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PITTSBURGH -- Lawrence Timmons spent a portion of last Sunday in a Philadelphia hospital trying not to freak out about a puncture wound to the shin the Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker suffered early in an ugly loss to the Eagles.He might be one of the healthier starters on a defense forced to bounce back from a toothless performance littered with breakdowns both mental and physical.Timmons practiced on Thursday and joked the blood that soaked through his sock looked like something out of a cheap horror movie.What happened on the field without Timmons wasnt quite so funny in a 31-point hot mess that marked the franchises worst loss in more than a quarter century.Now Pittsburgh (2-1) must try to fix things on the fly with new parts -- or in some cases ones that havent been used for a while -- in new places.Linebacker Ryan Shazier is likely out with an achy right knee. Rookie safety Sean Davis is out with a bad back, while Robert Goldens hamstring is nowhere close to being ready.The options to fill in on the leagues 31st-ranked pass defense include cornerback Justin Gilbert (acquired from the Browns a month ago ), safety Shamarko Thomas (the former heir apparent to retired Troy Polamalu who has struggled to stay healthy and make any significant contributions outside of special teams) and maybe even former practice squad player Jordan Dangerfield.Defensive coordinator Keith Butler makes it a point to mix the starters with the backups during practice to keep the understudies fresh. Time to see how much theyve learned.We keep guys who make our roster who we think can play in the NFL, Butler said. When you have injuries, and injuries are part of playing in the NFL, youve got to have guys step up and do a good job with it. Were hoping thatll be the case.The Steelers dont really have much choice if they want to get a handle on the Chiefs (2-1), whose game plan will almost certainly mirror what the Eagles did so well.If I was looking at that film, I would, Butler said. Weve got to correct some things to make sure we didnt do some of the things we did last week.Namely missing tackles leading to chunk plays, and drawing flags that extended Philadelphia drives.Theres really not much Butler can do about the tackling, something that wasnt much of a problem in the first two weeks, when the Steelers won relatively easily and gave up yards in the middle of the field, but not in the red zone.Theres no team that tackles more than we do in the offseason and in training camp, safety Mike Mitchell said. Ive played for three teams, so I know that. No one hits more than we do. Its comes down to getting the job done. Getting the result we want. Its not like were not in position.Maybe, but that will be challenged against the Chiefs. Butlers system is a little more streamlined than his predecessor Dick LeBeau, though that is largely out of necessity.While LeBeau could rely heavily on veterans to embrace the nuances of his scheme, Butler doesnt have that luxury coaching a defense that has 13 players on the depth chart with three years experience or less.This is the youngest weve been on defense in a long time, said Timmons, who is in his 10th season.Youve got to do whatever it takes to get those (younger) guys on the field and get them playing like they know everything as a rookie. Thats tough on him. Were 2-1. We had a little hiccup here on the road and get back on the winning track.Some pressure on the quarterback would help, any pressure really. The Steelers barely touched rising Philadelphia star Carson Wentz a week ago and now face Alex Smith, who is a more mobile version of the Eagles rookie.Butler is coy about whether hell blitz more often to give the pass rush a boost, something hes been hesitant to do so far over concerns about the rawness of Pittsburghs secondary.Our young guys are maturing a little bit, Butler said. Theyre coming along and we need for them to come along.Game notes G Ramon Foster (chest), WR Eli Rogers (toe) and OL Cody Wallace (knee) did not practice. G B.J. Finney was limited. ... The Steelers released RB Daryl Richardson on Thursday to make room on the roster for RB LeVeon Bell, who will return on Sunday after serving a three-game suspension for violating the leagues substance abuse policy.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Cheap San Francisco Giants Jerseys . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. 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Charlie Adam scored both of Stokes goals at Britannia Stadium either side of Robin van Persies equalizer, with a miserable day for seventh-place United capped by first-half injuries to centre halves Jonny Evans and Phil Jones that forced them off. Cheap MLB Jerseys Authentic . But the quarterback hopes to stay involved in football after officially calling it quits Tuesday. "Id love to look at those opportunities as they arise," Pierce said in an interview from his Winnipeg eatery. HOUSTON -- Back in the day, when Mike DAntoni had a mustache, the Phoenix Suns took the NBA by storm. DAntonis Suns led the NBA in offensive pace and scoring behind point guard Steve Nash.Now DAntoni, sans mustache, is with the Houston Rockets, and hes turned over his high-powered offense to James Harden. But the Rockets offense isnt about pace. In fact, Houston is 10th in the NBA in pace, at 100.1, and has been in the middle of the pack for most of the season.So what gives?I think James and every point guard has their pace, its whatever theyre comfortable with, DAntoni said. I think people have a misconception of pace. Its how the ball goes; its once you get it over half court, were pretty quick at it. You play it all kinds of different ways.On the season, the Rockets lead the league in points after an opponents made shot at 1.12 and are seventh in seconds per possession at 16.2. The Rockets are averaging 0.972 points per play in the half court, which ranks fourth in the league. In transition, theyre at 1.14 points per play, which ranks just 10th because transition opportunities are generally much better.The pace, as far as the Rockets are concerned, is not about rushing it up the floor, but doing something when you get there.The best part is me throwing advance passes and guys are scoring and guys are running hard, Harden said. Our bigs and our wings are running hard, getting easy layups and easy 3s, thats the fun part.Pushing the ball up the floor isnt the main goal of Harden as the point guard. He takes his time as he looks for a long pass for an easy layup or an open 3. If thats not there, Harden brings it across the timeline with 18 or 19 seconds left on the shot clock. Thats when Harden does his best work.The Rockets will send a big man, normally Clint Capela, to screen for Harden. If Capela rolls with a defender, Harden keeps the ball, continuing to look for an open man.Ryan Anderson, the stretch 4 the Rockets signed in the offseason, will also screen for Harden and remain in 3-point range looking for a shot.Harden will also get double-teamed in the frontcourt, allowing Anderson or someone else to remain free for an open jumper. Harden leads the league in assists at 11.4 per game and is fourth in points per game at 28.5. He also leads the league in points per assists (27.6) andd potential assists (21.dddddddddddd1).The playmaking ability of Harden has opened a door for his teammates to produce more plays. Andersons range has increased this season to a career-high 18.6 feet per shot attempt. Anderson, for the first time in the last two seasons, is shooting over 40 percent from 3-point range.Its funny because sometimes I dont even realize how deep they are, Anderson said of his shots. But being able to spread the court that much around James gives him that much room. If you move back a few feet on the perimeter, there really havent been very many teams where a guy is going to be in the paint when Im standing outside the 3-point line. So guys really hug up (the lane). Imagine having James having that much room, where I guess guys hug up, I guess, 3 feet off the 3-point line during some moments. It gives us a real advantage.Trevor Ariza has attempted 155 3-point shots this season, up from the 120 he attempted through 21 games last season.Capela is a favorite target of Hardens on pick-and-roll plays and lobs to the basket, to the tune of a .634 field goal percentage.A lot of these plays are made in the half court when the defense is set and trying to anticipate what Harden will do. Yeah, its good, Harden said. The advance passes, and we get into our offense and try and score as quick as possible, not just any shot but the best shot, and from there use our basketball instincts.When Harden isnt on the floor, Patrick Beverley or Eric Gordon pushes the pace a little quicker. The Rockets have a strong bench; Gordon is second in the league in bench scoring. In Wednesdays victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, Beverley was just three rebounds shy of a triple-double. The Rockets had a season-high 35 assists.So while offensive pace can be read in different ways, the Rockets basically up the pace in the half court. Thats the only real pace that matters.I didnt know what to expect, Harden said of DAntonis offense.Now its free-flowing. (DAntoni) doesnt try to control anything; if he has a play, hell throw it at me, and if I have something better Ill just tell him I got something better and hes cool with it. That kind of relationship goes a long way. ' ' '