Nothing for Titans to cheer after opening drive score

That 11-play, 61-yard opening drive got the Pittsburgh Steelers’ attention, and it turned out to be the only score the Titans managed in a 34-7 loss to their one-time division rivals.

“It definitely woke us up,” Steelers linebacker James Farrior said. “When you have a team that drove it down on us as well as they did, it really gave us a wake-up call. We came after that next series ready to go.”

The Titans wound up moving the ball, but the Steelers kept them out of the end zone by forcing two fumbles and two interceptions.

“We didn’t make any big-time adjustments,” Farrior said. “We just played better. We still called the same defenses we did on the first series.”

Farrior said the excitement of the season opener probably worked against the Steelers.

“I think everybody was a little anxious, a little over-ready to play,” he said. “It showed in that first series, but we rebounded and got it back together. We played better after that.”

The Steelers are coming off a 15-1 season that ended with a 41-27 loss to eventual Super Bowl champion New England in the AFC championship game last January. Most of the same cast is back, with the goal of going further than they did last season.

The only way to do so is to get to the Super Bowl. To get there, coach Bill Cowher needs to see some improvement from Sunday’s effort, as one-sided as the score was.

“I felt we were really on edge on defense for most of the day,” Cowher said. “Don’t get me wrong, we played hard. We gave up some plays, missed some tackles. Overall, we have a ways to go.”

———

CLEARING A PATH:@ Running back Willie Parker has a different style, but the task remains the same for the Steelers’ offensive line.

They’re trying to open running lanes, just as they do for Duce Staley and Jerome Bettis. The difference is that the speedy Parker will burst those holes more quickly than the two veteran backs.

Parker rushed for 161 yards on 22 carries, the best opening-game running performance in Steelers history. The previous high, according to the Steelers’ public relations department, was 114 yards by John “Frenchy” Fuqua against Chicago in 1971.

Parker also caught a screen pass for a play that covered 48 yards and set up Pittsburgh’s first touchdown.

“He’s got some big plays in him every time he touches the ball,” tackle Marvel Smith said. “If we give him a little bit of room he can burst through the hole, make a lot of people miss and take it to the house.”

Parker is the fourth back in four seasons to start on opening day for the Steelers. The parade started with Amos Zereoue in 2002, followed by Bettis and Staley. Bettis has a calf injury and Staley is sidelined following arthroscopic knee surgery, which cleared the path for Parker.

“He ran wild today,” receiver Hines Ward said. “You see what he can do with the ball in his hands. He’s very explosive.”

Coach Bill Cowher said Parker will start Sunday in Houston, even if Staley and Bettis are healthy.

———

NOW IT COUNTS:@ Despite a 3-1 record, the Steelers had a mediocre preseason as the first-team offense failed to score a touchdown.

Ben Roethlisberger maintained that there was no cause for concern and it appears he was correct.

“You get more of a sense of urgency to go out there and get the job done during the season,” Ward said. “We looked good on the practice field. It was just a matter of us transferring that over to game-type situations.”

———

FAMILIAR FACE:@ Former Steelers quarterback Neil O’Donnell was on hand in his capacity as a reporter for a Nashville TV station.

O’Donnell played for the Steelers from 1990-95 and was 39-22 as a starter. He is the last quarterback to take the team to the Super Bowl.

O’Donnell’s last game for Pittsburgh was the Super Bowl in January 1996, a 27-17 loss to Dallas in which he threw two costly interceptions.

———

THRED THE NEEDLE:@ Players stay on the sidelines for a variety of reasons, but Tennessee running back Travis Henry was knocked out for an unusual problem.

He said his disappearance from the lineup was due to his pants being torn on a play.

“They ripped on the side and they were taping them up,” Henry said.

Henry’s absence had nothing to do with Parker’s long run on the screen pass, during which, Parker said, “We caught them with their pants down.”