Linebacker Levon Kirkland has never missed a game in nine NFL seasons, but if the Steelers were playing this weekend, they'd probably have to do so without him. Kirkland's sprained right ankle was placed in a protective boot that he will wear all week. He will not practice.
The Steelers do not play this weekend, so Kirkland's streak of playing in all 129 games since his rookie season in 1992 will remain intact. He believes he will be able to play Sept. 17 at Cleveland. "At first, it didn't seem like it was too bad, but as the game went on I couldn't move like I wanted to."
Kirkland has not missed a start since 1994. He missed one that season and three in 1993, when he became a starter in his second season. He played in all 16 games as a rookie, but started none. He has started 109 games. His 129-game streak became the team's longest when Dermontti Dawson's ended last year at 171. "Yeah, there's a little pride thing going on there," Kirkland said. "It's cool to have gone through as many years as I've gone through and not miss a start. It means something, but I'd rather get it healed, be well and go out and be able to give 100 percent, rather than go out and maintain a streak."
Rookie nose tackle Kendrick Clancy will miss two to three weeks with a high ankle sprain. The injury occurred on the Ravens first kickoff after Matt Stover's field goal gave them a 3-0 lead in the first quarter. "Somebody rolled on it," Clancy said. "I don't know who it was."
Linebacker Earl Holmes has a sprained left ankle that he does not believe will keep him out of the next game. It is not as seriously sprained as Kirkland's, and he wore no protective boot or wrap on it yesterday.
The Steelers were coming off one of their worst seasons, then got shut out at home by a division rival. It all happened in 1989, when the Steelers, coming off a 5-11 season, opened at home in Three Rivers Stadium and got spanked by the Cleveland Browns, 51-0. Those Browns moved to Baltimore in 1996 and became the Ravens, and Sunday they put another hurting on the Steelers in Three Rivers Stadium, 16-0, in the first game after their 6-10 season, their worst record since that 1988 nightmare.
Dawson was in his second season when the Steelers lost 51-0. Sunday, he said, could not compare to that one. "No comparison, not at all. In '89, man, that was a real tough one. Any time you lose, I don't care if it's a blowout or you lose by one point, you don't like to lose. I guess when things don't go right, people overreact. It was the first game. Hell, things didn't go well. Yeah, of course, we have things to address. But no sense overreacting. No sense going in the tank, worrying about this, worrying about that. We've got a bye week. Hopefully, we do well in Cleveland."
The Steelers of 1989 lost their second game, in Cincinnati, 41-10. They then rebounded to go 9-7 and make the playoffs. "Fifteen other teams are going to have a loss as well," Jerome Bettis said. "So we can't go crazy over it. I think we have to gain more from this than we lose. I don't think we should lose our hope right now. I think we should gain some insight into what went on and learn from it. Use it as a learning tool."
Kevin Henry played in his 103rd NFL game Sunday and his first as a nose tackle. Henry, the starting right defensive end moved to nose tackle after Clancy's ankle injury and when starter Kimo von Oelhoffen went to the sideline exhausted. The reviews were good on Henry at the position. "Kevin didn't do a bad job at all," Kirkland said. Said Henry: "Everybody said I did a pretty good job. I appreciate it."
Steelers Notebook: 9/5/00 
