STEELERS HEAD COACH BILL COWHER PRESS CONFERENCE

Coach Bill Cowher:  Let me give you the health situation for our game Sunday night in Jacksonville.  Three players are out:  Brett Keisel with his hamstring, Chad Scott with his knee, and Kendrell Bell with his groin.  We have three guys that are questionable:  Verron Haynes with his knee, Plaxico Burress with his hamstring, and Chidi Iwuoma with his hamstring.  We have five guys that are probable:  Antwaan Randle El with a hamstring, Jerome Bettis with his knee, Jeff Hartings with his knee, Duce Staley with this hamstring, and James Harrison with his shoulder.  That is our situation going into certainly a big game for us in Jacksonville. 

As we wind down the regular season with five weeks to go, usually at this time of year, the picture becomes a little clearer.  I don’t know if it is much clearer, to be honest with you, in our situation. There are a lot of football teams right there – five teams within two games.  I think that in itself makes the magnitude of each game we play that much more significant.  We really don’t have much margin of error, and certainly a big challenge will be with us going down playing against a good football team who by their own admission recognizes that this game is more or less pretty much their playoff game.  So we understand the atmosphere and type of football team we are going to be facing on Sunday night.

What makes Byron Leftwich so good?

He has a great feel for the game.  He sees the field.  He can throw really any type of ball.  He can drive it when he needs to drive it.  He has great touch when he needs to touch the ball.  Like I said, he just has a great feel for the game.  He was a winner down in Marshall and you see him coming in here, he obviously has great leadership skills because he inspires the people around him.  I think you can see that with his play.  Just the fact that he has been able to, in his short period of time, bring that football team back and win a lot of close games at the end speaks volumes, I think, for his ability as a quarterback.

Do you like it when you play a team fighting for it’s life?

I don’t know if you like it, I think it is nice to be involved in big games, that means something good is happening.  I think that we have been down this road.  We sat here in these last couple weeks as we faced those two away games against two divisional opponents.  They were significant games, and this is a conference opponent who is in the playoff race.  You are playing on the road and who knows where else down the road that could be something that you can use from an experience standpoint.  It is going to be loud, it is going to be hostile.  It is a good football team, and it is going to be a big challenge for our team.

Are you in favor of the NFL moving games to prime time?

Does it really matter if I am in favor of it?  I really don’t get involved in that.

Does it affect preparation?

Certainly, when you play night games you are sitting around all day.  So it does have an effect, I think.  You like the routine, I am a routine guy.  Certainly, it breaks the routine but nobody is going to complain about being on a prime-time game.  Like I said, it wouldn’t really matter to me.

Who starts at running back if both Duce Staley and Jerome Bettis are healthy?

Based on that premonition, it would be Duce.

Can you predict the percentage of carries?

I don’t know how that is going to unfold.  I cannot sit here and make promises, and I will not do so?

Are you aware of Brian Billick’s comments on conceding the division title?  Are you surprised?

No, I am not.  I am unaware of those comments.

Can you talk about some of your experiences in Jacksonville?  They are celebrating their tenth anniversary of their team?

They are playing well.  I really give a lot of credit to Coach (Jack) Del Rio.  They are playing hard.  A lot of ex-Steelers are on that football team.  They have Dewayne (Washington) and Jason (Gildon) on defense and Chris Fuamatu-Ma’afala and Troy Edwards on offense.  Like I said, Fred Taylor is running well.  He is running really well.  He looks like the Fred Taylor of old.  They beat some tough teams, they beat Indianapolis.  That team is probably as hard as anybody and they are one of the few teams that went to their place and beat them.  They are a good football team.  It is going to be a great big challenge for us.  Certainly, Sunday night, like I said, on national prime-time, it will make it is a very hostile and loud place to play.

Do you remember the league being so top heavy, three teams 10-1 and the fact that New England is right there, does that help keep you focused?

We are focused.  We don’t need any help to do that.  It is not so much the amount of teams that are up there, it just seems that they are all in the AFC right now.  It is amazing to be sitting there with some of the records that we are sitting here with, and New England is sitting here with, talking about not having any margin of error.  But that is the truth.  Whether that is a good thing or bad thing, I don’t know, but that is where we are. Like I said, you would like to sit here, and I think everyone ha talked about it, the picture is becoming more clear.  As you start to wind down, and you start into the fourth quarter of the season, a lot of things become clear.  The only thing that is clear right now, is that there is a lot of jockeying taking place.  These next five weeks are going to have a major impact on where people are positioning themselves.

Does this situation alter how you treat injured players?

No, I don’t think it is going to change anything.  As we talked about the magnitude, I think every game has such significance, and we are going to need everybody.  It is a case again that we are taking this as we look at it each week and if people can go, they are going to go.  We are not looking beyond or trying to save people.  There is too much significance with every game.  There is too much importance on how you are playing that there is a fine line.  We are playing on the edge, with the edge.  We are doing all those things right now.  We just can’t afford to lose sight of a lot of the things that we are doing well, and we have to correct some of the things we are not doing well.

What are your thoughts on Butch Davis resigning?

Let me just say this, we are in a competitive forum, all the coaches are.  Things are done and you are saying things to your team to inspire your team, and everyone is protecting their own turf, so to speak.  But there is a genuine respect that you have for people that commit themselves to this job, the scrutiny that is involved.  People say you are well compensated because of it, but in this business, you are not it in for the compensation.  You  are throwing everything into it.  It is the coaches, yes, the coaches are resilient.  Butch is resilient.  He will come back.  It is the families, and the assistant coaches, and the effect that it has on everybody.  The families, the wife, the kids, they are the ones out there in the public and having to deal with a lot of the things that are said that at times that it gets way personal.  Unfortunately, that is part of it. But we understand in this profession, that is what you get into.  So you don’t like that to happen to anybody.  It is one thing to be competitive, it is one thing to compete on Sundays.  But it certainly stops there when it comes to how it affects peoples lives and the respect you have for people and how they commit themselves.   I have a lot of respect for Butch Davis, and I always will.  You don’t like to see anything like that happen to anybody in this business.  Anybody who has been in it understands that.

What does Jacksonville do well on special teams and how do you like the way your team has been performing on special teams?

They got a Pro Bowl punter. They have Troy Edwards, who will probably end up doing both returning.  He is a very explosive returner.  (Josh) Scobee has made some game winning kicks down there.  They have a good corps of guys.  We are doing a lot of good things right now on our kicking game.  I think when you get involved in games like this, the hidden yardage is huge.  Certainly, the other day (Antwaan Randle) El’s punt returns, what a difference that was in the game, and us getting down there and even though we were not getting in, we were getting three points from Jeff (Reed) and that was huge.  You can’t under appreciate how much the hidden yardage is involved in games like this.  We need to continue to play very solid in the kicking game.  We cannot let up there.  We have done a pretty good job to this point.  But again, we have some challenges ahead of us beginning Sunday night.

Have you ever-seen a guy make every tackle on kickoff like James Harrison?

He played very well, there is no doubt. He has been playing with a bum shoulder, which is getting a little bit better. He has gone out there on Sundays and he is a force. I told him the other day, even during the game, I said every time I look up you are making a tackle. That is what we need. We need guys like that, and it’s contagious because he got some other guys around him that are playing at a very high level. We have to make sure it is not just five or six of them, it has to be eleven of those guys out there. I think that is important right now. There are a lot of guys right now out there; Clint Kriewaldt, Sean Morey, Chidi (Iwuoma), (Russell) Stuvaints, Ricardo (Colclough), and Ike (Taylor), these guys are covering their tails off. They really are. I can’t say enough about them and it takes everybody to be doing that but those guys are playing hard.

Can you comment on Chidi Iwuoma’s unsportsmanlike penalty?

We have to talk about it.  It is a judgment call, and if they feel that the intent was to taunt a guy or to show him up by doing that then they are going to call it. We can’t put officials in the situation where they can call that. So definitely, in looking at it, I would fault Chidi for doing it. I think it was one of those spur of the moment things that happen but we can’t afford to do it. It was just like what happened to (Antwaan Randle) El on the other when he got knocked out of bounds a couple of games ago along the sideline. Anytime you take the ball and start doing anything with the ball toward the opponent, they are going to throw the flag. Right, wrong, and whatever you want to say it’s happening. It’s called and we have to understand that so that we don’t put ourselves in a position were they can call it again. So we are at fault.

Has that been magnified lately because of the brawls in sports?

I don’t know if it has been that. Taunting was a point of emphasis coming into this season. So I think that they have been pretty consistent with it at least it seems like in our games. Anytime we have done it, they have called it.

If Plaxico Burress is healthy enough to start does Antwaan Randle El go back returning kickoffs?

If Plax can go, El will go back to kickoff returns.

If Plaxico isn’t able to go will Chris Doering move up the depth chart?

Chris was there on Sunday for us. He played on Sunday. Again we will see what our situation is then. I don’t anticipate dressing six receivers. We will dress five more than likely but we will see where we are at the end of the week.

Are teams defending you different with Plaxico out of the lineup?

No. Not that I am aware of.

Did the NFL rescind the fine against Antwaan Randle El that he received a couple of weeks ago?

I don’t think so, not that I am aware of.

Did you see the incident later in that same game?

No.  I saw the one with Chidi on film. It looked worse on film. I didn’t see it real good. I was arguing for Chidi but I really didn’t see it that good on Sunday. I don’t know what happened really. But Chidi isn’t that type of guy. If anyone knows Chidi, I mean, it’s hard to get three words out of the guy. I have never seen that guy mad and when someone said that Chidi threw the ball at a guy, it was hard for me to even imagine this guy getting upset, I mean if they knew the kid. But you watch the tape, I can see what they saw, and I understood why they called it.

Do teams have to run outside on Jacksonville because of their guys up front?

Yes, (Marcus) Stroud and (John) Henderson they’re forces, there is no question. They have good team speed. (Mike) Peterson is good linebacker. Donovin Darius may be up there in the box and Deon Grant is an active safety. I think you still have to do what you do best. But there is no question that Stroud and Henderson are loads on the inside. 

Has Jerome Bettis play earned him more time once Duce Staley is back?

I think there is no question that because of Duce’s inactivity over the last month it would be hard pressed to sit there and say that he is going to be able to go a full game and he will be able to take 30-35 carries. I think we have to be a little bit smarter than that. I think they both will be utilized. To what extent, it is hard for me to say on Tuesday.  

Can special teams help take pressure off the offense?

This team has been a very responsive team. From that standpoint, we talk about the three phases. While we have been able to run the ball, we have been very sporadic throwing the football. We have had nine sacks and certainly we have to rectify that. That’s something that is too many negative yards. It has hurt us particularly as we have got into the red zone with our inefficiency down there because of the too many third and longs, and having to overcome second and fifteens and sixteens. Certainly, those are things that we have to do better jobs of in terms of throwing the football. When you run the football we have done a pretty good job of getting a hat-on-hat on people and games are being close enough that we can still run the ball throughout the course of sixty minutes. We are going to need all three phases. It’s just good to know that right now we are playing solid in the kicking game because we are going to need all three. We are going to have to get involved with that, we are playing solid defense and we are playing solid offense. The only thing that we aren’t doing is we’re not beating ourselves. We didn’t play very well situational football on offense the other day, in the red zone. Like I said, because of some of the negative plays on third down because of some the negative plays that we experienced.  Those are some of the things that we need to work on. And we had a chance to get off the field defensively one time we would have like to have been able to hold them to a field goal when they got there but they scored on the fourth down play. So, there are some things that we need to do better, and I think that the players understand that, because we are going to have too. We are playing some quality teams from here on out. These last five games are going to be tough teams that we are playing.

Is Ben (Roethlisberger) trying to do too much for the big play, is that why he is getting sacked?

I think it would be very, very unfair to put it on Ben. I think that it’s very a result of a lot of things, a couple of times we just had bad calls against what they blitzed us with. They brought one more than we could protect with. We ran a naked (boot leg) the other day into a blitz. Some of those things are going to happen. You are not going to eliminate it all but certainly nine sacks is certainly way too many in two games. There is nothing that is positive about that. so I think again that it wasn’t so much any one thing. There is the one time that he was trying to run out of there and the ball hits his leg and drops the ball. There is the one turnover that we have right there. I think for the most part he has done a pretty good job of eluding pressure, feeling pressure, and trying to make some plays. Again, offensively, I think that it is everything and us getting back to being a little more efficient and not having those sporadic breakdowns. It is something that is very, very correctable. And at the same time, it has been us just getting beat and that does happen in this business. We have some one-on-one match-ups where guys have just got beat. The best thing is that we are not turning the football over, we are playing smart football, and we are responding. Even the other day I like the fact that when it was thirteen to seven, two series later we come back with an eleven play, seventy yard drive to kick a field goal that puts us up two scores. That’s big. When the offense is not moving the ball, the defense is stopping them.  When they score the offense has come back and scored. So when I talk about responsive, we are responding to situations in a game were one side has to pick up the other and that’s big in this business because you certainly can’t have all third phases in a down cycle because that would create a hole that you can’t overcome.  

Is it all about stopping Fred Taylor?

There is no question, I think he is a guy that we well know that he can turn a game around and if you don’t stop him it can be a long night. This guy has speed to hit a corner. He has allusiveness to make people miss inside. He has power that he is running with right now. We have to stop him and at the same time they have Reggie Williams and Jimmy Smith who is making a lot of plays on the outside. There are a lot of weapons that they have. But there is no question that stopping Fred Taylor is number one because without a doubt he is running very, very well and looks very healthy right now.