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Sunday, October 28, 2001

Yes, Jerome Bettis is a legitimate MVP candidate and in the midst of a career year that will surely take him to the Hall of Fame. Nor is there any question that the offensive line has been superb and is a large part of Bettis' success. And as for Kordell Stewart, what else can you say but the guy does nothing but win.

The town is enthralled with the Steelers' offense, to the point where coordinator Mike Mularkey and line coach Russ Grimm are being handed out large gobs of praise and credit.

But what must be pointed out among this seeming embarrassment of riches is that the offense is a minor contributor to the Steelers' surprising success. The Steelers, who play the Tennessee Titans tomorrow night at Heinz Field, are where they are today -- 4-1 and with the best record in the AFC -- for one primary reason: They have a defense that has allowed fewer points than any team in the AFC.

For all the real heroics of Bettis and the offensive line and the imaginary ones of Stewart, the Steelers are 15th -- next to last -- in scoring in the AFC. It is scoring -- not rushing yards, not passing ratings, not anything else -- that is the ultimate barometer of an offense.

Because the Steelers' point production is so feeble -- 76 in five games -- it's obvious their success is the result of an extraordinary ability to stop the other team from scoring.

Should anyone think such an offense can continue to be a regular partner in victory, here are the records of the teams that finished next to last in scoring in their conference the past three seasons: 4-12, 5-11, 8-8, 3-13, 7-9, 4-12.

Comparisons are often made to the Baltimore Ravens, who won the Super Bowl last season on the strength of a mighty defense. It's a false comparison. The Ravens' offense, unlike the Steelers' thus far, wasn't along for the ride. It was seventh in the AFC in scoring, just 22 points away from being third best.

It is nice to hear praise about Mularkey's ability to emphasize the Steelers' strengths and hide their weaknesses and about the job Grimm has done in improving the line, because it's richly deserved.

But you barely hear a word about John Mitchell, Mike Archer and Willy Robinson. Who are those guys? They're position coaches on defense. Mitchell coaches the line, Archer the linebackers and Robinson the defensive backs.

They all work under defensive coordinator Tim Lewis, who has inherited what is one of the most prestigious assistant coaching positions in the NFL -- although it's not often viewed that way.

Being the Steelers' defensive coordinator is the closest thing to being a dead-certain future NFL head coach. Of Lewis' six immediate predecessors, five went on to become head coaches -- four right after serving their apprenticeship with the Steelers.

It's pretty well known that all of Bill Cowher's defensive coordinators -- Dom Capers, Dick LeBeau and Jim Haslett -- went on to be the head coaches of the Carolina Panthers, Cincinnati Bengals and New Orleans Saints, respectively.

Tony Dungy, whose final season as coordinator was 1988, later became an NFL head coach. His successor, Rod Rust, was head coach of the New England Patriots the season after leaving the Steelers. Only Dave Brazil, Rust's successor, has not been a head coach.

So where does that leave Lewis, in his second season as coordinator after coaching the defensive backs for five seasons?

"I'm absolutely interested in being a head coach someday," he said, "but right now all I'm interested in is coaching these guys to get better, calling the plays from the booth on Sunday and getting to the Super Bowl."

Lewis has the right pedigree. He played at Pitt on teams that were 42-6 and was a first-round draft choice of the Green Bay Packers. When a neck injury in a Monday Night Football game ended his career, he went to work for Jackie Sherrill at Texas A&M. His first full-time job was at SMU with Forrest Gregg, who was his coach with the Packers. From there it was back to Pitt on Johnny Majors' staff and then to the Steelers.

He calls Cowher, LeBeau and Foge Fazio, his defensive coordinator and head coach at Pitt, his defensive mentors.

To get where he eventually wants to go, he knows he has to continue to do good work with the Steelers. He knows better than anyone that five games aren't a season.

"We haven't done anything yet. We're just 4-1. Until we get the opportunity to win the Super Bowl, we haven't done anything. We're playing well right now, but we haven't played against a great offense to this date."

And that's where the Steelers' offense comes in. When it comes to preparing for offenses that aren't great, who better to practice against daily than the Steelers?

Bob Smizik can be reached at bsmizik@post-gazette.com.