QUOTES FROM PITTSBURGH STEELERS MEDIA DAY
CB IKE TAYLOR
(on what he thinks about the cold weather in Texas) “That was like the first thing I thought. I was like, ‘Man, I’m back in Pittsburgh.’ But I guess they brought the weather with them, the cold weather that is. Just looking at the weather from last week, I’m looking on my iPhone and I see 70, 68 degrees, sunny. So, then as we get closer to coming down here I then see 50, 42, and 38 one day with possible snow. I said, ‘Man, this is something else.’
(on if MikeTomlin’s age helps the team relate more to him) “I don’t know. For his age, he’s’ more intelligent than a lot of people who are probably older than him. He carries himself real well. Of course, he sees a lot of things other people don’t see on and off the field. So, just watching coach and watching him move and how he handles himself, good and bad, has been fun watching him.”
(on if he still deals with anxiety leading up into the Super Bowl considering playing in it before) “We’re human, so we all get anxious regardless of how many times you come. That’s just the nature of the game. To be fortunate enough to be here three times, it never gets old .”
(on if it helps that he has already won the Super Bowl twice) “No question. It looks good on the resume. It looks real good on the resume. Like I said, Flozell Adams has been in Dallas for the longest and never been to the Super Bowl. I told him this in training camp and said, ‘Flo, we’re going to bring you back home,’ and I don’t know if he believed me or not, but we’re here. I’m sure it’s a good and exciting experience for him and the young guys.”
(on what makes Donald Driver hard to cover) “Old, cool, and he knows all the ins and outs. Regardless of how tight you are to him, he always seems to get open. Him and his quarterback have a good connection, so that makes it hard on anybody regardless of how close you are.”
(on Driver stating that he looks forward to the physicality that Taylor brings to the game) “No question. Everybody brings something different to the table. Every receiver brings something different. Every defensive back brings something different. It’s a game of chess when you’re out there as a corner and you’re out there playing wide receiver, so it’s going to be fun come Sunday.”
(on his thoughts about Greg Jennings) “He’s’ a beast. That young guy is a stud, he’s a beast. I don’t know if he made the Pro Bowl this year or not, but just from the last three years he’s been playing at Pro Bowl caliber and is that type of receiver. He’s always making big plays for them, especially during clutch times, and that’s what he does.”
(on Pittsburgh’s defensive approach against Green Bay compared to Chicago’s) “Well, we run two different defenses. It’s kind of hard to stop Aaron Rogers and the receivers that they have. I feel like you can try to control them but you can’t stop them. That’s just like trying to stop Michael Jordan. You can try to contain him, you know he’s going to get is 20; or you don’t know if he’s going to get his 27 or 35, but you know for sure he’s going to get his 20. That’s much like the Packers’ offense. You know they’re going to score points, you just have to try to minimize and try to put your offense in the best position because they have a great offense.”
(on his impressions of the Cowboys Stadium) “I call it ‘Jerryville.’ That’s what I call it, Jerryville. He’s a promoter, one of a kind. Just coming in here and looking around here seeing what he’s done to this stadium is great. I heard a lot about it and to finally get a chance to just come here and just see what he had done to this Dallas stadium is a good feeling. It’s real nice.”
(on whether he expected to play New England in the AFC Championship Game) “Once we’re in the tournament, we’re in the tournament. It doesn’t matter who we play. That’s just how we think. It’s been that way since I’ve been here. We just needed to get in the tournament regardless of who we play.”
(on whether playing on turf or grass affects Green Bay’s offense) “These boys are going to put up points regardless whether they’re on grass or turf. They’re going to put their points up. For a defensive player you can’t sit and look at the score. You just have to play football. Like I said about their offense, you knew Michael Jordan was going to put up points but you just didn’t know how many. It’s the same thing with the Green Bay Packers. You know they’re going to put up points; you just don’t know how many. From a defensive standpoint, you just have to try to do the best you can.”
(on how he stays focused with all of the distractions going on like media day) “You don’t want to be that guy. Like Coach Tomlin always says, you don’t want to be that guy especially during this time. Especially with a lot of media around. You don’t want to do anything to hurt the team or burden the team. We’re just trying to stay focused. Like I said, this never gets old. Being here for the third time around, a lot of people don’t even have the chance to get here once. Three times, I’m truly blessed.”
(on if he views the Steelers as the standard in the AFC now) “Coach Tomlin always says the standard is the standard, and that’s Steelers football. So, regardless of what anybody else says, we feel like anytime we get a chance get in the tournament (meaning the playoffs) we’ll make a statement.”
(on if him playing on a championship caliber team adds value to him as a player) “I don’t even want to talk about it. I’m going to leave that up to the offseason. Right now, I’m just going to focus on this Super Bowl game.”
(on what effects his upcoming free agency may have on the team) “Only time will tell. For right now, I’m with Pittsburgh. We have a game coming Sunday and I’m going to lock in on this game.”
(on the key to Pittsburgh’s success in the last four years) “Family. Just like guys coming from other teams, they’re so much a part of this. Flozell Adams came in and he was like, ‘I didn’t even know offensive linemen hang out with DB’s; I didn’t even know you guys were like this.’ It was like a shell shock. He said that it was like day and night. That’s just the kind of group of guys we have. Nobody has egos, everybody leaves their egos at the front door. Once we walk into that building, it’s’ all about one goal.”
(on playing against Aaron Rodgers) “I like when he does that champion move thing. He’s got swag. I like him. I saw on ESPN last night that he plays the guitar, too. I always thought that it would be cool to play the guitar and I don’t know how to play it. Maybe Aaron (Rodgers) can probably offer me some lessons if he wants to. So if you’re watching this, Aaron (Rodgers), after the game or whenever you have time in the offseason, show me a few tunes on that guitar.”
(on what is his favorite part about playing football as a cornerback) “The love. If I wasn’t playing football, I don’t what else I’d be doing. I’ve always wanted to do this. I’m definitely living the dream. For sure it’ll have to come to an end but for now I’m enjoying myself.”
(on people who would attribute the Steelers’ weakness to the cornerbacks and what he would say to them ) “I have two Super Bowls, we were number one in ’08 in pass defense, we’ve been the top 10 in pass defense since I’ve been here except for this year we were number twelve. Why is it that every time we have to receive the fault on the secondary when all we do is keep winning. All we do is win. Two Super Bowls in five years. We’re working on getting three. Just to be put in this situation and every time the secondary gets talked about. It’s probably because we don’t have the big plays or the interceptions but it’s cool. As long as we keep winning you all will have to get the picture. You all will definitely have to get the picture.”
(on how much he looked back on the game from last year against Green Bay as a way to change up their game plan against Rodgers) “I watched a few tapes for a couple of hours. We can’t worry about everything that Green Bay does because Green Bay isn’t going to worry about everything that we do. We just got to go out and execute the defense.”
(on why were the Steelers able to come out and beat the Jets early in the AFC Championship game ) “I think the NFL says it best, it’s a win or go home situation. It’s a win or go home situation. So, we felt like we didn’t want to go home that game. We were one game away from being in the big game so we came out hard.”
(on if he felt like the Steelers intimidated the Jets in that game) “To be honest, I don’t even pay attention to our opponents. I just focus on what we need to do in executing the play.”
(on if he thinks Rex Ryan talks too much) “I like Coach Rex Ryan. Like I said, Coach Rex Ryan has swag. I like him for sure. He says a lot that probably a normal coach wouldn’t say but that’s how he feels about his team. He has a lot of confidence and that’s how his guys play.”
