Steelers wary of Denver, despite the numbers

By Darrell Laurant  |   Friday, October 19, 2007  |  Comments( 1 )

Pittsburgh Steelers
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Bye, bye.

Bye weeks may be the bane of fantasy football team owners ("Damn -- both of my tight ends are off this week!") and local television programmers, but the latest one couldn't have come at a better time for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The only catch is, their next opponent -- the Denver Broncos -- had a bye last week, as well.

Denver probably used it trying to figure out why its defense was last in the NFL against the run. In Pittsburgh's case, however, it was a healing experience.

Somehow, the Steelers managed to blank Seattle, 21-0, on Oct. 6 minus four key players -- wideouts Hines Ward (knee) and Santonio Holmes (hamstring), safety Troy Polamalu (abdominal strain) and DT Casey Hampton (hamstring).

The first three will play when the 4-1 Steelers travel to Invesco Field to meet the 2-3 Broncos in a Sunday night game. Hampton might be available, although his injury is lingering longer.

On paper, this looks like a perfect matchup for Pittsburgh. The Steelers have emphasized the run under first-year coach Mike Tomlin, the Broncos have been run over. So far, Mike Shanahan's 'D' has surrendered 938 net rushing yards, an average gain of 5.2 per play.

So is leading Steeler rusher Willie Parker salivating? He says no, especially after a bye week meeting with Denver CB Dre Bly in North Carolina.

"He (Bly) is pumped up," said Parker on the team Web site. "I don't think we're going to get that 32nd-ranked defense. They have five Pro Bowlers over there."

QB Ben Roethlisberger, who completed 13 straight passes against Seattle -- two short of the team record -- is also wary.

"I hope all of the fans are at home watching the Rockies play," Roethlisberger said.

The fact that the Steelers managed to win last week while significantly understaffed speaks to a Bill Cowher tradition that Tomlin has continued -- lots of love, and more than a few game-time reps, for the team backups. Thus, Cedric Wilson and Nate Washington were the guys catching those Roethlisberger passes, Chris Hoke was plugged into the middle to replace Hampton, and Anthony Smith started in place of Polamalu. And it all worked.

Still, the last time Pittsburgh went on the road, the Steelers suffered their only loss to Arizona. There is also the matter of the unpredictable Denver weather -- the early forecast is for a high of 43 degrees and showers on Sunday, a sudden downturn from the 70s on Saturday.

Sounds like a great night to run the football.
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