On new CB Brandian Ross: "He's a big guy, a physical guy. He's got some coverage skill. He's a guy that, obviously, Reggie [McKenzie] knew about from being there with him. He's a guy that we thought could come in and compete."
On Ross' status this week: "I think we'll have to wait and see how the week plays out. I don't know that right now because today was the first day that he came out to practice. We're going to evaluate that as we go through the week and see where he's at."
On LB Rolando McClain being subject to concussion protocols this week: "Yes, he is. We'll see. He'll go through some of the process tomorrow, and we'll see where he's at tomorrow. He's kind of a day-to-day deal on that."
On if it was something they knew right away: "It was something that we thought might have been the case after the game. It didn't seem like it was a major one. It seemed like a minor deal, so it's kind of precautionary measure to make sure that we're going through the whole process to make sure he's fine."
On if he came out of the game: "I don't believe he came out of the game."
On decision making when fielding punts: "That's the general rule – line up on the ten, and if it's over your head, you let it go. It's one of the things we've talked about. We've got to make good decisions, smart decisions, that will help us as far as the field position game goes."
On status of CB Shawntae Spencer: "We still don't really have an answer to that. He didn't practice today, so we're going to evaluate him as we go throughout the week and see where he's at."
On if he had an MRI: "He did have an MRI."
On if they know more about the injury: "As far as I know, it's a sprained foot."
On preparing for the Steelers: "We've got to be able to come out and play with energy, play with passion. We've got to execute. They're obviously a well-coached team. Mike Tomlin does an outstanding job, he and his coaching staff. It'll be a huge challenge for us. We're going to have to be ready to go on Sunday."
On differences preparing for Pittsburgh this week versus last season with Denver: "There are a few new wrinkles, but there's still a lot of it that's the same things as what they've done in the past. They've been successful. They're not going to make wholesale changes on everything that they're doing. They've got a plan, they've got a philosophy, they've got a way that they go about doing things, and they've been extremely successful doing it."
On if last year's Broncos win against the Steelers helps him this year: "Every year is a new year. We've got to get ready for the Pittsburgh Steelers of 2012."
On the key to getting off the field on third down: "Most of it is covering. We've got to have guys on guys and get a little pressure on Ben, and make him maybe have to throw the ball before he's ready to. They execute very well on third down situations. We're going to have a good plan for how we try to attack them on third down."
On Raiders struggles on third down: "Offensively, we've got to get into a lot of third and manageable situations. We've got to be better on first and second down to get in those manageable third down situations, and then it's just really, at the end of the day, it's execution. Defensively, again, we've got to be closer to receivers and we have to affect the quarterback more."
On decision to run or throw on first and second downs to set up third and manageable: "That can be a part of it. We've got to play the game the way the game dictates. We had some play-action shots that had a chance last week. We do have to get in more manageable third down situations."
On depth at cornerback: "It is what it is. Our deal is that we've got NFL Football players, and we've got to go out and play at a certain level. We hold all of our guys accountable at the same level."
On FS Michael Huff getting reps at corner: "He'll probably get some reps there this week."
On why Huff can play corner: "He's got speed and athleticism. You've got to be able run the play on the edge, and he can certainly do that."
On if they considered moving Huff to corner prior to the season: "No, that wasn't really a consideration."
On sticking with the run game against a historically tough run defense: "We've got to be able to stay with it. We've still got to be able to run the ball. We're going to do whatever the game dictates that we have to do. If it's running the ball 50 times, that's what we'll do. If it dictates throwing the ball, that's what we'll do. Each game plan is going to be different. We'll play each game out as they go. I've got all the confidence in the world in our running game. I've seen it work; it's been successful in this league, and we've got the right personnel to get it done."
On RB Darren McFadden's confidence level: "I think Darren's confidence level is fine. I don't think he's concerned with it. We all want Darren to run for 100 yards in every game, but reality says it's not going to happen. At the end of the year that's when we need to judge and see where we're at in how well we ran the football."
On if they're just a run away from getting run game going: "I think the biggest thing is having consistency in the running game. If you have consistency in the running game, that's where you're going to get the big plays. We've got to be more consistent."
On status of T Khalif Barnes: "He's got a groin, and he didn't practice today. He, like Shawntae Spencer, we are going to evaluate where we're at at the end of the week, and we'll make a decision at the end of the week."
