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Sunday, January 05, 2003

By Gerry Dulac, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

BEREA, Ohio -- There are two things Earl Holmes seems to have in abundance. Tackles and nicknames. Hit Man, is what cornerback Corey Fuller calls him.

Noses -- as in Moses -- is what safety Earl Little calls him.

"Because he has a big nose," Little said. "Noses goes out and he knows how to smell the ball."

Ask Corey Dillon. Ask Warrick Dunn.

Holmes can smell a ballcarrier the way a dog can smell a soup bone. In Pittsburgh, he sniffed out so many plays he led the Steelers in tackles for three consecutive seasons.

Now, after a slow start, Holmes is doing the same thing with his new team. He led the Cleveland Browns with 150 tackles during the regular season, more than he had in any season with the Steelers. And he's playing a position -- middle linebacker -- where the play is not always funneled to him as it was at inside linebacker in the Steelers' 3-4 defense.

"Earl Holmes, he's awesome," said Browns defensive tackle Gerard Warren, who plays in front of him in the Browns' 4-3 defense. "He has a nose for the ball."

Funny how things work.

This time last year, almost to the day, the Steelers beat up on the Browns, 28-7, in the regular-season finale at Heinz Field. Holmes was part of the defense that limited the Browns to 12 first downs and 173 total yards.

Now, Holmes is the lifeblood of the Browns' defense, the man who delivered the two biggest hits in Cleveland since Frankie Yankovic. His goal line stop on Dunn with 23 seconds remaining in a 24-16 victory against the Atlanta Falcons last Sunday was one of the final steps for the Browns' surprising playoff appearance against the Steelers -- Holmes' former team -- at 1 p.m. today at Heinz Field.

Now he is Noses, hoping to lead the Browns to the promised land.

"I don't think they're happy they got to face him a third time this year, knowing how good he was and how good he's done for us," Fuller said.

Game on

Earl Holmes was on the phone Sunday night, talking with his old friend and pupil, Joey Porter, his former sidekick in the Steelers' defense. They were going back and forth, like they always used to, jawing and teasing each other about meeting in the playoffs.

The conversation took place while they were each watching the game between Green Bay and the New York Jets, the game that ultimately allowed the Browns to sneak into the playoffs.

"Once we realized the Jets were going to win, it was like, OK, we're on," Holmes said. "I was like, I'm going to do my thing, and Joey was like, 'Well, I'm going to do my thing.' I spoke to Plaxico [Burress], and he said, 'I'm going deep, baby.'

"It was all out of fun and love for the game and love for each other. I'm very happy that I'm going back to Pittsburgh."

Holmes was perplexed how that conversation was taken out of context. When he arrived at the Browns' training center Thursday morning, several players said ESPN "SportsCenter" reported Holmes was trash-talking with his former team.

"Where's the trash talking come from?" Holmes said. "I can't talk trash to those guys. I love those guys."

It has been an intriguing season for the Browns, who had 10 of their 16 games, including the last four, decided in the final minute. And it has been equally intriguing for the player who, when he was a fourth-round pick (126th overall) in the 1996 draft, congratulated Bill Cowher for "taking the best linebacker in the draft."

Holmes had arthroscopic surgery on his knee shortly before training camp, and the missed time hampered his ability to learn a new defense. Through the first nine games of the season, which included two meetings with the Steelers, Holmes averaged just over seven tackles per game.

But, in the final seven games, beginning with a 27-20 victory in Cincinnati Nov. 17, Holmes has averaged over 11 tackles. The game against the Bengals was significant for another reason: That was when he stopped Dillon on back-to-back plays from the Browns' 1 with 5:53 remaining to preserve the win.

"He brings more stability at middle linebacker," said Fuller, who grew up with Holmes in the same neighborhood in Tallahassee, Fla. "He's a guy you know is going to get 150 tackles a year. And we brought in another guy with tenacity. Even though Wali Rainer was like that, nothing against him, but Earl brought some real veteran stability."

"He's clearly done all the things we thought he would do," Browns Coach Butch Davis said. "He got off to an extraordinarily slow start because of his knee, and it took him a little time to get into a groove, maybe even the first month of the season. He was just kind of feeling his way.

"But, at some point, probably after the first three or four games, you could count on him to get close to double-digit tackles every game. And for a middle linebacker who doesn't play 100 percent of the snaps, that's a pretty productive day."

Holmes, though, saved his best for last.

Against the Falcons, with the Browns needing a victory to continue their remarkable march to the playoffs, Holmes was involved in two key plays in the final 1:23 that allowed the dream to continue.

The first came when he grabbed Dunn's ankle on a first-down play from the Browns' 4, preventing Dunn from breaking the plane of the goal line. Then, on fourth down, with 23 seconds remaining, Dunn didn't follow his lead block and tried to cut the run inside.

Holmes filled the hole and met Dunn head-on. The collision put Dunn on the ground and the Browns in the playoffs, "You'd like the games to not be that close," Holmes said. "If it comes down to that, somebody has to make a play."

That's what Holmes has done for the Browns.

"You look at him, for five or six years he led the Steelers in tackles and he comes to Cleveland and does the same thing," Warren said. "To me, he's one of the best at his position in the league. He should have been in the [Pro] Bowl a couple times. But he'd rather go to San Diego (site of the Super Bowl) than Hawaii any time."

Playoff experience

It's Thursday morning, and Holmes is standing in front of his locker at the Browns' training center, talking with reporters from his new team, Cleveland, and his former team, the Steelers. Earlier in the day, Holmes was one of 15 players who stood out at a team meeting and talked about what it means to be in the playoffs. Out of 58 players, that's all the playoff-tested veterans the Browns have on their roster -- 15.

One of the first to speak was Ryan Tucker, the starting right tackle who played on the St. Louis Rams' Super Bowl team in 1999.

"This team is similar to the position we were in in '99 with the Rams," Tucker told his teammates. "We just came off a terrible year and we were underdogs. Nobody expected us to win. Nobody expected us to get in the playoffs. And we ended up winning the Super Bowl.

"I see a lot of the same characteristics on this team. We're young, we're very hungry, everybody's not just happy to be in playoffs. We really want to win these games and see how far we can go."

Then it was Holmes' turn. Off the field, Holmes is all jokes and play, a locker-room clown. "Earl is a comediam," safety Earl Little said. "He likes to joke around. But, when it's time to play, he'll be the one to settle everyone down."

That was the Earl Holmes who addressed his new teammates -- serious, pensive, introspective.

"I told them, you never know when you're going back," Holmes said. "Once I played in the AFC championship game against Denver and we lost, and we had like three losing seasons in a row in Pittsburgh. It took me a long time to get back last year. Now, we have a chance this year to go a long ways."

And Noses is leading them.

Browns business

Holmes' last postseason experience wasn't a pleasant one. He injured his knee in the first-round playoff victory against Baltimore and did not play in the AFC title game loss to New England. Holmes' absence, despite the injury, did not endear himself to several of the Steelers' coaches.

Shortly thereafter, the decision was made not to re-sign Holmes, who became an unrestricted free agent. Instead, the team decided to focus its financial energy on re-signing Pro Bowl linebacker Jason Gildon, which they did. Later, they extended the contract of outside linebacker Joey Porter, who made the Pro Bowl this season.

Eventually, the Steelers brought in James Farrior from the New York Jets to play the buck linebacker position -- Holmes' position -- in the 3-4 defense.

Holmes ended up in Cleveland, surprising some of his teammates who knew how much he disliked the Browns when he played them.

"That's just the rivalry," Fuller said. "It doesn't have to do with the players. This is a business. Earl had to do what he had to do. The Steelers didn't want to sign him, the Browns signed him to the money and he came and got the money."

Today, he'll be back at Heinz Field, in the playoffs, hoping to make it another disappointing postseason for the Steelers. And continue what has been a remarkable season for the Browns, a team whose propensity for the final-minute dramatics should earn them the nickname, "60-Second Men."

"My mom and I were talking the other day, and she said, 'Baby, who would have imagined in the first round of the playoffs you'd be playing your former team?' " Holmes said.

Same routine

Lee Flowers knows what Earl Holmes brings to the Browns, especially this time of year. Especially with a team that is making its first playoff appearance since re-joining the league in 1999.

"Poise," Flowers said, not hesitating with the answer. "Don't overreact because it's the playoffs.

"I think a lot of teams who are younger or didn't expect to be in the playoffs, they overreact and change their regimen during the week. They think, 'I'm going to run a little more after practice and all that.' It's Week 18. If you're not in shape now, you're not going to be in shape Sunday.

"He'll let these guys know to treat this like any other game. There's only eight teams playing this weekend. I know Earl very well. He's going to bring calmness to the locker room."

And havoc to the field.