Home >  Sports >  Steelers

Tuesday, June 10, 2003

By Ed Bouchette, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

The Steelers' first-round draft choice hasn't practiced in two weeks because of an injury, but Coach Bill Cowher isn't worried ... yet.

	Safety Troy Polamalu, the Steelers' first-round draft pick, is a spectator at minicamp because of a hamstring injury. "I don't want it to be lingering," he said. "I could practice now and suffer throughout the whole season, or I could sit on it now." (Matt Freed, Post-Gazette)

"I'm not going to sit there and be that concerned until we get into training camp, and I know he is getting better," Cowher said yesterday.

Safety Troy Polamalu has spent a lot of time watching practices since the second day of the second week of the team's monthlong minicamp that ends Thursday. He has a strained hamstring muscle that also plagued him at Southern California last season.

"This is in a different spot," Polamalu said. "I don't want it to be lingering. I could practice now and suffer throughout the whole season, or I could sit on it now."

Polamalu ran a little with the defensive backs early in practice yesterday. He likely won't practice the rest of minicamp.

"He has done a little more this week," Cowher said. "I think we'll just deal with it. Hopefully, he will be in camp on time. We'll get the contract ironed out and we'll go from there."

Another safety, Mike Logan, has not practiced because of a knee surgery at the end of last season.

"We're going to err on the side of caution, given this time of year," Cowher said.

With those two out, Chris Hope has been playing both safety positions.

Bruener still here

Tight end Mark Bruener continues to practice, and the longer he stays, the more it seems he will be kept on the team. The Steelers might ask him to take a salary reduction, but so far no one has talked to him or his agent about it. Bruener is scheduled to make a $2,050,000 salary this year.

"We still have to make some decisions," Cowher said in response to a question about Bruener. "We still have to get down to a number for training camp. I just like where our football team is right now."

Cowher said he is happy how Bruener's knee has healed from microfracture surgery after an injury ended his season Dec. 1.

"It's good to see and it's something that has been monitored."

The Steelers can take 81 of their 84 players to training camp, one over the limit because they have a one-man roster exemption for a NFL Europe player. They also have three unsigned rookies.

Who's first?

Is it Jerome Bettis and Amos Zereoue or Zereoue and then Bettis?

"I don't think I have any preconceived thoughts going in," Cowher said about his top two halfbacks. "I think it's going to be a case of who is playing the best and trying to go with that. ... How it unfolds is going to have a lot to do with how they play."

The Steelers also have Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala and Verron Haynes at the position.

"Verron is a guy who can play fullback and halfback, and it's his second year in the system," Cowher said. "He is going to be a lot more comfortable and be able to give us something on third down as well.

"Fu is in the mix as well. You can never have enough good, quality backs, and we have that right now."