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Saturday, January 18, 2003

Some might say a column of refreshing Steelers notes to mark the end of the season would be the lazy way out. Yet studies show that this type of enterprise attracts more readers than your average one-topic column. Survey says: Give the people what they want.

Free-agent cornerback Dre Bly of St. Louis should be first on the Steelers' shopping list. The Steelers' philosophy has traditionally been to wait for the second wave of free agency, then search for bargains. That shouldn't hold here. The Steelers have plenty of second-rate corners. They need a legitimate cover guy. Bly is only 5 feet 9, but he'd be a considerable upgrade from what the Steelers have now. Bly won't be a cut-rate signing. But you get what you pay for.

The Steelers should consider giving safety Chris Hope a bigger role. Hope, a third-round pick in this past draft, played a very competitive level of college ball at Florida State. He has enough talent and pedigree to compete for a starting job.

Anyone who thinks the Steelers should ditch the 3-4 defense and go to a 4-3 should consider this: In a nutshell, that means benching James Farrior for Rodney Bailey. Bad move. The Steelers' defensive backs were the problem this season. And there's four on the field whether you're in a 3-4 or a 4-3. Given the Steelers' penchant for (over)using the dime, they're rarely in a straight 3-4 anyway.

If the Steelers have a better secondary next season and if Kendrell Bell stays healthy, Jason Gildon will return to his old self as a pass-rusher.

When Bill Cowher "let slip" the possibility that the Steelers might cut Jerome Bettis, the media jumped on it. But when Cowher referred to tight end Jerame Tuman as a starter, no one debated whether that might be bad news for Mark Bruener. Is it? Bruener missed the stretch run of each of the past two seasons with injuries. If the Steelers' offense keeps moving toward the West Coast side of the street, the Steelers might see Tuman as a better receiving option. But Bruener can catch the ball. He just hasn't been asked to do so for years.

If anyone can come up with one good reason to keep Bettis at a $2.75 million salary next year, you have one more reason than I do.

If Chris Fuamatu Ma'afala could stay healthy for more than 15 minutes, he would be my choice to replace Bettis. But since that seems unlikely, Amos Zereoue gets the nod. He just has to learn to minimize his big losses. Zereoue puts the Steelers in far too many second-and-13 situations.

No matter where Bettis plays next season, he has got a tough decision to make. His battered legs would benefit from carrying less weight. But if Bettis dropped a few pounds, he might not punish the defense the way he needs to. Bettis is listed at 255 pounds. My advice: Try playing at 240. The current way isn't working.

I would love to see the Steelers keep left tackle Wayne Gandy, the least replaceable of their free agents. But they shouldn't splash cash on Gandy at the expense of shoring up the secondary. If Gandy leaves, the Steelers could move Marvel Smith to left tackle, a position Smith prefers, then put Oliver Ross at right tackle. The Steelers can get by with that line. They can't get by with their current secondary.

Tommy Maddox should be the Steelers' No. 1 quarterback. But he doesn't guarantee that the Steelers eventually will get to the Super Bowl. Cutting Kor-dell Stewart makes sense. But the Steelers will be weaker at quarterback once he officially leaves. Some say Charlie Batch will go to another team and get a chance to start. But where were those teams last year? Here's predicting Batch returns as the No. 2 behind Maddox.

Aside from the emergence of Antwaan Randle El as a return threat, the Steelers' special teams really didn't get much better this season.

I'm not a fan of offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey's penchant for overusing trick plays, but give him credit: He wasn't afraid to use them in crucial situations in the playoffs. It looks as if Mularkey will stay for another season, and that's good for the Steelers and Mularkey. Under Mularkey, the Steelers' offense will step up more next campaign. Then he will get a plum head coaching position instead of being compelled to jump onto a sinking ship.

Here's some surprising fallout from last Saturday: Steelers coaches, players and fans largely have refrained from using the running-into-the-kicker penalty on Dewayne Washington as an excuse for losing. Which is as it should be. It was the right call. And the Steelers had plenty of chances to win long before Washington's mistake and Joe Nedney's acting combined to give Nedney his reprieve.

In hockey, a penalty should be a penalty regardless of time, score and/or situation. Given my long-held belief in that department, I can't complain that the referees -- not the players -- decided the game last Saturday. You know when the officials really decide games? When they ignore infractions.

I don't believe that football's overtime format should be changed. If you lose the coin toss, so what? There's no rule that says you can't make a big play on defense.