Steelers notebook
Referee Cowher says ‘no holds barred down at the goal line’ GREENSBURG – Another installment of Kendrell Bell vs. Jerome Bettis took place last night at Offutt Field, but it was a key and controversial block by Matt Cushing that resulted in a touchdown for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ first-team offense.
In the goal-line drill, Bettis gained two yards before Bell brought him down with a hard, clean tackle. Amos Zereoue took the second-down play outside and scored as Cushing held Bell, the woulda-been tackler. Bell complained to referee Bill Cowher but to no avail.
“I was the only one out there and I didn’t have a flag in my pocket,” said Cowher. “No holds barred down there at the goal line.”
The second-team offense also scored in the series, a no-leg-pad series, when Tommy Maddox rolled out and passed to tight end Corey Geason.
The highlight of the morning practice was a leaping touchdown catch by rookie Lee Mays of a pass thrown by Tee Martin. Both Mays and rookie cornerback LaVar Glover went up for the ball, with Mays grabbing it at its apex and then fighting off Glover on the way down. Glover came back the next play to blast an extended Troy Edwards on a pass that fell incomplete. Glover is trying to hold off a challenge from Nijrell Eason for the fifth cornerback’s job.
VIRUS NOT A CONCERN: A dead crow found here last month brought out the first confirmed case of the West Nile virus in Westmoreland County. But the Steelers, who train at nearby St. Vincent College, aren’t too worried.
“Right now, we’re not taking any sort of precautions,” said trainer John Norwig. “There’ve been no reported human cases in the state of Pennsylvania. And with this age group, the chance of them having a significant illness is miniscule. Of them even getting the illness is miniscule.”
The virus can infect humans, horses and birds and is transmitted via mosquitoes. After the latest development, officials here drove through the town and collected old tires filled with stagnated water pools, which are considered a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
With that in mind, Norwig expressed some initial concern about the wetlands bordering the northern rim of the St. Vincent College campus.
“That is a breeding ground,” Norwig said. “I was talking to (Coach Bill) Cowher about those wetlands back there, but from what I’m reading is that still, even if you are bit by a mosquito carrying the Nile virus, you may not get the disease. You may not even know you have the disease. I was talking to people at the Latrobe emergency room and they don’t have any tests for it yet. And the deaths that they had in Louisiana are either in the very young or the very old.”
MAKE A WISH: St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Steve Kline visited St. Vincent College to take in the morning practice. His team is in town playing the Pirates, and Kline, a lifelong Steelers fan, was almost in awe.
“I feel like a five-year-old,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to be a football player, and I’ve always loved the Steelers.”
Kline was born and raised in Lewisburg, which is close to a three-hour drive from Pittsburgh in the middle of the state. He said his favorite players as a kid were Mel Blount and Donnie Shell. The 30-year-old Kline’s favorite players now are Jeff Hartings and Hines Ward.
“The boys in St. Louis give me a hard time,” he said. “They say I should root for the Rams, but I stick with my Steelers.
“Too bad they didn’t get to meet in the Super Bowl last year. It would’ve been a great game.”
LEE ON PAYBACKS: Lee Flowers took note of Hines Ward’s crunching crackback block on New York Jets strong safety Sam Garnes last week and joked with the Steelers’ tough-guy flanker about what he’d do if he were the opposing strong safety.
“I just told him, ‘If I was those guys I wouldn’t put up with it. I’d catch up with you on the next play. I’ll break coverage just to get you back,'” said Flowers. “But, really, that’s what you want. If a guy breaks coverage to go get him, Hines has done his job. He’s done a good job by getting those guys’ attention.”