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ARTICLE
Head Coach Romeo Crennel Do you get upset when your players
talk with confidence? Well, we haven't had a lot of
confidence around here. So for them to talk with confidence is a good thing.
Are you catching
I don't know if anytime is a good
time to catch What's the difference with your team
lately? We haven't turned the ball over as
much. I think that's huge. The games are close generally in this league. If you
turn the ball over you lose momentum, you lose points, you lose field position.
Not turning the ball over helped us tremendously. How far away are
you? We think that we're further ahead
even though the record doesn't necessarily show it. We're indoctrinating guys
into this program and into our way of thinking and how we want things done. I
think we're making progress along those lines. There are some little things that
we have to continue to work on and get better on Sundays so that our progress
shows up in the won-loss column because that's how we get judged, by the
won-loss column. How have things changed with the
different coordinator? The players have pulled together and
banded together as a result of the coordinator change. They feel like there's
more pressure on them to perform and get it right because if it's not right then
that's where the finger will be pointing. They seem to have pulled together more
and banded together, and played better as a result of it. How has Charlie Frye progressed
since the last time you played the Steelers? He was even less than a rookie. He
was a rookie but it was like his third game or something like that. So he had
quite a bit to learn. He's played in a few more games since then. I still
consider him a rookie because he hasn't played a full season yet, and he's still
learning. He feels like he can make every play and wants to make every play. As
a result of that some negative things have happened. He's learning. He
understands that he needs to protect the football better. We have to run the
ball better. If we can do some of those things we can help the team. He doesn't
have to take all of the weight on his shoulders to make every
play. How are you going to run the ball on
the Steelers? That's one of the things that the
Steelers do, and they've done it well over the years, is to play good run
defense. All we can do is try to do the best we can and hope we can get a yard
or two. Teams have thrown on
them. But this is the thing, if you can
run the ball, then you can throw on them. But if you can't run the ball then
they can pin their ears back and bring pressure here and there. If they have to
worry about the run a little bit, it can slow them down a step. That's why if
you can establish some kind of running game it will be important for your
passing game. Are you surprised at the Steelers
season so far? To tell you the truth, yes I am. I
know that those guys don't want the record to be what it is. That was not their
intention. We both know that they're a better team than 3-6. What happens is,
everybody starts gunning for you because you're the Super Bowl champs. You get
everybody's best game. If you're not on top of yours, they end up winning. That
happened to us in What are your thoughts on Willie
Parker? Fast Willie, he is fast. Anytime
that you give him a hole, he'll take advantage of it and he can go the distance.
He did 80 yards against us last year. We know he can go the distance. We're
going to have to be at our best for every play that he has the ball in his hands
if we expect to slow him down. How is your defense against the
pass? We're trying our best to play good
team defense. That's one thing about defense, if a guy screws up but all the
other guys hustle, they can make up for a screw up, whereas on offense,
sometimes that's not the case. On an offensive play, if a guy breaks down, the
play breaks down. On defense, if a guy misses a tackle and you have three other
guys running around it, they can make up for it. We're trying to play good team
defense and that's been able to help us. How has Daven Holly
progressed? He has made progress. He didn't know
anything about the system at first. He had to learn the system and understand
what we wanted. He missed two games with an illness. Combining it all together
he's making good progress and he's been a productive player for us.
You've been in close games, is that
a sign that you're close or is it a sign that you can't win close
games? You have to say that you don't win
close games because that's what your record says. I'd like to think in our
situation where we're rebuilding a program, trying to get it up and going, it
says that maybe we're not far away, the fact that we can keep them close and
have a chance to win at the end. Even though we're losing them, we're still
making progress. Is this still a big rivalry in
Definitely, first of all, the
How is Hank Fraley
doing? He fits in very good. His
personality blends with the guys on the team. He is sharp. He can make the calls
at the line of scrimmage. He's like most offensive lineman, low key, but one of
those tough guys. The fact that he had experience in
Is Leigh Bodden due back this
week? Leigh is listed as questionable on
the injury report. His ankle has made some progress. We'll have to see how he
does at practice and make a determination as late as the
game. What would his return mean to the
team? If he's totally healthy it would
mean a lot because he's able to cover receivers by himself. It would give us
more flexibility on defense. That would be a big plus for us if he can
play. What do you think about Tiki
Barber? When you look at his body of work
you have to say that he's done an excellent job, which he has. Sometimes you
don't think little guys are able to get it done the way he has. Early on he had
fumble problems, but he rectified that. He worked on it. He did whatever he had
to do to get that resolved. Now, that allowed him to concentrate on being a
better runner. As a result, he's one of the best in Giants' history. After he
first came out and with his problems you would say it is a surprise. But he had
the ability and once he got his problems worked out, he could focus on being the
best ball carrier that he could be, and it's shown up on the
field. Are you surprised that he's
retiring? Yeah, to tell you the truth because
generally guys play as long as they can play. You have to kind of run them out.
It is a little surprising. He feels like this is best for him so you have to
wish him the best and let him go with it. How did you get quarterbacks coach
Rip Scherer and how's he doing? Rip and I worked together at Georgia
Tech in 1980. That's when I first got to know Rip. We've kept in touch over the
years. I followed his career. He went on to become a head coach. I knew that his
background was quarterback. When I had an opportunity to add him to the staff, I
did. He has a nice rapport with the quarterbacks. He's a good teacher,
communicator and a good strategy guy. He helps us a lot.
Quarterback Charlie Frye Can you talk
about the way the year is going for you so far at 3-6? There have been some ups and there
have been some downs. Coming out of training camp, we had our All-Pro first
center go down and I think that was a big blow for us. But I think Hank Fraley
stepped in and he's done a real good job. That is what started our season and we
have been in a lot of games right to the end so we are pretty competitive, we
just haven't been able to really get over the hump. What are your thoughts on facing the
They have allowed some yards but I
still see a What are you playing for right
now? We are just taking it one game at a
time. This week we are playing Are playoffs in the back of your
mind at all? That is always in the back of your
mind until you are mathematically eliminated. Until they say that you no longer
can make the playoffs, you are always hoping that you can get some wins back to
back and go out there and at least be in the mix of it when it comes down to the
end of this season. That is always in your mind until you are mathematically
eliminated. Romeo Crennel said a few minutes ago
that considering that you didn't play a whole lot last year, he almost considers
you still a rookie. Can you talk about what he means by that and also your first
full year as a starter? I got to start the last couple of
games at the end of the year. It was with a lot of guys that weren't here that
are playing now. This is really my first year with the guys that are on the
field now so my main thing is just improving every week and just trying to get
better each week. If I can do that, keep getting better, I think that is going
to make our offense a lot better. How are you using last year's game
on Christmas Eve as motivation for this whole season and for Sunday's
game? They came out and beat us up pretty
bad last year. You have to look at what Can you talk about how critical it
is to start cutting turnovers down?
Will that be a determining factor in Sunday's
game? I think it is a factor in most all
of the games in the league. I think the team that wins the turnover battle
usually wins the game. The times that we have been able to win the turnover
ratio, I think we won all those games this year. That is the bottom line in the
league, whoever wins the turnover ratio usually wins the game. I think that is
real important, especially for me and being able to secure the ball and make
good decisions and not give other teams good field position.
Do you know Ben Roethlisberger at
all? Just from playing him in college,
that is about the extent of our relationship. Did you talk to him after the game
last year? I talked to him a little bit and
said best of luck to him and told him they had a heck of a team and that their
defense is a great defense. He said he knew, he faced them every day at
practice. I just have great respect for him. We came out of the same league, we
came out of the same area in high school. I just think what he did last year and
winning the Super Bowl, I think he is a great quarterback. Are you surprised that he has had 14
picks this year? Yes. If you look at the film, the
ball is going off other guys hands. I think if you just look a the number of
interceptions a quarterback has, most people are going to make their judgment on
that but when you really look at the film and see what is going on, I would say
some of them are on the quarterback but a lot of balls were tipped up in the
air. Was it a relief when they traded for
Hank Fraley? How is he
playing? It was a big relief for me. I was
saying that all along, I watched a lot of He had a nickname in
They called him honey
buns. What is your quarterback coach (Rip
Scherer) like? How is he helping
your development? He is helping me a lot. He always
stays on me about my technique. He is a big fundamentals guy. He wants me to be
technically sound, I think that has improved my accuracy going on last year and
this year. I think he will do whatever it takes to help me succeed whether it is
watching extra film or anything. I think he is a great
coach. What is your sense of the
Yes, I think it is. A lot of guys
aren't from this area so I think they found out how big of a rivalry it was when
they came here and beat us last year on Christmas Eve.
How important is it for you to be
the man to get That is my goal, to get
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