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Sunday, August 13, 2000 By Ron Cook, Post-Gazette Sports Columnist
Levon Kirkland has yet to meet an offensive lineman or running back who scares him.
But ask him a simple question -- one particular question, at least -- and he practically runs and hides.
Is there a better pair of inside linebackers in the NFL than the Steelers' pair, Kirkland and Earl Holmes?
"In my humble opinion, I don't know," Kirkland said, softly. "The season will tell."
Holmes took on the topic a bit more aggressively. Maybe it wasn't with the force he used to slam Carolina running back Tim Biakabutuka on fourth-and-1 Thursday night, but he certainly wasn't shy about it.
"I can't say we're the best in the NFL, but I do know we have to be dealt with," Holmes said. "You can't disregard No. 99 and No. 50 at any time. And No. 55 and No. 92, for that matter."
Outside linebackers Joey Porter and Jason Gildon.
The Steelers don't have much at quarterback, but they are loaded at linebacker.
"Man, those guys have a presence out there," Bill Cowher gushed. "Earl and Levon coming from the inside. Joey and Jason coming from the outside. They can really bring it."
You don't think the Steelers are 3-0 because of their offense, do you?
It's only three exhibition games, but the defense has been outstanding. The first group gave up a touchdown to Dallas, then wasn't scored on by Miami or Carolina.
Kirkland gave the credit to the rebuilt defensive line. Veterans Chris Sullivan and Kimo von Oelhoffen. Rookies Chris Combs, Al Lucas and Kendrick Clancy. Combs started at end against Carolina.
"Those guys have done a supreme job of taking care of the gaps," Kirkland said.
He mentioned the fourth-and-1 play. Holmes had only to avoid a half-hearted block attempt by fullback William Floyd before crashing into Biakabutuka and forcing a fumble, one of two he caused in the game. Kirkland also had a clear path to Biakabutuka and would have stopped him short if Holmes had not.
"The defensive line is making it easy for Earl and me," Kirkland said.
Cowher praised the secondary, notably Chad Scott and Dewayne Washington. Scott was terrific covering and tackling against Carolina.
"He and Dewayne have both had great camps," Cowher said.
All of it is true, but it doesn't take a genius to see the linebackers -- especially Holmes and Kirkland -- are the strength of the Steelers. Holmes has become the better player. That's no knock of Kirkland, merely a tribute to Holmes. He's the best player on the team.
"There's a lot of mutual respect there, a healthy competition between those two," Cowher said.
"I honestly don't think we have a competition going," Kirkland said. "We're just trying to play for each other. We know there's enough spoils to go around for both of us."
"I know where Levon is going to be out there and he knows what I'm doing," Holmes said. "There's a trust between us."
There's also a sense of purpose. Holmes and Kirkland are embarrassed the Steelers went 6-10 last year. They're embarrassed of their roles in that train wreck of a season. Their defense ranked 26th in the league against the run. That hurt them more than any offensive lineman ever could.
"It took two losing seasons for me to be humbled and to realize I needed to work harder and get myself in better shape," Kirkland said.
Translation:
I was way too fat the past two years and I hurt this football team.
"You have to work hard to play hard," Kirkland said. "I'm working harder than I ever have. This defense is working harder than it has since I've been here. We're paying more attention to details. We're more disciplined."
They're also more aggressive. Your eyes aren't fooling you. The Steelers already have put in most of their blitzes. In that sense, their success is not surprising. Opposing teams aren't ready for that yet.
"It's hard to stop all four of our linebackers," Holmes said.
Holmes and Kirkland know they will face much better quarterbacks than Miami's Damon Huard and Carolina's Jeff Lewis. They know teams will put in game plans to counter their blitzes once the regular season begins. It doesn't matter, they said. They're only concerned about what their defense is doing.
"We need to establish our presence right from the beginning," Holmes said.
"The past few years, we've played a 'What if?' defense," Kirkland said. "'If somebody does this, we'll do that.' Now, we're not worrying about what the other team is doing. We're just playing football. We've got good enough athletes to get it done that way."
It's worked so far. It must continue to work if the Steelers are going to do better than that 6-10 record. Based on what the offense has done this summer -- Kordell Stewart is 6 of 22 for 109 yards, including 1 of 13 for 8 yards in the past two home games -- that defense had better be ready to throw a lot more shutouts.
"If we stay healthy, there's no doubt in my mind we can keep playing like this," Holmes said.
Certainly, No. 99 and No. 50 will.
Ron Cook can be reached at rcook@post-gazette.com.
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