STEELERS-BROWNS POST-GAME QUOTES

STEELERS HEAD COACH BILL COWHER

Coach Bill Cowher:  Obviously, this is a great win for our team. It’s a divisional game playing at home and it certainly was a big game for us. I thought we started fast. Ben (Roethlisberger) made some plays in the first half out of the pocket. I thought that we did a good job with that red zone defense particularly in that first half, holding them to field goals on the couple of occasions that they were done there. That was big. We had a good start to the third quarter, and we kind of went into the run-down-the-clock mode. Then we gave up the one big pass, and they end up scoring. We really left that guy free on the touchdown. But it’s a big win, and it created a good opportunity if we continue to do the little things for four quarters, not for three quarters, and that will be the focus for this week.

 

Can you talk about Ben Roethlisberger’s ability to come back from mistakes?

He’s a very confident young man. I think that he has been that since day one. A lot of this stuff has happened really fast for him. I think that he is continuing to grow as a player and he is continuing to feel more comfortable in this system. Certainly, we had some up-and-down practices through the course of the week and yet on Sunday’s, I like his demeanor. He is a very confident young man that you really don’t see things bother him that much. I think that the other players respect it because he is confident but yet he is humble. I think that he is still growing as a player.

 

Plaxico (Burress) has had good year. Today was his first big day statistically.

Yes, he has. He and Hines (Ward) are two premier receivers. I was happy for Plax to get one of those days, and a couple of the plays were on improvisation. Hines has a solid day, Plax had a solid day, and El had come up with some big third down catches. I just think that it’s a very solid group of receivers and you couple that with Jerome (Bettis), Duce (Staley), and Verron (Haynes) it is a nice combination to have right now. The offensive line played very solid again today. Ben had a lot of time and they opened up some holes. It was just a very solid performance by our offense. Like you said they only had the one turnover and responded and played very well. 

 

Did Duce Staley play more than you expected today?

No. We wouldn’t have put him out there if we thought that he would have hindered us. The fact that we were able to diagnose the infection and it was important that he practiced Friday so that he could play today. He was hurting a little bit but it got better with the 48 hours that he had from Friday to Sunday it was good. He got through it really with no problem.

 

Do the three straight 100 yard games underline your emphasis on the running game?

I don’t know if it underlines it. I would like to think that we have talked about it, and I think that you have seen our approach and our effort to make that the basis for which this football team is going to be defined. We are starting to become that. I think that can open a lot of the things that we try to do down the field throwing it. But we would like to be able to run the football. I like to look at it, if there was disappointment to come out of it, was the last couple of times that we were stopped by them on fourth and one and were able to control it and run out the clock. It has been a couple of weeks in a row that we haven’t been about to do that. So we have to look at that. But until we show the ability to do that we still have a ways to go in the running game.

 

Is Duce Staley ok?

Yes.

 

Where you just giving him a break?

His groin was bothering him a little bit. And at that point, that is the reason that Jerome and Verron are here.

 

Is it nice to see the receivers start to mesh with Ben?

Yes it is good. He is still learning. The pass that he threw at the end of the first half was ill-advised, the one to Hines, and I told him that in that situation we worked really hard to get down there, to be careful about throwing the ball back across the field because that thing could have been tipped or could have been intercepted. We were already in field goal range. He is a confident guy but at that time as I told him to bank that. We worked too hard to get down there you don’t want to get too greedy at the expense of coming away with some points.

 

Was Ben a little woozy after that hit by Roye?

Well if he was he woozied himself right into the end zone on the scramble. We didn’t have time to talk to him until after that when he came off the field. He seemed fine. He looked a little bit out there but he kept shrugging it off and saying that he was fine. We kind of talked to him on the phone, are you okay, and that is why we came back with the pass on the second down after the run.

 

Do you think that the hit was questionable?

I didn’t see it. I was watching the pass.

 

Are you starting to get a little excited?

No not at all. That is the worst thing that you can do right now. We made impromptu plays, really. Let’s put in its simplest form; those were impromptu plays so we have to be crisper. Those things that are going to happen. A game like this and a team like that, it was a physical game you knew it was going to be that. There is going to be ebb and flow of the game, and I thought that we cut down on our penalties, I know Oliver (Ross) had three of them. We tried to cut down on the penalties and be smart about that. I give (Jeff) Garcia a lot of credit, he ran around and he kind of got us flustered a little bit. A couple of times we started to blitz him, they started to come in under control even on the touchdown pass. We had Deshea (Townsend) wide open and he started to try to break down because Garcia’s mobility so we have a long way to go. We probably put together our best game to date but we have to be able to do that every week and we haven’t shown any ability even close to doing that. We have a ways to go.

 

Would you rather not have impromptu plays?

No. that’s fine. That is part of football. It happens I think that when you have a quarterback that gets out there, who is mobile and sees the field. That’s all part of it. We convert a third down and then Oliver gets the penalty early in the game. We have to avoid those things. We got a 15 yarder near the end of the with Chris Hope on the play where we were getting ready to get off the field. We have to do a better job with that. We did a good job on third down, I think we did a good job in the red zone. Good situational football in the first three quarters and then we were kind of laxed in the fourth quarter. If that game was on the line, I would like to see us make some stops or get a first down not get stopped on fourth down and inches. With good football teams those things don’t happen.

 

Were you lined up because they were going to start the clock after reviewing the catch by Hines Ward?

Yes. They were going to start the clock with four seconds left and I was thankful that Cleveland called time out.

 

Are the impromptu plays the most impressive by Ben?

You see that around the league all the time. That is part of making a play, and he did that today. It worked out great but we can’t rely on that to happen all the time. Certainly, when opportunities present themselves, the guys are starting to get a good feel for him and the plays are starting to last a little bit longer. It happened in Baltimore and it has been happening every week. I thought our line did a good job, and I think that we converted some big third downs, making good third throws, staying in the pocket. It was a very solid game by him.

 

Did you shake Butch Davis’ hand after the game?

Yes, I shook. I wished him nothing but luck.

 

Did you plan on keeping the pressure up on Garcia?

Yes, we wanted to come after him and he did a good job avoiding our blitzes and found a lane to step up. He is a lot more mobile than I gave him credit for. He can make some plays. That play were I thought he was across that line; I don’t know how he had the sense to keep his toe behind the line. That was a heck of a play by him.

 

What did you think about your pressure?

I don’t know we probably only had one sack but I’ll tell you what we hit him a lot of times. I thought up front we had a good rush with the four man rush with Casey (Hampton) and Joey (Porter). I thought our front did a good job rushing him. He is just a hard guy for four guys to get down. I mean he is very athletic.

 

How is Mike Logan?

He re-aggravated his hamstring and it could be significant.

 

Anyone else?

Not that I’m aware of.

 

What do you attribute to the improvement of your third down defense?

It is hard to say without looking at it. We’re very efficient, but we were a little laxed in the third and the fourth quarter. The first half on third down on both sides was part of the telling tale in the red zone on both sides. They got down there, and they had kick field. We got down there and we scored touchdowns.

STEELERS PLAYERS

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger

Your receivers seem to becoming more comfortable with your ability to scramble?

I think every week it gets a little bit better, that is because we get more comfortable with each other. I think the receivers are getting comfortable with me, and the running backs, the linebackers, we are all kind of starting to come together.  I think the weeks in practice and the preparation has really helped.

 

Do you look at yourself as the leader on this team now?

Absolutely.  As a quarterback, you have to be no matter what. I am out there trying to lead by example, trying to do things I can, and just trying to win football games, that is all that matters to me right now.

 

Can you comment on your big plays?

A lot of those plays are not called.  It is just that the linemen are doing a great job of blocking, and you get out of the pocket and you have to give credit to the linemen for not going down field and not holding.  Wide receivers are getting open.  To me, it is easy.  All I have to do is run and throw a football.  Those guys are the ones getting open and doing the dirty work.  You have to give them all the credit.

 

It seems the receivers are starting to extend their routes more?

I mentioned that to him a while ago when we first started.  They started to see that on their own.  They figured that out.  Our coaches said something to them.  But you saw it today, Plaxico (Burress) did a couple times, Antwaan (Randle El) and Hines (Ward), that is just called good instinctive football.   You really can’t teach that.  When you have a knack for the ball, you are just going to go where there are no defenders.  Those guys did it.  Plaxico did a great job today, and like I said, Antwaan (Randle El) and Hines (Ward) did, also.

 

How did you manage to put aside a couple things, that interception which was not your fault, but still something you have to live with, and then the hit on (Orpheus) Roye?

The interception we had, the field was backed up, so we wanted to put together a good little drive.  It is just one of those plays that happened.  That will probably not happen again in two or three years, or it may never happen again for him (Antwaan Randle El) since he has such great hands.  It is just one of those things.  I have to tease him about it now.  We will have fun teasing him.  I did not even think twice about it after it happened.  I am coming right back to him because he is going to make the play again.  With the hit, I just remember coming out.  I had Duce (Staley) in the flat right away, I saw a linebacker driving along so I kind of had some time to do something.  I looked downfield for a big play and I remember the one guy kind of ran by me, and then I remember seeing Plaxico (Burress) making the play going deep.  I just tried to throw it as far as I could.  The next thing I know, I remember being face down in the grass. 

 

Were you woozy?

I was in pain, but I was not woozy in my head.  I was just laying there.  I just wanted to make sure I was in one piece still.

 

When you were in college doing this kind of stuff, did you struggle with teams that tried to do whatever they could to try to keep you in the pocket?  Do you expect to see more of teams working a little harder to not let you get outside?

It is hard to say what teams will do.  Obviously, when you start making plays you have that in a defensive coach.  You have to say to the defensive backs, try to stay on your receivers longer.  But it is just one of those things, I don’t think that before the play is going to happen that I am going to get out of the pocket.  It is just one of those things that happens.  We are going to keep trying to execute our offense to the best of our ability. 

 

The running game has a lot to do with your success on the passing game?

The running backs are doing a great job, and the offensive line of creating holes for them.  Everyone says you can’t pass a ball if you don’t have a running game and you can’t run the ball if you don’t have a passing game.  So, I think we are complementing each other very well right now and we just have to continue to do that.

 

Do you have any trouble balancing confidence and getting greedy?

Sometimes, you see somebody down field and it is a close call.  You have to second guess yourself and be smart.  Let’s not force anything, and let’s not be stupid. A lot of times, you don’t even have time to think, you just play football. That is what we are all trying to out there.  

 

Can you talk about your touchdown run?

The play was designed where I tried to get to the fullback right away.  The line did a great job of pushing everybody wide.  I looked up and was a huge lane, so I just started running.  I was thinking that I just needed to get down.  Then I saw that linebacker, and I just tried to make a move to the inside, then I saw the goal and I just dove.

 

Your teammates talk about how you shrug off things.  Is that strength of yours, putting things aside?

You have to.  As a quarterback, bad things are going to happen to you. You have to be able to put it behind you.  You have to be able to bounce back because if you dwell on something for too long, it is just going to bring you down, especially something that happens early in the game. It is one of things that I came to the sidelines and I looked at Antwaan (Randle El), and he looked at me.  He thought I was going to be mad, and I just laughed and said it was one of those things, and let’s go score next time.  I think we ended up going down and scoring.  So, we were all right

 

What do you think when you think that you could still be a senior at Miami of Ohio?

I think about that sometimes when I talk to my teammates and Coach (Terry) Hoeppner from back there.  I think it is amazing.  I think if I was still there, with the things I know now, I think it would be pretty easy.
 

You are 3-0.  Is that what you imagined?

You want to win football games.  Obviously, you want to win every football game you play.  I don’t go into a game and think, I hope we go 0-1 here. 

 

Are you surprised at all?

I think we have a great football team.  I think we need to continue to play good football offensively and defensively, score more points than the other team, and we will win the game.

 

You make it look easy, is it?

No.

 

 

Wide Receiver Plaxico Burress

 

One week it is you, one week it Hines (Ward).  Next week, will it be Hines?

If you look at tradition, it has always been that way.  One week, Hines would have a big game, and maybe a couple weeks down the road, I would have a big game, and probably next week he will have a big game  Dallas will probably look at the film and double up on me and he will have a big game.

 

Can you comment on Ben’s scrambling ability?

Ben just gives us an opportunity to make plays.  Normally, plays go four or five seconds long, but with Ben back there, he can break a few tackles and scramble.  He just gives the opportunity to make plays.  We are just trying to catch anything that comes near us.

 

Are you becoming more comfortable with him?

It has only been three games that I have played with him.  I think it is important for us to get our depth on every route.  It is just going to help us as a corps of receivers, and it is going to help him and help us for the timing and practice.  If we just go out there and stay confident and pick him up when he makes a bad play, and just keep playing hard, everything seems to pan out.

 

Are you starting to feel that the team is pretty good?

Not really.  I have seen a lot of crazy things happen in this league.  At the same time, we have to keep a level head and stay humble and hopefully go down to Dallas, play a tough team and hopefully get a win.   We have to try to set ourselves us up a little bit going into the bye week.  We have two tough games after that.  It is still a long season.  It is only five games into the season. 

 

Do you think you are the team to beat in your division?

I would say so.  Just like I said earlier in the year.  On the offensive and defensive sides, I think we have maybe the best team, collectively playing together, since I have been here.  There is no disrespect to my second and third year teams, we had good teams then, too.  We have to just go out and execute our game plan and play within ourselves, and go out and play hard with one another, which I think we do.  I think our teammates respect one another tremendously.  Guys that line up beside you, we have respect for one another.  We are all close, we have fun. I think it is big for us.

 

Comment on Ben’s scrambling ability?

I think it plays into all of our hands.  It is regular scrambling routes.  The guys outside goes deep, and the second guy in comes in to meet him, and the guy over tries to sneak in on the back side in the middle of the field.  That is just regular scrambling routes.  It has been around for a long time. 

 

How does it feel to be 4-1?

Cleveland is a good football team. Every year that I play those guys, they seem to play us pretty tough.  It is a long season, it has only been five games.  We played pretty well up until this point.  There is a lot more improvement that we can make as a whole on offense.  I think we all know that.  It can be a fun year.  If we just keep coming together, like we are doing, and keep coming together, this football team can be special.

 

ADDITIONAL STEELERS PLAYERS QUOTES AND BROWNS QUOTES