PITTSBURGH STEELERS Injuries sidetrack 'The Bus'

Jerome Bettis probably will not reach 1,000 yards rushing for only the second season in his 10-year career.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The injuries are occurring more frequently now, and taking longer to heal. The yardage is becoming harder to get, his once-rapid ascent on the NFL career rushing list slowed appreciably.
For only the second time in his 10-year career, Jerome Bettis will go down the stretch of an NFL season without a reasonable chance of gaining 1,000 yards.
It is not because his talent has abandoned him or, as was the case in 1995 with the Rams -- the only other time he didn't gain 1,000 yards -- he disagrees with the coaches on how he is being used.
This time, Bettis is being sidetracked by the one thing he cannot control: his health.
Sprained knee
A sprained knee kept him out of Pittsburgh's last three games and, coupled with the team's slow start, almost certainly will prevent him from gaining 1,000 yards for the first time in his seven Steelers seasons.
"That's the tough part," Bettis said. "But it was one of those seasons where we started off slow, then you have an injury. So now, all of a sudden, you're starting it right in the face."
With only 326 yards through nine games, Bettis must average 97 yards in the final seven games to reach 1,000 again. That might have been possible back when he missed an average of only a game per season, but likely is an unreachable figure now.
Abandoned the run
It also didn't help that the Steelers fell behind New England and Oakland by big margins in their first two games, forcing them to abandon the run -- and Bettis -- by halftime.
The knee injury wouldn't be as frustrating to Bettis if it hadn't followed a groin injury that effectively ended his 2001 season after 11 games. He played only once in their last six games, gaining 8 yards on an ineffective nine carries in the AFC championship game.
As a result, Bettis has been fully healthy for only five of the Steelers' last 15 games. He injured the knee on the first play of the second half Oct. 21 against the Colts and hasn't carried since.
The injury came just when Bettis needed only 35 yards to move past O.J. Simpson into 11th place among NFL career rushers and 151 yards to overtake John Riggins for 10th place.
Downside talk
However, that doesn't trouble Bettis as much as the talk that, after making 2,769 carries as a power runner in a league where such backs rarely enjoy long careers, he is on the downside at age 30.
The last time he was healthy for a full game, Oct. 13 against Cincinnati, he ran for 109 yards and two touchdowns -- his only 100-yard game in the last year.
"I'm injured," he said. "Everybody is forgetting I'm injured. Everybody wants to say it is this or that, but I'm injured. What can I do? I can't go out there and perform.
"Once I get back onto the field, you'll be able to see what I can do."
Bettis expects to play Sunday against Tennessee.