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Sunday, January 12, 2003

By Ed Bouchette, Bob Smizik, Lori Shontz and Ron Cook, Post-Gazette Sports Writers

The Steelers might soon lose an assistant coach to the college ranks. There have been reports in Kentucky that Mike Archer will be hired as the University of Kentucky defensive coordinator. Archer, who previously was an assistant for the Wildcats, could not be reached for comment. He has coached the Steelers' linebackers since 1996 and came to them from Kentucky, where he was linebackers coach and assistant head coach. Steelers President Dan Rooney said no one from Kentucky has asked permission to talk to Archer but noted that only NFL teams are required to do so.

Steelers offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey couldn't have hurt his chances of getting the Cincinnati Bengals' head job. His offense scored 31 points and produced 324 yards. It also converted yet another 2-point conversion -- that made seven out of eight for the season -- early in the fourth quarter. QB Tommy Maddox faked a handoff to Amos Zereoue to the left, then lateraled to Hines Ward to the right. Ward, after shaking off CB Samari Rolle, completed a pass to Plaxico Burress for the score. It was the kind of innovative play that intrigues the Bengals. They're expected to interview Mularkey for the second time this week.

Rookie K Jeff Reed, out of work for the first half of the season, could have gotten the winning field goal yesterday. He put the Steelers ahead 31-28 with a 40-yard field goal with 8:30 left, but they could not hold it. He made three of four of his attempts, missing one from 44 yards, wide to the left, in the fourth quarter. "It's a tough way to lose," Reed said. "We fought back that hard on the road. ... It's tough to move on, but you have to." Reed watched helplessly as Joe Nedney tried three field goals for Tennessee to win it in overtime. The first, from 31 yards, went through but a timeout had been called. The second missed, but Dewayne Washington was called for running into the kicker. Nedney then kicked the winner from 26 yards. "To get two shots at short range," Reed said, "I don't know how to explain that."

The Steelers' defensive line did about everything it could to stop Tennessee yesterday. It held Eddie George to 33 yards rushing on 15 carries, helped make him fumble twice and NT Casey Hampton knocked George from the game with a brutal hit. "I never thought for a doubt we weren't going to win that game," DE Aaron Smith said. "I never thought we were going to lose that game." Even after the Steelers lost the coin toss and had to kick off to the Titans to begin overtime, Smith remained confident of victory. "I wasn't even worried about that. I figured we'd go out there and stop them, the offense would get the ball back and we'd go down and win the game."

It seemed that every time the Titans needed a clutch pass reception, TE Frank Wycheck was there to provide it. He caught a career-high 10 passes for 123 yards and one touchdown. "He's had some great games against Pittsburgh," Fisher said. "It's about time he was about to put some numbers up and make some plays."

Needless to say, the Titans are hoping the New York Jets defeat the Oakland Raiders today, which would give them the home field in the AFC title game. It the Raiders win, the Titans will go to Oakland. "If we go to Oakland, fine," said RB Eddie George. "We'll be excited about going out there. They are a very, very good team -- offensively and defensively. At this point, you're going to face the best so there's no way around it. Of course, you want to have the Jets here for our home field."

LB Kendrell Bell started the game but it was apparent his sprained left ankle was not strong enough to hold up very long. He took himself out of the game after just two plays and wound up playing only seven snaps. He did not play after the Titans took a 14-0 lead. Rookie Larry Foote replaced him and wound up tied for the team lead in tackles with S Lee Flowers, each with 11.

Titans RB Eddie George knew he had a concussion when he fumbled in the third quarter, but he still kept his helmet on while standing on the sideline. He figured he could go back in the game. Then he tried to trot onto the field. "I felt woozy as the blood started to flow," he said. Still not convinced, George kept his helmet on and thought he'd try to get back on the field in the fourth quarter. "But that feeling never left me," he said. All George remembers from the play is fumbling the ball. He had hoped he managed to regain control, but the officials said he didn't. Having seen the replay, he agreed. Titans Coach Jeff Fisher suggested an alternate interpretation: "Although he was unconscious," he said, "he fell on the ball." George is scheduled to have more medical tests today.

WR Plaxico Burress had just two other catches in the game but scored a lot of points with his teammates by coming back to play the second half after his left hip was injured late in the second quarter. "Plax is a big-time player," Hines Ward said. "That was a serious injury, but he wasn't going to miss this game. That says a lot about him."

The loss dropped Coach Bill Cowher's record in the postseason to 7-8.

For the second time this season, the Steelers struggled to run against Tennessee. They managed only 45 yards in a 31-23 loss Nov. 17 in Tennessee and 67 yards yesterday. Amos Zereoue started and ran 49 yards on 14 carries -- 31 came on one touchdown run in the third quarter. Jerome Bettis ran just three times for 6 yards.

Yesterday was the second time the two franchises have gone to overtime in the playoffs and the first time the Titans have beaten the Steelers in the postseason. The Steelers beat the pre-Titans, the Houston Oilers, on Gary Anderson's 50-yard field goal on New Year's Eve in 1989. The Steelers are 3-1 in the playoffs against the Titans/Oilers.

Steve McNair, Titans QB on the Steelers' defense: "They really couldn't adjust to our empty sets. Frank [Wycheck] was sometimes in the slot and that really left some guys open."

Several Steelers were so distraught they could not or would not talk about the game, including OT Wayne Gandy, RB Amos Zereoue and LB Kendrell Bell. Gandy tried to apologize for not talking but could hardly get the words out. DE Kimo von Oelhoffen, who had his team's only sack, drooped dejectedly on a stool in the locker room, finding words hard to come by. "That's the game, fellas, that's the game," he said. "Right now, I am thinking my daughter is at home. The season is done. I am just going to go home and get ready for next season. We gave it all we had. I am going to go home and think about it for a while."