PITTSBURGH – Steelers coach Bill Cowher apologized yesterday for an angry confrontation Sunday with Cleveland’s Corey Fuller. Cowher also said receiver Hines Ward was wrong for apparently taunting an injured Browns player.
Fuller, a Browns cornerback, and Cowher began jawing during the Steelers’ 15-12 overtime victory after Ward leveled safety Earl Little with a block. Little was carried off the field with a concussion.
Ward, who was not penalized, stood over Little as if proud of his handiwork, and later said, “He was trash talking right there with Corey the whole game. You’ve got to expect you’re going to get it, and he did. He ended up getting knocked out.”
Cowher and Fuller again traded angry words following the game, with Fuller saying Cowher cursed him and challenged him as one player might do another. Cowher is a former NFL linebacker and Browns assistant coach.
Cowher’s exchange with Fuller was heard by players from both teams. Browns linebacker Jamir Miller said Monday, “We’re all professionals here. This is a business. We have a mutual respect for each other. For someone to go off and do all that, especially a head coach, that says a lot.”
The Browns and Steelers end the regular season Jan. 6 in Pittsburgh, so Cowher no doubt was trying to tone down the rhetoric – and stem the flow of bulletin board material – with the apology.
“I would like to apologize for my actions toward Corey Fuller. I apologized to the team after the game. I was wrong and I certainly don’t condone those actions,” Cowher said.
Cowher also acknowledged Ward “very easily could have been and probably should have been” penalized for taunting Little, although he said the NFL office agreed with him that Ward’s block was legal.
“Knowing Hines Ward, he did not mean to stand over the guy and he was wrong for doing that,” Cowher said. “He was not trying to hurt anybody. … We’re all happy he (Little) is fine, and Hines is the first.”
Steelers players had a second consecutive day off yesterday, and Ward was not available for comment.
Ward not only is the Steelers’ leading receiver with 50 catches, he is one of the NFL’s best blockers among receivers.
According to Cowher, Ward’s block on Little was very similar to a block on Fuller that helped spring Amos Zereoue on a 62-yard screen pass.
“You can even see on the film, Corey’s pointing at Hines, saying, ‘See, there he goes again,’ thinking Amos is down. But then Amos breaks it,” Cowher said. “When you make blocks and guys break tackles, it can lead to big plays.
“We want all of our players to play within the rules, but we finish runs and finish plays and that’s how we play the game.”
