After escaping with a week one victory over the Cleveland Browns, the Pittsburgh Steelers will already be back on the field tomorrow night in Baltimore to take on the Ravens. On Monday Mike Tomlin gave his weekly press conference, in which he commented on the Browns win, injuries for Thursday, and about playing the Ravens. NPC’s Kim Myers gave an overview of the presser in Tomlin Tuesday. Yesterday both Dick LeBeau and Todd Haley gave quick interviews about how their unit is looking and what they expect come Thursday night.
Todd Haley started off his interview by talking about the offense during the Browns game. Haley was very pleased with the 27 point first half, however in the second half he explained the team could never find the same rhythm. Haley blamed penalties, field position, situations, and lack of execution as the main reasons for the Steelers three-point second half. He also commented that they need to improve and have to attempt to put together a full game in order to be a successful offense.
Haley was then asked about the Ravens defense, which has a lot of new faces compared to the days of Ray Lewis and Ed Reed. Haley was quick to mention that Baltimore still has a lot of talented players on defense that you’d rather not have to go against. He mentioned Terrell Suggs, Haloti Ngata, and Elvis Dumervil as some of the veteran Ravens that are always a tough matchup. He also credited the Ravens for infusing a lot of young talent into the defense.
Finally Haley talked about the Steelers/Ravens rivalry.
"“I’ve been in the league 20 years and been part of some great rivalries. Chicago/Green Bay, Dallas/Giants, Dallas/Washington. This one is not close. The intensity level is totally different.” -Haley"
Dick LeBeau faced questions about the Steelers second half performance against the Browns, preparing on a short week, and the Ravens offense. As for the short week to prepare, LeBeau simply stated that the Steelers have the same amount of time to get ready as the Ravens do.
In the second half when the Steelers let the Browns score 24 points, LeBeau said that communication was a “big Issue” for the defense. He also claimed the defense got a little bit rattled while facing the Browns hurry-up offense. LeBeau said that the younger players on defense had never faced an up-tempo offense like that so it was a bit of a learning process. He was pleased that the defense seemed to settle down in the fourth quarter allowing the Steelers to get the victory.
LeBeau gave the Ravens offense plenty of compliments when talking about all their talent. He said the Ravens have a very good offense due to their good collection of skill players and great quarterback. LeBeau expects to see the Ravens use a hurry-up offense on Thursday but he explained that defense in the NFL is relatively simple.
"“You have to do the same thing every week in the National Football League. You have to keep some pressure on the quarterback and you have to keep solid coverage on the big play wide receivers and good tight ends.” -LeBeau"
You can listen to Haley’s interview here and LeBeau’s here