervous in the first game, I’m sure they are going to be nervous in this one. The game itself is the game that is going to play out. If there is an advantage, I think it’s in the preparation leading up to the game and in dealing with some of the things that you have to deal with leading up to the game.”
(on what it means to him to be the youngest head coach in Super Bowl history) “You know, I feel extremely blessed. I haven’t spent a bunch of time dwelling on that, truth be known. Those things are nice things to talk about, but I imagine that won’t be a topic of discussion for long. Maybe next year at this time, there will be guys like (Denver Broncos head coach) Josh McDaniels or (Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach) Raheem Morris standing up here, and you won’t be talking about me. That’s football.”
(on how much the impact the running game will have in the game) “It’s going to be significant. Without giving you the specific game plan, we desire to run the football. We want to do that because we want to win by attrition. We want to impose our will on the people that we play. We recognize that is how we play. When Willie (Parker) is successful, the probability of as a team being successful goes up. We keep it in perspective, but at the same time we’ve also won games when we haven’t run the ball effectively. The issue for us is, has been and hopefully will continue to be doing what is required for us to win.”
QUOTES FROM PITTSBURGH STEELERS PRESS CONFERENCE
HEAD COACH MIKE TOMLIN
(on the team’s schedule for Saturday and Sunday leading up to the game) “Really it is going to be the way Saturdays and Sundays have been for us all season. We will have a final walkthrough on Saturday morning, and guys will have free time after that to get some final things and adjustments made in terms of taking care of their families and personal business. We will rally in the evening, go to an undisclosed location and go through our normal night before the game routine in seclusion. We will get up on Sunday morning and have chapel service – things guys need to do and routines they go through to prepare themselves for the game, like message therapy or what have you. We will have a pregame meal, board buses and go to the stadium. We will approach the locker room time in the same way that we always do. It has been a pretty good formula for us. We are going to try to move as close to normalcy as we can. The kickoff time is somewhat obscure, but it’s not like we had a bunch of 1 o’clock kickoffs this year either. I don’t expect it to be very different at all.”
(on the developing culture of the veteran players with rings encouraging the players on the team without rings) “I think that is one example of the way our team motivates one another. I have an accountability group. We have great leadership. They apply pressure to one another to deliver, and that is just one of the many ways that they do it. The guys that haven’t been there and done that want to know what that feels like. We have some guys that play significant roles on our team that weren’t a part of a world championship. They hear the stories, and they want to be a part of those stories in the future. I am talking about significant guys like Santonio Holmes who wasn’t on that Super Bowl team a couple of years ago. He was in college. LaMarr Woodley, Lawrence Timmons, and the list goes on and on. It is just a motivation tool that our veteran players use to get the best out of the guys that haven’t been there.”
(on getting out of coaching and going to law school) “It is true. Like a lot of other young people, I considered things that other people thought were appropriate for me as opposed to what I thought was appropriate for me. I knew right away that coaching was something that I was meant to do – something that I wanted to do. But, I didn’t give some consideration to law school. It didn’t require much bribing from coach (Rip) Scherer to pull me in that direction. As a consolation prize, I could tell my parents that I was going to graduate school, so that’s how I ended up at the University of Memphis.”
(on thinking back how he felt the moment he was hired from the Steelers) “It is an interesting story. When I found out I got the job, I was in Minnesota playing foosball with my sons. I got off the phone and they were interested in finishing the game, so we did. Really, that is the approach I have taken to it. Pressure is something that I embrace. I love the competition. I love the feeling that pressure gives me. Some people are built for those things and I always have been. I am a competitor. In regards to building relationships with the veteran players, that is old hat for me. Those are things I have had to do in every stop for me. I approached this stop no different. Truth be known, whether it was in Tampa when I had to coach John Lynch, who of course was older than me, or dating as far back to VMI when I coached three receivers that were my age – they were three seniors. It’s old hat for me.”
(on Tony Dungy, Dick LeBeau and the Rooney family’s input and guidance in his young career) “It is very significant. Let’s be real, you don’t get into the position that I am in without great influences and mentorship coming from some of the people you mentioned. One thing that I am is, I am sharp enough to realize when people can help me and I listen. I pride myself in trying to do that. Those people have always provided great advice and opportunities for me, but there are many others along the way as well who are as equally deserving as those people who are not a household name as some of those people are, but they are just as meaningful to me.”
(on the injury status of WR Hines Ward and QB Ben Roethlisberger) “Like a lot of the situations that go on with Ben’s medical status, I don’t know where that report came from. Ben is fine, he is going to play. Hines looked pretty good yesterday. We will see where he is at today and continue to push forward towards Sunday. As for the mentality regarding Hines, it has not changed. He is intent on playing in the football game. I have been here with this guy before under these circumstances through the injury he had to deal with last year in the playoffs. It was questionable whether he could perform in the game. We didn’t win the game, but he went out and played great football. I have a level of expectation for him to deal with this situation. It is not going to be an excuse for us, it is not an excuse for him, and I really expect him to be Hines Ward on Sunday.”
(on if his team playing in the Super Bowl was part of his goals when he first took the job as head coach) “It was, and I think that every head coach in the National Football League puts together a four-month calendar with this in mind. I don’t see myself any different than anyone else. I put this plan together last year, I wasn’t successful but the plan was put together. I think that is the mentality that all of us share when we go to training camp and build our football team to be the one at the end of the thing to say they are world champs. Thankfully this year, things came together for us and we are at the brink of that. Of course Sunday is going to determine the outcome of that. That is always my mentality. That was my goal a year ago, and it will continue to be my goal as long as I do what I do.”
(on if he is pleased with his team’s preparation this week, and if he has any concerns going into the game) “You know, performance always defines preparation. I can trick myself into feeling good about it. The reality is, if we play well on Sunday, it was great preparation. If we don’t play well on Sunday, then it wasn’t good enough. I feel good about where we are, and I think the guys have dealt with the things that have been presented to them this week really well. When we are by ourselves and doing what we do to prepare ourselves for this game, it was very normal. That is encouraging but ultimately, how we play on Sunday will define that.”
(on if he has heard from any of his former players or coaches) “No I haven’t, and I think because of that rich tradition, they understand that I am somewhat unavailable. Some of those guys I consider good friends and I have had the opportunity to form a great relationship with those guys in the last two years. They know what comes with this territory, we know that we have their support, but they are also sharp enough to know that we are extremely busy.”
(on coaching a team with such a large national following) “As far as the national fan following, that is not a problem at all, that is a problem we would all like to have. I embrace that. Steeler nation drives me on a day-to-day basis. They are why it is that we do what we do. We appreciate it. There is nothing like going into a hostile environment and seeing so many faces, rabid friendly faces, so that is something that is a pleasure to be apart of. I think that everybody that is in our organization has been a part of another organization appreciates it differently than people that have only had that exposure. A lot of time, talking to guys that were drafted into our circumstance, they have an understanding of how special it is because all it takes is some time in another organization. I think you develop a better appreciation for the relationship we have with our fan following.”
(on if he will stick with the same style of play that made him successful thus far) “I think one of the reasons that we have had consistent excellence over a long period of time in our organization is because we are under the leadership of Dan and Art Rooney. Their vision of what Steeler football is about is very clear. I think I have my job because my vision is similar to what their vision is. I have learned more about their vision since I have been there, so of course, I am going to play to it.”
(on what affected his decision to go into coaching instead of law school) “You know, coaching was ‘Plan B’ for me. Truth be known, I thought I’d still be playing. I thought I’d be playing on Sunday. That’s something that all players, I think, go through. When I was younger, I was just focused on playing the game. Coaching was something that came to mind as it became evident that maybe I wasn’t going to play anymore. That’s why we coach; we coach because we can’t play. Either ability dictates that we can’t play, or age dictates that we can’t play, but that’s a common bond that all coaches share. We love the game, we can’t play it, we do the next best thing which is we instruct, help and get a chance to be close to those that do. In regard to the law school thing, it was just on the radar. It was something, again, that I thought I was supposed to do. Maybe the people that were around me and the people that were influential in my life wanted to see me do great things, my mother being central in that. But I think in hindsight, she likes what I’m doing right now.”
(on his relationship with the team as a young coach and on the role of faith in his life) “I believe that we have a great relationship, talking about my relationship with the football team. I think it’s in the process of getting better because I think all relationships have an opportunity to do that over a period of time. We’ve had shared experiences to call on: successes, failures, work. I think all those things forge great relationships and friendships. That’s not something that I shy away from; That’s something that I embrace. I don’t let it rule me. What I mean is that we have tasks in front of us – challenges and things that we need to do – and you understand that those relationships are forged along that way. That’s been as fun as meeting the challenges specifically themselves. As far as faith, faith is No.1 in my life. It’s central to who I am. It allows me to keep all the things that I’ve been blessed with in complete perspective. I realize that coaching is what I do; it’s not who I am, and it’s because of that.”
(on cautioning players this weekend) “Like a lot of things, when things come up or situations arise, you often get asked how you deal with it. The reality is that if you wait until these moments to address those issues, you’re extremely late. For someone in my position, it’s part of our culture, it’s part of what we do. I wouldn’t disrespect a preseason opener. I wouldn’t treat it any different than I’m treating the Super Bowl in regards to where we need to be mentally, preparation, distractions, etc. It’s part of our culture. It’s things that are instilled on day one. It’s things that are talked about continually, so I don’t have to push the panic button as I stand here today, and we’re getting ready to play in the Super Bowl and trying to play catch-up.”
(on preparing his final message to the team) “I haven’t. I make a conscious effort to wing it. I think that’s real. I think our guys relate to that. It’s that way that I deal with them, for the most part. This week has been tougher than most in terms of trying to keep those thoughts out of my mind because there’s a lot to say. But at the same time, I’m intent on doing that (winging it). I’m going to just walk in and communicate with them like I always do. I never prepare for the night-before-the-game speech.”
(on preparing to play coach who knows the team as well as Ken Whisenhunt) “Really, we prepare like we always do. I’ve fielded questions along those lines a bunch this week, and the reality is that in today’s NFL there’s a bunch of that. There’s a bunch of fluidity in coaches and in players. I understand that this situation is getting a lot of attention because it is the Super Bowl, but I would imagine every week in the National Football League there’s somebody playing where there’s a significant coach who has a first-hand relationship with the people they’re playing against. That’s not the first time that’s happened for us. It won’t be the last. It’s something that happens all the time because there is a bunch of movement in our business, so it’s not as groundbreaking a situation as one might think it is or it may appear to be. It is because this is the Super Bowl, but we’ll deal with it as we always do.”
(on if he can learn anything from this season’s Colts game) “I hope the outcome is a little different, I’ll start there. There are some parallels that you can pull from that game and really, we had complete clarity about how that game could unfold as we prepared for it. I talked to our guys about how we could not miss opportunities against a quarterback with the capabilities of Peyton Manning. (I said) that when we had opportunities when the ball hit us in the face, that we had to deliver the goods. If we didn’t, then he was going to kill us. And that’s how that game unfolded. We had some interception opportunities that we dropped. One went through our hands and turned into a 65-yard touchdown. The other one, he produced a touchdown as the drive continued. You can draw the same parallels when you’re playing a guy like Kurt Warner - that when you’ve got him, you better get him because he’s going to come back and get you. That’s where I draw the parallel when I think about that game, but every game is different, particularly when you’re talking about two different teams. They’re a different team than the team in Indianapolis, and really, we’re a different team than the team that played against Indianapolis. That’s just football.”
(on what advantage the Steelers might have because of how many of their players have played in a Super Bowl) “I think that if there is an advantage, it is in the week leading up to the game. I think the people who have been here before help the guys with some of the things that go along with game: taking care of personal business, taking care of family members, not letting those things be a distraction and helping them stay focused on what it is we need to do in terms of playing. In terms of the game itself, I would imagine whether you have been in it before or not, it’s going to be pretty big. Some people are going to be nervous, and some people are going to be more nervous than others. If they were nervous in the first game, I’m sure they are going to be nervous in this one. The game itself is the game that is going to play out. If there is an advantage, I think it’s in the preparation leading up to the game and in dealing with some of the things that you have to deal with leading up to the game.”
(on what it means to him to be the youngest head coach in Super Bowl history) “You know, I feel extremely blessed. I haven’t spent a bunch of time dwelling on that, truth be known. Those things are nice things to talk about, but I imagine that won’t be a topic of discussion for long. Maybe next year at this time, there will be guys like (Denver Broncos head coach) Josh McDaniels or (Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach) Raheem Morris standing up here, and you won’t be talking about me. That’s football.”
(on how much the impact the running game will have in the game) “It’s going to be significant. Without giving you the specific game plan, we desire to run the football. We want to do that because we want to win by attrition. We want to impose our will on the people that we play. We recognize that is how we play. When Willie (Parker) is successful, the probability of as a team being successful goes up. We keep it in perspective, but at the same time we’ve also won games when we haven’t run the ball effectively. The issue for us is, has been and hopefully will continue to be doing what is required for us to win.”
HEAD COACH KEN WHISENHUNT
Super Bowl XLIII – Friday, January 30, 2009
QUOTES FROM ARIZONA CARDINALS PRESS CONFERENCE
HEAD COACH KEN WHISENHUNT
(on how the Cardinals were able to come back from a 1-4 record in December to play well in January and make it to the Super Bowl) “Well, the January version of our team is what’s been performing for us the last three weeks. I’m confident that we’re going to see that team. But I think that there was a point after the New England game where our team had enough. They realized that we weren’t getting the job done, and what we needed to do to fix that. To their credit, we re-established our identity on the practice field. That late in the season, a lot of times, that’s not easy to do. We did it with our pads on, we did it in a contact practice. I think that established the mentality that has served us well in the playoffs. It’s a little bit of ‘us against the world,’ which has kind of brought this team together, created a chemistry that is so important, and it’s served us well. I think that we’ll continue with that on Sunday.”
(on the fact that this Super Bowl may feel like a Steelers’ home game in terms of the number of fans in the stadium, and how he addressed that to the team) “I don’t think that we’re under any illusion that there’s going to be a number of Steelers fans here. I’ve seen that. I’ve experienced it on the other side. I know what kind of group of fans that that is. I know how they travel. We’re preparing with that thought in mind. It’s not going to be a lot different for us (than) going into Carolina like we did. I don’t know if it’s going to be that hostile, if there’s going to be that many fans, but … we’ve been able to do that once in the playoffs. We have gone into a situation where there’s been a lot more fans than our fans there, where it was a little bit noisy, but we were able to still keep our focus. That’s something that this team hasn’t always been able to do. So I feel comfortable in the fact that we’re prepared, that we know what it’s going to be like. We’re ready to handle that.”
(on what his time with the Steelers meant to him and how it prepared him to be a head coach) “Coach (Bill) Cowher always told me never to reflect while the season is going on, so I’m hesitant to do that. All I can say about my time with the Steelers is that it gave me an opportunity to be with a very successful organization, which governs a lot of my thoughts as far as how you handle the team, how you prepare in practice, how you prepare for games. That’s something that’s been invaluable. Obviously, having been to this game before, having been to the Super Bowl, and going through this week has been very helpful for our football team as far as how you prepare, what you can expect and anticipate, and hopefully it’ll help us play well on Sunday.”
(on Troy Polamalu saying that it will be difficult to blitz Kurt Warner and why Warner has been so successful against the blitz this season) “I think we feel kind of the same way about not being able to hold up real long against their blitz. I think what Kurt does very well is he understands what defenses are trying to do. When you talk about an instinctive feel, Kurt definitely has that. I think the biggest thing where we’ve made progress is our team understands now what we need to do in order to be successful against the blitz. I think that’s why we’ve had success that way this year. Our offensive line, as far as communication, identification, the ability to make those adjustments, to pick up the blitz, to save hits on Kurt, has done a very good job, as well as our backs and our tight ends when they’ve been involved in that area. But I think that where we’ve made great progress, too, is with our receivers understanding that. A lot of times, when you are getting blitzed, when they’re bringing one more than you can block, it really comes down to your receivers and your quarterback being on the same page. Kurt has always had the ability to get the ball out quick, and make that play. A lot of times, you have to have that same type of anticipation with your receivers. That’s where we’ve made great progress. I understand that Pittsburgh will come after us, and we know that. But I think that our receivers and our group have done a very good job of handling that, and hopefully we’ll continue with that on Sunday.”
(on whether he’s been sleeping and if he worries that fatigue will affect his decision-making) “This week is not so much as bad as a normal game plan week because a lot of things that we’ve installed for the game plan, we did last week. So all the extra demands that you have this week with the media (and) with other things that are going on down here, they just fill the spots that normally you would be in there during a normal game plan-type week. So, as far as that goes, it’s not really that much more demanding on you. Now, the idea of playing in this game, on this stage, is something that, as the week goes, it gets a little bit more of a pressure-type cooker, but I don’t have any questions about my fatigue or our staff’s fatigue because the excitement, the adrenaline for being here and being involved in this certainly will help get you through that.”
(on what the schedule will be on Saturday) "Saturday will be a normal Saturday for us with the morning meetings and a walk through. They'll have time in the afternoon to spend time with their family and take care of those things that they normally do, and then we’ll have our normal Saturday night meetings, our normal Saturday night routine. We’ll have a meal, we’ll have a special teams meeting, and we’ll have an offense and defense meeting. I think the biggest thing that you have to do is you have to keep a sense of normalcy with your players. By and large, players in the NFL are creatures of habit and if you can keep that as normal as possible, there’s a comfort level that goes with that. We'll treat it much like a road game for us as far as Saturday night and what we do on Sunday morning before the game, and then obviously the game itself is a whole different set of issues because of the time and everything. You are there longer and you have more delays in this game, and those are things that we’ve talked about. But hopefully, once again, we’ll have that same normal Saturday night feel and the same Sunday feel, and we’ll play good.”
(on what he thought his chances of winning were when he first came to the Cardinals) “I felt coming out of Pittsburgh that we had something that was good. There are a lot of ways to be successful in the NFL, and the way that we have done it is not the only way. It is something that we felt worked because we had gotten to the Super Bowl and we had won. I felt that we would be successful in Arizona. I felt there were a number of pieces that were in place there, from talent to a new stadium to an ownership that was committed to doing some of those things to win. And I’ve said this before, I was naïve enough to think that we could win in our first year there. What I’ve learned is that it’s a process you’ve got to go through and the biggest thing is getting your players and your team to believe in what you are doing. My first year, we had a little bit of success – we got to an 8-8 record, winning our last two games, and that helped provide the impetus for this season. This season was a little bit up and down for us, but at some point you get into a situation where you either get it as a football team or you don’t. I think after the New England game, our guys got it. Obviously having success in the playoffs has really further cemented that, and our guys are confident now in how we prepare, what it means for us to play Cardinals football, and that’s a big thing.”
(on Bill Cowher's Saturday night motivational meetings and if he has something up his sleeve for this Saturday) “I hope I have something up my sleeve, at least something that will help. I learned from Jeff Van Note as a player in the league. Seventeen years he was a player and he took notes in every meeting he was in. For myself, when Coach Cowher used to stand up and talk, I wrote all of that down. I told Coach Cowher that I have notebooks with little tabs in there from when he spoke before the Championship game, when he spoke before the Super Bowl, when he spoke at the mini camp meeting, all of those things. I’d go back and look at those things and get ideas of where he was and what he was thinking about. I’ve been around Coach Cowher, Coach [Joe] Gibbs, Coach [Dan] Henning. I’ve been in situations that I’ve learned from, and when we get into this type of situation, I use those things to help me get an idea of what direction I am going. I also think about our football team and where we’ve come from and what we’ve accomplished, and that governs it too. Our guys are ready to play. I don’t know that I have to say anything to get them ready to go. But I do believe that I’ve had a lot of help, some very good mentors, and that’s kind of where I derive a lot of what I say.”
(on how prepared he thinks his guys are at this stage and if there is any worry about them maintaining that until the game) “Well, I think we feel very good about where we are right now. We had two good days of practice. We practiced yesterday in the rain without letting it distract us. I think (the biggest thing is) when you have a good feeling like we’ve had the last three weeks about the preparation of our team. You see it on the field, you see it in the way they interact with each other and the way they work. The biggest issues that I have, or that anybody has, is after today’s practice – when there is some downtime and you are not in your normal routine at home and you are away, there’s a lot of family here and a lot of excitement – losing that focus in that time is always a concern. I think because we have had a couple of games this year when we have lost our focus and it didn’t work out very well for us, that it puts us a little more on edge to keep that focus. We’ve talked about that, our leaders understand that, and we recognize where we are and what we’ve done to get here. Everyone wants to make sure that we don’t let anything like that detract us from playing our best game Sunday.”
(on how important it has been to have Kurt Warner and Matt Leinart on the same page) “I think they’ve always had a very good relationship, at least in my tenure there. The one thing that I’ve seen happen in the past is when you have a younger player who has a very good career in front of them and you have a veteran player who has had a lot of success, that dynamic – much like the Jerome Bettis/Willie Parker dynamic that I saw in Pittsburgh grow so well – is what helps a younger player become better. I think that is a credit to both Matt and Kurt and their relationship. I know that the competition this past offseason and through training camp made both of our players better and I think that it forged a bond between those two, and it also put Matt in a situation where he’s learned a great deal from Kurt and he’s very confident about when he gets his opportunity, that he’s going to perform. That’s all you can hope for when you have two players like that.”
(on if he’s installed a Pittsburgh system in Arizona, and what the Cardinals “got” after the New England loss) “I would hope that somebody coming into our organization from the Pittsburgh Steelers would say there are a lot of similarities, because that’s an organization that has been very successful. Hopefully we can do a lot of things that that organization has done from a standpoint of winning games, number one, from a mentality, and from a belief in how you are successful. So if that’s the case, then yeah, I’d be pleased with that. And when I talk about ‘they got it,’ I mean that from a standpoint of what you have to do to be consistently successful in this league, and it’s not just about Xs and Os. It’s about being a football team, believing in each other, doing your job and trusting that the guy next to you is going to do his job. And I think the biggest improvement we made, especially defensively where we’ve had a number of turnovers, has been – guys going out there earlier in the season were trying to make plays, and a lot of times they got out of their responsibilities because they were trying to make plays. What we realized, or a big part of what we got, was that ‘if I do my job, and if I do it the right way – if I use the proper technique, if I step with the right foot, if I use my hands, if I go to the right depth,’ that we have good enough players that those plays will come to us. And I think we saw a little bit of that in the first playoff games where we got some turnovers defensively, where we made some big plays offensively and special teams, and I think we built off of that. So when I say, ‘Our team got it,’ I mean from the standpoint of believing in each other, believing in how we prepare, how we practice, what it takes for us to be successful, and what we have to do to maintain that focus. And that’s the biggest thing you can hope from a group of men like we have.”
(on how his civil engineering background manifests itself in his coaching style) “I think, to me, being a civil engineer, or getting through Georgia Tech which was quite a struggle in itself, is about finding creative solutions to problems. That, to me, is what civil engineering is all about. I know trying to get through those exams, boy I had to be pretty creative to try and find some solutions to those. But I think in a lot of things that’s very similar to football. You’re going to face different defenses, you’re going to face different offenses, and you have to be creative in how you attack them and how you’re successful against this. So it all really comes down to solving problems. And I think I got great experience from that in my engineering time at Georgia Tech in learning about how to solve problems, and it’s helped me in football, I have no doubts about that. Even though there’s not a lot of mathematical equations in football, there are a lot of problems that you’re going to have to try to solve.”
(on the offensive line’s growth and consistency) “Offensive line play is a lot about chemistry, it’s a lot about trust. We’re fortunate that our group has been together the whole season, and I think whenever you talk about identification, understanding what defenses are doing, being able to change things on the fly and be on the same page, that’s what protections all about, that’s what combinations in the run game are all about, and that’s where you have to make progress as a unit and have confidence that you can do that in order to be successful. I think that we have made great progress with that, just from the standpoint that our guys and their level of play. We have done a very good job in protecting Kurt Warner this year. The number of sacks for him is very low for a team that’s thrown the ball as much as we have. And the thing that I’m really excited about is that we’ve become a much better run team, especially later in the season. And that’s all about trusting in each other, a mental toughness that this group has developed and a chemistry that they have.”
QUOTES FROM ARIZONA CARDINALS PRESS CONFERENCE
HEAD COACH KEN WHISENHUNT
(on how the Cardinals were able to come back from a 1-4 record in December to play well in January and make it to the Super Bowl) “Well, the January version of our team is what’s been performing for us the last three weeks. I’m confident that we’re going to see that team. But I think that there was a point after the New England game where our team had enough. They realized that we weren’t getting the job done, and what we needed to do to fix that. To their credit, we re-established our identity on the practice field. That late in the season, a lot of times, that’s not easy to do. We did it with our pads on, we did it in a contact practice. I think that established the mentality that has served us well in the playoffs. It’s a little bit of ‘us against the world,’ which has kind of brought this team together, created a chemistry that is so important, and it’s served us well. I think that we’ll continue with that on Sunday.”
(on the fact that this Super Bowl may feel like a Steelers’ home game in terms of the number of fans in the stadium, and how he addressed that to the team) “I don’t think that we’re under any illusion that there’s going to be a number of Steelers fans here. I’ve seen that. I’ve experienced it on the other side. I know what kind of group of fans that that is. I know how they travel. We’re preparing with that thought in mind. It’s not going to be a lot different for us (than) going into Carolina like we did. I don’t know if it’s going to be that hostile, if there’s going to be that many fans, but … we’ve been able to do that once in the playoffs. We have gone into a situation where there’s been a lot more fans than our fans there, where it was a little bit noisy, but we were able to still keep our focus. That’s something that this team hasn’t always been able to do. So I feel comfortable in the fact that we’re prepared, that we know what it’s going to be like. We’re ready to handle that.”
(on what his time with the Steelers meant to him and how it prepared him to be a head coach) “Coach (Bill) Cowher always told me never to reflect while the season is going on, so I’m hesitant to do that. All I can say about my time with the Steelers is that it gave me an opportunity to be with a very successful organization, which governs a lot of my thoughts as far as how you handle the team, how you prepare in practice, how you prepare for games. That’s something that’s been invaluable. Obviously, having been to this game before, having been to the Super Bowl, and going through this week has been very helpful for our football team as far as how you prepare, what you can expect and anticipate, and hopefully it’ll help us play well on Sunday.”
(on Troy Polamalu saying that it will be difficult to blitz Kurt Warner and why Warner has been so successful against the blitz this season) “I think we feel kind of the same way about not being able to hold up real long against their blitz. I think what Kurt does very well is he understands what defenses are trying to do. When you talk about an instinctive feel, Kurt definitely has that. I think the biggest thing where we’ve made progress is our team understands now what we need to do in order to be successful against the blitz. I think that’s why we’ve had success that way this year. Our offensive line, as far as communication, identification, the ability to make those adjustments, to pick up the blitz, to save hits on Kurt, has done a very good job, as well as our backs and our tight ends when they’ve been involved in that area. But I think that where we’ve made great progress, too, is with our receivers understanding that. A lot of times, when you are getting blitzed, when they’re bringing one more than you can block, it really comes down to your receivers and your quarterback being on the same page. Kurt has always had the ability to get the ball out quick, and make that play. A lot of times, you have to have that same type of anticipation with your receivers. That’s where we’ve made great progress. I understand that Pittsburgh will come after us, and we know that. But I think that our receivers and our group have done a very good job of handling that, and hopefully we’ll continue with that on Sunday.”
(on whether he’s been sleeping and if he worries that fatigue will affect his decision-making) “This week is not so much as bad as a normal game plan week because a lot of things that we’ve installed for the game plan, we did last week. So all the extra demands that you have this week with the media (and) with other things that are going on down here, they just fill the spots that normally you would be in there during a normal game plan-type week. So, as far as that goes, it’s not really that much more demanding on you. Now, the idea of playing in this game, on this stage, is something that, as the week goes, it gets a little bit more of a pressure-type cooker, but I don’t have any questions about my fatigue or our staff’s fatigue because the excitement, the adrenaline for being here and being involved in this certainly will help get you through that.”
(on what the schedule will be on Saturday) "Saturday will be a normal Saturday for us with the morning meetings and a walk through. They'll have time in the afternoon to spend time with their family and take care of those things that they normally do, and then we’ll have our normal Saturday night meetings, our normal Saturday night routine. We’ll have a meal, we’ll have a special teams meeting, and we’ll have an offense and defense meeting. I think the biggest thing that you have to do is you have to keep a sense of normalcy with your players. By and large, players in the NFL are creatures of habit and if you can keep that as normal as possible, there’s a comfort level that goes with that. We'll treat it much like a road game for us as far as Saturday night and what we do on Sunday morning before the game, and then obviously the game itself is a whole different set of issues because of the time and everything. You are there longer and you have more delays in this game, and those are things that we’ve talked about. But hopefully, once again, we’ll have that same normal Saturday night feel and the same Sunday feel, and we’ll play good.”
(on what he thought his chances of winning were when he first came to the Cardinals) “I felt coming out of Pittsburgh that we had something that was good. There are a lot of ways to be successful in the NFL, and the way that we have done it is not the only way. It is something that we felt worked because we had gotten to the Super Bowl and we had won. I felt that we would be successful in Arizona. I felt there were a number of pieces that were in place there, from talent to a new stadium to an ownership that was committed to doing some of those things to win. And I’ve said this before, I was naïve enough to think that we could win in our first year there. What I’ve learned is that it’s a process you’ve got to go through and the biggest thing is getting your players and your team to believe in what you are doing. My first year, we had a little bit of success – we got to an 8-8 record, winning our last two games, and that helped provide the impetus for this season. This season was a little bit up and down for us, but at some point you get into a situation where you either get it as a football team or you don’t. I think after the New England game, our guys got it. Obviously having success in the playoffs has really further cemented that, and our guys are confident now in how we prepare, what it means for us to play Cardinals football, and that’s a big thing.”
(on Bill Cowher's Saturday night motivational meetings and if he has something up his sleeve for this Saturday) “I hope I have something up my sleeve, at least something that will help. I learned from Jeff Van Note as a player in the league. Seventeen years he was a player and he took notes in every meeting he was in. For myself, when Coach Cowher used to stand up and talk, I wrote all of that down. I told Coach Cowher that I have notebooks with little tabs in there from when he spoke before the Championship game, when he spoke before the Super Bowl, when he spoke at the mini camp meeting, all of those things. I’d go back and look at those things and get ideas of where he was and what he was thinking about. I’ve been around Coach Cowher, Coach [Joe] Gibbs, Coach [Dan] Henning. I’ve been in situations that I’ve learned from, and when we get into this type of situation, I use those things to help me get an idea of what direction I am going. I also think about our football team and where we’ve come from and what we’ve accomplished, and that governs it too. Our guys are ready to play. I don’t know that I have to say anything to get them ready to go. But I do believe that I’ve had a lot of help, some very good mentors, and that’s kind of where I derive a lot of what I say.”
(on how prepared he thinks his guys are at this stage and if there is any worry about them maintaining that until the game) “Well, I think we feel very good about where we are right now. We had two good days of practice. We practiced yesterday in the rain without letting it distract us. I think (the biggest thing is) when you have a good feeling like we’ve had the last three weeks about the preparation of our team. You see it on the field, you see it in the way they interact with each other and the way they work. The biggest issues that I have, or that anybody has, is after today’s practice – when there is some downtime and you are not in your normal routine at home and you are away, there’s a lot of family here and a lot of excitement – losing that focus in that time is always a concern. I think because we have had a couple of games this year when we have lost our focus and it didn’t work out very well for us, that it puts us a little more on edge to keep that focus. We’ve talked about that, our leaders understand that, and we recognize where we are and what we’ve done to get here. Everyone wants to make sure that we don’t let anything like that detract us from playing our best game Sunday.”
(on how important it has been to have Kurt Warner and Matt Leinart on the same page) “I think they’ve always had a very good relationship, at least in my tenure there. The one thing that I’ve seen happen in the past is when you have a younger player who has a very good career in front of them and you have a veteran player who has had a lot of success, that dynamic – much like the Jerome Bettis/Willie Parker dynamic that I saw in Pittsburgh grow so well – is what helps a younger player become better. I think that is a credit to both Matt and Kurt and their relationship. I know that the competition this past offseason and through training camp made both of our players better and I think that it forged a bond between those two, and it also put Matt in a situation where he’s learned a great deal from Kurt and he’s very confident about when he gets his opportunity, that he’s going to perform. That’s all you can hope for when you have two players like that.”
(on if he’s installed a Pittsburgh system in Arizona, and what the Cardinals “got” after the New England loss) “I would hope that somebody coming into our organization from the Pittsburgh Steelers would say there are a lot of similarities, because that’s an organization that has been very successful. Hopefully we can do a lot of things that that organization has done from a standpoint of winning games, number one, from a mentality, and from a belief in how you are successful. So if that’s the case, then yeah, I’d be pleased with that. And when I talk about ‘they got it,’ I mean that from a standpoint of what you have to do to be consistently successful in this league, and it’s not just about Xs and Os. It’s about being a football team, believing in each other, doing your job and trusting that the guy next to you is going to do his job. And I think the biggest improvement we made, especially defensively where we’ve had a number of turnovers, has been – guys going out there earlier in the season were trying to make plays, and a lot of times they got out of their responsibilities because they were trying to make plays. What we realized, or a big part of what we got, was that ‘if I do my job, and if I do it the right way – if I use the proper technique, if I step with the right foot, if I use my hands, if I go to the right depth,’ that we have good enough players that those plays will come to us. And I think we saw a little bit of that in the first playoff games where we got some turnovers defensively, where we made some big plays offensively and special teams, and I think we built off of that. So when I say, ‘Our team got it,’ I mean from the standpoint of believing in each other, believing in how we prepare, how we practice, what it takes for us to be successful, and what we have to do to maintain that focus. And that’s the biggest thing you can hope from a group of men like we have.”
(on how his civil engineering background manifests itself in his coaching style) “I think, to me, being a civil engineer, or getting through Georgia Tech which was quite a struggle in itself, is about finding creative solutions to problems. That, to me, is what civil engineering is all about. I know trying to get through those exams, boy I had to be pretty creative to try and find some solutions to those. But I think in a lot of things that’s very similar to football. You’re going to face different defenses, you’re going to face different offenses, and you have to be creative in how you attack them and how you’re successful against this. So it all really comes down to solving problems. And I think I got great experience from that in my engineering time at Georgia Tech in learning about how to solve problems, and it’s helped me in football, I have no doubts about that. Even though there’s not a lot of mathematical equations in football, there are a lot of problems that you’re going to have to try to solve.”
(on the offensive line’s growth and consistency) “Offensive line play is a lot about chemistry, it’s a lot about trust. We’re fortunate that our group has been together the whole season, and I think whenever you talk about identification, understanding what defenses are doing, being able to change things on the fly and be on the same page, that’s what protections all about, that’s what combinations in the run game are all about, and that’s where you have to make progress as a unit and have confidence that you can do that in order to be successful. I think that we have made great progress with that, just from the standpoint that our guys and their level of play. We have done a very good job in protecting Kurt Warner this year. The number of sacks for him is very low for a team that’s thrown the ball as much as we have. And the thing that I’m really excited about is that we’ve become a much better run team, especially later in the season. And that’s all about trusting in each other, a mental toughness that this group has developed and a chemistry that they have.”
jueves, 29 de enero de 2009
Pittsburgh Steelers -3- Jueves 29/1/09
Super Bowl XLIII – Thursday, January 29, 2009
QUOTES FROM PITTSBURGH STEELERS PRESS CONFERENCE
LS JARED RETKOFSKY
(on his relationship with offensive line coach Larry Zierlein and special teams coach Bob Ligashesky) “With Larry, I got to talk to him a little bit. He used to work out in Texas. We are both from Texas and he coached high school football around where I am from. It’s special to have someone from your hometown along with you. Coach Ligs, he’s a great guy. He’s taken really good care of me. He works with me every day, we watch film and we go over plays. He’ll be upfront with me and tell me what’s going on. He’s been a lot of help. He’s a nice guy. He’ll call you and invite you out to dinner if you have no place to go. He’s the first one to invite you into his home with his family and eat dinner there. He always has a suggestion of somewhere good to eat. Even here, he knows everywhere to go to eat.”
(on his favorite player as a kid) “As a kid, my favorite player was Mike Alstott. When I was in high school, I was a fullback so that’s who I idolized. I just thought he was cool and loved to watch him run people over.”
(on his relationship with P Mitch Berger) “Mitch and I have an odd relationship; it’s almost like a husband and wife relationship. We fight, we have our little arguments, but the bottom-line is when it is time to get the job done, we try to get the job done. I try to give him what he wants because he’s got to be able to kick the ball. If I don’t give him a good snap, it makes his job so much harder. I understand that completely.”
(on if he is different from other punters he’s worked with in terms of ball placement) “Absolutely. The player that is on the IR right now (Daniel Sepulveda), he’d rather you throw it at his face. Mitch on the other hand wants it down here. There is a guy that used to be here, Chris Gardocki, they said he wanted it at his ankles. It just depends on the punter, but ultimately, the big guys upstairs, the coaches, they want it at their hip. I try to keep it right in there, make it a nice medium somewhere.”
(on the change he went through this season after moving furniture before he signed with the Steelers) “I was just at the bottom. I didn’t know if I was going to be able to crawl out of the hole that I was in. I didn’t know if I was ever going to play in the NFL. Now I am preparing for a Super Bowl - it is unbelievable. It was just a really tough time of my life. To get that phone call and have the tryout, I probably have done 10 or 15 tryouts with other teams, but it’s all kind of been ‘workout, a snap, and if something ever happens to our snapper, we’ll give you a call.’ This one was, ‘our snapper (Greg Warren) is hurt, we don’t have a snapper, we’ll bring in three guys to workout and the best man is going to win the job.’ Our snapper was done for the year, so I knew right away that this was a great opportunity for me. I got the call, I went in, did the workout, I went to sign papers. When they told me, ‘lets go and sign the papers,’ and I knew I was going to be a Steeler, I was so emotional. I felt, ‘oh my gosh, I made it, I’m achieving my dreams right now.”
(on if winning the Super Bowl would be his biggest dream) “Absolutely. I’ve said this before, when I was growing up, I never once thought about playing or winning a Super Bowl and I always said, ‘that’s too much to ask for, I just want to play in the NFL - that’s all I want. If I can just play in the NFL, I don’t care about anything else, I just want to play.’ My first year, we’re 11 weeks in; we go to the playoffs, have an amazing run and we’re in the Super Bowl. That’s just so surreal and I never expected it. When I signed with the Steelers I knew that these guys had a chance and I was in awe of everything. Still today, I look around and I see all of these hats and I’m like, ‘Am I really going to play in this. Am I really going to play in the Super Bowl?’ This is going to be a game that will be remembered forever. I don’t know where I will be next year or if I’ll ever play again. I could end my career playing in the Super Bowl and I think that would be awesome.”
(on if his friends are cheering for him back home in Fort Worth, TX) “Half of Fort Worth is cheering for me right now. There are so many people. I am getting so many phone calls from friends. I have a girlfriend and her family has a little burger restaurant. They’ve got banners all over the restaurant and they have people calling, ‘Hey, there’s banners hanging on the restaurant for you.’ The newspapers and everything back home are all talking to me. I’m talking to radio stations back home. There are a lot of people who are excited about me just being here.”
QB BEN ROETHLISBERGER
(on if he appreciates this the second time around more than the first) “Absolutely, it’s something to appreciate because you never know if you will make it back.”
(on if anything distinguishes you from his competition) “My last name. Every single person out there is different so everybody has their own individual traits that make them special.”
(on if he ever got a call from Kurt Warner to ask how it is to play under Ken Whisenhunt) “No, I know Kurt. We might have in passing saw each other and said I’m going to have your coach or something like that. Kurt’s been doing this for a long time so he knows how to deal with any kind of coach, whether I’ve had or someone else has had him before.”
(on if he gave Warner any advice) “No, you don’t need any advice for Coach Whisenhunt. He’s awesome; he’s fun to play for.”
(on if he wishes he hadn’t told Whisenhunt something when he played for him) “No. He was around me so he saw me play. He knows what kind of player and competitor that I am. I don’t think there are any little secrets like he knows that if I drop my left hand I’m doing this. There is nothing crazy like that.”
(on the progress the offensive line has made) “They have done a great job. Like I have said before, they are kind of a thrown together group that has been playing some great defenses and trying to figure out blitzes. I’m just really proud of the way that they have stepped up and come together. They have taken it upon themselves to protect me and silence the critics.”
(on what goes through his mind when a pass play is breaking down) “It’s not really anything crazy. It’s just try to stay alive and find the open receiver. That’s all it really is.”
(on how he admires the kind of receiver that Hines Ward is and how he handles everything) “That whole group of receivers we have is awesome. Hines is an unbelievable professional on and off of the field. He’s made me a lot better player.”
(on if this has become more his team now that Jerome Bettis and Alan Faneca are no longer here) “You have to be as you grow at the position. You kind of naturally have to whether you force it or not. I never tried to force it when I got here. It just naturally became my time.”
(on how the offense has changed since his first Super Bowl) “I think we are more balanced. We try to get close to 50-50 run-pass. I think we’ve done that. We’ve shown that through the year and last year that we can do that. We have to do that to win football games.”
(on the reasons the run game has gotten better recently) “Our offensive line. They are what starts our whole offense, run game and pass game. We go how they go as I tell them before every game.”
(on how he will try to get comfortable early on in the game) “It’s a big priority for me because I take pride in that. Before every game just playing like it’s another game, relaxing and having fun. I’m just going to try and do that by taking a deep breath and just play football.”
(on if he anguished the night before the first Super Bowl) “You’re nervous and anxious, but it wasn’t to the point where I was getting sick or anything. It wasn’t anything like that.”
(on if he and Ken Whisenhunt ever had a period where they didn’t speak) “There was some stuff made in the media, ‘I said things, he said things.’ I actually got to talk to him. We talk a lot and I apologized to him and told him that I didn’t mean him any wrong. I’ve never lost a coach before in high school I had the same coach and in college. When he left, I didn’t know what to think. I was young and kind of stupid at the time and made comments. I didn’t really feel it, it just came out at the top of my head. I’m glad that we talked. People don’t realize that we’ve talked throughout the season, we text each other stuff. It was good to see him to actually talk to him face to face and get it all out there. We’re on a good level right now.”
(on if he still feels like a young quarterback) “Yeah, I’m 26 years old. I’ve been around for a couple years now, so that helps.”
(on what impresses him about Arizona’s defense) “Everything. Their secondary is tremendous, very athletic, very fast. They are all over the field. Their linebackers and defensive line seem to be in the backfield on every play. This is going to be a big challenge for us because they like to move around and show different blitzes. Identification is going to be a big key.”
(on how he has changed the way he sees life, family and the game since his motorcycle accident) “It just makes me appreciate life and take every day one day at a time and enjoy the things that I have and am blessed with. It’s a trophy to be alive every day.”
(on how much he studies quarterbacks of the past) “I know what they do. I couldn’t tell you everybody’s stats and things like that. You know who the great ones are and what they have done.
(on how he decides who the great ones are) “It’s just my opinion really. There are a bunch of them. Joe Montana was my favorite and I wore the number seven because of John Elway. Montana, Jim Kelly, some of the best, those are my favorites.”
(on what he was feeling when Ken Whisenhunt left the Steelers) “I told him I almost felt abandoned. Now I know that you’re in the league a couple years, you know that it’s a business. You know coaches leave and you know players leave, they do what is best for themselves and their family. When you come from high school and college you don’t really experience that. At first I was probably a little hurt, I felt kind of betrayed that he just left us and abandoned us. Now I know that it wasn’t that at all. I was just glad I got a chance to talk to him in person and tell him about it.”
(on his relationship with his offensive line on and off the field) “We’ve gone to dinner a couple times and hung out. We’ve done that a lot. We get together on Monday nights at my house and we’ve gone on some trips together. We have some fun.”
(on if he envisioned Mike Tomlin being a Coach of the Year when he first met him) “It was one of those things that you saw the potential there. With me, did I ever think I was going to be a Super Bowl quarterback? You never know how soon, but you could tell that his passion, his love for the game, he reminded me of a guy that was his role model, Tony Dungy – a guy that players respond to and like playing for.”
(on his relationship with Mike Tomlin) “It’s been great. He’s really easy to talk to. It also helps that I am a captain and that I’m a little bit older and I can go up to the room and talk to him. When I first got here I tried to avoid Bill Cowher’s office walking by because I didn’t want him to call me in because I was nervous. Now I just knock on Mike’s door and he will call me in.”
(on his thoughts of helping the Steelers get their record sixth Super Bowl) “For me, it’s about getting that sixth one for the Rooney family, giving the family one more than any other team and for our fans. That would mean so much to our fans because they already think we are the best thing in the world and if we could give them some proof and evidence of that, that would be awesome.”
G DARNELL STAPLETON
(on being in the Super Bowl) “This is only my second year in the league, so I am really enjoying this experience. It’s like a dream come true. It’s not difficult to realize how rare of an opportunity this is. There are some guys who play in this league for 15 years and never get the chance to play in the Super Bowl. I try to take that into perspective and realize that this could be my last time here and I need to take advantage of every opportunity I get. I’m going to work as hard as I can.”
(on preparing for the Super Bowl) “We’re not leaving any stone unturned. We’re going to make sure we bring a full force to the game and try to eliminate any mental errors. We’ve just got to stick to our game plan and execute. ”
(on the best-case scenario after Sunday’s game) “We walk off the field World Champions. That’s the ultimate goal that we all want - to be the best in the world at what we do. I hope it goes that way and I am going to work as hard as I can to make that possible.”
(on what he has seen from the Cardinals through film study) “They do a lot of different things very well. They’re pretty much doing the same things because it is working for them. Why change something if it is working for you? They’ve been getting after the quarterback and forcing turnovers, making sacks and recovering fumbles.”
(on what the offensive line needs to do help bring a win on Sunday) “As an offensive unit, it is our responsibility not to put our defense in positions like that. If we can help our defense out by keeping them off the field, to move the ball efficiently and not turn the ball over. The Cardinals have done a great job in the playoffs of holding on to the ball and retaining possessions. We need to get the ball and keep our offense in a position to score.”
T MAX STARKS
(on Pittsburgh’s offense) “You have to have two dimensions going into this game. You can’t rely on one to carry the other. For us, it’s very important to establish a line of scrimmage from a run and a pass standpoint, control and maintain ball possession in those critical third down situations and keep the chains moving. That’s ultimately what the difference of the game is and this game is going to come down to time of possession and ball control.”
(on the last day of media availability) “Because I have been here before I knew what to expect. It’s a blessing that I’m actually doing this. I am sure there are 30 other teams full of guys that would love to have this distraction in their lives. For me to have a second opportunity to do it, I embrace it. I know that this is the world’s largest stage for sports so I’m happy for it. Media access hasn’t been a bother for me, but I know that once this is over right now, we will zone in, lock into the game and focus on what this week really means and what the ultimate goal is on Sunday.”
(on the challenges the offensive line have faced) “As an offensive line, we have had some difficult situations this year. Anytime you lose key veteran starters, most teams would say they are preparing for the next season. The good thing about our offensive line and our team in general is that we have great depth. We have guys that can play multiple positions. We have guys that can fill in and guys that are intelligent enough to crack the lineup. Coach (Mike) Tomlin has said that we have a bunch of starters waiting behind the starting lineup. We’ve had guys, like myself, who have taken advantage of those opportunities. It’s about hard work and perseverance. It’s already tough enough to make it to this level and to make it on a team. When you’ve had the opportunity to be on the starting lineup, guys have seized the opportunity and relished it. Now there’s only one step left.”
(on the criticism the offensive line has taken throughout the season) “We take the criticism with a grain of salt. It is always going to be looked at as a run first team. We’ve changed that dimension this season by being a very pass oriented team. They look at our rushing numbers, look at the situations under which we rush and they say that we are not the normal Pittsburgh Steelers team. Well, it’s not Bill Cowher running the team, it’s Mike Tomlin. It is a different team. We have always looked at the situation as an opportunity to grow. We got closer through off the field activities more so than on the field. We have just embraced it because the offensive line does have to be a close unit. We’ve done everything together off the field and on the field. That naturally brought us closer than it would have if it had been anywhere else, where you just go to work together, go home and forget about it. It’s helped us get to this point.”
(on how the style of Pittsburgh’s offense has changed since their last Super Bowl appearance three years ago) “We have added a new passing dimension. There is a lot more passing in the offense and a variety of different packages with the passing so we can do it from any type of personnel set. We have a nice array of things that keep teams off balance. I think that complimented our run style when Willie (Parker) was injured. Looking back on it, you had a team that said, ‘We are going to run the ball right here, you are not going to stop it and guess what? We are going to do it again.’ Now, you don’t know what’s going to happen from play to play. You don’t know what personnel’s going to come in. You don’t know where people are going to come in and lineup. It adds a nice confusion and it makes defenses play more honest against you as opposed to the exotic type of blitz packages where they are dropping the safeties in and dropping defensive linemen into coverage. It’s something I felt that has helped us a lot and has helped us get to this point.”
(on teammates leaning on him for advice) “Guys have asked me a couple of questions about it, but you don’t want to ruin the experience. You want every guy to enjoy and savor this moment as much as they can. It’s their first time doing it so you don’t want to sit there and try to give them a speech or a lecture about how you should do this. Let the guys live the experience and enjoy the experience, but remind them why they are here and why these distractions are around us. It is because of the game we are playing in. We are not watching it on Sunday and waiting for the commercials. We are the show. I tell them to be themselves, but remember why you’re here.”
(on the strengths of the Cardinals defense) “I would say their secondary has played strong. They’ve had 12 takeaways in the playoffs alone. Their secondary is a group that is definitely strong. They are playing very well right now and their front seven is causing a lot of those turnovers. Their defense is playing well as a group. They’re swarming. They’re active. They’re fast. They try to be as disruptive as they can as a unit, and they are all playing on the same page. You have to realize their tenacity and their risk-taking.
(on his future in the NFL) “This business is a business. At the end of the day, it is a sport that we love, you play it as a child growing up, and you hope to one day be here but it is a business. After this week we will have to see what’s going to come up in the up-coming month about free agency. I look forward to seeing the opportunities, but I want to hold a Lombardi before that happens.”
(on if Ben Roethlisberger’s accident made him more appreciative of his offensive line) “I didn’t think he wasn’t appreciative of his offensive line. I was drafted with him and have a locker next to him, so for me he’s always been the same guy. To other guys in the locker room and to other positions, he’s opened himself up more. Before he would hang with guys low key at his house and now he goes on trips, so I guess it would be a step-up. Ben has always been someone I could talk to.”
(on how Ben Roethlisberger has matured since his last Super Bowl appearance) “He’s matured as a player from the last time he was in the Super Bowl. A second year starting quarterback is not going to be considered a leader in the NFL when you have 10-plus year veterans in the locker room. That is just something that is not going to happen. I haven’t seen a rookie or a second-year quarterback back as captain of a team yet. Now he is in the position that he knows the playbook inside and out and he calls the plays on his own. That comes from experience. He’s had more experience and that is what drives quarterbacks in this league and gives them an opportunity to be as successful as they are. When you face those challenges and obstacles, like the last minute game-winning drives or having to put together a touchdown right before the half, going through all that tough situational football this season has made him better. It puts him on a stage to where there is nothing that a team can throw at him that he hasn’t seen before and experienced first-hand. I think that is something he lacked his first year going to the Super Bowl, those experiences where he’s played a lot of different teams and seen a lot of different fronts.”
(on Arizona’s offensive line coach Russ Grimm) “That was the first coach I had in the NFL. He was the one who taught and tutored me on the NFL and how to be a professional and an offensive lineman. It is a business at the end of the day. Decisions are made, coaches retire, coaches change positions and different opportunities are awarded to them. It is something that I totally understand. I know that he is happy over there and that’s what’s important. I am happy where I am and on Sunday I won’t know who he is until that clock hits zero in the fourth quarter. I have talked to him since I left.”
HEAD COACH MIKE TOMLIN
(remarks after presentation of Motorola NFL Coach of the Year award to him) “It is a tremendous and humbling honor to be recognized by the NFL’s communication partner Motorola. As the NFL Coach of the Year, I’d like to thank the fans for their participation and support. I humbly accept this also on behalf of the other coaches and the players on our team. I’d like to say thank you.”
(opening statement) “It’s Thursday for us. We continue with this portion of our preparation, sharpening up some things we introduced yesterday, really moving forward and hitting some situational football today – the beginning of third down and red zone stuff offensively and defensively, and of course we continue to sharpen ourselves in the kicking game.”
(on how a tough schedule prepared the Steelers for the postseason) “If it doesn’t kill you, it strengthens you. These games are fun; they are. I think our team learned a lot about ourselves in the midst of it. I think that we grew, and that’s what it’s about. When you are fortunate enough to win enough of those games, I think it prepares you for January football. I believe we have a team that doesn’t blink in the face of adversity, because we’ve had quite a bit and found ways to see our way through. It also provides opportunities for guys to step up and deliver, and you can’t create or get enough of those opportunities along the way in preparation for what we face on Sunday.”
(on winning the Motorola NFL Coach of the Year award) “It’s a tremendous honor to be recognized as Motorola NFL Coach of the Year. It’s doubly special because it was voted on by the fans of the game. They are the reason why we do what it is we do. I am very appreciative of that, but at the same time I recognize, like I asked all my guys to recognize, that it is the ultimate team game. We have a bunch of assistant coaches, who don’t care who gets the credit, ante up and kick in and are of the same mindset. I like to join them in that mindset.”
(on Hines Ward’s status) “Hines is great, by the way.”
(on what Troy Polamalu means to the Steelers) “It’s special. You learn to appreciate guys with the playing qualities he has, because quite simply he does what you don’t teach. You can’t teach people to play the game the way he plays the game. His intuition, his physical gifts, his perception of the game is very unique. I just learned that if you have a chance to be around guys like that, you don’t harness it, you embrace it, and you appreciate it for what it is.”
(on how much time the Steelers have spent self-scouting, and how important that process is) “That is a continual thing for us throughout the course of the season – quarterly, weekly and repeat opponents. That’s something that we continually do. To a degree we are concerned about it, but also to a degree we’re not concerned about it because it’s our personality at times, and we intend to impose our will on people in regards to that. We look at it for different reasons, but it doesn’t rule our day-to-day decision-making because sometimes we are just going to be the Pittsburgh Steelers.”
(on his relationship with Tony Dungy) “Specifically regarding Tony (Dungy) and what he’s meant to my growth and development as a coach, I learned many lessons from him, but probably more than anything, was just how accepting he was of people who he worked with – their different approaches – to teaching and conveying his message. His willingness to listen, his servant leadership capabilities – those are some of the key things that stand out having had an opportunity to work with him for a year.”
(on how his success fits in with the success of other African-Americans like President Barack Obama and Dungy) “I’m just humbled by the things that I’ve been given. By no stretch do I put myself in the category with President Obama or Tony Dungy. I don’t see myself in that way. Some of the things I get a chance to do, I benefit from some of the roads they’ve paved.”
(on being in Tampa for this year’s Super Bowl) “It’s great, but I can’t sit here and tell you that it wouldn’t be great regardless of where it is. Let’s be real, this is the Super Bowl. But it is special coming back to Tampa, where it all started for me in the National Football League. It’s special for my family. We spent five great years here. This is home to my two oldest sons who are eight and seven – this is what they consider home, so they had the opportunity to visit friends and do some of the things they used to do. So from that standpoint, it’s been very special.”
(on how Ben Roethlisberger is effective when plays break down) “He is a competitor. He, of course, has great physical skills, size, strength, agility, escapability, but he’s also very smart and very even-keeled under duress. All of those attributes together allow him to extend plays, make plays as they break down and make outside-the-box plays, if you will.”
(on if he takes into account an opposing coach who has familiarity with his team) “It is very similar to the self-scout question that we had earlier. In some instances you do, and make what you perceive to be necessary adjustments. In some instances, you don’t because you are who you are. Those are some of the decisions we are coming to and make as we prepare for this game. But it’s also some of the decisions we make when we prepare for people we know and we know them – divisional opponents and people who you have a long-term competitive relationship with. It is very similar in terms of how you approach those circumstances. And this one is so unique because there are some people over there who understand the inner workings, who’ve been inside the building, but ultimately it’s going to come down to the execution of the men on the field. I firmly believe that. There is a lot of fluidity in this business from players and coaches, that’s just part of today’s NFL. This is probably garnering more attention because it is the big game, but I imagine every weekend somewhere in the National Football League during the regular season, it’s an element. It’s part of a matchup. So, it is what it is.”
(on how the Steelers are managing their short-yardage troubles) “Quite simply, it’s been difficult because we’ve played some tough opponents. We’ve played some great defenses. We are not going to make excuses for our failures. We acknowledge them for what they are. We’ve been hit in the mouth some. We’ve hit people in the mouth some. Through it all, I think we’ve grown. We found a guy in Gary Russell, who we believe has an aptitude for those situations. I think we’ve had more success since we’ve featured him specifically in those situations. The season itself is an evolution for a football team, and I think that you learn about yourself, you make adjustments, and you formulate roles along the way. I think that was one of the areas in which we were able to grow. I feel like we have grown, and hopefully it’s a weapon for us on Sunday.”
(on how important Ryan Clark is to the Steelers’ defense) “He is an important cog in our defense. He is very highly respected in our locker room for what he does inside the white lines, and for what he does outside of the white lines in preparation for games. He is a legitimate professional, and a very solid football character guy. He’s gotten some attention because of a couple of plays this year, but at the same time, those plays don’t come to mind the moment I think about Ryan Clark. I think about the consistency of performance and the quality play and leadership he provides us on a day-to-day basis.”
(on the criticism of the offensive line, and a reference to it as a work in progress) “It’s just that. We’ve had some turnover on the offensive line here in the last few years. Reputable guys, great players such as Jeff Hartings, who are no longer in the mix because of retirement, or Alan Faneca because of free agency. You couple that with some critical injuries, one to our left tackle Marvel Smith, another one to our right guard Kendall Simmons. It is what it is. We don’t run away from that. The standard of expectation doesn’t change for us. Along the way, we’ve got to find ways to win football games. It might be in the manner in which we embrace, so be it. I think this group has responded to those challenges, held a standard and provided winning performances for us. We don’t worry about the style points. People are going to say what they are going to say. When you have a number-one defense in football, somebody’s got to be the weak link. They’ve been chosen to be identified as that. But we are a team. That doesn’t drive us. We’re not concerned about that. We’re just trying to win football games.”
(on Santonio Holmes’ growth as an individual this year) “I think it started with the offseason. He came in great physical condition, much better physical condition than he was in ’07 from my perspective. I think it produced a great training camp, and he’s had a solid season. This is a guy who has a desire to be great, but more importantly, he’s willing to do what it takes on a day-to-day basis to make that happen. Is he a finished product from that standpoint? No, but he is embracing the challenges of doing that. He is growing as a person. I see it on a daily basis. But there are a lot of those stories on a football team. I think a lot of times people look at professional athletes and they view them as something that they are not. But working with those guys on a day-to-day basis, at times it’s very evident that they are young people. They are 22, 23, 24 (years old), and they are going through the normal things that people in that age group go through. I think that he is doing a nice job of it.”
(on getting Ben Roethlisberger comfortable early in the Super Bowl) “I think Ben is a different player this time around. That’s just the reality of it. His professional experience, what he’s done, his position in the group is very different this time around. He’s not the young guy that could potentially screw it up. He is a leader for our football team. He was voted captain by his teammates. We have a long-term commitment contractually to him as our quarterback. I don’t expect to deal with those issues to be quite honest with you. He’s going to go through the normal things that people go through playing in this football game. But we fully expect Ben to deliver, and deliver big for us. He has to. If we are going to be successful, he is going to be one of the key reasons why.”
(on if he has any notion on how a game might end up score-wise) “I make a conscious effort not to do that. I just always have because most of the time, I’m wrong. There are a lot of elements to the matchup. There are a lot of key matchups in the football game. Some are highlighted more than others. Usually there are some others that end up being central (to the outcome). There is a lot being made out of matchups in this football game, whether it’s their receiving corps vs. our secondary, and our offensive front blocking their defensive front. But anytime you put 11 on the field – 11 for us, 11 for them – someone is going to win and someone is going to lose. We respect all of those things. We take each individual player as an opportunity to win. So with that being said, I try not to be presumptuous.”
WR HINES WARD
(on whether he will participate in a full practice today) “Today will be the first day that I go out and try it (the knee) out and gradually get into it. I’m not going to go out there and try to go full speed like it is game time, but I still want to go out there, get the reps and test it and see how I get in and out of my breaks. I’m looking forward to today.”
(on whether it is more difficult to deal with an injury prior to the Super Bowl) “Yes, because I have never really had to deal with this specific injury. Me and the Super Bowls have had our battles. The last Super Bowl, I got injured on Friday. It’s unfortunate, but I went on to play and won the Super Bowl. This (injury) is the same. I have been training my butt off and rehabbing to go out there and give me an opportunity to play on Sunday. Today is going to be a fun day. I get a chance to get back on the field with my teammates and see if I can go out there and go.”
(on how his knee felt this morning) “It felt good. It’s getting better every day. We’ll see today when I run around. Yesterday, I had a good rehab session and everything looked good.”
(on whether the hyperbaric chamber is making a difference) “I think so. It’s helped me out. I’ve been laying in it all year. It helps the healing process. I am a big fan of my hyperbaric chamber.”
(on the Steelers tradition) “Anytime you put on a uniform you represent the players before you. You have a sense of pride. Pittsburgh is used to winning championships. Playing on a stage like this, you definitely want to go out there and give it all you have because you have a great opportunity. We, as an organization, have an opportunity to become the first organization in the NFL to win six championships. We can go down in history as being the first team in history to do that. As a player, you take pride in that. You always want to go out and perform well and bring back championships to the city of Pittsburgh.”
(on where he is in his recovery) “I did very well yesterday. I ran through a cone drill. I was actually cutting and getting in and out of my routes. We’ll see today. Today, I get to go and actually compete and go out there against the defense. I’m looking forward to it. I’m fine. I feel good.”
(on why there has not been a lot of trash talking between the two teams) “We still have to go out there and play. It’s really not about trash-talking. Talk is cheap in my opinion. You can talk all day. We don’t have that type of personality on our team. Joey Porter was our trash-talking guy. He spoke his mind. Joey is not here, but he is still trash talking right now, somewhere, today. We just don’t have that type of personality on our team.”
(on Arizona Cardinals Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt liking to run trick plays between the 40-yard lines) “Every time he gets near the 50-yard line, he wants to take a shot. That is his m.o. (motive). The trick play that they ran against Philly, they were near the 50-yard line. He likes to do those trick plays. He likes to take shots around the 50. Just as well as he knows us, we know him as well. I’m pretty sure our defense is alert about that, but that is just how ‘Whis’ is.”
(on the worst injury he ever played through) “In last year’s Super Bowl, I had a sprained AC joint. It’s almost a separation of the shoulder. I don’t even know why I dove. I leaned down and fell on my shoulder Friday leading up to the last Super Bowl that we won. I just knew that I wasn’t going to play. I was in a sling Friday and Saturday night. I woke up Sunday morning and had to get a shot in my shoulder. I couldn’t even reach my arm above my head. With this injury, at least I had two weeks to heal. With that injury it was a day, maybe a day and a half, to get ready to play in the Super Bowl. Once your adrenaline gets going and after the shot kicked in, I didn’t even know I had an injury in the Super Bowl. I felt it the next day. There was no question about that. It was all worth it because there is no tomorrow.”
(on Head Coach Mike Tomlin) “He has done a phenomenal job all year. He’s been that guy who has always done it his way. He never stirred the course. He always stayed the course. He really never let anything deter him off that. If you weren’t happy to be here, more than likely you weren’t going to be on this team. He always had that authority and that presence that this is his team. It’s no longer a Coach (Bill) Cowher team and we’re going to do it his way. As (players) you respect that. A guy comes in and you want to test him a little bit, but he held his own and here we are, in his second year, in the Super Bowl.”
(on whether he will take more leadership in this Super Bowl) “Yes. It was passed down from the guys before me. Jerome (Bettis) was the leader in the first Super Bowl. Ben (Roethlisberger) is coming into his own, being that he is the quarterback and captain of this team. I pride myself in being the leader. I told the guys earlier today, ‘When you go out there and warm up, take your time. Don’t go out there and go crazy because there is a 45-minute layover. Halftime is even longer because they have a mini concert, so take your time. This is all a big entertaining show, but you have to prepare differently when you’re warming up for the Super Bowl.’”
(on what he anticipates from Coach Whisenhunt) “I wouldn’t put it pass (Whisenhunt) to start the game off with a trick play. They are playing with a lot confidence. We don’t like to call them trick plays. We just call them plays that we execute. Whis says he is not going to have one, but he has one in his back pocket waiting for us. Hopefully we can execute it and turn it around for us to have a big play. Maybe we can cause a fumble or get an interception off of the trick play.”
(on whether he has worn a brace on his knee before) “Yes. I wore one all last year. I had a similar injury, but it was a little more severe. I played all last year. Playing all last year, I’m pretty sure I can play one more game for the Super Bowl.”
(on Tomlin being named Coach of the Year) “That is a phenomenal accomplishment and hats off to him. He has done it his way. When he first came here there was a little (skepticism) from guys. We really didn’t know about him and he didn’t know about us. He came in and did it his way. That’s what you really respect. It couldn’t be more deserving. He has worked his butt off to get us to this point. We’re happy about that.”
(on Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald) “Larry is a great wideout, but let’s not take away from the other guys who are on the field. (Anquan) Boldin is just as explosive as anyone out there. Santonio Holmes is an explosive guy. We don’t get jealous of another guy. He is a great wideout. He is having a phenomenal year and playoff run. I don’t care who gets the praise.”
(on keeping Fitzgerald on the sidelines) “If we can control the clock, then we can keep their offense (off the field). It’s not just Larry. The key guy in this game is Kurt Warner versus. our defense. He makes everything possible. You can always take one guy out of the game. They have a lot of weapons on the field. You can’t just worry about Larry, you have to worry about Boldin, (Edgerrin) James and all of their guys. They have plenty of explosive guys. We’re not going in game planning for just Larry Fitzgerald. If we do that then the other guys will eat us up alive too. The best way for us to exploit that is to go out and control what we can control offensively, convert on third downs and put up touchdowns in the red zone rather than field goals.”
WR NATE WASHINGTON
(on if he has a big-play mentality) “I don’t think it’s having a big-play mentality. I think it’s just showing up when my number is called. It just so happened that those plays went for those yards. I don’t think it’s necessarily ‘ok, I’m going to go out here and catch a ball for over 50 yards.’ This year, I’ve been focusing on taking advantage of every opportunity I’ve been given.”
(on running a lot of long routes this season) “Yes, I’ve run a lot of routes like that this year. The coaches have had confidence in that I can get down the field, and I could get open, or allow someone else to get open. They’ve given me more chances to do that.”
(on how he is preparing for the Super Bowl in case Hines Ward is not 100 percent) “You just have to be prepared for it. The game itself will be a little different than the last one because this time I’ll be playing. You don’t really expect anything to happen, so you really don’t take heed to those types of situations, but it is what it is.”
(on if he is taking more reps at the other receiver slots) “Yes. I’ve been looking at more of the playbook and a lot more film than I usually would.”
(on if he is the fastest guy on the team) “I don’t know. That’s the biggest debate of the year. It’s up in the air right now. The debate is between me, running back Willie Parker and cornerback Ike Taylor.”
(on if it has become a competition) “Yes, I think we are going to settle it in the offseason. I think we are going to schedule something to settle it and get it out of the way. I don’t know. I think I just snuck up on a lot of people this year.”
(on showing up more in games this season) “Yes, I think that’s what it is. They knew I was playing, but they didn’t know the potential I had. I think I was just able to play more relaxed, with this being my fourth season. Last year, I was still trying to get accustomed to what was going on. I had a couple injuries to my hand earlier in my career that no one knew about. It’s just rough. You don’t want to talk about those types of things, but it is what it is.”
(on how the offense differs since offensive coordinator Bruce Arians took over when Arizona Cardinals’ head coach Ken Whisenhunt left) “Yes, we run a lot more single-back spread offenses. That’s one of the differences between us and the Cardinals. They still run a lot of fullback-based offense, even with the receivers they have out there.”
(on if being more relaxed in the game comes from taking more reps and feeling more comfortable in the new system) “Yes. Everyone, including the players and the coaches, have done a good job of making me feel more comfortable, and allowing me to play the way I know how to play. I used to literally feel that when I stepped on the field, I was stepping on pins and needles. I used to be nervous when I stepped on the field, and I was trying to make plays. Now, I have confidence in myself to when I step out onto the field, I feel as though I am walking on an air mattress. It feels great, comfortable and relaxing with the confidence these guys have in me.”
(on the Steelers’ philosophy that every man has to step up and no one is going to feel sorry for themselves) “You can’t. The second you feel sorry for yourself, you lose. I love Hines Ward, and he has been a great inspiration to my career. When he got hurt, Santonio Holmes and I knew that we had to come out and do something without him to show that it’s not just him. We just went out there and did it, and it felt great.”
(on if he is happy this is the final day of press conferences and it’s getting closer to gameday) “It has been exciting to speak to the media, but at the same time it has been draining. It’s nothing against the media because they are doing their jobs. At the same time, you kind of get lost in the sauce and forget that you’re playing football until you walk out onto the field for practice. It feels good to be able to get back and just concentrate on football.”
(on the fact that he can be one Super Bowl play away from becoming a celebrity like New York Giants wide receiver David Tyree) “It feels good but at the same time it gives you some anxiety. You just want to go out there and play. I don’t think a lot of the guys on this team are worried about making just one big play. I think we are more focused on winning. It’s going to be exciting, but at the same time you have to be more focused than ever and know the task at hand.”
LB LAMARR WOODLEY
(on what position he thought he would play in the NFL) “Coming into the NFL they were asking me if I wanted to play outside linebacker or defensive end. At first I wanted to play defensive end because I was comfortable at that position. I had been playing it for four years, so I was comfortable at that position. When the Steelers called me and said ‘we’re going to draft you with the next pick and you’ll play outside linebacker,’ I definitely wasn’t going to say no. I knew it was going to be a challenge for me but I knew once I had the opportunity to have the reps at the position, as far as dropping back in coverage and just taking reps doing different things, that I could get it down.”
(on his knowledge of Dick LeBeau before being drafted by Pittsburgh) “I didn’t know much about Coach LeBeau but I knew about the Pittsburgh Steelers defense. I didn’t know the man behind the mask, I didn’t know who it was but I knew the way they went out there and played defense was the way I wanted to go out there and play.”
(on Dick LeBeau starting to get more recognition) “If you look at the defenses for the past few years the Pittsburgh Steelers defense has been one of the top-rated defenses and you know the guy behind that is Dick LeBeau. Anybody that knows anything about football knows that defense starts with the defensive coordinator and the calls that he’s out there making and the way he coaches his players.”
(on if the team has talked to any former Steelers) “We had an opportunity during training camp to work with Jason Gilden and Kevin Greene. Those guys’ attitude is the way our attitude is now, always fired up and aggressive. (They) talked to us about how this Pittsburgh Steelers defense should be. How the linebackers should be on this Pittsburgh Steelers defense. They instilled that in us when they were here in camp and we’ve been out there playing like that.”
(on working with Kevin Green in training camp and their similarities) “Kevin Green was fired up everyday. I think he was ready to go right then and there. I seriously believe he wanted to put some pads on and go out there and play a few downs. (He was) a big linebacker. I kind of do the same bull rush, the bull rush he showed me in camp. If he mastered it I’m going to try to master it, and so far this year it’s been working.”
(on facing Cardinals T Levi Brown on Sunday) “Levi is like he was at Penn State when we had our battles. He’s always been that aggressive guy, that guy that always played until the whistle, a guy that hates to lose. He’s going to be a challenge for each and every play. He plays all the way to the fourth quarter. I don’t think I’ve ever played a lineman like that, that just constantly gets after guys.”
(on how the Steelers can stop the Cardinals offense) “Go out there and play defense the way we know how to play it. Go out there and cause turnovers. Go out there and try to put our offense on the short end of the field to allow them to put some points on the board.”
(on Kurt Warner) “The thing about Kurt Warner is that he is a very smart quarterback. He’s a guy that’s been in this league for a long time, a guy that’s seen it all and done it all. He’s one of those guys that when he’s back there with the ball he can definitely break down your defense and read the coverage that you’re in and know where to find the right guys at the right time. I think the key for us to stopping Kurt Warner is applying pressure to him. Doing what we’ve been doing all year. That’s putting pressure on the quarterback and trying to cause him to make mistakes.”
(on the key to stopping Edgerrin James) “The key to stopping Edgerrin James is Steelers versus Steelers. It’s our responsibility to stay in our rush lanes and not over rushing your gap. If you give a guy like that huge lanes that guy right there will take it to the house. I think it’s our responsibility to be where we need to be at.”
(on getting to Kurt Warner early in the game) “If we can apply pressure and we can go in there and get some good hits early, that’s always a good thing for our defense. Getting hits on quarterbacks cause turnovers, and rattle quarterbacks a little bit but I guess I’ll have to wait until Sunday for that.”
(on how it would feel to win a sixth Super Bowl for the Steelers) “That would feel good. That’s something that goes down in history, the first team to get six trophies. To actually be a part of that team, that’s something that goes down in history and that can be something that can never be taken away.
(on the importance of the first round bye) “When you look at it, coming into the playoffs we had a bye week. When they went to the Super Bowl two or three years ago they were playing each and every week. They didn’t have a chance to get a bye week and freshen up. That’s definitely been a difference between that team and this team is that bye week in the playoffs.”
(on his sack numbers in the regular season and playoffs) “I’m just taking advantage of opportunities. When I was getting those high sack numbers then I fell off a lot of people asked me if I hit the wall and I told them I didn’t hit the wall. I’m still able to get in there and pressure on the quarterback. A few of times I had the quarterback right in my hands and he just slipped away. When you usually come from the side that the quarterback can see you on that juke move will take you right out of position and that’s what was happening. In the playoffs our big guys up front aren’t allowing the quarterback to step up in the pocket and they are flushing him out, and I’m there and I’m opening up my arms, wrapping them up and taking them down.”
(on the Cardinals offense) “They have a good offense. They have three great receivers and a lot of people kind of sleep on Steve Breaston because he kind of gets overshadowed by the other two guys. They definitely have good receivers and a running back. You definitely can’t overlook (Edgerrin James), but it all starts with the quarterback, the guy who’s going to get the ball first. He’s going to get the ball from the center first, but it’s up to us. If we go in there, play as a defense and put pressure on him the way we’ve been doing all year, I think we can make something happen.”
(on Kurt Warner’s experience) “He’s an experienced guy. He’s been around this league a long time and can break down a defense. Things have changed over the years. Guys are bigger and guys are faster, and if me and James (Harrison) can beat one of those offensive tackles, there’s really nothing he can do about that. He’s relying on his protection, so if we are in there to disrupt him a little bit by beating one of those guys, then hitting the quarterback a few times, you kind of rattle people a little bit.”
QUOTES FROM PITTSBURGH STEELERS PRESS CONFERENCE
LS JARED RETKOFSKY
(on his relationship with offensive line coach Larry Zierlein and special teams coach Bob Ligashesky) “With Larry, I got to talk to him a little bit. He used to work out in Texas. We are both from Texas and he coached high school football around where I am from. It’s special to have someone from your hometown along with you. Coach Ligs, he’s a great guy. He’s taken really good care of me. He works with me every day, we watch film and we go over plays. He’ll be upfront with me and tell me what’s going on. He’s been a lot of help. He’s a nice guy. He’ll call you and invite you out to dinner if you have no place to go. He’s the first one to invite you into his home with his family and eat dinner there. He always has a suggestion of somewhere good to eat. Even here, he knows everywhere to go to eat.”
(on his favorite player as a kid) “As a kid, my favorite player was Mike Alstott. When I was in high school, I was a fullback so that’s who I idolized. I just thought he was cool and loved to watch him run people over.”
(on his relationship with P Mitch Berger) “Mitch and I have an odd relationship; it’s almost like a husband and wife relationship. We fight, we have our little arguments, but the bottom-line is when it is time to get the job done, we try to get the job done. I try to give him what he wants because he’s got to be able to kick the ball. If I don’t give him a good snap, it makes his job so much harder. I understand that completely.”
(on if he is different from other punters he’s worked with in terms of ball placement) “Absolutely. The player that is on the IR right now (Daniel Sepulveda), he’d rather you throw it at his face. Mitch on the other hand wants it down here. There is a guy that used to be here, Chris Gardocki, they said he wanted it at his ankles. It just depends on the punter, but ultimately, the big guys upstairs, the coaches, they want it at their hip. I try to keep it right in there, make it a nice medium somewhere.”
(on the change he went through this season after moving furniture before he signed with the Steelers) “I was just at the bottom. I didn’t know if I was going to be able to crawl out of the hole that I was in. I didn’t know if I was ever going to play in the NFL. Now I am preparing for a Super Bowl - it is unbelievable. It was just a really tough time of my life. To get that phone call and have the tryout, I probably have done 10 or 15 tryouts with other teams, but it’s all kind of been ‘workout, a snap, and if something ever happens to our snapper, we’ll give you a call.’ This one was, ‘our snapper (Greg Warren) is hurt, we don’t have a snapper, we’ll bring in three guys to workout and the best man is going to win the job.’ Our snapper was done for the year, so I knew right away that this was a great opportunity for me. I got the call, I went in, did the workout, I went to sign papers. When they told me, ‘lets go and sign the papers,’ and I knew I was going to be a Steeler, I was so emotional. I felt, ‘oh my gosh, I made it, I’m achieving my dreams right now.”
(on if winning the Super Bowl would be his biggest dream) “Absolutely. I’ve said this before, when I was growing up, I never once thought about playing or winning a Super Bowl and I always said, ‘that’s too much to ask for, I just want to play in the NFL - that’s all I want. If I can just play in the NFL, I don’t care about anything else, I just want to play.’ My first year, we’re 11 weeks in; we go to the playoffs, have an amazing run and we’re in the Super Bowl. That’s just so surreal and I never expected it. When I signed with the Steelers I knew that these guys had a chance and I was in awe of everything. Still today, I look around and I see all of these hats and I’m like, ‘Am I really going to play in this. Am I really going to play in the Super Bowl?’ This is going to be a game that will be remembered forever. I don’t know where I will be next year or if I’ll ever play again. I could end my career playing in the Super Bowl and I think that would be awesome.”
(on if his friends are cheering for him back home in Fort Worth, TX) “Half of Fort Worth is cheering for me right now. There are so many people. I am getting so many phone calls from friends. I have a girlfriend and her family has a little burger restaurant. They’ve got banners all over the restaurant and they have people calling, ‘Hey, there’s banners hanging on the restaurant for you.’ The newspapers and everything back home are all talking to me. I’m talking to radio stations back home. There are a lot of people who are excited about me just being here.”
QB BEN ROETHLISBERGER
(on if he appreciates this the second time around more than the first) “Absolutely, it’s something to appreciate because you never know if you will make it back.”
(on if anything distinguishes you from his competition) “My last name. Every single person out there is different so everybody has their own individual traits that make them special.”
(on if he ever got a call from Kurt Warner to ask how it is to play under Ken Whisenhunt) “No, I know Kurt. We might have in passing saw each other and said I’m going to have your coach or something like that. Kurt’s been doing this for a long time so he knows how to deal with any kind of coach, whether I’ve had or someone else has had him before.”
(on if he gave Warner any advice) “No, you don’t need any advice for Coach Whisenhunt. He’s awesome; he’s fun to play for.”
(on if he wishes he hadn’t told Whisenhunt something when he played for him) “No. He was around me so he saw me play. He knows what kind of player and competitor that I am. I don’t think there are any little secrets like he knows that if I drop my left hand I’m doing this. There is nothing crazy like that.”
(on the progress the offensive line has made) “They have done a great job. Like I have said before, they are kind of a thrown together group that has been playing some great defenses and trying to figure out blitzes. I’m just really proud of the way that they have stepped up and come together. They have taken it upon themselves to protect me and silence the critics.”
(on what goes through his mind when a pass play is breaking down) “It’s not really anything crazy. It’s just try to stay alive and find the open receiver. That’s all it really is.”
(on how he admires the kind of receiver that Hines Ward is and how he handles everything) “That whole group of receivers we have is awesome. Hines is an unbelievable professional on and off of the field. He’s made me a lot better player.”
(on if this has become more his team now that Jerome Bettis and Alan Faneca are no longer here) “You have to be as you grow at the position. You kind of naturally have to whether you force it or not. I never tried to force it when I got here. It just naturally became my time.”
(on how the offense has changed since his first Super Bowl) “I think we are more balanced. We try to get close to 50-50 run-pass. I think we’ve done that. We’ve shown that through the year and last year that we can do that. We have to do that to win football games.”
(on the reasons the run game has gotten better recently) “Our offensive line. They are what starts our whole offense, run game and pass game. We go how they go as I tell them before every game.”
(on how he will try to get comfortable early on in the game) “It’s a big priority for me because I take pride in that. Before every game just playing like it’s another game, relaxing and having fun. I’m just going to try and do that by taking a deep breath and just play football.”
(on if he anguished the night before the first Super Bowl) “You’re nervous and anxious, but it wasn’t to the point where I was getting sick or anything. It wasn’t anything like that.”
(on if he and Ken Whisenhunt ever had a period where they didn’t speak) “There was some stuff made in the media, ‘I said things, he said things.’ I actually got to talk to him. We talk a lot and I apologized to him and told him that I didn’t mean him any wrong. I’ve never lost a coach before in high school I had the same coach and in college. When he left, I didn’t know what to think. I was young and kind of stupid at the time and made comments. I didn’t really feel it, it just came out at the top of my head. I’m glad that we talked. People don’t realize that we’ve talked throughout the season, we text each other stuff. It was good to see him to actually talk to him face to face and get it all out there. We’re on a good level right now.”
(on if he still feels like a young quarterback) “Yeah, I’m 26 years old. I’ve been around for a couple years now, so that helps.”
(on what impresses him about Arizona’s defense) “Everything. Their secondary is tremendous, very athletic, very fast. They are all over the field. Their linebackers and defensive line seem to be in the backfield on every play. This is going to be a big challenge for us because they like to move around and show different blitzes. Identification is going to be a big key.”
(on how he has changed the way he sees life, family and the game since his motorcycle accident) “It just makes me appreciate life and take every day one day at a time and enjoy the things that I have and am blessed with. It’s a trophy to be alive every day.”
(on how much he studies quarterbacks of the past) “I know what they do. I couldn’t tell you everybody’s stats and things like that. You know who the great ones are and what they have done.
(on how he decides who the great ones are) “It’s just my opinion really. There are a bunch of them. Joe Montana was my favorite and I wore the number seven because of John Elway. Montana, Jim Kelly, some of the best, those are my favorites.”
(on what he was feeling when Ken Whisenhunt left the Steelers) “I told him I almost felt abandoned. Now I know that you’re in the league a couple years, you know that it’s a business. You know coaches leave and you know players leave, they do what is best for themselves and their family. When you come from high school and college you don’t really experience that. At first I was probably a little hurt, I felt kind of betrayed that he just left us and abandoned us. Now I know that it wasn’t that at all. I was just glad I got a chance to talk to him in person and tell him about it.”
(on his relationship with his offensive line on and off the field) “We’ve gone to dinner a couple times and hung out. We’ve done that a lot. We get together on Monday nights at my house and we’ve gone on some trips together. We have some fun.”
(on if he envisioned Mike Tomlin being a Coach of the Year when he first met him) “It was one of those things that you saw the potential there. With me, did I ever think I was going to be a Super Bowl quarterback? You never know how soon, but you could tell that his passion, his love for the game, he reminded me of a guy that was his role model, Tony Dungy – a guy that players respond to and like playing for.”
(on his relationship with Mike Tomlin) “It’s been great. He’s really easy to talk to. It also helps that I am a captain and that I’m a little bit older and I can go up to the room and talk to him. When I first got here I tried to avoid Bill Cowher’s office walking by because I didn’t want him to call me in because I was nervous. Now I just knock on Mike’s door and he will call me in.”
(on his thoughts of helping the Steelers get their record sixth Super Bowl) “For me, it’s about getting that sixth one for the Rooney family, giving the family one more than any other team and for our fans. That would mean so much to our fans because they already think we are the best thing in the world and if we could give them some proof and evidence of that, that would be awesome.”
G DARNELL STAPLETON
(on being in the Super Bowl) “This is only my second year in the league, so I am really enjoying this experience. It’s like a dream come true. It’s not difficult to realize how rare of an opportunity this is. There are some guys who play in this league for 15 years and never get the chance to play in the Super Bowl. I try to take that into perspective and realize that this could be my last time here and I need to take advantage of every opportunity I get. I’m going to work as hard as I can.”
(on preparing for the Super Bowl) “We’re not leaving any stone unturned. We’re going to make sure we bring a full force to the game and try to eliminate any mental errors. We’ve just got to stick to our game plan and execute. ”
(on the best-case scenario after Sunday’s game) “We walk off the field World Champions. That’s the ultimate goal that we all want - to be the best in the world at what we do. I hope it goes that way and I am going to work as hard as I can to make that possible.”
(on what he has seen from the Cardinals through film study) “They do a lot of different things very well. They’re pretty much doing the same things because it is working for them. Why change something if it is working for you? They’ve been getting after the quarterback and forcing turnovers, making sacks and recovering fumbles.”
(on what the offensive line needs to do help bring a win on Sunday) “As an offensive unit, it is our responsibility not to put our defense in positions like that. If we can help our defense out by keeping them off the field, to move the ball efficiently and not turn the ball over. The Cardinals have done a great job in the playoffs of holding on to the ball and retaining possessions. We need to get the ball and keep our offense in a position to score.”
T MAX STARKS
(on Pittsburgh’s offense) “You have to have two dimensions going into this game. You can’t rely on one to carry the other. For us, it’s very important to establish a line of scrimmage from a run and a pass standpoint, control and maintain ball possession in those critical third down situations and keep the chains moving. That’s ultimately what the difference of the game is and this game is going to come down to time of possession and ball control.”
(on the last day of media availability) “Because I have been here before I knew what to expect. It’s a blessing that I’m actually doing this. I am sure there are 30 other teams full of guys that would love to have this distraction in their lives. For me to have a second opportunity to do it, I embrace it. I know that this is the world’s largest stage for sports so I’m happy for it. Media access hasn’t been a bother for me, but I know that once this is over right now, we will zone in, lock into the game and focus on what this week really means and what the ultimate goal is on Sunday.”
(on the challenges the offensive line have faced) “As an offensive line, we have had some difficult situations this year. Anytime you lose key veteran starters, most teams would say they are preparing for the next season. The good thing about our offensive line and our team in general is that we have great depth. We have guys that can play multiple positions. We have guys that can fill in and guys that are intelligent enough to crack the lineup. Coach (Mike) Tomlin has said that we have a bunch of starters waiting behind the starting lineup. We’ve had guys, like myself, who have taken advantage of those opportunities. It’s about hard work and perseverance. It’s already tough enough to make it to this level and to make it on a team. When you’ve had the opportunity to be on the starting lineup, guys have seized the opportunity and relished it. Now there’s only one step left.”
(on the criticism the offensive line has taken throughout the season) “We take the criticism with a grain of salt. It is always going to be looked at as a run first team. We’ve changed that dimension this season by being a very pass oriented team. They look at our rushing numbers, look at the situations under which we rush and they say that we are not the normal Pittsburgh Steelers team. Well, it’s not Bill Cowher running the team, it’s Mike Tomlin. It is a different team. We have always looked at the situation as an opportunity to grow. We got closer through off the field activities more so than on the field. We have just embraced it because the offensive line does have to be a close unit. We’ve done everything together off the field and on the field. That naturally brought us closer than it would have if it had been anywhere else, where you just go to work together, go home and forget about it. It’s helped us get to this point.”
(on how the style of Pittsburgh’s offense has changed since their last Super Bowl appearance three years ago) “We have added a new passing dimension. There is a lot more passing in the offense and a variety of different packages with the passing so we can do it from any type of personnel set. We have a nice array of things that keep teams off balance. I think that complimented our run style when Willie (Parker) was injured. Looking back on it, you had a team that said, ‘We are going to run the ball right here, you are not going to stop it and guess what? We are going to do it again.’ Now, you don’t know what’s going to happen from play to play. You don’t know what personnel’s going to come in. You don’t know where people are going to come in and lineup. It adds a nice confusion and it makes defenses play more honest against you as opposed to the exotic type of blitz packages where they are dropping the safeties in and dropping defensive linemen into coverage. It’s something I felt that has helped us a lot and has helped us get to this point.”
(on teammates leaning on him for advice) “Guys have asked me a couple of questions about it, but you don’t want to ruin the experience. You want every guy to enjoy and savor this moment as much as they can. It’s their first time doing it so you don’t want to sit there and try to give them a speech or a lecture about how you should do this. Let the guys live the experience and enjoy the experience, but remind them why they are here and why these distractions are around us. It is because of the game we are playing in. We are not watching it on Sunday and waiting for the commercials. We are the show. I tell them to be themselves, but remember why you’re here.”
(on the strengths of the Cardinals defense) “I would say their secondary has played strong. They’ve had 12 takeaways in the playoffs alone. Their secondary is a group that is definitely strong. They are playing very well right now and their front seven is causing a lot of those turnovers. Their defense is playing well as a group. They’re swarming. They’re active. They’re fast. They try to be as disruptive as they can as a unit, and they are all playing on the same page. You have to realize their tenacity and their risk-taking.
(on his future in the NFL) “This business is a business. At the end of the day, it is a sport that we love, you play it as a child growing up, and you hope to one day be here but it is a business. After this week we will have to see what’s going to come up in the up-coming month about free agency. I look forward to seeing the opportunities, but I want to hold a Lombardi before that happens.”
(on if Ben Roethlisberger’s accident made him more appreciative of his offensive line) “I didn’t think he wasn’t appreciative of his offensive line. I was drafted with him and have a locker next to him, so for me he’s always been the same guy. To other guys in the locker room and to other positions, he’s opened himself up more. Before he would hang with guys low key at his house and now he goes on trips, so I guess it would be a step-up. Ben has always been someone I could talk to.”
(on how Ben Roethlisberger has matured since his last Super Bowl appearance) “He’s matured as a player from the last time he was in the Super Bowl. A second year starting quarterback is not going to be considered a leader in the NFL when you have 10-plus year veterans in the locker room. That is just something that is not going to happen. I haven’t seen a rookie or a second-year quarterback back as captain of a team yet. Now he is in the position that he knows the playbook inside and out and he calls the plays on his own. That comes from experience. He’s had more experience and that is what drives quarterbacks in this league and gives them an opportunity to be as successful as they are. When you face those challenges and obstacles, like the last minute game-winning drives or having to put together a touchdown right before the half, going through all that tough situational football this season has made him better. It puts him on a stage to where there is nothing that a team can throw at him that he hasn’t seen before and experienced first-hand. I think that is something he lacked his first year going to the Super Bowl, those experiences where he’s played a lot of different teams and seen a lot of different fronts.”
(on Arizona’s offensive line coach Russ Grimm) “That was the first coach I had in the NFL. He was the one who taught and tutored me on the NFL and how to be a professional and an offensive lineman. It is a business at the end of the day. Decisions are made, coaches retire, coaches change positions and different opportunities are awarded to them. It is something that I totally understand. I know that he is happy over there and that’s what’s important. I am happy where I am and on Sunday I won’t know who he is until that clock hits zero in the fourth quarter. I have talked to him since I left.”
HEAD COACH MIKE TOMLIN
(remarks after presentation of Motorola NFL Coach of the Year award to him) “It is a tremendous and humbling honor to be recognized by the NFL’s communication partner Motorola. As the NFL Coach of the Year, I’d like to thank the fans for their participation and support. I humbly accept this also on behalf of the other coaches and the players on our team. I’d like to say thank you.”
(opening statement) “It’s Thursday for us. We continue with this portion of our preparation, sharpening up some things we introduced yesterday, really moving forward and hitting some situational football today – the beginning of third down and red zone stuff offensively and defensively, and of course we continue to sharpen ourselves in the kicking game.”
(on how a tough schedule prepared the Steelers for the postseason) “If it doesn’t kill you, it strengthens you. These games are fun; they are. I think our team learned a lot about ourselves in the midst of it. I think that we grew, and that’s what it’s about. When you are fortunate enough to win enough of those games, I think it prepares you for January football. I believe we have a team that doesn’t blink in the face of adversity, because we’ve had quite a bit and found ways to see our way through. It also provides opportunities for guys to step up and deliver, and you can’t create or get enough of those opportunities along the way in preparation for what we face on Sunday.”
(on winning the Motorola NFL Coach of the Year award) “It’s a tremendous honor to be recognized as Motorola NFL Coach of the Year. It’s doubly special because it was voted on by the fans of the game. They are the reason why we do what it is we do. I am very appreciative of that, but at the same time I recognize, like I asked all my guys to recognize, that it is the ultimate team game. We have a bunch of assistant coaches, who don’t care who gets the credit, ante up and kick in and are of the same mindset. I like to join them in that mindset.”
(on Hines Ward’s status) “Hines is great, by the way.”
(on what Troy Polamalu means to the Steelers) “It’s special. You learn to appreciate guys with the playing qualities he has, because quite simply he does what you don’t teach. You can’t teach people to play the game the way he plays the game. His intuition, his physical gifts, his perception of the game is very unique. I just learned that if you have a chance to be around guys like that, you don’t harness it, you embrace it, and you appreciate it for what it is.”
(on how much time the Steelers have spent self-scouting, and how important that process is) “That is a continual thing for us throughout the course of the season – quarterly, weekly and repeat opponents. That’s something that we continually do. To a degree we are concerned about it, but also to a degree we’re not concerned about it because it’s our personality at times, and we intend to impose our will on people in regards to that. We look at it for different reasons, but it doesn’t rule our day-to-day decision-making because sometimes we are just going to be the Pittsburgh Steelers.”
(on his relationship with Tony Dungy) “Specifically regarding Tony (Dungy) and what he’s meant to my growth and development as a coach, I learned many lessons from him, but probably more than anything, was just how accepting he was of people who he worked with – their different approaches – to teaching and conveying his message. His willingness to listen, his servant leadership capabilities – those are some of the key things that stand out having had an opportunity to work with him for a year.”
(on how his success fits in with the success of other African-Americans like President Barack Obama and Dungy) “I’m just humbled by the things that I’ve been given. By no stretch do I put myself in the category with President Obama or Tony Dungy. I don’t see myself in that way. Some of the things I get a chance to do, I benefit from some of the roads they’ve paved.”
(on being in Tampa for this year’s Super Bowl) “It’s great, but I can’t sit here and tell you that it wouldn’t be great regardless of where it is. Let’s be real, this is the Super Bowl. But it is special coming back to Tampa, where it all started for me in the National Football League. It’s special for my family. We spent five great years here. This is home to my two oldest sons who are eight and seven – this is what they consider home, so they had the opportunity to visit friends and do some of the things they used to do. So from that standpoint, it’s been very special.”
(on how Ben Roethlisberger is effective when plays break down) “He is a competitor. He, of course, has great physical skills, size, strength, agility, escapability, but he’s also very smart and very even-keeled under duress. All of those attributes together allow him to extend plays, make plays as they break down and make outside-the-box plays, if you will.”
(on if he takes into account an opposing coach who has familiarity with his team) “It is very similar to the self-scout question that we had earlier. In some instances you do, and make what you perceive to be necessary adjustments. In some instances, you don’t because you are who you are. Those are some of the decisions we are coming to and make as we prepare for this game. But it’s also some of the decisions we make when we prepare for people we know and we know them – divisional opponents and people who you have a long-term competitive relationship with. It is very similar in terms of how you approach those circumstances. And this one is so unique because there are some people over there who understand the inner workings, who’ve been inside the building, but ultimately it’s going to come down to the execution of the men on the field. I firmly believe that. There is a lot of fluidity in this business from players and coaches, that’s just part of today’s NFL. This is probably garnering more attention because it is the big game, but I imagine every weekend somewhere in the National Football League during the regular season, it’s an element. It’s part of a matchup. So, it is what it is.”
(on how the Steelers are managing their short-yardage troubles) “Quite simply, it’s been difficult because we’ve played some tough opponents. We’ve played some great defenses. We are not going to make excuses for our failures. We acknowledge them for what they are. We’ve been hit in the mouth some. We’ve hit people in the mouth some. Through it all, I think we’ve grown. We found a guy in Gary Russell, who we believe has an aptitude for those situations. I think we’ve had more success since we’ve featured him specifically in those situations. The season itself is an evolution for a football team, and I think that you learn about yourself, you make adjustments, and you formulate roles along the way. I think that was one of the areas in which we were able to grow. I feel like we have grown, and hopefully it’s a weapon for us on Sunday.”
(on how important Ryan Clark is to the Steelers’ defense) “He is an important cog in our defense. He is very highly respected in our locker room for what he does inside the white lines, and for what he does outside of the white lines in preparation for games. He is a legitimate professional, and a very solid football character guy. He’s gotten some attention because of a couple of plays this year, but at the same time, those plays don’t come to mind the moment I think about Ryan Clark. I think about the consistency of performance and the quality play and leadership he provides us on a day-to-day basis.”
(on the criticism of the offensive line, and a reference to it as a work in progress) “It’s just that. We’ve had some turnover on the offensive line here in the last few years. Reputable guys, great players such as Jeff Hartings, who are no longer in the mix because of retirement, or Alan Faneca because of free agency. You couple that with some critical injuries, one to our left tackle Marvel Smith, another one to our right guard Kendall Simmons. It is what it is. We don’t run away from that. The standard of expectation doesn’t change for us. Along the way, we’ve got to find ways to win football games. It might be in the manner in which we embrace, so be it. I think this group has responded to those challenges, held a standard and provided winning performances for us. We don’t worry about the style points. People are going to say what they are going to say. When you have a number-one defense in football, somebody’s got to be the weak link. They’ve been chosen to be identified as that. But we are a team. That doesn’t drive us. We’re not concerned about that. We’re just trying to win football games.”
(on Santonio Holmes’ growth as an individual this year) “I think it started with the offseason. He came in great physical condition, much better physical condition than he was in ’07 from my perspective. I think it produced a great training camp, and he’s had a solid season. This is a guy who has a desire to be great, but more importantly, he’s willing to do what it takes on a day-to-day basis to make that happen. Is he a finished product from that standpoint? No, but he is embracing the challenges of doing that. He is growing as a person. I see it on a daily basis. But there are a lot of those stories on a football team. I think a lot of times people look at professional athletes and they view them as something that they are not. But working with those guys on a day-to-day basis, at times it’s very evident that they are young people. They are 22, 23, 24 (years old), and they are going through the normal things that people in that age group go through. I think that he is doing a nice job of it.”
(on getting Ben Roethlisberger comfortable early in the Super Bowl) “I think Ben is a different player this time around. That’s just the reality of it. His professional experience, what he’s done, his position in the group is very different this time around. He’s not the young guy that could potentially screw it up. He is a leader for our football team. He was voted captain by his teammates. We have a long-term commitment contractually to him as our quarterback. I don’t expect to deal with those issues to be quite honest with you. He’s going to go through the normal things that people go through playing in this football game. But we fully expect Ben to deliver, and deliver big for us. He has to. If we are going to be successful, he is going to be one of the key reasons why.”
(on if he has any notion on how a game might end up score-wise) “I make a conscious effort not to do that. I just always have because most of the time, I’m wrong. There are a lot of elements to the matchup. There are a lot of key matchups in the football game. Some are highlighted more than others. Usually there are some others that end up being central (to the outcome). There is a lot being made out of matchups in this football game, whether it’s their receiving corps vs. our secondary, and our offensive front blocking their defensive front. But anytime you put 11 on the field – 11 for us, 11 for them – someone is going to win and someone is going to lose. We respect all of those things. We take each individual player as an opportunity to win. So with that being said, I try not to be presumptuous.”
WR HINES WARD
(on whether he will participate in a full practice today) “Today will be the first day that I go out and try it (the knee) out and gradually get into it. I’m not going to go out there and try to go full speed like it is game time, but I still want to go out there, get the reps and test it and see how I get in and out of my breaks. I’m looking forward to today.”
(on whether it is more difficult to deal with an injury prior to the Super Bowl) “Yes, because I have never really had to deal with this specific injury. Me and the Super Bowls have had our battles. The last Super Bowl, I got injured on Friday. It’s unfortunate, but I went on to play and won the Super Bowl. This (injury) is the same. I have been training my butt off and rehabbing to go out there and give me an opportunity to play on Sunday. Today is going to be a fun day. I get a chance to get back on the field with my teammates and see if I can go out there and go.”
(on how his knee felt this morning) “It felt good. It’s getting better every day. We’ll see today when I run around. Yesterday, I had a good rehab session and everything looked good.”
(on whether the hyperbaric chamber is making a difference) “I think so. It’s helped me out. I’ve been laying in it all year. It helps the healing process. I am a big fan of my hyperbaric chamber.”
(on the Steelers tradition) “Anytime you put on a uniform you represent the players before you. You have a sense of pride. Pittsburgh is used to winning championships. Playing on a stage like this, you definitely want to go out there and give it all you have because you have a great opportunity. We, as an organization, have an opportunity to become the first organization in the NFL to win six championships. We can go down in history as being the first team in history to do that. As a player, you take pride in that. You always want to go out and perform well and bring back championships to the city of Pittsburgh.”
(on where he is in his recovery) “I did very well yesterday. I ran through a cone drill. I was actually cutting and getting in and out of my routes. We’ll see today. Today, I get to go and actually compete and go out there against the defense. I’m looking forward to it. I’m fine. I feel good.”
(on why there has not been a lot of trash talking between the two teams) “We still have to go out there and play. It’s really not about trash-talking. Talk is cheap in my opinion. You can talk all day. We don’t have that type of personality on our team. Joey Porter was our trash-talking guy. He spoke his mind. Joey is not here, but he is still trash talking right now, somewhere, today. We just don’t have that type of personality on our team.”
(on Arizona Cardinals Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt liking to run trick plays between the 40-yard lines) “Every time he gets near the 50-yard line, he wants to take a shot. That is his m.o. (motive). The trick play that they ran against Philly, they were near the 50-yard line. He likes to do those trick plays. He likes to take shots around the 50. Just as well as he knows us, we know him as well. I’m pretty sure our defense is alert about that, but that is just how ‘Whis’ is.”
(on the worst injury he ever played through) “In last year’s Super Bowl, I had a sprained AC joint. It’s almost a separation of the shoulder. I don’t even know why I dove. I leaned down and fell on my shoulder Friday leading up to the last Super Bowl that we won. I just knew that I wasn’t going to play. I was in a sling Friday and Saturday night. I woke up Sunday morning and had to get a shot in my shoulder. I couldn’t even reach my arm above my head. With this injury, at least I had two weeks to heal. With that injury it was a day, maybe a day and a half, to get ready to play in the Super Bowl. Once your adrenaline gets going and after the shot kicked in, I didn’t even know I had an injury in the Super Bowl. I felt it the next day. There was no question about that. It was all worth it because there is no tomorrow.”
(on Head Coach Mike Tomlin) “He has done a phenomenal job all year. He’s been that guy who has always done it his way. He never stirred the course. He always stayed the course. He really never let anything deter him off that. If you weren’t happy to be here, more than likely you weren’t going to be on this team. He always had that authority and that presence that this is his team. It’s no longer a Coach (Bill) Cowher team and we’re going to do it his way. As (players) you respect that. A guy comes in and you want to test him a little bit, but he held his own and here we are, in his second year, in the Super Bowl.”
(on whether he will take more leadership in this Super Bowl) “Yes. It was passed down from the guys before me. Jerome (Bettis) was the leader in the first Super Bowl. Ben (Roethlisberger) is coming into his own, being that he is the quarterback and captain of this team. I pride myself in being the leader. I told the guys earlier today, ‘When you go out there and warm up, take your time. Don’t go out there and go crazy because there is a 45-minute layover. Halftime is even longer because they have a mini concert, so take your time. This is all a big entertaining show, but you have to prepare differently when you’re warming up for the Super Bowl.’”
(on what he anticipates from Coach Whisenhunt) “I wouldn’t put it pass (Whisenhunt) to start the game off with a trick play. They are playing with a lot confidence. We don’t like to call them trick plays. We just call them plays that we execute. Whis says he is not going to have one, but he has one in his back pocket waiting for us. Hopefully we can execute it and turn it around for us to have a big play. Maybe we can cause a fumble or get an interception off of the trick play.”
(on whether he has worn a brace on his knee before) “Yes. I wore one all last year. I had a similar injury, but it was a little more severe. I played all last year. Playing all last year, I’m pretty sure I can play one more game for the Super Bowl.”
(on Tomlin being named Coach of the Year) “That is a phenomenal accomplishment and hats off to him. He has done it his way. When he first came here there was a little (skepticism) from guys. We really didn’t know about him and he didn’t know about us. He came in and did it his way. That’s what you really respect. It couldn’t be more deserving. He has worked his butt off to get us to this point. We’re happy about that.”
(on Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald) “Larry is a great wideout, but let’s not take away from the other guys who are on the field. (Anquan) Boldin is just as explosive as anyone out there. Santonio Holmes is an explosive guy. We don’t get jealous of another guy. He is a great wideout. He is having a phenomenal year and playoff run. I don’t care who gets the praise.”
(on keeping Fitzgerald on the sidelines) “If we can control the clock, then we can keep their offense (off the field). It’s not just Larry. The key guy in this game is Kurt Warner versus. our defense. He makes everything possible. You can always take one guy out of the game. They have a lot of weapons on the field. You can’t just worry about Larry, you have to worry about Boldin, (Edgerrin) James and all of their guys. They have plenty of explosive guys. We’re not going in game planning for just Larry Fitzgerald. If we do that then the other guys will eat us up alive too. The best way for us to exploit that is to go out and control what we can control offensively, convert on third downs and put up touchdowns in the red zone rather than field goals.”
WR NATE WASHINGTON
(on if he has a big-play mentality) “I don’t think it’s having a big-play mentality. I think it’s just showing up when my number is called. It just so happened that those plays went for those yards. I don’t think it’s necessarily ‘ok, I’m going to go out here and catch a ball for over 50 yards.’ This year, I’ve been focusing on taking advantage of every opportunity I’ve been given.”
(on running a lot of long routes this season) “Yes, I’ve run a lot of routes like that this year. The coaches have had confidence in that I can get down the field, and I could get open, or allow someone else to get open. They’ve given me more chances to do that.”
(on how he is preparing for the Super Bowl in case Hines Ward is not 100 percent) “You just have to be prepared for it. The game itself will be a little different than the last one because this time I’ll be playing. You don’t really expect anything to happen, so you really don’t take heed to those types of situations, but it is what it is.”
(on if he is taking more reps at the other receiver slots) “Yes. I’ve been looking at more of the playbook and a lot more film than I usually would.”
(on if he is the fastest guy on the team) “I don’t know. That’s the biggest debate of the year. It’s up in the air right now. The debate is between me, running back Willie Parker and cornerback Ike Taylor.”
(on if it has become a competition) “Yes, I think we are going to settle it in the offseason. I think we are going to schedule something to settle it and get it out of the way. I don’t know. I think I just snuck up on a lot of people this year.”
(on showing up more in games this season) “Yes, I think that’s what it is. They knew I was playing, but they didn’t know the potential I had. I think I was just able to play more relaxed, with this being my fourth season. Last year, I was still trying to get accustomed to what was going on. I had a couple injuries to my hand earlier in my career that no one knew about. It’s just rough. You don’t want to talk about those types of things, but it is what it is.”
(on how the offense differs since offensive coordinator Bruce Arians took over when Arizona Cardinals’ head coach Ken Whisenhunt left) “Yes, we run a lot more single-back spread offenses. That’s one of the differences between us and the Cardinals. They still run a lot of fullback-based offense, even with the receivers they have out there.”
(on if being more relaxed in the game comes from taking more reps and feeling more comfortable in the new system) “Yes. Everyone, including the players and the coaches, have done a good job of making me feel more comfortable, and allowing me to play the way I know how to play. I used to literally feel that when I stepped on the field, I was stepping on pins and needles. I used to be nervous when I stepped on the field, and I was trying to make plays. Now, I have confidence in myself to when I step out onto the field, I feel as though I am walking on an air mattress. It feels great, comfortable and relaxing with the confidence these guys have in me.”
(on the Steelers’ philosophy that every man has to step up and no one is going to feel sorry for themselves) “You can’t. The second you feel sorry for yourself, you lose. I love Hines Ward, and he has been a great inspiration to my career. When he got hurt, Santonio Holmes and I knew that we had to come out and do something without him to show that it’s not just him. We just went out there and did it, and it felt great.”
(on if he is happy this is the final day of press conferences and it’s getting closer to gameday) “It has been exciting to speak to the media, but at the same time it has been draining. It’s nothing against the media because they are doing their jobs. At the same time, you kind of get lost in the sauce and forget that you’re playing football until you walk out onto the field for practice. It feels good to be able to get back and just concentrate on football.”
(on the fact that he can be one Super Bowl play away from becoming a celebrity like New York Giants wide receiver David Tyree) “It feels good but at the same time it gives you some anxiety. You just want to go out there and play. I don’t think a lot of the guys on this team are worried about making just one big play. I think we are more focused on winning. It’s going to be exciting, but at the same time you have to be more focused than ever and know the task at hand.”
LB LAMARR WOODLEY
(on what position he thought he would play in the NFL) “Coming into the NFL they were asking me if I wanted to play outside linebacker or defensive end. At first I wanted to play defensive end because I was comfortable at that position. I had been playing it for four years, so I was comfortable at that position. When the Steelers called me and said ‘we’re going to draft you with the next pick and you’ll play outside linebacker,’ I definitely wasn’t going to say no. I knew it was going to be a challenge for me but I knew once I had the opportunity to have the reps at the position, as far as dropping back in coverage and just taking reps doing different things, that I could get it down.”
(on his knowledge of Dick LeBeau before being drafted by Pittsburgh) “I didn’t know much about Coach LeBeau but I knew about the Pittsburgh Steelers defense. I didn’t know the man behind the mask, I didn’t know who it was but I knew the way they went out there and played defense was the way I wanted to go out there and play.”
(on Dick LeBeau starting to get more recognition) “If you look at the defenses for the past few years the Pittsburgh Steelers defense has been one of the top-rated defenses and you know the guy behind that is Dick LeBeau. Anybody that knows anything about football knows that defense starts with the defensive coordinator and the calls that he’s out there making and the way he coaches his players.”
(on if the team has talked to any former Steelers) “We had an opportunity during training camp to work with Jason Gilden and Kevin Greene. Those guys’ attitude is the way our attitude is now, always fired up and aggressive. (They) talked to us about how this Pittsburgh Steelers defense should be. How the linebackers should be on this Pittsburgh Steelers defense. They instilled that in us when they were here in camp and we’ve been out there playing like that.”
(on working with Kevin Green in training camp and their similarities) “Kevin Green was fired up everyday. I think he was ready to go right then and there. I seriously believe he wanted to put some pads on and go out there and play a few downs. (He was) a big linebacker. I kind of do the same bull rush, the bull rush he showed me in camp. If he mastered it I’m going to try to master it, and so far this year it’s been working.”
(on facing Cardinals T Levi Brown on Sunday) “Levi is like he was at Penn State when we had our battles. He’s always been that aggressive guy, that guy that always played until the whistle, a guy that hates to lose. He’s going to be a challenge for each and every play. He plays all the way to the fourth quarter. I don’t think I’ve ever played a lineman like that, that just constantly gets after guys.”
(on how the Steelers can stop the Cardinals offense) “Go out there and play defense the way we know how to play it. Go out there and cause turnovers. Go out there and try to put our offense on the short end of the field to allow them to put some points on the board.”
(on Kurt Warner) “The thing about Kurt Warner is that he is a very smart quarterback. He’s a guy that’s been in this league for a long time, a guy that’s seen it all and done it all. He’s one of those guys that when he’s back there with the ball he can definitely break down your defense and read the coverage that you’re in and know where to find the right guys at the right time. I think the key for us to stopping Kurt Warner is applying pressure to him. Doing what we’ve been doing all year. That’s putting pressure on the quarterback and trying to cause him to make mistakes.”
(on the key to stopping Edgerrin James) “The key to stopping Edgerrin James is Steelers versus Steelers. It’s our responsibility to stay in our rush lanes and not over rushing your gap. If you give a guy like that huge lanes that guy right there will take it to the house. I think it’s our responsibility to be where we need to be at.”
(on getting to Kurt Warner early in the game) “If we can apply pressure and we can go in there and get some good hits early, that’s always a good thing for our defense. Getting hits on quarterbacks cause turnovers, and rattle quarterbacks a little bit but I guess I’ll have to wait until Sunday for that.”
(on how it would feel to win a sixth Super Bowl for the Steelers) “That would feel good. That’s something that goes down in history, the first team to get six trophies. To actually be a part of that team, that’s something that goes down in history and that can be something that can never be taken away.
(on the importance of the first round bye) “When you look at it, coming into the playoffs we had a bye week. When they went to the Super Bowl two or three years ago they were playing each and every week. They didn’t have a chance to get a bye week and freshen up. That’s definitely been a difference between that team and this team is that bye week in the playoffs.”
(on his sack numbers in the regular season and playoffs) “I’m just taking advantage of opportunities. When I was getting those high sack numbers then I fell off a lot of people asked me if I hit the wall and I told them I didn’t hit the wall. I’m still able to get in there and pressure on the quarterback. A few of times I had the quarterback right in my hands and he just slipped away. When you usually come from the side that the quarterback can see you on that juke move will take you right out of position and that’s what was happening. In the playoffs our big guys up front aren’t allowing the quarterback to step up in the pocket and they are flushing him out, and I’m there and I’m opening up my arms, wrapping them up and taking them down.”
(on the Cardinals offense) “They have a good offense. They have three great receivers and a lot of people kind of sleep on Steve Breaston because he kind of gets overshadowed by the other two guys. They definitely have good receivers and a running back. You definitely can’t overlook (Edgerrin James), but it all starts with the quarterback, the guy who’s going to get the ball first. He’s going to get the ball from the center first, but it’s up to us. If we go in there, play as a defense and put pressure on him the way we’ve been doing all year, I think we can make something happen.”
(on Kurt Warner’s experience) “He’s an experienced guy. He’s been around this league a long time and can break down a defense. Things have changed over the years. Guys are bigger and guys are faster, and if me and James (Harrison) can beat one of those offensive tackles, there’s really nothing he can do about that. He’s relying on his protection, so if we are in there to disrupt him a little bit by beating one of those guys, then hitting the quarterback a few times, you kind of rattle people a little bit.”
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