PITTSBURGH — Steelers coach Bill Cowher wrapped up the team's offseason workouts Thursday by warning that the team's Super Bowl victory will be but a memory without the proper approach to training camp.

"The next several weeks are critical," Cowher said. "They'll need to show the ability to apply self-discipline and sacrifice."

Except for rookies Santonio Holmes and Mike Kudla, the Steelers are off until they report to camp at St. Vincent College on July 28. The rookies will have a crash course on the team's system after missing the voluntary coaching sessions that started last month because of NCAA regulations.

Although Holmes missed four weeks of the 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 sat out the first week of coaching sessions, then underwent minor knee surgery the second week and missed the remainder of the 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.

Cowher said he likes how quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has emerged as the leader of the offense as he enters his third season as a starter.

"He's a lot more comfortable right now than he's ever been in this offense," Cowher said. "He not only understands what he has to do, he understands where everybody else should be as well."

With training camp now only about six weeks away, Cowher said his team needs to remain focused on the season ahead.

"I don't like losing," Cowher said. "You develop a distaste for failure and I think that drives you more than wanting to be recognized for your success. So I think it's a football team that's been driven by not wanting to lose more than anything."