Quotations

«I feel good, ... I just have to continue to see where I am day to day. I'm hoping [to play]. I don't know what the outcome will be. As far as experience, we're kind of limited so I would love to get out there, but I can't go out there and hurt myself and hurt my team.»

«I am close to being three weeks out of surgery so who knows?»

«I have to continue with the rehab and continue with the plan and move on.»

«Those guys are talented but it is all about experience now, ... You saw what they can do. You saw Willie break the long runs and you saw Verron catching passes and picking up blitzes.»

«If he's out there running and doing what he's doing and putting up great numbers and we're winning, without a doubt, leave him in there.»

«You have to understand, we went through the same thing last year. I was out there, I got hurt; Jerome went in and we didn't miss a beat. Here we go again: Willie comes in and we don't miss a beat.»

«I want to play but I'm not going to do anything to hurt the team, ... I'm not going to go out there and not be in good enough condition to play or not going to go out there and still be hurt and play. I'm just going to hurt the team if I did that.»

«You can tell Bussie and I rubbed off on him. One thing about the kid, he listens -- and he's got more speed than we can ever dream of having.»

«I knew pretty much he was going to put me down, but I was close all week.»

«[Four of the 13 Patriots on the injury list didn't make the trip to Pittsburgh and are definitely out of today's game. Cornerbacks Randall Gay and Tyrone Poole , and safety James Sanders will sit with ankle injuries, while receiver Andre' Davis remained home because of an injured foot. Linebacker Tully Banta-Cain (knee) practiced this week, even participating on special teams, and could play for the first time. Reserve tackle Brandon Gorin (thigh) hasn't played and didn't travel to Carolina a week ago, but made the trip here . . . Miller, who banged up his shoulder last week attempting to make a tackle, said he should be OK today. Adam Vinatieri is the emergency punter. He was the kicker and punter at South Dakota State. Vinatieri has two punts to his credit in the NFL, both pooch kicks . . . Steelers safety Troy Polamalu is tied for the league lead in sacks with three. The Steelers blitz often, with players coming from a variety of positions. The Patriots often keep a running back in to pick up blitzes, but tight ends are asked to monitor the blitz and, of course, quarterback Tom Brady and his receivers are charged with exploiting blitzes when they see them. ''They've had a bunch of secondary sacks here in these first couple of games,] Belichick said. ''Even if you blitz a lot out of the secondary, it's still only eight, 10 times a game. There's just not that many opportunities. Polamalu has hit them all. ... Staley told the paper. ''I don't know how much. I can't make that decision, but I'll go out and see where I'm at.»