Bengals
Bengals HC Zac Taylor spoke about the team’s improvement in the running game ahead of their matchup with the Bears in Week 9, in which they struggled once again.
“I think you guys have heard me talk a million times. Getting that first down allows us to get into a flow, and we’ve done a much better job of that these last couple of weeks,” Taylor said, via Bengals.com. “We got a chance to give the run game some opportunity there. And, sometimes people are so hellbent on taking away our receivers, it opens up a great opportunity, and our guys have done a good job maximizing that and we’ll have to keep that up.”
Taylor added that the offensive linemen took things to heart when he suggested that they all needed to work hard in order to improve.
“They’ve worked really hard at it. Even when we weren’t, really, statistically, on the tape having a great deal of success, we still believed we were right there,” Taylor said. “We’ve had two young guards that have been playing in there, and they’re only going to get better with every rep they take. We’ve been mixing in people in that room and … they have a lot of confidence right now. Sometimes you just get into a rhythm and things start to click, and you find a little bit of your identity in the run game.”
Steelers
- Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers says that CB Jalen Ramsey rallied the team with a speech on Saturday night ahead of their win over the Colts. Rodgers noted that he felt “something change” after Ramsey’s speech. (Farabaugh)
- Steelers CB Joey Porter Jr. on the win: “This was a statement game for us. As a defense, we didn’t like what we put out on film the last two weeks. We had to come out and make a point, and I think we did today.” (Pryor)
Steelers
Steelers LB Malik Harrison is happy to be back after being placed on injured reserve following the team’s Week 1 win over the Jets.
“I feel good, feel back normal,” said Harrison, via the team website. “It doesn’t hurt anymore. Just ready to get back out there. I’m happy to be out there. Last week was my first practice. I felt good out there this week. I feel even better. I had to build my confidence back up. I think when I first was running, I wasn’t that confident. But once I got back out there and playing football, I got confident.”
“I’ve been in the league for six years, so I’ve got a lot of experience, on the special teams side especially,” Harrison continued. “Even in the meeting rooms this whole time I’ve been out, I’ve been giving advice to guys, especially talking to the young guys, telling them what I see and things like that. That’s what they brought me here for. I’m a physical guy. I feel like I can stop the run. That’s what I came here for.”
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