Joe Bendel: Bettis, Staley Poised to Finally Reach Big Game

By Joe Bendel
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, July 31, 2005

Between them, they've covered 10.7 miles running the football. That translates into 18,910 yards, 56,730 feet or about the distance between Pittsburgh and Monroeville.

Their bodies have been poked, pushed and punished, and their injury reports are Evel Knievel-esque.

Jerome Bettis and Duce Staley - the Steelers' 30-something running backs - have experienced pretty much everything on a football field, with one significant exception:
Playing in a Super Bowl.

"It's what every player strives for," said Bettis, who begins his 13th NFL training camp today at St. Vincent College, near Latrobe. "Who wouldn't want to win it all?"

"Getting to the big game and winning is always the goal," said Staley, a nine-year vet. "You only get so many chances to get there."

And therein lies the rub for these Steelers backs, particularly the 33-year-old Bettis, who contemplated retirement after carrying the Steelers to the AFC Championship game last season. He's already been on the cusp of three Super trips -- last year, 1997 and 2001 -- but watched each opportunity slip away in the AFC finale.

"Close," Bettis said. "But close doesn't count."

Staley has experienced even more near-misses than his backfield mate, as he's played in four conference title games (three with the Philadelphia Eagles and last year with the Steelers) but failed to make it to the NFL's biggest stage on each occasion.

In all, that's seven shots at the Super Bowl between the two runners -- with zero results.
It makes a person wonder if these men are doomed for the runner-up spot, for the bronze and silver medals but never the gold. Have the football gods decided to put Bettis and Staley in the "Never Been to the Big Game" category with players such as O.J. Simpson, Eric Dickerson, Barry Sanders and Earl Campbell?

Time will tell if that is the case, but this much is certain: The window gets closer to shutting each year.

"You only get a little bit of time to play this game, really," Bettis said. "You have to make the most of your opportunities."

Barring a change of heart, this is likely the final season for the burly Bettis, his last chance to join the pantheon of great ball carriers who've won Super Bowls, players such as Emmitt Smith, Walter Payton, Franco Harris and John Riggins.

It also would represent a crowning achievement -- in his hometown of Detroit (site of Super Bowl XL), no less -- for a man who ranks fifth on the all-time rushing list, has been to six Pro Bowls and is as gregarious and accommodating as any athlete of this generation.

"I'd be foolish to say that playing in the Super Bowl didn't factor into my decision of coming back," Bettis said. "It would be a great ending to a magical ride, so to speak. To think, a chubby kid from Detroit would get to start his career and finish his career in Detroit, it would be a storybook ending. It was always in the back of my mind ... then it worked it's way to the front."
Ditto for many of Bettis' teammates.

"Jerome ...," said wideout Hines Ward, who could be a no-show for the start of camp unless a contract extension is in place. "He deserves a championship. He's one of a kind. You want to win with him, for him. He means so much to this organization."

"It would be great to get this thing done for him," wideout Antwaan Randle El said. "He's done enough for us, that's for sure."

"It'd be a nice touch," said Staley.

Maybe Bettis will be the lightning rod for the Steelers this season. Perhaps the combination of his desire to win and his teammates' desire to get him there will carry the franchise to its first Super Bowl appearance in a decade. Bettis hopes the scenario plays out that way, but he also believes that the team's most direct route to Detroit will run through Staley, not him.
"Duce is the guy, no question about it," Bettis said.

Clearly, Bettis is willing to put his ego aside for the good of the organization. He is content being the team's second option, a role he held in '04 before Staley went down with a hamstring injury. But he'll prepare as if he's expected to run the ball 300 times.

"You have to," he said.

He employed the same approach last season, during which he served as a goal-line back early and assumed the starting role in Week 8. He promptly ran for 100-plus yards in four consecutive games and finished with six 100-yard efforts on the season. He finished with 941 yards (just missing his ninth 1,000-yard season) and 13 touchdowns in leading the Steelers to an NFL-best 15-1 record.

Staley, meantime, carried much of the load in the season's first half, rushing for 707 yards in his first seven games. He finished with 830 on 192 carries, as he and Bettis produced a combined 1,771 yards in helping the Steelers rank second in the NFL in rushing.

Staley expects to play a larger role in the offense this season, provided he maintains his health. Also, young backs Verron Haynes (272 yards, 4.9 average) and Willie Parker (186 yards, 5.8 average) could become more involved in the running game, possibly taking carries from Bettis.
All of which might force Bettis to the bench more than any other time in his career, but he doesn't seem to mind.

"As long as we're winning games, I'm going to be a happy man," he said.

Joe Bendel can be reached at joecbendel@aol.com or (412) 320-7811.

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