Soca Warriors Online Discussion Forum
Sports => Other Sports => Topic started by: capodetutticapi on January 27, 2009, 11:11:40 PM
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Cardinals Team Report
Wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald's stellar postseason play has its roots in the offseason.
After signing a four-year, $40 million deal, Fitzgerald worked harder than ever, and the result is a well-rounded receiver.
Coordinator Todd Haley and coach Ken Whisenhunt pushed Fitzgerald hard and told him bluntly that he needed to earn the contract he'd been given.
Fitzgerald accepted the coaching. He has become a more refined route runner, and he's gaining yards after the catch, something he did only occasionally in his first four years.
Haley emphasized that Fitzgerald had the size (6-feet-3, 220 pounds) to break the tackles of defensive backs. Too often in his first four seasons, Fitzgerald was content to go down after the catch. His forte was making acrobatic catches down the sideline, but Haley constantly reminded Fitzgerald that he couldn't be a "one-trick pony."
Fitzgerald will never remind anyone of Anquan Boldin, who has the running ability of a tailback, but he has become a threat with the ball in his hands.
"I know Pittsburgh is going to have a great scheme to try and slow him down," Haley said, "so I don't think it's going to be easy for us. I don't think it was easy last week and I don't think it was easy the week before that."
Notes and Quotes
-- The Cardinals hope the sideline tiff between Anquan Boldin and offensive coordinator Todd Haley is a dead issue. Boldin addressed the situation last week in Arizona and no doubt will be asked about it again this week. "It's taken care of; it's a non-issue," said strong safety Adrian Wilson.
-- The players received their Super Bowl tickets last Saturday, two days before departing for Tampa. "I've never even seen a Super Bowl ticket," said center Lyle Sendlein, "and now here I am holding 15 of them. So it's pretty amazing."
-- Offensive coordinator Todd Haley is rumored to be a candidate for the Chiefs job, but he says he knows nothing about it. "I've got five kids so the last thing I'm thinking about is moving anywhere," he said. "I'm just enjoying what's going on right here and the fact we've been able to do something nobody else has been able to do."
-- Haley and Kurt Warner don't hide their emotions. If they have something to say, they say it. "I've had my run-ins with both of them," said receiver Steve Breaston. "I had them come at me from both sides one time, but they're pretty much equal."
-- The Cardinals will continue to play the disrespect card, and why not? It has worked for them the past three weeks. "It's been tough because every time you turn on the TV or read something, it wasn't very good," said coach Ken Whisenhunt. "You don't have to look hard to find something that would motivate us."
Strategy and Personnel
PLAYER NOTES
-- DE/OLB Travis LaBoy suffered a left biceps injury and will try to play with a brace. LaBoy had one custom made and he'll see in practice this week how the injury might limit him.
-- RB J.J. Arrington hopes to practice this week after suffering a knee injury Super Bowl XLIII. Arrington missed practice last week.
-- WR Anquan Boldin appears to be fully recovered from a hamstring strain that limited him in one playoff game and kept him out of another. Boldin ran full speed in the three practices last week.
-- P Ben Graham didn't do much last week because of a strained groin. The week off should help and he expects to play in Super Bowl XLIII. He is the first Australian to play in the game and he has been dealing with a large number of interview requests from his home continent.
-- DE Antonio Smith suffered a knee injury in last week's NFC title game but an MRI revealed no serious damage. Smith was limited in practice and expects to play Sunday.
PLAYOFF REPORT CARD
PASSING OFFENSE: A -- Kurt Warner has been sharp, completing 66.3 percent of his passes for 770 yards, eight touchdowns and two interceptions in the playoffs. Larry Fitzgerald has been the main target, with 419 yards and five touchdowns.
RUSHING OFFENSE B -- The numbers aren't flashy but when graded on the curve, they are decent. The Cardinals were last in the league in rushing but in three playoff games they've averaged 111 yards per game, nearly 40 yards more than the regular season.
RUSH DEFENSE: A -- The Cardinals shut down some very good rushing teams in Atlanta and Carolina. And the Eagles didn't get much, either. Opponents are averaging 4.1 yards a carry during the playoffs but the Cardinals have prevented the big runs.
PASSING DEFENSE: A -- The Cardinals have eight interceptions and seven sacks in three playoff games. The line is bringing pressure and the secondary, which struggled some during the season, is now making plays.
SPECIAL TEAMS: B -- Kicker Neil Rackers continues to be reliable and the coverage teams have been solid. Punter Ben Graham has been excellent in pinning teams in their territory. The return teams, however, aren't producing much. The special teams are drawing fewer penalties.
COACHING: A -- This staff knows how to coach in big games, as it has proven in the postseason. Coach Ken Whisenhunt had his team peaking at the right time. The game plans on both sides of the ball have been creative and effective.
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Steelers Team Report
Hines Ward's ailing right knee "feels better" and he hopes to practice with the Steelers when they resume preparations Wednesday for the Super Bowl.
"It feels better," Ward said Monday after the Steelers' charter touched down in Tampa. "I don't have a brace on, I walk around fine. It's not going to be 100 percent, I'm not going to trick anybody, but I think I'm going to be good, to be able to go out and perform like I want to."
Ward has been going through extra rehabilitation on his right knee, injured in the first quarter of the AFC Championship Game. He has a slight MCL sprain, and he's breathing pure oxygen in a chamber to aid the healing process. He had the chamber shipped to Tampa.
After a strenuous weekend of rehab that included waking every three hours to ice down his knee, Ward took somewhat of a break on Monday.
"I've been rehabbing all weekend long. Off today. I did a little rehab this morning before we came down here."
He will resume Tuesday morning before he attends Media Day at Raymond James Stadium.
"I really can't say because I haven't run or cut or done anything," said Ward. "I was just constantly getting treatment, 24 hours around the clock."
Ward led the Steelers with 81 receptions for 1,043 yards, his best season statistically since 2003. He is the Steelers' career leader in receptions, yards and touchdowns.
Notes and Quotes -- The last time the Steelers arrived in a Super Bowl, they wore Jerome Bettis replica Notre Dame jerseys when they got off the plane in Detroit three years ago.
On Monday, the offensive linemen wanted to wear Dermontti Dawson replica jerseys in honor of the former Steelers center who is among the finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame this week. Dawson retired after the 2000 season. However, the jerseys that were shipped were too small and would not fit them. They hope to have a new shipment sometime this week.
Dan Rooney, 76, says this has been the best professional year of his life. Why? He and his son Art II fought off an outside bid to purchase the Steelers, and convinced four of Dan's brothers to sell their shares to him and new partners he lined up. He also endorsed Barack Obama, campaigned for him and has become a friend of the new president. And his team is in the Super Bowl.
"It's been tremendous," Rooney said.
-- The Steelers expect a huge crowd of Steelers fans at Raymond James Stadium Sunday, something akin to what occurred in Detroit three years ago.
"It's awesome," quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. "Every time we go to an away city, in a way it feels like a home game because there are so many fans. We expect them to be out there and having fun."
Strategy and Personnel PLAYER NOTES
--QB Ben Roethlisberger was not nearly as effective running the ball the past season. He had 34 runs for 101 yards in 2008, but had 204 yards on 35 runs in 2007.
-- WR Nate Washington was the most likely of the receivers to have a run from scrimmage last season with five, but Santonio Holmes has had two in two playoff games.
-- SS Troy Polamalu's seven interceptions during the regular season have not been topped among Steelers since Rod Woodson's eight in 1993. Polamalu added an eighth with his 40-yard touchdown return against Baltimore in the AFC title game.
-- OT Max Starks, like Hines Ward, also has a sprained knee from the AFC title game but he practiced some last week using a brace.
-- CB Ike Taylor, who could draw Larry Fitzgerald as his assignment Sunday, leads the Steelers with four passes defensed and he also has a quarterback pressure.
PLAYOFF REPORT CARD
PASSING OFFENSE: B -- The stats are not overwhelming, but they rarely are for Pittsburgh's passing game when things are going well. Ben Roethlisberger has a 90.8 rating in two games and it would have been higher if not for two dropped touchdowns passes. He has two touchdowns and no interceptions, and he lost his favorite receiver, Hines Ward, for three quarters of the AFC title game with an injury.
RUSHING OFFENSE: B -- Willie Parker, who has 51 of the 70 postseason carries, had a great game against San Diego, not so great against the Ravens. But few back do have good games against Baltimore's defense. Parker has 193 yards, a 3.8-yard average and two touchdowns. Gary Russell also has one touchdown rushing.
PASS DEFENSE: A-minus -- Pittsburgh's defense, No. 1 against the pass all season, held Philip Rivers and Joe Flacco to a combined 64.2 rating with four interceptions and seven sacks. Troy Polamalu virtually put the AFC championship away when he intercepted Flacco with 4:24 left and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown. Two pass interference penalties, though, helped the Ravens score twice.
RUSH DEFENSE: A -- Two games, 88 yards, a 2.4-yard average. The Steelers did allow two rushing touchdowns of 1 and 3 yards to Baltimore's Willis McGahee, but those came after two pass interference penalties either in or near the end zone gave the Ravens first downs.
SPECIAL TEAMS: B -- Santonio Holmes' 67-yard touchdown return against San Diego tied the game 7-7 and electrified the home crowd after the Chargers jumped out to a quick lead. The Steelers have allowed a punt return of 45 yards and a kickoff return of 63 after showing improvement in both those areas this season. Their punter, Mitch Berger, has continued to do poorly. But kicker Jeff Reed made all three of his field-goal tries, all against Baltimore.
COACHING: C -- Mike Tomlin has made some questionable calls, from fake field goals and punts, going for it on fourth-and-one rather than kicking a field goal and even throwing deep with an 18-point lead and three-minutes left against San Diego rather than running down the clock. It almost seems that they've won in spite of those calls that Tomlin says are merely "aggressive."
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Obama rooting for Steelers in Super Bowl WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama said he's pulling for the Pittsburgh Steelers over the Arizona Cardinals in football's biggest game on Sunday - and he did so with a politician's touch.
Obama said Thursday that he would root for Pittsburgh against the "long-suffering" and "great Cinderella story" Cardinals. His spokesman also said the president would watch the game with members of Congress.
"I have to say, you know, I wish the Cardinals the best," Obama said diplomatically. "You know, Kurt Warner is a great story, and he's closer to my age than anybody else on the field."
Warner, Arizona's 37-year-old quarterback, came out of nowhere about a decade ago to take the St. Louis Rams to two Super Bowls, including a title in 2000. Just when he seemed washed up, Warner rose to the top again this year with a stellar performance. His team was not expected to make the playoffs, let alone get to the title game.
Steelers owner Dan Rooney, a longtime Republican, endorsed Obama's presidential bid and campaigned for him. During Oval Office remarks, Obama noted that one of the Steelers most beloved former players, Franco Harris, had campaigned for him in Pittsburgh, too.
"Other than the (Chicago) Bears," Obama said, "the Steelers are probably the team that's closest to my heart."
Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said the invitation to watch the Super Bowl is part of the new administration's efforts to work across the political aisle, similar to his bipartisan cocktail party Wednesday night at the executive mansion.
"You know, the president also wanted last night to be a little bit more social, you know, so that individuals could better get to know each other and understand where they're coming from in these legislative disagreements," Gibbs told reporters Thursday. "But, again, you know, the president's outreach on this will continue."
During the pregame show, Obama also planned to participate in a live interview on NBC with Matt Lauer.
Vice President Joe Biden, a native of Scranton, Pa., also is cheering for the Steelers. He told CNBC that he's having a Super Bowl party at the vice president's residence "with some of our Republican and Democratic friends."
"I know you're supposed to be one of these guys that says I'm not sure," said Biden. "But I want to make clear, I'm rooting for the Steelers. Go, Mr. Rooney."
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Jeter picks Steelers to win Super Bowl TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Derek Jeter's picking the Pittsburgh Steelers, and it has nothing to do with how good he thinks the AFC champions are.
Sunday, Feb. 1 from Tampa, Fla.
6 p.m. ET (NBC) Steelers vs. Cardinals
"I'm not a football expert, but I'll just take Pittsburgh," said the New York Yankees captain, who lives in Tampa during the offseason and hosted a celebrity golf tournament during Super Bowl week.
Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and retired Steelers running back Jerome Bettis have both supported Jeter's Turn 2 Foundation, so his pick for Sunday's NFL championship game was based on that.
"I pull for guys I know," the Yankees shortstop said.
Former New York Giants linebacker Harry Carson and one-time Chicago Bears defensive star Richard Dent were among the big names participating in Jeter's golf tournament in nearby Wesley Chapel.
Both were part of teams that won Super Bowls.
"My best Super Bowl memory was Super Bowl 21 when Bill Parcells had me walk out for the coin toss by myself," Carson said.
"As I was walking out on the field to the center of the field, John Elway along with about five or six players were walking towards me. That sticks out to me because as that sole, solitary captain I was representing the Giants' organization and representing all of my teammates," he added. "I felt honored."
Dent recalls the Bears beating the Los Angeles Rams in the 1985 NFC championship game more than their lopsided victory over the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.
"The road to get in is the road that you never forget. It's important to take the time and enjoy yourself," said Dent, who picks Arizona to win Sunday.
"I like what I see of the Cardinals. They've got big receivers. You've got a quarterback that's been there a couple times," Dent said. "Obviously Pittsburgh, normally defense wins championships. But I like (Arizona general manager) Rod Graves, a guy who was with me in Chicago, I'd like to see him win a Super Bowl."
Former Yankees and New York Mets outfielder Darryl Strawberry is happy to see Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner back in the title game, saying people underestimated him and his ability to still play at a high level.
"You've got to be happy for a guy like Kurt. He's a wonderful guy, and he does wonderful things," Strawberry said. "To see him in the spotlight again is great."
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Capo, ah could join ya in here ;D ;D
Go Steelers!!!
but it would make one hell of a story if Cardinal pull it off ;)
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wooooooowwwwwww,what a way to end de half.nice runback by harrison 100 yards.reviewin de TD
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halftime 17-7 steelers
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and in some bad news...this years lingerie bowl been cancelled!
http://www.abcactionnews.com/mostpopular/story/Sorry-Lingerie-Bowl-fans-no-game-this-year/hvpDsvD_M0SLP8CG77rdeQ.cspx
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I didn't think the Steelers could cover the spread. That turnover was a dagger. Watching the runback it looked like Arizona shut down.
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I didn't think the Steelers could cover the spread. That turnover was a dagger. Watching the runback it looked like Arizona shut down.
more like shock,they was goin fuh de lead but end up in ah 10ft hole.
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wooooooowwwwwww,what a way to end de half.nice runback by harrison 100 yards.reviewin de TD
i agree. dat was wicked. i must admit i doh understand 3/4 of what goin on in dis game or dis sport for dat matter but it still enjoyable to watch.
half time show lame for me tho
bless!!
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second half setting up nice..
after the first couple steelers' drives, i thought cardinals was in danger of letting the game run away from them but they recover well.
i thought cardinals was going in ahead at the half but that 100 yd return could be the game changer. Longest play in Superbowl history.. Lets see how they respond.
Wake me up when bruce springsteen finish singing that nonsense. watching some barca v santander in the mean time.
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wooooooowwwwwww,what a way to end de half.nice runback by harrison 100 yards.reviewin de TD
i must admit i doh understand 3/4 of what goin on in dis game or dis sport for dat matter bless!!
I does just switch at d end 2 hear who goin Disneyworld.
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that Cardinals man just pull the whole side stones with that stupid play.
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Cardinals putting in one of the worst superbowl performances in a along time.
they really looking like they don't belong.
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Cardinals putting in one of the worst superbowl performances in a along time.
they really looking like they don't belong.
u talk too fast..
the no huddle wukkin.
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woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo hahahaha 2 min warning
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de titanic coulda go tru that gapin hole.
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what a flippin game
it has everything....a safety as result of a penalty in the end zone
:notworthy: Cardinals doin much better than I thought that they would
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Cardinals putting in one of the worst superbowl performances in a along time.
they really looking like they don't belong.
u talk too fast..
the no huddle wukkin.
The defence get them back in it. Kurt Warner does really pray to God because this game should have been over
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TD.steelers
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wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo hahahaha 35 seconds wtf
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UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!!!
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If McNabb had done what Ben just did the Iggles would have been playing today. Ah know I had said his play was not the problem but after further review-he pulled stones.
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Ben had all the time in the world on that final set .
like holmes lebron shake .
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The defence get them back in it. Kurt Warner does really pray to God because this game should have been over
And now it is.
They make Rothlisberger look like a star
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game done 27-23.steelers with they 6th superbowl.
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Omar Epps is the Steelers Coach ???
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i would have to say pittsburgh lucky,arizona played better.
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10 Santonio Holmes for MVP
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I had a prediction riding on this game that Arizona would beat Steelers 27-23..
i sitting here hoping i made a typo on the team names in the email.
go figure..
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Tomlin show the Rooneys that they make the right choice.
Feel it for Wisenhunt, Warner and Fitzgerald though.
The Steelers didn't cover as predicted. Wish I was still gambling.
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Congrats Pittsburgh u goin 2 Disneyworld.
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Wow 32 yrs ,he look like a player wtf .can someone give me a quick snipnet on Tomlin .Was he playing 4 yres ago or somethink ....unbelievable .
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The officiating marred what was a really good game.
The disparity in penalties aside... how in the world did they NOT review that last play??
Madness. The Steelers played well... well enough to win, but at up until 5 mins left the penalties were 3 for 30 yards against Pittsburgh, and 10 for 106 against Arizona, lol Like is only one blasted team was committing penalties in the game.
...but to not review that last fumble call.... bare shittery.
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Wow 32 yrs ,he look like a player wtf .can someone give me a quick snipnet on Tomlin .Was he playing 4 yres ago or somethink ....unbelievable .
Nah.. he never played professionally.
Funny thing is that he played against one of his current players when they were in college :D
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look like kurt arm was going forward to me ,commentators say no .
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Santonio Holmes is omnipresent apparently.
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Santonio Holmes is omnipresent apparently.
...or the Cardinal pass defense invisible, lol.
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i will give the steelers their credit but that last fumble should definitely have been reviewed. are you kidding me? it looked 50-50 at best and no review in the superbowl?
the chance of arizona winning with < 10 seconds less would have been very small but you have to review that play.
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I think it was reviewed actually.
every play in the last 2 minutes get reviewed in the booth automatically.
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I think it was reviewed actually.
every play in the last 2 minutes get reviewed in the booth automatically.
Nah... there are no "automatic" reviews in the NFL. What happens is that inside of 2 mins the coaches lose the ability to challenge and any decision to review must come from a review official upstairs. The play isn't reviewed "in the booth", but rather by the referee on the field. The sum of all of this being that had the play been reviewed McCauley would have announced it to the stadium and TV audience, gone under the hood and then come back out on the field and reveal his decision.
In short the procedure is just as it is with any other review, except it doesn't come by way of the "coach's challenge".
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Omar Epps is the Steelers Coach ???
:devil:
same damn ting i was tinkin
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How come i ent see this!
http://consumerist.com/5144284/porn-interrupts-comcast-super-bowl-broadcast?skyline=true&s=x
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Wow 32 yrs ,he look like a player wtf .can someone give me a quick snipnet on Tomlin .Was he playing 4 yres ago or somethink ....unbelievable .
Posted on Sat, Jan. 31, 2009
Tomlin: In a hurry, in the Super Bowl and not done
ALAN ROBINSON
The Associated Press
TAMPA, Fla. - Mike Tomlin is always going somewhere in a hurry.
No matter the role , childhood sprint king in Newport News, Va., speed reader, honor student, pizza delivery man, star wide receiver at William & Mary, or football coach with planning notebooks that go back to the first day of his first job , Tomlin doesn't know the concept of slowing down.
Not with another paper to write. Pass to catch. "A" to earn. Job to interview for. Practice to run. Player to motivate. Child to raise. Hug to give. Game to win.
Tomlin briefly considered law school after college, mostly because his mother wanted him to, but coaching has consumed him since his playing days ended.
"Coaching is something I was meant to do," Tomlin said Friday.
Tomlin wasn't quite good enough to make the NFL as a player , he had tryouts with the Browns and 49ers , but no colleague who has worked with him the last 13 years is surprised he's made it as the Pittsburgh Steelers' coach.
Made it to the Super Bowl, too, where the 36-year-old Tomlin can become the youngest coach to win it if the Steelers beat the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.
"This is a man who was born to coach. Born to coach," said West Virginia coach Bill Stewart, who gave Tomlin his first sideline job at VMI in 1995. "His players play for him, his players respect him. And he respects them. You knew Mike Tomlin was going places."
When Tomlin accepted that $12,000-a-year job, his new boss knew Tomlin wouldn't spend much time in football's lower echelons. The young man was too polished, detailed, smart, determined , and motivated. Broke, but motivated.
"I was single, I didn't have cable or long-distance calling, so there was nothing else to do other than immerse yourself in the game," said Tomlin, now the married father of three. "I was with a bunch of guys that were like-minded, and we had a great time."
That job lasted one season, and so did the next. Each subsequent job was the same, be it at Memphis or Cincinnati or Arkansas State, the Buccaneers or the Vikings , he was too good to stay very long.
Even if the Steelers win, Tomlin is likely to hear what he's been told throughout his career: This guy has a lot more left to do.
"He's been that guy that's always done it his way," wide receiver Hines Ward said. "He always stayed the course. He really never let anything deter him off that. It's no longer Bill Cowher's team and we're going to do it his way. As players, you respect that. A guy comes in and you want to test him a little bit, but he held his own and here we are, in his second year, in the Super Bowl."
And think about this: Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner is 37, one year older than Tomlin.
Tomlin was offered West Point and Naval Academy appointments after graduating from Denbigh High in Newport News, but wanted to play football; his older brother Ed, was a Maryland captain with former Steelers quarterback Neil O'Donnell. Their father, Ed Sr., played at Hampton Institute and, after being a Colts 10th-round draft pick in 1969, in the CFL.
Mike Tomlin ended his William & Mary career with 101 catches for 2,046 yards and 20 touchdowns, and his name remains in the record books for highest career receptions average at 20.2 yards per catch. After that came the quick succession of college jobs that led from VMI to Tampa Bay's staff in only six years.
Tony Dungy, the former Bucs and Colts coach who became his NFL mentor and close friend, hired him in 2001 from dozens of candidates, saying he was told to grab this on-the-rise coach before someone else did.
Everywhere he went, Tomlin kept detailed notes and still relies upon them. It was this type of detailed organization that led Minnesota to hire him as defensive coordinator in 2006. The Vikings immediately improved from No. 21 to No. 8 in total defense.
Many coaches wouldn't have dared seek a head coaching job so quickly, but Tomlin's success and reputation led the Steelers to interview him following Cowher's resignation in January 2007. Three other NFL jobs were open, and Tomlin told his wife, Kiya, that if he could get an interview with any of the four, he felt he could get hired.
Steelers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt and assistant head coach Russ Grimm were the favorites in Pittsburgh, but Tomlin blew away owner Dan Rooney and team president Art Rooney II in two lengthy interviews. Tomlin showed them detailed plans for the next 12 months, and every phone call with the Rooneys gave them something more to like.
At first, the talk around the league was the Steelers were talking to Tomlin because of the so-called Rooney Rule that requires teams to interview at least one minority candidate for head coach openings.
While Tomlin has said he felt he benefited from the Rooney Rule, Dan Rooney has insisted that's not why he was interviewed; Ron Rivera was on the Steelers' interview list, and he would have satisfied those requirements.
"We had heard about Mike, called him in and talked to him. He was very impressive," Dan Rooney said. "We got him back and talked to him on the phone often and he just showed that he was going to be a terrific coach, which I think is coming to bear. But he was not part of the Rooney Rule."
With the Steelers still looking, Whisenhunt went to Arizona, where, in one of those curious twists of coaching fate, he will be on the opposing sidelines Sunday night. Grimm, the other finalist, went with Whisenhunt after the Steelers chose Tomlin.
Tomlin succeeded a coach who was one season removed from winning a Super Bowl, but the new guy made it clear early on that Cowher wasn't the boss any longer. It didn't matter that Tomlin was younger than some players, hadn't been a head coach on any level and hadn't played in the NFL like Cowher had.
Just as Cowher quickly changed the accepted routine under his predecessor, four-time Super Bowl champion Chuck Noll, Tomlin altered the Cowher way , even after quarterback Ben Roethlisberger urged him during dinner one night to slow down. All-Pro guard Alan Faneca was fined for missing mandatory workouts; when training camp started, there were more practices in pads and more two-a-days than under Cowher.
"Everything was his way," linebacker James Harrison said. "There was no negotiating or anything. We were in full pads hitting and banging until week 15 or 16."
Tomlin never had to win the players' respect, according to All-Pro safety Troy Polamalu , if the Rooneys hired him, he was good enough for them. As an African-American, Tomlin was able to relate to many players in ways a non-minority coach could not, Polamalu said.
"It's really unique in a sense that he's younger and more hip, more GQ than you would see any other coach," Polamalu said. "He's more compassionate, more sympathetic to what we experience as players, being young and being a similar cultural background as a lot of the players as well."
The Steelers got off to a fast start in Tomlin's first year, winning nine of 12, but began wearing down amid injuries and lost four of their final five, including two home-field losses to Jacksonville in as many months , the second of which knocked the Steelers out of the playoffs.
A few months later, he gave a much-praised commencement speech at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa., without a note. His pregame speech to his team Saturday night will be the same.
"I make a conscious effort to wing it," he said Friday.
His players notice he's frequently gotten off script in running them this season, too.
"I think the main thing this year is he's doing a better job of listening to his vets," nose tackle Casey Hampton said. "I think last season he was just feeling guys out and doing his own thing and going with his gut. We feel like he's with us, instead of us just being out there and doing his thing."
Roethlisberger enjoys how Tomlin slaps hands and chest bumps players.
"Coach Cowher was cool, calm and collected around us because he's been around a long time," Roethlisberger said. "Coach Tomlin is giddy like we are. Coach Cowher was more like, 'I've been here before.' It's fun. Nothing against coach Cowher, he was a lot of fun, too, but coach Tomlin seems like he's one of us and is out there having fun like we are."
To Ward, changes that are "like night and day" since last season prove Tomlin is continuing to learn and adapt.
"I pull from all of it on a day-to-day basis , lessons learned from leadership," Tomlin said. "It's about people. It's about taking care of the troops (players). It's about putting them first. I've learned that if you are going to lead, you try to lead with a servant's heart. I try to do that, try to take care of my men and give them what they need to be great."
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Station says porn clip interrupted Super Bowl PHOENIX (AP) - A Tucson television station's broadcast of the Super Bowl on Sunday was interrupted for some viewers by about 10 seconds of pornographic material, the station said.
KVOA TV, the NBC affiliate in Tucson, released a statement saying that the only viewers who were able to see the material were those who receive the channel through Comcast cable.
"Our initial investigation suggests this was an isolated malicious act," Jennifer Khoury, Comcast's vice president for corporate communications, said. "We are conducting a thorough investigation to determine how this happened."
The company says only customers in the Tucson area receiving the standard definition feed - not high definition - were affected.
Comcast has some 80,000 customers in unincorporated portions of Pima County, Marana and Oro Valley, but a company spokeswoman, Kelle Maslyn, declined to say how many standard definition customers there are or how many of those customers may have been watching the game.
KVOA TV said it supported Comcast's effort to find out what occurred. President and general manager Gary Nielsen said its investigation showed the signal left the station with no interruptions or inappropriate material.
"We ask Comcast to provide a full documentation for our viewers who are owed an explanation," he said.
The KVOA statement said the station was dismayed and disappointed that some Comcast customers and their families were subjected to the material.
"When the NBC feed of the Super Bowl was transmitted from KVOA to local cable providers and through over-the-air antennas, there was no pornographic material. KVOA will continue to investigate what happened to our clean signal and make sure our viewers get answers," Nielsen said in the statement.
Comcast spokeswoman Tracy Baumgartner confirmed that the company's standard feed was interrupted during the Super Bowl, although she said its high definition feed was not.
Tucson media outlets reported that they received calls from irate viewers about the pornographic material, which aired just after the Arizona Cardinals' Larry Fitzgerald scored on a long touchdown reception during the final minutes of the game.
Joel Hilander of Tucson told The Associated Press that he and his young children saw the clip.
"I couldn't believe it. And I couldn't believe that my children were watching it either," Hilander said.
In Washington, Federal Communications Commission spokesman David Fiske said he was not aware of any complaints having been filed with the FCC as of Monday afternoon.
"At this point we just have no information," he said. If the agency receives complaints, review procedures will be followed.
"Every case concerning enforcement or indecency is fact-specific," he said, and added, "we can't ever speculate."
Khoury also said it was too soon to discuss a number of unanswered issues, ranging from how and why the incident occurred to what the source was and how the company's security system was breached.
Other questions include whether the interruption could have emanated from any broadcast provided for on-demand customers and whether any employees of the company might face discipline, depending on the investigation's outcome.
Fiske could not say whether the FCC potentially could impose a fine or other disciplinary action.
"It depends on what the facts are," he said.