Columnist Sal DeFilippo: It’s easy to get too excited in the NFL

Sal DeFilippo

Friday, Oct. 6, 2000 | 10:23 a.m.

Sal DeFilippo's pro football picks column appears Friday. Reach him at sal@lasvegassun.com or 259-4076.

Playing wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers has to be a largely unrewarding job.

Bill Cowher's offense emphasizes the running game. That's in good part because the passing game relies on Kordell Stewart and Kent Graham.

I suppose it's good exercise running pass routes, but the chances of getting a catchable football are pretty slim.

So it stands to reason that any Steelers receiver -- especially a rookie -- would get a little excited after catching an actual forward pass.

Top draft pick Plaxico Burress was in that unlikely predicament Sunday in the Steelers' game at Jacksonville. In the third quarter, Burress dashed across the middle and tumbled over after making a diving catch -- gee, the ball was off target, go figure -- and gaining 19 yards.

That's where Plaxico got a little out of control. He rolled over, stood up and, despite being 40 yards from the end zone, triumphantly spiked the ball to celebrate his achievement. One problem. He was never touched, and therefore the play wasn't over yet.

Jacksonville's Danny Clark picked up the ball and ran 44 yards, nearly scoring a touchdown. Fortunately for Plaxico, the Steelers defense kept the Jaguars from scoring en route to Pittsburgh's first win of the season.

Cowher was so perplexed by Plaxico's play he nearly had apoplexy, or at least some minor complex.

Plax was apologetic after the game, saying "I learned a lesson. I'll never spike the ball again unless I'm in the end zone."

We'll assume he was talking exclusively about the opponent's end zone. All we can do at this point is assume, anyway -- neither he nor any of his teammates has caught a touchdown pass this season.

Last week

A rough 2-3 week against the spread drops the season ledger to 14-10-1. The Rams and Vikings covered the number while the Bengals, Panthers and Giants were losers.

My top five

PITTSBURGH +8 at New York Jets -- The Jets traditionally are a miserable home favorite, and in 13 meetings against the Steelers, they've won only once. New York's 4-0 start is impressive, but with division games against New England, Miami and Buffalo to follow, the Steelers would be an easy team to look past. New York Jets 17, Pittsburgh 13.

CLEVELAND +4 1/2 at Arizona -- Bet the kitchen sink against this Plummer -- Arizona QB Jake struggles with no ground game for support. The Browns stack up well against these Cards. Cleveland 20, Arizona 19.

DETROIT -3 vs. Green Bay -- The Packers always have a tough time at the Silverdome -- they've won only one in the Lions' den in their past seven trips. And that was when they had good teams. Detroit 31, Green Bay 14.

OAKLAND -4 1/2 at San Francisco -- Tim Brown needs only 11 catches to reach 800 for his career. Against the league's worst pass defense, he may reach the plateau this week. The Silver and Black attack early and often. Oakland 34, San Francisco 17.

TAMPA BAY +1 at Minnesota -- At 6-foot-4 and 266 pounds, Daunte Culpepper stands like a tree in the backfield. This week, though, he'll be covered in Sapp. Tampa Bay 20, Minnesota 17.