James Farrior Press Conference Transcript Thursday February 3rd Super Bowl XLV
QUOTES FROM PITTSBURGH STEELERS PRESS CONFERENCE
LINEBACKER JAMES FARRIOR
(on the Packers trying to spread them out like other teams have tried to do) “Well the Packers team will be our biggest challenge that we’ve faced all year. They have a great quarterback in Aaron Rodgers, they have a great group of wide receivers and we’re just praying that Coach [Dick] LeBeau comes up with a great game plan like he always does. And we’ve been practicing against teams that have been trying to spread us out and throw the ball up and down the field, so we’re going to have something for them.”
(on certain defensive struggles) “I think more than anything it’s just us not executing our defense as well as we’re supposed to. That’s the main thing going into it. We just have to execute. We all have to be on the same page. We all have to communicate the calls and I think we’ll be fine.”
(on Packers running back John Kuhn and HOF candidates Jerome Bettis and Curtis Martin) “Yes I do remember Kuhn, he’s a very tough guy, he’s a guy that has a high spirit and he’s always a competitor. I followed his season throughout the year and he’s had a pretty good season. And playing with Jerome and Curtis, I think both of those guys deserve to be in the Hall of Fame. Hopefully they’ll both get it.”
(on if the defense’s scheme will change because of Rodgers’ throwing prowess) Not at all. We know they’re going to try to run the ball. I don’t think they can throw the ball every play. We’re definitely going to have to be prepared to stop the run, but we know sometimes the run really sets up the play action pass and we have to be aware of that.”
(on his pregame speeches) “Well the pregame speeches are something I feel, I never really rehearse it, I never really think about what I’m going to say. I just want it to come from the heart. I want it to be original. I just try to get a feel for how the guys are in the locker room and what I need to do to motivate them. I really don’t know what I’m going to say this week. It all comes from the head and it’s a spur of the moment thing. I don’t know what I’m going to say this time.”
(on how he got that role as the speech giver) “I think I inherited it from Joey Porter. He was always the guy in the locker room to do the pregame speech and once he left I was nominated by my teammates. I really didn’t want to do it. I’m not really a big talker so it was kind of tough for me at first but I embraced the role. They wanted me to do it, so here it is now.”
(on Larry Foote) “It’s meant the world to me. What he brings to the team, I don’t think guys really see it out on the field, I think it’s more of what he does in the locker room. He’s a great leader. He’s a funny guy, he’s always the loudest one in the locker room and we all missed that, having him gone last year, so I’m glad to have him back. He’s one of my best friends and we used to call each other, ‘Shake and bake’, so we have, ‘Shake and bake’ back.”
(on his Saturday night ritual) “Saturday night ritual, I don’t really do much. We just go through the team meetings and the guys get together in somebody’s room and we just play a little bit of cards and that’s about it. This Saturday will probably be the same thing.”
(on the Steelers’ tradition of linebackers and the ones here now) “Well definitely I understood the tradition that the Pittsburgh Steelers had at the linebacker spot. I know about all the great linebackers that have come through and you know, when you become a Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker you just want to uphold the standards that they held throughout the years. You just want to try not to let those guys down. You want to try to play at a level that they played at because they were ferocious on the field and those guys really made the defense go. As far as our group of linebackers, I think we have one of the best groups in the NFL right now. Everybody is playing at a high level. We have tremendous athletes. LaMarr Woodley and James Harrison on the outside, those guys do a great job of creating mismatches and wreaking havoc all over the field. And Lawrence Timmons is probably one of the best athletes I’ve ever been around so he’s out there making plays. And I’m the old guy.”
