Q: WR Lance Long is a guy that doesn’t fit the typical WR prototype. What do you like about him?

MATT CASSEL: “He works tremendously hard. He’s out there every single day, he stays after practice and he gives 110 percent. He’s always working on something and he’s coachable and he’s extremely tough. There’s not a lot that you don’t like about him.”

Q: Do you appreciate that he’s taken kind of an unusual route, he has a different story?

CASSEL: “There’s no doubt. Lance has had to work for everything he’s got. Through his hard work it’s paid off and now he’s playing and he’s doing a great job for us. I definitely appreciate that coming from the background that I did, and the more you’re in the NFL, the more you meet people on a daily basis that have an amazing story on how they got here and he’s definitely one of them.”

Q: Are the comparisons between Long and New England WR Wes Welker fair?

CASSEL: “I think it’s unfair right now at this point, to be completely honest. I think he’s a slot receiver and he’s trying to find his identity and he’s doing a great job for us right now, but Wes Welker has been doing it for a long time and he’s a Pro Bowl receiver. To make those comparisons is kind of unfair to Lance right now in his career.”

Q: How has this offense changed at WR with Dwayne Bowe not being here?

CASSEL: “It gives these other guys an opportunity to step up. Unfortunately, we’d love to have Dwayne here, but he’s not going to be here the next four weeks. These guys have been working hard all year and it just gives them another opportunity to step up and show that they can make plays and help this offense.”

Q: Coach (Todd Haley) has talked about heading into this week that the WR corps was starting to get some consistency and starting to make some plays. Did you see that as well?

CASSEL: “I did, you know. I think that Dwayne and I gained some confidence and we started to build a good relationship and some rapport on the field. He had some great plays last week. Like I said, am I going to miss him? Of course I am, but at the same time, it gives these other guys an opportunity to step up and step into that role and hopefully fulfill that roll.”

Q: You’re facing the number two-ranked defense in the NFL this week. Pittsburgh has always been known for their defense, how do are they able to consistently play that style of defense and be good year-in and year-out?

CASSEL: “I think that they have a lot of veteran players on that team that have played together for a long period of time and I think they all know the scheme, they’re very sound in what they do, their coverages – they all know where they’re supposed to go. Their spot-drops are perfect. It’s consistently a great defense year-in and year-out because of a number of reasons, not only because of the players that they have, but they know how to play within that system.”

Q: Do you have to force them to loosen up a little bit on the line of scrimmage and to open up some running lanes?

CASSEL: “You’ve got to try to run the ball on them. You can’t be one-dimensional against a team like this because you become one-dimensional and they’ll kill you. So we have to have a balanced attack and we also have to capitalize on the big plays when they give us opportunities because they’re not going to give us many, but when they do, we have to try to make some.”

Q: How much easier will your life be Sunday with S Troy Polamalu not playing?

CASSEL: “Troy is a great player, he really is. I went to college with him. He’s obviously had a great professional career. He’s a special, special player. The guy that fills in for him, I believe it’s number 23, S Tyrone Carter, is that right, he has a similar style of play and he’s a good player as well. Within that system itself, not having Troy out there, I don’t know how much that would help or hurt us. I don’t mind that he’s not playing, at the same time, you never like to see somebody out because of injury.”

Q: Do they mix things up defensively about as well as anybody else that you’ve seen or will see?

CASSEL: “There’s no doubt. Within their scheme and how they disguise, they do an outstanding job of giving you different looks, giving you different blitz zones, split safety, post safety, so they do an outstanding job of that.”

Q: Going into this game with guys like LB James Harrison and LB Lamarr Woodley on defense, do you do anything differently to prepare to be successful in the passing game?

CASSEL: “You don’t prepare differently. You just work, you put together a game plan and you try and execute that game plan and try to get the ball out as quickly as you can and try to eliminate the sacks.”

Q: You saw this defense last year (with New England), what was your reaction when that game was over? How do you work your way through it with all they do it, and then they throw new stuff at you, is it all mental?

CASSEL: “As a QB, this is definitely one of the toughest teams that you have to prepare for because of all the looks and the different personnel groups. You really just have to hone in and concentrate and everybody has to be on their game in order to beat this team. From an offensive standpoint you have to make big plays, like I said, you have to be able to take advantage of those opportunities.”

Q: Of the defenses you’ve faced, is this the toughest to prepare for?

CASSEL: “You know it’s up there. Mentally it’s up there. They have to be one of the top two or three in the NFL.”

Q: You had a 100-yard rusher last week; does it take some pressure off you a little bit or give you confidence that you can get a running game going?

CASSEL: “There’s no doubt. I thought RB Jamaal (Charles) did a great job last week. All the RBs did a great job last week but Jamaal had some great runs, made some amazing cuts out there and got some extra yards when it looked a little bleak at first. He continues to work hard and he’s a guy that can help us, there’s no doubt. Hopefully we continue to get good performances out of him and that will take some pressure off us in the pass game.”

Q: Is he a guy that could have a major impact on the offense because of how quick and explosive he is every time he touches the ball?

CASSEL: “I believe so. He does such a great job when he gets the ball in his hands about making plays and making that one guy miss. Like you saw on that sweep pass, he has that big-play ability where makes one guy miss and now he can go the distance. That’s something that we’re excited about.”