September 26/2001

INSIDE SLANT

The Pittsburgh Steelers climbed out of last place and generally improved their lot without playing over the weekend, but now comes the new reality — they have to play for the first time in 21 days Sunday in Buffalo, where they haven't won in 19 years.

The topsy-turvy AFC Central with Cincinnati on top, Tennessee on the bottom and Baltimore in the middle gives the 0-1 Steelers some hope that they still have a shot at the thing despite their gloomy opening loss in Jacksonville.

"Right now, you have to look at it as wide open," defensive end Aaron Smith said.

Pittsburgh "stunk" — the word Jerome Bettis used — in its 21-3 loss Sept. 9 in Jacksonville. The Steelers also came out of it with a handful of injuries to starters who have since had a chance to heal because of the long layoff.

However, fullback Dan Kreider ran into more bad luck Monday in practice. He fractured his right hand while blocking. He can play with it, but it's another bad break for a guy who just resumed practicing last week after tearing a calf muscle the first day of training camp.

NOTES, QUOTES, ANECDOTES

—"You have the Bengals 2-0. Who would have thought of that?" — Steelers DE Aaron Smith.

"Coach said today, we can't worry about them, we have to worry about us." — FB Dan Kreider on the jumbled AFC Central Division standings.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

REPORT CARD AFTER ONE GAME

PASSING OFFENSE: D — No deep passes, no touchdowns, three sacks, dropped passes, two interceptions, a 47.2 passer rating. They haven't gotten any better at it during their two weeks of practice.

RUSHING OFFENSE: C-minus — The strength of the Steelers was not its strong point in the opener, but with Jerome Bettis and a good cast behind him, they are not worried.

PASS DEFENSE: D — The Steelers are going to have to find a way to put some pressure on the passer. They did not do that against Jacksonville, but will have a chance this week against statuesque Rob Johnson in Buffalo.

RUSH DEFENSE: B — Jacksonville managed only 101 yards on 29 carries, not bad for a defense that lost its starting DE (Kimo von Oelhoffen) on the second play of the game and starting ILB Kendrell Bell in the first half.

SPECIAL TEAMS: D — They had a punt blocked in the opener, and a long return against them. They fixed the punt blocking scheme so it won't happen again. They have a good punter, a good kicker and a good return game.

COACHING: D — The Steelers were not ready to play on offense, defense or special teams in their opener. But Jacksonville showed over the weekend it might not be as bad as many thought.

PERSONNEL/INJURIES

—DE Kimo von Oelhoffen has taken the boot off his high ankle sprain and did some stuff during practice Monday. He's unsure whether he will be able to play on Sunday. Everyone else is ready to go, including LB Kendrell Bell (ankle sprain) and CB Chad Scott (knee), who missed some practice time last week.

—FB Dan Kreider broke his right hand in practice Monday. He will wear a cast on it but should be able to play.

—WR Plaxico Burress has fully recovered from a sprained shoulder and will start Sunday in Buffalo.

—QB Kordell Stewart has shaken off a sprained ankle and will be able to run at full speed this week.