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Monday, November 26, 2001

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- There was serious concern in town -- maybe near-panic -- last week when the word came that Mark Bruener, who just might be the best blocking tight end in the NFL, was pronounced out for the season.

There was additional apprehension over the fact veteran right guard Rich Tylski also would miss the game against the Tennessee Titans and would be replaced by a player who had made one start in the past four seasons, and that at left tackle.

So you could imagine the high level of distress that existed yesterday when, on the first series of the game, right tackle Marvel Smith went down with a left knee injury. Smith was replaced by Keydrick Vincent, a rookie free agent from Mississippi who wasn't just playing in his first NFL game but was dressing for his first NFL game.

On a lot of teams, including ones that recently wore Steelers' uniforms, such misfortune might prove catastrophic. How does a run-oriented football team have a chance with half of its offensive line out with injury and with the total of NFL games started by their replacements being two?

As this season is convincingly proving, the Steelers are not just any team. They're a team marching toward the playoffs, a team that believes it can make a serious impact on those playoffs, and a team that isn't going to be sidetracked by injuries.

Bill Cowher spoke to just how special he believes this team to be after a 34-24 win against the Titans at Adelphia Coliseum, a game in which the Steelers trailed by 11 points late in the first half.

"I'm not so sure some of the team's we've had here in the past would have responded the way we responded," he said.

Cowher chooses such words carefully, but he has good reason for such a belief. The Steelers (8-2) are looking like a special team, a team that might be the class of the AFC. Oakland and the New York Jets also are strong teams, but the Steelers can at least play with those teams.

The Steelers opened the game as if the absence of Bruener, who was replaced by Jerame Tuman, and Tylski, who was replaced by Oliver Ross, were not going to be a problem. They moved 64 yards on their first 10 plays. But on that 10th play, a 9-yard run by Kordell Stewart, Smith went down. Vincent came on to play right guard. Ross moved to right tackle to replace Smith.

The Steelers went on from there to a game in which they produced 377 yards. That's 21 yards higher than their average, which is second best in the AFC. The makeshift line had a lot to do with all those yards.

"We talk about this every week," veteran left tackle Wayne Gandy said. "That's one of our big emphasizes. You never know when you're going to have to go in."

Those lessons, preached by offensive line coach Russ Grimm, were not lost of Vincent.

"Russ tells us every day that you never know when you're going to play. So I was ready. I was just thinking about doing my assignments. I didn't want to let these guys down."

Ross, who had started Nov. 4 in place of Gandy at left tackle, had been working all week to become acclimated at guard, a new position for him. Ten plays into the game, he had to return to tackle, but on the right side not the left.

"It wasn't really a problem," he said. "I just had to flip over to tackle real fast. It wasn't hard, at all."

Wide receiver Hines Ward, who caught seven passes for 99 yards, said: "We didn't lose a step on the offensive line. They came in and protected well and gave Kordell a chance to get the ball down the field. My hat's off to them. They stepped in and did a great job."

As did Stewart, who continued his strong play by passing and running for 308 yards, and Plaxico Burress, who caught eight passes for 114 yards.

It's all extremely encouraging for the Steelers, who have four of their six remaining games at home. Two of those games are against the winless Detroit Lions and the awful Cincinnati Bengals. Even next week's opponent, the Minnesota Vikings, perform poorly on the road and outdoors. The real challenges promise to be a home game in two weeks against the Jets and a Dec. 16 game at Baltimore.

The rest of this season for the Steelers is not about making the playoffs. It's about gaining home-field advantage in those playoffs.

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