HEAD COACH BILL COWHER
PRESS CONFERENCE
SEPTEMBER 12, 2006

 

Coach Cowher: Let me give you the injury update as we go into the second game. We have three players that are questionable:  Ben Roethlisberger is questionable with his appendicitis that he is coming off of, Jerame Tuman with a hamstring, and Troy Polamalu with this shoulder. We have three players that are probable: Hines Ward with a hamstring, Max Starks with his knee, and Nate Washington with a knee. As it relates to Ben, he will work some tomorrow. We will practice tomorrow, we are not going to do anything today. We will have an update. We probably wont make any decisions until after Wednesday or Thursday, it will probably be closer to Friday or Saturday before we see how he feels and where he is and kind of go from there, and the same with Jerame Tuman. Jerame will work Wednesday and we will see how he feels Thursday and we will have more of an update on him later in the week. I think that is the status of our team.

In the game that we played last Thursday against Miami, we did a lot of good things and still left ourselves a lot of room for improvement. But the fact is that we had one turnover, we had one penalty. I thought we played very aggressively. I think if you can play aggressively and still have just the one turnover and the one penalty, I think that is the line we are trying to walk week in and week out. We did a very good job on third down on both sides of the ball. I thought we played very well in the fourth quarter. We left ourselves some room for improvement in all three phases, but I thought it was a good start.

We are getting ready to go down to play a good football team in Jacksonville. It is a team that just came off of a very impressive win against Dallas. They came back after being down 10-0. They are a good football team. They were 12-4 a year ago. We played them the last two years and we won on a last-second field goal two years ago and we lost in overtime last year. It is a team not just plays us tough, but they play everybody tough. They are a very talented football team in all three phases. They are well coached, they play tough, play hard and it is going to be a big, big challenge for us to go down there next Monday night. We are going to have to prepare well and hopefully go down there and play a good game. It is going to take our best to beat this team.

Are they one of the few teams that can match your team's physicality?

I think there are a number of teams. They certainly play that way. We are not the only team that tries to take that approach. I think they are a team that matches up well against us and they feel very confident playing against us. Every time we play them, it is a tough game and I can't see Monday night being any different.

Do you feel that it plays into your hands to play a team that likes to play the same way that you do?

That is hard to say. A lot of teams attempt to take that approach. I think the most important thing is how you execute, not so much how the approach is. I think this is a team that won 12 out of 16 games a year ago and are playing in a pretty tough division. I think their success is well documented and I think you can see that with how they carry themselves on the field.

How did their passing game differ without Jimmy Smith there?  Is there one guy that stepped up in taking his role?

I think it is like with anything, that will evolve over time. They have big tall receivers. Reggie Williams is a guy that can stretch the field. When you look at (Matt) Jones and Ernest Wilford, those are big guys. Those are big guys that do a great job of positioning themselves. Byron Leftwich does a very good job of putting the ball where those guys can make plays, and couple that with the running of Fred Taylor, we all know what he is capable of doing. I think it is a very balanced team that has big tall receivers. When we matched up against them in the past, these are guys that if you don't get your position out, if you don't get your head around, these guys are going to go up and get the ball. It is going to test our ability to be very disciplined in coverage and at the same time, we are going to have to be able to be physical with the guys because that is how they play.

Does the schedule of these first few games seem to favor you, especially in light of Ben's situation, having a long rest period between the first two games?

This is true. When you look at it, I guess there is a benefit, but there wasn't much of one when you went from the last preseason game to the first game. The fact is that we got through that game. Considering the circumstances, almost eleven days before you play the next one, it certainly was a big benefit. Now we will turn around after that game and have a short week before Cincinnati. The schedule is going to be what it is. Three or four games that we start off with are at night and they are national games, and two of those are on the road. It is a tough schedule. It is a tough first month. We talked about getting off to a good start because I think that is very important.

What goes into your deciding whether Ben can play or not?

How he feels. I talk to him and see how efficiently he is able to move around, and go from there.

There is no risk of further damage?

From that perspective, he should be fine. I think with any player, the most important thing is how they feel. We will work with him and I will talk with him and we will go from there.

Does he have to practice at some point, or could it be a game-time decision?

Yes and yes. Yes, he needs to practice. Yes, it could be a game time decision if it gets to that point. I can't answer that right now.

Do you need to see him practice before you clear him?

Yes, I need to see him practice. He is not going to not practice up until Monday and then be told to go out there and play. You have to practice.

What do you see as a role for Najeh Davenport?

It is hard to say at this point. We will see what he is able to pick up and how comfortable he is. I think he is a proven big back and I think we are looking for that. Patrick (Cobbs) was a good runner in the preseason but I think when you look at our football team and the ability to get Najeh and what he has done, I have watched him run, I think he fits what we are looking for. He is a young guy, he could also play some in the kicking game. He has played third down, he has played fullback. I think he gives you a lot of versatility. I sat down and talked with him last week and there are no guarantees about what the role would be. I think he is as excited about the opportunity. I think he is the one guy that is out there that fits what we were looking for at this point with the make up of our roster.

Is it possible that he could dress for Monday's game?

It is a possibility, yes.

What did you think of your coverage unit without Chidi Iwuoma?

I don't think it was reflected so much of that, obviously we have to get better. I don't think you can say that because we didn't have Chidi, I don't think it was an effect of that. I think some of the kicks weren't as good as I would like to see. Overall, the performance was not up to the expectations that we had, or the standards that have been set around here. So, it is hopefully something that will get better in the upcoming weeks. Some of that is on me. I saved some of these guys from being out there in the preseason. I didn't expose them to some of the guys that have done it in the years past. They didn't cover any kicks in the preseason because I wanted to look at some other guys. As I told them, I put that first week on me because that was their first exposure with guys like Clint Kriewaldt and James Harrison, those guys didn't do much in the preseason. So I think we had to work out some of the kinks. Like I said, it is all encompassing from the standpoint from the kick to the coverage. I think we will get better.

Are you happy to get the first game behind you in a sense that you distance yourself even more from the Super Bowl and all of the ceremonies and excitement of the opening game?

I think all those things are behind you now. All the talk of the past is behind us. I think the fact is that we are in a pretty good division right now. I think that speaks for itself. There is no margin of error and we have to get better than how we played on last Thursday night. So we are dealing with the present right now. Yes, I am very very glad that we are finally able to talk about 2006 and no more about 2005.

How will you get the team ready for the humidity in Jacksonville?

Playing at night will help somewhat. We'll see what the long-term affect looks like. The weather's cooperated to the standpoint of us (practicing) inside. If we are inside then we'll condition accordingly.

What determines if Willie Reid returns kicks on Monday?

The makeup of the roster. That is the tough things. We have four receivers with Santonio (Holmes) being the fourth guy and Sean Morey is such a great part of our kicking game. It's hard to dress six receivers. It has more to do with the makeup of the game day roster than anything.

If Ben Roethlisberger is healthy enough to play, will you keep Brian St. Pierre on the active roster?

I don't anticipate any more roster moves at this point, prior to the game on Monday.

 

Do the offense and defense feed off of each other?

That's always true. We are a football team that feeds off of each other. I like the fact that every time Miami scored we were able to come back and respond. The way you respond to a negative series or a negative play is very, very important. We were able to come back after they scored a touchdown, to come back and score ourselves. They went ahead and then we drove the ball down with an 18-play drive, which was a good response. It didn't end that way with the fumble but I like the way our team responded. We had the field position and then let them get a couple first downs but we were able to stop them on a critical third down in the fourth quarter. We came back and hit the big play to Heath (Miller). We can play a lot better. We need to play a lot better but we did a lot of good things.

Was the strength of the AFC North evident by the games on Sunday?

I thought so from the highlights I saw.

Can you explain why the players were slipping?

I agree with your assessment. I mentioned it to the players as well. It seemed like we had a lot of guys slipping and sliding. I felt like we had more of our guys (slipping) than their guys for whatever reason. I brought it to their attention. Hopefully, it will be something that will rectified in the future.

Is there a maximum number of carries for Willie Parker with his smaller size?

It's not so much the size. It's the size as it relates to 16 games and wanting to have him fresh. I don't want to give Willie 30 carries a game, every game. The fact that we're running the football means we have to utilize our other guys. It's something we just have to monitor. Last year, in the first game he had 22 (carries) and in the second game I think he had 25. At that point we started backing back down. It's just something we have to monitor and see how he feels and go from there. He hasn't had a whole lot in the preseason. He didn't touch the ball a lot there. As you start the season it's one thing. But once you start doing it game-in and game-out, three, four, five games in a row, you have to monitor those things.

Is your hope that Najeh Davenport is your big back for second halves?

I'm not ready to name anybody. Somebody will hopefully come in and fill that role. I'm very comfortable with the backs that we have on this team that we'll be able to do that.

Do you expect Roethlisberger to lobby hard to play?

Yes, we talked yesterday. He's in today and I think he's thrown to some receivers today. I'm sure we'll be talking a lot in the next few days.

Does he have to lobby if he feels fine?

I don't know if that's the correct word, lobby. We'll talk and go from there.

Besides pain, does Roethlisberger have to be able to follow through on throws?

It's everything. The bottom line is making sure he's comfortable and can protect himself and he's not going out there thinking about those things. Getting the clearance, going through the workload and seeing how his body responds to that. You can't just say coming off the surgery, the kid's been through a lot. I want to make sure he's comfortable and he feels good about himself. We'll make that decision at that point. I'm not ready to say that if the doctors say he's okay (then he'll play). He's a very competitive young man and we'll talk. We have an open dialogue and we'll go from there.

Can you trust Roethlisberger to tell you truth given his competitive nature?

It's gotten a lot better. I feel I can better interpret what's being said as to where it lies. That comes with time and I think the relationship that he and I have is a good one, at least from my perspective it is. We've talked enough that I have a feel for him and what he feels.

What did you think of the hit on Trent Green?

It happens. We're in a contact sport and those things happen. I talked to Ben about it the other day. This isn't like baseball where you slide into second base and get back up. When you slide in football, you better slide and protect yourself. Even like the hit that Charlie had the other night. It's hard for a defender, who's going full speed, to come to a complete halt when a guy slides at the last minute. It's not always as easily avoidable as you may think. It's just one of those circumstances even with (Robert) Geathers, I think he was getting blocked at the time. He was running to the sideline and all of a sudden (Green) stopped and kind of slid. Each one is subjective. I didn't think there was anything ill intended with what the defender did. It's just one of those things that happen in our game.

Do you think coaches around the league will be more aggressive with throwing the red flag?

We've been told that before. I've been down there standing right next to the guy. We've always had the freedom to be able to do that since we've gone to this system. That has never been an issue in my mind.

Can you go out on the field and throw the flag?

You can leave the box and go down to the side judge or line judge, whoever is on your side, and just sit there and throw it. He'll blow the whistle. I've told them before that I'm looking at it. They tell you to be careful you don't get too close to the snap count. That's really a non-issue.

Will Jacksonville miss Reggie Hayward?

Yeah, he was their leading sacker last year. They still have some pretty good players. They'll put Rob Meier in there. They still have Marcellus Wiley. They lost a good player but they have a lot of good players on that team. It's a football team that is very talented and very deep.

 

How tough are their DTs to run on?

Marcus Stroud and John Henderson, they're a load. Both of those guys are Pro Bowl tackles. With the running game, you're going to have to be patient, you're going to have to be able to accept the fact you'll only get two or three yards. You talk about two or three yards and a cloud of dust, that's going to be the approach we're going to have to take with this team. We're going to try to do it, continue to do it and hopefully somewhere in there we'll be able to break a big one for eight or nine yards. We're going to have to be persistent and patient.

Do you think Byron Leftwich is mobile enough?

I think Byron Leftwich is a winner. You can talk about the things he can't do but when it's all said and done he wins a lot of football games. He's done that in college, he's done that in the pros. He's got a good presence on the field. The players believe in him. He's a tough guy and you can see that in his play. You can talk about all the things he can't do but when it's all said and done he wins football games. I think the guy is a good football player.

When do you see the biggest improvement in your team?

I don't look at it from that perspective. I'm looking to improve every week. That's the only thing I'm looking at. Games unfold differently. (New) players come in every year. You're trying to find out what your identity is or what the roles may be. The first month is more of an information gathering process more than anything. You find out about your team. Somewhere within that first month you'll face some adversity. How your players respond to that and how they step up will speak a lot about your team. I'm not looking to improve from Week 1 to Week 2. It's too long of a season to do that. We play a lot more games than they do in college. Every week you're playing a pretty good football team. I don't look that far. I hope we do improve from last week to this week because we'll need to. We're playing a pretty good football team. I'm just looking for improvement each week.

Are NFL QBs getting rid of the ball quicker to make it tougher for the pass rush?

I did see something where the sacks up are as high for the first week than they've ever been. They have to get quicker.

Is that a constant adjustment on both sides?

It's a fast game. What happens, in my opinion, the speed of the game goes up the first week in the regular season and there is a little bit of acclimation that takes place. I don't care how long you've been playing this game, even as a veteran. It just happens faster and the players all turn it up a notch. That's why the young players are like, 'This really is fast.' I think the speed is a lot faster in that first week. There's a little bit of acclimation and that's sometimes why defense can start out better than offenses.

Joey Porter had a good opener?

I thought he played pretty good.

When did Polamalu hurt his shoulder?

It's hard to say. I don't know. He didn't say.