Minicamp Begins Tomorrow For the Steelers

Friday, May 12, 2006
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

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Steelers Mini-Camp roster

They will gather tomorrow for the first time as a team since they paraded down Fifth Avenue more than three months ago. They will swap stories, high-fives and relive those moments of yesteryear when a late-season surge nudged them into the playoffs, where an unprecedented run on the road brought them their first Super Bowl victory in 26 years.

It will culminate June 2, when the Steelers visit the White House and, later that day, receive their Super Bowl rings in a private ceremony.

That will be it. The celebrations will end, and the 2006 season will begin. Little will be done after that to celebrate their Super Bowl XL victory, certainly not when the season opens Sept. 7 against Miami at Heinz Field.

The Steelers, starting with their three-day minicamp tomorrow on the South Side, can relive their Super moments for the next several weeks, but after that, coach Bill Cowher, along with Dan and Art Rooney, wants their focus on the 2006 season and a possible repeat.

Ownership and the coaching staff believe they have the talent to win another Super Bowl, and they don't want to celebrate that chance away. It's up to Cowher to set the tone, and he must do it without the locker-room leadership of such veterans as Jerome Bettis and Kimo von Oelhoffen.

"We're going to have a lot of new faces," Cowher said. "We're losing guys like Jerome Bettis and Antwaan Randle El and Chris Hope and Kimo. Kimo, Jerome and Antwaan Randle El in the locker room had a presence, they had a personality that exuded confidence, that exuded purpose, and some people are going to have to replace them. It's a process -- who it is remains to be seen, and what kind of identity we can re-establish remains to be seen."

The minicamp is mandatory, and everyone is expected to attend. There are dual practices tomorrow and Sunday and one Monday morning. After that, the voluntary portion of spring drills begins Wednesday with 14 sessions spread over the coming weeks until June 8, when Cowher sends them home until training camp.

They've done their best to fill the losses. Wide receiver Santonio Holmes was drafted in the first round to address the loss of Randle El. Duce Staley will get a crack at Bettis' short-yardage job at halfback. Ryan Clark was signed from the Washington Redskins to replace Hope at free safety and another, Anthony Smith, was drafted in the third round. Brett Keisel was retained in free agency to move into von Oelhoffen's spot at right end.

"There's a reality that we have a lot of people coming back," Cowher said. "There are some voids there, don't get me wrong, but there's a lot more foundation there that we can build from. It's going to take hard work and sacrifice and dealing with adversity, but, if we can do that, we'll be in the hunt."

It is supposed to be difficult to repeat as Super Bowl champion for many reasons, starting with the fact the team plays into February while most others had several weeks to lick their wounds or take a vacation. It not only delays the healing process and/or promotes fatigue, but it also delays the time when players resume their workouts for next season. Hines Ward, for example, acknowledged he's behind in his workout schedule but promised it won't be a problem for him.
There's also the matter of how every team on the Steelers' schedule should have more incentive to knock off the Super Bowl champion.

"Everyone's going to be gunning for us," Ward said. "I remember when we played Baltimore when they were champions; we wanted to mess them up every time: 'Look, ya'll [are] good but ya'll ain't going to make it to the Super Bowl again because y'all going to be hurt.' It all depends on the mind-set of each individual. Are you still living off that Super Bowl year?"

Cowher has emphasized the past few months that the Steelers were not a dominant team in 2005, so they cannot get too heady about themselves.

"I don't think we'll take ourselves too seriously," Cowher said. "I'm not so sure we were the best team in the National Football League last year. I think we were playing our best football at the right time.

"I think our guys understand that. It's a challenge. We have a lot of players back. We lost a couple of key players and we'll have to fill those voids, but, when you realize what you accomplished and you're part of history and you have an opportunity to do it back to back, it would be an unbelievable feat.

"It's going to be an unbelievable challenge in front of us as well. But I think our guys kind of want to separate themselves. We have a lot of hard work and a lot of sacrifice and a big commitment we'll have to make to get it done. But I think we're all relishing that opportunity, and until we get knocked out of the playoffs next year or we don't make the playoffs, we're the defending champs."

(Ed Bouchette can be reached at ebouchette@post-gazette.com or 412-263-3878. )