Character Counts

By Mike PrisutaTRIBUNE-REVIEWSunday, September 17, 2006

It takes about a month or so each season, Steelers coach Bill Cowher suspects, before he really knows what type of team he has, what sort of hand he's been dealt.
Will the individuals embrace their roles or become distracted by selfish goals?
Will the group compete at all costs or back down at the first sign of trouble?
Will the identity be that of a champion or an also-ran?
Cowher's still searching for such answers as the Steelers head to Jacksonville to play the Jaguars in their second game of the season.
If the opener against the Miami Dolphins is any indication, these Steelers are well on their way to duplicating last season's mindset, as they continue to deal with the inevitable changes that have altered their season-to-season makeup.
"Like coach Cowher says, it's tough to find your identity because we're a different team than we were last year with the loss of some key leaders," strong safety Troy Polamalu said. "But it's always nice to win, especially the way we did.
"We'll find out in the future how we hold up."