Steelers chatter

Some comments from the Steelers side following today's game:

Coach Mike Tomlin
"Obviously, the Patriots were the better team today. They are to be congratulated for that performance. We couldn’t stop them consistently. We couldn’t make critical plays when we had to. Offensively, of course, we couldn’t make critical plays when we had to, particularly in the second half. [Defensively], big plays by their offensive people, who are good and we knew that they were good. But that still doesn’t mean that they should go up and down the field like that on us. We’ve got some work to do, and that is what we just talked about in there. We have a ways to go. If that is the measuring stick, we’re not close. That being said, we’ll roll up our sleeves and go back to work tomorrow."

(on Anthony Smith's guarantee)
"Those comments don’t mean anything. At 4:15, what was said during the week was irrelevant. It is about what you do and how you play. After a performance like that when they beat us up, then yes you can point back to that comment. But, that is a good football team. I doubt that those comments were a motivating factor in terms of how they performed today. They were the better team today. They beat us.

QB Ben Roethlisberger
(on what Tom Brady said to him after the game)
"Oh, just real quick he came up. He kind of surprised me as I was saying something to the defense because I wasn’t expecting him to be there that quick. He just told me that I was doing a good job and that he was proud, and I told him I hope he breaks the record next week, because it’s so much fun watching him play. I don’t like him playing against us and how well he played, but it truly is an honor to watch such a great quarterback play the game."

WR Hines Ward
(on the game)
"You look at it and keep things in perspective. You learn from it. We drove the ball fairly well. We went to no-huddle and they seemed to have a problem with that. We went down to the red zone but didn’t punch it in. We are a good team and usually when we get down the red zone we get touchdowns instead of field goals. Today we didn’t get anything and you can’t do that. Against a team like that you have to execute every time and today we didn’t do that. That was the difference in the game."

OL Willie Colon
(on the game)
"We beat ourselves, to be honest. We did, for the most part, what we had to do. That wasn’t our best performance. They got away with the two gadget plays. It is what it is. They didn’t break our spirit. If we come back we are going to be ready, I know that for sure."

LB Larry Foote
(on Anthony Smith's guarantee)
"The only ones that were fired up about that was the crowd. We play the game between the lines and it doesn’t matter what the guy said. The media doesn’t motivate that. It has nothing to do with guarantees or whatever you say during the week. You have to go out there and run and tackle."