PITTSBURGH STEELERS Rodney Peete has little time remaining to win over the fans

He's Carolina's starting quarterback but hasn't played up to it.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Rodney Peete has one quarter of football left to prove he should be Carolina's starting quarterback.
Only Peete has to prove it to the fans, not the Panthers' coaching staff.
What was supposed to be a wide-open preseason quarterback battle never really took off, and Peete is expected to be the starter regardless of how he plays tonight (8, WICT-FM 95.1, WKBN-TV 27) against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
"He's our starter right now, and unless something happens, it would be fair to say he will be [our starter opening day]," coach John Fox said.
Numbers don't add up
The only problem is backups Jake Delhomme and Chris Weinke have played a whole lot better this preseason than the 37-year-old Peete has.
Through three preseason games, Weinke has a quarterback rating of 116.1, second in the NFL, and has led the Panthers on all their touchdown drives. Delhomme has a quarterback rating of 70.0, with Peete trailing at 51.1.
But if he's heard the loud fan push for Weinke to get a shot at being the starter, Peete isn't saying.
"I've been around long enough that people are going to talk no matter what you do," he said. "You can go out and throw 20 touchdowns in the preseason, and people are always going to think about the next guy coming up.
"That's just the nature of the business. I really don't put too much stock into it, especially in preseason."
Extenuating circumstances
Peete admits he hasn't had a great preseason, but quickly points out that the first-team offense, which was overhauled during the off-season, has tried a lot of different things that probably wouldn't be attempted in a regular season game.
Last week at Green Bay, the Panthers moved to the Packers' 1-yard line and tried -- and failed -- to run the ball into the end zone four straight times.
It capped another frustrating red-zone failure for Peete, who has yet to get anything but field goals out of the offense.
Like the Panthers, Pittsburgh coach Bill Cowher only plans to play his first-team through the first quarter.
But it will be important test for the players on the Steelers' offensive line, who think their line is one of the best in the league. Pittsburgh will get to measure itself against Carolina's defense, which is also one of the best in the league.
"They have a good defensive front," Cowher said. "There is no question that this will be a good challenge for us. They have been playing very good defense."
Only right tackle is undecided for Pittsburgh, with Todd Fordham and Oliver Ross battling for the starting spot. Fordham will make his first start against Carolina, and go up against Julius Peppers, last year's NFL defensive rookie of the year.