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Steelers exude confidence, unity
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By Joe Bendel
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Former Washington Redskins safety Ryan Clark needed all of 15 seconds to understand why the Steelers are the defending Super Bowl champions.
"The camaraderie here is incredible," Clark said at the conclusion of Steelers minicamp. "You can see why they were able to overcome tough times. They're all friends. It's a real team."
Moments after Clark made his comments, wideout Nate Washington and cornerback Bryant McFadden were on the other side of the locker room jawing back and forth while playing a game of garbage-can basketball.
Meanwhile, quarterback Charlie Batch joined a gaggle of reporters and began asking strong safety Troy Polamalu questions while using his cell phone as a tape recorder.
Then, there was running back Verron Haynes, who stuck his head between linebackers Joey Porter and Larry Foote and made a statement that elicited loud laughter.
"We enjoy being around each other," Porter said. "All good teams do."
At the outset of minicamp, there were concerns that the retirement of Jerome Bettis might leave an irreplaceable void in the locker room. But by Day 3, things were getting back to normal.
The chemistry appeared to be intact.
Ditto for the lightheartedness and unity.
"Guys are going to step up," wideout Hines Ward said. "Trust me."
Of course, time will tell how things play out during the 14 voluntary workouts that begin today, training camp in late July and August and the season opener against the Miami Dolphins on Sept. 7 at Heinz Field.
As coach Bill Cowher likes to say, the Steelers must recapture the mindset that helped them overcome a 7-5 start and win eight consecutive games, including three playoff contests on the road, en route to their first Super Bowl championship in 26 years.
"We became a desperate team, a more focused and disciplined team, and that's the urgency in which we prepared," Cowher said. "We played that way, but we prepared that way. That's the thing that you have to take with you from the very beginning. Again, it starts at training camp.
It sets the tone for an entire season, in Cowher's estimation.
"It's not something you can turn on and turn off," Cowher said. "You play like you practice, in mind, and practice like you think. The most important thing now is for us to have the right approach when we go out there, have great veteran leadership, which I think we'll get. They set the tone, and everybody else will follow that lead. We'll push each other, we'll compete with each other, and we'll also play with each other. This group knows how to walk that line. It's a very fine line to walk."
Rookie wideout Santonio Holmes, a first-round draft pick who participated in minicamp but will miss the voluntary workouts, needed little time with the Steelers to discover how championship-level teams conduct themselves.
He observed the work ethic and professionalism of Ward and tight end Heath Miller. He also had several conversations with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who is emerging as a leader in the locker room.
"Everybody around here was willing to help; that's an important thing," Holmes said. "Guys were here for business, but you can see they enjoy being around each other. The focus is already here. Everybody wants to win another Super Bowl. I really like the environment, because you know expectations are high and everybody's going to work to meet them. Now I know why they won it all last year."
