On the Pittsburgh Steelers:

"They are very balanced. They have some big times receivers in (Santonio) Holmes, (Nate) Washington who's come on in the last few weeks and always Hines Ward who is one of the tough possession receivers who's been around for a long time. They have a good tight end in Heath (Miller) and Big Ben (Roethlisberger) although he's been banged up has had a pretty good year. I think their passing game, unlike the traditional Pittsburgh team, is like a 50/50 product of what they produce from week to week."

On whether he is worried about the Steelers' run game:

"Without question, (Mewelde) Moore has done a great job for a young back and has been averaging five yards a carry. Willie Parker, we know, we played against him in the past, he's a great back and will be coming back in. He's averaging four yards a carry even though he's missed some time, He will come back with some fresh legs and give them a one-two punch in the run game. We have to be at the top of our game and compete at a high level to have a chance to do big things on Monday, but it's a huge challenge and it's up to us to be up to the task."

On the teams' status midway through the season:

"We have to be able to focus this week and the next eight weeks to give ourselves the chance to make it to the playoffs. Regardless of what happened in the past we are only at halftime. We are only at the halfway mark of the season and we have so much more to go."

On the magnitude of the game against the Steelers on Monday night:

"This game Monday night is huge. A big game, great opponent at home and our offense understands the challenge. Our offense is going to face a number one defense in the league that's very stingy with points and that gets after the quarterback and pressures them. We have to stand up, be the big brother and do what our offense has done for us all year, stand tall and help alleviate the pressure off them."

On how much the team needs a bye week:

"We are tired and we're a very beat up football team at this point in time, which is why we need to take a deep breath and make one more push before the bye."