Saturday, October 25, 2003

By Gerry Dulac, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Hines Ward and Plaxico Burress remain the top pass-catching combination in the AFC. One of the two wide-receiver duos with better numbers in the NFL just happens to be at Heinz Field tomorrow -- Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce of the St. Louis Rams.

The matchup is not exactly Hearns-Hagler.

Not the way the Steelers offense has been performing.

"We can't worry about anyone else right now," Burress said. "We try to compare ourselves to other people and try to outplay them, then our minds aren't focused on what we want to do."

And what the Steelers (2-4) want to do against the Rams (4-2) is re-energize an offense that hasn't been able to run the ball or, all of a sudden, throw it very well, either.

Burress has just six catches for 79 yards in the past two games, Ward has just one touchdown catch in his past five outings and quarterback Tommy Maddox hasn't thrown a touchdown in his past 14 quarters. The passing offense that averaged 276.5 yards in the first four games has combined for just 279 yards passing in the past two outings.

Comparing them to the Rams, who lead the Natonal FootballLeague in pass offense, is like comparing fish sticks to Chilean sea bass.

"To be honest with you, I played six games so far and I feel like I haven't done anything," said Burress, who has 28 catches for 430 yards and one touchdown. "It's just because of the way things are going. I'm happy I'm not beat up or bruised or anything, but I just feel like I haven't really done some things to contribute to my team to help them win.

"Maybe it's because we're 2-4. For some particular reason, I didn't really look at it being like that coming into this season. But things don't always go the way they should."

The Steelers are hoping to rediscover their passing touch against the Rams, who have scored 107 points during their three-game winning streak. But, to do so, they think they need to develop a running game, something that has been nonexistent through six games.

By putting Jerome Bettis back in the starting lineup, replacing Amos Zereoue, the Steelers are hoping to recapture the power ground game that made them among the most feared running teams in the league just a few years ago. That would force teams to go back to stacking eight and nine players near the line of scrimmage against the Steelers, a tactic that should open up the passing lanes.

Right now, teams are laying back in cover-2 and even cover-4, defenses designed to take away the Steelers' passing game. By doing so, they are daring the Steelers to beat them with the run.

Just a few years ago, it was the other way around.

"It kind of started in Kansas City, and we got ourselves in one of those deals where we turned the ball over a couple times and we got behind and it just made it hard for us to come back," Burress said. "We weren't running the ball particularly well at that time. It kind of puts pressure on us to work a little harder to get open and find holes in the zone and cover-2. And it kind of puts a little more pressure on Tommy to find us in all that traffic.

"For the coaches, there's only a handful of plays you can call with those coverages and, after a while, it keeps getting repetitive and repetitive and repetitive. You try to window-dress it or give it a different look, but it's basically the same play from another formation.

"Teams are picking up on it, they're sitting back in zones and not giving us a big play, and just telling us to beat 'em."

Not helping matters is the Steelers' failure to convert third-down opportunities. In their past three games, the Steelers have been successful on just nine of 39 chances on third down, a conversion rate of 23 percent. In their first three games, the Steelers converted 44.6 of their third-down opportunities (21 of 47).

But here's why:

Of the 39 conversion attempts, 15 have been third-and-8 or longer. What's more, nine of those have been longer than third-and-10.

"We've had too many third-and-longs," offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey said.

Because of that, opposing teams are even more likely to drop more players in coverage, making it difficult to find open receivers.

That's why they're hoping Bettis, despite a juggled and ineffective offensive line, can help put the Steelers in more third-and-short situations. Especially against a Rams team that, under former Tampa Bay defensive coordinator Lovie Smith, plays a lot of cover-2 defense.

"They tend to play well on first and second down and they get teams in a lot of third-and-10 and above, and that's when a lot of times you see cover-2," Burress said. "Their defense basically plays off their offense. They have an explosive offense and they can run it up, put 40 points on the board. Why not sit back in cover-2 when you got an offense that is putting up points?"

Ward and Burress have combined for 69 catches -- 12 fewer than Holt and Bruce -- but 53 came in the first four games. In their past outing, also at Heinz Field, the duo combined for just three catches for 74 yards.

"It has to start up front with protection," Burress said. "The guys have to hold them for a little bit longer for routes to develop, maybe four, five, six seconds, because it's third-and-13, third-and-14. It makes it tough on Tommy.

"The quarterback is sitting back there, trying to be patient and not get rattled in the pocket, and it's tough on him. And we got to work a little bit harder to get open. It will kind of help all of us to get into those second-and-6, second-and-7s, but we put ourselves in second-and-11, second-and-12, then teams are going to go to cover-2 because you may pass."

NOTE -- As part of the pregame and halftime ceremonies commemorating the 1,000th game, the Steelers will recognize nine former players from eight different decades, including QB Terry Bradshaw, and Hall of Fame coach Chuck Noll. The players who will participate are OG/DG Carl Nery (1930s), RB "Bullet" Bill Dudley (1940), DB Jack Butler (1950), LB Andy Russel (1960), DE L.C. Greenwood (1970), WR Louis Lipps (1980), LB Greg Lloyd (1990) and C Dermontti Dawson (2000). Also, running backs coach Dick Hoak, who is in his 42nd year with the team as a player and coach, will be honored. Hoak, who has participated in 685 games with the Steelers, Bradshaw and Greenwood will serve as honorary captains for the game.

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