Tomlin motivates with Denver's No. 1 message

By ALAN ROBINSON
AP Sports Writer

PITTSBURGH — The more coach Mike Tomlin keeps talking about
it, the more agitated his players get.

Exactly the response Tomlin wants from his Pittsburgh Steelers.

Tomlin keeps referring to the Broncos as having “the world’s
best defense,” a reference to Denver’s spot atop the NFL team
yardage statistics. He mentioned it during the weekly team
meeting. Before practice on Wednesday. Before practice on
Thursday. And he’ll likely keep saying it until game time
Monday.

“We’ve heard coach Tomlin say it 1,000 times already this week,”
quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. “They’re a great defense, a
big challenge for us … an awesome challenge.”

By constantly reminding that the Broncos (6-1) are playing
better statistically than the Steelers (5-2), Tomlin is trying
to motivate both his offense and his defense. He wants his
offense determined to prove it can move the ball in Denver, and
his defense mad that it’s no longer No. 1.

“They’ve put in a very aggressive style of defense,” Steelers
offensive coordinator Bruce Arians said. “They changed to a
system very much like ours and Baltimore’s. They’ve got the
personnel to run it right now.”

The Steelers were the NFL’s best defense statistically the past
two seasons, but they’re No. 8 this season. They’re No. 1
against the run, but are 16th against the pass, which is
dragging down their overall ranking.

“When you prepare for a team like this, it’s like playing a
division team, like a Baltimore,” safety Troy Polamalu said.
“It’s always defense challenging defense. It’s an important goal
in every game for us: As a defense, we always want to outplay
the other defense.”

The Broncos didn’t do that during a 30-7 loss Sunday to
Baltimore, which allows Tomlin to also sell this to his players:
The Broncos are determined not to have another letdown in a game
that potentially could prove important when the AFC playoff
seeding is determined.

“I just think the Denver Broncos ran into a buzzsaw,” Tomlin
said.

What the Steelers defense might run into is a Broncos offense
that looks much different than it did against Baltimore.

When Broncos coach Josh McDaniels was an assistant coach with
New England, the Patriots had success against Pittsburgh with
spread-type formations that forced Polamalu to play deep
coverage and didn’t allow the Steelers to blitz as much.

The Broncos had trouble pass protecting for quarterback Kyle
Orton against Baltimore, and the Steelers are capable of
bringing the same kind of pressure the Ravens did. If the
Broncos spread it out at times, Orton can get rid of the ball
quicker and perhaps lessen the intensity of the Steelers’ pass
rush.

“He doesn’t take sacks,” Steelers defensive coordinator Dick
LeBeau said of Orton, the former Bears quarterback. “He doesn’t
throw interceptions. He’s very good at getting the right play.
He’s a veteran, and you’re not going to confuse him.”

Of course, the Steelers will try to do exactly that.

Linebacker James Harrison believes the Steelers will be ready
for whatever the Broncos do.

“It’s really whatever coach LeBeau feels works for that game,
for that opponent,” Harrison said. “Some games we might rush a
little more and there are quarters and games where we might not
blitz at all. That’s part of being a linebacker in coach
LeBeau’s defense. Rush the passer and drop into coverage, that’s
part of the whole package.”

Just as Orton probably must remain patient and wait to take
advantage of whatever the Steelers give him, Roethlisberger
understands he can’t be too eager to go downfield with safety
Brian Dawkins and cornerback Champ Bailey waiting to make plays.

While Roethlisberger has been the NFL’s most-sacked quarterback
since entering the NFL in 2004, his ability to improvise when
his pass protection breaks down has repeatedly created big
plays. Roethlisberger also has been successful running the
no-huddle, which the Ravens used on 31 plays against Denver.

“It changes the tempo, it keeps defenses on their heels,” wide
receiver Hines Ward said. “It’s a matter of wanting to get into
a speeded-up tempo. We hop into it to try to get some things
going. Will we use it? I don’t know. But we have it – every
week, every game, the package is in.”

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