Bill Cowher Tim Quotations

He's still a young quarterback, ... He's going to continue to grow. He's probably going to have setbacks. That's part of the process. We're trying to get the timing down. But my biggest concern with him is that he doesn't put the pressure on himself, doesn't beat himself up too much.

Ben has been working hard in practice to develop some timing and continuity with the receivers. That will be the biggest difference against Indianapolis this time.

I'd be hesitant to start a guy like Duce who has not had much practice time at all, ... You'd like to have him available if needed, but I think the plan right now, if Jerome (Bettis) can't go, well go with Verron (Haynes) and Willie (Parker).

I'd be hesitant to start a guy like Duce when he's not had much practice time at all, ... It'd be nice to have him available. But the plan right now is if Jerome can't go, we'll go with Verron and Willie.

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.

He can time things up and be very explosive. It looks sometimes like he's walking and not moving, but he can go from Point A to Point B very quickly. He's a very sudden player, and I think that's what makes him unique.

I kind of thought it up. I think it's a great analogy. I got screwed up in some of the details. I know that he discovered the West Indies, it wasn't America. I said periscope one time instead of saying telescope; they thought it was a submarine the other day.

I've added way too much to (the rivalry), I know that. But you know what, I have so much respect for what Marvin (Lewis) and Mike Brown have done in Cincinnati and the team they have put together. Without question they are there. They are on the cusp of a championship year. We realize that every time we play them it's a battle, it always has been.

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 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.

It's good to know you still have Duce back there, feeling better and better. Every time I'm on the sideline, he's there making sure I see him and reminding me he's still there. I like the fact he's doing that.

You work hard to get here. Now is not the time to lose it. We will keep talking about it and I think the way we prepare has always been reflected in how we play. I want them to be loose, I want them to be confident, but our preparation is going to have to be very good.

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.

The recovery time right now is he obviously isn't going to play this week and we'll assess next Tuesday, ... We'll see where he is from there....

We didn't do a very good job of handling the noise element the last time we went there. I would like to think that having been there once, you know what to expect. When we walked out of the RCA Dome, there was no question that it was louder than we anticipated going in. Now we understand what it is going to be like and we have to deal with it.

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

I'll worry about that when the time comes.

I know it's that time of year, unfortunately. Russ is a good coach ? People think very highly of him. We're focused right now. We have to play next week, potentially on a short week. That's all we're focused on.

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

He gutted it out (Monday) night. He was hurting. He came in and we looked at it at halftime and taped it up. He said before we went out there that I'm going to give it a shot, but if I feel like I am hurting this team I am going to take myself out and I want you to know that. I told him I expect you to do that. Only you know where you are at with it.

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

Whatever happens, and you kind of deal with the circumstances that you are dealt with. I think, at this point, that is the mindset that we have to have and we will deal with whatever decisions or other choices we have at that time. I am not going to waste any time thinking about that or talking about that.

Like anything else, it will grow with time and as we continue to go through ups and downs. I'm always there for him, and he'll always know how I feel. We have a very trusting relationship.

This is not the time to relax. They've had their off time. You can't do that. It's around the corner.

It's surreal right now. It's a rewarding feeling to give that trophy to (owner) Mr. (Dan) Rooney. That's what he brought me here to do a long time ago. It really does fill a void. I couldn't be happier for him and the city of Pittsburgh.

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've been waiting a long time to do this. This is yours, man.

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.

I've been waiting a long time to do this. It's almost surreal. A lot of people tell you that you can't do it, but that doesn't mean that you can't keep trying and finally get it done. I was just one small part of this, believe me. I've got a special organization around me, and it all starts at the top.

I've been in this game a long time and that's the first time I've seen that. The center heard the wrong command we use. He misunderstood the word.

This will be our third time playing them. They're explosive. They played well defensively down the stretch. There will be a lot of excitement in that stadium. It's a big challenge for us. We certainly have to play better than the last time we played them and better defensively than how we played today.

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.

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.

Every defense you have, there is a void in there somewhere. He finds it, ... The thing we've got to do is make the time for him to process all that a little shorter and to try to confuse him a little bit. You're not going to confuse him for a long period of time, but maybe just long enough to disrupt their passing game.

We haven't had time to think about that (pressure).

I think he's earned this opportunity if indeed Jerome can't go, ... I'm not concerned, I'm rather excited. Can he handle the load? Has he done it before? I can't answer those questions. I guess time will tell.

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.

There's going to be a lot of excitement in their stadium. We're certainly going to have to play better than the last time we faced them.

It's one of those things; there are a lot of unknowns going in, ... But every player, until he plays, has a degree of unknown about him. I think he's earned this opportunity, if, indeed, Jerome can't go. I'm not concerned. I'm rather excited. ... Can he handle the load? Has he done it before? I can't answer those questions. I guess time will tell.

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.

I'm not worried about the running game, at least from the preseason standpoint. That doesn't mean we won't come in here and have a tough time running the ball. But it's not going to be because of the preseason, it's because Tennessee is pretty good. They may take that element away from us. Either way, I'm not worried.

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.

We only threw it 11 times. It's not like we've suddenly arrived, I don't think. Too much comparison has been made to (the preseason). I'm not concerned with that. I'm not ready to sit there and say everything is set with one game ... For the first time this year we looked like a professional team throwing the football.

We had another third-and-12 against Baltimore last week, we kind of stayed back in a basic defense and that was a touchdown. This was third-and-12 again and I was not going to do it again, so we came with the blitz and we were fortunate it worked out.

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.

The last time we played here, I think we were probably too determined to run the ball. We're at our best when we have balance.

I'm not sure we were the best team last year. I think we played the best at the right time of year.

Hockey is losing a great man. Any time a guy like that walks off the ice, you say, 'Thank you for the memories.

We kind of weathered the storm. We felt like at halftime we had kind of taken their best shot.

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.