Crashride
10-11-2006, 03:50 PM
Q&A with HERM EDWARDS - 10/11
Oct 11, 2006, 4:12:18 PM
Q: What’s wrong with the Steelers?
HERM EDWARDS: “When I look at tape, they’ve played some games that they obviously could have won. A play here or a play there, but everybody’s playing them a little bit different because of the fact they won the Super Bowl. So, everybody’s getting keyed up to play them. When you have that Super Bowl trophy in your back pocket the energy that other people play with is a bit different. It’s tough.
“These guys will be ready to play. They’ve lost three in a row and their backs are against the wall, similar to ours when we were 0-2. It’s going to be one of those games where we can’t do what we did in Arizona where we got behind. You get behind on those guys it’s over, you’ve got no chance, especially there in that stadium and how their defense plays. We have to be prepared to play well in Pittsburgh.”
Q: How’s Larry Johnson?
EDWARDS: “He’s OK. He didn’t participate today. He and Dante (Hall) didn’t practice. I anticipate they’ll practice tomorrow. They were both sore. But he worked out a little bit on the machine, so he’s running.”
Q: Where are those two guys on the injury report?
EDWARDS: “I got them as probable.”
Q: What about Kyle Turley?
EDWARDS: “He practiced a little bit today. If he’s going to go he’d probably be the swing guy. I don’t want to upset the apple cart. We’ve done that too much on that offensive line. We’ve played two games with our tackles and we’ve got to continue to do that. We can’t keep switching players in and out of there because you don’t get any continuity and it doesn’t help the guard any when there’s another tackle every other week. Right now we’ve got two healthy tackles that have played two games, we’ve won with them, and we’d like to continue to stay with them.
“That’s kind of hurt us a little bit in our run game, the fact that for me it all happened to us during training camp when we were missing guys on our offensive line and we never got into a groove even in the pre-season. In the regular season we made some switches and had this guy playing there and that guy playing there. We really haven’t clicked that well on our run game. We’ve got to get that going to be more consistent running the ball.”
Q: How does Turley look out there in your eyes?
EDWARDS: “He looks OK. I mean he hasn’t practiced in the last two weeks. He moved around. He might be available to help us play but even if he is he’s not going to start. He wants to play and is a very competitive guy.”
Q: If Larry can’t practice tomorrow will he not go Sunday?
EDWARDS: “I anticipate he’ll go tomorrow, but we’ll see where he’s at. I don’t want to make tomorrow’s decision today.”
Q: What’s Michael Bennett’s story?
EDWARDS: “Still not practicing.”
Q: With Larry is it just a soreness in his neck?
EDWARDS: “Yeah, it’s just sore. With Curtis (Martin) when I was in New York it was always tough for him on Wednesday after a tough game. It’s running backs. He’s run the ball a lot in the last couple of weeks and on Wednesday sometimes they can’t go. There are a lot of Wednesdays Curtis couldn’t go and that was OK. Thursdays they got going again. When you get hit like they get hit a lot you don’t take anything for granted and say you need to practice, as long as he’s mentally into it, knows what to do on the blitz pick-ups which will be big this week. Protecting the quarterback will be big this week especially with our backs and offensive line; they have to do a good job of protecting because these guys come from a lot of different ways.”
Q: Do you have to see Larry and Dante practice by Friday if they are to play Sunday?
EDWARDS: “I think you need to practice and if you don’t it never works. I’ve been there. You let guys play and then all of a sudden they’re just not ready, they’re just not ready. It’s hard to play without practicing. I anticipate they can go tomorrow. If they can do a little bit tomorrow and a little bit more Friday. It’s a late 4 o’clock game, so you have to look at all those things.”
Q: Have you seen why Roethlisberger has struggled with no touchdown passes?
EDWARDS: “I mean, everybody’s asking that question. Some balls have been tipped. I’ve been with Ben in the off-season on a couple of things. We’ve done some things together and played golf a couple of times at some events. I’ve been around him and I know what kind of kid he is. He’s a great competitive guy, a tough guy. The spring got him a little bit with the motorcycle deal and then he was hospitalized later with something else. Timing, it’s all that stuff.
“He won’t continue to play like that, believe me. I anticipate he’s going to play real good this week.”
Q: Do you see anything in that offense you can take advantage of?
EDWARDS: “We’ve got to play a lot better than we did against Arizona in the first quarter. We can’t do what we did there: get beat early and then all of a sudden turn the ball over and it’s 14-0. You go 14-0 down in Pittsburgh it can turn out to be one of those bad-lookin’ games. We’ve got to play good. We’ve got to handle our business.
“You can’t go in there thinking you’re going to outscore these guys or do anything crazy. You’ve got to be very diligent in what you’re trying to do and it’s going to get ugly at times because they force a lot of negative yards with their defense. I’ve been in there with the other team that I coached and there’s a certain way you’ve got to play them. You can’t worry about moving the ball up and down the field because that doesn’t happen. It happens in spurts and you have to be patient when you play these guys. If not, you get caught in that trap and you turn it over, they get it on a short field, and they score and then you’re behind and they start running the ball and the clock’s going and all of a sudden the game’s out of whack. You’ve got to be very careful.”
Q: How much different are they when you played them the last time?
EDWARDS: “They’re still skilled. They don’t have the ‘Bus’ and that makes a little bit of a difference. You’ve got a pounder with the ‘Bus.’ Randal-El was a heck of a player and could do a lot of things besides just play receiver. He was always a threat throwing the ball and he made a lot of plays for them. He was a return guy and they’re working some guys into that spot, so that’s kind of new for them, too. They lost some parts, but their defense is still their defense. They’re still playing well and getting after people and causing problems.
“Opportunity is the key word against them. When you get an opportunity you can’t miss ‘cause you’re not getting a second chance. Against the good football teams you might get a play or an opportunity but don’t look for a second one ‘cause you’re not going to get it. So, if you’ve got a chance you’d better take advantage of it.”
Q: Are you closer now to knowing when Trent Green might be ready to start work on the field?
EDWARDS: “He did a little bit on the (stair) stepper today. That’s where he’s at. He hasn’t put on pads yet. He started to work out. He hasn’t taken a snap or thrown a ball.
“For me, and I don’t want to be redundant, but I don’t ask. I don’t ask about players who are injured because you waste too much energy every day. I’ve got to coach the guys that are well. That’s what I do. I don’t get involved in that. When the doctor tells me what it is I just say, ‘Is he out? Is he doubtful?’ What is he? I don’t get caught up in that. You can’t. A player has to be available to play and when he’s not I can’t worry about it. You can’t. I’ve got 52 other guys who are here who are practicing. Maybe I learned that in New York because it happened.
“When he gets back I know he’ll be ready to go. When it is, it is.”
Q: He’s missed a lot of practice time and will miss some more. How much do you imagine he’ll need before you can get him ready for a game?
EDWARDS: “I’ve got to see how he practices. Every player is different.”
Q: You don’t imagine he’ll practice on a Wednesday and play on that Sunday do you?
EDWARDS: “I don’t know about that. That’s hard to do. I haven’t been around Trent long enough to say, he can do this and be ready to go, especially at the position he’s playing: quarterback.”
Q: If you were to describe your team and all the adversity it’s faced, would you say it’s resilient? Would you agree this team has shown some resiliency and that must please you?
EDWARDS: “I’ve got to give credit to the players and the coaches. In life I always say you face storms and if you’re willing to walk through it, not get an umbrella and cover yourself up, at the end of the storm there’s a rainbow. I believe that; I grew up that way.
“I don’t make excuses. I never have and never will. I just think you get dealt a hand of cards and you play them. Some times it’s like poker, you can’t show your hand. Some times you have a bad hand but if you just stay calm and cool you never know, some guys will get out of the game.
“For me, I’ve never going to get out of the game. That’s what I do: coach the players that are available and make sure that they’re playing up to their ability. I’ve always coached that way and these guys have bought into the team concept and what we’re trying to do. I think this team is starting to be mentally tough. If you’re a mentally tough guy you can get a lot of things accomplished because you don’t get distracted. You’d be surprised. You just keep going, don’t get caught up in the obstacles and stay focused on the objective. The objective is prepare your team to win the game that Sunday. It’s the only thing you can control. You’ve got to prepare the players that are available and you go play.”
Discuss.
Oct 11, 2006, 4:12:18 PM
Q: What’s wrong with the Steelers?
HERM EDWARDS: “When I look at tape, they’ve played some games that they obviously could have won. A play here or a play there, but everybody’s playing them a little bit different because of the fact they won the Super Bowl. So, everybody’s getting keyed up to play them. When you have that Super Bowl trophy in your back pocket the energy that other people play with is a bit different. It’s tough.
“These guys will be ready to play. They’ve lost three in a row and their backs are against the wall, similar to ours when we were 0-2. It’s going to be one of those games where we can’t do what we did in Arizona where we got behind. You get behind on those guys it’s over, you’ve got no chance, especially there in that stadium and how their defense plays. We have to be prepared to play well in Pittsburgh.”
Q: How’s Larry Johnson?
EDWARDS: “He’s OK. He didn’t participate today. He and Dante (Hall) didn’t practice. I anticipate they’ll practice tomorrow. They were both sore. But he worked out a little bit on the machine, so he’s running.”
Q: Where are those two guys on the injury report?
EDWARDS: “I got them as probable.”
Q: What about Kyle Turley?
EDWARDS: “He practiced a little bit today. If he’s going to go he’d probably be the swing guy. I don’t want to upset the apple cart. We’ve done that too much on that offensive line. We’ve played two games with our tackles and we’ve got to continue to do that. We can’t keep switching players in and out of there because you don’t get any continuity and it doesn’t help the guard any when there’s another tackle every other week. Right now we’ve got two healthy tackles that have played two games, we’ve won with them, and we’d like to continue to stay with them.
“That’s kind of hurt us a little bit in our run game, the fact that for me it all happened to us during training camp when we were missing guys on our offensive line and we never got into a groove even in the pre-season. In the regular season we made some switches and had this guy playing there and that guy playing there. We really haven’t clicked that well on our run game. We’ve got to get that going to be more consistent running the ball.”
Q: How does Turley look out there in your eyes?
EDWARDS: “He looks OK. I mean he hasn’t practiced in the last two weeks. He moved around. He might be available to help us play but even if he is he’s not going to start. He wants to play and is a very competitive guy.”
Q: If Larry can’t practice tomorrow will he not go Sunday?
EDWARDS: “I anticipate he’ll go tomorrow, but we’ll see where he’s at. I don’t want to make tomorrow’s decision today.”
Q: What’s Michael Bennett’s story?
EDWARDS: “Still not practicing.”
Q: With Larry is it just a soreness in his neck?
EDWARDS: “Yeah, it’s just sore. With Curtis (Martin) when I was in New York it was always tough for him on Wednesday after a tough game. It’s running backs. He’s run the ball a lot in the last couple of weeks and on Wednesday sometimes they can’t go. There are a lot of Wednesdays Curtis couldn’t go and that was OK. Thursdays they got going again. When you get hit like they get hit a lot you don’t take anything for granted and say you need to practice, as long as he’s mentally into it, knows what to do on the blitz pick-ups which will be big this week. Protecting the quarterback will be big this week especially with our backs and offensive line; they have to do a good job of protecting because these guys come from a lot of different ways.”
Q: Do you have to see Larry and Dante practice by Friday if they are to play Sunday?
EDWARDS: “I think you need to practice and if you don’t it never works. I’ve been there. You let guys play and then all of a sudden they’re just not ready, they’re just not ready. It’s hard to play without practicing. I anticipate they can go tomorrow. If they can do a little bit tomorrow and a little bit more Friday. It’s a late 4 o’clock game, so you have to look at all those things.”
Q: Have you seen why Roethlisberger has struggled with no touchdown passes?
EDWARDS: “I mean, everybody’s asking that question. Some balls have been tipped. I’ve been with Ben in the off-season on a couple of things. We’ve done some things together and played golf a couple of times at some events. I’ve been around him and I know what kind of kid he is. He’s a great competitive guy, a tough guy. The spring got him a little bit with the motorcycle deal and then he was hospitalized later with something else. Timing, it’s all that stuff.
“He won’t continue to play like that, believe me. I anticipate he’s going to play real good this week.”
Q: Do you see anything in that offense you can take advantage of?
EDWARDS: “We’ve got to play a lot better than we did against Arizona in the first quarter. We can’t do what we did there: get beat early and then all of a sudden turn the ball over and it’s 14-0. You go 14-0 down in Pittsburgh it can turn out to be one of those bad-lookin’ games. We’ve got to play good. We’ve got to handle our business.
“You can’t go in there thinking you’re going to outscore these guys or do anything crazy. You’ve got to be very diligent in what you’re trying to do and it’s going to get ugly at times because they force a lot of negative yards with their defense. I’ve been in there with the other team that I coached and there’s a certain way you’ve got to play them. You can’t worry about moving the ball up and down the field because that doesn’t happen. It happens in spurts and you have to be patient when you play these guys. If not, you get caught in that trap and you turn it over, they get it on a short field, and they score and then you’re behind and they start running the ball and the clock’s going and all of a sudden the game’s out of whack. You’ve got to be very careful.”
Q: How much different are they when you played them the last time?
EDWARDS: “They’re still skilled. They don’t have the ‘Bus’ and that makes a little bit of a difference. You’ve got a pounder with the ‘Bus.’ Randal-El was a heck of a player and could do a lot of things besides just play receiver. He was always a threat throwing the ball and he made a lot of plays for them. He was a return guy and they’re working some guys into that spot, so that’s kind of new for them, too. They lost some parts, but their defense is still their defense. They’re still playing well and getting after people and causing problems.
“Opportunity is the key word against them. When you get an opportunity you can’t miss ‘cause you’re not getting a second chance. Against the good football teams you might get a play or an opportunity but don’t look for a second one ‘cause you’re not going to get it. So, if you’ve got a chance you’d better take advantage of it.”
Q: Are you closer now to knowing when Trent Green might be ready to start work on the field?
EDWARDS: “He did a little bit on the (stair) stepper today. That’s where he’s at. He hasn’t put on pads yet. He started to work out. He hasn’t taken a snap or thrown a ball.
“For me, and I don’t want to be redundant, but I don’t ask. I don’t ask about players who are injured because you waste too much energy every day. I’ve got to coach the guys that are well. That’s what I do. I don’t get involved in that. When the doctor tells me what it is I just say, ‘Is he out? Is he doubtful?’ What is he? I don’t get caught up in that. You can’t. A player has to be available to play and when he’s not I can’t worry about it. You can’t. I’ve got 52 other guys who are here who are practicing. Maybe I learned that in New York because it happened.
“When he gets back I know he’ll be ready to go. When it is, it is.”
Q: He’s missed a lot of practice time and will miss some more. How much do you imagine he’ll need before you can get him ready for a game?
EDWARDS: “I’ve got to see how he practices. Every player is different.”
Q: You don’t imagine he’ll practice on a Wednesday and play on that Sunday do you?
EDWARDS: “I don’t know about that. That’s hard to do. I haven’t been around Trent long enough to say, he can do this and be ready to go, especially at the position he’s playing: quarterback.”
Q: If you were to describe your team and all the adversity it’s faced, would you say it’s resilient? Would you agree this team has shown some resiliency and that must please you?
EDWARDS: “I’ve got to give credit to the players and the coaches. In life I always say you face storms and if you’re willing to walk through it, not get an umbrella and cover yourself up, at the end of the storm there’s a rainbow. I believe that; I grew up that way.
“I don’t make excuses. I never have and never will. I just think you get dealt a hand of cards and you play them. Some times it’s like poker, you can’t show your hand. Some times you have a bad hand but if you just stay calm and cool you never know, some guys will get out of the game.
“For me, I’ve never going to get out of the game. That’s what I do: coach the players that are available and make sure that they’re playing up to their ability. I’ve always coached that way and these guys have bought into the team concept and what we’re trying to do. I think this team is starting to be mentally tough. If you’re a mentally tough guy you can get a lot of things accomplished because you don’t get distracted. You’d be surprised. You just keep going, don’t get caught up in the obstacles and stay focused on the objective. The objective is prepare your team to win the game that Sunday. It’s the only thing you can control. You’ve got to prepare the players that are available and you go play.”
Discuss.