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Monday, November 12, 2001

This isn’t exactly the pyrotechnic offense of St. Louis. The Steelers and the Rams topped 400 yards yesterday. The similarities ended there. “The Rams scored 48,” CBS studio analyst Randy Cross pointed out late yesterday. “A lot of yards for the Steelers. Nothing but field goals. The difference this week is, [Kris Brown] made five out of six field goals.”

This isn’t exactly the suffocating defense of Baltimore, either. From where Cross sits at a desk in Manhattan, it looks like a decent facsimile, though. “They’ve got it just like Baltimore had it last year. If you’ve got that defense, if it’s 9-0, you might have enough points to win.”

So in this parody/parity of an NFL where St. Louis wins one Super Bowl with offense and Baltimore wins the next with defense, anything can happen. That’s all Cross is saying here, at the midpoint of a wacky season, with the 6-2 Steelers and atop the AFC Central.

Anything can happen.

“There’s no limit to what they can do, that’s the great thing,” Cross said. “I kind of cringe every time I read one of these ‘surprise of the year’ columns that people write. The last couple of years, if you weren’t surprised that the Rams won a Super Bowl and the Ravens won a Super Bowl, then you’re not breathing. Used to be, there were dynasties and guys went on runs. Now runs last months, not years.”

With little more than two months left, do you like what you see of these Central-leading Steelers?

“It’s too early. They don’t get any awards at halfway, although it’s such a huge improvement over what they’ve had the last couple of years. You know, so far, so good. They’re stuck somewhere between not quite excellent, because the year isn’t over, and satisfactory.

“But I think with that defense, if you can limit your turnovers, you can beat anybody.”

Book-your-Super-Bowl-trip-to-N’awlins glowing it isn’t.

But Cross has a pretty good view of this club.

Let’s look through the Cross hairs ...

*First, from the perspective of a longtime center. “I think [assistant] Russ Grimm and that offensive line -- and Jerome Bettis may be the first to point it out -- may be as good if not better than anybody else’s in the league. And they’ve kind of evolved that offense. It seems like as the season has gone on, they’ve added more and more and more, including the gadget plays. That’s the sign of a team that’s learning things and improving. Because if you’re not improving, you’re not going to add much.”

*Second, a glance at the defense. “They’re definitely better defensively. They’ve got that swagger. Baltimore had that swagger and Tennessee had that swagger last year and the year before. They don’t seem to care who they play, as far as the offense they’re facing. They weren’t terribly impressed with Cleveland. They obviously know they’re pretty doggone good. Having [Casey] Hampton inside is good. Kendrell Bell has been fantastic. My favorite guy may be Kimo von Oelhoffen [at defensive end]. When you can generate that outside pressure ...”

*Third, a pessimist’s viewpoint. “If there’s one thing that can hurt, it’s going to be the decisions that Kordell Stewart makes at quarterback -- everybody’s got that problem with their quarterback -- and turnovers. If they start throwing interceptions or putting the ball on the ground, even their defense won’t be able to make up for it.

“But if I was a Steelers fan, I’d be strutting.”

Easy there, black-and-gold underwear types. Jacksonville comes next, followed soon after by the offenses of Minnesota and the New York Jets. The only time these Steelers faced such point-producing units before, they lost -- to this same Jacksonville bunch. And, by contrast, the Steelers’ offense has produced only one touchdown the past two games.

“You go through their schedule, you can start ticking things off ... but you’ll drive yourself nuts,” Cross said of fans looking for victories in all the wrong places. “The main thing people have to do is enjoy every single week, because there’s no telling what will happen.”

Anything can happen.

That’s his story, and he’s sticking to it. You disagree, he’ll sic Ditka on you.

In addition to The Big Picture, Chuck Finder writes a general-sports column exclusive to the http://www.post-gazette.com/ every Tuesday. He can be reached at cfinder@post-gazette.com