LOOKING AHEAD
Steelers vs. Seahawks, 4 p.m. Sunday, Seahawks Stadium, Seattle. TV: KDKA. Radio: WDVE-FM (102.5), WBGG-AM (970) and Steelers Radio Network
WHO'S HURTING
Jerome Bettis, Steelers RB, left briefly late in the second quarter with a knee injury but returned and said afterward he is not seriously hurt.
Leonard Little, Rams DE, left in the third quarter with a bruised shoulder and did not return.
Damione Lewis, Rams DT, left in the fourth quarter with a sprained ankle and did not return.
NEWS & NOTES
In a pregame ceremony on the field with Terry Bradshaw, Dan Rooney presented assistant coach Dick Hoak with his old No. 42 jersey. This is Hoak's 42nd year with the Steelers as a player and coach, and his 686th game with them. The jersey was one from the mid 1960s, with a "GoldenTriangle" on the shoulder pads (representing the GoldenTriangle Downtown) on an otherwise black jersey. Rooney designed that jersey a long time ago. "Remember that jersey?" Rooney asked Hoak as he unveiled it. Replied Bradshaw, "That is the ugliest jersey I've ever seen." Hoak came to the mike and said, "I'd like to thank the Rooney family for putting up with me all these years." When Bradshaw introduced Chuck Noll, he called him "my coach and good friend" and then put his arm around Noll.
Steelers QB Tommy Maddox had not thrown a touchdown pass in his previous 15 quarters, then threw two in two quarters yesterday, both to Hines Ward. One came in the second quarter, one in the third. But Maddox's passer rating continued to plummet after he had led the NFL with a 134.3 rating in the first week of the season. Yesterday, Maddox's rating was 45.7, his second-lowest of the season. His rating for the season dropped four points to 71.2. "Right now, it seems like every bounce that can not go our way is not going our way," Maddox said. "That is the frustrating thing about it. Sometimes, you feel like you need one to fall our way and kind of get us going. But it just hasn't happened."
The staff put Joey Porter back to right rush end in the dime defense after a few series, removing Kendrell Bell from the field and returning James Farrior to middle linebacker. They also used Clark Haggans a few times at left rush end in place of Jason Gildon.
Porter sacked Rams QB Marc Bulger in his first time back at rush end in the dime, and added another sack later, the only sacks the Steelers had. They were the first sacks since Porter celebrated his return from a gunshot wound with a sack of Jon Kitna in Cincinnati in the third game of the season. His 33 1/2 career sacks moved him into 10th place on the club's all-time list, ahead of the late Steve Furness. "For me to do that is natural," Porter said of his return to rush end in the dime, where he also has been playing in the nickel. "It's nothing for me to go out there and line up and do that. it feels good to rush the quarterback a little bit, do some things me and Jason got a chance to do back in the day. That doesn't matter right now, we lost the game, it doesn't matter how one individual plays if we lose." As a team, the Steelers have only 13 sacks, way off the pace of the 50 they had last season, which led the AFC.
The Rams had possession of the ball for 40 minutes, twice as much as the Steelers. So much for controlling the clock, one of the goals of the Steelers for keeping the ball away from the NFL's top passing offense. "It was a bad situation of going out there and going three-and-out and putting them right back on the field," OT Alan Faneca said. "Especially the way the Rams were moving the ball, it's not helping [the defense] out at all." Said Ward, "Our whole goal was to keep their offense off the field. Then we fell behind and we're playing catch-up and we're out of our gameplan. I think Jerome [Bettis] came in and did a great job to establish the run, but when you fall behind, you have to make plays in the passing game. I'm not going to blame anything on the weather because they went down the field passing it."
Faneca made his second consecutive start at left tackle and the two-time All-Pro guard felt more comfortable at the position. "I did a lot better than I did last week," he said of his first start at tackle against Denver Oct. 12. "I was more used to things than I was last week and I felt better out there than I did last week. Until they tell me I'm moving, that's what I'm preparing for, that's the way I'm handling it right now."
RB Marshall Faulk dressed for the Rams after missing three games because of hand and knee injuries, but he did not participate. He is expected to play Sunday in San Francisco. Arlen Harris, a rookie free agent out of the University of Virginia, was in his spot and carried 34 times for 81 yards and three touchdowns in his first NFL start. That was an unimpressive average of 2.4 yards per attempt, but it gave the Rams just enough balance to relieve the burden from the passing game. He also caught four passes for 15 yards. "Definitely, it feels good," he said. "Coming into this game, I didn't feel any pressure being the so-called starter. I knew the line was going to do its part. I was just worried about doing mine."
Bulger met briefly after the game with Steelers SS Mike Logan and RB Amos Zereoue, fellow alumni of West Virginia University, to discuss the Mountaineers' upset of Virginia Tech last week. "We chatted a little bit about how happy we were and how the team is finally getting its due," Bulger said. "I'm really proud of those guys."
The Rams were 1-9 in their previous 10 road games, leading many to criticize them as being unable to win outdoors, as they play indoors at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis. That is why Martz reacted defensively when he was asked how his team handled the soggy conditions at Heinz Field: "The condition doesn't mean anything. We practice on grass. I don't mean to disrespect anybody with that, but they do grow grass in St. Louis, and we do practice outside, and it does rain. You just don't worry about those things."
During halftime, the Steelers recognized their 1,000th game by having nine former players, former coach Chuck Noll and president Dan Rooney introduced on the field. The players, representing each decade of the organization starting with the 1930s, were Carl Nery, "Bullet" Bill Dudley, Jack Butler, Andy Russell, Terry Bradshaw, L.C. Greenwood, Louis Lipps, Greg Lloyd and Dermontti Dawson.
INACTIVE LISTS
Steelers: LT Marvel Smith (shoulder), LB Alonzo Jackson, DT Chris Hoke, RB Dante Brown, TE Matt Cushing, TE Jay Riemersma and WR Freddie Milons. TE Jerame Tuman took Riemersma's place as a starter.
Rams: LB Tommy Polley (elbow), SS Adam Archuleta (ankle), CB Kevin Garnett (hamstring), RB Lamar Gordon (ankle), G David Loverne, G Andy King and WR Mike Furrey.
FOR THE RECORD
Steelers WR Antwaan Randle El's 84-yard punt return in the first quarter was the second-longest in franchise history. Brady Keys returned a punt 90 yards Sept. 20, 1964, vs. the Giants. It also was the first punt-return touchdown of Randle El's career in the regular season. He had one in the AFC playoffs last season, 66 yards against the Browns Jan. 5.
Steelers LB Joey Porter's two sacks gave him 33 1/2 for his career, passing Steve Furness for 10th on the team's all-time list. Furness had 32.
NUMBERS
The Steelers' 2-5 record is their worst through six games since 1988, when they started 1-6. They finished that year 5-11.
The Steelers have given up 96 points in their past three home games.
The Rams' victory in Pittsburgh was the first for the franchise since Dec. 19, 1971, at Three Rivers Stadium.
Marc Bulger's 375 passing yards were second most by an opponent in a regular-season game in Pittsburgh. The Raiders' Rich Gannon passed for 403 yards in the second game last season. Doug Williams holds the opponent record with 430 in 1988 game in Washington.
The St. Louis defense has forced 15 turnovers in the past four games, including three interceptions and a fumble recovery yesterday.
Steelers rookie Ike Taylor returned six kickoffs for 145 yards for a 24.2-yard average.
HE SAID IT
Torry Holt, Rams WR: "We could run our routes with our eyes closed, the way we're clicking."
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Steelers Report: 10/27/03