Transcripts of conference calls by Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin and WR Jerricho Cotchery with Jets reporters on Wednesday afternoon:
STEELERS HEAD COACH MIKE TOMLIN
On his impressions of the Jets after Week 1…
I thought they complemented themselves very well in all three phases. What I mean is, the offense capitalized on short fields, of course. They did a nice job of putting points on the board, not field goals but touchdowns. The special teams came through with a big play. I just thought it was a good representation of a quality effort in all three phases of the football team.
On Mark Sanchez…
We didn't play those guys last year, so I don't really have a fresh recollection of how he played recently. I thought he did a nice job. The things I think about when I think about him are his accuracy and mobility, not only in terms of when plays break down but designed pocket movement. I thought he did a nice job.
On what he's expecting to see from Tim Tebow on Sunday…
I don't necessarily have the answer to that. That's something that they control, from a playcalling standpoint. I know that we'd better be prepared for more than what I saw him do in the game on Sunday. That wasn't very different from what was done in Miami with the likes of Pat White, Ronnie Brown or others. Obviously, he's a capable passer. That's an element of it that we need to be prepared for.
On the health of his offensive line…
We're optimistic about all of those guys being full participants. We have yet to practice this week. Of course, that will ultimately determine the availability. We are comfortable with what we've seen from them to this point in terms of counting them in.
On if the Jets safeties' play makes them a more physical team…
Again, that was some time ago. I'll just kind of speak to what I've seen from them in the last week and the preseason. I think they're a strong group. I think specifically [LaRon] Landry brings an awesome demeanor to a defense, a guy that plays the ball the way he plays, relentlessly, a guy who plays hard and is very physical and aggressive. I think he's a great addition to them. I think personalities like his, from a football standpoint, bleed over to others. I think it's an inspiring thing.
On if their approach to pressure Tebow will change from last year's playoff game at Denver…
Our approach changes, among other things, with the playcaller. There are a million different things between being the starting quarterback for an outfit and a package guy, like he is right now. What we did in that game was to address an issue of a guy that was taking a snap from center on every play. Obviously, our approach is probably going to be a little bit different in regards to how we deal with him this time around.
On how the no-huddle changes the offense…
It allows us to change the pace of the game at our whim, if you will. Ben [Roethlisberger] has done a nice job over the years of administrating it. It's an awesome change of pace for us and it produced some points and helped us put some drives together in the last game. It's just a component of what we do.
On if he is handling Roethlisberger differently with the presence of OC Todd Haley…
It's just how we desire to play football. It's not anything directly related to Ben or what we desire Ben to do. It's really just a function of how we want to move the football as an offense. We desire to include all of the eligibles. We desire to be as balanced as we can be. It's probably a function of those things more than anything else.
On if they will spend less time in practice preparing for the Wildcat…
The Wildcat is not as obscure as it once was about three, four, five years ago. You have to be prepared for it at least once a month over the course of a football season. At least that's kind of been our experience over the last two or three years. It's not as big of an undertaking, at least from a preparation standpoint, as it once was. It doesn't mean that you won't be effective, of course, stopping it. Just the process of preparing yourself to play it is not as difficult as it once was, just because you get exposed to it more often than you did say four or five years ago.
On the improvement of the Jets secondary…
Again, I'm not trying to say that they've improved or haven't improved. I know that they're a really good group. I know it starts with Darrelle Revis, of course, the best in the world at what he does. It's not only him, though. I have a great big deal of respect for [Antonio] Cromartie. I think [Kyle] Wilson has established himself now as a veteran presence in the slot and what he's capable of doing. The addition of a guy like Landry, of course, is a personality thing. No question, that's a strong group.
STEELERS WR JERRICHO COTCHERY
On life in Pittsburgh…
Life is great. Life is great out here, man. I can't complain at all.
On playing the Jets this week…
It's a little weird. I'm used to starting my week off every week when we start taking our notes on opposing defenses, I write the team's name, the opponents' name that we're playing, at the top of my page. This week I was writing down the Jets. It is a little weird. We're just looking forward to getting back out there after the loss on Sunday and getting back out on the field.
On if the defense is different since he played for the Jets…
We're seeing some of the same stuff with Rex [Ryan] and the way he calls it, guys all over the place. I think the presence at safety that [LaRon] Landry is, that's something I really haven't seen. He's a physical presence. You have to find him and it's been a while. He's an excellent player and he's making a lot of plays for the defense.
On if he was close to coming back to the Jets last spring…
I wouldn't necessarily say it was close. Yes, I did talk to the Jets. But at the end of the day, Pittsburgh really wanted me back here. It's a place I wanted to come back to. I don't think any team would've come between that at that time. It's just a great atmosphere here. Once you're a part of this atmosphere, it's hard to go somewhere else. That's just the type of atmosphere it is. I wanted to come back and they really wanted me back, so we found a way to get it done.
On if it was tough the way things ended with the Jets…
It was tough in the beginning. I have a family that you have to uproot. New Jersey is home for me now, so moving to an entirely new city, meeting new people, that's a tough thing. It's tough more so on my family. Being able to adjust to a different locker room isn't tough at all because if you play in the league long enough, you meet different guys in different places, you know a lot of guys around the league. But family-wise it was tough because of the transition.
On if he has any regrets about the way things ended with the Jets…
Well, everyone wants to finish their career out with the team that drafted them, but that's something that really doesn't happen that much. You get a few guys that it happened to, but it really doesn't happen. I don't have any statistics or anything, but I feel like it doesn't happen that often. The reality of it, I don't think anyone really knows everything that transpired between myself and the Jets, so everything there is just between us. There isn't anything to look back on and really say "I really regret it" or anything.
On how the atmosphere at Pittsburgh is different from the atmosphere at the Jets…
I really don't want to get into comparisons. I just know that I had a lot of great teammates over the years when I was with the Jets. Starting from day one, me and Chad Pennington and Curtis Martin and I know Kevin Mawae and all of those guys until the day I left. Guys like Brad Smith and many other guys, Brandon Moore, true leaders that you knew had your back when you stepped out on the field. I had many friends and still do have many friends over there, so I don't really want to compare any of those guys to the atmosphere of these guys over here.
I just know that over here it's run like a family business. The Rooney family, they really take care of their players and everyone is held to a high standard. They put you back in line when you don't hold up to those standards. It's just a great family atmosphere. The guys like going to work with one another and they really lay it on the line once we get out on the field.
On how well his family has adjusted to the move…
They've adjusted pretty well. This is our second season here. This year we were able to spend more time because I came over in camp last year and this year I've had the offseason. But most of my time was in Jersey. They're adjusting pretty well, it's not new to them now. I have three kids. I had one kid in 2010. I'm at three kids now. They're adjusting pretty well. My wife, it's not hard for her to meet new people. Everything is going well right now.
On if he was surprised with the way the Jets ended their season last year…
Well, as far as personality-wise, I don't want to say that caused the problems or whatever. I think anytime you're losing games, it's hard to fight that urge to blame someone. It's just the natural tendency to blame someone when times get hard. So obviously, that urge was at fault. I really don't know all that went into it, but I just know that anytime you're losing ballgames like that, you always have the urge to blame someone.
On how much the defense will plan for Tebow…
I'm not sure. We're very familiar with him now after that playoff game. I'm not sure how we're going to approach it. We have a bunch of veteran guys that prepare the way they need to prepare, so I'm pretty sure they'll do what's necessary to be ready for the game.
On if he thought Tebow's performance in the playoffs was stunning…
It wasn't stunning to me. It wasn't because he's a good football player. That's what good football players do, they find a way to make plays. No matter how hard you critique the throwing motion or the throwing accuracy or whatever it is, when the game's on the line and when you continue to put the ball in a good football player's hands, he's going to find a way to make a play. That was the story of his year last year. They put the ball in his hands and he made a lot of plays for the team and they won some games that put them in the playoffs.
On losing to Pittsburgh in the 2010 AFC Championship Game when he was a Jet.…
That was a tough loss. I thought we would have come out with more emotion and played with a little more sense of urgency in that game. Pittsburgh came out with more energy and more passion than what that team did back in the AFC Championship. That was a tough loss. It's still something you have to live with the rest of your life. The guys over here give me a lot of grief about that, every time that AFC Championship Game comes up.
On being the oldest player in a group of young receivers… Offensively, we're still growing. We have a lot of playmakers. We're still getting that developed. I'm obviously the older guy in the group right now. They didn't bring me back to be chaperone. They brought me back to help this team accomplish the ultimate goal and that's to win the Super Bowl. I have a lot of experience I can help the younger guys with and I will share that experience with them on and off the field. That's what I've been doing and hopefully they can benefit from it.
