Bill Cowher La Quotations

We remind them where they were seven weeks ago. That's the thing in my mind. Seven weeks ago, we found out the people who like you because it was unconditional. We're involved now and it's seven weeks later and it's all conditional. They love you because you just won seven straight games.

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 Cleveland right now, with what they're doing with Romeo, and I think they have a good young quarterback with Charlie Frye, I think they're an up-and-coming team. I think it's a good division.

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.

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 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.

Like I told our guys - this has nothing to do with last year.

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.

We don't ask people to run differently. I mean, runners are runners. I've never tried to curtail a runner. Our offense has got enough plays that, within the running play, a ballcarrier has a chance to express his abilities. I think Willie has gotten more comfortable with the plays we've run.

The run he made the other night was a classic example of being patient. It was an inside run that he ran inside. But when he has a chance to get outside, he knows what he has.

It starts at the top, there is no question about that. I've been very blessed and fortunate to be in a very stable organization. At the same time, you can take nothing for granted. You still have to go out there every year and improve yourself. You ask players to do it and I think as coaches you have to do it. I think we all understand that. I'm just very fortunate and blessed to be part of an organization that is very open, very stable and very understanding.

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 play better than we're playing. There's no margin for error. They're playing with a lot of confidence and at a high level. ... But the opportunity is right there. If you have the opportunity to win this game, you have a chance to control a lot of your destiny. But we have to play a lot better than we are right now and a sense of urgency to get there.

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

It's been an inspiration to our team, no question. We talked about it. The fact that we're able to play this last game in Detroit, we're getting him back there. Now what we have to do is make sure this is a positive. That's the message now and the driving force for that team, really.

We know about the Detroit offense with Calvin Johnson, the best receiver in the game. If this defense continues to play at this pace, they may have something to say about the NFC North.

When have you ever seen a one on one match up on this platform? Andrew Luck on offense…going against J.J. Watt

So many times through the course of a season you are defined by your backups. They have three players in [Kirk] Cousins, Niles [Paul] and [Bashaud] Breeland who may be better than the players that they’re replacing.

Aaron Rodgers is going to spell ‘relax’ with R-U-N…You’re going to see a lot of Eddie Lacy.

Yeah, I know he discovered the West Indies; it wasn't America. But the whole thing with Columbus was that people had been telling him, 'Don't go. The world's flat.' But he kept going. He found land.

But our players know. This is still Baltimore. They still have some good players, and their coach challenged them and they responded.

You watch that game last week, there were a number of third-and-9s, third-and-10s that they converted in the first couple of drives, ... It can get demoralizing for a defense. And you keep giving them snaps with the playmakers they have, and a defense will eventually break down and they will make a big play.

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

We've been in the playoffs for three weeks now. Nothing will change. We have something to build off now. We'll come back on Wednesday and understand what we have in front of us.

I think their defensive line played a lot harder than our offensive line did. I don't think (Ben) had a whole lot of time in that game, and at times when he did, he wasn't able to connect.

I thought he did a lot of good things. He tackled very well. He was in position when needed to be in position. I thought he played a solid game.

I think you'll find in any second-year player, his comfort level is much greater. There's no question he's more comfortable with our offense and understanding the plays and the design of the plays and where they're intended to go. Consequently, he's much more in control of the huddle than he was a year ago.

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.

The difference between Ben last year and this year is night and day.

It is an opportunity to utilize this as a home playoff game. There will be no talk whatsoever about any other scenario.

If there's one and there's a large discrepancy, I'll just pick one guy, ... If it's close, I'll pick two.

We'll stick to our normal schedule, a lot like (the) New England (Patriots) did last week. We'll get out there late Saturday, and we'll play Sunday. I don't think it will have much of an effect.

I know a couple of times our players were ready to celebrate prematurely.

The first time you face someone, you are not sure how they are going to approach you on both sides of the ball. I think the second time through, you have a better sense of what they are about. So there is a little bit of adjustment that goes into the game planning on both sides of the ball.

I know a lot of people have looked at Tennessee and talked about rebuilding. But we have to be careful because there is still a core of players on that team that, not only are we familiar with, but who've also had success.

We are going to have to play much better than we played the last time we played them. We are going to have to play much better than we played last week. It is going to take a flawless effort on our part.

He is a very valuable member of our team. Given the scenario, it's nice to have a player like that with the experience he has who can play at the level he can.

Maybe our focus has been better on the road. Maybe we've played with more urgency. I'm just extremely proud.

This time, they'll go to the game and enjoy it a little bit more than last time.

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.

I've never had a problem with that. It's flattering to be wanted, and certainly I would never stand in the way of any of our coaches if they have a dream of becoming a head coach. If I can help them in any way I would certainly do so and will do so.

They are all very unselfish guys and that certainly will make my job easier (in choosing who plays). While it's a tough decision to make, they have recognized it, and, that position has epitomized the unselfishness on this team the last couple of years.

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

I don't know how they plan to feed us -- in shifts, maybe.

I didn't think it was that big a deal what jersey color you're wearing. Maybe that's just me, OK? To me, if you're not playing at Heinz Field it's an away game. I think anyone can understand that rationale. If it's a sensitive issue to people, I'm sorry.

No, something even more diabolical. I call it 'The Immaculate Deception.' I can't reveal any details, but we'll run it on the first play of our first possession in the second quarter.

My heart and prayers have always gone out to him and Lauren and their family. They'll get through it. Tony's a strong guy.

I've been waiting a long time to do this. This is yours, man. This is special group of coaches, a special group of players and I was a small part.

I haven't seen him this morning. We'll have him out there today and see how he runs. He was feeling pretty good about it last night. I think he'll be fine by Sunday.

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've been kind of a high-profile team the last two years. That experience of going through the playoffs has been important.

We've been close many times. So certainly I think you cherish the opportunity that you have coming here, and you try to relay that to the players.

We're going to have a lot of flexibility with some of the things we're doing, and the players have been very receptive. It's more definitive than things we've done in the past. The onus is being put back on the players to execute, and I think they like that.

When we come here, there will be a lot of demands on many of these guys. (The goal) is to come here and prioritize things and try not to get out of the routine, and understand that Wednesday, Thursday, Friday is just like a regular game.

They certainly will look at his last few games where he probably didn't play as well as he did earlier,

He will miss approximately five weeks, four games. That is the early diagnosis. Certainly that can be give and take, a week here and there. Really, what we thought initially, that is probably good news based on what we were concerned about the last couple of days.

He's coached in a lot of different places and tinkered with a lot of different ideas, but I've kept the same practice format that I learned from him for 14 years here. I guess he's gone the full cycle. He's always been very open-minded. He's receptive to change.

He's certainly playing a lot older than his age.

He has a very low center of gravity, ... He's a powerful guy. He can dip and get around a corner and that's something not a lot of people can do. It's one thing to get to an edge, but to be able to plant that foot and dip and get 'skinny' can separate people. ... He's built low to the ground and he uses that to his advantage.

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.

Well, you got what you wished for. I'm just glad he's not accessible to you guys anymore.

They're playing at a high level. They're explosive. ... We certainly have to play better than the last time we played them, and better defensively than how we played today.

This team understands it's a journey. This is the first step. It was almost a battle of wills out there today, like who was going to flinch first. We just came up with a couple more big plays than they did, and that was the difference in the game.

We have an unbelievable fan base. You go around the country and pull into hotels, there is always black and gold and Steelers fans hollering. There is no question it goes back to the rich tradition this team has and this organization built back in the '70s. What we are seeing now is the second generation of that fan base. It's great.

That's probably good news based on what we were concerned about the last couple of days.

Hopefully we'll improve from last week to this game. It's a big challenge, but I'd like to think we can play better.

I think we lost a little from the week off. We had won seven straight and those three road playoff wins had given us momentum. I think we lost a little of our sharpness.

He's running as well as I've seen him run in recent years. His balance is phenomenal.

He's rested, physically and mentally. He was a worn-out guy last year.

He's really played at a high level all year.

I don't know if we had a better plan (in dealing with the noise), I just don't think we had a very good plan the last time we were here.

We have a lot of players back; we lost a couple of key players and we'll have to fill those voids. But when you realize what you accomplished and you're part of history and you have an opportunity to do it back to back, it would be an unbelievable feat.

At that point, the last thing I thought we would do is fumble with Jerome Bettis.

We know in this business it's hard to bring everybody back. They (potential lost free agents, including Randle El) will be hard people to replace but that happens every year.

We had no margin of error, just wipe the slate clean and focus on the next game. Don't worry about the playoffs. Don't worry about what's taken place.

We certainly have to play better than the last time we played them. It's going to be a challenge for us.

We certainly aren't going to let history dictate our journey. As I told the players a lot of times, your journey can make history.

In Denver, they had a chance to win. I think this team could very easily be 4-0, ... I think that says a lot about the fact that they've really picked up where they left off a year ago. I don't feel like we're playing like we did a year ago, but I think San Diego is.

In any big game, a lot of it comes down to an ability to weather storms, to be able to respond to situations. We did a good job down there but we didn't do a very good job up here. It comes down to making plays and trying to be opportunistic and deal with circumstances that happen within the course of a game. With these two teams it's going to come down to execution.

He's been looking pretty good the last couple of days. He's not ready to play a whole game and James will certainly spell him at times.

He's been here and he knows our players more than the last couple times I've brought guys in,

Ike has played well. We started putting him on some of the premier guys (at wide receiver) because of his ability to match up size-wise and athletic ability-wise, and he's taken on the challenge. He's learning and growing tremendously.

Ike has played well enough to this point that I feel comfortable with him being out there.

I was just proud he lasted this long. He is the emotional leader of this team. We respect Seattle. We're playing a good opponent, a confident opponent. We will put in the work.

At this point, we don't know any kind of diagnosis. I'm not going to speculate or give you any kind of time frame until we get some kind of information.

I'm just glad we're getting closer to playing. It feels like I've had four or five press conferences a day answering the same questions.

I'm just glad that Joey's not accessible to you guys anymore.

I think he has more wins than I do. He had the last one. The last game was kind of a big game. He was a junior, and I was a senior. We lost, 6-0, on a kickoff return. I was not on the kickoff-coverage team, I do point that out, the only time I was not on the field.

I think he was worn out by the end of last year.

We've played at a high level for a lot of years, and now they should have the same high expectations as we've always had. I think it should be a motivating factor to not let our performance slide.

Good teams win close games. Good teams have quality depth, and when players are asked to step in, there's not a drop-off, ... It's not the circumstance that affects you. It's how you deal with it. I truly believe that.

Kendall is getting better and better. Him working with Max ( Starks , right tackle) is only going to allow them to get more comfortable. They're getting some very good playing time, but I feel very good about that right side.

You don't see us running a lot of different plays with Willie. They're the same plays, they just may unfold differently.

This means so much to the team. This is a blessing because Jerome is such a great guy. He brings so much class and professionalism to our team.

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.

Max played some last year. I am not too concerned about Max at all, to be honest with you.

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.

But it is a competitive advantage. I said last week, if I were coaching in Houston and I had a team from the North coming down, I would -- with all due respect to the fans -- have the roof open, make them wear black and talk about it enough to have it work in their minds.