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Thursday, January 17, 2002

The only things missing were a corner booth and libations. Merril Hoge could have picked the Pittsburgh venue and picked up the tab, too. With the fancy suits he wears -- and where does he find a tailor like that in Idaho -- you know he could afford it.

Instead, these former jocks who play football experts on television were gathered over the telephone, separately and together. They were asked about the Steelers' postseason chances, about the playoffs overall. They were mostly pro-Steelers, though Hoge made their odds sound a bit iffy.

Take a seat at the virtual roundtable, and bring your own beverage.

D'Marco Farr, Fox Sports Net: "I think the Steelers rule, man. I really do. Except when they bump into Baltimore. If Baltimore was out, Pittsburgh would have an easy trip to the Super Bowl. Baltimore sees them every year. They have a bead on them; they have more film on them than anybody. I don't think Kordell can beat them throwing the ball. And Ray Lewis has a way of sniffing out Jerome Bettis."

Deacon Jones, Fox Sports Net: "Baltimore, don't forget them. They've got a strong defense. But Pittsburgh's got the edge. It'll be up to them to win it or lose it in the AFC."

John Riggins, ESPN Radio: "Baltimore's been in the playoffs. They're the Super Bowl champs. They've got a spark of life here. They're dangerous, there's just no other way around it. They do have a good defense, though I don't think it's as good as people made it out to be; they were overrated. ... But it'll be a very interesting game. I just have this gut feeling that Baltimore may surprise everybody, that they may come in there and stiff the Steelers, stiff Kordell Stewart. I think it all comes down to Jerome Bettis; he's the key guy. The question is, can he take over the game and take it to the Baltimore Ravens' defense? If Bettis has a big day, they can beat Baltimore."

Hoge: "The Steelers' defense... people have found ways to get a lot of big plays on them in the passing game. Receivers will run double routes and get the cornerbacks to bite. The safeties play aggressive. Teams are clearly going to look at that and capitalize on it. That becomes a concern when you get in the playoffs. You've got to enforce more of a sense of discipline in the playoffs."

John Madden, Fox: "If you had one game and you had to defend someone, I'd pick Bill Belichick. I know everyone respects New England's defense."

Phil Simms, CBS: "When you play the Patriots, they do so much on defense that it's hard to find a rhythm to get into the end zone. You make a few plays, then all of the sudden they show you two new things."

Hoge: "The Patriots, I think definitely they pose a lot of problems. They play a 3-4, they play a 4-3, they dilute your training in half because you have to prepare for both. They do a lot of different things, and they'll run all of it in the course of the game. And every week they come up with something different. Once, they played five defensive linemen. Against the Colts, they rushed two and dropped off nine into coverage. And they're healthy -- this time of year, that's a rare thing to have."

Farr: "Nah. The Patriots have accomplished what they wanted to accomplish already: They're in the playoffs. With Baltimore... Pittsburgh is in trouble."

Hoge: "Let's get something straight: The Steelers don't fear the Ravens' defense. I love the Steelers in a romp. ... But the really good teams are in the NFC right now."

Riggins: "I tell you what, the NFC ... I've kind of been reluctant to give them the credit they deserve -- St. Louis, that is. But I think Green Bay has the best chance of derailing the Rams."

Jones: "St. Louis is going to win it. Ain't nobody who can stop them."

Farr: "Oh, man, it's a track meet all the way to New Orleans. The Rams play in the dome, the Super Bowl is in the dome -- I don't see anything tripping them up. Wait until the Rams get old, then it will be your turn."

Spoken like a couple of true Rams alumni.

Playoff program notes

Expanded playoffs coverage from KDKA-TV includes: a 7:30 p.m. special tomorrow called "The Road to Super Bowl XXXVI" (though isn't the title a tad presumptuous, because The Road could lead to Heartbreak); a one-hour pregame show starting at 11 a.m. Sunday; a one-hour postgame show; and a 90-minute extra edition of UPN Channel 19's "Nightly Sports Call" -- which will appear starting at 4:30 p.m. on KDKA.

Baltimore beat Pittsburgh last Sunday, but not by much. In their home market, the Ravens drew an overnight CBS rating of 36.5 and a 55 percent share of TVs in use for their game against the Dolphins. The Steelers' market, surpassing every other but Baltimore's, scored a 31.6 rating and 51 share. Need to do a better job of advance scouting, people.

Chuck Finder can be reached at cfinder@post-gazette.com