Quotations

«I'm giving Jerome the day off; he'll come back next week, ... He's been doing great. I try to do it periodically. I think where he is in his career I have to be pretty smart about it. He looks like he's in pretty good shape right now. He's in pretty good form. He's been through a few training camps, I think he'll be fine.»

«Yeah, we went into the gym to save their legs, and James hurt his knee, ... But I think he'll be back out here tomorrow.»

«There's an outside chance he (Bettis) will play in the first game.»

«We don't ask people to run differently, ... Runners are runners. I never try to curtail a runner. Our offense has got enough plays that within the running play a ball carrier has a chance to express his ability. I think Willie has gotten more comfortable with the plays we've run. He's had a chance to watch some pretty good backs in front of him be patient on certain plays, hit it on certain plays. I think he's earned this opportunity if indeed Jerome can't go. I'm not concerned; I'm rather excited.»

«[If Mike Logan was on the proverbial bubble heading into Thursday night's game at Carolina, he might have jumped right off thanks to a stellar performance. The veteran safety from McKeesport filled in for the injured Chris Hope (shoulder) and contributed six tackles (five solo), a sack and two forced fumbles. The effort likely put a stamp on Logan surviving final cuts. Logan, who played in only five games last season due to a hamstring injury, looks as though he's returning to the form that helped him amass 96 tackles in 2003.] Mike Logan is a football player, ... He may make a couple of mistakes, but somewhere along the line, you'll feel his presence on the field.»

«Would I have liked to see us be more in sync in the passing game? Yes, ... And that's the one thing I come out of the preseason saying: 'I wish we would have done better.' But we are where we are. That's really the only true element I'm concerned or worried about.»

«When you game plan, there are certain elements that you prepare for, certain things that you want to do. Certain plays will complement other plays, ... You're always going to have complementary plays that set up other plays. It's a pretty dramatic difference from that point. ... There's a lot more focus on what you're trying to do.»

«Joey has a much better chance of playing than Duce, ... We'll assess Duce as the week goes on.»

«They still do some of the things they've done in the past, but I'm sure they're holding back some things as well, ... That's the unknown you've got to expect going into the first game.»

«Like anything else, it will grow with time and as we continue to go through ups and downs. I'm always there for him, and he'll always know how I feel. We have a very trusting relationship.»