PITTSBURGH Steelers must stop Falcons' Vick

Coach Bill Cowher says Vick is faster than any other quarterback in the league.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Coach Bill Cowher, asked how the Pittsburgh Steelers will defend against mobile Atlanta playmaker Michael Vick, began running down the list of the NFL's scrambling quarterbacks.
He mentioned Donovan McNabb, Steve McNair and even his own Kordell Stewart, who is now anchored to the bench, then paused as he reflected on what he was saying.
None of these quarterbacks, he realized, truly replicates the fast-running, precision-throwing quarterback the Steelers will oppose Sunday.
"This guy is different," Cowher said Tuesday. "He's much faster -- I mean, he's really fast. Even with the best of plans, he's going to outrun someone or break a tackle.
"What we need is a good rain storm to sit over Heinz Field for about 24 hours before kickoff Sunday."
That isn't projected to happen -- Sunday's forecast is cloudy and windy with a high of 54 -- so Cowher and his defensive staff must be creative in designing a scheme to control Vick.
Either that, or be outright copycats.
The Ravens, who mimic the Steelers by playing a 3-4 defense, did the best job yet of slowing the former Virginia Tech standout, limiting him to 12-of-24 passing for 136 yards and minus-5 yards rushing in a 20-17 loss Sunday.
By contrast, Vick ran for 182 yards and three touchdowns and was 32-of-46 for 373 yards in high-scoring wins over New Orleans and Carolina the previous two weeks.
Four-game winning streak
Vick's multidimensional play has keyed a four-game winning streak by the Falcons (5-3). The Steelers (5-3) took the opposite approach, benching the more mobile Stewart for the stay-in-the-pocket Tommy Maddox, yet have also won four straight since starting 1-3.
Baltimore contained Vick by dropping six to eight defenders into zone coverage and by channeling their pass rushers into the running lanes, resulting in less pressure on Vick but also less room to scramble.
The Ravens also repeatedly kept a "spy" on him -- a defensive lineman or back assigned to Vick alone. Because the plan was so successful, Atlanta coach Dan Reeves has warned Vick he can expect to see more of the same. The left-handed Vick also said he must counter the overload he's seeing to his left by scrambling more to the right.
"We've got to give him a lot of different looks," Cowher said. "We've got to be conscious of the lanes, and make him work laterally on the field and not give him a big alley where he can work downhill."
Secondary must be patient
Also, he said, the secondary must be patient and resist the temptation to jump into plays. Cowher said big plays have resulted when a defensive back saw Vick running and dropped off his man to help out, only to have Vick go downfield to the now-open receiver.
"We use the word plaster," Cowher said. "If you're covering a man in your zone, you stay with him no matter where he goes on the field. ... You've got to stay in your lanes and while you might not generate the pass rush you like, you try to keep him contained."