WR HINES WARD, DEC. 17, 2008
(On if he's looking forward to coming to Tennessee with so much on the line)
I'm not looking forward to it. There's no other way around it. Tennessee has the best record in the NFL and we kind of control our own destiny. It's definitely a big game in the sense of trying to get the easiest path to the Super Bowl with the number one seed and having home field advantage. For us, it's always tough to win a road game and it's something that we've had some success with this year, being a good road team. But Tennessee at the same time is a dominant team.
(On if the past month has been one of the toughest stretches he can remember)
Yeah, my whole career I don't think we've had to go through a stretch of games like we did. This team has shown a lot of resiliency as far as staying together, staying the course and just going out and playing. We're really not looking forward or looking behind. We're just taking it one game at a time and taking that approach.
(On if Cortland Finnegan is a carbon copy of himself as a defensive player)
He's a great player, there's no question. He brings a lot of attitude towards the game and he's a Pro Bowl player, which is well deserved. It's just going to be another matchup, another challenge for us receivers as we step out on the field.
(On how Finnegan has progressed as a coverage corner)
I mean he made the Pro Bowl for a reason and I'm sure the reason wasn't because he was hitting guys and getting penalties. He's definitely had a great year this year and is playing well, him along with Chris Hope. Chris Hope and I are good friends, we text each other all the time so it'll be great seeing him. It's not a big deal going against him because he's a great safety as well.
(On if he was excited to see Chris Hope make his first Pro Bowl)
Yeah, I actually voted for Chris. He's just well deserved. He's played himself out of the shadows of Troy [Polamalu] and all the other guys we had here. He's making a name for himself down in Tennessee and it's definitely well deserved.
(On how much he thinks Hope is looking forward to the matchup)
I know anytime you leave a team and you felt like the team could go down a different avenue, you always look back to try and redeem yourself against the team. He's definitely had a great year. I know he's looking forward to seeing all of the guys because during the offseason we all hang out together and we get a chance to see him. In our opinion, just a great friend.
(On what he misses about Hope in Pittsburgh)
He's definitely a locker room favorite. When there are days when you're too sore or you really don't want to get through practice, he's a big prankster. We always reminisce about him being here or whatnot but one thing about it, when you line up and the whistle blows he's out there ready to play and is going to give it all he's got.
(On what he remembers about the Titans overtime win against the Steelers in 2002)
It was an exciting ball game. It was a great ball game to be a part of, you just hate to see it come down to the wire where the field goal kicker missed the first one and we got a questionable run into the kicker call. But they called it, they moved it up five yards and kicked a field goal. It was disappointing for us because we felt like it was an exciting ball game, you didn't want to see it end like that. As it did, it went down and Tennessee went on to the next round.
(On if he thinks Joe Nedney did an acting job on the penalty)
Yes, of course it was an acting job. You guys know it was an acting job but within the rules, it is what it is. It was something that Dwayne Washington, he couldn't do anything about it. It's part of the rules and we're not going to sit there and gripe about it so he did what he had to do to kick the field goal.
(On how long that loss has stayed with him)
It stayed with me for a while. It was a great ball game. It came down to the wire and fortunately he missed the field goal and Dwayne kind of held up and he flopped. That's what it was. But the ref called it and he went out and made the next kick. You just hate to see a game like that come down to the end like that.
(On if home field advantage is overrated at all)
No, no, no. You definitely want to take the easiest way and there's nothing easy about going on the road and beating a team in their backyard. What we did in '05 and what the Giants did, that was probably something like the first time in history that a five and a six seed went all the way like that. You definitely want to take the easiest path and getting that number one seed, normally you're playing the number six seed and you really have two games at home to try to go to a Super Bowl. You really can't ask for anything more. We would love to have that number one seed to play two games here in Heinz Field for the opportunity to go down to Tampa.
(On if he thinks the Steelers have been under the radar this season)
We don't care about that. That's up to the media people and all them. Earlier this year everyone was talking about a New York-New York Super Bowl. Which is cool, we don't care about the recognition or the publicity or whatnot. We're just going about our business and to have the hardest record in the league, probably nobody even gave us a chance to be here where we're at anyway. So it really doesn't matter, outside our locker room, what people think about us or how they feel. We're just staying together as a team and continuing to stack wins.
(On what he thinks Chris Hope missed about the Steelers)
I just think the comraderie with the players. We're always a close-knit group anyway during the season and the offseason. It's something about being in Tennessee. When you've been here and you were drafted here, your relationships grow and you have some close friends. Then when you move to a different organization you have to rekindle that all over again. But he stays close and in contact. He does my camp, he still goes to different guys camps up here in Pittsburgh. In our opinion, he's still one of us, he's just playing for the Tennessee Titans.
(On if the Titans and Steelers have changed philosophies from throwing the ball around to running it since the last playoff game)
I mean that's the makeup. Every year a team's identity is going to change and that's because of new personnel or whatnot. Definitely, Tennessee's strength is their great defense and the two running backs that they have. So we feel like if our defense can contain those guys and we go down there and control, don't turn the ball over, convert some third downs, maybe we can go down there and steal one in Tennessee.
(On if he feels like the Steelers caught a break with Albert Haynesworth and Kyle Vanden Bosch out)
You know, injuries are a part of football. It's great that they're not playing but that's not to discredit the guys that are going to play this game. Those guys have some high motors and this is their opportunity to make a name for themselves. We're not discrediting those guys that are backups but definitely they're a different ball club not having Haynesworth and the other guy in there as well.
(On what their defense has been doing to contain running backs this season)
Just playing balls out. That's why they're in the top three in all the different categories. People are comparing them to the Steel Curtain defense. For us, we get a chance to go against the number one defense each and every day one-on-one. It's an opportunity for us to go out and get better but at the same time our defense has kept us in a lot of these ball games, the reason why we're 11-3.
(On if they have the best defense since he's been in Pittsburgh)
You look at it in terms of overall talent, probably yes. But when you have Levon Kirkland, Greg Lloyd and all those guys, it's kind of hard to compare those and I don't want to compare people. But overall defense, our defense it solid and to be number one in all those categories speaks volumes about our defense.
(On his thoughts of James Harrison vs. Troy Polamalu as defensive player of the year)
Both of those guys have done tremendous jobs all year. In my opinion, both of them can be co-defensive player of the year because they've had that kind of impact on this game and on our team. I don't see any other defensive guys out there having impacts the way they are. [Albert] Haynesworth is another candidate. It's unfortunate he got hurt but he commands that attention and does wonders for those guys down in Tennessee.
(On if he takes as much pride in his run-blocking abilities as he does in his pass receiving)
I just try to do whatever it takes to win ball games, blocking, catching the ball, whatever. For me, being the most complete wide receiver I can be, that's all I really worry about. It's a great complement to be noticed as one of the better blockers in the NFL at the wideout position but I like to do a lot of things. Whatever it takes to win ball games, that's what I'm going to do.
(On Ben Roethlisberger's toughness)
Yeah, he's a tough quarterback. You can't speak enough about Ben. His play this year statistically probably isn't one of his better years but on great situational football, we're probably up there with anyone else. We're glad to have him on our team.
(On how Justin Hartwig has played since he came to Pittsburgh)
We love him. Like I said, he's one of those guys that each and every Sunday brings his lunch pail to work and gets it done. Having his first year in this offense, trying to really learn, he's done a tremendous job and he's only going to continue to get better.
(On what he feels like Monday morning after a game)
If you don't feel sore then in my opinion you didn't do anything on Sunday. At this stage, later on in the season, everybody is banged up and sore. There's nobody out here that's playing at 100 percent and if you do, I don't know, you must be on something because you shouldn't be feeling 100 percent at this stage. But we're all banged up and coming up in this stretch of games we just play. But we have another tough game against Tennessee down there.
