Colts a good baraometer for Steelers
PITTSBURGH – Tonight, we’ll find out if the Steelers have regained their prime-time touch or if this bunch really is the second coming of the Not Ready For Prime Time Players. The Steelers host the Indianapolis Colts on “Monday Night Football” in a game that will determine a whole lot about the rest of the season for both teams.
Pittsburgh is 2-3, while the Colts are 4-1. The Steelers are still trying to string together a couple of complete games, while trying to regain their stature as one of the AFC’s best teams. Indianapolis heads into the meat of its schedule, which takes them to Washington next Sunday and to Philadelphia after a home game with Tennessee.
The Steelers still are trying to shake off the lasting effects of back-to-back prime-time season-opening losses, to the Patriots on a Monday night and to the Raiders at home on a Sunday night.
There are a lot of familiarities between the Colts and Steelers, but these really are different teams, in terms of personnel. Tony Dungy is the new head coach of the Colts and he retained a few offensive coaches with ties to the area. Offensive coordinator Tom Moore coached here under Chuck Noll and running backs coach Gene Huey is a Uniontown native.
The Colts offense is capable of posting big numbers anytime it takes the field mostly because of three special players in quarterback Peyton Manning, running back Edgerrin James and wide receiver Marvin Harrison.
“Peyton is the key to that offense,” Steelers coach Bill Cowher said.
“He does a good job of audibilizing. They do a lot of no huddle. It looks like he is going to snap the ball, then he will move away once he reads a defense. He will try to put them into the play that beats the defense.
“Marvin Harrison is one of the premier receivers in the National Football League, but if you concentrate too much on him they have a back that is pretty good, too, in Edgerrin James. Those three can create a lot of problems for a defense.”
The Colts offense should provide a good test for Pittsburgh’s defense. After a very rocky start, the Steelers have played well on defense in two of their last three games.
“No disrespect to Cincinnati or Cleveland, but we’ll find out what kind of defense we have against these guys,” safety Lee Flowers said of the Colts.
“They have plenty of firepower and they know how to use it.”
James is coming back from a torn anterior cruciate ligament, suffered in the sixth game of last season. He leads the team with 428 rushing yards and is third in receptions with 21.
“I think you see him getting stronger every game,” Cowher said.
“He is a premier back. His numbers may not be as big as they wonce were, but is running hard.”
“He’s coming,” Dungy said of James. “He really gets our offense going.”
Meanwhile, Indianapolis has to spend extra time preparing for Steelers quarterback Tommy Maddox, who gets his first start at Heinz Field in this prime time game.
Dungy said he hasn’t seen much difference in Pittsburgh’s offense since Maddox replaced Kordell Stewart as the starter.
“The running game hasn’t changed and there isn’t much change in the passing game,” Dungy said.
“They are playing pretty well on offense right now.”
The biggest difference in the Steelers’ offense, according to Dungy, might be something as simple as how the team responds to Maddox.
“What he’s doing is when guys are open, he’s hitting them,” Dungy said. “He seems pretty composed to me for a guy who hasn’t played in a number of years.”
While Dungy inherited a pretty dangerous offense, he has begun leaving his mark on Indianapolis’ defense, which left plenty to be desired throughout Jim Mora’s tenure as Colts coach.
“Tony’s defense is not going to beat itself,” Cowher said. “You are going to see that it is not a fancy defense.
“He does a good job with the fronts and in freeing up their inside linebacker. Rob Morris is a guy they like to keep clean so he can go after the ball and he is pretty good at it.
“The secondary is solid and rarely out of position. They play a lot of cover two. People have now called it the Tampa Two.
“You don’t want to get into long yardage situations against this defense because they do a good job of running to the ball. Last week, they created seven fumbles against Baltimore.”
Also on the line is Cowher’s 9-0 record in home Monday night games, a streak he attributes to a boistrous home crowd.
“It is not me, it’s the Pittsburgh fans,” Cowher said. “This is a great place to play on a Monday night
“It is exciting to go out there and our players feed off the crowd.”