Every time the subject of pep talks comes up, I immediately think of something from my formative years as a reporter. It involved a Steelers cornerback named Lee; that was his first name and I’ll withhold his last name. Anyhow, at halftime of a game in Houston that the Steelers were losing, Lee decided to give a pep talk to his teammates. Chuck Noll was in one of his first seasons as Steelers coach. In the middle of Lee’s pep talk, Noll tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Lee, sit down and shut up." Noll then turned to his team and said, "This is what we’re gonna do and this is how we’re gonna do it." Joe Greene told me that at that exact moment, he knew Noll was the right guy for the job. Players don’t want a pep talk, they want a plan, and coaches don’t want promises, they want performance.