Super Bowl XLIII – Thursday, January 29, 2009
QUOTES FROM PITTSBURGH STEELERS PRESS CONFERENCE
C JUSTIN HARTWIG
(on if the whole season of football can be overwhelming) “That’s all we do from July to February, but at the same time, that’s our job – it’s our livelihood – and we love to do it. Our careers aren’t going to last forever, and we’re going to maximize our time that we spend doing it. We want to be the best we can be and I think that it’s paying off for us, obviously, with us being in the Super Bowl. I think that we wouldn’t be here without all the hard work and time we put in leading up to this.”
(on home film sessions he hosted for the offensive line during the season) “It’s pretty much all business. We get a bunch of food and we watch film. That’s what it comes down to. We usually have the rookies pick up the food, but we have anything from gyros to P.F. Chang’s to Burger King and wings. We get all kinds of stuff, and my place is usually a mess afterwards when everybody leaves, but I’m the leader of the group and I’ll take it all on my shoulders.”
(on the criticism of the offensive line this season) “It’s impossible not to hear the criticisms that you get. The way the NFL is, and as overwhelming as the media presence can be, the NFL is the biggest thing going in pop culture in the United States. It’s impossible not to hear what people are saying about you, but at the same time, I don’t worry about it. We are accountable for the guys in our room and the guys on our team. We try to not let that get to us. I can have some reporter tell me that the offensive line played bad because we gave up a few sacks, but how does that guy know whose responsibility that was on a blitz pickup? I’m not saying that’s the case, necessarily, but what do I care what someone else thinks? I’m accountable to every guy that sits in our offensive meeting room.”
(on how the whole experience has been for him) “This whole experience has been a bit overwhelming. I’m just trying to stay grounded. We’re here for one reason, and that’s to win this game. There’s a lot of hoopla and a lot of hype surrounding this game, but I’m not going to get caught up in it. We have a regular work week this week, except for this media time which is kind of throwing a kink in it. I’ll have a lot of friends and family here this weekend and that will be a potential distraction for me, but I’ll stay pretty focused on what I’m doing and I’m not going to get off track.”
(on what other Steelers players have told him to focus on in this Super Bowl) “I think the general sentiment was that in the last Super Bowl, they didn’t enjoy it as much. They didn’t really embrace the moment and take it all in. I think that’s what everybody has been telling me to just enjoy it and live in the moment as this potentially may be the best moment in your life in the Super Bowl. I can’t wait for it and I’m enjoying it very much.”
(on the play of the Cardinals defensive line) “I think the Cardinals defensive line is kind of hot right now. They’re coming off the ball and Darnell Dockett gets off the snap quick and is an aggressive player. I think they’re just playing at a high level right now. If you watch them on tape, from what they were doing in the regular season to what they’re doing now, it seems like they’re playing a lot harder. They’re bringing more pressure, but we’re game planning as we would with any week.”
(on Ben Roethlisberger’s ability as a quarterback) “The thing with Ben is that you never know where he’s going to be. He’ll sit in the pocket for a few seconds and if nothing’s open, he’s going to scramble. He’s done a great job. He definitely holds onto the ball, but he makes huge plays for us. I think a lot of times he’s just playing out there like street ball. He’s a beast, he holds onto the ball, he takes those big hits and at times is able to shake guys off. Ben’s a playmaker for us.”
(on former Steeler center Dermontti Dawson ) “He’s another great center in a legacy that we’ve had with the Steelers. Unfortunately, centers don’t get a lot of credit and don’t get a lot of recognition especially with offensive linemen. With all these skill players that get up (for the Hall of Fame) every year, their names stand out, and unfortunately when you have one of the greatest offensive linemen and one of the greatest centers of all time like Dermontti (Dawson) up for the Hall of Fame, guys like him get overlooked and it’s unfortunate. One of our offensive linemen, Trai Essex, had the idea for all of us to wear Dermontti Dawson jerseys to media day and try to generate some support and some awareness for him. We’re just trying to do whatever small part we can to get his name out there and make sure that he gets elected to the Hall of Fame because that’s where he belongs.”
(on playing offensive line for the Steelers) “I think that not only playing offensive line in the NFL is a great thing, but the Steelers offensive line has a great legacy and has a great tradition of great offensive lines. So I think the standards and expectations are high here, and we want to live up to those standards and expectations. We’re always reaching for the ceiling in our room, and we understand what those expectations are. All we can do is continue to work hard and try to live up to the expectations and the standards of the men who were in our room previously.”
(on what words describe the Steelers offensive line the best) “Smashmouth; toughness – those are words that epitomize the Steelers offensive line and our mindset. Those are good characteristics of what it takes to play for the Steelers.”
(on what it’s like to practice against the Steelers defense) “We don’t necessarily face them that much in practice during the season, as it’s the scout team we face who gives us what the upcoming opponent’s defense is going to look like. But during training camp we’re there for a month and we go against our starting defense every day and they absolutely bring it. They are the best defense in the league, hands down. When we have success against them, we feel pretty good about it because we know that they’re the best. So I think that they definitely prepare us for the season and the intensity of our training camp is like anything I’ve ever experienced. It definitely prepares us for the season and the intensity we have to bring in every game.”
(on what it’s like for him to have so much media attention this week) “I’m not used to having to be up on a podium. It’s pretty interesting because it’s not like being in the locker room and talking to the media. It’s a real neat experience. I’m not particularly one who likes to spill my guts to the media necessarily, but I’ve enjoyed it. I’ve gotten to speak to media types from all over the world and it’s been a real interesting experience. Out of my regular work day, it’s kind of annoying, but at the same time I’ve kind of enjoyed it.”
(on how focused the team is) “I think we’re very focused and we have been working on this gameplan for two weeks. We’re not necessarily getting bored with it, but we’ve seen it so much that I feel like we know what we’re doing. We’re watching the same stuff over and over. Right now, we’re watching last week’s practices that we already watched last week. So it is getting a little repetitive, but the more we watch the stuff, the more mentally prepared we’ll be along with the more looks we get in practice which will help us be more prepared this week. It’s definitely good preparation, but we’re definitely ready for the game. We’re prepared to go.”
(on how they treat this game) “You have to treat this game like any other game, but emotions are going to be running so high and everybody’s going to be real amped before the game. I’ve been watching these old Super Bowl games they’ve been airing all week on NFL Network and you see the looks of the faces of the guys on the sidelines and they’re just stoic. Everyone just has no expression on their face and they’re nerved out about what’s going on on the field and wondering what’s going to happen. We have to stay even-keel. Kendall Simmons is also the guy who told me that he was almost hyperventilating until halftime in the last Super Bowl game. So I know emotions will be running high and I think that will carry us through the game and that’s how I expect us to play at the highest level.”
(on if he prefers to get the ball first) “I don’t really care who gets the ball first. If we get out there, hopefully we’ll set the tone. If the defense gets out there, then hopefully they can set the tone. But that’s what we need to be about because when that ball gets kicked off, we better be prepared to smash people’s faces in, and that’s what we plan on doing.”
WR SANTONIO HOLMES
(on what he needs to do to be successful against the Arizona defense) “I’ve got to be humble, accept everything that is going on around me and go out and play the same game I’ve been playing this postseason. I don’t think I can change anything. Hopefully it works out in our favor that they want to play me in one-on-one coverage with their defensive guys and Ben (Roethlisberger) is aware of it and we can make the best out of it.”
(on the strengths of the Arizona secondary) “It’s the turnovers that they’ve been able to force in the secondary. They have a group of guys that have been around and play fearless. They’re not worried about getting beat deep because they have the speed to recover if guys want to go deep on them. They’ve been playing good football thus far in the postseason.”
(on Matt Wilhelm giving him a high five after his punt return TD against San Diego in the postseason) “That was just Buckeye love. He smiled at me after he saw it and shook his head like, ‘why did you have to do it against us?’ That’s just out of respect. Even Ed Reed, after I scored that touchdown and dove in the end zone, he even came up to me. People didn’t talk about that. That’s out of respect for what one player can do to change the game, and you have to respect what players can do.”
(on what another big return would do to ignite the team) “It’s going to spark this team like it has been doing during the postseason. The two big plays that I’ve made, touchdowns in both games, have really sparked this team. That’s what the guys look for, and I want to be that exciting guy to help spark this team.”
(on the tradition of chasing rabbits in his hometown of Belle Glade, Fla.) “Growing up there, it was real tough. There weren’t many jobs or opportunities for jobs. If your parents are out working in the field, there is no opportunity for you to go out and find a job because you have to stay home and take care of your brothers and sisters. We didn’t have many opportunities to do things other than play football and chase rabbits.”
(on how chasing rabbits helps you on the football field) “I never thought about it until after I went to college and started hearing about it so much. We did it because it helped us get money. Now, people are saying these guys are really fast because they chase rabbits. I never thought of it that way. Running in the muck, the soil that’s down there, it’s not like a football field. You have divots all over the ground that you have to maneuver through while you’re running. I think it strengthened my legs, but a lot of the guys that chased rabbits also ran track. That probably helped elevate their speed too.”
(on a typical day chasing rabbits) “We’ll probably catch between 40 and 80 rabbits a day, depending on how many come out of the field or how many people are chasing them at a time. If you’re there with two or three guys, you can catch that many in a day. We would go out around seven in the morning and not get home until 6:30 at night. That was our job, what we did to make money. Our parents didn’t have enough money to supply our needs. We wanted shoes and clothes, so we went out and did it on our own.”
(on any tricks to chasing rabbits) “You’ve got to take a dog with you because they love to chase the rabbits. They love it just as much as we do. Also, you’ve got to take one of the cane stalks. If you’re not fast enough to chase them, you’ve got to throw that cane stalk at them. When they’re sitting in the bushes and you walk up on them, you just grab them by the body, break their neck so they die instantly, throw them in the backpack and keep moving. We’re out there hunting just like people would do if they were trying to survive.”
(on what the market was for a rabbit) “It’s between three and five dollars a rabbit. We would take them home, and my grandfather was well-known for selling fish and rabbits outside of our house. People would just come up to the house and say, ‘hey, I want to buy five or 10 rabbits’. We sell them by the bag and put five rabbits in a bag. The price would go up depending on what kind of rabbit it was.”
(on his hometown of Belle Glade, Fla.) “We don’t have a Wal Mart, don’t have a Target. There are maybe two grocery stores, no movie theaters, no mall. There isn’t really anything to do where we live, so all you’re going to do is chase rabbits, go to school and play football, or you’re going to stand on the corner and sell drugs.”
(on the decision to go north for college) “I was doing research on Ohio State and figuring it was either Ohio State or North Carolina State. Knowing that Philip Rivers was only going to be there for another year and a half, I figured I wouldn’t have enough time to grow with him. Going into Ohio State, I knew I had Troy Smith and Justin Zwick, two guys that were premier quarterbacks in the state of Ohio. I knew they were going to be there just as long as I was. Plus, the list of wide receivers that went from Ohio State to the NFL I think is more than any other college right now, if I’m not mistaken. I wanted to be a part of that tradition.”
G CHRIS KEMOEATU
(on the excitement leading up to the Super Bowl) “I think everyone is starting to understand the fact that we are in the Super Bowl and it feels that the closer we get to the game, the more exciting it will be.”
(on his approach for the Super Bowl compared to the AFC Championship) “The Super Bowl is the icing on the cake; it is accomplishing all of your dreams. I think that plays a part in the difference between the Super Bowl and other playoff or conference championship games.”
(on the Cardinals defensive line) “They are really tight up there. They’ve got Darnell Dockett and Antonio Smith who are really good players. They’re all excellent athletes and we’ve got to be ready for them. We are excited about the competition.”
(on the importance of an efficient performance of the offensive line) “We can only beat ourselves, we know that. We’ve got to continue to do the things we have done that got us here. It is important for us to establish the run game and more forward from there. Our goal is to play our game and hopefully we can be successful from there.”
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR DICK LEBEAU
(on his discussion with Head Coach Mike Tomlin when he decided to retain him as the defensive coordinator) “The first time I talked to Coach Tomlin he called me on the phone and he said I’m real busy, but I just want you to know that I want you to stay. So, after that it was just a matter of meeting with him and figuring out what he wanted to do. That was all I wanted to hear and he told me that and I knew he was real busy, so I didn’t really talk to him for two or three days. But we spent a lot of time in our earlier association with just trying to exchange defensive philosophies and situational calls and things of that nature; they were very productive by far. Before he got completely immersed with the draft and free agency and everything like that we had some real quality time there and it was, I thought, I hope, productive for him and it certainly was for me.”
(on why he wants to continue in his position win or lose) “Well, I think these guys play defense pretty well and it’s kind of fun to coach them. They keep me young, there’s no question about it and that’s the reason why. As long as my health holds up and people want me to work, I think it’d be pretty foolish to leave these guys.”
(on what he thinks about the recent surge of younger head coaches) “I think all coaching is a young man’s job really. I don’t think there’s any question about that. I’ve been blessed. But, is it a young man’s job? I think invariably most coaches are going to say yes. There is something to be said in all walks of employment for experience. The older you are, hopefully, you are more experienced, but sometimes you wonder. But, you should get better every year. Hopefully that is the case.”
(on the scouting department) “Our scouts do a great job. Our Director of Football Operations who coordinates our draft is Kevin Colbert and he’s done a tremendous job of getting people that fit and fit what we do.”
(on if he met any resistance when he was in Cincinnati about using the zone blitz scheme) “No, I was really lucky there too because we were really going far off the diving board in 1983 and 1984. Sam Wyche was the head coach and Coach Wyche was an innovative guy himself. Really the popularization of the no-huddle as a constant theme of attack. I think Sam was one of the very, very first guys that I ever saw do it and as far as I know he was the first guy. Everybody used two minute, but Sam evolved it into an every attack, which is pretty prevalent around the league. Most teams will do it some throughout the season. He was more open perhaps to something that was a little bit more bizarre perhaps than cover-3, so I was lucky there.”
(on the players’ reaction when he first introduced the zone blitz scheme) “The players have always enjoyed the pressure schemes. I move them and they like to move. I’ve never been exposed to very many players that don’t like to put pressure on the quarterback and not just set in one position. The offense makes us adjust to everything, formation, snap count, shifts, no huddles, so it’s fun to make them have to adjust.”
(on if it’s like turning the tables and making the offense adjust to the defense) “Well, try to level the field a little bit for your guys that’s all. Still, they’re going to initiate the action because they’re the ones that have the football. We’re always going to be a stimulus-response type of situation, but hopefully by moving and bringing some different people in different combinations we can deter some of the things they want to do.”
(on if he has seen Mike Tomlin grow as a coach from year one to year two) “I think he’s done a tremendous job both years. I think Coach Tomlin knew what he wanted to do when he came in here. If you check his track record out, he’s achieved at a very early age all through his career. I think that he deserves a tremendous amount of credit for coming into a situation where there was a great coach just leaving and leaving pretty much at the top of his record and the things that Coach Cowher accomplished at Pittsburgh and that’s not an easy situation for any man to step into. Mike went in with his own personality and his own thoughts and I think Coach Tomlin would tell you that he has grown. Hopefully, we all grow every year with what we’re doing, but I think from day one he’s done a tremendous job and I don’t think it can be overstated the degree of difficulty to follow a man that is successful as Coach Cowher was there. I think you’ve said all you need to say about Coach Tomlin when you say that he was successful in a difficult situation.”
(on if the Cardinals offense is similar to what Coach Whisenhunt did with the Steelers) “Yeah, I mean sure. We’re going to see some of the things he’s done. He has a great cast of characters to orchestrate it. The quarterback has so more experience and accuracy. That, to me, is the main ingredient that he brings; he’s so accurate. It’s not like he doesn’t have anybody out there to catch the ball. He has three tremendous wide receivers. No one talks about their tight ends, but they’re big, really big and they can really catch the ball. I know we’re going to see some things that Coach Whisenhunt’s done before, we’re going to see some things he hasn’t done. I know he’ll have some surprises. The thing that makes him so formidable are the people they have doing them.”
(on why his players play so well) “It’s because of their character. They’re competitive and they live to play, so we try not to hurt them, we just try to stay out of their way. I’m blessed. We have a tremendous group of young men. You would be proud to call any one of them a member of your family. They’re going to defend everybody and they’re going to play every minute they have left. I’m probably the most proud of that: how they play. I’d like to claim some credit for that, but the people that they are, they’re just tremendous competitors. They’re going to play, I promise you that.”
(on not being able to prepare for every possible play the Cardinals will use) “Well, a wise man once said, ‘He who defends everything, defends nothing.’ That was Fredrick the Great, the unifier of the Prussian states. I think he knew what he was talking about. He had a pretty good competitive record.”
(on how Arizona QB Kurt Warner said he hates him) “That’s quite a compliment. On the other hand, I’m a great admirer of Kurt Warner. I think his story is great. I think his career is great. I think he’s a tremendous example of all that’s right in professional athletics. I’m a tremendous fan of Kurt Warner. I admire him. I hope he doesn’t do too well on Sunday, but I really think he’s a great man and a great player.”
(on if he thinks this is the best group of athletes he’s had as a whole package defensively) “Again, I’ve been blessed. We had Kevin Green and Greg Lloyd on the outside and Levon Kirkland and Chad Brown on the inside and you’re not going to get very many better players than that to work with. I think, from the standpoint of numbers, from what they produce, the numbers speak for themselves. I think maybe the game is progressed to where what they’ve done certainly has merit, but I wouldn’t compare them to other teams. But, as far as people, I’ve never had better people to coach either on or off the field. They’re special.”
(on when he first got to Pittsburgh and how much of a melting pot of defensive ideas it was with him, Dom Capers and Bill Cowher) “Well, there’s no question that it was a melting pot. All three of us had been defensive coordinators. Coach Cowher had the final voice because he was the head coach and Dom Capers was our defensive coordinator. I certainly was not a prime mover at first, but we didn’t talk much about the fire zones early. But as we got in to where people were comfortable with what we were going to do, we began to get into some different pressures and we had success with them. So, it was just an out-pouring of a lot of guys who had some good defensive exposure.”
(on what year he started using the zone blitz) “I’d say about 1984. I started delving into dropping different people. That was the first year that I was the coordinator. I had always had these ideas, but if you’re not the coordinator you don’t get them in. Then, it really grew when we drafted a guy from Arizona by the name of David Fulcher who was a tremendous force blitzing and he could play like a linebacker. Yet, he had pretty good open field capabilities too. Trying to utilize his ability to blitz without having the opponent just always hot-read away from him was one of the first things that got me thinking in some of the things we did.”
CB BRYANT MCFADDEN
(on facing veteran QB Kurt Warner) “It’s going to be a big challenge for us. He is a veteran that has seen everything. It’s going to be a collective effort. We all need to be on the same page to have success against them. We have to confuse them or do something that gets them out of their comfort zone.”
(on various players stepping in for injured players in the secondary) “That made us a lot better. We have a lot of depth. That puts a level of security around us, knowing that if something were to occur we won’t miss a beat. It also raises the level of competition in practice so everybody is on their job.”
(on how you defend WR Larry Fitzgerald) “You have to go at it like you’re fighting. You have to pull off and make sure you’re ripping and punching. You have to do everything possible because Fitzgerald has very strong hands. If it comes close to his hands, he’s bringing it in. You have to make an extra effort to do whatever you can to get the ball out.”
(on what goes through his mind this week) “Making plays and an overview of the game in my mind. In my mind, I’m always doing some positive things. I tend to reflect on that and being successful and the team having success.”
(on where Warner ranks) “He is ranked very high. Looking at the success that he has had, he has always been the type of guy who is very instinctive and smart. He recognizes what the defense is trying to do to him. Kurt is not ashamed of using his check-down guy, dumping it off and getting the ball out of his hands.”
TE HEATH MILLER
(on his athletic past helping develop him as a tight end) “As a kid you enjoy playing all kinds of different sports and it definitely develops you athletically, so I am sure there is some carryover when it comes to football.”
(on switching from a college receiver to a professional tight end) “I felt like I was a pretty good blocker coming out of college, I definitely took pride in it. The moment I started playing tight end I realized that there was more to it than just catching the ball, I was glad to come here where I am able to do both.”
(on how plays seem to breakdown but yet seem to be successful) “Any time I think that you are a receiver down the field with Ben (Roethlisberger) scrambling around back there then you are a viable option and if you get open he is going to find you. There is no question about that.”
(on getting back into a normal game week routine) “We practiced full speed yesterday, we didn’t wear pads but it was what we would normally do if we were back in Pittsburgh preparing to play a game. It was nice to get back on some sort of routine.”
(on what remembers most from the Ravens game) “Yeah it could have gone either way just like all the other games we played against them this year. Fortunately Troy (Polamalu) had the huge play at the end of the game I think that we will all remember for a while.”
(on if he thinks this game will be similar or different to the AFC Championship game score-wise) “No, you never think about it that way. We have taken the approach all year long that it doesn’t matter how we get the job done, whether it be low-scoring or high-scoring, collectively as a team, all three phases, we are going to do enough to get it done. We don’t care who gets the credit for it, we are just going out to win the game”
(on if he is impressed with the Cardinals defense during the playoffs) “Yeah, it would be hard not to be impressed with what they have been doing. They have been stopping the run, they have been sacking the quarterback, and they have been turning the ball over. They have been wreaking havoc. We are going to have to match the intensity those guys are playing with, it seems that they are playing two times faster than the guys they are playing against at times. It’s just all out effort and intensity coming from their part, so it is going to be our job to match that.”
(on what he is expecting from Ben Roethlisberger this weekend) “I expect him to play great and lead us like he has all year long. I know all the guys on offense and all the guys in this locker room wouldn’t expect anything different.”
(on the return of Willie Parker) “I hope so, its defiantly a welcoming site for us on the offense to see Willie (Parker) streaking down the sideline out running a bunch of guys. Hopefully we will see that a few more times this weekend.”
RB WILLIE PARKER
(on if he feels like the offense needs to rush well to put the Steelers in a position to win) “The main thing we have to do is execute. When we call our plays we have to execute and when we get in the red zone we’ve got to score points. It’s not about how many yards I have or how many yards Ben (Roethlisberger) gets. It’s about us executing.”
(on what it is about him and this offense that does so well in the playoffs) “It’s not really about me; it’s about us. I’m surrounded by a great group of guys and we feed off each other’s ability to make plays and they definitely love what I bring to the table.”
(on what he feels like he needs to do better in this game compared to his performance in last season’s meeting) “I’ve just got to run and keep doing what I’ve been doing like making people miss and hit the holes harder. They’ve got a good defense that’s been playing well in the post-season.”
(on how the team is dealing with practicing in the Florida humidity) “We’re getting acclimated in it right now by practicing in it. It’s definitely a lot more humid, but then again we’re playing the game at night so I don’t think that will be a problem by then. But you’ve definitely got to get acclimated with practicing in it because we’ve been used to practicing in the freezing cold with a frozen field in subzero conditions the past couple of weeks.”
(on how excited he is to get back on the field and practice for the game) “Just getting on the field and practicing has felt great. That’s what we came down here for – to play football. All the hoopla and all the distractions took center stage in the first few days, but to get back on the practice field reiterated what we were here for.”
(on what the effect of being undrafted has had on him) “I think it’s helped me, for the most part. It helped me be a better person and helped me mature at a quicker pace. It definitely made me a better runner. But I wouldn’t change anything that has happened in my career because I’ve been to two Pro Bowls and this is my second Super Bowl. What if I did get drafted? It probably wouldn’t be this way. I would have probably been with a different team and a different group of guys, but I’m glad I’m with this group of guys.”
(on how tough it was to deal with missing time this season due to injuries) “It was definitely tough, but at the same time God blessed me to bounce back and overcome that adversity and now I’m back full-speed. Everybody deals with it and everybody has to do it when you play this game, but it’s worked out for the best.”
(on if he feels close to 100 percent at this point) “I started feeling that way against Cleveland in the last game of the season and then it just went on from there. I had a first round bye and then I started feeling great after that. It started working that way towards the playoffs.”
(on what he did during the bye week) “Nothing. I just let my body heal. Me, the strength coach and the trainers were on the same page and they wanted me to rest my body and see how I felt when I came back.”
(on if it concerned him that the team drafted Rashard Mendenhall this season) “It didn’t concern me; this is a business. There’s going to be competition wherever you go. I’m pretty sure when he came in I looked at it like friendly competition. I took him under my wing and I taught him everything Jerome (Bettis) taught me, and that’s where it’s been since day one. I came here to compete, so I wouldn’t want to change it up for nothing. They drafted a first rounder, so it’s time to compete and we’ll deal with the business part of it later.”
(on where his hometown of Clinton, North Carolina is) “It’s near Raleigh and is beside Wilmington on the east side of North Carolina.”
(on what he’s heard from his hometown this week) “People have been getting in contact with my parents and show their love and support through my parents.”
(on how tough it was to go through rehab this season) “It was very tough and my teammates knew how bad I wanted to be on the field. I wasn’t in walkthroughs and things of that nature because I was inside the facility doing things with my body with my trainer. It was tough though seeing them playing and practicing and I wish I could have been out there with them, but I couldn’t. Then to hear their mouths (making fun of him) kind of rushed me on the field before I was really ready.”
(on having faith in himself to play hard throughout the season and a big game like this) “You have to have faith and you definitely have to believe in yourself, but if it wasn’t for the man above, I don’t think none of us would be in the respected positions that we are in today. I always had faith in myself and believed in myself, and I always believed in God and that He would work it the right way where He wanted me to be at, which is here playing football.”
(on where his speed comes from) “I don’t think it came from my parents. I think it’s just something that was instilled within me, but I definitely used to work on it and do crazy things just to work on my speed. Once I got it, I never lost it and I didn’t have to do those things anymore.”
(on what gameday is like for him) “I’ll try to wake up about 10 in the morning and go eat a good breakfast consisting of whatever I decide to eat. After breakfast I’ll try to lay around and watch t.v. and say hi to my parents and read over scripture from the Bible and then my day gets started. By then, we’ll have pre-game meal around 4:30 p.m. and we’ll get ready to go to the field.”
(on how he deals with the emotions of this type of game) “You have to bottle them up and keep them within. The game is going to be very long, and 45 minutes after warmups we’ll start playing. You have to hold your emotions and get too worn out. Even now, you have to be calm. We’ve already been here before, so we know what to expect with a long week.”
(on already holding the NFL’s record for the longest run in a Super Bowl and if he would like to gain another record in this game) “I’m not really thinking about it. I’m thinking about other ways to get this victory and get another piece of hardware. That will be real big for me. As far as the records, that’s not really a concern for me right now.”
(on if keeping Arizona’s offense off the field is a major concern) “We’ve definitely been facing other explosive offenses all season long. Dallas had an explosive offense; the Eagles had an explosive offense. So we’re definitely familiar with good offenses.”
(on if the toughness of the schedule prepared them to face anyone this season) “We had five-star matchups all year long and we treated every game like it was the biggest game. Now, it’s no different – this is the biggest game; it’s the Super Bowl. So we definitely have to go out there and keep the same mentality.”
(on if nerves are more of a factor in this game) “Yes. I can’t even lie to you. This game is the biggest of all and even though you know what to expect, the butterflies are going to be there. Everybody including your family, your friends, everybody in the NFL, the NBA, the NHL and all the sports are watching. This is the biggest game in the world so yes, of course, you’re going to have butterflies, but after the first kickoff and your first hit, you’ll wake up and get back to it.”
(on if he expects Ben Roethlisberger to be a better quarterback in this Super Bowl) “Most definitely. He definitely matured in a big way and he’s going to lead this team.”
SS TROY POLAMALU
(on his approach to the game) “I just try to approach the game like any of my teammates. Leaders have provided a great example for a lot of younger guys when they first came into the NFL. I just try to approach it with a very business, family-like atmosphere that we have in Pittsburgh like any one of my teammates.”
(on what they need to do to prevent Kurt Warner from predicting what the defense will do) “First off, that’s tough doing with someone like Kurt because he has so much experience. He’s seen pretty much all the defenses this game has to offer, so schematically speaking, you just try to give him different looks.”
(on if he’s comfortable playing the role of cornerback) “Honestly, as a safety in this defense, we’re asked to cover often. I think that’s what’s unique about our defense. We have an array of different coverage’s where at times, we’ll even be in zero man-to-man coverage with receivers as well as blitzing. How comfortable am I? Very uncomfortable. Anytime you face great receivers like that; usually if I’m covering them, there is probably going to be a big blitz, so I won’t have to cover them for long which is an advantage for a defensive player.”
(on what happens in his mind when he steps on the football field) “Honestly, for me, I don’t see any transition once I step between the lines. I do it the same why I live my life and that’s with passion and devotion to either my family or in this case, football. Football is a very violent game and it’s played very passionately. If I were doing ballet or anything else like that, I would approach it with the same passion. It just doesn’t have the violence, obviously.”
(on if he sees any changes in Kurt Warner or if he’s been consistent throughout his career) “I think it’s probably an accumulation of all of that. He’s in a great system, obviously. I think it’s a very similar situation to when Tommy Maddox was our quarterback in Pittsburgh. They’re very similar in the sense in how accurate they are. They’re able to see how defenses develop and disguise throughout a play. Obviously, Kurt has the MVP’s and the Super Bowls, but I think they are very similar in that way. I think it’s a mix of both. It doesn’t hurt him that he has one of the best, if not the best receiving corps in the game and a legendary running back with Edgerrin James back there as well.”
(on the keys to a zone blitz) “A lot of people run blitzes different. They’re either playing man-to-man blitzes or a pure zone blitz, which is like a normal cover-three. The way that we play our blitzes is kind of with a zone or man coverage mentality in basketball. I think what makes us successful is not only us coming free but I know that coaches want us to come free and hit the quarterback, but our mentality has always been about matchups and getting the linebackers and defensive linemen on the running backs and making offensive linemen block defensive backs.”
(on if he talks louder or yells on the field) “No I don’t. I don’t really do any of the communicating of the calls. I’m a hand signal guy. I’m not a rah-rah guy. We have great leaders on our defense like James Farrior and Deshea Townsend who get the guys motivated.”
(on if he’s doing anything different compared to their last Super Bowl performance) “I think going through the experience with two different coaches, I don’t see much change to be honest. We’ve played in a lot of big games this season against a lot of great teams. I think having that experience and being in those Monday Night games, big rivalry games and obviously this playoff run, I think you do have a lot of carry over in the sense that this is just one game. I think we do approach this Super Bowl in that way that it’s just one game. It’s not about winning Super Bowl XLIII, it’s about playing against the Arizona Cardinals.”
(on helping out former NFL players) “I’m not really a spokesman. I’m not the player representative for our team. Charlie Bath is our player rep. However, as an NFL player, I do believe that we should help them out, without a doubt. This football fraternity is very small and special and I think that it would be even more special. This family environment we have, it not only carries from team to team but it carries through other teams as well. I think we should definitely do everything we can to help them out.”
jueves, 29 de enero de 2009
Pittsburgh Steelers -1- Jueves 29/1/09
Super Bowl XLIII – Thursday, January 29, 2009
QUOTES FROM PITTSBURGH STEELERS PRESS CONFERENCE
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR BRUCE ARIANS
(on how Ben Roethlisberger has changed since Super Bowl XL) “A lot of things: the maturity and the experience, more fourth quarter comebacks, more plays, more teamwork, defenses have evolved more. More than anything, that Super Bowl was Jerome Bettis, Jeff Hartings, Alan Faneca, Hines Ward; the veterans led us. He just had to play along. This is his team now, offensively. Hines is still here but it’s Ben’s. That offensive line is his guys. That leadership has really blossomed in the last three years.”
(on the chemistry and bonding of Roethlisberger and his offensive line) “It’s a natural thing. Quarterbacks and offensive linemen, they need to hang. They are really close and they have card games at his house. They are always together. That’s the natural process that you hope takes place.”
(on the accident Roethlisberger sustained in 2006) “The accident took a toll on all of us. Any time you almost lose your life… it is amazing to me that he came back and played that fast. He showed that toughness that I try to explain to people that he has. I get a little upset when I hear somebody on television that calls him a ‘drama king.’ This guy has approached the border. He takes a lot of hits because he plays backyard football sometimes and he gets up swinging. Those guys know it that play in front of him. It’s the natural process of the great ones.”
(on if Roethlisberger appreciated life more and changed after the accident) “I didn’t see a big switch. I saw a guy who maybe was a gun slinger, but became very humble and now is a gun slinger again, which at that position, you need. Not only did he go through the accident, it was a bad year. We didn’t play well as a team. He’s been able to grow from all of that and still get the gun slinger back. I’m sure it had an effect.”
(on if Roethlisberger gets the respect he deserves given what he’s done) “Especially when you look at what’s he’s done with all of the injuries that we’ve had on offense and the come from behind victories this year that got us here. We’re not here without him, even with our defense. There are some great defenses out there that don’t have quarterbacks on the other side of the ball, when times are needed, like him. He is the reason we are here. It is a team thing but I hope he gets his due because he deserves it.”
(on what RB Willie Parker brings to the offense) “Willie brings such energy and a passion to the game. You can see it every time when he breaks a run that might have been blocked for three and he’ll get seven, eight or maybe ten and he’ll jump up and flex his muscles. You see all the offensive linemen say, ‘Yeah, we kicked their (behind).’ That’s a good feeling because you didn’t block them that well. He made something happen. (The offensive line’s) confidence grows when he gets off like that. That’s what he brings for us. He’s a great personality that way and he’s a tough guy. People think of him as ‘Fast Willie,’ that he’s an outside (runner). He’s a violent little inside runner now and he runs most of the time between the tackles. He may start up in there and go around the corner but that’s what his special talent brings. When we have plays like the touchdown run in Cleveland that we probably blocked for four yards, a good solid run, he took it 30 to the house. It’s nice to see that again. We missed that.”
(on what it means to have a healthy Willie Parker and on the impact of his return) “You can see it coming. He was healthy but he wasn’t mentally healthy. In a running game, the speed of the game is everything. When you are out for a month and then all of a sudden you shoot up to New England and you’re playing there and you break one out and they catch you. It’s like, ‘I’ve never been caught before.’ In Tennessee, he breaks out and he thinks he’s cruising in the end zone and he’s nipped on the four. The speed of the game didn’t catch back up with his health. Then, at Cleveland, there he went down the sideline, another long run. He knew he was back. You could tell, he knew he was back. It was the mental part of it. I think he was just as healthy then but now his mind and his body caught up to the speed and he’s probably fresher than he has ever been for the playoffs. It was a very tough stretch without him, but I’m glad we got him now.”
(on why Parker is so effective) “His overall quickness, speed and his power. In the San Diego game - and I have a good friend on their defense - they had a lot of guys point blank on him. He has enough to set them back on their heels and run them over and then we’ll get four yards out of a one yard play. Then all of a sudden, he makes one miss. We’re going to need that out of him in this one.”
(on his first NFL coaching job with the Kansas City Chiefs) “It was one of the best staffs. I think our Super Bowl staff with Bill (Cowher) was comparable with ‘Whiz’ (Ken Whisenhunt) and Russ (Grimm), Dick Hoak, James Daniel and myself. With Tony (Dungy) and Tom Pratt and Bill on defense and then Joe Pendry, Marty Schottenheimer, Al Saunders on offense. It was a great coaching staff and that turn around, I think was that.”
(on the turn around they sparked in Kansas City) “I tell people all the time about Arrowhead (Stadium). The first day I walked in, it was hard to get 27,000 (fans) in there. Within a really short time, Southwest Missouri State, I think they were the Braves, they had to change their names, they started to chop. Then we started bringing them back every time. That whole thing grew and it was really fun to be a part of. It hurts to see it not there again.”
(on the Cardinals defense) “It’s a hybrid 4-3. The zone pressure is similar to ours. I like ours in other ways. It’s the rogue defense of the NFL right now. You see a big turn back to the 3-4. I’m not going to figure that Bert (Berry) is going to be a linebacker. I’m not going to have a running back block him as a linebacker. You treat them as a 4-3 team and try to give it a little more flexibility. They do a nice job.”
(on using guards to block linebackers) “We don’t do that much. It’s a recipe for disaster. You have to do it some but it’s just a blocking unit from the pass protection part of it. They do bring safeties a lot so you have to be on top of your game as far as who’s hot and who’s not, pickups, the whole nine yards.”
(on the relationship between Ken Whisenhunt and Ben Roethlisberger in Pittsburgh) “I thought it was great. You had a young quarterback and one heck of a coordinator. They worked well together, played golf together. They had a fantastic run. Never once did I ever suspect or see what I keep reading about. I think the non-handshake in Arizona last year was blown way out of proportion in my opinion.”
(on reports of them not talking in Pittsburgh) “Mark Whipple was the quarterbacks coach but Ken was in the room a lot. Ken ran the practices and ran the meetings, so that’s ridiculous.”
(on what makes Roethlisberger a great quarterback) “God gave him a lot of talent but he also gave him a ton of fortitude. He’s one of the toughest competitors I’ve been around. There’s one comparative thing that he and Peyton Manning have and I had Peyton his first two years; it’s a desire to win no matter what they’re playing, tiddly-winks, ping pong. Charlie (Batch) has a big pool, ping pong tournament every year for a fundraiser. Ben has to go win everything. That is the driving force that makes great players great, that he has along with all the talent. He was pissed when he got drafted low but he got to a hell of a team. Having watched Tim Couch go through what he went through in Cleveland, Tim barely came out alive. Now it’s a godsend. (He’s) in his second Super Bowl. That draft day thing is way behind him. He’s grown so much in the years I’ve been with him. So much has happened to him but he’s handled it beautifully.”
FS RYAN CLARK
(on defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau’s plans to return next season) “I heard it for the first time on TV last night. We’ve talked about it a lot of times, guys saying that we’d just retire too, if he retires. He always gives us the same answer, ‘I’m going to be here as long as you guys are here’, and being that he’ll probably outlive all of us, that’s more than likely the truth. I think one thing Pittsburgh has done well as an organization is keep a core group of guys there, and as far as the coaches go, Coach LeBeau is part of that. It’s unbelievable that we’ll have him back and it gives us a big crutch, having Coach LeBeau there.”
(on people asking him about stopping the Cardinals offense) “If you look at the season, every time we played Baltimore we were never billed as the best defense. They would say it was number one versus number two, but you kind of always had that feeling that people thought Baltimore was the better defense despite what the numbers said. We’d go into weeks against Dallas, New England, high powered offenses, and you’d get the same questions. How are you going to stop their number one receivers? How are you going to contain them? Those are valid questions because other people don’t stop these teams. If you look at what the Cardinals have done in the playoffs and the run that they’ve been on, scoring 30 points every game against good football teams, what they’ve been doing is spectacular. It’s going to be a big challenge for us. We’ve had those all year and we step up every time, and we play football. It’s like Coach LeBeau says, ‘sometimes you’re going to get the bear, sometimes the bear gets you.’ They’re going to make plays. Larry Fitzgerald is going to make a play that you’re all going to get to talk about on TV for the next week, but as long as we score one more point, we’ll be ok.”
(on playing across from SS Troy Polamalu) “I’ve been blessed in my career to play with probably two of the most unique safeties to play this game, modern day football. It’s just fun. Troy and I spend a lot of time off the field together. I think that helps us in our communication, the ways we talk, and I want him to be great. You want Troy to jump over the pile on fourth and one. You want Troy to be able to leave his man and get an interception, and score a touchdown. You want him to feel like he can do those things and be covered, so I tell him, ‘you go be you and I’ll figure it out.’”
(on the Steelers defense) “If you look at our defense, we only have three Pro Bowlers. Really, other than Troy (Polamalu), even though James (Harrison) won the MVP, (we don’t have) really well known guys (or) big name guys. We have a leader in the middle, James Farrior, who is quiet. He’s not really a ‘rah, rah’ guy. He’s never the guy you see on NFL Network or ESPN or something doing those big speeches. They never highlight James Farrior’s speech, but he leads by example every day. I think people get fascinated with the glitz and the glamour and all of that, but we have guys that just go out and work. I think as a team, we’ve shown that we are one of the best defensive teams, as a unit, in the NFL.”
(on the stopping Cardinals top players) “You can’t be worried with a team like Arizona because there are so many people on that team that can make plays. They have Fitzgerald, they have (Anquan) Boldin, Edgerrin James, a great quarterback, good tight ends. It’s pick your poison. We just have to go out and stop everybody, and that’s our goal.”
(on Mike Ditka’s Gridiron Greats press conference) “(I was) not aware that Mike Ditka did the (press conference) this morning, but I’m definitely aware of the cause. Matt Burke sent out a memo because he donated a lot of money to that cause, which I’m definitely aware of. I think if we help now it can only help us in the future if we raise awareness for it and if we do give money. If that’s something that we decide to do as a league then I’m all for it. You look at some of the situations that those guys (are in), the injuries that they still have, the medical problems they can’t take care of. It really is sad because you give so much to this game to end and be kind of left alone. Honestly the way I play, I think I’m going to need it.”
(on the defense being compared to some of the all-time best) “I think the only way you can belong with those guys is to win it. You look at those defenses, all of them won championships, all the ones that are talked about as great defenses, so we have to win the game. I don’t know. I guess if we win the game 40-35 they won’t be saying that about us. It really doesn’t matter to us. Even though we had the number one numbers all year, it took a while for people to come around and say we were a pretty good defense. Like I said, Baltimore was tabbed and billed, and shown by the media to be a better defense all year, so we haven’t focused on that. I said all along, the best defense in the league is going to win the most games. Right now this is the one we have to win. If we win that one, we’ll be the best defense in the NFL this year, and that’s all that matters.”
(on the difficulty of the Steelers schedule) “I think that plays a part. I think (our schedule) would be second only to the Steelers of ‘79. I watch a lot of TV, I’m sorry. I think it’s truly amazing. Coming from where we came from, in the offseason hearing ‘with their schedule 8-8, with their schedule 9-7 is a good year.’ To go 12-4 and to do it in the fashion that we did it, to play teams like New England, and not give up many points, to play the Dallas Cowboys and to win on an interception by Deshea (Townsend). All year we’ve risen to the occasion and we just have to do it one more time.”
(on why head coach Mike Tomlin won the Coach of the Year Award) “I remember watching a story that was on the other day and Art (Rooney) said he wanted to have (a coach) that could command the attention of a room, especially a room full of veterans as a new guy. I think he does that better than any coach I’ve been around. He’s able to articulate, and get his point across, his philosophy across, better than any coach I’ve ever been around as the head coach of a football team. He relates to us well too. I think maybe him being young, and not being so far removed from the days that we’re in of being young people, he’s able to say ‘your family’s coming to town in camp, ok we give the married guys a night to go hang out with their families.’ Things like that, you appreciate that. You’re able to go to him and say ‘you know coach last year you kind of grinded us toward the end of the year and we got a little tired.’ He’s able to say ‘ok well we’re going to take the pads off a little earlier.’ What’s helping him is he doesn’t have that big ego that says everything has to be my way.”
(on what a sixth Super Bowl win for the Steelers would mean to him) “I don’t know because I’m going to have one but organization-wise, I think it’s a credit to the Rooneys. It’s a credit to how they live their lives, how they run their organization, and how they treat their team. (They are) staples of consistency, constantly putting a good product on the field year after year. I think that’s what it says. (The Rooneys) aren’t a fly-by-night group, not a group that got seven older Pro Bowlers, put them on a team, won a Super Bowl, then the team dismantled and you couldn’t sell a ticket the next year. They’ve done things the right way. They bring in people they think fit their organization. I think that’s the biggest thing. It says that the Rooney family has done with the organization what I think should be done.”
(on Kurt Warner saying he doesn’t like trick plays) “I think playing a team like us you’re probably going to have to run a couple. I think you try to keep a team that’s going to blitz you and going to pressure you on their heels. I think Kurt may be trying to be a little sly there. He’s a Christian man so I’m not going to say he told a fib, he’s using a little manipulation. A trick play is good when you throw it 65 yards to Larry Fitzgerald and he’s one on one. I hate them too.”
OL WILLIE COLON
(on Pittsburgh’s defense) “Our defense is the best in the NFL. They do a great job of keeping us in the games and getting turnovers. For us, it’s about doing our job and I think right now we are clicking.”
(on his family in Bronx, NY) “It’s a dream come true. I was a project kid, growing up on the streets and running the streets in New York. But I’m just sticking to my dream and am staying good to myself. It’s a blessing. I give much credit to my mom for sticking by my side through the rough times. I know people from back home are cheering me on. Every time they see me they tell me they’re watching, so I’m proud and I’m glad they’re proud of me. My father is Puerto Rican. He’s a proud Hispanic who raised me to be proud of our last name and be proud of where we came from. Everywhere I go I try to represent somehow, some way not only for my family but for the Latino community. Everything is going well for me right now.”
(on the offensive line taking criticism all year) “As a unit we have been through so much. From injuries to guys dealing with serious off the field issues, from our unit getting bashed week in and week out no matter how good or bad we played. From a standpoint all that fire that we took motivated us to get better. We all came together as a unit and realized we all had to be accountable for ourselves. It’s a team game and we realized if we were going to do anything this year we were going to have to execute better, keep Ben (Roethlisberger) clean and our running game was going to have to get better. I feel we made some good strides this year in doing that. We didn’t have Willie Parker sometimes. Ben was banged up and battling sometimes. So, there were a lot of things you could throw in the pot but for the most part we had to be accountable for ourselves and our actions. A lot of the sacks were our fault and we understand that. A lot of stuff we did out there was on us and a lot of stuff wasn’t. We were the easy group to target and that’s ok. We have no problems with that, but at the same time, we understand to win games it has to be on us. We had to tighten up as a unit and here we are.”
(on how he will feel at kickoff on Sunday) “I don’t know. I think every day that goes by the tension builds up more and more. My biggest thing is the ability to calm down and open my eyes. I get so worked up. When I am on the sideline about to go on I have to suck it in, leave it out and realize it is a regular game so I can execute. For me personally, this is a great experience, but I don’t want to go home without the trophy so I am going to be as much of a help as I can.”
(on offensive line coach Larry Zierlein) “I think if anybody has taken more heat it’s been him. I think there is so much talk about us as a unit, but a lot of what we do is a reflection on him. He took a lot of criticism last year and he came back this year stuck with us and believed in us more than anybody. He is the one person that deserves most of the credit. He kept our heads afloat when we had the tough games against Philadelphia, Indianapolis and the Giants. He always stuck by us. We felt the heat from him but we also realized we were going to be alright. So, I think with all the credit we take he deserves it just as much.”
(on the Cardinals defense) “They are extremely active. The turnover game is big for them. You look at (Darnell) Dockett and (Antonio) Smith and those linebackers do a great job of flying around. We will have to match their intensity.”
(on the offensive line gelling with Ben Roethlisberger) “A lot of it has just come to us. We had to understand who he was as a person. I think with any great player, he knew if he wanted to get to this point he was going to have to bring us along and we were going to have to be a better unit as a whole. Some of that you can’t just get on the field. Some of that you have to do off the field playing cards or having a couple drinks and getting to know who he is. He stepped out of his shell, started trusting us and started to love us like we love him. It’s a beautiful relationship now. We have a great time off the field and when we come on the field it makes it better.”
(on QB Ben Roethlisberger) “I think you could describe him as a boxer. His ability to get knocked down and get back up, his ability to throw the long ball with a lot of people on him and his ability to escape - he’s just a tough kid. He believes in us and he believes that when it comes down to it he’s going to make the big play. I think you want a quarterback who’s going to take hits and still stand up. He thrives on that and that’s why he’s Big Ben.”
FB CAREY DAVIS
(on playing in the biggest sporting event in the world) “It’s exciting. It’s something you dream about as a little kid, to be able to play in the Super Bowl. As far as we’ve come this season and to do all the things we’ve done, it’s exciting for us.”
(on if the economic situation will make anything different for this year’s Super Bowl) “Sports brings people together, brings everything together. People enjoy sports, and for those couple of hours, they can sit back, relax and enjoy it.”
(on returning to the practice field) “It felt pretty good. It was a normal practice, but it was good to finally get back out there. It felt like we hadn’t practiced in about a week. It was good to finally get out there and run around and get back to football, not all this media stuff.”
(on the feeling of living out of a hotel, practicing in a different facility, having meetings in new places) “Everything is pretty normal actually. We come over from the hotel and do all of our meetings (at the University of South Florida). It’s normal, like back home, except for we don’t have media days like this everyday. That is the main difference. We try to keep it as normal as possible to keep us comfortable with what’s going on.”
(on the offensive game plan for the Super Bowl) “We have to be balanced. We have to run the ball well, pass the ball and go with whatever is working for us. We can’t turn the ball over, just go out there, do our jobs, not turn the ball over and play a great game.”
(on the Cardinals defensive front) “They’ve been very active, creating a lot of turnovers and getting to the quarterback. They’re moving well, playing well, and they’re real active.”
(on not letting the nerves get to you in the Super Bowl) “Kickoff…all the flashing lights. You have a few moments before the game when you realize, ‘I’m in the Super Bowl’. Once all that settles down in the game, it’s just another game, so you have to get prepared to play that game and play well. That first hit will help you a lot.”
LB JAMES FARRIOR
(on the commitment to each other within the team) “I think it starts with the Rooney family. They preach family atmosphere. They want us to be a close unit. I think you build your team chemistry in the offseason. That’s where you get all of the guys together and you’re not really working so much on football. All of the guys are just around each other every day and you get a good feel for how everyone is and how they are doing. We all care about one another on this team, as far as the players and coaches, and we love to go out and play for each other. That’s what builds that chemistry. There’s a bond that you have throughout the season.”
(on the biggest surprise from the AFC championship game) “I don’t think that I ever caught my breath in that game. My wind pattern wasn’t too good throughout the game. I thought it was just nerves at first and that I would get over it after a few plays, but I never really did catch my breath.”
(on the differences in preparations for his second Super Bowl) “It’s pretty much the same schedule. We’re doing the same thing we did for the first Super Bowl. There’s not too much different going on. We are down to our regular days of practicing. It’s good to be back at football and to get the side distractions out of the way.”
(on going for the franchise’s sixth Super Bowl win) “It would be a great accomplishment. We feel like we want to get this one for the Rooney family. They are a great organization and a great group of people. You like playing for this team. This team is embraced by the city and the fans. All that together, it would be great for the city of Pittsburgh and the Rooneys to be the first team that gets six Super Bowls, and we’re shooting for that.”
(on the difficulties of learning the Steelers defence) “I feel like anybody who comes into this defense is definitely going to take some time to learn everything that you need to know to make this defense successful. I don’t think it’s different for any new linebackers coming in. You are going to have problems and struggle at first, but it’s one of those things where you have to stay at it, you have to go over it every day when you’re a new guy. You have to prepare yourself, let the coaches coach and let everything sink in.”
(on Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner and similarities to former Steelers quarterback Tommy Maddox) “He does remind me a little bit of Tommy Maddox and of the things he used to do. Kurt Warner is a Hall of Fame quarterback. If you put him in a good system and have good players around him, then he is going to make everything go. We’ve seen that throughout the years with him. He’s had a Hall of Fame career. I don’t know why people are doubting whether he should be in the Hall of Fame. He definitely should be. The guy can go out there and make plays when he has the people around him to help him out.”
(on the Cardinals new emphasis on the running game) “We know that in January and February it is attrition football and you definitely have to have a running game and be well-balanced throughout the playoffs. They did a great job of getting into the playoffs and maintaining that balance and that’s what got them here today. It’s definitely going to be harder to prepare for a balanced team. When you have a one-dimensional team, you can do a lot of different things if you know what they are going to be doing. We are definitely going to have to be aware of the running game and that will be our first key, to stop the run.”
(on the Steelers’ blitz package) “It’s all going to come down to our 1-on-1 matchups. I think that Dick LeBeau does a great job of getting us in a position to be 1-on-1 for a mismatch with the running backs. If our two outside guys get matched up with running backs, I like their chances.”
(on returning to the Super Bowl) “All last week, I dreamed about being in the Super Bowl again. You only dream about getting to that point one time in your career. To be able to have two is unbelievable, and the opportunity is so great and I don’t want anyone to overlook that. The older guys know what it means to be a World Champion and we want the young guys to feel that too.”
(on the state of mind of the team) “It’s good. It’s all positive. We went out and practiced yesterday and guys had a lot of energy. The tempo of the practice was great. We made some mistakes, but we liked the flow of the practice. Everybody was moving around and it looked like everybody was excited.”
(on if it feels good to practice) “No question about it. I’ve never wanted a Wednesday to come so fast for practice. I have never been more excited to go to practice than yesterday. We all knew that once we got into the football part of it, then all of the other stuff would take care of itself.”
(on stopping Larry Fitzgerald) “It’s going to be tough. It’s going to take all 11 players to try to stop him or at least contain him. I don’t know if you can ever stop a guy like that, but he’s a phenomenal athlete. He’s probably the best receiver in the game right now. We will have our hands full.”
(on James Harrison) “He epitomizes what the Steelers organization is all about throughout the history of the team. He’s a hard, tough-nosed guy. He plays with a chip on his shoulder. He always plays aggressive, and I definitely think he’s the most intimidating player when he’s out there on the field. He doesn’t have to talk, he just goes out there and plays.”
LB LARRY FOOTE
(on the Steelers winning tradition) “The thought in town has always been Super Bowl or nothing. This tradition was set way before us back in the seventies, and that is the way it is in Pittsburgh. All the fans, all the people on the street they want the ring or they are not happy.”
(on how much history plays a role on the current Steelers team) “We get a lot of comparisons, especially on defense, but until you get four rings, I wouldn’t compare because it’s nothing but talk. Those guys have got the hardware and we are trying to get two, so until we get four or even close to that, we can’t compare.”
(on if there is something special about being the Steelers ) “Oh yeah, we take that all the time. It starts upstairs. The type of guys in this locker room – it’s our mentality to be tough-willed and that the most physical team is always going to win. All of the teams in the league don’t take that approach, but we do. We walk out there with that swagger, with the Black and Gold on, but it doesn’t give us an advantage, it’s just that’s who we are.”
(on if he is ready for the hype to end and to get to the game) “I don’t want it to go too fast, but I am anxious. Once that game comes, there is no more Super Bowl. The memories I can keep forever, but you always want (the experience) to last but it’s not going to. Still, we are looking forward to Sunday.”
(on the Cardinals and what problems they bring) “A high powered offense, they have a veteran at quarterback with Kurt Warner, they have a lot of weapons to throw the ball to, and Edgerrin James is a monster and has been one of the best running backs this decade. So it is going to be a big challenge.”
(on being the number one defense in the league) “It’s a big accomplishment, but we want to be remembered like the other great defensive teams like the 1985 (Chicago) Bears and the 2000 Baltimore Ravens, and we have to solidify that by winning this game on Sunday.”
(on the Cardinals tight ends) “They are special, they are big, strong, fast and they go up and get the ball.”
(on if he is nervous) “No I am never nervous. I have confidence in our guys and it’s going to be a challenge. We are in the Super Bowl and we know that we are going to face the best, and that is why I got into this game, for the competition. I can’t wait for Sunday to come.”
(on the fact that many are picking them to win) “We don’t get caught up in that because we have been underdogs all season. A couple of years ago when we won the Super Bowl, we were the sixth seed and everybody had us losing every playoff game, so we don’t get caught up in who is the underdog or who is favored. It only matters what you do between the whistles during that sixty minutes.”
LB KEYARON FOX
(on moving on from his experience in Kansas City) “I just have to put my first four years in the league behind me and start out on a new foot.”
(on why things didn’t work out in Kansas City) “There was a reason for it. Maybe there was something about me. Maybe I wasn’t mature enough. Maybe I wasn’t ready to be a part of that organization. Now I get a second chance and I’m happy to be here.”
(on the differences in his experience in Pittsburgh) “I want to give a lot of credit to the ownership that the Steelers have. They have an atmosphere over there where they definitely put the players first. They are concerned about the fans and the image of the Steelers. That reflects down onto the coaches, and from there it trickles down onto the players. It’s a more laid-back atmosphere. You can be yourself and have fun with football. It is still a job. It’s a high-paying industry so on Sundays you have to produce, but Monday through Saturday it is really relaxed and chill. You are able to concentrate in a better environment.”
(on whether the environment leads to success or vice versa) “I just realized for the Steelers that this is their sixth time going to the Super Bowl. Maybe that has a lot to do with it. I still give the owners a lot of credit for that.”
(on teams’ abilities to finish games in the fourth quarter) “I don’t really know how we do it here, but the Pittsburgh Steelers do manage to finish a lot of games in the fourth quarter. I think it boils down to people’s experience. There were a lot of guys in Kansas City that didn’t have that experience and that was ultimately the difference.”
(on being on the field for the first play) “I’m really looking forward to getting some contact. Right now, everything is so surreal, but when I get that first piece of contact everything will come back into focus. Then I will realize that this is what it all comes down to. We’re playing against the best team in the NFC. It will be a challenge, but I will still be amped. I will be delivering the contact.”
NT CASEY HAMPTON
(on if it is important to him to win the sixth Super Bowl in franchise history) “From an organizational standpoint it’s definitely good. There’s a lot of tradition in Pittsburgh and its good to be a part of it, more than anything else.”
(on if the team views this as the second Super Bowl win for this team) “It’s number two but at the end of the day, everybody looks at it like if you’re a part of one you’re kind of like a part of all of them. We probably don’t look at it, but in the big scheme of things it’s an accomplishment.”
(on the chemistry and sense of family on the team) “It means a lot. You go out there and fight for your brothers and I think a lot of teams really use that but here it hits home. I think a lot of teams bring a lot of guys in from different places and mesh the guys together. With the Steelers, here we build our team from the ground and there aren’t too many guys here who came from other teams. A lot of the guys on the team were raised up in the system and we did things a certain type of way.”
(on the consistency of the defense under defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau) “That’s what makes us good. I think if you try to change things and try to switch up stuff, guys make mistakes and things like that. We’ve been doing the same thing around here since I’ve been here. We may have put one or two new defenses in a year but it’s basically the same thing. I think that’s what allows us to play fast and play well. When you have been in this system for three or four years doing the same thing every year, it’s like anything else when you do it all the time; it’s like second nature.”
(on words of encouragement for youth who want to excel in a certain field) “It’s definitely about the hard work and things like that, but until you actually go through it, you don’t understand how hard it really is. It’s cool to dream of things like that, but you have to put the work time and overall workload into where you are. You can’t just dream it and not going about it the right way and do it the right way.”
(on being finished with most of the media sessions and on focusing for game) “The media are wearing us out. Every day it’s something else. You kind of want to just practice, relax and go see your family afterwards and just chill and get ready for the game. At the same time, it’s part of it and you get used to it.”
(on why there is no trash talking leading up the game) “Joey (Porter) is not here. That’s the bottom line. He was the only one really talking. He’s a talker; that’s what he did. We do our talking on the field with our pads. We go out there and we do our thing. I have never seen a game won in a press conference, so that’s how we look at it.”
(on Kurt Warner being rattled in the past when he has pressure and on if most quarterbacks are like that) “Any quarterback is like that. That’s one of the ways to try to make them as uneasy as possible and try to make them make some bad decisions, try to make them move around and don’t let them sit back there. [Warner] will kill you if you let him sit back there, because he’s a veteran guy and he knows where to go with the ball. You definitely have to put pressure on him all the time.”
(on practicing on the field at the University of South Florida yesterday) “It was fun. The field was fast. I’m not used to the grass being that low and the weather being that good. It’s been a long time since we’ve been in that type of weather. It’s almost like you don’t even have to stretch. You have such a long time to get ready and get warm but out here you kind of want to just get out there and go.”
(on the field conditions at practice and for the Super Bowl) “When we did the media day out (at Raymond James Stadium), I don’t think the grass is as low as that. That grass out there (at USF) is matted down, almost like turf. It’s matted like they took a roll and they rolled it. At Raymond James, it’s nice. It’s kind of like at the (University of) Texas. It’s a couple of inches high, really nice and soft. It seems like it’s really fast though.”
(on the type of practice yesterday) “It was not a walk-through. It was a practice. It’s how we practice, no pads on, just practice as fast as possible. We got out there and tried to get going. We already knew what to expect coming in, because we kind of went over the game plan last week. It’s basically just sharpening up on everything.”
(on if he expects to sit out more plays this game) “I probably will but that’s part of it. If they want to bring an extra receiver in, then our nickel and dime (personnel) will go out there. A lot of teams do that, just to switch it up so we can’t blitz them as much. It won’t surprise me.”
(on if he prefers to be fresher and if he can do more damage if he’s fresher)“I don’t want to be fresher. I want to be out there the whole time. I don’t know a football player who doesn’t. At the same time, it is what it is and you have to go with the flow and with whatever they are doing, we have to put in the best personnel to get it done.”
(on the possibility of Dick LeBeau leaving) “Honestly, I can’t see him leaving. I can’t see him not coaching. I think he loves doing it so much that it would be hard for me to picture him doing anything else. I know he loves to play golf and things like that, but he’s a coach and that’s what he does. I can’t see him doing anything else.”
(on if LeBeau is still at the top of his game) “He gets around better than a whole lot of other coaches we saw. When you have been doing it for as long as he’s been doing it, it’s kind of like second nature to him.”
(on being a part of the Steelers 75th anniversary team and what that means to him) “It’s a big accomplishment. Those guys who played back in the day, they are kind of like legends. For me to be on that type of team, it’s a great accomplishment to me.”
(on how they will prepare for Cardinals QB Kurt Warner) “The same thing we do to prepare for anybody else. That’s one thing about us that I think people don’t understand. We don’t worry about anybody else, we worry about us. We just go out there and do our thing and we don’t treat anybody else any differently. We will go out there and do what we do to them.”
QUOTES FROM PITTSBURGH STEELERS PRESS CONFERENCE
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR BRUCE ARIANS
(on how Ben Roethlisberger has changed since Super Bowl XL) “A lot of things: the maturity and the experience, more fourth quarter comebacks, more plays, more teamwork, defenses have evolved more. More than anything, that Super Bowl was Jerome Bettis, Jeff Hartings, Alan Faneca, Hines Ward; the veterans led us. He just had to play along. This is his team now, offensively. Hines is still here but it’s Ben’s. That offensive line is his guys. That leadership has really blossomed in the last three years.”
(on the chemistry and bonding of Roethlisberger and his offensive line) “It’s a natural thing. Quarterbacks and offensive linemen, they need to hang. They are really close and they have card games at his house. They are always together. That’s the natural process that you hope takes place.”
(on the accident Roethlisberger sustained in 2006) “The accident took a toll on all of us. Any time you almost lose your life… it is amazing to me that he came back and played that fast. He showed that toughness that I try to explain to people that he has. I get a little upset when I hear somebody on television that calls him a ‘drama king.’ This guy has approached the border. He takes a lot of hits because he plays backyard football sometimes and he gets up swinging. Those guys know it that play in front of him. It’s the natural process of the great ones.”
(on if Roethlisberger appreciated life more and changed after the accident) “I didn’t see a big switch. I saw a guy who maybe was a gun slinger, but became very humble and now is a gun slinger again, which at that position, you need. Not only did he go through the accident, it was a bad year. We didn’t play well as a team. He’s been able to grow from all of that and still get the gun slinger back. I’m sure it had an effect.”
(on if Roethlisberger gets the respect he deserves given what he’s done) “Especially when you look at what’s he’s done with all of the injuries that we’ve had on offense and the come from behind victories this year that got us here. We’re not here without him, even with our defense. There are some great defenses out there that don’t have quarterbacks on the other side of the ball, when times are needed, like him. He is the reason we are here. It is a team thing but I hope he gets his due because he deserves it.”
(on what RB Willie Parker brings to the offense) “Willie brings such energy and a passion to the game. You can see it every time when he breaks a run that might have been blocked for three and he’ll get seven, eight or maybe ten and he’ll jump up and flex his muscles. You see all the offensive linemen say, ‘Yeah, we kicked their (behind).’ That’s a good feeling because you didn’t block them that well. He made something happen. (The offensive line’s) confidence grows when he gets off like that. That’s what he brings for us. He’s a great personality that way and he’s a tough guy. People think of him as ‘Fast Willie,’ that he’s an outside (runner). He’s a violent little inside runner now and he runs most of the time between the tackles. He may start up in there and go around the corner but that’s what his special talent brings. When we have plays like the touchdown run in Cleveland that we probably blocked for four yards, a good solid run, he took it 30 to the house. It’s nice to see that again. We missed that.”
(on what it means to have a healthy Willie Parker and on the impact of his return) “You can see it coming. He was healthy but he wasn’t mentally healthy. In a running game, the speed of the game is everything. When you are out for a month and then all of a sudden you shoot up to New England and you’re playing there and you break one out and they catch you. It’s like, ‘I’ve never been caught before.’ In Tennessee, he breaks out and he thinks he’s cruising in the end zone and he’s nipped on the four. The speed of the game didn’t catch back up with his health. Then, at Cleveland, there he went down the sideline, another long run. He knew he was back. You could tell, he knew he was back. It was the mental part of it. I think he was just as healthy then but now his mind and his body caught up to the speed and he’s probably fresher than he has ever been for the playoffs. It was a very tough stretch without him, but I’m glad we got him now.”
(on why Parker is so effective) “His overall quickness, speed and his power. In the San Diego game - and I have a good friend on their defense - they had a lot of guys point blank on him. He has enough to set them back on their heels and run them over and then we’ll get four yards out of a one yard play. Then all of a sudden, he makes one miss. We’re going to need that out of him in this one.”
(on his first NFL coaching job with the Kansas City Chiefs) “It was one of the best staffs. I think our Super Bowl staff with Bill (Cowher) was comparable with ‘Whiz’ (Ken Whisenhunt) and Russ (Grimm), Dick Hoak, James Daniel and myself. With Tony (Dungy) and Tom Pratt and Bill on defense and then Joe Pendry, Marty Schottenheimer, Al Saunders on offense. It was a great coaching staff and that turn around, I think was that.”
(on the turn around they sparked in Kansas City) “I tell people all the time about Arrowhead (Stadium). The first day I walked in, it was hard to get 27,000 (fans) in there. Within a really short time, Southwest Missouri State, I think they were the Braves, they had to change their names, they started to chop. Then we started bringing them back every time. That whole thing grew and it was really fun to be a part of. It hurts to see it not there again.”
(on the Cardinals defense) “It’s a hybrid 4-3. The zone pressure is similar to ours. I like ours in other ways. It’s the rogue defense of the NFL right now. You see a big turn back to the 3-4. I’m not going to figure that Bert (Berry) is going to be a linebacker. I’m not going to have a running back block him as a linebacker. You treat them as a 4-3 team and try to give it a little more flexibility. They do a nice job.”
(on using guards to block linebackers) “We don’t do that much. It’s a recipe for disaster. You have to do it some but it’s just a blocking unit from the pass protection part of it. They do bring safeties a lot so you have to be on top of your game as far as who’s hot and who’s not, pickups, the whole nine yards.”
(on the relationship between Ken Whisenhunt and Ben Roethlisberger in Pittsburgh) “I thought it was great. You had a young quarterback and one heck of a coordinator. They worked well together, played golf together. They had a fantastic run. Never once did I ever suspect or see what I keep reading about. I think the non-handshake in Arizona last year was blown way out of proportion in my opinion.”
(on reports of them not talking in Pittsburgh) “Mark Whipple was the quarterbacks coach but Ken was in the room a lot. Ken ran the practices and ran the meetings, so that’s ridiculous.”
(on what makes Roethlisberger a great quarterback) “God gave him a lot of talent but he also gave him a ton of fortitude. He’s one of the toughest competitors I’ve been around. There’s one comparative thing that he and Peyton Manning have and I had Peyton his first two years; it’s a desire to win no matter what they’re playing, tiddly-winks, ping pong. Charlie (Batch) has a big pool, ping pong tournament every year for a fundraiser. Ben has to go win everything. That is the driving force that makes great players great, that he has along with all the talent. He was pissed when he got drafted low but he got to a hell of a team. Having watched Tim Couch go through what he went through in Cleveland, Tim barely came out alive. Now it’s a godsend. (He’s) in his second Super Bowl. That draft day thing is way behind him. He’s grown so much in the years I’ve been with him. So much has happened to him but he’s handled it beautifully.”
FS RYAN CLARK
(on defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau’s plans to return next season) “I heard it for the first time on TV last night. We’ve talked about it a lot of times, guys saying that we’d just retire too, if he retires. He always gives us the same answer, ‘I’m going to be here as long as you guys are here’, and being that he’ll probably outlive all of us, that’s more than likely the truth. I think one thing Pittsburgh has done well as an organization is keep a core group of guys there, and as far as the coaches go, Coach LeBeau is part of that. It’s unbelievable that we’ll have him back and it gives us a big crutch, having Coach LeBeau there.”
(on people asking him about stopping the Cardinals offense) “If you look at the season, every time we played Baltimore we were never billed as the best defense. They would say it was number one versus number two, but you kind of always had that feeling that people thought Baltimore was the better defense despite what the numbers said. We’d go into weeks against Dallas, New England, high powered offenses, and you’d get the same questions. How are you going to stop their number one receivers? How are you going to contain them? Those are valid questions because other people don’t stop these teams. If you look at what the Cardinals have done in the playoffs and the run that they’ve been on, scoring 30 points every game against good football teams, what they’ve been doing is spectacular. It’s going to be a big challenge for us. We’ve had those all year and we step up every time, and we play football. It’s like Coach LeBeau says, ‘sometimes you’re going to get the bear, sometimes the bear gets you.’ They’re going to make plays. Larry Fitzgerald is going to make a play that you’re all going to get to talk about on TV for the next week, but as long as we score one more point, we’ll be ok.”
(on playing across from SS Troy Polamalu) “I’ve been blessed in my career to play with probably two of the most unique safeties to play this game, modern day football. It’s just fun. Troy and I spend a lot of time off the field together. I think that helps us in our communication, the ways we talk, and I want him to be great. You want Troy to jump over the pile on fourth and one. You want Troy to be able to leave his man and get an interception, and score a touchdown. You want him to feel like he can do those things and be covered, so I tell him, ‘you go be you and I’ll figure it out.’”
(on the Steelers defense) “If you look at our defense, we only have three Pro Bowlers. Really, other than Troy (Polamalu), even though James (Harrison) won the MVP, (we don’t have) really well known guys (or) big name guys. We have a leader in the middle, James Farrior, who is quiet. He’s not really a ‘rah, rah’ guy. He’s never the guy you see on NFL Network or ESPN or something doing those big speeches. They never highlight James Farrior’s speech, but he leads by example every day. I think people get fascinated with the glitz and the glamour and all of that, but we have guys that just go out and work. I think as a team, we’ve shown that we are one of the best defensive teams, as a unit, in the NFL.”
(on the stopping Cardinals top players) “You can’t be worried with a team like Arizona because there are so many people on that team that can make plays. They have Fitzgerald, they have (Anquan) Boldin, Edgerrin James, a great quarterback, good tight ends. It’s pick your poison. We just have to go out and stop everybody, and that’s our goal.”
(on Mike Ditka’s Gridiron Greats press conference) “(I was) not aware that Mike Ditka did the (press conference) this morning, but I’m definitely aware of the cause. Matt Burke sent out a memo because he donated a lot of money to that cause, which I’m definitely aware of. I think if we help now it can only help us in the future if we raise awareness for it and if we do give money. If that’s something that we decide to do as a league then I’m all for it. You look at some of the situations that those guys (are in), the injuries that they still have, the medical problems they can’t take care of. It really is sad because you give so much to this game to end and be kind of left alone. Honestly the way I play, I think I’m going to need it.”
(on the defense being compared to some of the all-time best) “I think the only way you can belong with those guys is to win it. You look at those defenses, all of them won championships, all the ones that are talked about as great defenses, so we have to win the game. I don’t know. I guess if we win the game 40-35 they won’t be saying that about us. It really doesn’t matter to us. Even though we had the number one numbers all year, it took a while for people to come around and say we were a pretty good defense. Like I said, Baltimore was tabbed and billed, and shown by the media to be a better defense all year, so we haven’t focused on that. I said all along, the best defense in the league is going to win the most games. Right now this is the one we have to win. If we win that one, we’ll be the best defense in the NFL this year, and that’s all that matters.”
(on the difficulty of the Steelers schedule) “I think that plays a part. I think (our schedule) would be second only to the Steelers of ‘79. I watch a lot of TV, I’m sorry. I think it’s truly amazing. Coming from where we came from, in the offseason hearing ‘with their schedule 8-8, with their schedule 9-7 is a good year.’ To go 12-4 and to do it in the fashion that we did it, to play teams like New England, and not give up many points, to play the Dallas Cowboys and to win on an interception by Deshea (Townsend). All year we’ve risen to the occasion and we just have to do it one more time.”
(on why head coach Mike Tomlin won the Coach of the Year Award) “I remember watching a story that was on the other day and Art (Rooney) said he wanted to have (a coach) that could command the attention of a room, especially a room full of veterans as a new guy. I think he does that better than any coach I’ve been around. He’s able to articulate, and get his point across, his philosophy across, better than any coach I’ve ever been around as the head coach of a football team. He relates to us well too. I think maybe him being young, and not being so far removed from the days that we’re in of being young people, he’s able to say ‘your family’s coming to town in camp, ok we give the married guys a night to go hang out with their families.’ Things like that, you appreciate that. You’re able to go to him and say ‘you know coach last year you kind of grinded us toward the end of the year and we got a little tired.’ He’s able to say ‘ok well we’re going to take the pads off a little earlier.’ What’s helping him is he doesn’t have that big ego that says everything has to be my way.”
(on what a sixth Super Bowl win for the Steelers would mean to him) “I don’t know because I’m going to have one but organization-wise, I think it’s a credit to the Rooneys. It’s a credit to how they live their lives, how they run their organization, and how they treat their team. (They are) staples of consistency, constantly putting a good product on the field year after year. I think that’s what it says. (The Rooneys) aren’t a fly-by-night group, not a group that got seven older Pro Bowlers, put them on a team, won a Super Bowl, then the team dismantled and you couldn’t sell a ticket the next year. They’ve done things the right way. They bring in people they think fit their organization. I think that’s the biggest thing. It says that the Rooney family has done with the organization what I think should be done.”
(on Kurt Warner saying he doesn’t like trick plays) “I think playing a team like us you’re probably going to have to run a couple. I think you try to keep a team that’s going to blitz you and going to pressure you on their heels. I think Kurt may be trying to be a little sly there. He’s a Christian man so I’m not going to say he told a fib, he’s using a little manipulation. A trick play is good when you throw it 65 yards to Larry Fitzgerald and he’s one on one. I hate them too.”
OL WILLIE COLON
(on Pittsburgh’s defense) “Our defense is the best in the NFL. They do a great job of keeping us in the games and getting turnovers. For us, it’s about doing our job and I think right now we are clicking.”
(on his family in Bronx, NY) “It’s a dream come true. I was a project kid, growing up on the streets and running the streets in New York. But I’m just sticking to my dream and am staying good to myself. It’s a blessing. I give much credit to my mom for sticking by my side through the rough times. I know people from back home are cheering me on. Every time they see me they tell me they’re watching, so I’m proud and I’m glad they’re proud of me. My father is Puerto Rican. He’s a proud Hispanic who raised me to be proud of our last name and be proud of where we came from. Everywhere I go I try to represent somehow, some way not only for my family but for the Latino community. Everything is going well for me right now.”
(on the offensive line taking criticism all year) “As a unit we have been through so much. From injuries to guys dealing with serious off the field issues, from our unit getting bashed week in and week out no matter how good or bad we played. From a standpoint all that fire that we took motivated us to get better. We all came together as a unit and realized we all had to be accountable for ourselves. It’s a team game and we realized if we were going to do anything this year we were going to have to execute better, keep Ben (Roethlisberger) clean and our running game was going to have to get better. I feel we made some good strides this year in doing that. We didn’t have Willie Parker sometimes. Ben was banged up and battling sometimes. So, there were a lot of things you could throw in the pot but for the most part we had to be accountable for ourselves and our actions. A lot of the sacks were our fault and we understand that. A lot of stuff we did out there was on us and a lot of stuff wasn’t. We were the easy group to target and that’s ok. We have no problems with that, but at the same time, we understand to win games it has to be on us. We had to tighten up as a unit and here we are.”
(on how he will feel at kickoff on Sunday) “I don’t know. I think every day that goes by the tension builds up more and more. My biggest thing is the ability to calm down and open my eyes. I get so worked up. When I am on the sideline about to go on I have to suck it in, leave it out and realize it is a regular game so I can execute. For me personally, this is a great experience, but I don’t want to go home without the trophy so I am going to be as much of a help as I can.”
(on offensive line coach Larry Zierlein) “I think if anybody has taken more heat it’s been him. I think there is so much talk about us as a unit, but a lot of what we do is a reflection on him. He took a lot of criticism last year and he came back this year stuck with us and believed in us more than anybody. He is the one person that deserves most of the credit. He kept our heads afloat when we had the tough games against Philadelphia, Indianapolis and the Giants. He always stuck by us. We felt the heat from him but we also realized we were going to be alright. So, I think with all the credit we take he deserves it just as much.”
(on the Cardinals defense) “They are extremely active. The turnover game is big for them. You look at (Darnell) Dockett and (Antonio) Smith and those linebackers do a great job of flying around. We will have to match their intensity.”
(on the offensive line gelling with Ben Roethlisberger) “A lot of it has just come to us. We had to understand who he was as a person. I think with any great player, he knew if he wanted to get to this point he was going to have to bring us along and we were going to have to be a better unit as a whole. Some of that you can’t just get on the field. Some of that you have to do off the field playing cards or having a couple drinks and getting to know who he is. He stepped out of his shell, started trusting us and started to love us like we love him. It’s a beautiful relationship now. We have a great time off the field and when we come on the field it makes it better.”
(on QB Ben Roethlisberger) “I think you could describe him as a boxer. His ability to get knocked down and get back up, his ability to throw the long ball with a lot of people on him and his ability to escape - he’s just a tough kid. He believes in us and he believes that when it comes down to it he’s going to make the big play. I think you want a quarterback who’s going to take hits and still stand up. He thrives on that and that’s why he’s Big Ben.”
FB CAREY DAVIS
(on playing in the biggest sporting event in the world) “It’s exciting. It’s something you dream about as a little kid, to be able to play in the Super Bowl. As far as we’ve come this season and to do all the things we’ve done, it’s exciting for us.”
(on if the economic situation will make anything different for this year’s Super Bowl) “Sports brings people together, brings everything together. People enjoy sports, and for those couple of hours, they can sit back, relax and enjoy it.”
(on returning to the practice field) “It felt pretty good. It was a normal practice, but it was good to finally get back out there. It felt like we hadn’t practiced in about a week. It was good to finally get out there and run around and get back to football, not all this media stuff.”
(on the feeling of living out of a hotel, practicing in a different facility, having meetings in new places) “Everything is pretty normal actually. We come over from the hotel and do all of our meetings (at the University of South Florida). It’s normal, like back home, except for we don’t have media days like this everyday. That is the main difference. We try to keep it as normal as possible to keep us comfortable with what’s going on.”
(on the offensive game plan for the Super Bowl) “We have to be balanced. We have to run the ball well, pass the ball and go with whatever is working for us. We can’t turn the ball over, just go out there, do our jobs, not turn the ball over and play a great game.”
(on the Cardinals defensive front) “They’ve been very active, creating a lot of turnovers and getting to the quarterback. They’re moving well, playing well, and they’re real active.”
(on not letting the nerves get to you in the Super Bowl) “Kickoff…all the flashing lights. You have a few moments before the game when you realize, ‘I’m in the Super Bowl’. Once all that settles down in the game, it’s just another game, so you have to get prepared to play that game and play well. That first hit will help you a lot.”
LB JAMES FARRIOR
(on the commitment to each other within the team) “I think it starts with the Rooney family. They preach family atmosphere. They want us to be a close unit. I think you build your team chemistry in the offseason. That’s where you get all of the guys together and you’re not really working so much on football. All of the guys are just around each other every day and you get a good feel for how everyone is and how they are doing. We all care about one another on this team, as far as the players and coaches, and we love to go out and play for each other. That’s what builds that chemistry. There’s a bond that you have throughout the season.”
(on the biggest surprise from the AFC championship game) “I don’t think that I ever caught my breath in that game. My wind pattern wasn’t too good throughout the game. I thought it was just nerves at first and that I would get over it after a few plays, but I never really did catch my breath.”
(on the differences in preparations for his second Super Bowl) “It’s pretty much the same schedule. We’re doing the same thing we did for the first Super Bowl. There’s not too much different going on. We are down to our regular days of practicing. It’s good to be back at football and to get the side distractions out of the way.”
(on going for the franchise’s sixth Super Bowl win) “It would be a great accomplishment. We feel like we want to get this one for the Rooney family. They are a great organization and a great group of people. You like playing for this team. This team is embraced by the city and the fans. All that together, it would be great for the city of Pittsburgh and the Rooneys to be the first team that gets six Super Bowls, and we’re shooting for that.”
(on the difficulties of learning the Steelers defence) “I feel like anybody who comes into this defense is definitely going to take some time to learn everything that you need to know to make this defense successful. I don’t think it’s different for any new linebackers coming in. You are going to have problems and struggle at first, but it’s one of those things where you have to stay at it, you have to go over it every day when you’re a new guy. You have to prepare yourself, let the coaches coach and let everything sink in.”
(on Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner and similarities to former Steelers quarterback Tommy Maddox) “He does remind me a little bit of Tommy Maddox and of the things he used to do. Kurt Warner is a Hall of Fame quarterback. If you put him in a good system and have good players around him, then he is going to make everything go. We’ve seen that throughout the years with him. He’s had a Hall of Fame career. I don’t know why people are doubting whether he should be in the Hall of Fame. He definitely should be. The guy can go out there and make plays when he has the people around him to help him out.”
(on the Cardinals new emphasis on the running game) “We know that in January and February it is attrition football and you definitely have to have a running game and be well-balanced throughout the playoffs. They did a great job of getting into the playoffs and maintaining that balance and that’s what got them here today. It’s definitely going to be harder to prepare for a balanced team. When you have a one-dimensional team, you can do a lot of different things if you know what they are going to be doing. We are definitely going to have to be aware of the running game and that will be our first key, to stop the run.”
(on the Steelers’ blitz package) “It’s all going to come down to our 1-on-1 matchups. I think that Dick LeBeau does a great job of getting us in a position to be 1-on-1 for a mismatch with the running backs. If our two outside guys get matched up with running backs, I like their chances.”
(on returning to the Super Bowl) “All last week, I dreamed about being in the Super Bowl again. You only dream about getting to that point one time in your career. To be able to have two is unbelievable, and the opportunity is so great and I don’t want anyone to overlook that. The older guys know what it means to be a World Champion and we want the young guys to feel that too.”
(on the state of mind of the team) “It’s good. It’s all positive. We went out and practiced yesterday and guys had a lot of energy. The tempo of the practice was great. We made some mistakes, but we liked the flow of the practice. Everybody was moving around and it looked like everybody was excited.”
(on if it feels good to practice) “No question about it. I’ve never wanted a Wednesday to come so fast for practice. I have never been more excited to go to practice than yesterday. We all knew that once we got into the football part of it, then all of the other stuff would take care of itself.”
(on stopping Larry Fitzgerald) “It’s going to be tough. It’s going to take all 11 players to try to stop him or at least contain him. I don’t know if you can ever stop a guy like that, but he’s a phenomenal athlete. He’s probably the best receiver in the game right now. We will have our hands full.”
(on James Harrison) “He epitomizes what the Steelers organization is all about throughout the history of the team. He’s a hard, tough-nosed guy. He plays with a chip on his shoulder. He always plays aggressive, and I definitely think he’s the most intimidating player when he’s out there on the field. He doesn’t have to talk, he just goes out there and plays.”
LB LARRY FOOTE
(on the Steelers winning tradition) “The thought in town has always been Super Bowl or nothing. This tradition was set way before us back in the seventies, and that is the way it is in Pittsburgh. All the fans, all the people on the street they want the ring or they are not happy.”
(on how much history plays a role on the current Steelers team) “We get a lot of comparisons, especially on defense, but until you get four rings, I wouldn’t compare because it’s nothing but talk. Those guys have got the hardware and we are trying to get two, so until we get four or even close to that, we can’t compare.”
(on if there is something special about being the Steelers ) “Oh yeah, we take that all the time. It starts upstairs. The type of guys in this locker room – it’s our mentality to be tough-willed and that the most physical team is always going to win. All of the teams in the league don’t take that approach, but we do. We walk out there with that swagger, with the Black and Gold on, but it doesn’t give us an advantage, it’s just that’s who we are.”
(on if he is ready for the hype to end and to get to the game) “I don’t want it to go too fast, but I am anxious. Once that game comes, there is no more Super Bowl. The memories I can keep forever, but you always want (the experience) to last but it’s not going to. Still, we are looking forward to Sunday.”
(on the Cardinals and what problems they bring) “A high powered offense, they have a veteran at quarterback with Kurt Warner, they have a lot of weapons to throw the ball to, and Edgerrin James is a monster and has been one of the best running backs this decade. So it is going to be a big challenge.”
(on being the number one defense in the league) “It’s a big accomplishment, but we want to be remembered like the other great defensive teams like the 1985 (Chicago) Bears and the 2000 Baltimore Ravens, and we have to solidify that by winning this game on Sunday.”
(on the Cardinals tight ends) “They are special, they are big, strong, fast and they go up and get the ball.”
(on if he is nervous) “No I am never nervous. I have confidence in our guys and it’s going to be a challenge. We are in the Super Bowl and we know that we are going to face the best, and that is why I got into this game, for the competition. I can’t wait for Sunday to come.”
(on the fact that many are picking them to win) “We don’t get caught up in that because we have been underdogs all season. A couple of years ago when we won the Super Bowl, we were the sixth seed and everybody had us losing every playoff game, so we don’t get caught up in who is the underdog or who is favored. It only matters what you do between the whistles during that sixty minutes.”
LB KEYARON FOX
(on moving on from his experience in Kansas City) “I just have to put my first four years in the league behind me and start out on a new foot.”
(on why things didn’t work out in Kansas City) “There was a reason for it. Maybe there was something about me. Maybe I wasn’t mature enough. Maybe I wasn’t ready to be a part of that organization. Now I get a second chance and I’m happy to be here.”
(on the differences in his experience in Pittsburgh) “I want to give a lot of credit to the ownership that the Steelers have. They have an atmosphere over there where they definitely put the players first. They are concerned about the fans and the image of the Steelers. That reflects down onto the coaches, and from there it trickles down onto the players. It’s a more laid-back atmosphere. You can be yourself and have fun with football. It is still a job. It’s a high-paying industry so on Sundays you have to produce, but Monday through Saturday it is really relaxed and chill. You are able to concentrate in a better environment.”
(on whether the environment leads to success or vice versa) “I just realized for the Steelers that this is their sixth time going to the Super Bowl. Maybe that has a lot to do with it. I still give the owners a lot of credit for that.”
(on teams’ abilities to finish games in the fourth quarter) “I don’t really know how we do it here, but the Pittsburgh Steelers do manage to finish a lot of games in the fourth quarter. I think it boils down to people’s experience. There were a lot of guys in Kansas City that didn’t have that experience and that was ultimately the difference.”
(on being on the field for the first play) “I’m really looking forward to getting some contact. Right now, everything is so surreal, but when I get that first piece of contact everything will come back into focus. Then I will realize that this is what it all comes down to. We’re playing against the best team in the NFC. It will be a challenge, but I will still be amped. I will be delivering the contact.”
NT CASEY HAMPTON
(on if it is important to him to win the sixth Super Bowl in franchise history) “From an organizational standpoint it’s definitely good. There’s a lot of tradition in Pittsburgh and its good to be a part of it, more than anything else.”
(on if the team views this as the second Super Bowl win for this team) “It’s number two but at the end of the day, everybody looks at it like if you’re a part of one you’re kind of like a part of all of them. We probably don’t look at it, but in the big scheme of things it’s an accomplishment.”
(on the chemistry and sense of family on the team) “It means a lot. You go out there and fight for your brothers and I think a lot of teams really use that but here it hits home. I think a lot of teams bring a lot of guys in from different places and mesh the guys together. With the Steelers, here we build our team from the ground and there aren’t too many guys here who came from other teams. A lot of the guys on the team were raised up in the system and we did things a certain type of way.”
(on the consistency of the defense under defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau) “That’s what makes us good. I think if you try to change things and try to switch up stuff, guys make mistakes and things like that. We’ve been doing the same thing around here since I’ve been here. We may have put one or two new defenses in a year but it’s basically the same thing. I think that’s what allows us to play fast and play well. When you have been in this system for three or four years doing the same thing every year, it’s like anything else when you do it all the time; it’s like second nature.”
(on words of encouragement for youth who want to excel in a certain field) “It’s definitely about the hard work and things like that, but until you actually go through it, you don’t understand how hard it really is. It’s cool to dream of things like that, but you have to put the work time and overall workload into where you are. You can’t just dream it and not going about it the right way and do it the right way.”
(on being finished with most of the media sessions and on focusing for game) “The media are wearing us out. Every day it’s something else. You kind of want to just practice, relax and go see your family afterwards and just chill and get ready for the game. At the same time, it’s part of it and you get used to it.”
(on why there is no trash talking leading up the game) “Joey (Porter) is not here. That’s the bottom line. He was the only one really talking. He’s a talker; that’s what he did. We do our talking on the field with our pads. We go out there and we do our thing. I have never seen a game won in a press conference, so that’s how we look at it.”
(on Kurt Warner being rattled in the past when he has pressure and on if most quarterbacks are like that) “Any quarterback is like that. That’s one of the ways to try to make them as uneasy as possible and try to make them make some bad decisions, try to make them move around and don’t let them sit back there. [Warner] will kill you if you let him sit back there, because he’s a veteran guy and he knows where to go with the ball. You definitely have to put pressure on him all the time.”
(on practicing on the field at the University of South Florida yesterday) “It was fun. The field was fast. I’m not used to the grass being that low and the weather being that good. It’s been a long time since we’ve been in that type of weather. It’s almost like you don’t even have to stretch. You have such a long time to get ready and get warm but out here you kind of want to just get out there and go.”
(on the field conditions at practice and for the Super Bowl) “When we did the media day out (at Raymond James Stadium), I don’t think the grass is as low as that. That grass out there (at USF) is matted down, almost like turf. It’s matted like they took a roll and they rolled it. At Raymond James, it’s nice. It’s kind of like at the (University of) Texas. It’s a couple of inches high, really nice and soft. It seems like it’s really fast though.”
(on the type of practice yesterday) “It was not a walk-through. It was a practice. It’s how we practice, no pads on, just practice as fast as possible. We got out there and tried to get going. We already knew what to expect coming in, because we kind of went over the game plan last week. It’s basically just sharpening up on everything.”
(on if he expects to sit out more plays this game) “I probably will but that’s part of it. If they want to bring an extra receiver in, then our nickel and dime (personnel) will go out there. A lot of teams do that, just to switch it up so we can’t blitz them as much. It won’t surprise me.”
(on if he prefers to be fresher and if he can do more damage if he’s fresher)“I don’t want to be fresher. I want to be out there the whole time. I don’t know a football player who doesn’t. At the same time, it is what it is and you have to go with the flow and with whatever they are doing, we have to put in the best personnel to get it done.”
(on the possibility of Dick LeBeau leaving) “Honestly, I can’t see him leaving. I can’t see him not coaching. I think he loves doing it so much that it would be hard for me to picture him doing anything else. I know he loves to play golf and things like that, but he’s a coach and that’s what he does. I can’t see him doing anything else.”
(on if LeBeau is still at the top of his game) “He gets around better than a whole lot of other coaches we saw. When you have been doing it for as long as he’s been doing it, it’s kind of like second nature to him.”
(on being a part of the Steelers 75th anniversary team and what that means to him) “It’s a big accomplishment. Those guys who played back in the day, they are kind of like legends. For me to be on that type of team, it’s a great accomplishment to me.”
(on how they will prepare for Cardinals QB Kurt Warner) “The same thing we do to prepare for anybody else. That’s one thing about us that I think people don’t understand. We don’t worry about anybody else, we worry about us. We just go out there and do our thing and we don’t treat anybody else any differently. We will go out there and do what we do to them.”
Arizona Cardinals -3- Jueves 29/1/09
Super Bowl XLIII – Thursday, January 29, 2009
QUOTES FROM ARIZONA CARDINALS PRESS CONFERENCE
CB DOMINIQUE RODGERS-CROMARTIE
(on being back in Florida for the Super Bowl) “I would say it is like a homecoming celebration. Coming back here after not being here in a long time, it’s just an honor to be back and a blessing.”
(on why it took so long for people to discover you) “It was just the situation and the atmosphere that I was put in. I tried to leave home to spend time with my father and get to know him. In Orlando, which is a bigger city, it’s hard to get looked at. It’s hard to come on to someone’s team, coming where I was coming from. I just didn’t get an opportunity to get on the field as much. I made an immediate impact my senior year as soon as I got on the field and I think that is what got me looked at.”
(on how long it took to become a star player in high school) “I was never a star player in high school.”
(on the opportunity to line up as a receiver in the Super Bowl) “We worked on a few plays in practice but utilizing me in the game, I think there’s a slim chance.”
(on how the week has been and expectation of the next few days) “It has been fun. It has been a fun time to get this experience so I am going to take advantage of it. I am having fun right now but as the game gets closer I will settle down and get more focused and start really, really zoning in.”
(on who are the veterans that have helped you) “Ralph Brown and Eric Green, those two guys. Ralph Brown, during camp, would make me stay after practice with him and work on footwork and do drills with him. Eric Green is the one who really taught me how to study a receiver and he calls out routes to me and I called them back out to him.”
(on why Eric became your mentor) “Maybe he saw something in me that a lot of people didn’t. The potential that I have or what I could be as a football player. I think he is trying to make me a better player. ”
(on how much do you believe in yourself) “I am very confident now. I still have my mistakes and a lot to learn but with the experience, I have gained confidence.”
(on his relationship with his father) “It’s a choice I made. Growing up I didn’t see him much because he was out of town. He was a college coach, always on the road recruiting, so I was really raised by my mother. When he moved back into the state, I felt that was the time for me to get to know him. I was in the ninth grade.”
(on what Coach Whisenhunt did to get him to buy into the program) “Every meeting he stayed on us. He wasn’t going to let us slack off. Sometimes, when you do have a good week, he would let us take our pads off but if we are not working hard, he would make us go back and put them on. He is a coach that always stays on us and is always talking about believing in team and not pointing a finger, offense helping D and D helping O. From the get go we have had a good time. We really came together in camp as far as a team.”
(on comparing himself to his cousin Chargers CB Antonio Cromartie) “I’ve never compared us. I had an idea that I would be in the NFL but I didn’t know how high I was going to go or how I was going to get there but that is just something I never did.”
(on proving himself to the team) “That’s how I felt coming from a small school. I was saying, it’s going to be some people out saying this and that, especially with me going in the first round from a small school. I had a chip on my shoulder and I said I have another obstacle to get over. Even going into this game, I’ve made a few plays here and there but I don’t think I have really made my statement yet. I am still so young and I still have a lot to learn. Once I grasp all that, it is going to be a different story.”
(on being a self-proclaimed goofy guy) “I like to have fun. I am going to make somebody laugh if I feel the atmosphere is kind of down and quiet.”
(on Santonio Holmes’ comment on double coverage needed against him) “That is how he feels. I understand why he feels that way. He is a big play guy but they gave me that assignment and I am really going to zone in and focus.”
(on if being so close to home is a distraction) “To me, it is just like any other week when we go out of town. It’s not my home stadium. I stay 30 minutes down the street but I can’t go anywhere. I don’t have a car. I’m not affected by it. My family understands why I am down here and they are not calling me and bugging me.”
(on having the time to spend with family this week) “Tuesday was our off day so I went home for a little bit. I just sat in the house with them. We just sat there and talked, watched TV and reminisced a little bit.”
(on the number of people he had to say no to about tickets) “I stopped counting. There are a lot of people I had to say no to. I am still finding myself having to say no today. We could only get up to 15 tickets.”
(on how much fun he will have walking on the field Sunday) “I am going to have a lot of fun. I am going to be real focused and zoned in on the game, but at the same time, I am going to be out there laughing, smiling and talking.”
(on the curfew enforced this week) “Normally we don’t have a curfew until Saturday but they started early because they want everybody to be focused. I can understand that. If you are going to party, just wait until after the game. It’s no big deal.”
(on his anticipation of Sunday morning) “When I wake up on Sunday, it is going to be a thinking day for me. Before that game starts, I’m going to think about my life and what I have gone through and just build up some motivation and go out there and play.”
(on coming from where he was to now) “It is real crazy. The things that have happened to me, it just doesn’t happen to a lot of people. I’m very blessed. I just keep on pushing. I’ve always felt if I stayed grounded, stayed humble, and just kept on praying, my opportunity would present itself. That is how I have been all of my life.”
(on faith) “I think faith gets me a long way. One thing I learned growing up living with my grandmother and her raising me, she always told me to keep God first in everything I do.”
(on who is God to him) “A father, a friend. Someone who if I can’t call on anyone else, I can call on him. He will always listen to me. Sometimes that gets me through the day and I give Him all of the praise.”
(on why he given the talent he has) “I was a child who stayed faithful and did the right things for the most part. I believe the Lord blessed me for that. Growing up, I wasn’t one of those kids running the streets doing this and that even though I was in that atmosphere. My momma kept me in the house.”
QB KURT WARNER
(on his mindset when he was placed on the expansion draft list earlier in his career) “I didn’t blame the team when that happened. I remember the situation. I was just trying to make it. With the situation and how it transpired, some of the guys on the team had to be put on the expansion draft. Obviously where I was and where I came from, it didn’t surprise me that I was on it and it didn’t surprise me that I wasn’t picked by anybody during the expansion draft. I think it kind of was what it was and I understood why the (St. Louis) Rams would do it at the time and really didn’t think much of it.”
(on talking to QB Matt Leinart about the quarterback situation) “Not to talk about a little bit of the early stages when the change was made or when the decision was made. We talked about embracing the situation and being able to step back a little bit from the pressure and the high expectations that came with his background and just trying to learn as much as he could from the situation and grow as much as he could because the time will come when he is going to get an opportunity. As we have seen throughout the league some places this year, guys that have waited, learned and understood that the time was going to come and were ready for when it did have done a tremendous job. Matt is going to do the same time when that time comes, whenever that is. I think sometimes he can get frustrated and kind of go off in the other direction, and we talked earlier about just staying focused and continuing to learn improvements and using it as a benefit as opposed to maybe kind of a negative.”
(on how his experience with the St. Louis Rams and New York Giants and this year’s New England Patriots game prepared him for this Super Bowl) “I think in the big picture, what I have come to learn is that we learn a lot in the ups and the downs of life. There are always things that we can learn. What I believe in is there are always things God is showing us in anything that goes on in our life. Some of those ‘products of down times’ that I have gone through, God showed me a lot and taught me a lot and prepared me for what was coming next. I remember when I got to the NFL and went to my first Super Bowl in 1999, there was no way that I would have been able to handle all of that had I not gone the route that I did through arena football, matured and grew in my faith. I wouldn’t have been able to handle that. I think the same is true. You go through some of these trials and you get back to this point, you appreciate it, you understand a little bit more, you relax and take it all in and just understand how big a hand God has in things like this and how little of a hand I have in things like this. I think those trials and those situations all taught me a lot about just stepping back and enjoying the moment that I am in for all it is worth.
“As far as this year, I know a lot of people want to point to the Patriots game, but I really point towards the end of the season. I really think when we played the Giants and played Minnesota and played Philadelphia and played New England, those are four playoff teams. I think up to that point, we weren’t really sure what it meant to be in the playoffs. A lot of guys had never been there in an organization that hadn’t been there in awhile, and I think those games shocked us a little bit on, ‘Okay, this is what we are going to face as we are going to move forward. This is what the playoffs are going to be about. It is going to be week in, week out playing good football teams that don’t make a lot of mistakes, and if you don’t come to play and you don’t commit and don’t prepare, they are going to blow you off the field.’ I think it was that stretch down towards the end of the season. We were playing those good teams, and it was kind of like a cloud moved over us and said, ‘Hey, this is what it is going to be about. These are what the teams are like in the playoffs. You better show up, and we better improve and better commit more if we are going to do something in the playoffs.’ You may look at the Patriots game as the final part of that, but what I remember is that whole stretch, because it was through that time that I had a lot of players come and talk to me. They were asking me what was going on and what we needed to do better, and it was during that stretch where we had success early, and it kind of hit these teams and they were shocking us a little bit with how bad they were beating us and how well they were playing. I think that it was then that the light bulb kind of switched on and said, ‘This is what the playoffs are going to be like. This is what it is going to be about, and it is going to be like this every single week. You better get prepared.”
(on the heaviness of his leadership responsibilities on the team) “Pressure can be a big responsibility. There is no question in this position in the game of football, you are called upon to lead and a lot of pressure is formed. I think because of the way that I have carried my life and the things that I have stood for, there comes a little pressure and responsibility that come with that. The way I always look at it is I embrace it. I embrace the opportunity to have pressure. Somebody just told me about a week about, talking about the playoffs and getting to this point, and told me a story. The quote came across that pressure is a privilege, to understand that pressure is a privilege. I think that it is a great way to put it. It is great to be in this position. Now, things can go against you and you don’t perform and you don’t do something, there is a lot of the truth being in that position, but at the same time, you embrace the idea that ‘Hey, I am in a position to make a difference for my football team and I am in a position to change the world around me because of the platform I have been given.’ I realized that a long time ago that God put me in this place particularly, and I am going to try to grab hold of that responsibility. I’ll take all the responsibility that comes with it and I am going to try to live up to what God holds me to.”
(on developing trust with WR Larry Fitzgerald throughout the season) “I think it is more than anything, I don’t know if Larry really changed. I think he has been a great receiver for a number of years and been able to make those kinds of plays for a number of years. I think the biggest thing is just me gaining more and more confidence in him. Not because of anything that he hasn’t done, but just as a quarterback sometimes you see things and the way I have always played the game, some things don’t quite look open to me. What I have come to realize is open for different guys and open for Larry is different than open for guys that I have played with in the past. Those are the things that I think I have learned through my course of time here with the Cardinals and playing with Larry and even Anquan (Boldin). It has been a transition for me to learn how to play with these guys and how to make them more successful. I think that is what it has been. The coaches have told me a little bit that sometimes to take a little more chance in a situation like this if you see this look, where maybe in the past I wouldn’t make those throws. Larry just shows you that open is different, and as long as you put it in the right spot that he is going to give us a better chance to make a play than the other team. I have gotten more confident in making some throws that I might not have made before just because of what I saw and not because of his athletic ability or what he is capable of doing.”
(on thinking about the NFL Hall of Fame) “I don’t think a lot about the hall of fame. Obviously when people talk about it or mention it to me or hear some of the speculations about it, you can’t help but think about it to some degree. What I would say is that it is what it is. I don’t make those decisions and I don’t know what all goes into making those decisions, but I am excited to be where I am at today. I wouldn’t change anything that I have done on the football field and I wouldn’t the change two situations, specifically with Arizona and St. Louis, and the part that I have been in and helping them get to the Super Bowl. If that means because there were lulls in the middle or I didn’t play enough that it affects me in the long haul, so be it. I am going to lead this team and I am going to be excited to lead this team because I have pulled through on the impression that I made on at least two organizations. To me, that is the bottom line. The reason that I got into this game and the reason I live my life is to do that. Hopefully I have done that with my teammates and I have done that with the organizations I have been in.”
(on Fitzgerald improving on the little things in his game) “The one thing is that I have been very fortunate in my career that not only have I been around guys that not only have been extremely talented, they were extremely open to working and getting better. That has been a trademark of a lot of great players that I have been around. Larry is no different. Larry has been a guy that since the first day that I got here, I knew he was talented and knew there were times that he could rest on his athleticism to be successful, but he has always looked to try to improve his game with the little things: the route runs, the understanding of coverages, the understanding of how to adjust his routes or how to adjust a defender, something that we talked about a lot over the last four years. You see each and every year -- sometimes at different times through the course of the year -- you see these things starting to click a little bit. You see him starting to get better at receiver. You see him start to be able to slow the game down, where he can actually utilize some of the things that we have talked about or some of the things the coaches are showing him or some of the releases we have done in practice. He can start using those in the game. That is the fun part, that he has been so successful at this level up to this point. I know he will continue to be successful, but he continues to work to want to be the best at his position. That is the exciting thing that for a young guy to accomplish so much. I think it is easy sometimes to just sit back and rest on what you have accomplished and the fact that you are athletic, but he hasn’t done that. He continues to work and continues to improve, and you are seeing the results of that. A microcosm of all that is what he has done here in the playoffs, but he has been doing those things year in and year out. I am just excited to see where he goes in the future, and when it is all said and done how we remember him, because he has the potential to be one of the best that have ever played this game. I am excited to sit back and watch that.”
(on what players can take from the experience of the late Pat Tillman) “Probably unfortunately, it hasn’t been talked about a whole bunch by players, because I think a lot players weren’t here when he was here and maybe don’t understand the big picture of what he brought to this organization and really what he did, not only for the organization but what it means from the bigger picture. Probably it hasn’t been discussed as much as it could have been to have the impact that it could have on our players, but I think we all recognize his presence at different times whether it be the run that they have every year, whether it be the statue that sits outside of the facility. Being a guy that has been in the league and been around, I remember when Pat made that choice and everything that followed that. There is no question that he is an inspiration for what he did or for what he stood for or for his attitude in regards to – I think sometimes we look at the NFL and NFL players, and you think about his situation and the choice that he made and I think that there are very few in the league that would make that same choice. In other words, were slow and were backward to a degree and you live in that world. To understand that he was living for a bigger purpose and went way beyond the game of football and way beyond money and the accolades that come with that, it is definitely something that I have been in that debacle and probably more so since I came here because it is more in the forefront being out here in Arizona. It is something that I appreciate and respect, and it inspires me.”
(on keeping his body fresh this far into the season) “The key is to stay on top of it all year long. I think that’s the thing I’ve learned just as I’ve gotten older, is that even getting into the off-season, I can’t take as much time off. I’ve got to try to just stay on top of it as much as I can. That’s what I’ve done the past couple of years, as far as through the season. Being a quarterback, you don’t get quite as much work running and conditioning as you would in the off-season, so I do a lot more in the mornings – a lot more cardio on my own to try to keep myself in shape. I think that’s been a huge key to being able to sustain so many hits this year and staying as fresh as possible.”
(on crediting Cardinals strength & conditioning coach John Lott for keeping his body good condition) “John’s done a great job. He’s continued to push me. I think the thing that John’s done great, too, is he understands different players. He understands that I am an old man. He understands just how much he can push me or certain routines I’ve had in the past and that I feel comfortable with, he adjusts some of the things that he does. One of the things I’ve done the past couple of years that I didn’t do most of my career is, John got me back into squatting. It’s something that I’m doing every week that I hadn’t done in the past. Like I said, I feel great at this point in time. I feel strong. My body feels good. So a lot of that could be contributed to some of that stuff.”
(on whether Lott has made him do power cleans) “I do more pulls than I do cleans, but I do a little, yeah.”
(on the impression Larry Fitzgerald has made on him) “Larry and I are, beyond the football field, really good friends. I just think he’s a great guy. He tries to do things the right way. He works hard (and) he’s humble, even though he’s had a lot of success early. I think he understands the big picture and I think he wants to be great, and all that means. So it’s been fun to work with him, especially in the beginning stages of his career, and watch him get better and better year in and year out. (I respect) the way he longs to improve on even where he’s at now. (He is) a tremendous guy. I enjoy being around him both on and off the football field, and I love competing with him.”
(on whether the outcome of Sunday’s game will affect his decision about retirement) “You know, I don’t know what’s going to be the ultimate decision or how it’s going to be determined. I know that you look at the scenarios and what could play out, and in the back of your mind you say, ‘Man, this could be a perfect scenario to leave the game.’ But what I’ve continued to realize about my career and my life is that nothing takes on a perfect scenario. What people think would be perfect doesn’t seem to work out in my situation. So the ultimate decision is, I’m going to step back and I’m going to pray about it. And I believe God’s going to show me whether He wants me to continue in this game and if He’s got more for me to accomplish, or if He’s got some other calling in my life. I think that would be the ultimate decision as much as I’ll probably try to weigh a lot of those factors, whether it be physical or whether it be career-oriented. Bottom line, end of the day, I believe God’s going to send me what He wants me to do.”
(on the most important element the Cardinals must focus on in order to beat the Steelers) “I think the most important element against this team is recognition. They do a lot of different things, they’ve got a lot of different guys that they can use in different spots. I think the key for us is going to be being able to recognize who’s who, where the blitz is coming from, who’s got to block who, who’s going to be free and when I need to get the ball out. I think that’s going to be the biggest key. If we can recognize what they’re doing and are able to handle it or attack it, we have a chance to have some success. If we don’t and they win that battle, then it could be a long day for us.”
(on his plan to get prepared on Saturday night for Sunday’s game) “One of those things is, how soon is that nervousness and anxiety going to hit you? You hope that you can prolong it as much as possible. But you know Saturday and Sunday are going to be long, that you’re going to be thinking about the game. You’re going to be restless; it’s going to be tough to get a good night’s sleep. Sunday, what I always like to do is get up and eat breakfast, then my routine is to always try to go back and take a nap, and then wake up – like if the game is at noon or 1:00 or 2:00 – so you can kind of wake up and get in your routine at that point. But again, all of those things are easier to say (and) a lot harder to do because the game’s going through your mind. So it will be just trying to hold down my emotions as much as I possibly can so that I don’t wear myself out or I don’t try to over-think what we’re doing, and I can just get into the game and play.”
(on his prediction about the player who will be the ‘X-Factor’ in the game) “Wow. You know, I would probably look at – and I say this only because you probably can’t take a group of people along the way. Nobody ever picks an offensive line or something like that, although I think offensive and defensive lines are the key. But I could see a guy like an Edgerrin James being a key. A few weeks ago he wasn’t playing and he just got back into the starting lineup. Everybody wants to talk about how we can throw the football, and Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin and those guys. He’s kind of been a quiet piece to the puzzle that has been huge for us down the stretch. So I could see where there are some scenarios where the way he plays is going to have a big impact on what happens in the game. He’s one guy. Although he has a big name, I think he would probably surprise people if he came out and had a huge game.”
(on why the Cardinals have been so successful against the blitz this season) “I think it’s a combination of a lot of things. First and foremost, I think the coaches have done a great job of putting us in positions to attack it and get the ball out of our hands. I think we’ve got play makers. The one great thing about the blitz is that you know that when they’re void in areas, if you can get the ball into your play makers’ hands, that there’s a little more space out there to make plays. We’ve got some great play-makers that do that. And I think we just have done a good job this year of understanding what teams are doing, to be able to recognize it, and get the ball out and make proper adjustments against it. I think those are all the keys to being successful against the blitz – having everybody on the same page, understanding what you need to do and how to attack it. And we’ve done a fairly good job up to this point and it’s going to be key on Sunday evening.”
(on reflecting about his year with the New York Giants) “My year with the Giants was huge. Obviously people look at (my time with) the Rams because of the level of success that we achieved. But (my year with the Giants) was huge for me because when I got released from St. Louis, I was just trying to find a home. I was trying to find somebody who would give me an opportunity to get back on the field and play. Because I knew the perception out there was a little more to the negative side or more to the fact that I couldn’t play than that I could. I’m deeply indebted to (the Giants) organization for giving me the opportunity, to Coach (Tom) Coughlin for giving me the opportunity to get back out on the field and play. Hopefully it was a win-win situation. I felt like it was a win situation for me because I was able to get back out on the field. I knew it wasn’t going to be a long tenure. I knew I was just keeping the seat warm until Eli (Manning) was ready. But I needed an opportunity to get back on the field. They gave me that and I was able to parlay that into a contract here with Arizona. I think fondly about my time with my teammates there in New York. It was fun to watch them win the championship last year. I got a chance to talk to a lot of them. I still have a great relationship with Coach Coughlin. I really appreciate the organization and what they did for me.”
(on his mindset when he was placed on the expansion draft list earlier in his career) “I didn’t blame the team when that happened. I remember the situation. I was just trying to make it. With the situation and how it transpired, some of the guys on the team had to be put on the expansion draft. Obviously where I was and where I came from, it didn’t surprise me that I was on it and it didn’t surprise me that I wasn’t picked by anybody during the expansion draft. I think it kind of was what it was and I understood why the (St. Louis) Rams would do it at the time and really didn’t think much of it.”
(on talking to QB Matt Leinart about the quarterback situation) “Not to talk about a little bit of the early stages when the change was made or when the decision was made. We talked about embracing the situation and being able to step back a little bit from the pressure and the high expectations that came with his background and just trying to learn as much as he could from the situation and grow as much as he could because the time will come when he is going to get an opportunity. As we have seen throughout the league some places this year, guys that have waited, learned and understood that the time was going to come and were ready for when it did have done a tremendous job. Matt is going to do the same time when that time comes, whenever that is. I think sometimes he can get frustrated and kind of go off in the other direction, and we talked earlier about just staying focused and continuing to learn improvements and using it as a benefit as opposed to maybe kind of a negative.”
(on how his experience with the St. Louis Rams and New York Giants and this year’s New England Patriots game prepared him for this Super Bowl) “I think in the big picture, what I have come to learn is that we learn a lot in the ups and the downs of life. There are always things that we can learn. What I believe in is there are always things God is showing us in anything that goes on in our life. Some of those ‘products of down times’ that I have gone through, God showed me a lot and taught me a lot and prepared me for what was coming next. I remember when I got to the NFL and went to my first Super Bowl in 1999, there was no way that I would have been able to handle all of that had I not gone the route that I did through arena football, matured and grew in my faith. I wouldn’t have been able to handle that. I think the same is true. You go through some of these trials and you get back to this point, you appreciate it, you understand a little bit more, you relax and take it all in and just understand how big a hand God has in things like this and how little of a hand I have in things like this. I think those trials and those situations all taught me a lot about just stepping back and enjoying the moment that I am in for all it is worth.
“As far as this year, I know a lot of people want to point to the Patriots game, but I really point towards the end of the season. I really think when we played the Giants and played Minnesota and played Philadelphia and played New England, those are four playoff teams. I think up to that point, we weren’t really sure what it meant to be in the playoffs. A lot of guys had never been there in an organization that hadn’t been there in awhile, and I think those games shocked us a little bit on, ‘Okay, this is what we are going to face as we are going to move forward. This is what the playoffs are going to be about. It is going to be week in, week out playing good football teams that don’t make a lot of mistakes, and if you don’t come to play and you don’t commit and don’t prepare, they are going to blow you off the field.’ I think it was that stretch down towards the end of the season. We were playing those good teams, and it was kind of like a cloud moved over us and said, ‘Hey, this is what it is going to be about. These are what the teams are like in the playoffs. You better show up, and we better improve and better commit more if we are going to do something in the playoffs.’ You may look at the Patriots game as the final part of that, but what I remember is that whole stretch, because it was through that time that I had a lot of players come and talk to me. They were asking me what was going on and what we needed to do better, and it was during that stretch where we had success early, and it kind of hit these teams and they were shocking us a little bit with how bad they were beating us and how well they were playing. I think that it was then that the light bulb kind of switched on and said, ‘This is what the playoffs are going to be like. This is what it is going to be about, and it is going to be like this every single week. You better get prepared.”
(on the heaviness of his leadership responsibilities on the team) “Pressure can be a big responsibility. There is no question in this position in the game of football, you are called upon to lead and a lot of pressure is formed. I think because of the way that I have carried my life and the things that I have stood for, there comes a little pressure and responsibility that come with that. The way I always look at it is I embrace it. I embrace the opportunity to have pressure. Somebody just told me about a week about, talking about the playoffs and getting to this point, and told me a story. The quote came across that pressure is a privilege, to understand that pressure is a privilege. I think that it is a great way to put it. It is great to be in this position. Now, things can go against you and you don’t perform and you don’t do something, there is a lot of the truth being in that position, but at the same time, you embrace the idea that ‘Hey, I am in a position to make a difference for my football team and I am in a position to change the world around me because of the platform I have been given.’ I realized that a long time ago that God put me in this place particularly, and I am going to try to grab hold of that responsibility. I’ll take all the responsibility that comes with it and I am going to try to live up to what God holds me to.”
(on developing trust with WR Larry Fitzgerald throughout the season) “I think it is more than anything, I don’t know if Larry really changed. I think he has been a great receiver for a number of years and been able to make those kinds of plays for a number of years. I think the biggest thing is just me gaining more and more confidence in him. Not because of anything that he hasn’t done, but just as a quarterback sometimes you see things and the way I have always played the game, some things don’t quite look open to me. What I have come to realize is open for different guys and open for Larry is different than open for guys that I have played with in the past. Those are the things that I think I have learned through my course of time here with the Cardinals and playing with Larry and even Anquan (Boldin). It has been a transition for me to learn how to play with these guys and how to make them more successful. I think that is what it has been. The coaches have told me a little bit that sometimes to take a little more chance in a situation like this if you see this look, where maybe in the past I wouldn’t make those throws. Larry just shows you that open is different, and as long as you put it in the right spot that he is going to give us a better chance to make a play than the other team. I have gotten more confident in making some throws that I might not have made before just because of what I saw and not because of his athletic ability or what he is capable of doing.”
(on thinking about the NFL Hall of Fame) “I don’t think a lot about the hall of fame. Obviously when people talk about it or mention it to me or hear some of the speculations about it, you can’t help but think about it to some degree. What I would say is that it is what it is. I don’t make those decisions and I don’t know what all goes into making those decisions, but I am excited to be where I am at today. I wouldn’t change anything that I have done on the football field and I wouldn’t the change two situations, specifically with Arizona and St. Louis, and the part that I have been in and helping them get to the Super Bowl. If that means because there were lulls in the middle or I didn’t play enough that it affects me in the long haul, so be it. I am going to lead this team and I am going to be excited to lead this team because I have pulled through on the impression that I made on at least two organizations. To me, that is the bottom line. The reason that I got into this game and the reason I live my life is to do that. Hopefully I have done that with my teammates and I have done that with the organizations I have been in.”
(on Fitzgerald improving on the little things in his game) “The one thing is that I have been very fortunate in my career that not only have I been around guys that not only have been extremely talented, they were extremely open to working and getting better. That has been a trademark of a lot of great players that I have been around. Larry is no different. Larry has been a guy that since the first day that I got here, I knew he was talented and knew there were times that he could rest on his athleticism to be successful, but he has always looked to try to improve his game with the little things: the route runs, the understanding of coverages, the understanding of how to adjust his routes or how to adjust a defender, something that we talked about a lot over the last four years. You see each and every year -- sometimes at different times through the course of the year -- you see these things starting to click a little bit. You see him starting to get better at receiver. You see him start to be able to slow the game down, where he can actually utilize some of the things that we have talked about or some of the things the coaches are showing him or some of the releases we have done in practice. He can start using those in the game. That is the fun part, that he has been so successful at this level up to this point. I know he will continue to be successful, but he continues to work to want to be the best at his position. That is the exciting thing that for a young guy to accomplish so much. I think it is easy sometimes to just sit back and rest on what you have accomplished and the fact that you are athletic, but he hasn’t done that. He continues to work and continues to improve, and you are seeing the results of that. A microcosm of all that is what he has done here in the playoffs, but he has been doing those things year in and year out. I am just excited to see where he goes in the future, and when it is all said and done how we remember him, because he has the potential to be one of the best that have ever played this game. I am excited to sit back and watch that.”
(on what players can take from the experience of the late Pat Tillman) “Probably unfortunately, it hasn’t been talked about a whole bunch by players, because I think a lot players weren’t here when he was here and maybe don’t understand the big picture of what he brought to this organization and really what he did, not only for the organization but what it means from the bigger picture. Probably it hasn’t been discussed as much as it could have been to have the impact that it could have on our players, but I think we all recognize his presence at different times whether it be the run that they have every year, whether it be the statue that sits outside of the facility. Being a guy that has been in the league and been around, I remember when Pat made that choice and everything that followed that. There is no question that he is an inspiration for what he did or for what he stood for or for his attitude in regards to – I think sometimes we look at the NFL and NFL players, and you think about his situation and the choice that he made and I think that there are very few in the league that would make that same choice. In other words, were slow and were backward to a degree and you live in that world. To understand that he was living for a bigger purpose and went way beyond the game of football and way beyond money and the accolades that come with that, it is definitely something that I have been in that debacle and probably more so since I came here because it is more in the forefront being out here in Arizona. It is something that I appreciate and respect, and it inspires me.”
G REGGIE WELLS
(on if they’ve played any defenses similar to Pittsburgh’s) “It’s tough to say. People have different philosophies on the 3-4 (defenses). I don’t really know anyone in particular that we’ve played that I would compare exactly to them. Probably New England would be the closest one, but even New England does a little bit less as far as the blitz and everything. I think we have to go back and look at some of the games from last year. Not only the Pittsburgh game, but some of our games from their conference as well, and look at how they like to attack things over there and gauge it from there.”
(on what makes the Steelers defense so unpredictable) “They’re going to throw different looks at you one way or the other, but ultimately we know how they’re going to come with their attacks, it’s just how they get into that. There may be four guys standing up, the key is just to decide who we’re counting as our guys as far as the line goes, and just go from there. The line’s done a great job of communicating. We’ve done a great job of being on the same page as we were in practices. We’ll see. Whatever they throw at us out there, we’re going to have to be ready for it and go from there.”
(on assistant head coach/offensive line coach Russ Grimm) “He’s probably just as intense and prepared as he was as a player. He’s a great coach to have on your side, because not only has he played the game, he knows how to teach it as well. Some coaches who know how to teach might not have played the game, and vice versa. He’s been a tremendous help, not only to our younger guys, but to our older guys who haven’t had the kind of success that he’s had in his career.”
(on many of the top-ranked defenses being from the AFC) “I think a lot of AFC teams are 3-4. A lot of NFC teams are over stack teams and want to beat you like that. However the rankings play out, it is what it is.”
(on what Sunday will be like) “I don’t know. We’ll see what the schedule is. I think ultimately we’re going to wake up, have our breakfast, have our last-minute meeting. I think we’re going to have a few hours of down time. I’ll probably try to get to sleep or something like that. I don’t want to be up thinking of the game. I’ll already know what I have to. I want to still have some energy left for pre-game and after that, and all the other festivities that are going on.”
(on if he will have any nervous energy) “Yeah, I think some people have more than others. But ultimately, especially if this is your first one, you don’t know what to expect. I think there will be a certain level of nervousness or something that is going to go away at some point. I’d rather just try to go to sleep instead of sit up and worry about all that.”
(on if he has thought about what he’ll feel like when he steps on the field Sunday) “You like to think that it’s something that I’ll be able to put in the back of my mind and not really think about it too much, and just take it as another game. I’m sure it won’t be that easy, but I think there will come a point where you get your comfort level back out there, and you get your legs underneath you, and it’s just about football at that point. It’s hard to give you a real answer because I’ve never been there before, but that’s how I envision myself preparing for the game.”
(on if the Cardinals’ veterans who have been to the Super Bowl before have talked about what Saturday and Sunday will be like) “Those are all guys who have been there, been in the league a while, and been around a few different teams. Any time that you want to talk to them about anything, those are people who you’d want to go see. Me personally, I’d rather not talk about it more than what’s been talked about enough. I’d rather just jump in than stick my feet in to see if it’s warm or not.”
(on his night before the game ritual) “We have our night meeting, we have our late-night snack when we normally go out and get ice cream or something like that before I get to bed. Really, just go over the last-minute DVD, go over the playbook one more time, really just try to hit the sack as early as possible.”
(on if he’s allowed himself to think what it would be like if the Cardinals won) “Yeah, I think anybody – whether you’re a kid playing in the garage or in the backyard or something like that, or professionally – dreams of what it would be like to actually go forward and do that. We’ve worked plenty hard for it, so have 31 other teams. But we’re one of the teams blessed to still be in it at this point. We know what’s ahead of us, it’s just a matter of going out there and getting it done.”
HEAD COACH KEN WHISENHUNT
(on the importance of getting off to a fast start) “I think it’s important in any game to get off to a fast start. We didn’t get off to a fast start in the Carolina playoff game, but we were able to respond. I think it is more about the ability of your team to respond to certain situations. That is something that we have been much better at in the playoffs. There were times during the season that we were able to do that as well. It is all about growing up as a team. You always want to start fast, but that is not always the case in this type of game. If we don’t get off to a fast start, at least we feel comfortable with our ability to respond.”
(on Dick LeBeau’s 3-4 defense compared to others the Cardinals have faced) “Dick LeBeau is one of the innovators of the 3-4 defense and those guys play a physical, disciplined style of defense. They don’t make a lot of mistakes. They understand what they are trying to get accomplished. It is very tough to have success against them, which is why they are the number one rated defense in the NFL. At the end of the day, it comes down to execution. I have gone against LeBeau’s defenses in training camp in the past and have had mixed results at the best. It will be an exciting game from that standpoint, just to see if we can do anything.”
(on yesterday’s practice and how the team is improving this week) “We had good work on the field yesterday. It wasn’t the normal Wednesday for us because we had already installed most of our game plan last week. We ran some of the stuff from last week and ran some things that we added over the weekend. Normally on a Wednesday, there is a feeling-out process on what you are trying to get done. We didn’t have that yesterday, so it was good. The guys are excited. With all of their commitments to the media this week, they were just excited to get on the football field. We had a good practice.”
(on his relationship with the fans of the Cardinals) “A big part of why I am standing here, and our team is here, is because of our fans. We have created an atmosphere at the University of Phoenix Stadium that makes it tough for teams to come in and beat us. It paid off with two of our three playoff wins coming at home. I think it is a long time coming for the state of Arizona, the city of Phoenix and this team to have some success. I am very excited that our fans have made a significant contribution to that. We are very grateful to them. I came from Pittsburgh, where they have a great fan base and are very supportive of that team. It is exciting for me to see that we are building that in Arizona and to see it come to fruition in playoff games. It was a big thing for us.”
(on Russ Grimm as a player and on him as a coach) “Russ and I had a relationship that continued after we played together. He was a very smart football player. He played a number of different positions for that team along the offensive line. He was always the guy in the huddle that knew what was going on. Not just from what play was going on, but knowing what the defense was trying to do. You could tell that he had the ability to analyze the defense and understand what they were trying to get accomplished. That has served him well as a coach. I think that his mind set, the way he approaches the game, how professional he is and his desire to win, which he has been a very successful player and coach, is what makes him a special person and why he has been so valuable to our team.”
(on the night he made the decision to start Kurt Warner over Matt Leinart) “It was the Friday night after our final preseason game. We had a team meeting on Saturday, where we looked at the tape and our final roster cuts were that day. We had a lot going on, but at that time I felt we needed to make a decision in order to prepare for our first regular season game. Friday night following the game, was the time to make that decision. It was a very difficult decision. I liked a lot of the things Matt had done for us in the preseason. I liked how he had grown and how he had handled the competition. Obviously, Kurt had a very good preseason and training camp. He had done very well. It was a difficult decision; from the standpoint that I knew whoever wasn’t the starter was going to be disappointed. It really came down to making the decision on who I thought gave us the best chance to start fast. After looking at our schedule, with five east coast trips, I knew it was going to be important to start fast in our first few games.”
(on balancing between adding new stuff to the game plan and not over loading the players) “The biggest thing about this week is not allowing things to get stale. If you put everything in last week, it makes this game seem like it takes longer to get here than it does. From this time to game day is the most difficult because you are ready for the game. You put a week of work in last week and now you are preparing for them again. It becomes repetitive. We installed a good portion of our game plan last week, but we have changed a number of things and added some others. Those are the things you are targeting in your reps while you are reviewing the other things. You have to have the feel of some new things just so you can focus. It makes practice go by a little bit quicker. There are some new challenges. Maybe put in a few more gadgets just to get the guys going. I think it is about not trying to do too much. It is going to come down to execution against a very good football team. If we have too much stuff, in it makes it difficult to do that.”
(on the example set by his veterans and how competitive his off-season conditioning program was) “I think one of most important things we wanted to establish here in Arizona was an off-season program. The first thing we did was change the weight room and hire John Lott. John has done a great job of creating competition within our off-season program. Athletes at this level thrive on competition. Even when you do things like running five-yard sprints or agility drills and you put something on the line to create competition, it drives these guys to push themselves to be better. I think the most important thing it does is help forge team chemistry. I guess it has really showed up here in the latter part of the season. Guys like Kurt, Adrian [Wilson], Larry [Fitzgerald] and Anquan [Boldin] know what it takes to be successful in this league. I learned in Pittsburgh with Jerome Bettis and Willie Parker, that when you have a veteran who is willing to spend time with younger players and help them learn what it takes to be successful, that’s where you become stronger. I think it was reported yesterday, that we had 20 to 25 guys stay after practice to work on individual things. That is what our leaders have been doing. They have been working with our younger guys. Kurt has been working with the receivers to make sure they understand what he is thinking when they come out of their breaks. Larry and Anquan have been working on how you run routes, how to work on your splits and how you work on your releases. When you are doing these things, you show your younger guys how to be successful. When you’re younger guys are trained that way it makes your team stronger.”
(on what the win against the Dallas Cowboys meant to the Cardinals season) “We had just come back from a tough east coast trip, where we had lost both of them. We knew we were going against a team that was considered one of the best in the league at the time. Obviously, there was a lot of attention on the Cowboys at the time. They were Super Bowl favorites at the time. It was a big game for us. It was big for us because it gave us confidence against a team that people thought was very good. It was good to see that we could compete against them and actually win the game. Another thing that changed the momentum of our team in that game was our ability to battle back. We were up early, they came back to tie the game and we were able to block the punt and win the game. We didn’t allow something negative happen to our team. We responded in that situation. That was a big win for us. Before that, we had beaten Buffalo, which was another big win for us. But when you beat a team like the Cowboys, a team that was supposed to be going to the Super Bowl, it was a huge win for us.”
(on the rapid success he has had in just two seasons as a head coach) “I think we have a number of young football players on our team. I think the number one thing we will derive from this playoff run is how we operate. When you come to a new team, you wonder if your way of operating will work. I think it is good to have those younger guys see how that it works. I think the standard we have set in regards to how we work, how we study, how we practice and how we prepare in the offseason will be much easier to tell guys, ‘This is what you need to do if you want to play.’ I think our team understands that. I think that is why we have had success in the playoffs.”
SS ADRIAN WILSON
(on what he remembers about former teammate Pat Tillman) “The main thing was he showed a lot of character. He really looked out for others before himself. To leave the game and do what he did (enlist in the U.S. Army) showed what kind of man he was. Being around a guy like that was special. He felt football wasn’t the most important thing for him to do. It spoke volumes to the type of person he was.”
(on if he likes being the “voice of the team” being the longest-tenured Cardinal) “The only thing that it shows is that I am old. I am not really that old but just to be here for so long has been great because I have seen a lot of people come and go. I have been able to see the organization rise from obscurity to where we are now. To be a part of this experience is very important to me.”
(on how he would describe his tenure with the Cardinals) “It has been a tough road. It has been a great opportunity for me to see the organization grow and for the organization to see me grow; it goes hand in hand. To be on this team and be with these guys means a lot because a lot of them weren’t here when times were tough. The people that we have on this team are pretty special.”
(on if he dreamed of making it the Super Bowl when he was a kid) “I had dreams growing up of playing in the (NBA) Finals not the Super Bowl. Obviously this is a nightmare (laughter). I am here and that is the main thing. It has been a dream ride for us with all the success we had in the playoffs.”
(on how impressed he was with the way their defense played in the playoffs after a “difficult” regular season) “I am not going to say our regular season was difficult because a lot of people are looking at the final numbers. Before those last two games we were a top-10 defense. A lot of people are making a lot out of the final numbers, but we are the same team we were earlier in the season.”
(on how he thinks QB Ben Roethlisberger has changed since he first got in the league) “Ben has evolved over the course of his career. He has given them an extra dimension with his ability to scramble out of the pocket. He can make plays on the run. Whenever you have a quarterback like that it is tough to defend. You just want to contain him.”
(on the Cardinals offense getting more attention this week than the defense) “We have been in the background because of our offense. Our offense is a pretty good offense and we like it like that. We don’t need the glory or any press. We just feel like we are doing our job and doing what we need to do to win. That is all that matter in the playoffs – do what it takes to win. We have been giving our offense the ball back and giving them those extra possessions and that is all you can ask for from the defense.”
(on why he feels the Cardinals’ defense doesn’t get any recognition) “Well according to everybody else we are bad…terrible actually. We will take it and run with it. We have a long history of being bad, so it is hard to change people’s mindset. It is not going to happen overnight. After we play in this game it is still probably not going to change. It is going to take a lot of hard work to change the ‘Cardinals persona.’”
(on what he will do during the 24 hours leading up to kickoff) “I will be with family. That is what I always do before games. It is not going to change because my family is a big part of the reason for why I am here and they are a big part of my success. I am going to stay calm like I always am and go out there and play football.”
(on what he feels is the main priority in trying to contain the Steelers defense) “We need to be very consistent. We can’t have ups and lows during the game. We did it against Philadelphia. We had a pretty bad third quarter. It allowed them to get back into the ballgame. We can’t let that happen.”
(on if he watches film on other safeties during the offseason) “You always have to try to find a way to better yourself. Nowadays NFL clubs have every tape of every team so you are able to go back and look at some of the things that some of the top guys do well. You try to incorporate it in your game some how. For me, it is no different. When you go back and look at the instincts of Troy (Polamalu) and Ed Reed it’s the best. You don’t see players do what they have been doing over the past few seasons. You try to take some of the things that they do and apply it to your game.”
(on what separates Troy Polamalu and Ed Reed from other safeties) “It’s about not being scared to make a play. It may sound easy but to be able to leave your responsibility and go do something where you know that play is going to be at…that is something else. It is about being instinctive and knowing where the play is going to be.”
(on if he believes he and Polamalu play the game a similar way) “I don’t know. The things that he does well and the things I do well are totally different. To me, him and Ed Reed are 1A and 1B in the National Football League. To just be mentioned with those guys is a great honor. Like I said, I will go back this offseason and continue to look at tape of those guys.”
QUOTES FROM ARIZONA CARDINALS PRESS CONFERENCE
CB DOMINIQUE RODGERS-CROMARTIE
(on being back in Florida for the Super Bowl) “I would say it is like a homecoming celebration. Coming back here after not being here in a long time, it’s just an honor to be back and a blessing.”
(on why it took so long for people to discover you) “It was just the situation and the atmosphere that I was put in. I tried to leave home to spend time with my father and get to know him. In Orlando, which is a bigger city, it’s hard to get looked at. It’s hard to come on to someone’s team, coming where I was coming from. I just didn’t get an opportunity to get on the field as much. I made an immediate impact my senior year as soon as I got on the field and I think that is what got me looked at.”
(on how long it took to become a star player in high school) “I was never a star player in high school.”
(on the opportunity to line up as a receiver in the Super Bowl) “We worked on a few plays in practice but utilizing me in the game, I think there’s a slim chance.”
(on how the week has been and expectation of the next few days) “It has been fun. It has been a fun time to get this experience so I am going to take advantage of it. I am having fun right now but as the game gets closer I will settle down and get more focused and start really, really zoning in.”
(on who are the veterans that have helped you) “Ralph Brown and Eric Green, those two guys. Ralph Brown, during camp, would make me stay after practice with him and work on footwork and do drills with him. Eric Green is the one who really taught me how to study a receiver and he calls out routes to me and I called them back out to him.”
(on why Eric became your mentor) “Maybe he saw something in me that a lot of people didn’t. The potential that I have or what I could be as a football player. I think he is trying to make me a better player. ”
(on how much do you believe in yourself) “I am very confident now. I still have my mistakes and a lot to learn but with the experience, I have gained confidence.”
(on his relationship with his father) “It’s a choice I made. Growing up I didn’t see him much because he was out of town. He was a college coach, always on the road recruiting, so I was really raised by my mother. When he moved back into the state, I felt that was the time for me to get to know him. I was in the ninth grade.”
(on what Coach Whisenhunt did to get him to buy into the program) “Every meeting he stayed on us. He wasn’t going to let us slack off. Sometimes, when you do have a good week, he would let us take our pads off but if we are not working hard, he would make us go back and put them on. He is a coach that always stays on us and is always talking about believing in team and not pointing a finger, offense helping D and D helping O. From the get go we have had a good time. We really came together in camp as far as a team.”
(on comparing himself to his cousin Chargers CB Antonio Cromartie) “I’ve never compared us. I had an idea that I would be in the NFL but I didn’t know how high I was going to go or how I was going to get there but that is just something I never did.”
(on proving himself to the team) “That’s how I felt coming from a small school. I was saying, it’s going to be some people out saying this and that, especially with me going in the first round from a small school. I had a chip on my shoulder and I said I have another obstacle to get over. Even going into this game, I’ve made a few plays here and there but I don’t think I have really made my statement yet. I am still so young and I still have a lot to learn. Once I grasp all that, it is going to be a different story.”
(on being a self-proclaimed goofy guy) “I like to have fun. I am going to make somebody laugh if I feel the atmosphere is kind of down and quiet.”
(on Santonio Holmes’ comment on double coverage needed against him) “That is how he feels. I understand why he feels that way. He is a big play guy but they gave me that assignment and I am really going to zone in and focus.”
(on if being so close to home is a distraction) “To me, it is just like any other week when we go out of town. It’s not my home stadium. I stay 30 minutes down the street but I can’t go anywhere. I don’t have a car. I’m not affected by it. My family understands why I am down here and they are not calling me and bugging me.”
(on having the time to spend with family this week) “Tuesday was our off day so I went home for a little bit. I just sat in the house with them. We just sat there and talked, watched TV and reminisced a little bit.”
(on the number of people he had to say no to about tickets) “I stopped counting. There are a lot of people I had to say no to. I am still finding myself having to say no today. We could only get up to 15 tickets.”
(on how much fun he will have walking on the field Sunday) “I am going to have a lot of fun. I am going to be real focused and zoned in on the game, but at the same time, I am going to be out there laughing, smiling and talking.”
(on the curfew enforced this week) “Normally we don’t have a curfew until Saturday but they started early because they want everybody to be focused. I can understand that. If you are going to party, just wait until after the game. It’s no big deal.”
(on his anticipation of Sunday morning) “When I wake up on Sunday, it is going to be a thinking day for me. Before that game starts, I’m going to think about my life and what I have gone through and just build up some motivation and go out there and play.”
(on coming from where he was to now) “It is real crazy. The things that have happened to me, it just doesn’t happen to a lot of people. I’m very blessed. I just keep on pushing. I’ve always felt if I stayed grounded, stayed humble, and just kept on praying, my opportunity would present itself. That is how I have been all of my life.”
(on faith) “I think faith gets me a long way. One thing I learned growing up living with my grandmother and her raising me, she always told me to keep God first in everything I do.”
(on who is God to him) “A father, a friend. Someone who if I can’t call on anyone else, I can call on him. He will always listen to me. Sometimes that gets me through the day and I give Him all of the praise.”
(on why he given the talent he has) “I was a child who stayed faithful and did the right things for the most part. I believe the Lord blessed me for that. Growing up, I wasn’t one of those kids running the streets doing this and that even though I was in that atmosphere. My momma kept me in the house.”
QB KURT WARNER
(on his mindset when he was placed on the expansion draft list earlier in his career) “I didn’t blame the team when that happened. I remember the situation. I was just trying to make it. With the situation and how it transpired, some of the guys on the team had to be put on the expansion draft. Obviously where I was and where I came from, it didn’t surprise me that I was on it and it didn’t surprise me that I wasn’t picked by anybody during the expansion draft. I think it kind of was what it was and I understood why the (St. Louis) Rams would do it at the time and really didn’t think much of it.”
(on talking to QB Matt Leinart about the quarterback situation) “Not to talk about a little bit of the early stages when the change was made or when the decision was made. We talked about embracing the situation and being able to step back a little bit from the pressure and the high expectations that came with his background and just trying to learn as much as he could from the situation and grow as much as he could because the time will come when he is going to get an opportunity. As we have seen throughout the league some places this year, guys that have waited, learned and understood that the time was going to come and were ready for when it did have done a tremendous job. Matt is going to do the same time when that time comes, whenever that is. I think sometimes he can get frustrated and kind of go off in the other direction, and we talked earlier about just staying focused and continuing to learn improvements and using it as a benefit as opposed to maybe kind of a negative.”
(on how his experience with the St. Louis Rams and New York Giants and this year’s New England Patriots game prepared him for this Super Bowl) “I think in the big picture, what I have come to learn is that we learn a lot in the ups and the downs of life. There are always things that we can learn. What I believe in is there are always things God is showing us in anything that goes on in our life. Some of those ‘products of down times’ that I have gone through, God showed me a lot and taught me a lot and prepared me for what was coming next. I remember when I got to the NFL and went to my first Super Bowl in 1999, there was no way that I would have been able to handle all of that had I not gone the route that I did through arena football, matured and grew in my faith. I wouldn’t have been able to handle that. I think the same is true. You go through some of these trials and you get back to this point, you appreciate it, you understand a little bit more, you relax and take it all in and just understand how big a hand God has in things like this and how little of a hand I have in things like this. I think those trials and those situations all taught me a lot about just stepping back and enjoying the moment that I am in for all it is worth.
“As far as this year, I know a lot of people want to point to the Patriots game, but I really point towards the end of the season. I really think when we played the Giants and played Minnesota and played Philadelphia and played New England, those are four playoff teams. I think up to that point, we weren’t really sure what it meant to be in the playoffs. A lot of guys had never been there in an organization that hadn’t been there in awhile, and I think those games shocked us a little bit on, ‘Okay, this is what we are going to face as we are going to move forward. This is what the playoffs are going to be about. It is going to be week in, week out playing good football teams that don’t make a lot of mistakes, and if you don’t come to play and you don’t commit and don’t prepare, they are going to blow you off the field.’ I think it was that stretch down towards the end of the season. We were playing those good teams, and it was kind of like a cloud moved over us and said, ‘Hey, this is what it is going to be about. These are what the teams are like in the playoffs. You better show up, and we better improve and better commit more if we are going to do something in the playoffs.’ You may look at the Patriots game as the final part of that, but what I remember is that whole stretch, because it was through that time that I had a lot of players come and talk to me. They were asking me what was going on and what we needed to do better, and it was during that stretch where we had success early, and it kind of hit these teams and they were shocking us a little bit with how bad they were beating us and how well they were playing. I think that it was then that the light bulb kind of switched on and said, ‘This is what the playoffs are going to be like. This is what it is going to be about, and it is going to be like this every single week. You better get prepared.”
(on the heaviness of his leadership responsibilities on the team) “Pressure can be a big responsibility. There is no question in this position in the game of football, you are called upon to lead and a lot of pressure is formed. I think because of the way that I have carried my life and the things that I have stood for, there comes a little pressure and responsibility that come with that. The way I always look at it is I embrace it. I embrace the opportunity to have pressure. Somebody just told me about a week about, talking about the playoffs and getting to this point, and told me a story. The quote came across that pressure is a privilege, to understand that pressure is a privilege. I think that it is a great way to put it. It is great to be in this position. Now, things can go against you and you don’t perform and you don’t do something, there is a lot of the truth being in that position, but at the same time, you embrace the idea that ‘Hey, I am in a position to make a difference for my football team and I am in a position to change the world around me because of the platform I have been given.’ I realized that a long time ago that God put me in this place particularly, and I am going to try to grab hold of that responsibility. I’ll take all the responsibility that comes with it and I am going to try to live up to what God holds me to.”
(on developing trust with WR Larry Fitzgerald throughout the season) “I think it is more than anything, I don’t know if Larry really changed. I think he has been a great receiver for a number of years and been able to make those kinds of plays for a number of years. I think the biggest thing is just me gaining more and more confidence in him. Not because of anything that he hasn’t done, but just as a quarterback sometimes you see things and the way I have always played the game, some things don’t quite look open to me. What I have come to realize is open for different guys and open for Larry is different than open for guys that I have played with in the past. Those are the things that I think I have learned through my course of time here with the Cardinals and playing with Larry and even Anquan (Boldin). It has been a transition for me to learn how to play with these guys and how to make them more successful. I think that is what it has been. The coaches have told me a little bit that sometimes to take a little more chance in a situation like this if you see this look, where maybe in the past I wouldn’t make those throws. Larry just shows you that open is different, and as long as you put it in the right spot that he is going to give us a better chance to make a play than the other team. I have gotten more confident in making some throws that I might not have made before just because of what I saw and not because of his athletic ability or what he is capable of doing.”
(on thinking about the NFL Hall of Fame) “I don’t think a lot about the hall of fame. Obviously when people talk about it or mention it to me or hear some of the speculations about it, you can’t help but think about it to some degree. What I would say is that it is what it is. I don’t make those decisions and I don’t know what all goes into making those decisions, but I am excited to be where I am at today. I wouldn’t change anything that I have done on the football field and I wouldn’t the change two situations, specifically with Arizona and St. Louis, and the part that I have been in and helping them get to the Super Bowl. If that means because there were lulls in the middle or I didn’t play enough that it affects me in the long haul, so be it. I am going to lead this team and I am going to be excited to lead this team because I have pulled through on the impression that I made on at least two organizations. To me, that is the bottom line. The reason that I got into this game and the reason I live my life is to do that. Hopefully I have done that with my teammates and I have done that with the organizations I have been in.”
(on Fitzgerald improving on the little things in his game) “The one thing is that I have been very fortunate in my career that not only have I been around guys that not only have been extremely talented, they were extremely open to working and getting better. That has been a trademark of a lot of great players that I have been around. Larry is no different. Larry has been a guy that since the first day that I got here, I knew he was talented and knew there were times that he could rest on his athleticism to be successful, but he has always looked to try to improve his game with the little things: the route runs, the understanding of coverages, the understanding of how to adjust his routes or how to adjust a defender, something that we talked about a lot over the last four years. You see each and every year -- sometimes at different times through the course of the year -- you see these things starting to click a little bit. You see him starting to get better at receiver. You see him start to be able to slow the game down, where he can actually utilize some of the things that we have talked about or some of the things the coaches are showing him or some of the releases we have done in practice. He can start using those in the game. That is the fun part, that he has been so successful at this level up to this point. I know he will continue to be successful, but he continues to work to want to be the best at his position. That is the exciting thing that for a young guy to accomplish so much. I think it is easy sometimes to just sit back and rest on what you have accomplished and the fact that you are athletic, but he hasn’t done that. He continues to work and continues to improve, and you are seeing the results of that. A microcosm of all that is what he has done here in the playoffs, but he has been doing those things year in and year out. I am just excited to see where he goes in the future, and when it is all said and done how we remember him, because he has the potential to be one of the best that have ever played this game. I am excited to sit back and watch that.”
(on what players can take from the experience of the late Pat Tillman) “Probably unfortunately, it hasn’t been talked about a whole bunch by players, because I think a lot players weren’t here when he was here and maybe don’t understand the big picture of what he brought to this organization and really what he did, not only for the organization but what it means from the bigger picture. Probably it hasn’t been discussed as much as it could have been to have the impact that it could have on our players, but I think we all recognize his presence at different times whether it be the run that they have every year, whether it be the statue that sits outside of the facility. Being a guy that has been in the league and been around, I remember when Pat made that choice and everything that followed that. There is no question that he is an inspiration for what he did or for what he stood for or for his attitude in regards to – I think sometimes we look at the NFL and NFL players, and you think about his situation and the choice that he made and I think that there are very few in the league that would make that same choice. In other words, were slow and were backward to a degree and you live in that world. To understand that he was living for a bigger purpose and went way beyond the game of football and way beyond money and the accolades that come with that, it is definitely something that I have been in that debacle and probably more so since I came here because it is more in the forefront being out here in Arizona. It is something that I appreciate and respect, and it inspires me.”
(on keeping his body fresh this far into the season) “The key is to stay on top of it all year long. I think that’s the thing I’ve learned just as I’ve gotten older, is that even getting into the off-season, I can’t take as much time off. I’ve got to try to just stay on top of it as much as I can. That’s what I’ve done the past couple of years, as far as through the season. Being a quarterback, you don’t get quite as much work running and conditioning as you would in the off-season, so I do a lot more in the mornings – a lot more cardio on my own to try to keep myself in shape. I think that’s been a huge key to being able to sustain so many hits this year and staying as fresh as possible.”
(on crediting Cardinals strength & conditioning coach John Lott for keeping his body good condition) “John’s done a great job. He’s continued to push me. I think the thing that John’s done great, too, is he understands different players. He understands that I am an old man. He understands just how much he can push me or certain routines I’ve had in the past and that I feel comfortable with, he adjusts some of the things that he does. One of the things I’ve done the past couple of years that I didn’t do most of my career is, John got me back into squatting. It’s something that I’m doing every week that I hadn’t done in the past. Like I said, I feel great at this point in time. I feel strong. My body feels good. So a lot of that could be contributed to some of that stuff.”
(on whether Lott has made him do power cleans) “I do more pulls than I do cleans, but I do a little, yeah.”
(on the impression Larry Fitzgerald has made on him) “Larry and I are, beyond the football field, really good friends. I just think he’s a great guy. He tries to do things the right way. He works hard (and) he’s humble, even though he’s had a lot of success early. I think he understands the big picture and I think he wants to be great, and all that means. So it’s been fun to work with him, especially in the beginning stages of his career, and watch him get better and better year in and year out. (I respect) the way he longs to improve on even where he’s at now. (He is) a tremendous guy. I enjoy being around him both on and off the football field, and I love competing with him.”
(on whether the outcome of Sunday’s game will affect his decision about retirement) “You know, I don’t know what’s going to be the ultimate decision or how it’s going to be determined. I know that you look at the scenarios and what could play out, and in the back of your mind you say, ‘Man, this could be a perfect scenario to leave the game.’ But what I’ve continued to realize about my career and my life is that nothing takes on a perfect scenario. What people think would be perfect doesn’t seem to work out in my situation. So the ultimate decision is, I’m going to step back and I’m going to pray about it. And I believe God’s going to show me whether He wants me to continue in this game and if He’s got more for me to accomplish, or if He’s got some other calling in my life. I think that would be the ultimate decision as much as I’ll probably try to weigh a lot of those factors, whether it be physical or whether it be career-oriented. Bottom line, end of the day, I believe God’s going to send me what He wants me to do.”
(on the most important element the Cardinals must focus on in order to beat the Steelers) “I think the most important element against this team is recognition. They do a lot of different things, they’ve got a lot of different guys that they can use in different spots. I think the key for us is going to be being able to recognize who’s who, where the blitz is coming from, who’s got to block who, who’s going to be free and when I need to get the ball out. I think that’s going to be the biggest key. If we can recognize what they’re doing and are able to handle it or attack it, we have a chance to have some success. If we don’t and they win that battle, then it could be a long day for us.”
(on his plan to get prepared on Saturday night for Sunday’s game) “One of those things is, how soon is that nervousness and anxiety going to hit you? You hope that you can prolong it as much as possible. But you know Saturday and Sunday are going to be long, that you’re going to be thinking about the game. You’re going to be restless; it’s going to be tough to get a good night’s sleep. Sunday, what I always like to do is get up and eat breakfast, then my routine is to always try to go back and take a nap, and then wake up – like if the game is at noon or 1:00 or 2:00 – so you can kind of wake up and get in your routine at that point. But again, all of those things are easier to say (and) a lot harder to do because the game’s going through your mind. So it will be just trying to hold down my emotions as much as I possibly can so that I don’t wear myself out or I don’t try to over-think what we’re doing, and I can just get into the game and play.”
(on his prediction about the player who will be the ‘X-Factor’ in the game) “Wow. You know, I would probably look at – and I say this only because you probably can’t take a group of people along the way. Nobody ever picks an offensive line or something like that, although I think offensive and defensive lines are the key. But I could see a guy like an Edgerrin James being a key. A few weeks ago he wasn’t playing and he just got back into the starting lineup. Everybody wants to talk about how we can throw the football, and Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin and those guys. He’s kind of been a quiet piece to the puzzle that has been huge for us down the stretch. So I could see where there are some scenarios where the way he plays is going to have a big impact on what happens in the game. He’s one guy. Although he has a big name, I think he would probably surprise people if he came out and had a huge game.”
(on why the Cardinals have been so successful against the blitz this season) “I think it’s a combination of a lot of things. First and foremost, I think the coaches have done a great job of putting us in positions to attack it and get the ball out of our hands. I think we’ve got play makers. The one great thing about the blitz is that you know that when they’re void in areas, if you can get the ball into your play makers’ hands, that there’s a little more space out there to make plays. We’ve got some great play-makers that do that. And I think we just have done a good job this year of understanding what teams are doing, to be able to recognize it, and get the ball out and make proper adjustments against it. I think those are all the keys to being successful against the blitz – having everybody on the same page, understanding what you need to do and how to attack it. And we’ve done a fairly good job up to this point and it’s going to be key on Sunday evening.”
(on reflecting about his year with the New York Giants) “My year with the Giants was huge. Obviously people look at (my time with) the Rams because of the level of success that we achieved. But (my year with the Giants) was huge for me because when I got released from St. Louis, I was just trying to find a home. I was trying to find somebody who would give me an opportunity to get back on the field and play. Because I knew the perception out there was a little more to the negative side or more to the fact that I couldn’t play than that I could. I’m deeply indebted to (the Giants) organization for giving me the opportunity, to Coach (Tom) Coughlin for giving me the opportunity to get back out on the field and play. Hopefully it was a win-win situation. I felt like it was a win situation for me because I was able to get back out on the field. I knew it wasn’t going to be a long tenure. I knew I was just keeping the seat warm until Eli (Manning) was ready. But I needed an opportunity to get back on the field. They gave me that and I was able to parlay that into a contract here with Arizona. I think fondly about my time with my teammates there in New York. It was fun to watch them win the championship last year. I got a chance to talk to a lot of them. I still have a great relationship with Coach Coughlin. I really appreciate the organization and what they did for me.”
(on his mindset when he was placed on the expansion draft list earlier in his career) “I didn’t blame the team when that happened. I remember the situation. I was just trying to make it. With the situation and how it transpired, some of the guys on the team had to be put on the expansion draft. Obviously where I was and where I came from, it didn’t surprise me that I was on it and it didn’t surprise me that I wasn’t picked by anybody during the expansion draft. I think it kind of was what it was and I understood why the (St. Louis) Rams would do it at the time and really didn’t think much of it.”
(on talking to QB Matt Leinart about the quarterback situation) “Not to talk about a little bit of the early stages when the change was made or when the decision was made. We talked about embracing the situation and being able to step back a little bit from the pressure and the high expectations that came with his background and just trying to learn as much as he could from the situation and grow as much as he could because the time will come when he is going to get an opportunity. As we have seen throughout the league some places this year, guys that have waited, learned and understood that the time was going to come and were ready for when it did have done a tremendous job. Matt is going to do the same time when that time comes, whenever that is. I think sometimes he can get frustrated and kind of go off in the other direction, and we talked earlier about just staying focused and continuing to learn improvements and using it as a benefit as opposed to maybe kind of a negative.”
(on how his experience with the St. Louis Rams and New York Giants and this year’s New England Patriots game prepared him for this Super Bowl) “I think in the big picture, what I have come to learn is that we learn a lot in the ups and the downs of life. There are always things that we can learn. What I believe in is there are always things God is showing us in anything that goes on in our life. Some of those ‘products of down times’ that I have gone through, God showed me a lot and taught me a lot and prepared me for what was coming next. I remember when I got to the NFL and went to my first Super Bowl in 1999, there was no way that I would have been able to handle all of that had I not gone the route that I did through arena football, matured and grew in my faith. I wouldn’t have been able to handle that. I think the same is true. You go through some of these trials and you get back to this point, you appreciate it, you understand a little bit more, you relax and take it all in and just understand how big a hand God has in things like this and how little of a hand I have in things like this. I think those trials and those situations all taught me a lot about just stepping back and enjoying the moment that I am in for all it is worth.
“As far as this year, I know a lot of people want to point to the Patriots game, but I really point towards the end of the season. I really think when we played the Giants and played Minnesota and played Philadelphia and played New England, those are four playoff teams. I think up to that point, we weren’t really sure what it meant to be in the playoffs. A lot of guys had never been there in an organization that hadn’t been there in awhile, and I think those games shocked us a little bit on, ‘Okay, this is what we are going to face as we are going to move forward. This is what the playoffs are going to be about. It is going to be week in, week out playing good football teams that don’t make a lot of mistakes, and if you don’t come to play and you don’t commit and don’t prepare, they are going to blow you off the field.’ I think it was that stretch down towards the end of the season. We were playing those good teams, and it was kind of like a cloud moved over us and said, ‘Hey, this is what it is going to be about. These are what the teams are like in the playoffs. You better show up, and we better improve and better commit more if we are going to do something in the playoffs.’ You may look at the Patriots game as the final part of that, but what I remember is that whole stretch, because it was through that time that I had a lot of players come and talk to me. They were asking me what was going on and what we needed to do better, and it was during that stretch where we had success early, and it kind of hit these teams and they were shocking us a little bit with how bad they were beating us and how well they were playing. I think that it was then that the light bulb kind of switched on and said, ‘This is what the playoffs are going to be like. This is what it is going to be about, and it is going to be like this every single week. You better get prepared.”
(on the heaviness of his leadership responsibilities on the team) “Pressure can be a big responsibility. There is no question in this position in the game of football, you are called upon to lead and a lot of pressure is formed. I think because of the way that I have carried my life and the things that I have stood for, there comes a little pressure and responsibility that come with that. The way I always look at it is I embrace it. I embrace the opportunity to have pressure. Somebody just told me about a week about, talking about the playoffs and getting to this point, and told me a story. The quote came across that pressure is a privilege, to understand that pressure is a privilege. I think that it is a great way to put it. It is great to be in this position. Now, things can go against you and you don’t perform and you don’t do something, there is a lot of the truth being in that position, but at the same time, you embrace the idea that ‘Hey, I am in a position to make a difference for my football team and I am in a position to change the world around me because of the platform I have been given.’ I realized that a long time ago that God put me in this place particularly, and I am going to try to grab hold of that responsibility. I’ll take all the responsibility that comes with it and I am going to try to live up to what God holds me to.”
(on developing trust with WR Larry Fitzgerald throughout the season) “I think it is more than anything, I don’t know if Larry really changed. I think he has been a great receiver for a number of years and been able to make those kinds of plays for a number of years. I think the biggest thing is just me gaining more and more confidence in him. Not because of anything that he hasn’t done, but just as a quarterback sometimes you see things and the way I have always played the game, some things don’t quite look open to me. What I have come to realize is open for different guys and open for Larry is different than open for guys that I have played with in the past. Those are the things that I think I have learned through my course of time here with the Cardinals and playing with Larry and even Anquan (Boldin). It has been a transition for me to learn how to play with these guys and how to make them more successful. I think that is what it has been. The coaches have told me a little bit that sometimes to take a little more chance in a situation like this if you see this look, where maybe in the past I wouldn’t make those throws. Larry just shows you that open is different, and as long as you put it in the right spot that he is going to give us a better chance to make a play than the other team. I have gotten more confident in making some throws that I might not have made before just because of what I saw and not because of his athletic ability or what he is capable of doing.”
(on thinking about the NFL Hall of Fame) “I don’t think a lot about the hall of fame. Obviously when people talk about it or mention it to me or hear some of the speculations about it, you can’t help but think about it to some degree. What I would say is that it is what it is. I don’t make those decisions and I don’t know what all goes into making those decisions, but I am excited to be where I am at today. I wouldn’t change anything that I have done on the football field and I wouldn’t the change two situations, specifically with Arizona and St. Louis, and the part that I have been in and helping them get to the Super Bowl. If that means because there were lulls in the middle or I didn’t play enough that it affects me in the long haul, so be it. I am going to lead this team and I am going to be excited to lead this team because I have pulled through on the impression that I made on at least two organizations. To me, that is the bottom line. The reason that I got into this game and the reason I live my life is to do that. Hopefully I have done that with my teammates and I have done that with the organizations I have been in.”
(on Fitzgerald improving on the little things in his game) “The one thing is that I have been very fortunate in my career that not only have I been around guys that not only have been extremely talented, they were extremely open to working and getting better. That has been a trademark of a lot of great players that I have been around. Larry is no different. Larry has been a guy that since the first day that I got here, I knew he was talented and knew there were times that he could rest on his athleticism to be successful, but he has always looked to try to improve his game with the little things: the route runs, the understanding of coverages, the understanding of how to adjust his routes or how to adjust a defender, something that we talked about a lot over the last four years. You see each and every year -- sometimes at different times through the course of the year -- you see these things starting to click a little bit. You see him starting to get better at receiver. You see him start to be able to slow the game down, where he can actually utilize some of the things that we have talked about or some of the things the coaches are showing him or some of the releases we have done in practice. He can start using those in the game. That is the fun part, that he has been so successful at this level up to this point. I know he will continue to be successful, but he continues to work to want to be the best at his position. That is the exciting thing that for a young guy to accomplish so much. I think it is easy sometimes to just sit back and rest on what you have accomplished and the fact that you are athletic, but he hasn’t done that. He continues to work and continues to improve, and you are seeing the results of that. A microcosm of all that is what he has done here in the playoffs, but he has been doing those things year in and year out. I am just excited to see where he goes in the future, and when it is all said and done how we remember him, because he has the potential to be one of the best that have ever played this game. I am excited to sit back and watch that.”
(on what players can take from the experience of the late Pat Tillman) “Probably unfortunately, it hasn’t been talked about a whole bunch by players, because I think a lot players weren’t here when he was here and maybe don’t understand the big picture of what he brought to this organization and really what he did, not only for the organization but what it means from the bigger picture. Probably it hasn’t been discussed as much as it could have been to have the impact that it could have on our players, but I think we all recognize his presence at different times whether it be the run that they have every year, whether it be the statue that sits outside of the facility. Being a guy that has been in the league and been around, I remember when Pat made that choice and everything that followed that. There is no question that he is an inspiration for what he did or for what he stood for or for his attitude in regards to – I think sometimes we look at the NFL and NFL players, and you think about his situation and the choice that he made and I think that there are very few in the league that would make that same choice. In other words, were slow and were backward to a degree and you live in that world. To understand that he was living for a bigger purpose and went way beyond the game of football and way beyond money and the accolades that come with that, it is definitely something that I have been in that debacle and probably more so since I came here because it is more in the forefront being out here in Arizona. It is something that I appreciate and respect, and it inspires me.”
G REGGIE WELLS
(on if they’ve played any defenses similar to Pittsburgh’s) “It’s tough to say. People have different philosophies on the 3-4 (defenses). I don’t really know anyone in particular that we’ve played that I would compare exactly to them. Probably New England would be the closest one, but even New England does a little bit less as far as the blitz and everything. I think we have to go back and look at some of the games from last year. Not only the Pittsburgh game, but some of our games from their conference as well, and look at how they like to attack things over there and gauge it from there.”
(on what makes the Steelers defense so unpredictable) “They’re going to throw different looks at you one way or the other, but ultimately we know how they’re going to come with their attacks, it’s just how they get into that. There may be four guys standing up, the key is just to decide who we’re counting as our guys as far as the line goes, and just go from there. The line’s done a great job of communicating. We’ve done a great job of being on the same page as we were in practices. We’ll see. Whatever they throw at us out there, we’re going to have to be ready for it and go from there.”
(on assistant head coach/offensive line coach Russ Grimm) “He’s probably just as intense and prepared as he was as a player. He’s a great coach to have on your side, because not only has he played the game, he knows how to teach it as well. Some coaches who know how to teach might not have played the game, and vice versa. He’s been a tremendous help, not only to our younger guys, but to our older guys who haven’t had the kind of success that he’s had in his career.”
(on many of the top-ranked defenses being from the AFC) “I think a lot of AFC teams are 3-4. A lot of NFC teams are over stack teams and want to beat you like that. However the rankings play out, it is what it is.”
(on what Sunday will be like) “I don’t know. We’ll see what the schedule is. I think ultimately we’re going to wake up, have our breakfast, have our last-minute meeting. I think we’re going to have a few hours of down time. I’ll probably try to get to sleep or something like that. I don’t want to be up thinking of the game. I’ll already know what I have to. I want to still have some energy left for pre-game and after that, and all the other festivities that are going on.”
(on if he will have any nervous energy) “Yeah, I think some people have more than others. But ultimately, especially if this is your first one, you don’t know what to expect. I think there will be a certain level of nervousness or something that is going to go away at some point. I’d rather just try to go to sleep instead of sit up and worry about all that.”
(on if he has thought about what he’ll feel like when he steps on the field Sunday) “You like to think that it’s something that I’ll be able to put in the back of my mind and not really think about it too much, and just take it as another game. I’m sure it won’t be that easy, but I think there will come a point where you get your comfort level back out there, and you get your legs underneath you, and it’s just about football at that point. It’s hard to give you a real answer because I’ve never been there before, but that’s how I envision myself preparing for the game.”
(on if the Cardinals’ veterans who have been to the Super Bowl before have talked about what Saturday and Sunday will be like) “Those are all guys who have been there, been in the league a while, and been around a few different teams. Any time that you want to talk to them about anything, those are people who you’d want to go see. Me personally, I’d rather not talk about it more than what’s been talked about enough. I’d rather just jump in than stick my feet in to see if it’s warm or not.”
(on his night before the game ritual) “We have our night meeting, we have our late-night snack when we normally go out and get ice cream or something like that before I get to bed. Really, just go over the last-minute DVD, go over the playbook one more time, really just try to hit the sack as early as possible.”
(on if he’s allowed himself to think what it would be like if the Cardinals won) “Yeah, I think anybody – whether you’re a kid playing in the garage or in the backyard or something like that, or professionally – dreams of what it would be like to actually go forward and do that. We’ve worked plenty hard for it, so have 31 other teams. But we’re one of the teams blessed to still be in it at this point. We know what’s ahead of us, it’s just a matter of going out there and getting it done.”
HEAD COACH KEN WHISENHUNT
(on the importance of getting off to a fast start) “I think it’s important in any game to get off to a fast start. We didn’t get off to a fast start in the Carolina playoff game, but we were able to respond. I think it is more about the ability of your team to respond to certain situations. That is something that we have been much better at in the playoffs. There were times during the season that we were able to do that as well. It is all about growing up as a team. You always want to start fast, but that is not always the case in this type of game. If we don’t get off to a fast start, at least we feel comfortable with our ability to respond.”
(on Dick LeBeau’s 3-4 defense compared to others the Cardinals have faced) “Dick LeBeau is one of the innovators of the 3-4 defense and those guys play a physical, disciplined style of defense. They don’t make a lot of mistakes. They understand what they are trying to get accomplished. It is very tough to have success against them, which is why they are the number one rated defense in the NFL. At the end of the day, it comes down to execution. I have gone against LeBeau’s defenses in training camp in the past and have had mixed results at the best. It will be an exciting game from that standpoint, just to see if we can do anything.”
(on yesterday’s practice and how the team is improving this week) “We had good work on the field yesterday. It wasn’t the normal Wednesday for us because we had already installed most of our game plan last week. We ran some of the stuff from last week and ran some things that we added over the weekend. Normally on a Wednesday, there is a feeling-out process on what you are trying to get done. We didn’t have that yesterday, so it was good. The guys are excited. With all of their commitments to the media this week, they were just excited to get on the football field. We had a good practice.”
(on his relationship with the fans of the Cardinals) “A big part of why I am standing here, and our team is here, is because of our fans. We have created an atmosphere at the University of Phoenix Stadium that makes it tough for teams to come in and beat us. It paid off with two of our three playoff wins coming at home. I think it is a long time coming for the state of Arizona, the city of Phoenix and this team to have some success. I am very excited that our fans have made a significant contribution to that. We are very grateful to them. I came from Pittsburgh, where they have a great fan base and are very supportive of that team. It is exciting for me to see that we are building that in Arizona and to see it come to fruition in playoff games. It was a big thing for us.”
(on Russ Grimm as a player and on him as a coach) “Russ and I had a relationship that continued after we played together. He was a very smart football player. He played a number of different positions for that team along the offensive line. He was always the guy in the huddle that knew what was going on. Not just from what play was going on, but knowing what the defense was trying to do. You could tell that he had the ability to analyze the defense and understand what they were trying to get accomplished. That has served him well as a coach. I think that his mind set, the way he approaches the game, how professional he is and his desire to win, which he has been a very successful player and coach, is what makes him a special person and why he has been so valuable to our team.”
(on the night he made the decision to start Kurt Warner over Matt Leinart) “It was the Friday night after our final preseason game. We had a team meeting on Saturday, where we looked at the tape and our final roster cuts were that day. We had a lot going on, but at that time I felt we needed to make a decision in order to prepare for our first regular season game. Friday night following the game, was the time to make that decision. It was a very difficult decision. I liked a lot of the things Matt had done for us in the preseason. I liked how he had grown and how he had handled the competition. Obviously, Kurt had a very good preseason and training camp. He had done very well. It was a difficult decision; from the standpoint that I knew whoever wasn’t the starter was going to be disappointed. It really came down to making the decision on who I thought gave us the best chance to start fast. After looking at our schedule, with five east coast trips, I knew it was going to be important to start fast in our first few games.”
(on balancing between adding new stuff to the game plan and not over loading the players) “The biggest thing about this week is not allowing things to get stale. If you put everything in last week, it makes this game seem like it takes longer to get here than it does. From this time to game day is the most difficult because you are ready for the game. You put a week of work in last week and now you are preparing for them again. It becomes repetitive. We installed a good portion of our game plan last week, but we have changed a number of things and added some others. Those are the things you are targeting in your reps while you are reviewing the other things. You have to have the feel of some new things just so you can focus. It makes practice go by a little bit quicker. There are some new challenges. Maybe put in a few more gadgets just to get the guys going. I think it is about not trying to do too much. It is going to come down to execution against a very good football team. If we have too much stuff, in it makes it difficult to do that.”
(on the example set by his veterans and how competitive his off-season conditioning program was) “I think one of most important things we wanted to establish here in Arizona was an off-season program. The first thing we did was change the weight room and hire John Lott. John has done a great job of creating competition within our off-season program. Athletes at this level thrive on competition. Even when you do things like running five-yard sprints or agility drills and you put something on the line to create competition, it drives these guys to push themselves to be better. I think the most important thing it does is help forge team chemistry. I guess it has really showed up here in the latter part of the season. Guys like Kurt, Adrian [Wilson], Larry [Fitzgerald] and Anquan [Boldin] know what it takes to be successful in this league. I learned in Pittsburgh with Jerome Bettis and Willie Parker, that when you have a veteran who is willing to spend time with younger players and help them learn what it takes to be successful, that’s where you become stronger. I think it was reported yesterday, that we had 20 to 25 guys stay after practice to work on individual things. That is what our leaders have been doing. They have been working with our younger guys. Kurt has been working with the receivers to make sure they understand what he is thinking when they come out of their breaks. Larry and Anquan have been working on how you run routes, how to work on your splits and how you work on your releases. When you are doing these things, you show your younger guys how to be successful. When you’re younger guys are trained that way it makes your team stronger.”
(on what the win against the Dallas Cowboys meant to the Cardinals season) “We had just come back from a tough east coast trip, where we had lost both of them. We knew we were going against a team that was considered one of the best in the league at the time. Obviously, there was a lot of attention on the Cowboys at the time. They were Super Bowl favorites at the time. It was a big game for us. It was big for us because it gave us confidence against a team that people thought was very good. It was good to see that we could compete against them and actually win the game. Another thing that changed the momentum of our team in that game was our ability to battle back. We were up early, they came back to tie the game and we were able to block the punt and win the game. We didn’t allow something negative happen to our team. We responded in that situation. That was a big win for us. Before that, we had beaten Buffalo, which was another big win for us. But when you beat a team like the Cowboys, a team that was supposed to be going to the Super Bowl, it was a huge win for us.”
(on the rapid success he has had in just two seasons as a head coach) “I think we have a number of young football players on our team. I think the number one thing we will derive from this playoff run is how we operate. When you come to a new team, you wonder if your way of operating will work. I think it is good to have those younger guys see how that it works. I think the standard we have set in regards to how we work, how we study, how we practice and how we prepare in the offseason will be much easier to tell guys, ‘This is what you need to do if you want to play.’ I think our team understands that. I think that is why we have had success in the playoffs.”
SS ADRIAN WILSON
(on what he remembers about former teammate Pat Tillman) “The main thing was he showed a lot of character. He really looked out for others before himself. To leave the game and do what he did (enlist in the U.S. Army) showed what kind of man he was. Being around a guy like that was special. He felt football wasn’t the most important thing for him to do. It spoke volumes to the type of person he was.”
(on if he likes being the “voice of the team” being the longest-tenured Cardinal) “The only thing that it shows is that I am old. I am not really that old but just to be here for so long has been great because I have seen a lot of people come and go. I have been able to see the organization rise from obscurity to where we are now. To be a part of this experience is very important to me.”
(on how he would describe his tenure with the Cardinals) “It has been a tough road. It has been a great opportunity for me to see the organization grow and for the organization to see me grow; it goes hand in hand. To be on this team and be with these guys means a lot because a lot of them weren’t here when times were tough. The people that we have on this team are pretty special.”
(on if he dreamed of making it the Super Bowl when he was a kid) “I had dreams growing up of playing in the (NBA) Finals not the Super Bowl. Obviously this is a nightmare (laughter). I am here and that is the main thing. It has been a dream ride for us with all the success we had in the playoffs.”
(on how impressed he was with the way their defense played in the playoffs after a “difficult” regular season) “I am not going to say our regular season was difficult because a lot of people are looking at the final numbers. Before those last two games we were a top-10 defense. A lot of people are making a lot out of the final numbers, but we are the same team we were earlier in the season.”
(on how he thinks QB Ben Roethlisberger has changed since he first got in the league) “Ben has evolved over the course of his career. He has given them an extra dimension with his ability to scramble out of the pocket. He can make plays on the run. Whenever you have a quarterback like that it is tough to defend. You just want to contain him.”
(on the Cardinals offense getting more attention this week than the defense) “We have been in the background because of our offense. Our offense is a pretty good offense and we like it like that. We don’t need the glory or any press. We just feel like we are doing our job and doing what we need to do to win. That is all that matter in the playoffs – do what it takes to win. We have been giving our offense the ball back and giving them those extra possessions and that is all you can ask for from the defense.”
(on why he feels the Cardinals’ defense doesn’t get any recognition) “Well according to everybody else we are bad…terrible actually. We will take it and run with it. We have a long history of being bad, so it is hard to change people’s mindset. It is not going to happen overnight. After we play in this game it is still probably not going to change. It is going to take a lot of hard work to change the ‘Cardinals persona.’”
(on what he will do during the 24 hours leading up to kickoff) “I will be with family. That is what I always do before games. It is not going to change because my family is a big part of the reason for why I am here and they are a big part of my success. I am going to stay calm like I always am and go out there and play football.”
(on what he feels is the main priority in trying to contain the Steelers defense) “We need to be very consistent. We can’t have ups and lows during the game. We did it against Philadelphia. We had a pretty bad third quarter. It allowed them to get back into the ballgame. We can’t let that happen.”
(on if he watches film on other safeties during the offseason) “You always have to try to find a way to better yourself. Nowadays NFL clubs have every tape of every team so you are able to go back and look at some of the things that some of the top guys do well. You try to incorporate it in your game some how. For me, it is no different. When you go back and look at the instincts of Troy (Polamalu) and Ed Reed it’s the best. You don’t see players do what they have been doing over the past few seasons. You try to take some of the things that they do and apply it to your game.”
(on what separates Troy Polamalu and Ed Reed from other safeties) “It’s about not being scared to make a play. It may sound easy but to be able to leave your responsibility and go do something where you know that play is going to be at…that is something else. It is about being instinctive and knowing where the play is going to be.”
(on if he believes he and Polamalu play the game a similar way) “I don’t know. The things that he does well and the things I do well are totally different. To me, him and Ed Reed are 1A and 1B in the National Football League. To just be mentioned with those guys is a great honor. Like I said, I will go back this offseason and continue to look at tape of those guys.”
Suscribirse a:
Entradas (Atom)
