Head coach Pat Shurmur met with the media for the final time during the year 2011 on Friday. He talked a little bit about Tony Pashos' injury, whether Colt McCoy will be on the sidelines for Sunday's game, if the defensive strategy for Ben Roethlisberger changes if he has a gimpy ankle, and more. [Read full press conference transcript here]
(On is Pashos just has the stomach flu)- "He’s having a stomach issue and it appears like it’s going to be hard for him to make it this week."
(On if Pashos has something worse than the flu)- "It’s not the flu. I didn’t say it was the flu. Who said it was the flu? He’s just dealing with some stomach issues that’s all."
(On if Pashos has appendicitis)- "No."
(On McCoy hoping he could contribute in some way on Sunday and how disappointed he was when he told him he was out)- "We haven’t talked about the final deal yet, but I’m sure he’s wishing that he could be out there. It looks like he’s not going to be."
(On if McCoy can be on the sideline and not be in uniform)- "We’ll have to talk about that. There are reasons why I’ll leave guys that aren’t playing on the sideline and there are reasons why they’re not there. Each situation is different."
(On if McCoy will be traveling with the team)- "It’s a home game. It’s been a long year, huh (joking)."
(On if the approach to facing Ben Roethlisberger changes at all if he’s gimpy on his ankle)- "I don’t think so. I think you have to prepare for the Steelers offense and then we just know the added value that he brings. You can get home, but you’ve got to knock him down. He’s very difficult and we understand that we have to stay in coverage longer because he could break a tackle and keep the play alive. We know what he is as a player, but regardless of who the quarterback is you’ve got to prepare for their offense."
(On if there’s any excitement to getting his first full offseason with the team)- "I think the one thing that’s a little bit reassuring for me is I can visualize what the offseason is going to look like. Last year, we were just waiting so there was some uncertainty and uneasiness with that. This year, I’ve got it all planned out down to the day already, all the way through the summer time. From me, I like to be able to do that and that will allow me to direct us the right way."
(On what’s going to happen next week)- "It’s very structured what we do typically on Monday, starting Sunday and Monday. Everything from exit physicals to conversations with the group to conversations with them individually and then giving them a heads up on what they can expect in the offseason. It’s very structured and a lot of that will happen on Monday."