lamberts-lost-tooth
10-16-2006, 05:36 AM
Monday, October 16, 2006
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Someone suggested to Fast Willie Parker that he and 247-pound Najeh Davenport could combine for some Thunder & Lightning in the Steelers backfield.
Parker laughed.
"I think there are two lightnings,'' he said.
Davenport won't be confused with having the kind of speed Parker does, but he flashed some nevertheless in his most extensive playing time since the Steelers signed him after their opening game.
Davenport ran 12 times for 78 yards, including runs of 48, 18 and a 1-yard touchdown.
"Najeh ran hard,'' coach Bill Cowher said. "It was good to see him in there.''
Although big, Davenport's style is different than that of Jerome Bettis.
"I don't think I'm the type of back Jerome was," Davenport said. "I like to use my speed as an accent, although I got run down by a defensive lineman."
That happened in the second quarter when Davenport ran up the middle from the Steelers' 35 and shook into the open before Kansas City's Jared Allen ran him down at the Chiefs' 17.
"My tank was tapped a little bit,'' Davenport said. "The dude came and got me. Kudos to him It shouldn't happen again."
Back for the sack
The Steelers' defense dominated the Chiefs, but they came away with just one quarterback sack and the guy who got it hadn't had a sack for them in 10 years.
Welcome back, Chad Brown.
"The sack felt great,'' said Brown, who dumped rookie quarterback Brodie Croyle in the fourth quarter.
It was Brown's first sack since he played for Seattle in 2004 and his first sack with the Steelers since 1996, when he recorded 13, fifth-most in team history. His sack yesterday was No. 31 in a Steelers uniform, tying him with Mike Merriweather for 12th place on the club's career list.
"Last week I was on my couch watching football," said Brown, who signed with the Steelers Thursday and practiced two days before playing a part-time role as a pass rusher yesterday. "Now I'm here playing football. That's a dream come true."
He said he had a sense of familiarity playing in Pittsburgh again but no flashbacks.
"Greg Lloyd wasn't yelling at me from the sideline,'' Brown said.
Buried treasure
A lot was made of the Steelers having to dig deep on their bench to find replacements for Joey Porter at linebacker and Kendall Simmons at guard entering yesterday's game with Kansas City.
After their 45-7 victory, it appeared the replacements -- linebacker Arnold Harrison and guard Chris Kemoeatu -- held up their end of the bargain.
"It's easier to see what Arnold was doing than Chris, but we ran for over 200 yards, so I can't complain," Steelers coach Cowher said. "Overall, I thought they did fine."
Indeed, the Steelers pounded the Chiefs for 219 yards rushing, led by Parker's 109 yards. And quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who threw two touchdown passes, was sacked just once for six yards.
"The pocket today was big," Roethlisberger said. "I had lots of time to sit in there. The line did a phenomenal job. Chris did a great job of stepping up for Kendall.".
Quick hits
Cowher ran his record to 101-1-1 when his team leads by more than 10 points ... The Steelers ran their record under Cowher to 114-12-1 (.902) when they lead at the half. The only coaches in NFL history with better records are Hall of Famers George Halas (.918) and Vince Lombardi (.905) ... Hines Ward's touchdown put him into a tie for eighth place on the team's career scoring list with kicker Kris Brown with 338 points.
Injury update
Cornerback Deshea Townsend, who did not practice all week, nevertheless suited up and played in the dime passing defense. Bryant McFadden replaced him as the starter.
"When I came in today, my intensions were to not play him [Townsend] ... I didn't want to set him back, so I was prepared not to go with him. He said he could do it," Cowher said.
Fullback Dan Kreider, who left the game in the second half with a sprained ankle, was the only Steeler injured, as far as Cowher knew
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Someone suggested to Fast Willie Parker that he and 247-pound Najeh Davenport could combine for some Thunder & Lightning in the Steelers backfield.
Parker laughed.
"I think there are two lightnings,'' he said.
Davenport won't be confused with having the kind of speed Parker does, but he flashed some nevertheless in his most extensive playing time since the Steelers signed him after their opening game.
Davenport ran 12 times for 78 yards, including runs of 48, 18 and a 1-yard touchdown.
"Najeh ran hard,'' coach Bill Cowher said. "It was good to see him in there.''
Although big, Davenport's style is different than that of Jerome Bettis.
"I don't think I'm the type of back Jerome was," Davenport said. "I like to use my speed as an accent, although I got run down by a defensive lineman."
That happened in the second quarter when Davenport ran up the middle from the Steelers' 35 and shook into the open before Kansas City's Jared Allen ran him down at the Chiefs' 17.
"My tank was tapped a little bit,'' Davenport said. "The dude came and got me. Kudos to him It shouldn't happen again."
Back for the sack
The Steelers' defense dominated the Chiefs, but they came away with just one quarterback sack and the guy who got it hadn't had a sack for them in 10 years.
Welcome back, Chad Brown.
"The sack felt great,'' said Brown, who dumped rookie quarterback Brodie Croyle in the fourth quarter.
It was Brown's first sack since he played for Seattle in 2004 and his first sack with the Steelers since 1996, when he recorded 13, fifth-most in team history. His sack yesterday was No. 31 in a Steelers uniform, tying him with Mike Merriweather for 12th place on the club's career list.
"Last week I was on my couch watching football," said Brown, who signed with the Steelers Thursday and practiced two days before playing a part-time role as a pass rusher yesterday. "Now I'm here playing football. That's a dream come true."
He said he had a sense of familiarity playing in Pittsburgh again but no flashbacks.
"Greg Lloyd wasn't yelling at me from the sideline,'' Brown said.
Buried treasure
A lot was made of the Steelers having to dig deep on their bench to find replacements for Joey Porter at linebacker and Kendall Simmons at guard entering yesterday's game with Kansas City.
After their 45-7 victory, it appeared the replacements -- linebacker Arnold Harrison and guard Chris Kemoeatu -- held up their end of the bargain.
"It's easier to see what Arnold was doing than Chris, but we ran for over 200 yards, so I can't complain," Steelers coach Cowher said. "Overall, I thought they did fine."
Indeed, the Steelers pounded the Chiefs for 219 yards rushing, led by Parker's 109 yards. And quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who threw two touchdown passes, was sacked just once for six yards.
"The pocket today was big," Roethlisberger said. "I had lots of time to sit in there. The line did a phenomenal job. Chris did a great job of stepping up for Kendall.".
Quick hits
Cowher ran his record to 101-1-1 when his team leads by more than 10 points ... The Steelers ran their record under Cowher to 114-12-1 (.902) when they lead at the half. The only coaches in NFL history with better records are Hall of Famers George Halas (.918) and Vince Lombardi (.905) ... Hines Ward's touchdown put him into a tie for eighth place on the team's career scoring list with kicker Kris Brown with 338 points.
Injury update
Cornerback Deshea Townsend, who did not practice all week, nevertheless suited up and played in the dime passing defense. Bryant McFadden replaced him as the starter.
"When I came in today, my intensions were to not play him [Townsend] ... I didn't want to set him back, so I was prepared not to go with him. He said he could do it," Cowher said.
Fullback Dan Kreider, who left the game in the second half with a sprained ankle, was the only Steeler injured, as far as Cowher knew