Steelers are respectful but not in awe of New England

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

Brett Keisel’s short-term memory is a little hazy. Actually, his long-term memory’s not so great either, at least when it comes to the New England Patriots.

The Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end isn’t quite sure how many times Tom Brady has beaten the defending AFC champions through the years.

Is it four? Five? All Keisel knows is, whatever the number is — six, actually — it’s too many. He also knows he’s not dwelling on it heading into Sunday’s showdown at Heinz Field.

“I really haven’t thought about what they’ve done in the past, honestly,” Keisel said.

Good idea.

The Steelers have won 129 games (including a pair of Super Bowls) since Brady took over as Patriots starting quarterback in 2001. Only one of those victories have come against the two-time MVP.

Does that mean New England is in the Steelers’ heads? Keisel has the ultimate respect for the Patriots, but he’s not ready to go there.

“If they feel good about themselves for beating us back in whenever, and it’s an advantage for them, so be it,” Keisel said.

The Patriots haven’t just beaten the Steelers through the years, however, they’ve dominated.

New England’s average margin of victory against Pittsburgh since 2001 is 12.3 points with only one game decided by less than seven points.

Impressive, to be sure.

Also, the Steelers point out, irrelevant.

“The amazing thing is none of that counts,” safety Ryan Clark said. “They clearly have no reason to be afraid of us, but neither do we.”

Maybe, though the Steelers (5-2) are well aware they’ve played second fiddle to the Patriots (5-1) over the last decade in which the two organizations combined to win half the Super Bowls and seven AFC titles.

“That’s how it always is,” linebacker LaMarr Woodley said. “They’ve got a great organization, great coaches, great players. Last time I checked, we were pretty good too.”

Just not good enough to beat Brady.

The Steelers insist there’s no secret formula to beating Brady. Put pressure on him, disrupt his timing and try to put him on the ground.

“If I knew the reason why they’ve beaten us more than we’ve beaten them, we wouldn’t have that problem anymore,” nose tackle Casey Hampton said. “So, we’ve just got to go out there and do what we do.”

Brady’s racked up 2,008 yards passing with 14 touchdowns against three interceptions vs. Pittsburgh.