Cowher caps Steelers' camp with warning to the champs

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Steelers coach Bill Cowher wrapped up mini-camp with a warning that what the team accomplished by winning the Super Bowl will be but a memory without the proper approach to training camp.
"The next several weeks are critical," Cowher said Thursday. "They'll need to show the ability to apply self-discipline and sacrifice."
Except for rookies Santonio Holmes and Mike Kudla, the rest of the team is off until they report to St. Vincent College on July 28. The rookies will have a crash course after missing mini-camp because of NCAA regulations.
Although Holmes missed four weeks of coaching sessions, he was perhaps the team's biggest newsmaker this spring. He was arrested in Miami for disorderly conduct during a Memorial Day weekend crackdown by local authorities.
"Whatever he did wrong, I don't think he handled it properly," Cowher said. "I think he'll learn from it and understand the scrutiny he's under. We have not talked face to face about it. I don't have any long-term concerns. He's a very solid individual and I'm not holding that incident against him."
Joey Porter missed the first week of coaching sessions. He underwent minor knee surgery the second week and missed the remainder of spring drills. Cowher said the surgery was "a proactive approach instead of waiting until training camp."
Everyone is expected to be healthy for the start of camp, including Porter, Cowher said.
"I think it was just something we were hoping in time would go away and it just never did," Cowher said of Porter's knee.
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