STEELERS Cowher changes his style for '04

He has refocused as a coach and has become more strict.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- When the Pittsburgh Steelers gave coach Bill Cowher a two-year extension with two years still left on his contract, they were looking to keep the status quo despite missing the playoffs four of the last six seasons.
So what a surprise it was when a different Cowher showed up at training camp -- one seemingly intent on turning around a team that added only a few new players after going 6-10 last season.
Gone was the Cowher who occasionally allowed proven players to slide a bit during camp, confident they would turn it up when the season started.
The Cowher who called off one practice every summer to take his team to the movies.
The Cowher who sometimes stood by and let his assistants do much of the coaching.
The new Bill
Hello to the new Bill, not the same as the old Bill.
"I don't know if I'm more involved. I just want us to get the right mindset," Cowher said. "Maybe the last couple of years we have gotten away from some things and maybe this is the refocusing that has needed to be done."
That's why Cowher trimmed some privileges, beginning when Joey Porter was told he couldn't pilot the golf cart he brought in to whisk him around training camp.
Cowher also kept practices going longer on days he might ordinarily have cut them short, emphasizing the Steelers need to be more physical than they were last season.
"Refocusing needed to be done around here with everyone, myself included," Cowher said.
Cowher's focus
With Sunday's opener against Oakland drawing closer, Cowher is focusing on what the Steelers usually do best but, a year ago, did worse than nearly anyone else: run the ball and apply pressure defensively.
Traditionally among the NFL's rushing leaders, the Steelers tumbled to No. 31 mostly because a patched-up, depleted offensive line never came together and Amos Zereoue couldn't settle in as the starting running back.
By the time NFL No. 6 career rusher Jerome Bettis returned to his old job, the season was long gone.
The injury problems of last season returned midway through training camp when right guard Kendall Simmons went down with a season-ending knee injury.
But a reconfigured offensive line has responded with consecutive excellent preseason performances, giving new running back Duce Staley and Bettis plenty of room to run.
"That's why I came here, because the Steelers will run the ball," said Staley, a former 1,000-yard back who shared his job with two other players in Philadelphia last season.
The Steelers' needs
With Simmons out, the Steelers need new right guard Keydrick Vincent to settle in, right tackle Oliver Ross to become more consistent and, most of all, left tackle Marvel Smith to stay healthy. He played little after injuring his neck early last season.
The rest of the offense is nearly the same, with quarterback Tommy Maddox set to start again until first-round draft choice Ben Roethlisberger becomes comfortable with the speed and complexity of the NFL.
During the summer, Maddox and some friends climbed Mount Princeton, a 14,200-foot peak in Colorado. His next and far more challenging task is to try to help the Steelers climb out of third place in the AFC North.
"If people don't want to look at us very highly, that's OK," Maddox said. "We've got talent and people who want to win. That's important. I think we are going to surprise some people."
Maddox's targets remain the same. Hines Ward averaged 100 catches the last three seasons, yet is often overlooked when the game's best receivers are mentioned.
Plaxico Burress' production was down last season, but he should be motivated during a contract year. Antwaan Randle El is dangerous as an extra receiver and kick returner.
Real kick on defense
But the real kick is coming on defense, where there's another new, yet old, coach in Dick LeBeau, who was among six new coaching staff hires. Cowher wants to bring back the pressure that was missing last season, and LeBeau largely designed the Blitzburgh defense of the mid-1990s during his first run as the defensive coordinator.
"I don't like to see quarterbacks sitting out there and having all day to throw. That to me is a problem," Cowher said. "I want to see some pressure."
As in most of LeBeau's schemes, the outside linebacker (Porter and Clark Haggans) are counted upon to bring much of that pressure. Porter's production fell off last season, when he missed the first two games with a minor gunshot wound and never found his game once he returned. Haggans, formerly a backup, takes over for franchise career sacks leader Jason Gildon, who was released.
The secondary was overhauled without bringing in any new players, except for second-round draft choice Richard Colclough. Safeties Troy Polamalu and Chris Hope were promoted to starters and cornerback Deshea Townsend begins a season as a starter for the first time.
The special teams also get a new punter, Chris Gardocki, who was signed away from the Browns.
The schedule offers the chance for a fast start, with five of the first eight games at home. No doubt the Steelers hope their playoff hopes don't get chilled during the last weekend of the season -- in Buffalo, in early January.