Home >  Sports >  Steelers

Sunday, December 17, 2000

A season that began in utter hopelessness took on a considerably more positive look as the Steelers shut down a grand old stadium in the dominating style that once was their trademark.

Sad to say, their opponent wasn't up for the history of the day. The Washington Redskins were not a worthy opponent for the final football game at Three Rivers Stadium. The site that has featured some of the greatest teams in National Football League history was dishonored by the Redskins, who seemingly have quit on their season. Their play bordered on disgraceful, a fact that was reflected in the Steelers' 24-3 win.

But that does not diminish what the Steelers did yesterday or in their past 12 games.

After opening the season with three consecutive losses, including one to the hapless Cleveland Browns, expectations for the team, never high, crashed. Pessimists suspected the Steelers wouldn't win a game. Optimists saw four victories as a possibility.

The Steelers had been here before. During the two previous seasons, the team collapsed after better-than-average starts. What would they do with a poor start?

But instead of collapsing, the Steelers strung together a skein of good, but inconsistent, play that turned a sour season into a positive one. They're 8-7 with an excellent chance of winning their final game at San Diego, a team with one victory.

A spot in the playoffs remains slight, but even if they don't get to the postseason, a win next week will send the Steelers into the 2001 season and their new stadium brimming with confidence with nine wins in their final 13 games.

"Certainly, our goal is the playoffs; our goal is to win a championship," Coach Bill Cowher said. "But I think given everything that's taken place and the fact that since the first three games we were 8-4, that's pretty good football."

A string of narrow defeats, twice to Tennessee, once to Cleveland and a virtual giveaway to the Philadelphia Eagles only served to make the Steelers wonder what might have been.

"We're doing some things well," Cowher said. "There were a couple game in there, the Philadelphia game is probably the biggest one in my mind -- that was a win or at least it should have been.

"I think the most important thing is that there are a lot of positive things that we can build off. I think we can play pretty solid football."

Whether the Steelers have the necessary talent to build on this season isn't certain. But the opportunity is there.

The team's talent level again was reflected in Pro Bowl voting. One Steeler, linebacker Jason Gildon, was named to the team, which is one more than made it last season.

Cowher left little doubt where he stands on the much-debated quarterback position, where Kordell Stewart has struggled for the past three seasons.

Cowher said, "I thought Kordell played a very solid game. His decision making has been very good."

Stewart completed 11 of 21 passes for 175 yards. He did not throw a touchdown pass or an interception. On the season, he has 10 touchdown passes and six interceptions.

The Steelers made a major organizational decision to sign Stewart to a long-term contract, which included an $8.1 million signing bonus, after the 1998 season. By all indications they will reaffirm that decision by bringing back Stewart as their No. 1 quarterback next season.

The team's return to respectability did not go unnoticed by the players.

"When you're down like that, everything is against you," said tackle Wayne Gandy. "All we could do is play hard. That's what we did."

Linebacker Levon Kirkland said, "This team stuck in there. A lot of people didn't give us a chance. We saw ourselves getting better."

The emotions of the final game clearly were with the Steelers, who were a happy and proud group in the locker room -- before the postgame celebration on the field. Almost like a high school team, they used disposable cameras to take photos of each other in their final visit to that locker room.

Asked if this was a good as winning a playoff game, Kirkland said, "Probably better. To play in such a great stadium that has so much history and to come in and win the last game. ... These fans really deserve something special, and I think we gave them something special."

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