Wednesday, September 03, 2003

By Ed Bouchette, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

There's a new slogan in town, and Steelers Coach Bill Cowher came up with it.

"Start fast, finish strong."

It beats the mottos in places like, say, Arizona and Cincinnati, which lean more toward "start slow, finish weak."

Since taking over as head coach in 1992, Cowher's philosophy has been more about strong finishes than strong starts, and his record reflects that. He cut way back on the physical nature of training camp and holds practices during the season in efforts to save his players for the long haul.

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But the Steelers are 4-7 in season openers with Cowher as their coach, a .364 winning percentage that even the Bengals might disdain. That compares to Cowher's winning percentage of .610 in the regular season. The Steelers also are winless in openers in the 21st century. They were outscored, 67-17, in losing their past three season openers.

They last won an opener when they beat the expansion Browns in Cleveland, 43-0, in 1999. They haven't won an opener at home since they beat Detroit, 23-20, in 1995, which sprung them to their most recent Super Bowl season.

So, as he prepares to begin his 12th season as Steelers coach Sunday in a game against Baltimore in Heinz Field, Cowher is looking for a fast start.

"That's really what we've talked about the past couple of weeks," he said yesterday. "There's no guarantee with how you start as to how it's going to be at the end."

Fast starts don't always lead to the playoffs, as the San Diego Chargers discovered last season. But without one, it's more difficult for a team to put itself in the prime playoff position that guarantees byes and home games. Last season, for example, the Steelers won their division with a 10-5-1 record but missed out on the top two AFC seeds in the playoffs. They were forced to play an extra game and then on the road, where they lost at Tennessee in overtime.

If they had started the season 1-1 instead of 0-2, things might have been different.

"Starting fast is always important," Cowher said. "Some years we have, and the past couple of years we have not. It's a situation where you'd like to be able to get off to a good start, so you can create a certain margin of error for yourself. But when you get off to a slow start, you find yourself fighting an uphill battle every week. That doesn't mean a slow start will determine your fate, but it can affect the path you have to take to get where you want to go."

To that point, Cowher believes his team is ready, and he's thrilled with the first opener at home since Heinz Field opened in 2001. It's the Steelers' second opener at home in the past six years.

"I am excited about this season," Cowher said. "The players should be excited about the season. I am excited about opening up at home. This is great. For the first time in three years, with a home opener, it is exciting. It is a long year. So, you don't get caught up in the preseason hype and all the speculation that people have because it is going to play out now. All the talking is done. It is time now to speak with your actions. We are going to have an opportunity to do that Sunday and I think it is exciting for our football team."

Cowher yesterday picked Todd Fordham to start at right tackle instead of Oliver Ross. Joey Porter's gunshot wound required a change at outside linebacker, where Clark Haggans will take over.

"I like where we are," Cowher said. "I like how we played in Carolina. I had a good feel for what we were able to do on offense, a good feel for where we were defensively. Outside of Joey's injury, I like where we are health-wise. This is where we are, and I think we're ready to play."

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