STEELERS - JAGUARS POST-GAME QUOTES
SEPTEMBER 18, 2006

JAGUARS QUOTES

 

 

HEAD COACH JACK DEL RIO

"First of all let me just right off the top tell you that when I first got the job, I talked about bringing back the passion and having our fans feel proud about our house.  I saw that out there tonight. With the teal showing and the fans loud throughout, it was outstanding.  I'm very pleased with that.  Great effort, great team effort.  I'm very proud of the guys for fighting a very good football team.  I have a lot of respect for the organization, a lot of respect for that football team, the coaching staff and the players that we just played against.  I'm proud of our guys to give forth that kind of effort.  Great energy, great focus, great determination for 60 minutes.  There were some great individual things but as a team, I'm very proud of the effort we just put forth.  Obviously, getting win number two is first and foremost the important thing, but I think clearly facing the defending world champs, that was a great showing.  I'm very proud of the guys. We have a short work week.  Instead of a 24-hour rule we have a two to four hour rule because we'll be back in here tomorrow doing a Monday-Tuesday combo getting ready for Indianapolis."

(was this the best defensive effort by the Jaguars under your coaching?)  "I haven't really had time to reflect on it.  Off the top of my head I'd say considering the quality of the opponent.  I gave (defensive coordinator) Mike Smith the game ball.  I thought he was magnificent.  The guys were hungry.  We played hard.  We tackled hard, and I'm very pleased with that."

(special teams???)  "Not at all.  In fact that was huge.  We talked about needing a complete team effort, and really last year a ballgame, our special teams shortcomings allowed that game to be a lot closer than it maybe should have been. You can't afford to lose that phase and win many games. Our special teams was very strong tonight.  Good coverage, good intensity.  The kickers kicked well and the guys were humming around."

(on stopping the run)  "I don't think you can play the Steelers and not know you're going to have to stop the run in order to have any chance of being successful.  It's a great football team, a great organization and for a number of years they have taken the ball and taken the heart out of teams by just pounding away at them.  We know that it starts there.  Having gone back to our time in Baltimore and going against these guys for years now, Mike Smith and I have a healthy respect for what they are capable of and our guys prepared hard and went out and played hard and we got it done tonight.  But you know that you have to start with a run game when you're playing the Steelers."

(on feeling like the Jaguars can now beat any team)  "All of that is a natural by-product of winning two big games but I'll tell you this, we have a lot of work to do. It's a long year.  That Steelers emblem will come down and we'll get the Colt emblem up.  All we can control is our preparation each week.  We've learned enough lessons around here the last few years.  I think we've matured as a football team.  We understand the importance of taking each game and doing the best we can in that game.  Am I really proud of what we just did in two nationally televised games against two outstanding teams?  Yes, I'm proud of that. I also recognize that we're two weeks into the season, there is a whole heck of a lot of football left to be played and a lot of work to be done.  We need to be a better team as the year progresses and that's not to take anything away from the great effort.  The fans showed up, the passion was there, the players responded.  The passion was there, the preparedness was there."

 

JAGUARS PLAYERS

RB FRED TAYLOR

(on the defensive effort) "It was one of the best defensive efforts that I have seen. It was fun to watch."

 

(on the win) "We prepared hard all week. We buckled down and did what we had to do. We are excited about it, first and foremost but it's still early in the season. It's a stepping stone, we just have to keep preparing and keep getting better."

 

(on a Monday night audience) "After the initial introduction, you even forget it's Monday night. We just wanted to win the game. The younger guys were overwhelmed by the Monday night atmosphere but once the football is kicked off you forget about it being Monday night. It's just a game."

 

(on the offensive balance) "All the credit goes to the offensive coordinator and offensive line, they were solid. We had a couple of breakdowns but we made some corrections and were able to stick with our game plan and play our style of ball. The offensive line did a great job moving some guys and not allowing penetration, so I was able to make some cuts and bounce outside."

 

QB BYRON LEFTWICH

(on the win) "We have about three or four hours to celebrate, then it's on to Indianapolis. We have a divisional opponent and those guys are 2-0 and every time we go up there it's tough. It's going to be a tough football game and we know how good they are. It's going to be a challenge."

 

(on the receiving corps) "These guys are stepping up and making huge plays week in and week out. I see these guys do it everyday in practice and everyday we work out. It's something I expect from them because I see it all the time."

 

"I know how to play the quarterback position and I know what you have to do with the football against teams like this, and I know what you can't do with the football to give your self a chance to win. We did the right thing with the football and my guys made a lot of plays for me and that's all you can really ask. I have a lot of young wide receivers and these guys are good, they work their tail off and they showed tonight."

 

CB RASHEAN MATHIS

(is this Jaguars style football?) "Oh yeah, this is the type of game we expected because the Steelers have a great defense and we have a great defense. So we knew it was going to be a defensive game."

 

LB MIKE PETERSON

(how big was this win?) "Real big, Monday night game, defending Super Bowl Champs, I don't think it really gets any bigger than that. Then again we have a long way to go but we are going to feed off of this and let it carry us."

 

(how were the fans?) "That 12^th man was big, it reminded me of playing in the Swamp, anything you do the fans cheer, which is the way it is supposed to be. We are going to need it all season, I just want to congratulate them and thank them for being there to support us."

 

DT MARCUS STROUD

(on Rashean Mathis' play) "It is a total team effort out there and we played great with the play of Rashean (Mathis) inspiring everybody else. We have a friendly competition around here and the way he was doing it tonight, guys are trying to catch up in the flow of the game with everybody flying around trying to make plays."

 

(did Roethlisberger look uneasy back there coming off the injury?) "I really can't say that because I would like to think we made him uneasy. I am not going to attribute anything to his injury because he is a tough guy and anytime you are going to play quarterback in this league you are going to know your limits and what you can do, so if he wasn't able to play I don't think he would of; but he went out there and took some punishment and did well in my eyes."

 

(on the crowd and playing on Monday night) "It helped a lot but if you come to any of our games we play to the crowd like that all the time. We feel like that is our 12^th man, they get into it and it inspires us, we make them happy and they help us."