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Mike Prisuta
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, December 5, 2006
Bill Cowher took a break Monday morning from reviewing video of Sunday's win over Tampa Bay and game-planning for Thursday night's game with Cleveland and indirectly addressed at least one point of contention regarding the profound disappointment that is 5-7.
He still cares.
In discussing a variety of topics, from "negativity" to Ike Taylor's demotion to the performance of Nate Washington to the merits of grass and mud over any artificial surface -- the Steelers coach subtly, yet unmistakably confronted growing sentiment to the contrary that has been percolating throughout what has become a disgruntled Steelers Nation.
The oft-expressed theory among those desperate to identify the reason the Steelers have slipped from Super Bowl champs to also-rans states that Cowher's refusal to clarify his status beyond 2006 is to blame.
He knows he's gone, so he no longer attacks the job with fervor.
He doesn't yell and spit on the sidelines the way he used to when the Steelers were winners, which explains why they've suddenly started losing with such regularity.
The truth is, a number of factors have contributed to the decline and fall of the NFL's defending champions, but the coach failing to publicly state his intentions beyond Dec. 31 isn't one of them.
Are they all as hungry as they were a year ago?
Only the players know for certain.
But to suggest a sense of mailing it in from the top on down has compromised the Steelers' title defense would be as unfair, and as inaccurate as the Steelers losing seven of their first 12 games was unanticipated.
As recently as the Steelers' 27-0 loss on Nov. 26 in Baltimore there was tremendous dedication to the cause apparent to those who were paying close attention to what was taking place.
Free safety Ryan Clark got run over and knocked out of the game, but returned.
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger refused to be removed while in the process of enduring a nine-sack assault.
Tight end Heath Miller flung himself headfirst toward a first down that wasn't about to alter the outcome.
The Steelers' record, likewise, cannot be attributed to coaching indifference.
Practice has been stopped this season when the performance was deemed unsatisfactory.
The final team meeting before the Nov. 12 victory over New Orleans featured Cowher asking selected veterans to address their teammates, a motivational string guard Alan Faneca remembered Cowher pulling on one other occasion in Faneca's nine seasons with the Steelers.
Even this week, Cowher is tweaking the routine in a continued effort to spark a sprint to the finish.
In previous years, Cowher recalled, the Steelers took Monday off on the week of a Thursday confrontation.
"We're 0-3 in those games," Cowher pointed out.
This time, they practiced.
The Steelers also were challenged by their coach to "go out there and keep battling week in and week out and not be deterred by what people are saying or where we are."
That might be interpreted by many as just so much rhetoric, but it's apparent that when speaking about his players that Cowher still speaks from the heart.
"It's a very unselfish team," Cowher said. "They've sacrificed a lot for the team, that's what I like about this group of guys. We've been through a lot. A lot has been said about them and it hasn't unfolded the way we wanted it to unfold, but they keep battling and I'm proud of them."
A guy who didn't care wouldn't be that at 5-7.
Mike Prisuta is a columnist for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
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