Cowher still sees plenty of room for improvement
PITTSBURGH – If you are worried the Steelers might get cocky based on their unexpected 4-1 start, forget about it. That was coach Bill Cowher’s message in the moments after Pittsburgh’s 34-23 win over the Cleveland Browns Sunday at Heinz Field. The win could put the Steelers a full two games ahead of the rest of the AFC North Division if Washington beat Baltimore later last night.
Regardless, the Steelers head to Dallas for a 4:15 p.m. kickoff next Sunday well ahead of the course they were expected to travel in the eyes of most experts.
Of course, Cowher and his team believed all along that they could bounce back from last year’s 6-10 debacle and be a much better team. But when asked about the team’s 3-1 start heading into this game, Cowher said it didn’t mean much. Beating Cleveland meant a good deal because, well, because it’s Cleveland. But also because the Browns are a divisional opponent.
Above and beyond that, however, Cowher is treating this 4-1 start as an appetizer, only a taste of what may lie ahead.
“Obviously, we have created an opportunity for ourselves,” he said. “We made impromptu plays today that helped us win this game. We need to be crisper, sharper in a lot of the things we are trying to do. We tried to cut down on penalties (6-63 after averaging 8.5 calls and over 80 yards in their first four games). We have a long way to go. This was our best game to date, but we have a way to go.”
Perhaps that is only coachspeak, but Cowher is the E.F. Hutton of this locker room. If his players aren’t listening, we’ll all know soon enough. So far, they seem to be heeding his words, at least.
“We always believed that we have a good team,” offensive tackle Marvel Smith said. “We just put ourselves in a position right now that we have to sustain throughout the rest of the season and continue to keep moving.”
“Overall, it was a good day,” receiver Hines Ward added. “We just have to keep it going. We’re still not there. There is a lot of room for improvement. But it is real nice to be 4-1.”
For sure, 4-1 beats the alternative and winning is the ultimate statistic, but at least in word, all this good start has done for the Steelers is to make them want to keep it going.
“We still need to get better,” Ward said. “We left a lot of plays out there. We’re going to Dallas with a chance to go 5-1. That’s what it’s all about, but we’re still one of the teams nobody seems to be talking about and that’s fine by us.”
It’s hard to imagine a Steelers team staying so far below the radar, but this one seems to be accomplishing it. Except for their last two No. 1 draft choices – rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and safety Troy Polamalu – and perhaps Ward, who led the AFC in receptions going into the weekend, this team doesn’t get much attention nationally.
Even Plaxico Burress, who had his first monster game of the season against the Browns Sunday, realizes that all Pittsburgh has accomplished so far won’t carry the team very far unless it can be sustained over the long haul.
“I have seen a lot of crazy things happen in this league,” Burress said after catching six passes for 136 yards and a touchdown. “We have to keep a level head and stay humble and hopefully go down to Dallas, play a tough team and hopefully get a win. We have to try to set ourselves up a little bit going into the bye week. It is a long season and we’re only five games into it.
“We played pretty well up to this point. There is a lot more improvement that we can make as a whole on offense. I think we all know that. It can be a fun year. If we keep coming together like we are going, this football team can be special.”
Ditto the defense, according to linebacker James Farrior.
“I think we’re growing, but we all know that we didn’t play our best game today,” Farrior said. “We still have room for a lot of improvements. We still have some things that we need to work on to make us a better team.”
Perfect.
Exactly the way Cowher wanted his players to react to what looked like a blowout for a good portion of Sunday afternoon, then turned at least a little bit competitive.
This team is a work in progress, a team that is willing to take its improvement in small chunks and use them as building blocks the whole season, if possible.
So, don’t worry about this group getting full of itself and start losing games it should win. Not yet, anyway.
Sports editor Mike Ciarochi may be reached at mciarochi@heraldstandard.com