LOOKING AHEAD
The Steelers are off next week, then travel to Cleveland Sept. 17 to face the Browns. They opened the 1999 season with a 43-0 rout at Cleveland.
WHO'S HURTING
Levon Kirkland, Steelers LB, left in the second quarter with a sprained ankle and returned but said he wasn't the same. He was scheduled for an MRI last evening. "I went out there," Kirkland said, "and couldn't move like I normally move. I couldn't really do anything. It was very disappointing, especially since I felt ready for this game and I started out very well. But thank God, because it could have been more serious."
Earl Holmes, Steelers LB, missed some time in the first quarter with what he described as a high ankle sprain after he was illegally chopped by Ravens RB Priest Holmes.
Kendrick Clancy, Steelers NT, left in the first quarter with a sprained left ankle and did not return. He had it in a soft cast after the game.
Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala, Steelers RB, left in the third quarter with a hamstring injury and did not return.
Mike Vrabel, Steelers LB, left in the third quarter with a sprained left ankle but returned.
Jeff Mitchell, Ravens C, left in the second quarter with a left knee bruise and did not return. RG Mike Flynn moved over to replace him and Orlando Bobo replaced Flynn at guard.
NEWS & NOTES
Kordell Stewart couldn't help but point out that the Ravens unloaded on QB Kent Graham yesterday. Graham was under immense pressure all day, even though he was sacked just once. He completed 17 of 38 passes for 199 yards. "It's the same old stuff," Stewart said. "Nothing's changed. You think it will, but it hasn't. It's just a matter of us sticking together and not separating on offense, defense and special teams. This is not about Kordell. I keep saying that. What we need to do as a unit, a team, as a whole is try to find a way to win. And once we -- remember that, we -- get that thing rectified, we'll be OK. But it's not about Kordell's doing. I'm tried of saying that over and over again. Once we get that rectified, I think this team will get off to the races and make things happen. But right now, we had opportunities and I didn't make things happen."
Graham would not get involved in discussing the problem with the Steelers' offense. Asked about the team's long-standing inability to move the ball, he said, "I'm not going to be the guy to point fingers after one loss. There's no place for that right now. We have to do it as a team. We have the type of maturity and leadership that can get us through a 16-game season and keep our heads about us and not start pointing fingers."
Coach Bill Cowher didn't exactly offer up a ringing endorsement for Graham starting at QB against the Browns in two weeks. Asked if he will stick with Graham, Cowher said, "I can't foresee making any changes. Let's see what transpires."
Rookie WR Plaxico Burress led the Steelers with 77 yards receiving on four catches in his NFL debut. But it was the one that got away that bothered him. From the Baltimore 45, Graham threw deep for Burress down the right sideline. CB Duane Starks ran step for step with him, but Starks stands just 5 feet 10 -- 8 inches shorter than Burress. Burress tried to make a leaping catch over Starks -- the way he did in the first exhibition at Dallas. But Starks got a hand on it, and Burress could not pull it in as he fell to the ground. He also slipped and fell on the first third down of the afternoon. Graham's pass fell incomplete, and it ended the Steelers first drive. All in all, though, Burress did not have a bad debut. "I probably expected more," he said. "I always put pressure on myself to perform well and make big plays and step up when everyone is down. I really didn't think their secondary was all that great. It was one of those days we were getting pressure and Kent couldn't make throws and move the offense."
The Steelers avoided trouble right off the bat when rookie Hank Poteat fumbled the opening kickoff. Fellow rookie Ainsley Battles recovered the fumble at the Steelers' 38. Poteat also lost a fumbled punt in the fourth exhibition game in Mexico City.
Josh Miller averaged 50.8 yards on six punts. Although he promised he would not kick to Jermaine Lewis, Miller kicked to him five times. One was returned 18 yards, but there was little damage done: 50 yards on five returns. The Steelers had no punt returns on seven tries. Bobby Shaw and Troy Edwards had two fair catches, one was downed, two were kicked out of bounds and two went for touchbacks.
Two Hall of Famers, Franco Harris and Mel Blount, served as the honorary co-captains. The real co-captains for the Steelers this season are Kirkland on defense, C Dermontti Dawson on offense and John Fiala on special teams.
Ravens CB Rod Woodson was asked if perhaps Steelers management had allowed too many good players to sign with other teams. But Woodson, who left Pittsburgh in 1997, shrugged it off: "I don't know what their problem is. They've got to figure that out."
Dan Rooney was presented his Pro Football Hall of Fame ring during halftime ceremonies that included Chuck Noll.
The Steelers deactivated LB Donnel Thompson (ankle), DE Chris Sullivan (back), DE Jeremy Staat, RB Amos Zereoue, WR Courtney Hawkins, G Tom Myslinski and OT Larry Tharpe.
NUMBERS
How deep is the Steelers' slump? Let us count the ways: They have lost eight of nine and 17 of 22. They have lost nine of their past 11 at Three Rivers. And they haven't won a home game against an AFC Central team since Nov. 22, 1998, against the Jaguars.
The Steelers finished their history of home openers at Three Rivers Stadium with a 19-12 record. They are 4-5 in season openers under Cowher, 1-4 in openers at home.
Ravens RB Priest Holmes had an unusually busy afternoon, carrying 27 times for 119 yards. He had only 89 carries last season. "He did a heck of a job for us," Billick said.
Since 1996, the Steelers are 27-7 when limiting the opposition to 17 or fewer points.
The Ravens haven't allowed a 100-yard rusher in 18 games, the longest active streak in the NFL.
HE SAID IT
Brian Billick, Ravens coach, who has never lost at Three Rivers Stadium as a head coach or assistant coach: "I hate to see them tear it down. I haven't lost here. If they want to save some money and not finish that other stadium, I'll kick in a few bucks."
FOURTH-AND-SHORT
Last time Ravens TE Shannon Sharpe visited Three Rivers, on Jan. 11, 1998, he was celebrating winning the AFC championship as a member of the Broncos.
He noticed a marked difference between the frenzied crowd at that game and the relatively quiet one yesterday. Many in the crowd of 55,049 were gone by halftime.
"Oh, there's no comparison at all. We could hear snap counts. We could make adjustments. We could make audibles. Everything went very well for us all day."
That held true after the game, too. A large throng of purple-clad Ravens fans gathered near the center-field wall to cheer their team coming off the field.
Steelers Report: 9/4/00 
