Two days after the Steelers blew a chance at the end to at least send their game at Cleveland into overtime, Coach Bill Cowher admitted they erred by not trying a fade pass into the end zone to wide receiver Plaxico Burress.
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| | The draw play to Chris Fuamatu-Ma’afala on first down began the much-argued final set of plays inside the Cleveland 10. (Peter Diana, Post-Gazette) |
"Yeah, you sit back and say, 'Boy, you have a guy 6-5, throw it out there to him,' " Cowher said at his weekly news conference yesterday. "Probably, in hindsight, that was discussed, and we probably were wrong in not trying to do that at least once."
Shortly after the game, Cowher had said he had no problem with the play selection.
At first yesterday, Cowher refused to discuss or answer a question about the series of botched plays that led to the Steelers' failure to get a field-goal attempt inside the Cleveland 10-yard line as time elapsed in the Browns' 23-20 victory.
He relented, however, and talked about the "thought process" that went into the coaching staff's decisions once the Steelers called their final timeout with 35 seconds left and first down at the Cleveland 8.
The Steelers ran a draw to Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala, then spiked the ball on second down at the 6 to stop the clock with 14 seconds to go. On third down, Kent Graham dropped back to pass, looking for either Bobby Shaw or Burress on a slant, but was sacked by Cleveland defensive end Courtney Brown and time expired.
Burress and Hines Ward on Monday questioned why the Steelers did not try a fade pass -- a high lob in the corner of the end zone and a relatively safe play. Ward also wondered why they did not try passes instead of a run and spike on the first two downs.
Cowher said throwing three passes was too risky.
"You can say throw the ball three times in the end zone. Yes, that was discussed. Again, when doing that with no timeouts, you possibly increase the option of a sack on a shorter field in that situation where people are sitting on the plays."
So, the Steelers ran on first down, which took 21 seconds off the clock before they could spike it.
"The first play that was called after the timeout was a play we felt gave us the best of both worlds," Cowher explained. "It was a situation, if they blitz us, we throw it; if they stay back, we had a chance to run the football."
The Browns held back, so they ran Fuamatu-Ma'afala for 2 yards. If the Browns had rushed and Graham had thrown incomplete, stopping the clock, they would have called a second play in the huddle.
They still had time to throw passes on second and third down, but Cowher said he did not want to risk a rushed play on second down with so many new and young players on his offense. They preferred to spike it and have some time to huddle and prepare a play.
"With this offense, to be honest with you, the people we have in there, let's talk about it, let's make sure there are no screw-ups. I wanted to make sure with some of the new and young players we had in there, I wanted us to have a chance to know exactly what the play was going to be, that we didn't have any chance at miscommunication."
Cowher said the plan still gave the Steelers two chances to win the game before they would take the tying field goal.
He also explained his thinking to the players.
"I told them Monday ... understand I will always play the game to win. I'm not going to play the game not to lose. In doing that, you're taking risks. And sometimes when you take risks, you're putting a burden of trust in the players to make good decisions. That has to go with them coming together."
Cowher said he understands the frustrations of his players after a loss like that.
"It's real, and we all feel it. And I want them to feel it. I want them to feel the disappointment. I don't want to ever lose that feeling. You don't ever accept losing. You learn to deal with it."
He said he wants his players not to lose sight of the good things they did in Cleveland, coming back from a 14-0 deficit, running the ball effectively and producing the drive that led to those final, fateful plays.
"The bottom line is we fell short," Cowher said. "We didn't get it done. And the buck stop here with the head coach, and it's important everybody understands that. So for me to sit up here and point a finger, I'm not going to do that."
Cowher second-guesses his calls in final seconds of loss 
