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Thursday, August 31, 2000 By Ed Bouchette, Post-Gazette Sports Writer
From his new vantage point at free safety, Rod Woodson sees Baltimore's defense clearly. And he believes it's as good as the one he helped make famous with the Steelers in the mid 1990s.
"We've got a solid defensive front line," said Woodson, "maybe a little bit better than what we ever had in Pittsburgh as a whole and even on backups.
"The linebackers are definitely comparable to anything we ever had in Pittsburgh, with Ray Lewis, Jamie Sharper and Peter Boulware.
"Our secondary is very deep. We have some great young corners. We've got a lot of depth in our secondary, so it's very comparable to what we had in Pittsburgh when we were playing well on defense."
When they were playing well, the Steelers had Woodson at cornerback and Carnell Lake at strong safety. Woodson moved to free safety in Baltimore last season and made the Pro Bowl.
Woodson, who made six Pro Bowls at cornerback with the Steelers, ended his 10-year tenure with them when he left as a free agent for San Francisco in 1997. He still makes his home in Wexford.
Sunday will be the final time he plays in Three Rivers Stadium, unless the Ravens and Steelers meet in the playoffs here.
"A lot of memories, a lot of great football games," Woodson said. "The fans were just outstanding that whole time. Once I retire and reflect back on playing in Three Rivers and playing that long with the Steelers, that all will mean more."
Sentimentality aside, Woodson's glad this will be it.
"It's going to be good to get off of that turf. It's our only turf game, and it's our first game of the season, and we're all happy for that. As a matter of fact, I think that it's good for everybody, even the Steelers' players, to get off that turf.
"They're getting a new stadium and a grass field. Their bodies are going to feel a lot better after playing on grass for eight games instead of eight games on turf."
No kicks coming
Don't expect Josh Miller to punt the ball to Baltimore's Jermaine Lewis Sunday.
"Lewis is just a blur," Miller said. "I haven't kicked to him in three years and I'm not going to kick to him again. I'll never kick to him again."
In 1996, Lewis returned a Miller punt 46 yards to the 1-yard line to set up a touchdown in a 31-17 Ravens victory. In 1997, he returned another Miller punt 37 yards.
The planning stages
Jerome Bettis and Richard Huntley, the Steelers' tandem at halfback, missed most of training camp with injuries but are ready to go Sunday.
Both practiced full time yesterday, with Bettis taking the lead with the first team.
Coach Bill Cowher said he has no plan for how he will rotate them against the Ravens, at least not yet.
"I want to get through the week and get into the game," Cowher said, "and we will go from there, see how the game unfolds, see how they are running. We will get them both some work and see how it unfolds. But not at this time."
Change of routine
NFL officials announced this will be the last time the league will opens its regular season before Labor Day.
And it all began in Pittsburgh Sept. 5, 1937.
Back then, the Steelers were known as the Pittsburgh Pirates, and they opened the season by defeating the Philadelphia Eagles, 27-14, in front of 8,588 hearty souls at Forbes Field.
That occurred on a Sunday, but it was the only game in the NFL on that Labor Day weekend, the first time the league played a game before Labor Day.
The Steelers have played on Labor Day only once. They beat New England, 16-13, Sept. 3, 1979.
Short snaps
Dermontti Dawson practiced with the first team at center yesterday and, barring any setbacks to his hamstring, will start Sunday. He is listed as questionable. "He probably feels as good as he felt since he came into camp," Cowher said. ... Wide receiver Bobby Shaw, listed as probable with lower back pain, practiced. ... The Ravens list safety Anthony Poindexter (thigh) as questionable and former Pitt wide receiver Billy Davis (thigh) as probable.
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