Q. Tonight's playoff game will mark the fifth time you've coached the Steelers in what was a third meeting in the playoffs against a division rival. What are some of the characteristics of a third game vs. a division rival?
A. Obviously there's familiarity, but it doesn't necessarily dictate the outcome or the flow of the game. I just think that with each interaction, the plans and the counter-plans get a little bit more complex. And the way that you manage all of that, all of that video that's reflective of who they are and who you are, combined with the times that you've come together creates an awesome mix that makes strategy complex. Oftentimes I describe it as chess, not checkers, and so I'm always excited about being a component of that. But really it's just reflected in how we position our guys to get the job done.
Q. Is being in the playoffs fun, or does that take a back seat to the pressure to perform and win?
A. It is awesome. I think we work 48 or whatever weeks a year for these next 4-to-5 weeks. Professionally speaking, you want to be in the single-elimination tournament. Everybody goes into team development with that mind-set in an effort to be world champions, and so to be a part of that as a competitor – if I had to sum it up in one word, it'd be "fun."
Q. The playoffs in the NFL are single-elimination, do-or-die, there is no tomorrow – pick your cliché. In that kind of a situation, how long can you afford to stick with an individual who isn't playing well before you make a change?
A. It depends on the game, on the flow of the game. If a game is close and it's back-and-forth, I think you have more tolerance for decisions that pertain to those things. If the game is not then you've got to move faster. If time is of the essence, you've got to move faster. But I think close football games afford you an opportunity to display patience.
Q. What do you need from your starting quarterback once the schedule flips from the regular season to the playoffs?
A. More of the same, just intensified. We've got to be careful as leaders, because people get their tenor from us, and so we've got to be ourselves. But we've got to be our best selves. That's how I talk to the quarterback, or the quarterbacks. My job and the quarterbacks' job obviously have some similarities in terms of the attention and responsibility, and that's the mantra I take, and I share that same perspective with them. I expect them to be themselves, but I expect them to be their best selves, because the guys get a feel for that. It's not a time to get new or brand new. It's more of what we've been doing, obviously at a higher level intensity and with better execution.
Q. Does that go for intangibles, too, because intangibles are a big part of the quarterback position?
A. As a matter of fact, that's what I was speaking of. I was speaking of the intangible things, the glue things, the things that brings your unit or the collective together. The encouragement and uplifting of people, the passing of information formally and informally. We just got to be at our best selves, and particularly in those intangible ways, those leadership ways, those glue things.
Q. Are situations like this, games like this, the reason you brought Russell Wilson to Pittsburgh?
A. There's no question, because there's no substitute for life experience. And he's a guy who's been there and done that. And there's value in it, not only for him, but also what he can extend to those that he works with.
Q. Are you going to need a player to be great, or do something great, to win tonight?
A. "Great" is an interesting term that I often talk to the group about. What defines great oftentimes in our business is defined as being really good, consistently. And so it's not about the individuals, it's about the play-making. Everybody in a helmet has an opportunity to pursue and chase greatness and display greatness. But ultimately, what is great in our business is routinely being really good, and I try to make it that black-and-white for them. T.J. is often described as great as an edge rusher. But what does that mean? It means the consistency in which he shows up in big moments. He's good all the time, and particularly when you need him to be, and ultimately I think that's what defines great in our game.
Q. What I was thinking about specifically was Troy Polamalu in the 2008 AFC Championship Game and his pick-6 at the end. That was a great play, and it iced the game and a trip to the Super Bowl.
A. I think oftentimes those moments are born out of people routinely being good. It is a signature moment, if you will. They're deserving of it. It's a culmination of a lot of things, but I don't know that it's something that is pursued. I think doing routine things at a high level positions you for those moments, those defining moments that you get an opportunity to witness. I know when Troy picked that ball off and cut back across that field, and right about the time he went into the end zone, I said, "They'll be playing that the day he goes into Canton." It's cool to be cognizant of those moments when you're watching them, and I've been fortunate enough to be around a lot of those moments over the course of my career. I was an assistant with the Bucs in 2002 when Derrick Brooks picked the ball off and ran it back for a touchdown to seal that Super Bowl. And I felt the same thing as he went into the end zone in that moment. Troy, Derrick, really a lot of similarities in that they were good all the time, and particularly when you needed them to be. And oftentimes the game shines on you and gives you that defining Hall of Fame moment when you're deserving.
Q. In talking about the Ravens defense, you said, "They're using a lot of bogus pressure, and that's a signature of Dean Pees football." What did you mean by "bogus pressure," and what does it look like?
A. Bringing a semblance of pressure without the isolation of the one-on-one opportunities in the secondary that often come with pressure. They'll show you a pressure, say bringing the nickel Marlon Humphrey, and usually that means man-free behind it. Dean will bring Humphrey and drop the opposing defensive end into coverage, and he'll still have seven allocated toward coverage. And so he'll have seven people allocated toward coverage, although it might not be the traditional seven. He can still play a variety of zones and man coverages that encompass non-pressures, and that's why we call it "bogus pressure." It's the appearance of pressure, but with seven people still distributed to cover the passing game, and so it is prudently aggressive. That's been one of the ways they have minimized some of the big plays given up over the second half of the year. If you remember, they were giving up quite a few big plays in their secondary during the front part of the year, and that was because they were in isolated one-on-one football behind regular pressure. The presence of Dean when they brought him in as a senior advisor, and his experience and his schematic approach to ball has minimized some of that one-on-one stuff, and thus reduced the number of splash plays or big plays they've given up.
Q. When facing an offense that has Lamar Jackson at quarterback and Derrick Henry at running back, does the defense have to make a choice to prioritize the minimizing of one or the other?
A. You certainly do. And then in some instances, you've got to be prepared to deal with both. Particularly in his read-option game, Lamar's running skills are unique. They make you play 11-on-11 football. There's a real black-and-white math component to playing a quarterback with that type of mobility. The bottom line is, if you have a free safety in the middle of the field, 15 yards from the line of scrimmage, you're playing 10-on-11. And so that's what I mean that in some instances, you better choose both. You better get that free safety out of the middle of the field and closer to the action, so that when they choose to utilize Lamar in that way, you have the appropriate number of people to match them strategy for strategy. There's not many ways you can cut 10-vs.- 11 to be effective unless somebody's whipping a block and making a tackle. It is basic mathematics.
Q. In football, there is a phrase "making business decisions" regarding defensive players and how they deal with big, powerful running backs. What does that mean, and in watching video of Derrick Henry, do you notice that happening?
A. It's a cute way of saying "turning it down." That is one of the cool industry catch-phrases that simply means people are turning down competition. And there's a fear component that exists certainly. Unique people like Derrick Henry are capable of bringing that out from time to time in some. But I imagine when all the cards are on the table, in environments like single-elimination football, there's not a whole lot of that going on, or even the thought of a whole lot of that going on.
Q. Roquan Smith, Kyle Hamilton, and Marlon Humphrey are the three names that immediately come to mind when the subject is the Ravens defense. But what about their "bigs" on defense? Who among that group is a challenge?
A. I think they really distinguish themselves as a collective, and what I mean is they rush well together. You want to be able to identify No. 92 (Nnamdi Madubuike), because of his reputation and what he's done, particularly in recent years, as an interior rush-man. But when I think about him, I think about the (pass-rush) games, the TE-games he runs with No. 53 (Kyle Van Noy). And so when we were talking about them this week, we respect the fact that they're individually talented, but I think the thing that is unique about them is the way they rush as a collective. They do a nice job of keeping the quarterback in the pocket by playing together. And oftentimes, when you don't have people with big-time resumes, like T.J. Watt and Myles Garrett and guys like them, it's easier for the group to buy into the collective component of the rush. I think that's one of the things they've done a nice job of, and it has made them really effective as a collective. Within that you're going to have guys put up big numbers, like No. 53 has big numbers, No. 99 (Odafe Oweh) has big numbers. But when you look at the video of it, you really respect the collective component of how they work.
Q. Are they a 4-3 front or a 3-4 front?
A. They are multiple, and they've been multiple for 18 years, the length of time that I've been here. They're capable of showing up in four-down linemen postures. They're capable of showing up in three-down postures. They've always been multiple. When you've got hybrid players like Terrell Suggs … is Suggs an outside linebacker or is he a defensive end? I think a lot of us in this business are still trying to figure that out. But when you've got unique people, position-flexible people, you're able to strike that balance, and that is something they've done as nice a job of as anybody in football for a long period of time, in terms of bouncing back and forth between the two structures.
Q. What are you going to need from yourself tonight to leave Baltimore with a victory?
A. I better be willing to display what I ask our guys to display. As the road gets narrow and you get into playoff football, I'm really cognizant of that. It's important that my actions match my words, that they get their tenor from me or the quarterback, those of us who are prescribed leaders within this industry by job title or position. I'm just highly sensitive to that, that my actions are aligned with my words, and that I display the things that I've asked them to display.
