Steelers shake up lineup; Zereoue gets start for season opener

Coach Bill Cowher benched Jerome Bettis and tight end Mark Bruener.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Jerome Bettis, the 10th leading rusher in NFL history, will start the season on the Pittsburgh Steelers' bench following his surprise demotion Wednesday by coach Bill Cowher.
Cowher, unhappy not only with his team's play in the preseason but also with how it is practicing, also benched tight end Mark Bruener and said cornerback Deshea Townsend will play more with the starting defense.
Amos Zereoue, who replaced an injured Bettis at the end of each of the last two seasons, will start the Sept. 7 opener against Baltimore. Jay Riemersma, signed away from the Bills during the offseason, replaces Bruener and either Chad Scott or Dewayne Washington will take off some series to accommodate Townsend's increased playing time.
No distractions
Cowher announced the moves now because he doesn't want any distractions the week of the opener. The Steelers play host to the Dallas Cowboys in a preseason game tonight (8, WYFX-TV 17/62, WBBG-FM 106.1).
"We want the focus to be on Baltimore and not on who's playing for us," Cowher said. "That's the reason why I made the decision, so there's no more speculation."
Bettis, the second-leading rusher in Steelers' history to Franco Harris and seemingly a certain Pro Football Hall of Famer, did not accept the news well, Cowher said.
"He's disappointed, but he accepted it," said Cowher, who called the move a gut decision by him. "I don't think one player has outperformed the other player."
The moves came as the Steelers wind up perhaps the worst of their 12 training camps under Cowher. Not only are they 0-2 going into tonight's game, their training camp was constantly disrupted by injuries, rain, lightning and field problems.
Cowher was so unhappy with the final full-scale practice of camp Tuesday night that he called off the show rookies traditionally perform for veterans at the end of camp.
"I didn't feel like we're focused on this game," Cowher said.
Clarification
Still, Cowher cautioned that just because Bettis won't start doesn't mean he won't play.
"This is not like a quarterback situation where you can't keep going back and forth," Cowher said. "That creates disruption in your offense. You can very easily change running backs."
Bettis missed much of the second half of the last two seasons with injuries and, Cowher said, "Hopefully, we'll have a good November, December and January with Jerome that we haven't had the last couple of years."
Bettis has rushed for 11,542 yards in 10 seasons, easily the most ever by a running back of his size. He is listed at 255 pounds.
However, his string of six consecutive 1,000 yard seasons in Pittsburgh ended last season when he was limited to 666 yards in 12 games. Zereoue led the team with a career-high 762 yards in his fourth NFL season.
Despite going through the most extensive off-season workout regimen of his career, the 31-year-old Bettis has looked slow and out of rhythm in the first two exhibition games. It probably didn't help that, because of injuries, he was running behind a makeshift offensive line. The Steelers' starting line began practicing together only this week.
Change in philosophy
By starting the faster Zereoue ahead of Bettis and Riemersma ahead of Bruener, who is an excellent blocker but rarely catches the ball, the Steelers appear to be further de-emphasizing their longstanding commitment to the run. Their transition from a running team to a passing team began last season after Tommy Maddox replaced Kordell Stewart at quarterback.
The decision to play Townsend more comes as the Steelers try to strengthen a defense that allowed 300 or more yards eight times last season, including each of their two playoff games.
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