**
HEAD COACH JEFF FISHER, DEC. 17, 2008**
(On the message to the team for this week)
Well, the message is different but it's also the same. Each opponent is different so you have to take each opponent differently and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses. You put a gameplan together and we present it and sell it. The weekly approach is no different.
(On how much he talks about what's riding on the game to the players)
I don't have to mention anything, they understand. I think the Steelers understand, everybody understands. It's to have an opportunity to play that second playoff game at home.
(On if he's concerned about a lack of momentum heading into the playoffs)
No, I'm not concerned about what happened last week. That was a long, long time ago. We're doing our best we can to prepare for this opponent and this opponent is very, very good.
(On how impressive Ben Roethlisberger has been this year)
I think it's important that we realize that his sack number is not a result of the offensive line. He's trying to make plays and in an effort to buy time and run around and scramble around, he goes down sometimes. But it's been worth it for him because he makes a lot of big plays on the run. For example, the touchdown pass at the end of the Baltimore game he reverses field twice and throws a touchdown pass. That's our biggest concern, him moving around buying time and making big plays down the field.
(On how the Steelers defend the rush)
Well, they just have great speed up front, their front seven. Troy [Polamalu] is as good a safety to ever play in the league and he always arrives at the ball. Their scheme's different, they get off blocks. They have a combination of three guys up front that are what you call real good two-gappers and they can just hold their own and shed blocks. The other seven or eight of them are just running and arriving at the ball. They're well coached.
(On what the team needs from Chris Johnson and LenDale White)
Well, we need great effort out of everybody. We need great effort out of our receivers to get the run game going. In order to run the football, we're going to have to convert on third downs. We'll convert on third downs if we can get the run game going early so it's going to be a big part of what we're doing.
(On what he's going to say to the young players who will play for Albert Haynesworth and Kyle Vanden Bosch)
They've been doing it and that's a good part about what's happened this year is that we've brought along the backups and they're getting a lot of quality play time. They've gotten much better. They'll step up. It's no different here than any other place around the league, when you have stars go down, young players have to step up. Fortunately, we're not putting players in that position that haven't done it yet. Most of the guys have had the playing experience.
(On if the defensive tackle personnel is better suited to handle an Albert Haynesworth injury this year)
Well, yeah I mean JJ [Jason Jones] clearly has gotten better as the year has gone on, he benefitted from the rest with the foot injury and Tony [Brown] is playing as good if not better than he did last year. We have flexibility at the end position to move people inside. With a year of additional experience with the linebackers and the secondary and the run fits, then there's less holes if you have good players like Albert and Kyle out of the game.
(On if there's any concern about Kerry Collins wearing down)
No, the arm is good. He clearly benefitted from the rest after the Detroit game. The arm is good and he knows what he's doing and like we said, it wasn't Kerry it was everybody. It was a team loss and he's excited about this challenge.
(On if too much is being made about the importance of the Steelers game)
You know, it's the next game, it's against a good, solid, quality opponent. I'm not paying much attention to what's going on outside but we know what's at stake here. This is probably the best team we've played thus far.
(On if there's any remnants of the old AFC Central rivalry between the teams)
We've got a show of hands of how many of the guys that have played the Steelers before and then when those hands go up, you ask them how many of them have beat the Steelers and there was a few scattered hands in the building and that's what gets their attention. We haven't had this opportunity and they've been very productive. They had the Super Bowl victory, they have an off year and they come right back to the playoffs and here they are again competing for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
