Mike Prisuta: Much to Lose

Mike Prisuta
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, January 7, 2006

The regular-season finale against Detroit was widely characterized as potentially the last home game of Jerome Bettis' career, but NFL protocol suggests other Steelers have already played their final games at Heinz Field.

"No question, I got a little emotional last (Sunday)," defensive end Brett Keisel said. "Not only was it Bus' last (home) game, possibly. There is that chance that it was mine, too."
Added free safety Chris Hope: "It touched everybody."

Keisel and Hope are among 11 Steelers scheduled to become unrestricted free agents after the season.

Others under contract for 2006 might not return for financial reasons (center Jeff Hartings, for example, will cost the Steelers $8.129 million against the 2006 salary cap).

That makes the odds of this team returning in tact next season longer than the Steelers winning three consecutive road playoff games, starting Sunday in Cincinnati, and advancing to Super Bowl XL.

"That's real sad," Hope said. "That's the reality of it. The big picture is people leave. (Wide receiver) Plaxico (Burress) was next to me (occupying a locker adjacent to Hope's last season); he's not here, and that's part of the game. People in the last year of their contracts may or may not be here. And the friendships you make while you're here make it that much harder to leave or see the end of it.
"You just gotta take advantage of every opportunity you get."

That sense of urgency the Steelers will carry into Cincinnati is heightened by the bond shared among the players, one Hope and others insist is rare if not unique in what can be a mercenary NFL world.

"I haven't felt this close to a group of guys, a group of teammates, since high school," Hope said.
"There's nothing like high school football. You could pay me all the money in the world and it's still not like high school football. And going to Florida State, we were close there. But when you get to this level, there are so many egos, so many people coming from different parts of the country, different backgrounds, and people are in and out because of the business of the league. You feel like you don't really have an opportunity to get close to people."

"But here, it's a total difference, it's like a brotherhood. From white to black to Hawaiian, you can hang and have a good time with anybody in here. I mean, from old to young, there's not one guy that doesn't support another guy when they have a function or an autograph signing or some type of community program going on in the neighborhood. There's not one guy you can ask that won't help you out and support you. It's just a great team atmosphere."

"Does that help you win a ballgame, help you score points? Maybe not, but when you're trying to trust and have faith in the guy next to you, and you don't want to let him down, it's almost like taking care of one of your real family members."

That camaraderie and sense of team can be a powerful motivator in January.

The Steelers will be desperate to win and advance in Cincinnati, but they'll also be trying to keep together for as long as possible an extended family they know is destined to be blown apart eventually, whether they lose to the Bengals or win the Super Bowl.

"You hate to see the season come to an end when you get so close, so you fight for the next time," Hope said. "We know how we felt last year, getting beat by the Patriots in the (AFC Championship Game). It was like we didn't want to leave. You can ask anybody about leaving, I'm the first one that tries to get away from the cold and get back to South Carolina and Florida when the season's over. But it was like, 'the journey wasn't supposed to end that way.'
"And this season went so fast, it's back to that time again."

It's time to either win or to say goodbye to teammates, perhaps for the final time.

"I try to go out and play every play like it could be your last play because you never know," Keisel said. "I love this place, and to think about not being here is tough. But I can't think about that; all I can think about is beating Cincy."

On the way out?
Steelers scheduled to become unrestricted free agents at the conclusion of the 2005 season:

QB Charlie Batch
OT Barrett Brooks
RB Verron Haynes
SS Chris Hope
DE Brett Keisel
LB Clint Kriewaldt
WR Quincy Morgan
WR Antwaan Randle El
CB Deshea Townsend
TE Jerame Tuman
DE Kimo von Oelhoffen

Mike Prisuta can be reached at ptrsports@tribweb.com.