NFL Steelers struggle as season nears

Pittsburgh has dropped two straight exhibition games, with two more to play.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The Pittsburgh Steelers' biggest comfort right now is the NFL season is three weeks away. It's also their biggest worry.
With two more exhibition games to go, including one at home Thursday against the Dallas Cowboys, there's still time to develop some cohesion along the offensive line. To eliminate the ongoing coverage problems in their secondary. To get quarterback Tommy Maddox settled in with his receivers.
But with training camp winding down -- only two more full days to go at St. Vincent College -- they're running out of time to get it right, especially with so much going wrong.
"We still have a ways to go, but we're still not where we want to be," safety Brent Alexander said after a 21-16 exhibition loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday night. "But we've got to be persistent. We are not going to have any lulls or setbacks at this point in time, and we have to stay focused."
Not as disappointed
Coach Bill Cowher wasn't as disappointed as he was the week before following a dismal 26-13 loss to Detroit in which virtually nothing went right. But he's far from satisfied, especially with a work-in-progress offensive line that still hasn't practiced with all of its starters and a secondary that was called for three costly pass interference penalties Saturday.
"I did not like the sluggish start," Cowher said. "The big thing is we did not give up any big plays, but we have to find a way to get some turnovers."
The Eagles had a dominating edge in statistics when only the starters were on the field and led 14-3 at one point, but both teams kept many regulars on the field for much of the first half.
Cowher was upset with two pivotal calls. He argued unsuccessfully that Kendrell Bell stopped Correll Buckhalter before he crossed the goal line, then was livid after Antwaan Randle El's apparent 14-yard scoring catch was overturned upon review.
Touchdown called back
Referee Walt Anderson ruled Randle El was juggling the ball as he went out of bounds, even though TV replays appeared to show he got both feet in bounds before he neared the out-of-bounds line.
"Everyone saw the replay," Cowher said. "Everyone is seeing the same thing. I know what I saw."
Maddox couldn't believe it when the touchdown was taken away, saying one of the other officials -- he wouldn't name him -- called it a "no-brainer call."
"The thing we've got to do is continue to work on coming out and playing like that on the first drive instead of the third drive," Maddox said. "It's amazing how once you get a couple of first downs, the offensive line kind of gets in a groove and starts doing well and everyone starts getting a little sharper."