Pittsburgh STEELERS   2002 Record: 10-5-1 Head Coach: Bill Cowher 109-66-1 overall, 7-8 postseason TEAM LEADERS   Passing Tommy Maddox 234-377, 2,836 yards, 20 TDs, 16 INTs   Rushing Amos Zereoue 193 carries, 762 yards, 4 TDs   Receiving Hines Ward 112 catches, 1,329 yards, 12 TDs   Kicking Jeff Reed 17-19 FGs, 10-11 PATs, 61 points Schedule | Roster | Statistics | Stadium

By Dave Clark, SI.com

Some seem to think the wheels on The Bus are falling off, but not Bill Cowher. Jerome Bettis rushed for just 666 yards last season after gaining 1,000-plus in each of his previous six seasons with the Steelers. But Cowher insists Bettis' weight is as low as ever. Apparently Bettis is the same weight now as he was in 1997, his most productive year as a pro (1,665 rushing yards). And Cowher says he's in better shape now than he was at this time in '97. My recollections of Introduction to Logic are a bit hazy, but is this a legit use of the transitive property? Not sure I follow. But Pittsburgh does have good depth should Bettis slow down even more.

The question du jour: Can Amos Zereoue be the go-to guy Bettis has been? There have been encouraging signs. Zereoue played in all 16 games last season, but he only started five of them. And he got only 20 or more carries in three games (in which he proceeded to rush for 111 vs. Cleveland, 123 vs. Atlanta and 104 vs. Baltimore). Despite restricted playing time, Zereoue managed to lead the Steelers with 762 rushing yards, adding 341 receiving on 42 catches. He may be one of the shortest backs in the league, but this guy is tough. When given the chance to be the featured back, he's the real deal. He may only be 4 1/2 years younger, but he doesn't need a new timing belt and transmission like The Bus does. Pass the torch already.

Meanwhile, Kordell Stewart's departure makes it crystal clear this is Tommy Maddox's team. But now Maddox is talking about his contract (go figure). He recently explained that he's not sure why the Steelers won't rework a contract that pays him $275,000 less than backup Charlie Batch. The Steelers aren't looking forward to this potential distraction.

One thing you won't hear Maddox complain about is his gifted targets. Hines Ward and Plaxico Burress finished fourth and fifth respectively in the NFL in receiving yardage last season, with both players posting career-high numbers (1,329 for Ward, 1,325 for Burress). While Ward's great hands helped him finish second only to the Colts' Marvin Harrison with 112 receptions, Burress developed into a big-play threat, averaging 17 yards per catch. Both are in their prime, so expect more of the same this season. And it's been said enough that it almost seems cliché, but Antwaan Randle El is a constant threat, no matter where he is on the field or what he's doing. And by the way, 47 catches for 489 yards is pretty darn good for a third receiver.

The Steelers are trying to develop Kendrell Bell into a rush end. A high ankle sprain prevented him from trying it out last year, but look for Bell to be used as an outside rusher on third down packages. And it sounds like Kendall Simmons' surgery went better than expected. He might not miss any of camp.

>> Impact Signing

TE Jay Riemersma -- This is only for lack of a better choice. Actually, the Steelers have quite a competition shaping up at tight end. Riemersma, Mark Bruener and Jerame Tuman are all in pursuit, and Bill Cowher doesn't intend to release any of them anytime soon.

>> Impact Loss

S Lee Flowers -- Sorry, Slash, we've already touched on the QB situation. ... It'll be tough to get used to a Steelers' secondary without Flowers, who signed with the Broncos. And Flowers was still fairly productive in his seventh season in Pittsburgh, with 58 tackles (fourth on the team), four sacks and a couple of picks. First-round draft pick Troy Polamalu will battle Mike Logan for a shot at replacing Flowers.

>> Fantasy Stud

WRs Hines Ward and Plaxico Burress -- It's hard to separate the two as they form the best 1-2 WR combo from one team since Randy Moss and Cris Carter. Ward was second in the NFL last season in receptions (112) and TD catches (12) and led the team with 1,329 receiving yards. However, Burress had just four fewer yards with just 78 catches (an impressive 17.0 yards per catch average) and had seven TDs. Plus, his stats took a big jump in the second half as he became a favorite target of Tommy Maddox. It's hard to go wrong with either receiver.

>> Fantasy Sleeper

K Jeff Reed -- Neither Kris Brown nor Todd Peterson could succeed kicking at Heinz Field. Enter Reed, who took over the starting job in late November and went 17-for-19 on field goals (including 10-for-12 at home) and finished with 61 points in just six games. He should get plenty of scoring opportunities if the offense can operate on the same level it did last year. Spread out his production over a full season, it would've been a whopping 161 points.

>> Steelers will not make the playoffs because ...

Caddyshack's Carl Spackler just got done installing a hybrid of Kentucky bluegrass, featherbed bent and northern California sinsemilla after two seasons of problems with the Heinz Field grass. He convinces the Steelers they can play four quarters on it in the afternoon, take it home and just get stoned to the bejeezus belt ... and the Steelers literally go to pot. FYI, the field actually did just get a new hybrid that includes Kentucky bluegrass.