Snow or Not, Bus Running

BY DARREN EVERSON
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Jerome Bettis plans to drive Steeler attack in bad weather.

PITTSBURGH - The forecast for tomorrow's AFC Championship Game is not pretty. Ninety percent chance of snow. Six to 12 inches possible. Stiff, steady winds. Low, sub-freezing temperatures.

Roads will be slick. Flights might get canceled.

The Bus, however, will run on schedule.

"The worse, probably the better for me," said Jerome Bettis, the Steelers' 255-pound battering ram, "because I know where I'm going."

So does everyone else, of course, but that doesn't mean anyone can stop him.

As the Steelers prepare for the Patriots - led once again by Bettis, who in his 12th NFL season is having a renaissance - it seems the only thing that can stop their longtime back is doubt - either on the part of Pittsburgh, which acquired Duce Staley last offseason only to hand the offense back to Bettis, or Bettis himself.

He spoke of retirement yesterday, as he stood two victories away from the first Super Bowl championship that he lacks and covets. He said he'll think about it after the season, but that his initial inclination was to retire if the Steelers wind up winning it all.

"(Howie Long) asked me that question, that if I won a championship, would I retire," Bettis said. "I said, 'You know what? Yeah, probably. The job is complete.'

"But he said, 'Well, I'll give you a piece of advice: Think about it. Because I know the way that you play, you love the game. Make a decision based on your love of the game and don't base it on winning or losing.' When he said that, it really struck a chord, so I'll have to think about that. What I'll do is, after the season is over, see how my body feels and let my body determine whether I come back."

It's not easy being the Bus. Bettis has the third-most carries in NFL history (3,369), behind Emmitt Smith and Walter Payton. But those running backs had the speed and shiftiness to slip a hit here and there.

Not Bettis. Of the top 10 all-time rushers by yardage, a list on which Bettis ranks fifth (13,294), the Bus has the lowest yards per carry of the group (3.9).

He thrives on collisions, on contact. Twelve years of it adds up.

"It's tough," Bettis said. "I deal with it. The love of the game and the opportunity to play for a championship is what drives me, what keeps me going and what gets me out of bed in the morning. It's what keeps me dealing with pain. But the pain that I have to deal with just going out there to practice, it's tough."

Getting out of bed tomorrow, though, shouldn't be a problem. Coach Bill Cowher said earlier this week that Bettis, who rushed for 101 yards last week in the victory over the Jets - his seventh 100-yard game in seven starts - likely would start again over Staley, although Staley - who rushed 11 times for 54 yards in his second game back from a hamstring injury - should get increased work.

Bettis' two previous AFC title games were Steeler losses, but tomorrow could be different, especially because of the weather. Although it is expected to stop snowing by gametime, the footing might be poor.

That's fine by the Bus. "I'm a mudder," he said. "A fast track doesn't really do much for me."

Originally published on January 22, 2005