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By Scott Brown
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, May 18, 2008

For all the practice time the Steelers devoted to special teams last year, the return didn't come close to matching the investment.

And maybe that's because an immutable truth applies to the critical, if sometimes overlooked, phase of the game, at any level of football.

"Special teams is about 'want-to,' " Steelers defensive end Brett Keisel said.
"Heart," Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward said, "that's all it is."

The Steelers may not have had enough of either last season as breakdowns on special teams plagued them and ultimately contributed to the ending of it all in a 31-29 playoff loss to the Jaguars.

The Steelers will take a different approach toward special teams this year as they won't spend nearly as much time on them in OTA practices -- which resume Tuesday -- and during training camp.

Coach Mike Tomlin said he hopes to create more of a sense of urgency when the Steelers do work on special teams. There is another reason why Tomlin is de-emphasizing special teams, at least in the amount of practice time spent on them.

"I have a better sense of who we are this season," the second-year coach said. "I wouldn't change a thing in terms of our approach to it last year. We were trying to find new leaders in that phase of the game. The leaders that were there in the past were no longer there."

Indeed, the Steelers were without special-teams standouts such as Sean Morey (free agency), James Harrison (elevated to the starting lineup) and Mike Logan (retirement).

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