Patriots, Steelers Swap Personas New England’s Defense, Pittsburgh’s Offense Shine

NBC’s Randy Cross has been an analyst for numerous Patriots games this year and last year’s foggy playoff clash against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Foxboro, Mass.

Cross likes the Patriots, largely because of their unheralded defense, and has defended coach Pete Carroll when most other national commentators consistently questioned him.

Cross is not a fan, but he is intrigued by today’s matchup with the Steelers in Pittsburgh.

“It’s almost like the two teams have changed places this year,” Cross said. “Last year, one of the team’s defense was on a big-time roll and its offense was just doing enough. Last year, that was Pittsburgh. This year, it’s New England. And the offense with the firepower is the Steelers.”

Though Jerome Bettis is hobbled with a tender knee (last year it was a bad groin), the Steelers’ offense is squarely in the hands of Kordell Stewart.

Throughout this season, Stewart waited until late in the game to show his stuff, a trend that caused some to think of him as inconsistent.

Cross knows better.

“Teams can’t get excited about being ahead of the Steelers in the second or third quarters,” he said. “That object in the mirror is a lot closer than they think.”

In fact, Cross said, Stewart and Joe Montana have a common characteristic. “This is not a comparison, but Stewart is known as a guy who can kill you in the second half or late in the game,” Cross said. “The scary part about him is that just think what happens when he gets his game better in the first half. Opposing teams already know that he is not going to get worse in the second half.”

The Patriots discovered that when the Steelers beat them in overtime after Drew Bledsoe threw an interception to allow the Steelers to tie the game in regulation.

Cross and play-by-play announcer Tom Hammond will do the game.

Cross has reviewed game films and television tapes on the teams. He studies statistics and reads the local newspaper accounts via the Internet. He has been on the money more often than not, but is not afraid to admit a mistake.

For instance, when the Patriots played the Jaguars in Jacksonville, Cross believed the Patriots would run the ball more effectively. He also thought Jaguars quarterback Mark Brunell would be able to put more pressure on the Patriots’ defense. Neither occurred.

For Saturday’s game, Cross believes the defenses will star. “I don’t see this as a high-scoring contest,” he said. “It’s going to be tight and low-scoring. It very well could be a duplicate of the two’s last game with whoever having the last possession or winning the coin toss in overtime finally winning in the end.”

He said the Patriots blitzed Stewart 30 times during their Dec. 13 game, a strategy that caused the Steelers problems. Cross anticipates more blitzes Saturday.

More important, Cross points out, has been Carroll’s ability to withstand major criticism throughout the year and still manage to get his team into the second round of playoffs.

“I’m real happy for the way Pete has handled himself this year,” Cross said. “He inherited a situation where he couldn’t make anyone happy. Even if he were to win this year’s Super Bowl, some would argue that he only took a team made by Bill Parcells.”

Cross said the Patriots’ up-anddown season has not been entirely Carroll’s fault.

After the team was pounded by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cross said, “the team has been in a stupor bordering on a prolonged funk. But it’s up to the guys on the field. The players are not going to buy a rah-rah speech from the coach before the game. The players have to get that edge and hunger on their own. And so far, the Patriots don’t seem to have it. What is missing from that team is physical play. They don’t seem to come out and just pound people.”

That has changed in recent weeks.

What surprises Cross is that many have made comparisons between last year’s team and this year’s.

“No one has pointed out just how far last year’s team would have gone without the services of Curtis Martin or Terry Glenn,” he said. “The team has managed to be two wins away from another Super Bowl appearance without two of their offensive weapons.”