Aug 28, 2002 By Jim Wexell For The 4 min read

PITTSBURGH – Bill Cowher has a vision of the perfect football game. And, really, it’s not a pretty one. “I’d like to be able to throw the ball really effectively, score quick and be able to run the ball the rest of the game,” said the coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. “That’s the best of both worlds, honestly.”

But in this world on this day, the Steelers aren’t running the ball nearly well enough to live up to Cowher’s football utopia. Through three preseason games, the Steelers are averaging 3.1 yards per carry, a far cry from the 4.1 yards they averaged per carry last preseason, before going on to lead the NFL in rushing by a wide margin.

This year, the yards are more difficult to come by on the ground, so the Steelers are throwing the ball. And then throwing it some more.

“Our games the last two weeks have been four-and-a-half hours,” Cowher said. “Maybe we’re adding to it. Maybe we’re throwing the ball, too. It’s just a longer afternoon.”

Cowher couldn’t pinpoint the problem in the run game, saying only, “We’ve had breakdowns, one guy here, one guy there.”

Yet, the halfbacks have returned from last season. So has the fullback. And all but one of the offensive linemen have returned, and that one new lineman, Oliver Ross, played both right guard and tackle last year, yet he never played as poorly as he’s playing now.

“I think there’s a little more scrutiny this year,” Cowher said. “He came in and did a good job and I think everyone’s looking at him now under the microscope. He’s not played up to where we think he can play at, but I like his demeanor. He’s a tough kid. He’ll keep battling back. You’re not going to rattle the guy at all. You’ve just got to keep playing through it.

“That’s what I like about Oliver Ross. He may get beat one play but he’ll be back battling again the next play and that’s all we can ask him to do.”

While Ross struggled last week against the Detroit Lions, so did left tackle Wayne Gandy. Right tackle Marvel Smith was average at best. And tailback Jerome Bettis failed to build on an encouraging performance the previous week against the Washington Redskins.

Bettis has gained only 32 yards on a team-high 19 carries to average 1.7 yards per carry. Bettis had only one worse preseason since joining the Steelers and that was in 1999, when he sat out every game. Last year, Bettis averaged 4.3 yards per carry in the preseason.

Cowher believes it’s nothing that a little perseverance can’t fix.

“We’ve got to make sure people respect our running game,” he said, “and we have a lot of work to do in regards to that. Thursday will be another step in that direction.”

Certainly, the Steelers should be able to run the ball on the Minnesota Vikings, who ranked last in the NFL by allowing 4.8 yards per carry. But this preseason, the 2-1 Vikings are allowing only 3.1 yards per carry, so the sledding won’t come easily.

Perhaps the Steelers can find comfort in the problems their opening-day opponents, the defending champion New England Patriots, are having with their running game. Antowain Smith, who rushed for 1,157 yards last season, failed the team’s run test to start training camp and has averaged barely 3 yards per carry in three games. The Patriots even attempted to sign Jamal Anderson this week but could not finish the deal.

If neither team has the ability to run the ball on that first Monday night of the season, another four-and-a-half hour display could be in the works.

“I said it best last year, that whichever secondary played better would win,” said Steelers strong safety Lee Flowers. “That could be the case again this year. If it comes down to that, we’ll have to step up and play.”

And play and play and play.