Monday, August 11, 2003

By Ed Bouchette, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

All was not lost for the Steelers in their 26-13 beating at the hands of the Lions in Detroit Saturday. Their punter, returning from an injury, and their kicker performed well. They have a rookie halfback on the verge of becoming the best sleeper at his position since Jack "Hydroplane" Deloplaine made his big splash in the summer of '76.

	Steelers linebacker James Farrior stops Lions back James Stewart for no gain. (Peter Diana, Post-Gazette) Click photo for larger image. More photos from Preseason Game One: Aug. 9 Steelers at Detroit Lions

They also did something they had more trouble doing than anything last season. They played well on pass defense. Even though the Steelers lost inside Ford Field Saturday, Coach Bill Cowher found a cloud with silver lining floating above his ballclub.

The first team of the slightly retooled pass defense played well enough in their only quarter on the field to earn a commendation.

"They did a pretty good job," Cowher said. "We held them on some third-and-longs; they converted one, I think."

Third-and-long was something the defense could not stop last season. The Steelers ranked third from the bottom in the AFC by yielding 43.6 percent conversions when their opponents faced third downs in 2002.

Many of them weren't the usual third-and-3 either. It was as if offenses retreated just so they could get in those tempting third-and-20 situations. Take the Steelers' memorable 34-34 tie with the Falcons, in which they blew a 17-point fourth-quarter lead in a game when Tommy Maddox and Plaxico Burress shattered team passing and receiving records.

The Falcons converted two third downs on one second-half series when they needed 22 yards and 23 yards. In the fourth quarter, they converted a third-and-24. The Steelers broke all kinds of unofficial records for giving up the most third-and-20s in one game.

"You may give up one a season," Cowher

groaned after that game, "but we gave up three in one game, three in one half!"

Cowher and his coordinator, Tim Lewis, put their heads together in the off-season to find a solution. They came up with safety Troy Polamalu in the draft and a nickel defense, while letting strong safety Lee Flowers pursue his career elsewhere. Before he left, Flowers said he no longer fit into what the Steelers were trying to do on defense.

After one exhibition game, at least that defensive showing in the first quarter was something the Steelers could take back to Latrobe and feel good about it.

The Lions did not score against the Steelers' first-team defense. Detroit's only score during that time was a safety after the Lions sacked Maddox in the end zone.

The Steelers' No. 1 defense held the Lions to 53 yards on 16 plays, an average of just 3.3 yards per play, in that first quarter. The average for all NFL teams last season was 5.2. Detroit averaged 4.7 last season and the only team under 4 was expansion Houston, which averaged 3.8 a play.

Detroit quarterback Joey Harrington completed 5 of 10 passes for 35 yards against the Steelers' first-team defense, and the Lions converted only 1 of 4 third downs in that quarter.

"We did pretty well, considering it was the first game," defensive end Aaron Smith said. "They moved the ball a little bit on us, but we stopped them when we needed to. I'm sure there's plenty of things -- when we see the film -- we'll have to work on to get better. But for the first game, playing a lot of reps we did, I think we played pretty well."

Lewis was happy with the early results from a long off-season of self-scouting and brain storming.

"They played pretty solid," Lewis said. "They did a nice job, they got off the field on third downs, stopped the running game, kept the quarterback in the pocket."

Lewis mixed up the nickel and dime defenses Saturday, and linebacker Kendrell Bell came away better for the experience. As the new right rush end in the dime, Bell did not touch the quarterback, but he did pick up some things.

"The first series, I was getting my feet up under me in a game situation," Bell said. "We did a lot of inside stunts, so I didn't get a chance to get up the field."

Bell was held often by the tackle, but that's something he'll get every week.

"I actually backed him into the quarterback once and I was about to go under," Bell said, "but coach preached 'contain,' so I had to stay on my outside."

Chad Scott, playing a position that came under the most heat for last year's decline in pass defense, made some good breaks on the ball in Detroit.

"He's in a good frame of mind right now," Lewis said. "He's grasped the defense. He mentioned he'll be more focused this year and not lose his concentration, and it's apparent by what he's doing."

NOTES -- Punter Josh Miller, activated off the physically unable to perform list last week, averaged 52.7 yards on three punts in Detroit. His season ended prematurely in 2002 when he had shoulder surgery, then he had his knee scoped when the meniscus was damaged while he was punting two weeks before camp began. ... Kicker Jeff Reed boomed two kickoffs into the end zone that were not returned and made both of his field-goal tries, from 25 and 43 yards. ... Rookie halfback Dante Brown's only carry of the game was enough for the Steelers' only touchdown and made him the team's leading rusher, with 38 yards. ... The Steelers had off yesterday. They have two practices today, the second at 3 p.m. open to the public.

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