Defense to make changes Sunday

Pittsburgh played almost all nickel defense against the Colts in November.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The Pittsburgh Steelers' defense figures to be a lot bigger Sunday in Indianapolis than it was there seven weeks ago.
Look for a lot more of 325-pound nose tackle Casey Hampton on the field and a lot less of him on the sideline.
To try to slow the Colts' fast-paced offense, the Steelers relied on their nickel defense -- which uses five defensive backs rather than the usual four -- almost exclusively in their 26-7 loss in the RCA Dome on Nov. 28. The Steelers have lost only one of six games since.
That means that Hampton, the Steelers' primary run-stopper, often was off the field when Edgerrin James was running for 124 yards on 29 carries. It was the only 100-yard game against the Steelers all season and the most rushing yards against them in two seasons.
On field more Sunday
Hampton had only one tackle and two assists in that game, but is certain that he will be on the field a lot more Sunday.
No doubt his teammates would like that -- after all, they voted him and wide receiver Hines Ward as their co-most valuable players, an infrequent honor for a player who doesn't play on every down.
"We played a lot of nickel in that game and they ran the ball very well against our nickel defense. That's what they do -- they get you out of what you're used to doing," Hampton said Wednesday.
"We're not used to playing nickel the whole game like we did the last time, but that's their base offense. They know how to block the run game out of nickel. We've got to do a bigger job of stopping it in our nickel defense," he said.
Hampton often played in the nickel defense two seasons ago, but was pulled from it after missing all but six games last season with a knee injury.
"They don't have me in a lot of nickel now because of my knee. They don't want me to wear down," he said. "It's just spotty, whenever they want me to get in there and get it, I go in and play a little bit of nickel."
Missing Harrison
The Steelers may need Hampton on the field more Sunday because James Harrison, their primary backup to outside linebackers Clark Haggans and Joey Porter and another good run-stopper, probably won't play because of a sprained ankle. He didn't practice Wednesday and is listed as doubtful.
Because he is so fast and moves laterally so well, Hampton -- a former first-round draft pick -- often forces offenses to commit more than one blocker to him. When the Minnesota Vikings attempted to block him man-on-man last month with backup center Marvin Fowler, he drove Fowler so far into the backfield that running back Michael Bennett was tripped up for a safety.
Afterward, former Vikings coach Mike Tice acknowledged that Fowler was "overmatched in there."
Learned in first meeting
The Steelers have heard all week about how they will be similarly overmatched against the Colts, but they think they learned much from that earlier loss in Indianapolis.
Then, the Steelers fell behind 7-0 when Peyton Manning took advantage of cornerback Ike Taylor's blown coverage to throw an 80-yard scoring pass to Marvin Harrison on the first play from scrimmage. After that, the Steelers forced the Colts to settle for field goals rather than touchdowns four times, and the only other Indianapolis TD was created by coach Bill Cowher's unsuccessful gamble to start the second half with an onside kickoff.
"We played really bad at times and really good at times, but we need to play better to overcome the circumstances," defensive lineman Kimo von Oelhoffen said of Sunday's rematch.
Right guard Kendall Simmons likes the fact that the Steelers are playing some of their best football in mid-January. During their 15-1 season a year ago, they peaked at midseason and never regained that level of play.
"I won't say we're peaking at the right time, but we're on the rise," Simmons said. "I know we're going to do well this time."