Wednesday, October 15, 2003

By Gerry Dulac, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

The quarterback, once a gunslinger, has been turned into a mailman, failing to throw a touchdown in 14 quarters and playing with the caution of a crocodile hunter.

In a league in which there already have been 38 100-yard rushing performances, the running backs have managed to top that total just once -- but only if you count the combined rushing totals of Amos Zereoue and Jerome Bettis against Cincinnati.

What's more, the offensive line has become a specialty unit all to itself, rotating eight players and presenting more combos than a drive-thru menu board.

	The good news: Jerome Bettis led the Steelers in rushing Sunday in Denver. The Bad news: He only had 34 yards on 14 carries.

Nonetheless, the Steelers' 17-14 loss in Denver, the exclamation point on their three-game losing streak, cannot be blamed solely on the offense.

"We have to sit back and see where we are at this stage," Coach Bill Cowher said, referring to the 2-4 record the team takes into a bye week. "We have to play with some sense of urgency."

To be sure, the Steelers' offense, considered among the most potent in the NFL, managed just one touchdown for the second game in a row. But three teams who scored just one offensive touchdown Sunday -- Miami, Cleveland and New England -- won their games. Another team, Baltimore, did not score an offensive touchdown, but easily produced a 26-18 victory in Arizona.

Each of those four teams received touchdowns from other areas, to produce victories. In the case of the Ravens, they had a blocked punt return and interception return for touchdowns, giving them four touchdown returns in five games.

The point is, the Steelers are struggling on offense, but they are not getting help from other areas to get through what has become a tough and frustrating stretch. When they had chances to make big defensive plays against the Broncos, they didn't.

They also committed fewer turnovers than the Broncos (3-1), the first time the Steelers have done that since Week 8 of the 2001 season -- a span of 34 games -- they have won the turnover battle but lost the game.

"I'm glad we didn't beat ourselves," Cowher said after the loss.

In reality, though, the Steelers did:

Safety Brent Alexander dropped what appeared to be a sure interception with 38 seconds remaining, giving the Broncos a chance to kick a winning 47-yard field goal as time expired.

Bettis fumbled for the first time since the 2002 season and only the second time in his past 980 carries, leading to the Broncos' final touchdown -- an 11-yard pass to Rod Smith -- and a 14-6 lead.

Inside linebacker James Farrior failed to pick up a Steve Beuerlein fumble at the Broncos' 23 -- not once, but twice -- with nobody around him in the third quarter. The Steelers were trailing, 7-6, at the time.

"It's a frustrating loss because we did some good things," said Bettis, who rushed for 34 yards on 14 carries and added a touchdown run and two-point conversion. Asked what those good things were, Bettis said, "How we played, how responsive we were. We fumbled, they went down and scored, and we came back and scored."

Even Tommy Maddox, who hasn't thrown a touchdown in 14 quarters, said, "As funny as it sounds, and as much as you don't want to ever say losing is good, I'm telling you, if we play like that we are going to turn this thing around."

Two weeks ago, the Steelers' offense was ranked No. 1 in the AFC and No. 3 in the NFL. The passing game was ranked No. 1 in the league. But, after producing 27 points in their past 10 quarters, the offense has dropped to 17th in the NFL, eighth in the conference.

The funk started near the end of the first half of the Tennessee game Sept. 28 at Heinz Field. The Steelers scored on each of the first two drives -- using 16 plays on one, nine on the other -- to take a 10-0 lead. Then, after Maddox was sacked in the end zone for a safety on the ensuing series, the offense came right back on another 10-play drive to take a 13-9 lead.

But, on their next possession, Maddox threw a pass for Plaxico Burress that was intercepted by cornerback Samari Rolle and returned 49 yards to the Steelers' 1. Two plays later, the Titans scored, and the offense has sputtered and struggled since.

The Steelers scored no points on their next seven possessions and scored on two of their next 10. Until Bettis scored on a 1-yard run with 2:41 remaining against the Broncos, the offense had managed just three field goals and two touchdowns in 28 possessions since Rolle's interception.

"We dominated the first half of that Tennessee ballgame and the interception right before half, things just went downhill from there," wide receiver Chris Doering said. "We need to get back on top and get some of our confidence back. I think that [Broncos] game, despite losing, did help get some of the confidence back.

"The fact everybody kept fighting and the character we showed as a team will help us to grow and get better in the future. A lot of people use that cliche and say that, but I think that will help us."

NOTES -- The players, who had the past two days off, report back to practice today. They will hold regular practice today and tomorrow, before getting Friday, Saturday and Sunday off. ... DE Kimo von Oelhoffen is tied for seventh in the AFC with four sacks, a career high.

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