Wednesday, February 6, 2002
|
Cowher back again When an NFL head coach is still working the week after the Super Bowl, it means he came close but didn't make it to the big game.
Pittsburgh's coach is experiencing the
Pro Bowl firsthand for the third timeBy Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.comBut Pro Bowl duty in Hawaii isn't too tough. It can lighten up even Bill Cowher, who is here as the AFC coach for the third time as a consolation prize for losing the conference championship game.
If he's bitter, he hides it well. The guy with the propensity to intensity and Dick Tracy jawline was all friendly smiles yesterday at the Ihilani Resort.
Even a question about his Pittsburgh Steelers' latest missed opportunity didn't bother Cowher too much. He admitted that watching the New England Patriots upset the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI was painful. But in the end, he couldn't help admiring the Pats and their team concept.
"It does hurt. It's one of those things that hurts because of all the hard work," Cowher said. "But the New England franchise had a great run. They came into our place and won (the AFC championship game), so they deserved it."
For the Steelers' Kordell Stewart, here to play quarterback for the AFC in Saturday's game at Aloha Stadium, the wounds were still too raw for him to view the Super Bowl in its entirety.
"I didn't watch too much of it. I caught the last couple drives. They won it and deserved it," Stewart said. "Sometimes you just have to roll with the punches and go with it. It was kind of a bittersweet year. I think we can deal with it. We'll have our chances next year."
The Oakland Raiders felt like they should have been the conference representatives in New Orleans, too. If not for a controversial call in their playoff loss to the Patriots, the Raiders might have played the Steelers in the AFC final.
"It was difficult to watch (the Super Bowl)," said the Raiders' Rich Gannon, another quarterback here for Saturday's game. "When a team beats you the way they beat us and then wins the Super Bowl, you can't help but wonder what you might have done. This was two years in a row (of disappointing playoff losses) for us. Hopefully things will work out for the Raiders next year."
The Patriots representatives were scheduled to arrive last night, after a parade in Boston yesterday celebrating the franchise's first win in three tries in the ultimate football game.
The NFL is known for blatant imitation of success. The rest of the league's teams now will try to see what they can take from the Patriots' winning recipe.
The first thing they need to do is figure out exactly how New England won. Although defense and special teams are mentioned often, there is no real consensus.
"The Patriots were not great in any one aspect, except special teams," said Mike Golic, a former NFL defensive tackle now with ESPN. "But they were very good in all aspects. Their offense is efficient and their defense is very opportunistic."
Golic said the league is in a phase where good defense will win games, especially big ones. The Baltimore Ravens started the trend last year, and the Patriots continued it.
"Now it's back to like when the Bears had the 46," he said, referring to the havoc-wreaking defense that dominated the league in 1985, culminating with a blowout of the Patriots in Super Bowl XX.
"The Patriots (this year) put themselves in position to force turnovers. Being a defensive guy, of course I love that we're in the defensive cycle," Golic added. "Even offensive players are saying it's about defense now."
Jets' Pro Bowl center Kevin Mawae agreed.
"The last couple years have shown how hard it is to get deep into the postseason without a strong defense," he said. "The Raiders went a long way without a lot of offense last year. This year all the Patriots did was hang on and let the defense set up the offense. You have to have a balanced team."
Cowher tries not to buy into radical trends or knee-jerk analyses. "You say that (defense dominates), but you've got to remember the Rams are a team with a lot of offensive explosiveness and they made it to the Super Bowl two of the last three years and won one of them," he said. "Everyone's talking about New England's defense. But you also have to look at what they did in the last minute and twenty seconds on offense. Their defense was great, but you have to be able to score when you need it."
Still, Cowher knows better than most it's a league of cycles and trends. Cowher grimacing in the snow in January, Cowher smiling in the sunshine in February.
He doesn't mind the smiling part, but one of these years he'd like to do it in a Pittsburgh victory parade.
PRO BOWL SCHEDULE
Today
9 a.m.: NFC practice at Ihilani Resort (not open to the public)
10 a.m.: AFC practice at Aloha Stadium
11 a.m.: DirecTV Legends Beach Bowl, Hilton Hawaiian Village/Fort DeRussy, free admission
Tomorrow
9 a.m.: NFC practice at Ihilani Resort (not open to the public)
10 a.m.: AFC practice at Aloha Stadium
Noon: Hall of Fame inductees press conference, Fort DeRussy, Topps NFL Experience tent
Noon to 9 p.m.: Topps NFL Experience, Fort DeRussy
1 p.m.: Pro Bowl Beach Bowling Bash, Hilton Hawaiian Village Lagoon
2 p.m.: Cheerleading and dance competition, Topps NFL Experience, Fort DeRussy, (tickets available at the gate)
7-9 p.m.: Pro Bowl Hawaii Night, Fort DeRussy
The game
Saturday, 11:30 a.m.
Source: NFL.com