STEELERS VS. CARDINALS
CARDINALS CONFERENCE CALLS
Sunday, September 30, 2007
at University of Phoenix Stadium

 

HEAD COACH KEN WHISENHUNT

How is life?

Not too bad. It would be better if we won a few more games, but other than that the weather is nice, so it is good.

Is too much being made of the Pittsburgh and Arizona thing?

I don’t know what you mean about being made of it. I am out here coaching a football team and we are certainly preparing to play a good team. As far as the connections that we have, I have tremendous respect for a number of coaches on the staff and certainly all of the players, so I am excited to play just like I am when I go to play golf with Dick LeBeau and Keith Butler. I want to beat them, but I am excited to go play against them.

What kind of advantage does knowing the personnel give you?

I don’t know if that is necessarily an advantage. I think that they’ve been playing that scheme for a number of years and they are very good at playing that scheme. I think we can try to plan some things that could possibly work against them, but you still have to go out there and execute those things. Whether it was training camp against those guys or in a game, they are a good football team and it has it’s challenges.

Are you surprised that Coach Tomlin had to pull Ben Roethlisberger aside to calm him down for this game?

He is a darn good player and I’m sure much like we want to compete against a good football team, he wants to compete against us. I think he is just playing good football this year. It will be a challenge for us.

What do you see different in Ben Roethlisberger this year versus last year?

The way he was last year at the start, in camp, in the offseason is what I see on film right now. He is very efficient and looks very confident in the pocket. He certainly has made some plays moving out of the pocket, throwing down the field. A lot of the things that make Ben the good quarterback that he is. He is playing with confidence. I am sure he worked hard in the offseason, from what I understand. Ben has always worked hard when I have been around him. I am glad to see him have that success. I’m hoping he doesn’t have that success against us, but he is playing good football.

Were you surprised about his response to you saying the Steelers were rushing him back?

I don’t know. I certainly didn’t mean to upset or offend Ben. I was asked a question and I tried to answer it honestly. I have always admired Ben and the way he has been able to fight back from injuries. He is one of the toughest players I’ve ever been around, because of some of the things I have seen him go through. I certainly wasn’t making a comment about anything or what he did last year. I understand that Ben thought I was saying some things I shouldn’t have said about him and I understand that and certainly respect that.

How does the Steelers offense compare to last year’s?

They are doing a lot of good things. Willie Parker looks like he is running the ball very well. The offensive line is playing good. I think they are throwing the ball to the tight end way too much. Just kidding. They look like they are being very efficient. They are running the ball very well and setting up a lot of the things they are doing throwing the football. The timing of the routes and the efficiency with which they are operating, it seems like they have been meshing very good for a while.

What makes Willie Parker so special?

Willie has very good patience and vision. I think Jerome (Bettis) helped him with that, especially with his inside runs. The thing you want to evaluate Willie on when you see him is that he is an outside runner, but he is really a very effective inside runner. He is very patient and can find the hole and gets the tough yards. What really makes Willie such a threat is his ability to get to top speed in one step and make that break outside. That is something you really have to concern yourself with, because I have seen him do it a number of times. In fact, last week in the game against San Francisco, it looked like he was going to be hit for a loss and he bounced it outside and gained 10 or 15 yards on that run. That kind of acceleration and speed is coupled with the fact that he is a good inside runner makes him one of the best running backs in the league.

How much did Bill Cowher hold you back in your offense?

Coach Cowher was an outstanding football coach and he had some things that he wanted done. I certainly operated out of respect for Coach Cowher and that was his football team. I think we were very successful at what we did and I didn’t have any problems or issues with that.

Are you the same way with your coordinators?

I don’t know. That is a good question. I would probably say yes, because that is who I learned from.

What is your take on having Russ Grimm on your staff?

I can’t speak for how he feels about the game, but I am excited. I have had a lot of success and been with Russ for a number of years as both a player and coach. I have a great respect for how he coaches his football players and what he brings to the table, in terms of input. To have him with me is a great asset for myself. Not only from the standpoint of just our friendship, but also for having someone that thinks a lot and a lot of the things that we’ve done and operated together have been successful. It puts us on the same page when preparing for our opponents. It is definitely a crutch for me to have someone of his caliber with us.

Are you calling your own plays?

I am. That depends. If they work I am, if not then no.

 

Can you expect to meet with Coach Tomlin before the game?

I don’t know Coach Tomlin. I have met him briefly once and I am sure he has done a good job. The team is playing good and I will convey that to him when I see him.

Are you keeping the roof closed?

We can open our roof? I don’t know. If it is raining we might close it.

Are you wearing your red jerseys?

I don’t know. I don’t think that is my decision.

You don’t make that decision?

No. We have a bunch of renegades.

What do you think of Matt Raich?

In my experience with Matt in the three years that he worked as our offensive assistant he was always a real thorn in our side. It was against my better judgment hiring him. No, he is great. He really has a good future as a defensive coach. That is where his greatest experience as a player and coach was. He did a great job for us, in learning the offense and what he did in his role as an assistant with us. I think that helps us because he now has such a great feel for the offense and now he is back working on the defensive side of the ball, so that gives him additional input, especially with protection and breakdowns. I am excited for Matt and he has done an outstanding job for us. I consider him an outstanding young coach and coaching prospect who will have a very good future in this league.

Are you aware of a lot of Steelers fans coming to this game?

After being there for six years and traveling with the team, I wouldn’t be surprised by that. I know when we played the first game in this stadium out here in the preseason, two years ago, there was a number of Pittsburgh fans in the stadium. That was one of the things that was so special about being a part of the Steelers and having that fan base, so I would anticipate much like being in Cincinnati, we had a quite a group of fans there. I would imagine that they will have fans at our stadium. That seems to be the way you operate with the Steelers and I respect that.

Did playing Baltimore prepare you for this game?

I think it helped us as far as preparing for the speed and the number and type of blitzes in tough situations. It is definitely a tough place to play against a good football team. We aren’t going to be faced with the same obstacle as far as being in an away stadium, but playing against a good team that can bring a multitude of pressures and gives you a number of looks defensively, as well as having an efficient offense and playing really well on special teams. I think playing Baltimore last week can only help us as far as playing against a team like Pittsburgh, because I think they are two of the better teams in the league.

Is being a head coach everything it has cracked up to be?

It’s exciting for me. I certainly feel comfortable in doing this job. A lot of that is because of what Coach Cowher allowed me to do in Pittsburgh and being involved with that organization. I feel like the Rooney’s were so good to me and the fans were so supportive of us. I think it helped me prepare for this opportunity and I am very grateful for that. I think I am prepared because of the situations and the things I was allowed to do in Pittsburgh.

How is Levi Brown doing?

He is a little bit stiff and he didn’t participate in practice, but he did some drills on the side. We are going to see how that progresses this week. I am hoping that he’ll respond tomorrow and be able to do some things in practice and then maybe be able to go fully on Friday, but we will have to take that day by day.

WIDE RECEIVER LARRY FITZGERALD

Can you talk about the atmosphere in Arizona now?

I think everything is going really well. We are really starting to grasp the offensive concepts here and I think guys are starting to see that this is a system that we can win in. We lost two really close games. They were two games we thought we could have won, but unfortunately we came up on the short end of the stick. I think we are really close and it shows the tenacity we play with. We fought our way back and I think we showed a lot of resilience and that is something you have to do.

Are the Cardinals a playoff team?

It is so early to be making playoff claims and stuff like that. We are just going to take it one game at a time. We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves. We have a really good football team coming here this weekend and it would be great to get a win this weekend. We just have to try to take it one weekend at a time.

Are you guys running the ball more this year?

We are running it really well right now, so that is very exciting. I know when you run the ball real well; it showed in Pittsburgh where the backs know what to do. You know in the Championship years, they were able to feed off of the running game and that opened up some big plays down the field. I think that is hopefully what we are hoping to do out here with us. If Edgerrin (James) continues to run well for us, it will give us single coverage on the outside and give us the opportunity to make some big plays.

How does your coaches’ being from Pittsburgh give you guys an advantage?

The coaches brought in new guys and new coaching staff and new players in from Pittsburgh and he is running different schemes. I think the best thing we have is having Ken (Whisenhunt) and Russ (Grimm). They know the personnel we are going against and they know the intricate details of the defense that those guys are going to be coming with and the personnel; Troy (Polamalu) and all those guys like that, so we kind of know what to expect from those kind of players and I think that gives us a really good advantage.

Has Chukky Okobi helped more this week?

Yes, especially this week. He has been pretty vocal with some of the things the defensive linemen like to do and some of the things that make them good. He is helping out the offensive line with some of the technique issues that some of the guys are going to present for us. He has been very vocal.

Has Ken Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm not getting the head coach been discussed out there?

Not at all. I think both of them have put that behind them a long time ago. They both wanted to be here and I know they are more worried about us winning. I don’t think there is any extra emphasis or any bad blood in that regard. I think everybody feels the same way. We all know Mr. Rooney is a great man and he has to make decisions that he feels is best for his organization and fortunately for those guys they are able to come out here and help us.

What about the switching of quarterbacks during the game?

We all knew it was going to happen. Kurt (Warner) runs that package for us. It is a package. It’s not something where we went into the game saying we want to do this for a whole half or this for three quarters or anything like that. It was just, we are going to go out there and run this, because we saw in film study that Baltimore had a little bit of issue with that type of package. We were able to have success with it, so we stuck with it.

What are your thoughts of Pittsburgh’s secondary?

We know this is probably the top secondary we are going to play in the NFL. We played a really good one last year, with Troy Polamalu and what he is able to do. Then there is Deshea (Townsend) and Ike (Taylor) who both have interceptions already. Those guys are obviously get after the quarterback and it gives them good opportunities to make plays on the football. I think we have a good idea of what is going to come, but you never really know until you get out there and line up. I know they are going to present some huge challenges for us.

How would you rank you and Anquan Boldin as receiving tandems in the NFL?

I don’t know and we are extremely young. The key is us winning some ballgames out here. Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison would have to be on the top. Then you have Isaac (Bruce) and Torry Holt in St. Louis and those guys also won a championship. I really think that when you are able to establish yourself as a winner in the NFL, that is when those things really come to life.

Do you expect to use more no huddle this week?

We haven’t really gone over the game plan this week. We usually don’t get to that until Friday, as far as what we are going to do and how we are going to attack them. I wouldn’t doubt that we wouldn’t go out there and give it a shot for one series. It is a change of tempo and it gives Pittsburgh something more that they have to prepare, something more they have to study on what we’re going to do. I think it presents a good challenge for any team we play.

How have the crowds been in Arizona and what can we expect?

It is going to be unbelievable. The first game we played this year against Seattle, it was great. It was a sellout crowd and the fans were really in our corner and it has been phenomenal since we moved out here to the stadium. The fans have really come out here to support us. Pittsburgh, wherever you go, Steelers Nation is going to be there and you know that. They travel well, so we know we are going to have to deal with some of the Pittsburgh fans in the crowd and we know they are going to make their presence felt. Hopefully our fans will keep their tickets and not sell them to anybody, so we can have as good of a home field advantage as we can.