It was only Monday and already the members of the media were turning cranky.
The first question Pittsburgh coach Bill Cowher fielded was where in blazes was quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and why wasn’t he among the players the team made available.
To which Cowher said, in effect, “tough noogies.”
“I’m really not too involved in that,” he said. “I know we tried to limit Ben’s access this week, so I think it was just the way it is. You’ll have plenty of chances to talk to him throughout the course of the week. That was just the way it unfolded.”
Steelers arrive: While the Seahawks came into town Sunday, Cowher chose to bring in his team Monday. The Steelers went through a light workout for about 35 minutes at the Silverdome.
“We worked Thursday-Friday-Saturday and had three good days of work,” Cowher said. “I gave the team Sunday off as a transition day to take care of their families.”
The team will not practice today because of media day. The Steelers’ full workouts will begin Wednesday.
Tribute to Bettis: Twenty-three Steelers practiced in throwback Notre Dame No. 6 jerseys in honor of running back Jerome Bettis, widely expected to retire after Sunday. Bettis is a Detroit native.
“Jerome’s our guy,” nose tackle Casey Hampton said. “It wasn’t even his idea to do it. We support Jerome and we did all we could to get him back and end his career here. That’s the type of team we have. We’re very close. There’s no ‘me guys’ on the team. We all support each other.”
Steelers healthy: Pittsburgh officials reported no injuries. Outside linebacker James Harrison missed playoff games against Indianapolis and Denver because of an ankle sprain, but should play Sunday.
“We are pretty healthy,” Cowher said. “Come Wednesday, we should have everybody working, outside of (defensive tackle) Travis Kirschke (ankle), who will probably be working Thursday.”
Respect for Seahawks: After watching the Seahawks on tape, Cowher said he was impressed.
“They play with great speed,” he said. “You look at it and there’s no question that from the time they break the huddle to the time they snap the ball, there’s an upbeat tempo that they have. We’re going to have to find a way to get a little bit of disruption in there and not give them the big play.”
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