Jerome Bettis is ready to carry the ball another 33 times if the Steelers need him to Sunday.

"I'll be fine," Bettis said, relatively pain free three days after performing his heaviest workload in four years. "It's a lot of carries, but this past game I didn't take a big beating."

The reason? Bettis eluded hits from the big men while gaining his 149 yards and was brought down most times by the secondary of the Philadelphia Eagles. That wasn't the case, Bettis said, when the Steelers beat the Browns, 34-23, Oct. 10. He helped them run out the second-half clock by carrying 14 times for 34 yards.

"I was more beat up after that game after we were trying to pound it in there and finish the game off," Bettis said. "I was a little bit more physically hurt then than I was in this particular game ... I was hitting the ground probably harder [in Sunday's game] than I was hitting any of the other defenders. So it wasn't physically the worst game with 33 carries."

Bettis earned AFC offensive player of the week for his performance against the Eagles.

With Duce Staley listed as questionable with a hamstring injury, coach Bill Cowher said they might need Bettis to carry a big load again in Cleveland.

Back in white

The Steelers, 7-1 as the Men in Black this season, finally will wear their white jerseys Sunday in Cleveland.

Teams usually wear white on the road and colors at home, but in all three of the Steelers' road games -- Baltimore, Miami and Dallas -- the home team wore white.

"I always felt we should pass a bill and I would be for it that the home team wears white and the visiting team wears colors," Dan Rooney said. "Then the Giants come in in their blue jerseys, the Green Bay Packers come in with their green, on down the line. Right now it looks like the good guys and the bad guys, we're always black and they're always white. They all look similar."

One thing Rooney said fans won't see anytime soon is a uniform change by the Steelers, not even a throwback uniform they wore once at Three Rivers Stadium.

Hines Ward said he would like to see the Steelers wear black pants at home to go with their black tops, the way the Baltimore Ravens did Sunday at home against Cleveland.

"Tell him," Rooney said, "I thought they looked like they were in their underwear."

Cover boys

Plaxico Burress said the Steelers' offensive line -- not him and Ward -- should have been on the cover of Sports Illustrated this week.

"Those guys aren't getting an appreciation. The things they've been doing allows us to have success and productivity that everybody's had at the skill positions."

Burress spoke about how, despite he and Ward being the first Steelers SI cover boys in three years, "it doesn't matter. We still have to go down to Cleveland." Burress then laughed and said, "At the same time, you have to smile a little bit."

Big Ben's troop

There are Browns fans in Findlay, Ohio, but not as many as before. The Steelers drafted quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in April after the Browns passed on him. And not nearly as many since he became their starter in the third game and erected a 6-0 record.

Sunday, Roethlisberger expects a troop of family and friends to make the trip across Northern Ohio from Findlay to Cleveland to see him play and root for the Steelers.

"It's great to have the support back home, not just family but friends. People back there say all the bars and pubs are packed back there Sunday for games. I just hope they come out and support me and support this team."

Cleveland coach Butch Davis, whose team drafted tight end Kellen Winslow, Jr. with the sixth pick, said plenty of Browns fans have wondered why they did not draft Roethlisberger, who grew up 90 minutes away.

"There are probably Monday morning quarterbacks all around the country with the other 31 teams saying, 'Don't we wish we had him,' " Davis said.

Injuries

Six injured Steelers did not practice yesterday: CB Chad Scott, RB Verron Haynes, FB Dan Kreider, RB Staley, C Jeff Hartings, DE Travis Kirschke. Scott is out, Haynes doubtful, Kreider and Staley questionable and Hartings and Kirschke probable.

All three players on Cleveland's injury list did not practice: WR Andre Davis (toe) and WR Andre King (ankle), both doubtful, and P Derrick Frost (ankle), probable.

The Browns will start backup tackle Joaquin Gonzalez at right guard to replace injured Kelvin Garmon. Gonzalez has never played guard at any level."They just told me to get crazy, and run down there as fast as I could and hit somebody, so that's what I did."