Bill Cowher Second Quotations

We're running the same game plan this Sunday, ... so I figured it will still be fresh in their minds. I looked at our schedule, and I saw that we are playing the Oilers for the second week in a row, so the game plan will remain exactly the same.

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.

Why was he not in the game in the last series? ... That's a legitimate question ... I wish I would have gotten him in the game in the second half.

There's a fine line between going in there and being emotional and allowing it to have an adverse effect, which I think happened to us last week. We settled down more in the second half of that game, but we lost our composure at times. I don't want us to lose our emotion, but we can't lose our composure. There's a fine line and at times we kind of crossed that, but we have to play with that same emotion, that same level of desperation or else we are not going to move on.

The second year makes a dramatic difference to any player. He's more comfortable with the offense, and it makes him a better quarterback.

Our defense just, they stepped up when they had to, they really did. I thought the biggest thing was the first half. I don't know if we got a first down until the second quarter because we could not get anything going offensively. So, when we come out of the first half to be up 7-3, that was a good thing.

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.

The call was made to try to get us a spark and get us another possession. That's my decision. If it works, it's a good play. If it doesn't, you're open to second guessing, which is the nature of this business. But I have no second thoughts about that, I really don't.

It's a legitimate question, ... As the second half unfolded, unfortunately we did not have Jerome in the game. I wish I would have gotten him in. He was not in the game in the last series of overtime because he had not been in the game in the second half. That's a decision that I am responsible for.

He's looked very good. It's the second consecutive week he's taken part in every practice, and we'll see where he is at the end of the week.

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.