Weird deal, this NFL.
Each week is a season unto itself -- and nobody knows which corner of the locker room will produce the next big story.
Last year, it was Ben Roethlisberger unexpectedly becoming not only the Steelers' starting quarterback, but also the most efficient rookie quarterback in NFL history.
Later, it was Jerome Bettis morphing from a washed-up goal-line caddie into, well, a 27-year-old Jerome Bettis.
This season began with an undrafted, second-year running back (Willie Parker) hogging headlines. By Week 5, it was Bettis re-emerging, and by Week 6, it was Bettis de-emerging and Tommy Maddox throwing to Nate Washington and Quincy Morgan.
What will November bring, Rod Rutherford taking snaps from Chukky Okobi with Noah Herron carrying 25 times a game?
Luckily for the Steelers - OK, maybe by design -- the roster is stocked with players who've been around the block, who care mostly about winning and who know how quickly their role can change.
They also know that bloated egos can poison a locker room.
That's why guys such as Maddox, Willie Williams, Bettis (for the most part) and Duce Staley have quietly accepted reduced or non-existent roles over the past two years.
Staley has been inactive for all but one game this season. In the past two, he was fit to play but told to watch. That'll likely happen again Sunday.
Yet, you ask Staley about his predicament, and all he wants to talk about is Bettis. Staley went so far as to say if it came down to him or Bettis shouldering the load, he'd gladly defer.
"This is the last time you might see 36 in that uniform, so I would rather for him to actually go out with a bang," Staley said. "If it was up to me and him battling for the last little piece, I would willingly give it up to him."
Staley's words come at a particularly crucial time, because Bettis let his frustration seep a bit last Sunday after he carried only four times. The last thing Bill Cowher needs is Staley causing a ruckus.
"The coaches know I want to be out there," said Staley, 30. "They know I want the ball. But I'm not going to be disgruntled. That's not my nature; that's not what I do."
This time last year, Staley was rolling. He'd broken the 100-yard mark in four of the previous five games and was about to do it again in a rousing victory over New England. But he sustained a severe hamstring injury in that game and effectively was finished for the season as a featured back.
He knows his role could change just as dramatically this season. Besides, he's only in the second year of a five-year, $14 million contract, so he figures his time will come again.
If not this year, next year (I'd bet on this year).
"You never know when they'll call my number," Staley said. "As it's looking right now, if Jerome retires, he'll be gone. Verron (Haynes' contract) is up, so you never know how that's gonna' go. How it looks right now, it's me and Willie."
True enough, but that's fodder for training camp 2006. There are many games - many seasons - to be played before then.
