The following from the Nov. 29 - Cincinnati Enquirer says it all:
The beating the Pittsburgh organization is taking over the condition of the natural grass playing surface at Heinz Field is reminiscent of the heat the Bengals took before they installed FieldTurf at Paul Brown Stadium.
The Steelers defeated the Miami Dolphins 3-0 in a driving rain Monday night on sod that had been laid the day before over the existing field.
The field had been beaten down by four high school games during the Thanksgiving holiday and Pitt's final home game Saturday.
Because of the rain - 1.31 inches fell Monday at Pittsburgh International Airport, and there is a 30 percent chance of precipitation today - the sod didn't take.
"When they put the new sod over the old field, it just made it a deep mush; it was a deep pile of mush," Steelers linebacker James Farrior said Wednesday. "You couldn't really get your feet set in the ground."
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin on Wednesday - following Farrior's conference call with Cincinnati media - offered little hope that the field would be in any better condition for the Bengals game Sunday night. The Steelers, after consulting with the NFL, have decided not to replace the field before the game at a cost of an estimated $150,000.
Steelers officials said Tuesday that they would consider after the season the possibility of installing an artificial surface but that the field would have to stay the same for the duration of the schedule.
Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis knows what to expect.
"You don't have to test it. You know what it's going to be. It's not going to change from what you saw on Monday night," he said. "If it rains again, as it's supposed to, it's going to be what you saw on Monday night."
Lewis and his players said they would be prepared - physically and mentally.
"Guys will be in the proper shoes and ready to go," Lewis said.
Players can wear a maximum three-quarter-inch cleat. Other cleat lengths are one-half and five-eighths of an inch.
Lewis downplayed the sloppy conditions. "Guys just have to be conscious of it," he said. "We spoke about it. I don't want it to be the overriding factor."
For Bengals veterans such as left tackle Levi Jones, the thought of playing on a muddy field with difficult footing reminds them of the old Paul Brown Stadium grass and the condition of their practice fields adjacent to the stadium.
Former Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin was angry about the field - a sandbox, he called it - after the Bengals upset his team 17-14 on Dec. 17, 2000.
"We get that look every day out here on our practice field. Some days it can be (as bad as what he saw on television Monday night from Pittsburgh)," Jones said. "We all remember how this stadium used to be before it went to FieldTurf."
The test is for offensive linemen. "It's easier for a defensive lineman to sell out to try to get to the quarterback and fall on his face," Jones said. "If the offensive lineman slips, he gets hit for (giving up) a sack."
Quarterback Carson Palmer said he has played on some rough fields in Pittsburgh before.
"I played in Pittsburgh a number of times when it was pretty bad; they have a tough time growing grass there," Palmer said. "But the field that we practice on every day is as slippery. The turf comes up just as bad on our grass field as it does anywhere else I've ever played. So we're used to it."
Palmer anticipated no alteration in the offensive game plan, including the potential for deep passes.
"If it's hard to run a deep route," he said, "it's hard to cover a deep route."
The conversation Wednesday had a lot to do with which players had an advantage on a sloppy field. Would it be easier for a wide receiver to run a route, knowing where he was going, than a cornerback trying to cover him? What about a running back vs. a linebacker trying to read and react to a play?
Tomlin said talk of such possible advantages "was overblown."
One thing's for sure: Bengals tailback Rudi Johnson will get the ball a lot and Steelers featured back Willie Parker will handle the ball frequently on rush plays. Parker ran 24 times for 81 yards Monday night.
Johnson said he is not concerned about the possibility of re-injuring a hamstring that forced him to miss three games earlier this season. Besides, Johnson has a reputation - with a low center of gravity - for running well on bad fields.
"I saw it. I'm used to it. We have to play in it. They have to play in it," he said. "You can't use it as an excuse. You have to use it as an advantage if you can."