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Monday, October 08, 2001

By Gerry Dulac, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

In a bit of accidental irony, Coach Bill Cowher used part of his postgame news conference to marvel at how Jerome Bettis has rushed for more than 10,000 yards in his career with such little fanfare.

It was with so little fanfare the officials almost missed the occasion.

Bettis became the 14th player in National Football League to reach the 10,000-yard milestone yesterday when he gained 3 yards on the first play of the Steelers' third possession. In his mind, Bettis knew he had reached the magic number because he rushed for 52 of the necessary 54 yards on the first series of the game, thanks to a 48-yard run.

So, when he started coming off the field after the 3-yard run, replaced by Amos Zereoue, he was wondering why the game wasn't stopped, as the Steelers had planned.

"When I looked up [at the scoreboard] going out on that next series, I knew I needed 2 more yards," Bettis said. "I saw that I had a 3-yard run and I waited for the announcement to say how many yards it was. I didn't want to be wrong."

Just then, Chuck Heberling, an NFL officials observer seated in the press box, began yelling on a walkie-talkie to the sideline to alert the officials to stop the game. Bettis was almost to the Steelers' sideline when referee Larry Nemmers had to get the ball and present it to the 255-pound running back known as the Bus.

"I was running off the field and [the public address announcer] said, '3 yards' and I said, 'Eeeeek,' " Bettis said, making a brake-like sound. "The ball was already out of play. I had to track the ball down. Finally, [the official] made it a point to stop the game and actually go get the ball."

	TAKING THE BUS Top regular-season rushing performances for Jerome Bettis since joining the Steelers in 1996. Date Opponent No. Yards Avg. Long TD 10/12/97 Colts 30 164 5.5 34 1 10/07/01 Bengals 23 153 6.7 48 0 11/30/97 Cardinals 36 142 3.9 14 3 12/28/98 Jaguars 26 139 5.3 25 0 9/27/98 Seahawks 28 138 4.9 23 0 10/5/97 Ravens 28 137 4.9 19 0 12/26/99 Panthers 33 137 4.2 13 1 10/19/97 Bengals 34 135 4.0 13 1 8/13/97 Redskins 27 134 4.9 19 1 11/12/00 Eagles 30 134 4.7 19 1

By the time the Steelers finished off the Bengals with a 16-7 victory, Bettis finished with 153 yards on 23 carries -- his second-best rushing performance as a Steeler -- and was quickly closing in on the league 13th all-time leading rusher, Ottis Anderson (10,273).

Bettis needs 175 yards to pass Anderson for the 13th spot. He needs 418 yards to pass his former Notre Dame teammate, Ricky Watters of the Seattle Seahawks (10,516), who is in 12th place. That could come sooner than expected because Watters likely will be out six weeks with an injury.

Good thing, too. Bettis might need the game balls.

"I needed that ball," Bettis said. "I got a place for it. Wayne Gandy's been lobbying for it, talking to my parents, talking to you guys, going on TV. I don't know what I'm going to do with it. If he keeps blocking like that, I'll give him the ball anytime."

Said Gandy, the Steelers' left tackle who helped the Steelers gain 274 yards rushing and average 6.9 yards per attempt: "He faked on me. I'm kind of hot. I was really expecting that [ball] on my mantel. He's that kind of guy. People just don't know that about him."

Gandy, of course, was kidding. He is one of Bettis' closest friends on the team and sits near him in the Steelers' locker room. When Bettis's left knee was stretched in a pileup and he was lying motionless on the field in the second quarter, it was Gandy who walked over to his teammates and yelled at them to keep them motivated.

"I was telling Amos [Zereoue] and [Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala], don't let this stop what we're doing," Gandy said. "This happens to everybody."

By the time Gandy had finished, Bettis had hopped to his feet, emerged from the huddle of doctors and trainers and jogged off the field.

Gandy just shook his head.

"It will take a bus to hit him to really keep him out," Gandy said. "He's not one of those guys where something small is going to keep him out of the game. That's a lost art. People like Brett Favre, Jerome, who [for] eight, nine, 12 years, keep coming out to play every Sunday. In this kind of sport, that's just a blessing from God.

"You're going to have 30-yard days, you're going to have 150-yard days, but how are you going to see those days if you never show up? That's one thing he does, he's very reliable."

That's why Bettis' teammates, even his coach, continue to marvel at what he has accomplished in nine NFL seasons. Even after his knee was injured -- "I was scared. It took me a minute to get myself together," he said -- Bettis, 29, didn't slow down. He gained 63 yards on 13 carries the rest of the way.

"If there's anybody who deserves the accomplishment and has done it in a non-fanfare way, he's done it," Cowher said. "That one run might have been the longest that he's had since he's been here. He's been so dependable and so reliable."

Cowher was referring to Bettis' 48-yard run on the Steelers' second play of the game that went to the Bengals' 5. Bettis looked as though he might score until he was tripped up by linebacker Brian Simmons. For the record, though, it was Bettis' second longest run as a Steeler -- behind a 50-yarder he had against the St. Louis Rams, his former team, in 1996.

The only other game where Bettis ran for more yards as a Steeler was in 1997 against the Indianapolis Colts, when he rushed for 164 yards on 30 carries. His performance against the Bengals -- his second 100-yard game in a row and 48th of his career -- gave him 10,099 career yards,

"That's a lot of yards," Zereoue said. "What's so surprising is he's a big guy, a big back. You expect it from a shifty guy. But Jerome is a big guy with shifty feet. I admire the guy. Every Sunday he's out there running very hard."