Saturday, September 27, 2003

By Gerry Dulac, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Just one game after asserting their muscle and rediscovering their running attack, the Steelers will face the National Football League's top run defense tomorrow without one of their top offensive linemen -- left tackle Marvel Smith.

Smith has been bothered all season by a shoulder injury that saps the strength from his left arm, and he did not practice yesterday for the first time this week.

"It's hard to describe," Smith said. "I felt it throughout practice [Thursday] and I felt it throughout the game [against the Cincinnati Bengals]. I lost strength in my arm. It's just painful. It's just a matter of getting it back healthy. I guess it just keeps on getting worse and worse."

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Smith, who moved from right tackle this season when Wayne Gandy left in free agency, has been downgraded from probable to questionable on the team's official injury report. While Smith said he hasn't ruled out the possibility of playing tomorrow, his replacement, Oliver Ross, said he was told he would start against the Tennessee Titans at 1 p.m. tomorrow at Heinz Field.

"I'm just going to go out there and go to work," Ross said.

Smith's injury takes on added significance because Ross, who began the preseason as the starter at right tackle, has to line up against three-time Pro Bowl defensive end Jevon Kearse.

And, when the Titans use their nickel package in third-down situations, Ross will face defensive end Carlos Hall, who had eight sacks as a rookie in 2002.

"That's going to happen throughout the course of a season," Ross said. "Every team is going to have someone get hurt and someone else has to fill in."

Curiously, Ross faced Kearse two years ago in a game in Nashville, Tenn., when he started at right guard for injured Rich Tylski, then had to move to right tackle to replace Smith, who was injured in the game.

Kearse, who played in only four games last season because of a toe injury, has just 1.5 sacks in three games this season. Only two of his career 39.5 sacks have come against the Steelers.

"I just have to go in there and get a hat on a hat and try not to miss a beat," Ross said.

The Steelers were tantalized about their running game after they manhandled the Bengals and had Amos Zereoue and Jerome Bettis combine to rush for 128 yards. But the Titans present a more formidable problem.

They lead the league in rush defense, allowing an average of 63.9 yards per game. What's more, in two games against the Titans last year, the Steelers managed a combined 112 yards, an average of 56 yards per outing.

The Steelers have not had a 100-yard rusher against the Titans since they moved to Tennessee. Bettis had 115 yards against the franchise in 1996, but the team was still located in Houston and known as the Oilers.

"It's going to be a physical game," said Bettis, who had 59 yards on 16 carries against the Bengals. "Both teams are strong defensively, so you know its going to be a battle of which offense can really put 14 or 17 points on the board first. That's the team that probably wins."

"It's a shame," Smith said. "We're starting to come together [on the offensive line]. We're finally starting to feel better. It's a minor setback."

Smith said he has been playing with the shoulder injury since the start of the regular season and he practiced Wednesday and Thursday. But he said he did not aggravate the injury in practice and didn't know why it was bothering him so much.

"It's something I've been playing through," Smith said. "It got the best of me this week. It's been something I've been dealing with."

When asked if the injury will bother him the rest of the season, Smith said, "It's not something I see hurting me down the line."

NOTES -- TE Jay Riemersma (Achilles' tendon) did not practice again but remains probable on the injury report. ... RB Verron Haynes (knee) practiced for the second day in a row and will play. ... The Titans continue to list DT Albert Haynesworth (elbow), WR Drew Bennett (shoulder), G Benji Olson (knee) and TE Frank Wycheck (concussion) as questionable. ... Titans RB Eddie George had his 37th career 100-yard game Sunday against New Orleans. He finished with 100 yards on 29 carries but had runs of 16, 10 and 6 yards in the final three minutes when the Titans were trying to run out the clock. "Lastweek, he got stronger as the game went on, as most good backs do," Titans coach Jeff Fisher said. "He made a couple big plays for us at the end." Like Bettis, George is no longer the featured player in the Titans' offense. But he remains the Titans' top back and isn't spelled often by Robert Holcombe. "It's not a situation where he's unable to do it, it's a situation where the offense is evolving and they don't need him to be a workhorse," Bettis said. "Because of that, the assumption is that he can't do it anymore. But that's not the case. It's just a matter of getting the opportunity. I don't think it's a matter of can he do it."

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