Monday, November 07, 2005
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Who do you think Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb wishes he had as a teammate these days?
Terrell Owens or his old pal Duce Staley?
Owens and Staley represent, in order, the worst and best pro sports have to offer.
Owens shamefully missed the Eagles' game against the Washington Redskins last night, suspended for publicly slamming team management again, slandering McNabb in an unconscionable attack and generally pouting because he doesn't believe the zillions the Eagles are paying him are enough.
Staley, on the other hand, largely a forgotten man this season for the Steelers as Willie Parker, then Jerome Bettis, then Parker again shined at running back, showed up big time at Lambeau Field yesterday and helped the Steelers to a 20-10 win against the Green Bay Packers, a game that easily could have been a momentum-zapping loss to a hapless 1-6 team.
How unfortunate McNabb is to have T.O. poisoning what should be the best season of his career.
How regretful the Eagles -- who, at least before last night's game, couldn't run the ball if coach Andy Reid's life depended on it -- must be for letting Staley go after the 2003 season, after he spent seven seasons with them.
How lucky the Steelers are to have Staley.
"He exemplifies the unselfishness of this football team," Bill Cowher said.
It shouldn't have surprised anyone that Staley -- a proven, productive veteran -- didn't go in the tank after the Steelers deactivated him for the previous four games even though he was healthy. If he were a sulker, we would have known it last season when he did much of the team's dirty work, running the ball up and down the field and cranking out four 100-yard games in his first seven starts, then being asked to step aside near the goal line for Bettis, the Steelers' designated touchdown maker. But he never uttered so much as a peep about it.
"That truly didn't bother me," Staley said last night. "My feelings about Jerome and this team are genuine. It comes from my heart. It's me."
That's why Staley was ready -- not just physically but mentally and emotionally -- when the Steelers needed him. It was bad enough that Bettis couldn't go against the Packers because of the lingering effects of a quadricep injury from the Cincinnati game two weeks earlier. Then Parker went out with an ankle sprain midway through the third quarter.
Suddenly, Staley was it.
This was a day when quarterback Charlie Batch -- in for injured Ben Roethlisberger -- struggled to shake off four years of rust, when the Steelers' passing game produced just 59 yards, when Hines Ward had one catch for 12 yards, when Heath Miller -- the team's new designated touchdown maker -- had two catches for 11 yards and didn't find the end zone.
Staley's timing couldn't have been better.
On his first carry of the third quarter, Staley broke over right tackle for 7 yards. He ended up with four carries for 23 yards on that drive, which ended with a Jeff Reed field-goal try being blocked.
On the Steelers' next possession, Staley had gains of 5 and 9 yards -- impressively slithering through a tiny hole on the second -- before being forced out for a few plays after taking a shot to the groin. That drive ended in a punt, but it enabled the Steelers to keep a field-position edge in what was a 13-10 game at the time.
Staley's work the next time the Steelers had the ball secured the win. He had runs of 2 and 6 yards before stepping out of a tackle by linebacker Nick Barnett to score a 3-yard touchdown around left end that made it 20-10. It was just his second touchdown in two years with the Steelers.
"Duce ran really hard against a pretty good football team," Cowher said.
Staley immediately praised his blockers. "They were putting eight or nine people in the box and those guys still created holes." Just as quickly, he put an end to any budding running back controversy. "If I have to step aside for Jerome again, that's fine. Whatever I have to do for this team, I'll do. We're all like one heartbeat on this team."
Could T.O. learn a little something from that guy or what?
"I'm just happy to be back in the rotation again," Staley said, grinning.
The Steelers are glad to have him.
How envious McNabb and the Eagles must be.
(Post-Gazette sports columnist Ron Cook can be reached at rcook@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1525.)
More T.O.
NFL Notebook: Owens was involved in fight before being suspended
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