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Colts' defensive end no match for Ward

Tuesday, October 22, 2002

By Gerry Dulac, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

The Indianapols Colts spent a good portion of the night trying to get Edgerrin James matched against another player working on a gimpy leg, Kendrell Bell.

On one pass, James turned and juked Bell so effectively that Bell, playing for the first time since the season opener, completely whiffed the tackle.

On another, James got behind Bell down the right sideline, forcing Bell to reach out and trip him before he can reach Peyton Manning’s pass. For that, Bell was penalized for pass interference.

The Colts were merely trying to exploit the obvious: See how well Bell, the NFL’s defensive rookie of the year last season, has recovered from two high ankle sprains. And they were doing it by sending James, a two-time Pro Bowl running back, out for passes.

“Oh, they picked on me,” Bell said. “I was taking a couple bad angles. I wanted to make a couple big plays.”

For his part, James is still a shadow of his indomitable self. Even though he ranks eighth in the AFC with 428 yards rushing, James is still seeking to regain his form after having surgery last year to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee.

Nonetheless, every time James was matched on a linebacker, whether Bell or Pro Bowler Jason Gildon, Manning never hesitated to throw to his running back. Manning did it in the third quarter, too, hitting James for a 23-yard completion when he got behind Bell again.

It was quickly turning into a mismatch.

But not quite like the one the Steelers managed against the Colts.

In the first quarter of last night’s 28-10 victory against the Colts, the Steelers got wide receiver Hines Ward matched in single coverage. By itself, that is desirable enough for Tommy Maddox, a quarterback who sniffs out man coverage the way a dog finds a soup bone.

But, in this instance, Ward, the Steelers’ leading receiver, enjoyed a mismatch of immense proportion.

He wasn’t matched against a strong safety. Or even a linebacker.

Ward was streaking down the left sideline, running past a, uh, defensive end.

And not just any defensive end. Chad Bratzke, the Colts’ leading sacker.

“When we sent him in motion, I saw Chad start to run with him,” Maddox said. “I tried to hurry up and get the ball to him.”

Guess who won?

“I had no idea a defensive end would come out and guard me,” Ward said.

But he did, and Ward ran under a soft pass from Maddox for a 17-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead. Ward later added a 14-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter that pushed the advantage to 28-10. That time, he was matched against cornerback Nick Harper.

Harper was helpless to stop Ward from leaping in the air and grabbing the pass as though it were a rebound.

Bratzke was just plain helpless.

“It brought a smile to my face,” Ward said.

It is not every day a Pro Bowl receiver who had 94 catches last season gets matched in single coverage against a defensive end. But, when he came in motion on a second-down play from the Colts’ 17, Ward found himself with the 6-foot-5, 270-pound Bratzke is pursuit.

To be sure, Bratzke is a lightweight defensive end whose forte is his quickness. It is not uncommon for him to pick up a running back, perhaps even a tight end, when he drops into pass coverage.

But Ward?

“Right when [Maddox] called that play, he said, ‘Hines, be ready,’” Ward said.

Still, Maddox was surprised at what he saw.

“I didn’t expect a defensive end [to watch him],” Maddox said. “I thought the weak-side linebacker would go with him.”

The play worked because Plaxico Burress, who had already caught two passes on the drive, ran a short curl pattern on the left side. Ward, who came in motion from the right, ran outside Burress before starting down the sideline.

The touchdown did two things.

It illustrated Maddox’s amazing success rate in the red zone (8 of 11 for touchdowns, at that point, since replacing Kordell Stewart).

And it did something that was imperative against the Colts -- get an early lead.

“The fast start really was important,” Coach Bill Cowher said. “It got our fans into the game. Our players feed off the crowd. There’s an energy you play to when the stadium gets going. When we’re able to do that, it’s been proven they’re a factor.”

But the Steelers also wanted to ensure Jerome Bettis and the running game would get ample opportunity to wear down the Colts, whose run defense is among the worst in the league. The Colts came into the game allowing 137 yards rushing per game -- 27th in the NFL.

Bettis went out of the game in the third quarter with a bruised knee. But, his replacement, Amos Zereoue, gouged the Colts for several big runs in the second half, including a 42-yarder down the right sideline. Zereoue finished with a career-high 87 yards on 15 carries. The Steelers finished with 182 yards rushing on 33 carries, an average of 5.5 yards per attempt.

OK, the Colts stopped Zereoue on fourth-and-goal at the Indianapolis 1 with 11:37 remaining. But the tone was set early, and the Colts were helpless to recover.

Just like Bratzke.