Bill Cowher Ball Quotations

I think it's a sign of a good football team when you come out and not play your best football and still win the game.

These guys relish that position. I can't say enough about this football team. We traveled a hard road.

When you turn the football over four times and are minus-3 in the giveaway-takeaway ratio, you aren't going to win many football games,

I think it's very important you don't get caught up in all the 'what if' scenarios. I think our football team needs to prepare mentally to play this football game like it's a home playoff game. The fact is if we don't win, we may not go anywhere. If you get caught up, deviate from that focus and start looking at other scenarios, you start cluttering your mind with things that are very, very dangerous.

We played our tails off defensively. We made the plays on offense when we had to. The sign of a good football team is when you (don't) play your best football and still win the game.

He's very important, not just to our defense but to our football team. He's certainly a very explosive player defensively. He can cover. He can rush. He plays the run. He's a complete outside linebacker. He's been very productive on a consistent basis.

He's like the guy in basketball who wants the ball in his hands when the game is on the line. I would equate that to our quarterback at the end of a game.

He's a quality receiver and he can do a lot of things for you - certainly with what he can do for you after the catch. He's got excellent hands and obviously his ability to throw the football is something that is very unique to that position.

Certainly, Ben's got to feel comfortable being out there and there are no restraints, ... I don't want to put him or the football team in any kind of danger if he's feeling that way. He's much improved from yesterday, but again it's going to be day-to-day.

The Chicago game was a big game for us establishing ourselves as a running football team. We started to get Ben back at that time, too, when he came back from his (knee and thumb) injuries.

In hindsight, obviously you wouldn't want to do that in a game like this. Against this caliber of a football team, you cannot ruin opportunities like that. He understands that. I just told him to let it go, learn from it, and let's move on. Don't dwell on it.

In an ideal world, yes. I don't know how it's always going to unfold. It was nice to be able to have a fresh Jerome Bettis in the fourth quarter (Monday) night. That was a luxury. That's what you'd like to have in an ideal world. When we hand the ball to him, you know there was not going to be a negative play.

He's an emotional leader for our football team. He's very respectful ...

Mike Logan is a good football player, ... He had some injuries in the past but came in here in excellent shape. You could see that in the spring. He was moving a lot better. He did that in the off-season program. Then you say, 'In training camp we'll see how he'll be able to do.'

Mike Logan is a football player. Mike might make a couple mistakes, but somewhere along the line you're going to feel his presence on the field. He has a way of making plays.

I think throughout the course of these playoffs, I think we're a football team. We have had really great weeks of work. We're playing our best football at the right time of the year. It was tough to do what we had to do to go to the three places and win those games. They were all challenges in themselves.

We had an opportunity to coach him in the Pro Bowl and that's a special player. Andre Johnson has turned into one of the better receivers in the National Football League.

The extra day won't have any effect on it. We're going to have to weather the flurry that will be involved with the emotions, the speed of the game and playing a high-quality football team.

Joey is the emotional leader for our football team without question. He is the kind of guy that gets us going. We have some unique personalities and Joey is unique in his own sense. I've never been one to try and harness guys. I just want them to be respectful of the game and of the opponents. I love a team that plays with emotion, plays with passion. I love being around people that love to do that and Joey does it in his own way and without a doubt, Joey is the emotional leader for our team.

Brett Favre is what's right about the National Football League. I have nothing but tremendous respect for him. I think they've got five names up there (on the list of retired numbers at Lambeau Field), and he'll be the sixth one to go up there, no doubt.

Heath made some plays and he's developing into a good target. He's a good football player.

Grant's been with us, and we like Grant. He knows the system. He knows the guys. I think right now I don't want to bring too many foreign people into our team. It's a very close football team, and I want to keep it that way.

They were right. If the guy signals for a fair catch you have to allow him the opportunity to catch the ball even if it bounces off (him).

But we are where we are. That's really the only true element that I'm concerned or worried about. We didn't throw the ball as efficiently as I'd like to see us throw it.

We have traveled a hard road, and grew as a football team, and individually. This is a very grounded and resilient group of guys. We've never taken anything for granted and looked beyond the next game. We have kind of had tunnel vision throughout the process.

Mr. Rooney is a football guy. He wanted this business, and he was very supportive through the three non-playoff years, and I'm very appreciative of that, and will always understand that and appreciate that patience.

That football team is well run. The people who have taken over were in that system,

Did we play our best game? No. But when you're a good football team you don't have to play your best game, you just keep responding to the situations that come up.

They're a good football team that's built for their fast surface. Offensively, they have a lot of weapons and defensively they tackle well.

I think Willie is a guy who has seized an opportunity. For the first two games he got over 100 yards. We didn't really run the ball that well against New England, but Willie is a guy who has a lot going for him and the best is still ahead of him.

As we get closer to this, a lot of those things will be cut down. At the same time, why not go out and enjoy a basketball or hockey game?

We've worked hard with our look teams about when they break the huddle, getting the ball snapped within eight to 10 seconds. These guys come up to the line of scrimmage and they're gone. It's different. We've worked on it all week. The guys are getting a sense of what the tempo is like.

People can look at our run-to-pass ratio, ... but I will say this: Watch us in the first half (this season) because we're still a balanced football team. But when we get a lead, that element is taken out of the hands of the quarterback and we will run the ball. So, we just shut it down. It distorts the numbers a little bit, so talk about the numbers in the first half.

I've got so much respect for Jerome and what he's brought to this football team. My relationship with him is he's a classy guy, and he's been such an inspiration.

You give the ball to Jerome Bettis, and a fumble is the last thing you're thinking about.

Anyone that is preparing for them recognizes that Chad Johnson is one of the better receivers in the National Football League.

I think there are some limitations that he has. But we move him around a lot, and a lot of it is him moving around himself. He knows where he needs to be when the ball is snapped, and we give him the freedom at times to line up wherever he needs to. But he knows where he needs to be when it's all said and done.

Jerome is a great guy. The way he played, the way he was off the field, he brings so much professionalism to our team. I can't be happier for him. He's what's right about the National Football League. He's a very inspiring individual. He knows how to deal with people. He makes you want to work as hard as you can to succeed. If it was his last game, what a great way to go out.

We have to be able to run the ball more efficiently than we have the last couple weeks. We can't sit there and rely on throwing the football all the time. Not that we don't want to have balance, we do.

I was happy for him. That was his first live contact since last year's championship game. He's been running well in practice the last couple of weeks. He has been a trooper. He has sat there and been patient. Duce ran really hard against a good football team.

I have so much respect for what Jerome Bettis has meant to this football team. He's such a classy guy and he's been such an inspiration. He and I have always had a special relationship, and this is a special moment for him.

I think pressure is everything. When people get in the playoffs, there's pressure to win. It's win or go home. I don't feel any more this week than I did last week or the week before. It's one and done if you don't play well. We're looking at this week no different than last week. We're just trying to win a football game. If we do, we have an opportunity to go on, and if not, our season is done. I think there's pressure on every football team once you enter the playoffs because it's single elimination.

I think he's going to be one of those guys where the day comes and he's not there, there's going to be a void there because it seems like he's always been there every week. We've been through a lot together and I have a tremendous appreciation, more than I can express, for what he stands for as a football player but, more so, for what he stands for as a person.

As he's continued to grow with this offense, he's become more a part of it. He's been a very pleasant addition to this football team, without a doubt.

He's the emotional leader for our football team.

You just saw an outstanding football game. Unfortunately, we came out on the short end of it. It was a tough loss, but we'll bounce back from it and move on.

Willie's got the one thing we've never had - the speed. For a team that runs the football the way we want to run the football, to have a big-play player back there is a bonus.

Willie has the one thing that we never had -- speed. For a team that runs the football like we would like to run the football, to be able to have a big-play player back there is a bonus. He shows that ability to do that.

We're still growing as a football team. We're still evolving, we're still trying to create that chemistry.

On a fourth-and-one with a guy like Jerome Bettis, it's an easy call to make. Down around the goal, he's got a great feel for that. As long as the ball was on the one or inside the one, it was really an easy decision to make.

The biggest concern I have is making sure we understand that we aren't going to pick up where we left off.

Still, overall as a football team, we still have a ways to go.

We're playing the No. 1 seed in the AFC and in many people's eyes the No. 1 team in the National Football League. We're going to have to play so much better than we played the last time we played them, and we're going to have to play better than we played last week. It's going to take a flawless effort on our part. We're going to have to bring everything we have and more.

We've got to run the ball better, there's no question about that. We've played two pretty good defenses and this one's no different, they're ranked fifth against the rush. We have to be able to run the ball more efficiently than we have the last couple weeks. We can't sit there and rely on throwing the football all the time. Not that we don't want to have balance, we do.

We've got to run the ball better, there's no question about that.

We've got to keep doing what we're doing - not turning the ball over, not getting penalties and playing smart.

You've got to find ways to get the ball in his hands. He's a very fast young man, a very powerful guy. He's got a chance to turn a 20-yard gain into a 40-yard gain.

It's definitely a concern, something we need to do better in. You have to run the ball to be successful in this league.

I think we were just fortunate to have the ball last, to be honest with you.

It's big. We all know the days back when there were 12 rounds. We know there are a lot of good football players out there, and they're not all here.

He's a great ambassador for the National Football League in terms of how to be a professional, both on and off the field. The guy, without a doubt in my mind, is a Hall of Fame player.

There's a lot of good football players out there. There's no direct science to this. You try to base it on an interaction of maybe 15 minutes, so you never know.

He's returning the ball better now in my opinion than he was at the beginning of the season. He's starting to hit some things north and south. And as a receiver, he's very solid.

We missed him. Yeah, we won some games, but this guy is one of the best at his position in the National Football League and is recognized as such.

It's all speed; that's the one thing you see in Willie Parker. Willie made our football team because he flashed and he got a chance to play in Week 16 against Buffalo and showed something. We had rested some linemen and he ran against a defense that that was near the top of the National Football League. He got over 100 yards and broke a run.

That's one thing Tony knows, the Steelers of the '70s, they were a tough football team, ... There's a degree of style that goes with this football team, and I think we've been able to sustain a little bit of that persona.

By no means is this a team to be written off. If you back a competitor into a corner, they are going to come out fighting. ... It is going to be a close football game. It always is.

Their defense is a lot like ours, from the standpoint of scheme-wise. They have good players down there that run it.

You have to keep your composure. We gave up some rushing yards. They were able to run the football effectively in the first half.

It's just Joey being Joey. I was pretty proud he lasted this long.

It's just Joey being Joey. I'm surprised he lasted this long (without popping off). He's the vocal leader of our football team and that's the way he is.

If you look at our ownership, Mr. Rooney is a football guy and he understands how hard it is to do this. Nothing would be more satisfying to me than to hand him the Vince Lombardi trophy in two weeks.

We're playing our best football at the right time of the year.

Good football teams have quality depth. When players are asked to step up, there's not a drop off. Ideally, you go through the whole season and don't lose anybody. But those are rare occasions.

He's a tremendous asset to this football team.

They've got a lot of football players who are trying to build something. I don't think there's any question they're making strides in the right direction.

This will be a good barometer for us because this is by far the best team we've played and maybe will play. They are a football team that is not used to losing at all. For them to come off a tough loss against Carolina has really probably compounded the challenge that we have.

It's become more of a production. It's a big production. It was big back then. I don't know, it's a big to-do. But they still have to play a football game when it's kicked off. At that point, we've got to be ready to play football.

I don't know if I've been around a player more respected on a football team.

It was a very frustrating loss. When you turn the football over four times and are minus-3 in the giveaway/takeaway ratio, you aren't going to win many football games. We had the opportunity, even in overtime. It's very frustrating at this point, walking away with a defeat.

I think the pass to Hines was just a great call by Whiz.

We will be tested with this set of circumstances. It's going to be a defining moment of this football team.

We don't ask people to run differently, ... Runners are runners. I never try to curtail a runner. Our offense has got enough plays that within the running play a ball carrier has a chance to express his ability. I think Willie has gotten more comfortable with the plays we've run. He's had a chance to watch some pretty good backs in front of him be patient on certain plays, hit it on certain plays. I think he's earned this opportunity if indeed Jerome can't go. I'm not concerned; I'm rather excited.

Whenever you turn the football over four times, you aren't going to win many football games. You have to credit Jacksonville for a great game.

When you get to this point in the season, there are not a lot of surprises. You have a couple of very good football teams that want to put together their best game plan, and then execute it in detail. There are usually three or four opportunities in any game to make the right play, and have an effect on the outcome. This game probably won't be any different.

I've been waiting a long time to do this. It's almost surreal. I can't be happier for him. He's what's right about the National Football League.

It probably seemed a bit of a luxury. But there's a lot to be said for having veteran guys who have lined up and won games in the National Football League, who have won playoff games.

I'll probably spend a lot of time watching college football on Saturday and pro football on Sunday,