Quotes of the Year

• "When he first got here, it was kind of iffy because we were kind of questioning things he was doing compared to coach Cowher. Coach Tomlin instilled in us that we're going to be a disciplined football team, and it's going to go his way and nobody's going to cross him.... I think guys were kind of cursing it at first but now I think a lot of these guys realize what he has his hands on, and they respect him for it. It's definitely a totally different story now from when he first got here."
  - Nate Washington on Mike Tomlin's first two years as Steelers head coach.
  
  
• "It's ok for them to go beat up on our guys and knock Mendenhall out for the year and brag about it. But, somebody hits them, oh, it's big noise."
  - Hines Ward on the hypocrite Ravens being upset because of the hard hits Ward had inflicted on them.
  
  
• "To go out and talk publicly about it is about as foolish a thing as I've every heard.... It's one of those 'don't ask, don't tell' things."
  - Former Baltimore coach The Genius, on Terrell Suggs' public revelation that the Ravens had a bounty on certain Steelers players. Apparently it would have been ok as long as Suggs had kept his mouth shut, which says all you need to know about why Baltimore became a team of thugs under his leadership.
  
  
• "I've never seen something like that before in that situation, with the game on the line, guys pulling him to the ground and he throws it 20 yards downfield, on the money."
  - Jacksonville QB David Garrard on Ben Roethlisberger, after Roethlisberger made a brilliant 4th quarter play to beat the Jaguars in week 5.
  
  
• "Ugh... this is NOT the mark of a championship football team."
  - Me, expressing my frustration after the Steelers dropped two straight home games in the middle of the season, both of which they were leading in the 4th quarter.
  
  
• "They tell me he's so young that he won't remember any of it, but his mom and dad will remember it the rest of their lives."
  - Aaron Smith on the gut-wrenching chemo treatment his 5-year old son Elijah has had to endure since being diagnosed with leukemia in October.
  
  
• "That would be okay if you were a horse with four legs, but since you only have two, that is 100% of your hamstrings in trouble."
  - Tony Kornheiser on Mitch Berger's punting woes and related hamstring injuries during the Steelers-Redskins Monday Night Football broadcast.
  
  
• "Who called the timeout? [smirking] YOU called the timeout?!"
  - Dallas QB Tony Romo to the Steelers defense after Pittsburgh called a timeout in the final two minutes of regulation in their week 14 game against the Cowboys. Deshea Townsend picked off Romo on the next play and returned it for the game-winning touchdown.
  
  
• "I played with a quarterback who was more talented than Ben Roethlisberger: Jeff George."
  - ESPN's Chris Carter, completely destroying any credibility that he ever had as a football analyst.
  
  
• "I think I kept spitting for 24 hours. I kept brushing my teeth. To have another man spit in your mouth like that, it was gross."
  - Mitch Berger, after Baltimore's Frank Walker classlessly spit in his face when the Steelers got the go-ahead touchdown and PAT in week 15.
  
  
• "Every morning when I come to work, I walk past five Lombardi's, not five rushing titles. The issue is winning."
  - Mike Tomlin, on his reaction to FWP's criticism of the Steelers offense. Parker complained that the team had abandoned the running game and were no longer playing "Steeler football".
  
  
• "It was like stomping on the baby Jesus."
  - A Steelers fan in one of those absurd "man on the street" interviews on a local newscast massively overreacting to the stomping of the Terrible Towel by various Titans players.
  
  
• "Teammates Pretty Sure Ben Roethlisberger Can No Longer Remember Their Names"
  - A headline in The Onion for a hilarious fake story making light of Ben's concussions.
  
  
• "We especially love [the Steelers'] video montage of greatest hits using Renegade as the music bed as they hammer opposing team members carrying the ball. That's one video I don't mind not appearing in."
  - Tommy Shaw of Styx, on the Heinz Field Renegade phenomenon.
  
  
• "On behalf of the Steelers Nation, I've decided to remove the word 'Ravens' from my name just like the Steelers will remove them from the AFC Championship."
  - Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, who filled out an official petition to change his name to "Luke Steelerstahl" for the week of the AFC title game. The petition was never filed by the city court.
  
  
• "A lot of guys were pretty upset about that."
  - James Farrior on rookie Limas Sweed obviously faking an injury and costing the team a much-needed timeout after he dropped a sure touchdown pass in the AFC Championship Game.
  
  
• "I'm going to say this very calm: every time you take your best freaking middle linebacker out of the middle, where do they go? Pittsburgh do this ALL the time! I've been playing them for 13 years!! When you avoid the middle, they go into the middle - it's never changed!"
  - The Murderer to his coaches on the sidelines during the AFC Championship Game after the Steelers had taken a 13-0 lead by apparently going over the middle a lot.
  
  
• "Down on the corner, out in the street / Willy and the Poorboys are playin' / Bring a nickel, tap your feet!"
  - Lyrics to the snappy Creedence Clearwater Revival song Down on the Corner, which was inappropriately blared on the Heinz Field PA system as Ravens RB Willis McGahee lay motionless on the field with what appeared to be a serious neck injury.
  
  
• "Here's my advice to the Arizona Cardinals: Don't rush Ben Roethlisberger. That makes him a playground football player, and he's a damn good one."
  - Baltimore defensive lineman Trevor Pryce, after Roethlisberger torched the Ravens in the AFC title game.
  
  
• "We love you too!"
  - Numerous fans in the Heinz Field stands after Mike Tomlin accepted the AFC Championship trophy by turning to the crowd and saying, "I absolutely love you guys."