Bill Cowher Game 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.

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.

No one feels worse about losing a game like that than the players and coaches in that locker room. They throw everything into it. No one felt worse than Tommy. I mean, this is a quality individual. We all understand the criticisms that come with this game and we understand that, but when you start taking it outside the field, to the house, to the kids, to me, you've crossed the line.

I don't know, that's a good question. I hopefully don't add to that list. Champ Bailey is one of, if not the top corner in the game today. I know I felt that way. We're going to be aware of him, I can tell you that.

Casey has been so solid for us. He's kind of the rock in the middle of that defense and he's a guy that uses up two blockers. He's got great balance, he can still go sideline to sideline and has a good feel for the game and understands what teams are doing to him.

Certainly, ... I think it's a big game early in the season. It's a good barometer for us to see where we stand.

We've got to play our A game in all three phases - offense, defense and special teams - or we're not going to win this Super Bowl.

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.

Joey's comments at the end of the game were certainly made out of frustration. But there's no conspiracy or things of that nature. That's ridiculous.

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.

I thought the game slowed down for him this week. He made good decisions and looked comfortable out there. When you've been out that long, you have to get back up to game speed.

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.

Our passing game has not been in sync, really, this entire preseason and it showed very evidently tonight.

Options are cool. I think we should play it safe and just beat the Lions. But we can't take them lightly. Well, we can, and we probably will, but we'll disguise it well. Like Harrington said earlier, Detroit is riding a one-game winning streak, and their kicking game is on fire. We know Detroit will give us their best shot, so we better bring our C game at worst.

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.

That's the most important thing in my mind, to keep this game within striking distance, ... If we can do that and not beat ourselves and not give up some of the big plays, make them do things methodically and slowly, the longer we can keep this thing going into the fourth quarter. Then it becomes a play here or a play there.

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.

We'll wear white because we're on the road. We're not playing at Heinz Field and, to me, that makes it a road game and we wear white jerseys for road games.

The quarterback position has been a little bit of a merry-go-round; we've had Charlie in there, Tommy in there, we've had Ben in there ... and, consequently, our passing game has suffered. There hasn't been that rhythm and being in sync.

We'll get them in here Thursday, Friday and Saturday. We'll put a lot of (the game plan) in, not all of it, give them that edge, I don't want it to get stale.

We won the game, but we certainly didn't play our best game. We're going to have to play better if we want to move on. There's no question we were fortunate. But we won the game and that's what is most important.

We understand what it's like to play in the playoffs. It goes up even further. The speed of the game is faster, the magnitude of each play becomes greater. Certainly our play this week has to indicate that.

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.

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

When you game plan, there are certain elements that you prepare for, certain things that you want to do. Certain plays will complement other plays, ... You're always going to have complementary plays that set up other plays. It's a pretty dramatic difference from that point. ... There's a lot more focus on what you're trying to do.

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.

We've been playing well the last three weeks on the road, and we've got another fourth game on the road. I don't know if that's superstitious, but that's the way I'm thinking.

We have a 15-minute cooling-off period after the game and we obviously have some guys who could use a little bit longer than that.

There was a little apprehension. But he came in excellent shape with his weight down. He was a little bit better in the last game than the first game and I think he's getting better each day.

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.

Right now, we just enjoy playing. We're just going to go on to the next game and we're going to try to find a way to win this next game.

Right now the passing game is not in sync and that's the bottom line.

You're asking them to stand up for the first time. They look around and, after about a year, they see the game differently. You have to be patient with them.

This is the eighth game that we'll play where we had no margin for error. So it will be a constant reminder about not so much where we are right now, but where we started from. That in itself puts a lot of things into perspective.

A lot of it comes down to, in my mind, respect for the game and respect for the players. Do unto others as you want others to do unto you. It's a physical game that we play. It's a very competitive game that we play, but within that, there are certain lines that you don't go over.

A lot of stuff we have done during training camp was done competitively. When you game plan, there are certain elements that you prepare for, certain things that you want to do. Certain plays will complement other plays. It's a pretty dramatic difference from that point. (But) we'll see. I'm not going to say that was the result of anything. You still have to go out and perform and do it.

There will be a lot of excitement in that stadium, their first playoff game in a long time. It's a big, big challenge for us.

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.

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.

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.

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.

If you go in as late as we're going in, I don't think it will have as big effect. When we had to go in two days before, as we did in Albuquerque, we lost the game -- the fumble, if you remember the fumble drive.

I remember the game very vividly, and I'm sure Dom recalls it as well. You always remember your first win. It was always a big challenge to win in the Astrodome. Not many teams did.

I put a lot of thought into it. What exactly I'll say, I'm not exactly sure right now. It's kind of a last-minute thing. The biggest thing right now is not to make this game out bigger than it is. ... There's been a sense of urgency and a desperate state we've played in the last seven weeks and I don't think Sunday will be any different.

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 much more mature than his age would indicate. He's very much in control. He's a great competitor. He's got a great feel for the game and a lot of self-confidence.

The focus maybe has been greater, maybe the sense of urgency. At home, you think you're going to have it because of the crowd. We kind of looked at that as a challenge. We've been pretty much underdogs in every game that we've been in, and these guys relish that position.

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.

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.

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.