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Saturday, November 10, 2001

Compiled by Chuck Finder

Steelers (5-2) vs. Cleveland Browns (4-3), 1 p.m., Sunday, Cleveland Browns Stadium. TV, radio: KDKA-TV; WDVE-FM (102.5), WBGG-AM (970) and Steelers Radio Network.

WR Troy Edwards wanted to make it perfectly clear: Despite what anyone heard on KDKA-AM Thursday night, he isn't "crying" about his limited role with the Steelers and isn't eagerly awaiting a chance to leave the club. "When I say, 'You got to think about playing for someone else ...,' I mean ... I'm not starting here. So you've got to wonder, 'What if I was on that team, would I be a starter?' That's not saying I want to be away from Pittsburgh. That's not saying I'm hoping to try to get out of here. You ask me a question, so I'm going to speak the truth. My mom taught me to speak the truth, and I'm going to speak what's on my mind. ... You look at St. Louis, they have two receivers with 100 yards every week. I wish I could [do that], so you've got to think about it sometimes. ... I don't have to cry. For what? I'm alive. Football isn't everything in my life. I got two kids and a family."

OT Wayne Gandy and RB Amos Zereoue resumed their usual positions in practice yesterday and were upgraded on the injury report from questionable to probable for tomorrow. Gandy, whose creaky hamstring prevented him from playing against Baltimore and snapped his streak of 118 consecutive NFL games played, returned to his left tackle spot with the starting unit in practice for the second day in a row. Zereoue, after also missing last Sunday with an ailing shoulder, worked with the second unit. G Alan Faneca exited the practice fields with ice strapped to his right shoulder and wrist, but he wasn't put on the Steelers' injury report. The rest of the report includes: RB Jerome Bettis (wrist), WR Plaxico Burress (shoulder), LB John Fiala (groin) and CB Hank Poteat (foot), all probable. CB Jason Simmons (hamstring) is the only Steelers player likely to miss the game.

Cleveland upgraded CB Corey Fuller (ankle) from questionable to probable and he is expected to play. MLB Wali Rainer (ankle) didn't even watch practice Thursday or yesterday and definitely will sit out the game.

MLB Brant Boyer, a passing-down specialist scheduled to start for Rainer tomorrow, knows what it's like to collide with the Steelers in general and Bettis in particular. Boyer, 6 feet 1, 230 pounds, played against the Steelers nine times with Jacksonville and once with Miami. He told the Cleveland Plain Dealer this week that Bettis is "a beast. He actually put me on IR in 1998. I hit him and had a couple of herniated disks in my neck. I played the rest of the game. Fortunately, I haven't had any problems with my neck since." When apprised of Boyer's story, Cleveland Coach Butch Davis quipped, "That's happened to several guys."

Davis hopped on the nickname cliche when he referred to Boyer not having to try to tackle Bettis alone: "There's lots of seats ... so there's room for more than one person to get on the Bus."

Steelers K Kris Brown is 13 for 13 in field-goal attempts against the Browns, with five of those kicks coming in Cleveland.

As part of Bill Cowher's new and improved special teams, LB Kendrell Bell apparently has moved into the middle of the Steelers' punt-block squad. Bell was a kick-blocker extraordinaire at Georgia, snuffing out 11 in his two years there.

Lenzie Jackson, activated the past three games as the Steelers' fifth wide receiver, returns this weekend to Cleveland -- which means this might be his opportunity to catch a pass. Jackson, a former Jacksonville receiver and Oakland practice squad player, made his only previous NFL reception with the Browns last Oct. 22 ... at Pittsburgh.

Browns officials advise fans attending tomorrow's game that various items aren't permitted into Cleveland Browns Stadium. The banned items include: coolers, bags, backpacks, large purses and camera cases, plastic bottles, bottled or boxed liquids and aerosol cans. Particular items subject to inspection are: medium-sized purses and fanny packs, diaper bags, radios (no larger than a football), binoculars (with or without a case) and seat cushions.