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Friday, January 03, 2003

By Chuck Finder, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

LOOKING AHEAD

Steelers vs. Cleveland Browns, 1 p.m. Sunday, Heinz Field. TV: KDKA. Radio: WBGG-AM (970), WDVE-FM (102.5), Steelers Radio Network.

NOTEBOOK

CB Chad Scott and LB Kendrell Bell sat out practice yesterday for the second consecutive day, and the condition of Scott's broken thumb might be more serious than previously expected. Scott didn't run in practice yesterday after doing so Wednesday. He also appeared to be holding the cast surrounding the injury closer to his body, as if pained. Deshea Townsend continued to align at Scott's starting position, with Hank Poteat replacing Townsend in the passing-down packages. The place of Bell, who is hobbled by a sprained ankle, continues to get filled by rookie Larry Foote. Scott and Bell remained as questionable on the Steelers' injury list. "We'll see how they are in the morning and go from there," Steelers Coach Bill Cowher said.

RB Jerome Bettis (knee) and LB James Farrior (shoulder) were again listed as probable for Sunday. Bettis continued to work with Amos Zereoue and Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala with the first-team offense in practice. "He's ready to go," Cowher said of Bettis. "We've got Jerome, Amos and Fu. We'll see how the game unfolds. Every game is sudden death. We're playing like there's no tomorrow." Farrior toiled with the starting defense and pronounced himself ready. "The week off, the rest from last week, helped me out a lot," he said. QB Tim Couch, out with a broken leg, is the only injury listed by the Browns.

Farrior spent the previous five seasons with the New York Jets, the first three with a certain coach nicknamed Tuna, so he has some sage advice for the Dallas Cowboys: Don't open that can. "Got to have strong skin," Farrior said of playing for Bill Parcells, who was named coach in Dallas yesterday. "Stronnnng skin. You got to be tough, boy." For the record, Farrior's best Jets season came after Parcells left.

Two words for G Alan Faneca: Orpheus Roye. He grinned at the mention of the Browns DT who played for the Steelers from 1996-99 and aligned opposite Faneca often in practices. "Lots of questions about Orpheus," Faneca said. Roye dominated in their previous two meetings this season. He was originally credited with six and nine tackles in each of the games, though the Browns increased those numbers to read: 22 total tackles, five tackles for losses, five quarterback pressures and one pass deflection. He told The Plain Dealer of Cleveland: "I guess because I practiced against him a lot, so I got a pretty good feel for him and the blocking schemes. Playing against him and watching film on him gives me a good edge on him. And playing your old team, you kind of get a little bit excited because you're familiar with some of the guys. You tend to play your best games against your former teammates and coaches." Faneca, last week elected to his second consecutive Pro Bowl, said of Roye: "He's probably one of the best defensive linemen I've played against this year. He's definitely no slouch. There is a familiarity there. But everybody changes up. They change their defense a little bit every time. We change our offense a little bit. That comes with division play, when you play somebody twice a year every year."

Informed that Cowher told the local media that only opposing kickers have a problem with Heinz Field, Cleveland K Phil Dawson snapped to a Cleveland reporter, "That's his opinion."

Browns LB Earl Holmes, a Steelers stalwart the previous six seasons, was named AFC defensive player of the week after recording 11 tackles and playing a prominent role in the game-ending goal-line stand against Atlanta. Steelers WR Plaxico Burress suggested that maybe such a performance was what encouraged Holmes to telephone a bunch of his former teammates and leave teasing messages. "After I saw those two plays he made on TV," Burress said, "I thought, 'Oh, that's why he called.' "