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Notebook: Steelers need commitment to running game
Backup tailback Jerome Bettis figures the only way to change that is by making a commitment to the running game.
"The only way you get out of it is by having a productive day in the running game," Bettis said. "It's just a matter of us calling it and sticking to it and being productive."
The Steelers have run the ball 49 times (just under 25 times a game) for 158 yards (a 3.2 average per carry) in beating the Baltimore Ravens and losing to the Kansas City Chiefs in the season's first two weeks.
Last year, the Steelers averaged 4.1 yards per rush on 512 attempts (32 per game) while finishing ninth in the NFL in rushing.
"You gotta stick with it," Bettis said. "You have to know where you stand in the running game. I think, right now, we haven't figured out what type of team we are in terms of running the football. We gotta figure that out, and the only way to figure that out is by trial and error."
STATUS QUO
The injury reports for the Steelers and Bengals remained unchanged Friday.
For the Steelers: Center Jeff Hartings (ankle) and running back Verron Haynes (knee) are questionable, and linebacker Clark Haggans (knee), safety Chris Hope (groin), safety Mike Logan (quad) and linebacker Joey Porter (thigh) are probable. Hartings returned to practice yesterday, while Haynes remained sidelined.
For the Bengals: Wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh (hamstring) and linebacker Riall Johnson (calf) are out, tight end Matt Schobel (hamstring) is questionable, and running back Corey Dillon (knee), cornerback Tory James (virus), running back Rudi Johnson (thigh) and guard Victor Leyva (chest) are probable.
TAKING THE BLAME
No. 1 pick Troy Polamalu, a reserve safety and a member of the Steelers' kickoff team, took responsibility for Dante Hall's 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown Sept. 14 in Kansas City.
"It was totally my fault," Polamalu said. "I missed the tackle. If I would have made the tackle, we wouldn't be talking about this right now."
Polamalu wasn't the only player on the right side of the Steelers' kickoff unit, the side Hall exploited, to break down on the play.
Still, Polamalu is taking the blame.
"There's 11 guys on the field, and we all had the same opportunity to make a play," he said.
DON'T FORGET
Steelers wide receiver Antwaan Randle El has only four catches for 28 yards, a pace that would put him well below his totals last season when he caught 47 passes for 489 yards.
He is clearly quarterback Tommy Maddox's third choice in many pass patterns, but he doesn't believe he's been forgotten.
"It's early," he said. "Against Baltimore (a victory), some of the stuff we just didn't want to show. Against Kansas City (a defeat), we were down real quick, so we had to go to the stuff that we knew would work when it comes to the two-minute stuff.
"I just have to be patient. My time will come, and when it comes, I have to seize the moment."
He said he's getting more snaps at quarterback in specialty plays.
"They are trying to use me in different ways, and that's what I like," he said.
Still, he has no pass attempts and only three rushes for minus-9 yards.
A quarterback in college, Randle El said his dream of playing there in the NFL is disappearing.
"It's dwindling away, but I miss it," he said. "It's not as strong. It gets to the point where I just want to play."
IT'S COMING
Bengals quarterback Jon Kitna said the team's first victory isn't far down the road. '
'There's no question that we're going to win and win soon,'' he said. "I just wonder, once we get that first one, when it's going to stop, really. That's my opinion."
