Steelers Special in 2004

Special teams shouldn't haunt Pittsburgh this time
Mike Bires, Beaver County Times Sports Staff
01/23/2005


PITTSBURGH - The last time the Steelers played in the AFC Championship Game, Kevin Spencer was an unemployed special teams coach whose fate was about to change.

On an unseasonably warm Jan. 27 day in 2002, Spencer was outside his home in Indianapolis playing with his children. From time to time, he would head back inside and watch as New England and Pittsburgh battled for the right to go to the Super Bowl.

And even though he had no allegiances - he had just been fired by the Colts - Spencer felt the pain of Steelers' special teams Jay Hayes, whose units allowed two touchdowns in a 24-17 loss to the Patriots."

When something like that happens, right away I think of the opposing coach," said Spencer, who's in his third season as the Steelers' special teams coach. "How dreadful he must feel to have that happen on his watch. You don't want to say, 'Thank God, it isn't me.' But I definitely felt his pain."

Hayes felt plenty of pain and anguish against the Patriots three years ago. Wide receiver Troy Brown put the Pats in front to stay in the first quarter by returning a punt 55 yards for the game's first touchdown. Then in the third quarter with the Steelers trying to chip away at a 14-3 deficit, defensive lineman Brian Mitchell blocked Kris Brown's 34-yard field goal. After recovering the block, Troy Brown pitched the football to defensive back Antwan Harris, who raced 49 yards for a touchdown.

Instead of the Steelers closing the gap to 14-6, the Patriots expanded their lead to 21-3. The Steelers' Super Bowl hopes were all but dashed.A few days later, Hayes was fired. And a few days after that, the Steelers hired Spencer. "You did have to remind me of that, didn't you?" said linebacker Clark Haggans, who was on the field for Troy Brown's punt return three years ago. "I'd like to put those ugly memories in a bottle, put on the cap and then throw it in the river."

The Steelers (16-1) can erase the horrible memories of that loss by beating the Patriots (15-2) tonight in the AFC Championship Game. Obviously, solid play by the special teams will go a long way in helping the Steelers win.

"I wasn't here then. So there's no sense even talking about that game. That was the 2001 season," said linebacker Clint Kriewaldt, one of the Steelers' special teams co-captains. "This is a whole different team. I know that game hasn't even crossed anyone's mind."

While that may be true, memories of those special teams mistakes against the Patriots resurfaced last week when the Steelers needed overtime to beat the New York Jets, 20-17. In that playoff game at Heinz Field, Jets wide receiver Santana Moss toss returned a punt 75 yards for a touchdown.

It was the second special teams touchdown allowed by the Steelers in less than a month. In a Dec. 18 win over the New York Giants, Willie Ponder returned the opening kickoff 91 yards.

"If there's a trend there, it has to stop," said wide receiver Sean Morey, one of the Steelers' top special teamers. "Those are critical mistakes. Shoot, that stuff hurts," Spencer said." Our coverage has been good most of the season. But obviously, it stings when something like that happens. It just gets the other team jacked up and takes the wind out of our sails. Plays like that change momentum. We just can't allow that to happen."

Since Heinz Field opened in 2001, four playoff games have been hosted on the North Shore. In each of those four games, someone has returned a punt for a touchdown.

Baltimore's Jermaine Lewis returned a punt 88 yards in a 2001 AFC Divisional Playoff game won by the Steelers, 27-10.

A week later, Troy Brown went 55 yards in the AFC title game.

In a 2002 wild-card game, Pittsburgh's Antwaan Randle El returned a punt 66 yards in a 36-33 win over the Cleveland Browns.

Then last week, Moss scored for the Jets."We always say we want to be an asset rather than a liability," Kriewaldt said. "So it's up to us to make big plays on the special teams, and not give them up."

©Beaver County Times Allegheny Times 2005