When Mike Tomlin vaulted from the freshly ascended platform of Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator to head coach of the Steelers less than three years ago, Vikings defensive tackle Pat Williams was asked if he had any advice for the fellas in black and gold.

He did.

"If you don't want to hear the truth," Williams said. "Ask to be traded."

As the unbeaten Vikings arrive on the North Shore today looking for their 16th win the past 19 games, their seventh in a row this season and their sixth in a row on the road, one luminescent truth looms over all others, and it was perhaps best encapsulated in this assessment from Steelers right tackle Willie Colon:

"With the Williams Brothers and Jared Allen, this is probably as active a defensive front as we've seen so far. Kevin Williams is probably the best defensive tackle in the business, and you know there's a lot of talk about how good we've been doin' (as an offensive line), but this is a test to see how good we really are."

True dat, as the youngsters like to say between piercings.

I know, sometimes it seems all NFL life pivots on the functionality of a Mississippi jeans peddler in a No. 4 jersey at any given moment, but the larger truth is that only a fairly serious monument of a performance today from Colon, Justin Hartwig, Max Starks, Chris Kemoeatu, Trai Essex and their auxiliary blocking cohorts will enable the Steelers to avoid sliding to the bye week at a pedestrian 4-3, a trip to still unbeaten Denver on the Rocky Mountain horizon.

The true obstacles facing Tomlin's offensive line today are as fearsome a concentration as occurs anywhere on the NFL map.

Kevin and Pat Williams are not actually brothers, but their impactful profile has inspired the Williams Brothers among several nicknames, including the Williams Wall. Kevin, who has four career touchdowns, has more career sacks than any defensive tackle in the league and, like Pat, is an All-Pro. To their immediate right is Jared Allen, who has more sacks than anyone at any position since the 2004 draft. Allen had 4.5 sacks against the Packers, or more sacks in 60 minutes than any Steelers player not named James Harrison has this season.

"This defensive front is probably the best in football," said Hartwig, who'll have Pat breathing up his nose most of this afternoon. "Their two defensive tackles clog the middle really well, and their defensive ends get up the field really fast and create a lot of sacks. Kevin splits double teams, not just because he's athletic, but he's so strong. Pat is a very large man who can really penetrate that A gap."

Speaking of being very large, very strong and able to penetrate, really, all kinds of gaps, including some in the legal system, you would hope the Williamses don't leave the Steelers offensive lineman cursing the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals today. Such is generally not a concern, but it was the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that, in September, allowed both Williamses to play this season even though the NFL suspended them for violating its drug policy.

While both Vikings defensive tackles tested positive for a diuretic commonly used to mask steroid use, prompting the league to announce suspensions in January, the federal appeals court effectively ruled that the league had no jurisdiction over its own drug policy. The applicable law, the court ruled, is the Minnesota Drug Testing in the Workplace Act, and therefore the state of Minnesota must rule on the eligibility of the Williamses.

Wonder how that will go?

In the meantime, meaning today, the Steelers deal with a Williams-led defense (there are three starting Williamses, including free safety Madieu Williams) that has been the best in the NFL against the run in each of the past three seasons, hasn't allowed a 100-yard rushing performance in 29 games and leads the league in sacks, as well.

"If we stay true to our techniques and play with an attitude," Hartwig said, "I think we'll be all right."

The attitude might be to ignore such facts as that San Francisco went 0 for 11 on third down against Minnesota's defense, as that Allen and the up-front Williamses are Pro Bowlers, as that no Steelers on this offensive line are Pro Bowlers, as well as to just ignore the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Vikings certainly aren't infallible defensively, since they are somehow allowing 342 yards and 20 points per game. For the Steelers, that might not be enough truth to set them free.

Gene Collier's "Two-Minute Warning" videos are featured exclusively on PG+, a members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.