Home >  Sports >  Steelers

Tuesday, October 22, 2002

By Dejan Kovacevic and Ed Bouchette, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Steelers vs. Baltimore Ravens, 1 p.m. Sunday, Ravens Stadium. TV: KDKA. Radio: WBGG-AM (970), WDVE-FM (102.5), Steelers Radio Network. The Steelers are 5-1 in Baltimore since the Ravens moved there, including five consecutive victories.

Jerome Bettis, Steelers RB, left the game 15 seconds into the third quarter with an injured left knee and did not return. His knee slammed hard into the ground after being tackled for a 2-yard gain. RB Amos Zereoue took his place. Bettis was not limping after the game and said, “I’ll be all right.”

Jeff Hartings, Steelers C, left late in the third quarter with a left knee injury and did not return. C Chukky Okobi took his place. Hartings said he believes his knee injury is more serious than Bettis’ and that he will miss some playing time.

Brent Alexander, Steelers FS, left the game midway through the third quarter with an apparent shoulder injury but returned.

Adam Meadows, Colts OT, left early in the fourth quarter with a groin and hip flexor and did not return.

Qadry Ismail, Colts WR, left the game early in the third quarter with a left knee injury but returned.

The Steelers deactivated TE John Allred (calf), TE Jerame Tuman (quadriceps), LS Mike Schneck (elbow), OT Mathias Nkwenti, G Keydrick Vincent, DT Kendrick Clancy, DT Chris Hoke and DE Brett Keisel. The Colts deactivated TE Joe Dean Davenport (shoulder), CB Cliff Crosby (knee, shoulder), S Cory Bird (hip), LB Greg Favors, RB James Mungro, WR Drew Haddad, DT David Pugh and DT Josh Williams.

LB Kendrell Bell returned from an ankle injury, his first action since the opener. He had five tackles, and he made a big impact on consecutive plays midway through the third quarter. First, he threw Colts RB Edgerrin James for a 1-yard loss. Then, he got his hand in the face of Colts QB Peyton Manning as Manning threw an interception to FS Mike Logan. Bell also made regular penetration through the offensive line and showed no effects of the sprained ankle that forced him out of the previous four games. “I felt pretty good,” Bell said. “I had a tweak once, but it was no problem. The big thing for me was the rust. I mean, I watched the practices, and I’m a pretty intense guy, but there was still some rust.” He noticed James come at him often early in the game. “Yeah, they were picking on me, and I took some bad angles. But I shook it off.”

Unsung hero for the Steelers was RB Amos Zereoue, who didn’t touch the ball in the first half but finished with a career-high 87 yards on 15 carries after RB Jerome Bettis was injured early in the third quarter. Zereoue’s previous best was 73 yards Dec. 16, 2001, at Baltimore. His 42-yard run in the third quarter, which started at the Steelers’ 2, was the team’s longest by a running back this season. The previous long was 41 yards by Bettis. “That’s what you have to try to do, to make the most of your opportunities. You have to make something happen,” Zereoue said. “The guys in front did a great job. All I had to do was make plays.”

Indianapolis was 4-1 coming into the game and gaining momentum as one of the AFC’s strongest teams. But not much went right for the Colts last night, especially in allowing the Steelers to take an early 21-0 lead. “It was everyone,” Coach Tony Dungy said. “Fundamentally, we just didn’t play well enough to compete. You can’t do that against a team with as many good players as Pittsburgh has.” Colts TE Marcus Pollard credited the Steelers: “They’re a great team. Hats off to them. They had a great game plan, got off to a great start, and that got the crowd into it. It’s tough to come back against that.”

Colts QB Peyton Manning has not thrown for fewer than 235 yards in any game this season, and he finished with 304 last night on 32-of-48 passing. But while most of his throws were strong and accurate, he also seemed to get increasingly jittery as the Steelers blitzed relentlessly. Manning had only five interceptions all season, but he was picked off three times last night. The Steelers tried to disguise their defenses against him to prevent him from making his typically effective audibles. “We know he’s so smart that we wanted to try to confuse him,” Steelers FS Mike Logan said. “That’s not easy because he’s so intelligent, but I think we did a good job.”

Chukky Okobi saw his first NFL action at center after Jeff Hartings was knocked out of the game late in the third quarter with a knee injury. All of Okobi’s snaps were clean, although he allowed to being nervous on his first series. “You never know when you’re going to be in a position to go into the game, so you want to make the most of your chance,” Okobi said. “I just wanted to keep things the way they were with the running game. We had a little cohesion going there, and I didn’t want to stop it.”

Steelers PK Todd Peterson’s kickoffs continue to be short. In order, he reached the Indianapolis 13, 15, 8 and 14 before bouncing one out of bounds at the 13 and drawing a rain of boos. He missed his lone field-goal attempt, from 48 yards with 1:46 remaining but was 4 for 4 on extra points. His miss was about 15 yards short and slightly to the left. The Colts had CB Idrees Bashir catch the ball in the end zone and return it.

Peterson’s counterpart with the Colts, Mike Vanderjagt, found that even being the most accurate kicker in NFL history doesn’t help much at Heinz Field. He missed from 48 yards early in the second quarter, slipping slightly on the grass and booting a wobbly ball about 10 yards short. He also connected from 41 later in the quarter.

With RB Jerome Bettis’ two touchdowns in the first half, he achieved 282 points with the Steelers, passing WR Louis Lipps for 10th on the all-time list. Because he left early in the third quarter with an injury and gained just 33 yards, he remains 35 yards shy of passing O.J. Simpson’s total of 11,236 for 11th place on the NFL’s all-time list.

Since Tommy Maddox took over at quarterback, the Steelers are 12 for 16 in scoring touchdowns once they get to the opponent’s 20 or inside it. Last night, they were 4 for 5, with the fifth of those stalling at the 1 early in the fourth quarter. Most impressive, they needed only one, three, three and three plays inside the 20 on the four times they produced a touchdown.

LB Joey Porter’s blocked punt early in the first quarter was the Steelers’ second this season. The first came Sept 15 against the Raiders, by RB Chris Fuamatu-Ma’afala. Porter made the one last night happen by cutting sharply inside DB Brian Leigeb and getting to P Hunter Smith in plenty of time to block the ball.

The Colts, making their first appearance in Heinz Field, were 0-1 at Forbes Field, 1-0 at Pitt Stadium and 0-11 at Three Rivers Stadium. Overall, the Steelers hold a 17-4 series edge, plus 4-0 in playoffs.

FS Mike Logan’s 46-yard interception return in the third quarter was the longest of his career. The interception was his fifth in the NFL, his third with the Steelers.

Chukky Okobi, Steelers C: “We’re just starting to be ourselves. It’s like, the first two weeks, we were just kidding around.”

Terry Bradshaw lost his starting job at quarterback to open the 1974 season to Joe Gilliam, eventually regained it and helped the Steelers to their first Super Bowl victory after the season. So, he had some advice for Kordell Stewart, who lost his job to Tommy Maddox after the third game of this season: “Keep your mouth shut,” Bradshaw said. “Sit there and just be ready. It takes two to win this thing. Hopefully, it won’t be his last [start]. It’s tough, hard on Kordell. I know the hurt and pain deep inside he must be going through. But as I would say in this book, life owes us nothing. We make, we create our own opportunities and happiness. Hang in there, stay focused. I know it’s hard when tested, this is when you find out what you have. Don’t say anything wrong, be smart, be wise, and if you get another opportunity, you have to respond to it.”