CANTON, Ohio -- Mike Tomlin got to meet "Prime Time" in
prime time.
Other than that, he claimed, there was nothing abnormal for the
new coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers about a 20-7 win over the New
Orleans Saints in his debut Sunday night.
"The only thing that was really different was talking to Deion
(Sanders) just before kickoff," Tomlin said after the Hall of Fame
game. "I had never given an interview just before kickoff. That
was the only thing that was new and exciting."
Well, not really. Less than three minutes into the game, the
Steelers were ahead to stay under the man replacing the retired
Bill Cowher. Just the third head coach in the past 38 years in
Pittsburgh, Tomlin had to be thrilled about his team's quick
getaway.
"We had a good first step," the no-nonsense Tomlin said. "We
did some good things, got some big plays, some chunks (of yardage).
"I took myself out of it. I tried to create an environment for
the coaches and players to do their jobs. You do that, you get
involved in the process."
Ben Roethlisberger was sharp in his only series, completing two
of his three throws for 73 yards to Cedrick Wilson. On a 55-yard
play, Wilson got behind safety Kevin Kaesviharn, then he beat New
Orleans' top cornerback, Mike McKenzie, on an 18-yard crossing
pattern.
"He came up to me at practice," Wilson said of Roethlisberger,
"and told me he was going to be looking for me. I appreciate that
and can be thankful for that. I just want to go out and make plays
for him and make sure he is one of the best quarterbacks in the
league."
Najeh Davenport, starting for 1,400-yard rusher Willie Parker,
bulled in from the 4 for a 7-0 lead.
Pittsburgh's first-stringers were, by far, more efficient than
New Orleans' starters, who missed blocks and dropped passes on
offense and couldn't handle Roethlisberger or Charlie Batch when
they threw. And that was just in the first quarter.
In the first half, Pittsburgh outgained New Orleans 305-56,
including 205-32 in the air. Overall, it was 413-214.
"This is how we want to play all season," linebacker Larry
Foote said of stymieing the Saints, who didn't use starting running
back Deuce McAllister and gave Reggie Bush only two carries for 8
yards. "We want to be dominating this year."
The Steelers kept making big plays, particularly on passes in a
more wide-open offense designed by new coordinator Bruce Arians.
They made the Saints look inept in coverage at times, an
unfortunate carry-over from last season for New Orleans, which
allowed 16 plays of more than 40 yards in 2006 -- a league high.
"I can't spin it any way but the way we played," Saints coach
Sean Payton said. "We were sloppy, sluggish. I thought they were
more physical than us. We've got a lot of work to do."
Along with Wilson's big gainer on the game's second play were a
38-yard screen pass to Carey Davis and a 41-yard completion from
Brian St. Pierre to Santonio Holmes. St. Pierre hit Holmes on a
3-yard fade for a 14-0 edge.
That grew to 17-0 on Jeff Reed's 28-yard field goal set up by
Davis' 58-yard run.
"In the first preseason game, you are finally getting a chance
to go against someone else, and see where you have progressed,"
Saints quarterback Drew Brees said after going 1-for-6 for 6 yards.
"Obviously, we still have some work to do."
But the Saints' third-stringers staged a 16-play, 72-yard drive
capped by a fourth-down, 1-yard TD pass from Jason Fife to Kevin
Dudley to open the second half. Pittsburgh's subs answered with a
13-play, 44-yard march to Reed's 39-yard field goal, taking up the
remainder of the third period.
On hand were five of the six men inducted into the Hall of Fame
on Saturday: Michael Irvin, Thurman Thomas, Bruce Matthews, Roger
Wehrli and Charlie Sanders. The ailing Gene Hickerson was not in
attendance.<
^Notes: @Saints center Jeff Faine strained a calf and left in
the second quarter ... The crowd of 22,302 was decidedly filled
with Steelers fans, most of them waving Terrible Towels ... Saints
first-round draft pick Robert Meachem, a wideout from Tennessee,
was laid out by a superb hit by rookie cornerback William Gay in
the fourth quarter. Gay later picked off a pass.