This time around, Steelers won’t take anyone lightly
PITTSBURGH – A year ago, the Steelers were basking in the glory of a 13-3 record, a bye week and home field advantage. This year, they are thankful to still be playing. Grateful for today’s home date with the Cleveland Browns. In a word, humble.
“We played at such a high level last year, winning 13 games,” safety Lee Flowers said. “Now, we’re more humble. We were so up and down this year, but that part of the season is over with. Thank God we got into the playoffs and have a second chance.
“I think we learned a lot from last year. We can’t take everything for granted. I think right now, we’re playing with more of a sense of urgency.”
It wasn’t until last Sunday that the Steelers were even willing to admit that they might have overlooked the New England Patriots on their way to Super Bowl XXXVI. Center Jeff Hartings finally fessed up after last Sunday’s win over the Baltimore Ravens.
Maybe that was meaningless, but maybe it was important for the Steelers to address their most recent playoff failure in order to get over it and move on. For whatever reason, they are talking a cleaner game this time around. And they speak openly about last season’s failure, which had long been taboo.
“I just think it’s more of a focus,” wide receiver Plaxico Burress said. “It’s more of a day-to-day thing for us now because last year, we were already thinking Super Bowl and I think that’s one of the things that hurt us. Now, we’re just taking it one day at a time and I think that’s the way we should approach it.”
Part of that approach, of course, plays right into coach Bill Cowher’s “nobody respects us” mantra. It is much easier to sell that theory after a 10-5-1 season than it was after a 13-3 season. Cowher, in case you haven’t noticed, is a much better coach as an underdog than he is as a favorite. In fact, he’s a lousy favorite, as evidenced by his 1-3 record in AFC championship games at home.
While this wild card game is at home, the Steelers aren’t willing to count it in the win column just yet. Conversely, most of the trash talk has been coming from Cleveland, where the Browns seemed ecstatic to draw Pittsburgh in the first round.
“This is the matchup we want,” Browns defensive end Kenard Lang said. “We have smiles on our faces. We want to play the Steelers.”
“I’m glad we got Pittsburgh,” receiver Dennis Northcutt added. “They’re a team we can beat.”
Browns coach Butch Davis and linebacker Earl Holmes tried to downplay the comments, but they were still out there.
“I think the biggest thing is familiarity,” Davis said. “In a playoff situation, if you are playing someone you haven’t played, it’s a concern. Pittsburgh is extraordinarily talented and very well coached. I thin having played against them, you have a better idea of what to expect from them.”
Holmes, of course, played his first six seasons here before signing with the Browns for this season. He was asked why his teammates were so happy with the matchup.
“I don’t know,” Holmes said. “Maybe because we played them twice. We know them and they know us.”
“If you ask me, this is going to be the hardest game we play,” Burress said. “Cleveland is a good team, no question about it. They earned their spot in the playoffs.”
So, there is a good deal of respect between these two franchises. In fact, Browns defensive tackle Gerard Warren went so far as to project the Steelers-Browns winner into Super Bowl XXXVII.
“Everybody’s hungry around here,” Burress said. “The way we ended last season, we were expecting to go. We were already thinking, already knowing who was going to go. We weren’t focused on the task at hand, we were thinking one step ahead. We kind of fell on our faces at the end.”
The Steelers wouldn’t go so far as to agree with Warren. Even if they did agree, chances are they wouldn’t be willing to say so. They learned that lesson last season.
Sports editor Mike Ciarochi may be reached at mciarochi@heraldstandard.com