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Monday, October 08, 2001

Compiled by Ed Bouchette and Dejan Kovacevic

Steelers (2-1) vs. Chiefs (1-3), 1 p.m. Sunday, Arrowhead Stadium. TV, radio: KDKA; WDVE-FM (102.5), WBGG-AM (970). The Steelers are 8-4 all-time in Kansas City, including 3-3 in the 1990s.

Tim Baker, Steelers WR, had a mild concussion after colliding with a Cincinnati player on the opening kickoff. He returned in the second half.

Adrian Ross, Bengals LB, had a strained right quadriceps muscle and left in the second quarter.

Steelers RB Jerome Bettis obviously does not live on the North Side, because he wants Steelers fans to crank up the noise more than they did yesterday. Bettis was pleading more than complaining, but he said the old days in Three Rivers Stadium were better when it came to the noise appeal. "There's no comparison. Three Rivers was clearly a louder stadium, and we didn't have the same fans. I feel bad saying this, but for us to go into our first game here, it was nothing like Three Rivers Stadium. The fans never even stood up. It was very disappointing to me because our defense needed them a lot of times. It looked like they were just watching the game. I went to the Miami-Pitt game and there was a lot more enthusiasm from the crowd. I'm begging, I'm pleading with the fans to please, when you come in here, come in there with the Steelers rag; I didn't see Terrible Towels. We need you guys. There are going to be some times when things are rough, some times out there when we really need them. They rose to the occasion a couple times, but we need them there all game long."

Bengals Coach Dick LeBeau, former defensive coordinator for the Steelers, on the debut of Heinz Field: "It's a beautiful stadium. I think the Steelers should be proud of what they have here."

The U.S. raids on Afghanistan began before the teams kicked off yesterday, but the Steelers were unaware of it until they returned to the field to start the second half and saw President Bush giving his speech on the JumboTron. Coach Bill Cowher gathered his team around and tried to explain to them what had happened, but even then some were unaware. "I had no idea, no clue about it," Bettis said. "We came out at halftime and saw the president speaking. I still wasn't clear that there were strikes. I just thought the president was addressing the country. We didn't know exactly what was going on. I think it was better that way."

Steelers C Jeff Hartings blocked for Barry Sanders when he played guard in Detroit. He's getting the hang of blocking in a different manner for a different-style runner with the Steelers: Bettis. "It's a lot of fun, man, watching him," Hartings said after Bettis ran for 153 yards against the Bengals. "I'm starting to learn I just have to stay on my guy and take him where he wants to go because Jerome is going to make the cuts and he's going to run some guys over. There were times where we couldn't get on the linebackers and he either made them miss or ran them over. It was a lot of fun."

Bengals QB Jon Kitna regularly missed open receivers by a wide enough margin that it appeared communication was a problem. "We'll have to look at it more closely on film but, in my opinion, it was. I was upset out there that we were making mistakes that weren't forced." He finished 19 of 34 for 164 yards, most of his best work coming in the fourth quarter. Kitna clearly was angry afterward. "I don't feel like we played to our potential today, and that kind of upsets me," he said. "When you don't play your best, whether that's a preparation problem or a problem with focusing once you get in the game ... we didn't play our best. That upsets me. Most of the time, I'm a pretty mellow person. But I expect a lot out of myself and a lot out of my teammates."

Many Bengals acknowledged getting a significant emotional boost from a goal-line stand on the Steelers' first drive. Bettis ran the ball 48 yards to the Cincinnati 5 and, because of a penalty on the Bengals, the Steelers had five cracks at the end zone from there. On fourth-and-goal inside the 1, the Steelers went for it, but Bettis got nowhere against LB Canute Curtis and SS Cory Hall. But at least one member of the Bengals dismissed the stop. "The only thing that goalline stand told us was that they shouldn't be down there," DT Oliver Gibson said. "I mean, we knew we were capable of stopping somebody inside the 10 with five tries, but that wasn't much consolation."

DE Aaron Smith recorded his third sack in three games to lead the Steelers. Last season, he had a total of four sacks. His latest was a came in the third quarter when he grabbed Kitna with his right hand on his left shoulder and pulled him down as if he were a steer at a rodeo. "I happened to get my hand in the right place," said Smith. "I just grabbed whatever I could."

Kimo von Oelhoffen, who missed last week's game with a sprained ankle, returned to start at right defensive end. Rodney Bailey, who started last week in Buffalo, took much of the work at right tackle for von Oelhoffen in the dime passing defense.

Steelers QB Kordell Stewart threw no interceptions, but he has the Bengals to thank for that. CB Rodney Heath and FS Chris Carter allowed what appeared to be easy pickoffs to slip through their fingers in the first half. "That changes things a lot," LB Steve Foley said. "If we get those, it might be a whole different game."

The Steelers deactivated SS Lee Flowers (knee), FB Dan Kreider (finger), G Chukky Okobi, G Keydrick Vincent, OT Mathias Nkwenti and DT Chris Hoke.

The crowd of 62,335 was the largest to watch a Steelers game, breaking the record of 61,545 for the AFC championship game Jan. 15, 1995, against the Chargers at Three Rivers Stadium. All tickets were sold, but the attendance was 2,115 below capacity.

Bettis topped 10,000 career rushing yards, the 14th NFL player to achieve that mark, and recorded his 48th career 100-yard game, his 36th with the Steelers.

WR Hines Ward has 24 receptions this season, moving him to 20th in team history with 149, three more than Dick Hoak.

*Cowher ran his record against the Bengals to 14-5, six victories more than any other opponent.

Wayne Gandy, Steelers OT, on quiet Heinz Field: "Maybe there are too many TVs. The fans would rather watch the game on TV and eat their bratwurst."

The footballs used for the game were so slick it was as if they were treated by Gaylord Perry, not rubbed down by the officials.

Both quarterbacks complained about the balls, and they had evidence to make their cases. Stewart fumbled several snaps, botched a handoff and threw poorly. Kitna threw wildly off target several times.

"The balls were very slippery today," Cowher said. "Kordell threw me a ball when we came out for the second half, and I felt how wet it was."

Cowher dropped the ball from Stewart.

"I told him that they have to work it out because I didn't have any answers for it -- those were the balls we had."

The regulation NFL Wilson balls included a notation commemorating the inaugural game at Heinz Field. The balls are supposed to be rubbed down by the home team and presented to the officials, who make sure they are in good condition and are not too heavy or too light.

"That's something we're going to have to work on, especially at home," Stewart said. "We shouldn't have that problem here. There were times I was handing the ball off out of the shotgun, I was nervous. Even when I had a quarterback draw a couple times, I was kind of nervous, really trying to hold onto it. The one I scored the touchdown, it was my first time ever covering up with two hands on the ball."

"It was like they just came right out of the bag," Kitna said. "If you've ever felt one of those, they tend to be pretty slick."