Thursday, September 19, 2002
Embarrassed Steelers try to rebound from 0-2 start
By ALAN ROBINSON
AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH — As the embarrassed Pittsburgh Steelers returned to practice Wednesday following a second straight loss they found difficult to explain and even harder to comprehend, defensive back Lee Flowers made a suggestion.
Maybe, he said, the Steelers shouldn't pick up another newspaper or magazine, flip on another NFL talk show or log onto another Web site all season.
For all the Steelers' problems so far in controlling the spread offenses of New England and Oakland, he said, perhaps an even bigger mistake was believing all the hype spread about them throughout the preseason.
“It was like a lot of guys said, here we are going into the season and there's this hoopla around us,” Flowers said. “I think we got too caught up in all of that ... people saying the Steelers are the favorites. We need to calm down and relax and play football. Until we do that, you're going to see games 30-14, 30-17.
“We've just to start playing the game.”
Even if they can't do that this week — the Steelers (0-2) are off Sunday, the recipients of a bye they initially didn't want so early in the season but now are welcoming.
The almost stunning inability of what was the NFL's top-ranked defense last year to neutralize the no-huddle spread offense will complicate their preparation for the rest of the season, according to linebacker Jason Gildon.
In the past, he said, the Steelers simply concentrated on stopping what the other team did best. Now, he said, they also must prepare for the possibility that every remaining opponent will play the spread, beginning with their Sept. 29 game against Cleveland.
“Defensively, we've never seen anything like this and it's taking us a while to adjust, but I'm confident we will adjust,” Gildon said. “If we can just stay patient, make tackles when we have to and get off the field when we have to, this will turn around.
“The tough part right now is not having a lot of experience in it. You don't practice a whole week for this because you don't anticipate this kind of scheme going into a game. That's the biggest thing we're facing right now: Can we prepare for a team's favorite run and favorite pass and, then, if they go into a game and don't do either? It's kind of tough.”
The final scores — a 30-14 loss to New England, a 30-17 loss to Oakland — and the statistics would give no indication the Steelers were 13-3 last season and a home-field victory away from advancing to the Super Bowl.
The Steelers easily led the NFL in time of possession last season, yet they watched both New England and Oakland keep the ball nearly 10 minutes longer than they did. They've been outpassed 649-410 and, remarkably enough for a team that's given up so much passing yardage, have been outrushed 158-146. They also have 10 turnovers to their opponents' 3, and opponents are converting more than half the time on third down against them, including a half-dozen third-and-long situations.
Of course, there is one helpful byproduct to their second 0-2 start in three seasons: They no longer hear themselves ballyhooed as the AFC's next Super Bowl team.
“It makes you humble and makes you realize teams are going to do that to us until we stop it,” Flower said. “Fortunately, we've got a bye week where we can work on the spread and the regular offense of Cleveland. But we've got a handle on it, and we'll see you next week.”
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Embarrassed Steelers try to rebound from 0-2 start
