83-Steelers-43
11-08-2006, 07:30 AM
Steeler Notebook: Type of penalties depict frustration
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Steelers had two unnecessary-roughness penalties Sunday against Denver that added to their pile of naughty penalties. Coach Bill Cowher believes they may come from frustration.
"I don't think there's any question there's some frustration involved with that," Cowher said. "But you've got to maintain your cool."
The Steelers also committed two unsportsmanlike-conduct penalties in Oakland, one of which cost Joey Porter a $15,000 fine from the league for saying something to the officials.
Fox Sports reported that Porter told an official he was "coming after him or something along those lines."
Cowher said he did not know if the fine was deserved and that Porter will "go through the appeals process, and we'll go from there."
The Steelers have committed the third-fewest penalties in the NFL, 35, but they have had some notable extra-curricular penalties not of the holding or offside variety. Twice, they have been flagged for celebration fouls and another time for taunting an injured foe.
"You've got to be able to deal with a little adversity," Cowher said. "It's not the situation, it's how you respond to that. Certainly, at this point, we have not responded very well."
Against Denver, James Farrior drew a penalty for kicking Broncos center Tom Nahlen and rookie Anthony Smith drew another for pushing after the whistle.
"We addressed them and talked about it," Cowher said. "James lost his cool. Anthony Smith was kind of a push.
"They're calling games close. There's been a lot more personal foul calls in the league this year, not so much from that standpoint, but there have been more taunting calls, celebration calls, which people are interpreting as that. That's fine, that's the way it should be in our league, I don't have a problem with that. We've got to use better judgment. I concur with that assessment."
Injury report
Linebacker James Harrison (high ankle sprain) and receiver/returner Willie Reid (foot sprain) will miss their fifth consecutive game with injuries.
"There have been no setbacks," Cowher said, "and, hopefully, we'll have both players next week."
Starting center Jeff Hartings (knee) and backup linebacker Clint Kriewaldt are doubtful. Chukky Okobi started for Hartings Sunday, and Rian Wallace would fill in for Kriewaldt if he cannot play.
Linebacker James Farrior, whose 72 tackles lead all teammates by 22, is questionable with a groin injury, as is safety Mike Logan with a hamstring injury.
Cowher listed five players as probable: strong safety Troy Polamalu (foot), running back Najeh Davenport (knee), linebacker Clark Haggans (knee), cornerback Deshea Townsend (quad) and special-teams captain Sean Morey (toe).
Cheers for Davenport
Davenport could be in line for more time after Cowher praised his play since coming to the Steelers after their first game.
Davenport replaced injured Verron Haynes as the third-down back Sunday and also has given starting halfback Willie Parker some rest and is one of two deep returners on kickoffs.
"I thought Najeh played really well in any role we've put him at this point," Cowher said. "He's been a real pleasant acquisition. Whatever you ask him to do, he's done it. He's done it very well."
Davenport caught five passes Sunday for 57 yards and ran twice for 17. He also returned a kickoff 23 yards.
Get the points
Four of Ben Roethlisberger's league-high 14 interceptions have come near the opponent's goal line.
"You work too hard to get there," Cowher said. "You work too hard to put yourself in those positions. Coming away with a field goal isn't a bad thing. That's points. You want to come away with points. You want to finish drives, but the worst-case scenario is that you want to come away with three."
Some snapshots of some Cowher comments on several topics yesterday:
On luck determining the outcome of his team's games: "You create your own good fortune."
On players speaking their minds: "People have bad days at the office all the time. You pass them on the road, and the difference is that you don't know that they had a bad day. They can keep that in and get away from it. We can't get away from it. We're in the fishbowl."
On being out of whack: "I think right now we're out of sync. We've got some guys who are afraid to make a mistake and we've got some guys trying to win a game by themselves. There's that fine line of getting people back in balance."
On the size of the picture he wants his team to view: "I think to look at the big picture would be foolish. [Getting] the little picture right is what we have to do."
On everyone not becoming CSI: Pittsburgh when delving into the evidence of a 2-6 season: "We can't get caught up in the why, when and where."
On whether he's concerned about where cornerback Ike Taylor's mind is after Sunday: "Oh, yeah. And it's how they respond to the situations. You see some guys who bounce back. You see some guys that it can linger with them."
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06312/736474-66.stm
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Steelers had two unnecessary-roughness penalties Sunday against Denver that added to their pile of naughty penalties. Coach Bill Cowher believes they may come from frustration.
"I don't think there's any question there's some frustration involved with that," Cowher said. "But you've got to maintain your cool."
The Steelers also committed two unsportsmanlike-conduct penalties in Oakland, one of which cost Joey Porter a $15,000 fine from the league for saying something to the officials.
Fox Sports reported that Porter told an official he was "coming after him or something along those lines."
Cowher said he did not know if the fine was deserved and that Porter will "go through the appeals process, and we'll go from there."
The Steelers have committed the third-fewest penalties in the NFL, 35, but they have had some notable extra-curricular penalties not of the holding or offside variety. Twice, they have been flagged for celebration fouls and another time for taunting an injured foe.
"You've got to be able to deal with a little adversity," Cowher said. "It's not the situation, it's how you respond to that. Certainly, at this point, we have not responded very well."
Against Denver, James Farrior drew a penalty for kicking Broncos center Tom Nahlen and rookie Anthony Smith drew another for pushing after the whistle.
"We addressed them and talked about it," Cowher said. "James lost his cool. Anthony Smith was kind of a push.
"They're calling games close. There's been a lot more personal foul calls in the league this year, not so much from that standpoint, but there have been more taunting calls, celebration calls, which people are interpreting as that. That's fine, that's the way it should be in our league, I don't have a problem with that. We've got to use better judgment. I concur with that assessment."
Injury report
Linebacker James Harrison (high ankle sprain) and receiver/returner Willie Reid (foot sprain) will miss their fifth consecutive game with injuries.
"There have been no setbacks," Cowher said, "and, hopefully, we'll have both players next week."
Starting center Jeff Hartings (knee) and backup linebacker Clint Kriewaldt are doubtful. Chukky Okobi started for Hartings Sunday, and Rian Wallace would fill in for Kriewaldt if he cannot play.
Linebacker James Farrior, whose 72 tackles lead all teammates by 22, is questionable with a groin injury, as is safety Mike Logan with a hamstring injury.
Cowher listed five players as probable: strong safety Troy Polamalu (foot), running back Najeh Davenport (knee), linebacker Clark Haggans (knee), cornerback Deshea Townsend (quad) and special-teams captain Sean Morey (toe).
Cheers for Davenport
Davenport could be in line for more time after Cowher praised his play since coming to the Steelers after their first game.
Davenport replaced injured Verron Haynes as the third-down back Sunday and also has given starting halfback Willie Parker some rest and is one of two deep returners on kickoffs.
"I thought Najeh played really well in any role we've put him at this point," Cowher said. "He's been a real pleasant acquisition. Whatever you ask him to do, he's done it. He's done it very well."
Davenport caught five passes Sunday for 57 yards and ran twice for 17. He also returned a kickoff 23 yards.
Get the points
Four of Ben Roethlisberger's league-high 14 interceptions have come near the opponent's goal line.
"You work too hard to get there," Cowher said. "You work too hard to put yourself in those positions. Coming away with a field goal isn't a bad thing. That's points. You want to come away with points. You want to finish drives, but the worst-case scenario is that you want to come away with three."
Some snapshots of some Cowher comments on several topics yesterday:
On luck determining the outcome of his team's games: "You create your own good fortune."
On players speaking their minds: "People have bad days at the office all the time. You pass them on the road, and the difference is that you don't know that they had a bad day. They can keep that in and get away from it. We can't get away from it. We're in the fishbowl."
On being out of whack: "I think right now we're out of sync. We've got some guys who are afraid to make a mistake and we've got some guys trying to win a game by themselves. There's that fine line of getting people back in balance."
On the size of the picture he wants his team to view: "I think to look at the big picture would be foolish. [Getting] the little picture right is what we have to do."
On everyone not becoming CSI: Pittsburgh when delving into the evidence of a 2-6 season: "We can't get caught up in the why, when and where."
On whether he's concerned about where cornerback Ike Taylor's mind is after Sunday: "Oh, yeah. And it's how they respond to the situations. You see some guys who bounce back. You see some guys that it can linger with them."
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06312/736474-66.stm