DALLAS Parcells gushes over Steelers' QB

Ben Roethlisberger took the Cowboys' coach's praise with a grain of salt.
IRVING, Texas (AP) -- Bill Parcells has a favorite line about rookies who blaze onto the scene: "Don't put him in Canton yet."
Yet with the Pittsburgh Steelers coming to Texas Stadium on Sunday to face his Dallas Cowboys, Parcells went the opposite direction in praising their young quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger.
Parcells started by calling him "the best young prospect I've seen in 10 to 12 years," then said he's making the most seamless transition from college to the pros since Dan Marino.
"I think it's pretty remarkable what he's done," Parcells said. "I haven't seen many rookie quarterbacks come in and perform at that level."
Had he continued, Parcells might have worked his way up to asking for Roethlisberger's coat size so he could order the yellow blazer that goes with induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Double-edged ploy
The verbal bouquets reek of a double-edged ploy. He's both "feeding cheese" -- another of his pet phrases -- to try inflating the kid's ego and trying to persuade his young secondary to spend more time studying the play-book.
Roethlisberger handled the kudos with the poise he's shown on the field, thanking Parcells while acknowledging it could be a setup.
"It's a little too early to be putting those statements on it," he said. "If I can be half as good as Marino, I'll be incredibly happy."
Well, at least it worked inside the Dallas locker room, although players insisted Parcells' compliments merely supported what they saw on film.
"If you took his name and number off his jersey, you wouldn't think he's a rookie at all," said Dallas defensive end Greg Ellis.
Big, strong, mobile, smart and rocket-armed, Roethlisberger has started his career by winning his first three starts, something that was almost a fluke when it was last done -- in 1987, by a replacement player who was gone once the strike ended.
Could be first since 1979
Another win Sunday and Roethlisberger will be the first to go 4-0 since Phil Simms on the 1979 New York Giants.
Roethlisberger and the Steelers (4-1) have looked good the last three weeks, but it's been at winless Miami and at home against two poor teams, Cleveland and Cincinnati.
So a win at Dallas (2-2) could help legitimize Pittsburgh's hot start and send the Steelers into their off week with the confidence needed to prepare for their next two games: New England and Philadelphia, two of the league's three remaining unbeatens.
"All the great teams are good on the road and that's something we want to stress," said Hines Ward, the AFC's receptions leader. "It's a big game for us. If we go down there and steal it, we're 5-1 going into our bye week. We can get our guys healthy and get ready to finish the year out strong with 10 games left."
The Cowboys are looking for a jolt to get their season going. They've shown they can run, throw and defend, but haven't done it all in one game.
Dallas had to go down to the final play to beat Cleveland and Washington, teams that are a combined 3-7. In losses to Minnesota and New York (combined 7-2), the Cowboys saw four-point games at halftime turn lopsided by getting outscored 41-7 in the second halves.