Bettis not ready to return to bench

He said the starting job belongs to Duce Staley.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The Pittsburgh Steelers are about to reward Jerome Bettis for one of the best three-game stretches of his career with some time off, even if he doesn't really want it.
With starter Duce Staley expected to play Sunday against the Redskins (3-7) after missing three games with a bruised hamstring, Bettis returns to the bench as the Steelers (9-1) go for their ninth consecutive victory.
"Obviously, the Bus has been rolling unbelievable, but it's going to be nice to have some rest back there for Jerome," rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said.
It's a familiar scenario for Bettis. Despite passing Tony Dorsett on Sunday to move into fifth place in NFL career rushing with 12,863 yards -- the Jets' Curtis Martin is right behind him -- Bettis has been benched each of the last two seasons.
Still, it's rare to sit someone playing as well as Bettis is, averaging 127 yards against the Eagles, Browns and Bengals. That average is higher than Staley's 101 yards per game average, though Staley has four 100-yard games in his last five starts.
"This is Duce's job," said Bettis, who had 91 carries the last three weeks after getting only 52 in the first seven games.
Best 1-2 combination
With at least one Steelers back rushing for 100 yards or more in all but two of their 10 games, Staley said, "I strongly believe we have the best 1-2 combination in the league."
Getting one of their big backs going against the Redskins' No. 3-ranked rushing defense will be important in a game that clearly worries coach Bill Cowher. While the Steelers average a league-best 161.7 yards rushing, the Redskins allow only 89.7.
The Redskins don't score many points -- they have yet to hit the 20-point mark -- but don't give up many, either. They're likely to come hard at Roethlisberger with blitzes, just as the Bengals did successfully while sacking him seven times during the Steelers' 19-14 win Sunday in Cincinnati.
Roethlisberger will miss his top downfield threat: Plaxico Burress is out with a sore hamstring. That makes it even more important for the Steelers to get their running game going.
"You know they [the Redskins] are going to do something to try to stop the running game," Cowher said. "They're pretty good right now. They're second in the NFL [in total defense] and that's pretty impressive, given a record of 3-7."
Defensive schemes
Steelers guard Alan Faneca doesn't think the Redskins will copy the Bengals, if only because they already use complicated blitzing schemes.
"They do so much already, that's in their game plan to blitz and rush from every direction," Faneca said. "They'll just be borrowing from their own playbook."
Faneca said having both big backs ready to go can only be an asset.
"It adds stability to the running back position, which we hadn't had in the last couple weeks in terms of numbers. It'll be nice to get him [Staley] back and get him in the mix," Faneca said. "Jerome's a lot more north-south as a runner. Duce is north-south but he's going to cut a little left, a little right, make it a little harder to tackle you. They both bring something unique to the table."
Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.