Bill Cowher, who likes to talk about fine lines, is walking one these days.
One, he's trying to get Steelers fans pumped up for his 4-1 ballclub and its Monday night game in Heinz Field against two-time defending AFC Central champion Tennessee.
Two, he wants to hold down the excitement among his own players. Too much revelry on the inside can burn down the tent.
"It is a situation that you have to keep in perspective," Cowher said yesterday. "There is a lot of football left to be played."
While bigger jobs might be ahead, it's mission accomplished for their top goal entering training camp. After starting 0-3 last season, their aim was to get off to a fast start this season, and they've gotten off to the fastest start in the AFC, tying Oakland for the best record in the conference.
It's an important step for a team that hasn't made the playoffs the past three seasons, and even Cowher acknowledged that.
"We have been able to alleviate a lot of the 'Here we go again' from that the standpoint that we have not had successful seasons," he said. "We have not been in the playoffs. So, at the first sign of something, you will have questions. That is deserved."
Instead of questions, the surprising Steelers have been getting exclamation points around the league. Cowher does not care so much about that as he does what's going on in his own locker room.
"I think we have created a confidence with our football team. I want to see how we respond if we have to come back and win a game where something does not go right and we are behind. I would like to see that happen with this team.
"But, the one thing is that the players are playing with a lot of confidence. They are buying into what we are doing, they believe in what we are doing, and that is a big part of it. And they are expecting to win games. We know that the test will come."
It could come the next two or three weeks. After the defending division champions, the Steelers play defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore. Then they travel to surprising Cleveland, where they lost last year.
The Browns are in second place in the division at 4-2; Baltimore is 3-3 and Tennessee 2-3.
"You have to put the blinders on right now," Cowher said. "You have to be careful that you don't start looking around and comparing yourself to things. We are comparing ourselves to nobody. We are going to play the Tennessee Titans on Monday night. They beat us seven straight times. You want perspective, that is perspective."
The Steelers have won four in a row and are off to their best five-game start since 1996. That team began 5-1 but then went 5-5 to finish 10-6. They made the playoffs as a wild-card team and were knocked out by New England.
Great starts don't always mean great finishes. In '98, the Steelers started 5-2 and ended 7-9. In '99, they opened 2-0 and finished 6-10. In '95, they were 3-4 and made it to the Super Bowl.
That's why Cowher has been trying to cool the jets of his own ballclub.
"You better not get caught up in it. You better keep things in perspective and take care of business and deal with where you are at, the direction you are heading, and what you have in front of you."
At the same time, he would like to see Steelers fans get a little more worked up for Monday night's game than they were for the Heinz Field opener Oct. 7 against Cincinnati. After that game, Jerome Bettis took the unusual step for him of expressing his disappointment at the fans' seeming disinterest that day.
The Steelers are 8-0 at home on Monday night with Cowher as their coach.
"I think we have always played very well on Monday nights at home," he said. "Our fans like that. This is a game to get excited for. I expect it to be loud and it to be a great atmosphere to play."
The Steelers have not held first place alone in the Central Division this late in the season since they were 6-2 in 1997, a year in which they won the division and reached the AFC championship game, losing to Denver in Three Rivers Stadium. They also were tied with Jacksonville in '98 at 5-2 before their collapse.
Cowher does not envision this team following the path of those that got off to good starts in '98 and '99.
"I don't think you have to worry about this team relaxing or feeling any sense of accomplishment at all," he said. "We have created an opportunity and we recognize now that what you have to do is seize that."
Cowher hopes for noise from fans but not his players 
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