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The San Diego Union-Tribune

Patriots need new plan for Steelers


January 18, 2005

FOXBORO, Mass. – New England coach Bill Belichick went to his motivational bag of tricks the night before his Patriots thumped the Indianapolis Colts 20-3 at Gillette Stadium. He gathered his players, turned down the lights, then flipped on a highlight tape of big hits and big plays from previous games against Indianapolis. Then he showed images of AFC Championship Game sweatshirts being sold on the Colts' Web site.

Patriots players were so riled that some of them had trouble sleeping that night. The game couldn't come fast enough for them, or end soon enough for the Colts, who were bullied and embarrassed in losing their sixth in a row to the Patriots and seventh straight in Foxboro.

Belichick's motivational ploy was so successful he might use a similar strategy in preparing for Sunday's conference final at Pittsburgh. The difference: His Patriots will be on the receiving end of the big hits after being manhandled in a 34-20 loss at Pittsburgh earlier this season.

The Patriots have won two of the past three Super Bowls, and the thing worse than feeling disrespected or overlooked – as was the case against the Colts – is feeling mortified after being physically pushed around, as was the case after the Oct. 31 loss to the Steelers.

"They killed us," Belichick said.

The Steelers forced four turnovers, ran for 221 yards, did not go three-and-out on any of their last nine possessions and controlled the clock for 42 minutes, 58 seconds.

At the end of the first quarter, the score was 21-3.

At the end of the fourth quarter, the Patriots' winning streak was over at 21 games.

"They pretty much handled us everywhere," Belichick said. "They played and coached way better than we did on that day. They deserve all the credit for their dominance."

What went wrong for the Patriots?

"Not enough pass rush, not enough contain on the quarterback, not enough coverage on the receivers, not very good in the running game, not very good tackling, bad coaching . . . keep rolling," Belichick said. "They did a lot of things well; we didn't do much well. Obviously I did a terrible job. When you get beat 34-20, you don't feel very good about your job. I certainly didn't feel very good about my performance in that game."

The Patriots played the entire afternoon without running back Corey Dillon (thigh injury) and most of the game without All-Pro cornerback Ty Law, who sustained a season-ending foot injury in the first quarter. The defense gave up two first-quarter scores, and the offense surrendered one of its own on a 39-yard interception return by Deshea Townsend.

Rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was unflappable and unpressured, completing 18-of-24 passes for 196 yards, two touchdowns and a 126.4 passer rating; and running backs Duce Staley (125) and Jerome Bettis (65) were virtually unstoppable, combining to rush for 190 yards and a score.

At the other end of the spectrum was Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who was sacked a season-high four times and intercepted twice. Down by 18 after one quarter, New England abandoned the run and had Brady attempt a season-high 43 passes, of which he completed 25 for 271 yards and two scores. Kevin Faulk was the Patriots' leading rusher with 4 yards on five carries.

"This is a different ballgame," said Dillon, who ran for 144 yards on the Colts. "This is the playoffs. Whatever happened in the regular season is left in the regular season."

Belichick said he doesn't expect a lot of changes from Pittsburgh. The Steelers have won 15 in a row and are 16-1 overall. They like to attack offensively and defensively, relying on a smash-mouth running game and a zone-blitz defensive scheme.

"Their aggressiveness, their physical play, they bring that every week," Belichick said. "I don't think we'll see anything different this Sunday. I think a lot of the elements are there; certainly there are some specifics here and there that can be tuned up. But the Steelers are the Steelers. They've been very consistent. I can't imagine that there would be any dramatic changes. They're just hard to deal with even though you have a good idea what they're doing."

Added linebacker Mike Vrabel: "Hopefully we can give them more than we gave them last time."

The oddsmakers apparently believe they will. One service had the Patriots as three-point favorites, prompting Belichick to wonder aloud: "What, did somebody burn those films (of the previous meeting)?"

No, they're probably cued up in Belichick's VCR, ready for his players to see them.

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© Copyright 2005 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.