Tuesday, October 28, 2003

By Ed Bouchette, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Steelers vs. Seahawks, 4 p.m. Sunday, Seahawks Stadium, Seattle. TV: KDKA. Radio: WDVE-FM (102.5), WBGG-AM (970) and Steelers Radio Network.

The Steelers knew in April when they received their schedule that they had difficult trips to Denver, Kansas City, San Francisco and Seattle, where they play Sunday. None of them thought their most difficult trips would be from their Saturday night stay at the Pittsburgh Hilton and Towers Downtown to the North Side on Sunday mornings. The Steelers have lost four in a row, three of those defeats at Heinz Field, where they are 1-3 halfway through their home schedule. That's as many losses as they had in their first two years in Heinz Field combined. They last had a losing record at home when they went 2-6 in 1999 and finished 6-10 overall. That came in Three Rivers Stadium. In their first two seasons at Heinz Field they were 12-3-1 and ran their record there to 13-3-1 after a season-opening victory against Baltimore.

The Steelers have only 13 sacks, a pace of 30 for a 16-game season. They led the AFC with 50 sacks last season. They tied a team record in 2001 with 55 and haven't had fewer than 39 in a season under coach Bill Cowher. Their low in a season since they started keeping track in 1969 was 19 sacks in 1988, when they went 5-11. The only other time they had fewer than 30 was in 1970 when they had 26 sacks. "I wouldn't say we're sitting back too much but we didn't get enough pressure," said LB Joey Porter, who had the team's only two sacks Sunday against the Rams. "When I got here, it was Blitzburgh. The beauty of the 3-4 is getting after him, getting after him every chance you can. Live by the blitz; die by the blitz. We didn't even give ourselves a chance because there was no pressure back there." Porter would not say if the Steelers blitzed enough Sunday. He said the Rams kept a lot of blockers in and often sent only two receivers out on routes and still made plays. "They made some plays on two-man routes that were unbelievable. Torry Holt ... they had just two people releasing and you say there's no way he should come down with that ball and he came down with it a couple times. That's tough to swallow. ... That hurts the morale of the defense." S Brent Alexander said the sack total doesn't always reflect the kind of pressure put on the quarterback. "Pressure on the quarterback doesn't always add up to sacks. Pressure on the quarterback can disrupt him and make him move around the pocket. There were some situations where the quarterback did move around the pocket and he was able to make plays. Sometimes that happens."

The Steelers' defense ranks third in the NFL in yards allowed per game (272.4), but ranks 25th in points allowed (25.6 average). The team is on a pace to smash one of its oldest records. The 1944 team, combined with the Chicago Cardinals and known as Card-Pitt, went 0-10 and allowed 30 or more points in seven games. Last season, the Steelers allowed 30 points or more six times during the regular season and twice in the playoffs. Four of the Steelers' seven opponents this season have scored at least 30 points. Counting playoffs, the Steelers have allowed at least 30 points in 12 of their past 25 games.

The team's rankings on offense have continued to decline. They are 23rd in the NFL in yards per game, 21st in points, 27th in yards per play, 30th in rushing yards per game and per play, 27th in percentage of passes intercepted, 28th in sacks allowed per passing play.

WR Hines Ward's 46 receptions rank second in the AFC, and he's tied for second with five touchdown catches. Ward's 16-game pace is 105 receptions. ... Of the top 16 punt returners in the AFC, Antwaan Randle El, who ranks seventh with a 9.8-yard average, is the only one other than Kansas City's Dante Hall to score a touchdown. Randle El's 84-yard return Sunday was the second-longest in team history, but it was the longest punt return for a touchdown by a Steelers player. Brady Keys returned one 90 yards in 1964 but did not score.

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