Friday, September 26, 2003

By Gerry Dulac, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Plaxico Burress said he was surprised the other day when the Cincinnati Bengals had their new cornerback, Tory James, follow him all over the field. There will be no such surprise Sunday when the Tennessee Titans come to Heinz Field to play the Steelers.

	Steelers wide receiver Plaxico Burress has had some big games against the Tennessee Titans. (Peter Diana, Post-Gazette) Steelers Report: 9/26/03

Not only does Burress know exactly who will follow his every move, he knows exactly what to expect from that player -- Titans cornerback Samari Rolle.

"For the style Samari plays, he's probably the best pure cover guy I've seen in the NFL," Burress said. "He gets overlooked by a lot of people, but when I play against the guy he makes me work. I haven't had to work harder against any corner I've played against.

"I'm not saying I don't beat him or I can't beat him, but he makes you pull all your stuff out of the hat. You got to have everything clicking on all cylinders."

Burress and Rolle have taken turns tormenting each other on the football field. Off the field, they are best friends, living in the same condominium complex in North Miami Beach, Fla., in the off-season.

Burress said he talks to Rolle every week, and even asked him the other day if he needs extra tickets to the game, which is a rematch of last year's AFC divisional playoff game in Nashville, Tenn.

"It's a good friendly competition," said Burress, who is second in receiving yardage (287) and tied for fourth in receptions (18) in the AFC. "We play hard against each other. Sometimes there's a little trash talking going on between me and him. We know between the lines, during the game, we can't be too good of friends. We both want to win and we both want to be successful against one another."

Two years ago, Burress had a breakout game against Rolle, catching six passes for 151 yards -- including an acrobatic catch of a deflected pass -- in a Monday night victory against the Titans. He followed that up four weeks later by catching eight passes for 114 yards and a touchdown in a 34-24 victory in Tennessee.

Last year, though, Rolle held Burress to four catches for 41 yards in the regular-season game in Nashville, Tenn., then made a big interception on the second play from scrimmage that led to the Titans' first touchdown in their AFC playoff victory. Burress finished with just two catches -- one was a 40-yarder -- and was bothered by a sore hip from a fall in the first half.

"We just try to get it going early," Burress said. "We know whoever gets it going the fastest usually is going to have the upper hand."

That's why Burress is excited about his matchup with Rolle, who has already faced -- and limited -- some of the other top receivers in the league. Last week, the 6-foot, 175-pound cornerback from Florida State held New Orleans' wide receiver Joe Horn to just one catch for 5 yards, the fewest receiving yards in Horn's career. A week earlier, he held Pro Bowl receiver Marvin Harrison of Indianapolis to just two catches, though one was a 35-yard touchdown.

Last year, Rolle prevented Harrison, Jacksonville's Jimmy Smith, New England's Troy Brown, Cincinnati's Peter Warrick and Travis Taylor of Baltimore from making a touchdown catch.

"I probably don't get too many chances to play against elite corners," said Burress, who had five catches for 56 yards against the Bengals. "This is where you evaluate where you are."

Burress came into national prominence in that Monday night game against the Titans in 2001. Since then, he has posted back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons and combined with Hines Ward to form one of the most productive receiving tandems in the NFL.

Through three games, Burress and Ward have combined for 40 catches, 572 yards and four touchdowns -- more than any other receiving pair in the league. They might add to those totals against the Titans, who have the league's No. 1 run defense and have held the Steelers to 112 yards rushing in the past two games combined.

"Coach [Jeff] Fisher does a good job of mixing it up," Burress said. "I haven't played a team yet who runs everything in the book. But he runs everything in the book, and one time I told Samari, man, y'all throwing everything at me today. They give you safeties on the corner, sometimes they straight double you or try to disguise it and run somebody out at you. They'll jump inside you. They'll give you all the looks. That's one team you definitely got to watch a little more film on and try to get an edge because they can give you everything. They're not going to hold back."

Neither is Burress.

Usually, he said he doesn't initiate the trash talking on the field. But he might with Rolle, just to test his friend, get him ready for the challenge.

"I like to see what kind of mind frame he's in," Burress said. "I might say something to him, try to get him started, see if he'll say something back. It's a good friendly competition. He definitely brings out the best in me, but he makes me earn everything that I go out and work hard for. He can probably say the same thing for me."

E-mail this story   Print this story