Many Steelers use their off weekend to get away, take a mini-vacation to a nice spot, see their college teams play or simply visit mom for some home cooking. They can be excused if they left town for another reason, to avoid the shrill bleating of their fans about their loss last Sunday to New England.

There's no scientific evidence, but ear-witnesses say they can't remember such a loud and steady complaint from fans over a Steelers loss in the regular season as there was this past week.

"No question," said linebacker Joey Porter, who thinks it's appropriate. "The town is like how I feel -- it's now, there's no time to wait. Our standards are too high."

The Steelers' 23-20 loss to the two-time defending Super Bowl champs in the last second at Heinz Field was their second defeat in the past 19 games and third in two seasons. They are 2-1. But, after going 15-1 last season and then losing to New England in Heinz Field in the AFC championship game, the Steelers raised their own expectations for this season.

"It drives the town crazy, it drives me crazy," Porter said.

"Trust me, when you're winning, those are the fans you want because they're the best in the world. But, when you lose, they're going to give it to you because they're mad, they're going to let you know how they feel."

No one gets an earful like radio sports talk-show hosts, and Mark Madden of ESPN 1250 and Paul Alexander of KDKA heard their fill of it the past week.

"It's worse than ever," Madden said, "especially after last year when they went 15-1 and they don't expect to lose now. Their expectations are so high even losing to New England seems an impossibility.

"The negative backlash over the loss to New England is far more dramatic and vocal than I ever dreamed it would be. In my mind, they did blow the game, but, over a 16-game season, invariably games like that come along. But Steelers fans don't understand the concept of other teams being good and wanting to win, too. They think it's totally in the hands of the Steelers."

Alexander said the way they lost made for good entertainment all week. Antwaan Randle El threw away a possible touchdown on a lateral. A false start canceled a field goal. And the Patriots' scored the winning points in the final second of a game in which an extra 52 seconds were inadvertently added to the game clock early in the fourth quarter.

"The first two games, people were at a loss to nitpick and find something wrong. We don't get calls for happy things."

Alexander said most of his callers blamed coach Bill Cowher and not the players.

"It's infamous: 'He can't make game adjustments.' But did Bill suggest the El lateral? Give Barrett Brooks the wrong snap count? They say he's field goal-happy, too conservative. No one can accept that there's another team on the field. It's amazing, and they are the Patriots, the two-time defending champs."

Said Madden, "I don't think Steelers fans are real bright, so they always blame the coach and the quarterback."

Losing may drum up business for sports talk shows, but not for restaurants and bars. Danette Williams bartends Monday nights at Damon's in Monroeville, and she knew what to expect the day after the Steelers lost to the Patriots.

"They don't come out on Monday when they lose on Sunday," she said. "We're always slower the day after a loss. When they're having a losing season, they're dead here. When they're winning, people are happier. This place was dead Monday night."

The players, for the most part, say they understand the reason.

"With higher expectations comes bigger excitement and bigger letdowns," guard Alan Faneca said.

Many tend to keep a lower profile around the city after a loss.

"I'm not saying you should go hide, but you shouldn't be in there partying like you just won the game," Porter said. "It just doesn't sit right. It wouldn't sit right with me if I were a big-time fan and I'm sitting up there cheering my butt off for you to win and then I see you up in the clubs hanging out like nothing happened, and you have a look on your face like it doesn't matter. That would make me mad, I would think, so I know how they feel."

A few said the fan reaction was no worse the past week than after other losses.

"Since I've been here I've never seen the fans take a loss good," linebacker Larry Foote said. "That's just Pittsburgh, they want to win."

Even the reaction after a loss here is not as bad as it is in Philadelphia when the Eagles lose. Duce Staley, in his second season with the Steelers, spent his first seven NFL seasons with the Eagles.

"Philly fans are plum crazy," Staley said. "Meaner. They're quick to boo you if things aren't going right. It was that way my whole seven years there. If we didn't beat Dallas, they would go out and rock the Cowboys' team bus and try to turn it over. It was crazy."