"They're as good as a tackle," Spencer said of the holding calls.

"Heck, we practice it," he said.

Don't get the idea that Spencer is displeased with his team's recent accomplishments. He's just wary of the up-and-down fortunes of the NFL.

"You always want your guys to hold their own," he said. "You want your guys to make plays to help the football team and not allow plays that are going to hurt us, and the last few weeks we've done a better job as far as holding up and making plays."

Success can be fleeting in the world of special teams, especially when you consider Cowher has employed five special teams coaches since 1992. In his first year since replacing Jay Hayes, who was fired, Spencer knows that all too well.

"The margin of error is great," he said. "Barry Bonds goes 4 for 5 and people are going to write about the four times, but they don't write about the one where he might whiff. But in our game, you can punt five times and you get one blocked and you're going to write about the one more than the four.

"That's the nature of the business. This keeps you humble. You're on the edge all the time and you don't want to fall off, and sometimes you do and sometimes you don't. I know every week is a chance, and every week you're always a blip away from being on the other side of that situation."

Spencer said he enjoyed the Steelers' 31-18 victory but only for a moment before starting to worry about next Sunday's foe, the Cleveland Browns, who have two returns for touchdowns (74 yards on a punt by Dennis Northcutt and 95 yards on a kickoff by Andre Davis).

"Then, after that, it's Atlanta (the next opponent)," he said. "Every week presents another challenge. But (the players) are making contributions. That makes you feel good."

Spencer also can feel good about his recent contributions. He suggested putting Joey Porter and Jason Gildon on the punt-block team Oct. 21 against the Indianapolis Colts, spotting a weakness in Colts punter Hunter Smith. Porter rushed Smith and deflected a punt.

Spencer also schemed a new alignment for kickoff coverage in which two groups of five players cluster near the ball and defensive backs Chidi Iwuoma and Chris Hope loop from one bunch to the other.

"It's something I've done in the past," said Spencer, who pulled it off the shelf Sunday. "You kind of file that stuff away and bring stuff out."

Noticing how difficult is was to find trends in the Ravens' kick return team, Spencer thought he'd try to create confusion.

"I thought the best thing to do is put the guys in situations where, first of all, (the Ravens) might have some difficulty identifying who we are and where we're coming from. So, they might make a mistake in whom they block and it might turn somebody loose. I'm trying to give our guys an ability to hit the 30-yard line running."

Spencer is not prone to gimmicks, but he also does not dismiss them. When Randle El returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals, it started with a fake reverse to Lee Mays.

The Steelers didn't try it against the Ravens, but he was hoping the Browns were listening when he said, "Maybe next time we'll hand it off to the guy. You never know. We practice it like that.

"(Cowher) is not adverse to trying stuff, if you can prove that it's sound."