Chucky's chalk talk

On the Steelers' tradition of defense:

"They have a great coach in Bill Cowher and they've had continuity with his presence there. They've drafted players to fit the 3-4 scheme, from Greg Lloyd, they brought in Kevin Greene to who they have now. They've been able to acquire a nucleus of players that fit the style the Pittsburgh Steelers are looking for. I think over the years they've been able to develop players and when they've been hurt in free agency, they've done a great job of drafting to replenish their talent pool.

"They have a unique scheme. They're very, very aggressive, their disguises are well-orchestrated and they play hard on both sides of the ball."

On the Steelers' pass rush:

"The Falcons were coming off 14 sacks in two games prior to our meeting earlier and here's a team that's hotter than Atlanta, I'll tell you that. They've given up 100 yards in two games combined. I've never seen that, quite honestly, in the last seven or eight years. But they have big-play ability. They thrive on the turnover and the impact play, sacks, negative-yardage plays. Both safeties are great blitzers and negative-yardage men. You've got to account for a lot of people in a game like this because of the multitude of looks.

"First downs and yards have been hard to find. We're still investigating to see if they kept some of the plays off the film. There didn't seem to be anything happening. They're really good. They're physical, explosive, they're committed to playing team defense and they're impressive."

On the Steelers' success at running the football:

"They have a very good offensive line. They make very few mistakes. They're in concert with one another from right tight end to left right end. They do a nice job."