Pittsburgh Steelers 71st US football season
The 2003 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 71st season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League .
Their season began with the team trying to improve on their 10–5–1 record from 2002 in which they lost to the Tennessee Titans in the divisional round of the playoffs.
With the team suffering through injuries as well as less reliance on the running game than normal, the Steelers stumbled to a 6–10 record, going the entire season without winning consecutive games. Since moving to
Heinz Field in
2001 , this was the Steelers' first season with a losing record and their first season missing the playoffs. The team's record is tied with that of the
1999 season as the worst for a season under head coach Bill Cowher.
In his final season with the team, linebacker Jason Gildon became the franchise's career sack leader during a game against the Arizona Cardinals on November 9.
Since then, this represents the most recent losing season for the Steelers.
Personnel
2003 Pittsburgh Steelers staff
Front office
Chairman – Daniel M. Rooney
President – Arthur J. Rooney II
Vice president – John R. McGinley
Vice president – Arthur J. Rooney, Jr.
Administration advisor – Chuck Noll
Director of business – Mark Hart
Business accounting coordinator – Jim Ellenberger
Human relations/office coordinator – Geraldine Glenn
Business operations – Omar Khan
Accounting manager – Jodie Spagnolli
Communications coordinator – Ron Wahl
Public relations/media manager – David Lockett
Website/network administrator – Scott Phelps
Marketing
Director of marketing – Tony Quatrini
Marketing coordinator – Rick Giugliano
Client services administrator – Amy Corbett
Marketing manager – John Wodarek
Producer/broadcasting manager – Rick Fairbend
Marketing/community relations manager – Lynne Molyneaux
Marketing assistant – John Simpson
Marketing assistant – Mike Marchinsky
Ticket operations
Ticket manager – Ben Lentz
Season ticket assistant – Libby Patcher
Football operations
Director of football operations – Kevin Colbert
College scouting coordinator – Ron Hughes
Pro scouting coordinator – Doug Whaley
Pro/college scout – Phil Kreidler
College scout – Mark Gorscak
College scout – Bob Lane
College scout – Bruce McNorton
College scout – Dan Rooney
College scout – Bill Nunn
BLESTO Scout – Kelvin Fisher
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
Conditioning coach – Chet Fuhrman
Medical staff
Ophthalmologist – Dr. Randy Beatty
Physician, orthopedic – Dr. James P. Bradley
Neurological surgeon – Dr. Joseph Maroon
Physician, M.D. – Dr. Richard Rydze
Physician, consultant – Dr. Abraham J. Twerski
Physician, M.D. – Dr. Anthony P. Yates
Training staff
Head athletic trainer – John Norwig
Assistant athletic trainer – Ryan Grove
Assistant athletic trainer – Ariko Iso
Football staff
Player development coordinator – Anthony Griggs
Equipment manager – Rodgers Freyvogel
Field manager – Rich Baker
Field/equipment assistant – Kalvin Jones
Video coordinator – Bob McCartney
Video assistant – Andy Lizanich
Video assistant – Rob Brakel
Photographers – Mike Fabus
[1]
Notable additions include Troy Polamalu and Ike Taylor.
Roster
2003 Pittsburgh Steelers final roster
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
Reserve lists
34 IR Tooltip Injured reserve )
99 IR Tooltip Injured reserve )
78 IR Tooltip Injured reserve )
30 IR Tooltip Injured reserve )
77 IR Tooltip Injured reserve )
Practice squad
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
Rookies in italics
53 active, 5 inactive, 5 practice squad
Preseason
Schedule
Regular season
Schedule
Note : Intra-divisional opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 1
Week One: Baltimore Ravens (0–0) at Pittsburgh Steelers (0–0)
Period
1
2
3 4 Total
Ravens
0
0
7 8 15
Steelers
6
7
14 7 34
at
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh won their season opener for the first time since 1999 .[6]
Scoring summary
Quarter
Time
Drive
Team
Scoring information
Score
Plays
Yards
TOP
BAL
PIT
1
10:19
10
69
4:41
Steelers
29-yard field goal by Jeff Reed
0
3
1
4:01
8
15
3:21
Steelers
31-yard field goal by Jeff Reed
0
6
2
2:57
8
90
4:08
Steelers
Hines Ward 4-yard touchdown reception from Tommy Maddox , Jeff Reed kick good
0
13
3
9:49
8
60
3:23
Steelers
Jay Riemersma 20-yard touchdown reception from Tommy Maddox, Jeff Reed kick good
0
20
3
3:54
1
28
0:07
Steelers
Hines Ward 28-yard touchdown reception from Tommy Maddox, Jeff Reed kick good
0
27
3
1:56
3
80
1:58
Ravens
Jamal Lewis 14-yard touchdown run, Matt Stover kick good
7
27
4
9:01
9
48
3:59
Steelers
Amos Zereoue
8-yard touchdown run, Jeff Reed kick good
7
34
4
4:22
3
2
1:02
Ravens
Travis Taylor 5-yard touchdown reception from Kyle Boller , 2-point pass good
15
34
"TOP" = Glossary of American football
.
15
34
Week 2
1
2 3 4 Total
Steelers
17
3 0 0
20
• Chiefs
7
20 7 7
41
Date: September 14Location:
Week 3
1
2 3 4 Total
• Steelers
0
7 7 3
17
Bengals
0
0 3 7
10
Date: September 21Location:
Week 4
1
2 3 4 Total
• Titans
0
16 7 7
30
Steelers
3
10 0 0
13
Date: September 28Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaGame start: 1:00 p.m. Walt Anderson
TV announcers (CBS): Gus Johnson and Brent Jones
Week 5
1
2 3 4 Total
• Browns
10
13 7 3
33
Steelers
0
10 3 0
13
Date: October 5Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaGame start: 8:30 p.m.
Week 6
1
2 3 4 Total
Steelers
3
3 0 8
14
• Broncos
0
7 0 10
17
Date: October 12Location:
Week 8
1
2 3 4 Total
• Rams
7
10 10 6
33
Steelers
7
7 7 0
21
Date: October 26Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaGame start: 1:00 p.m.
This was the 1,000th game in Steelers history.
Week 9
1
2 3 4 Total
Steelers
0
3 3 10
16
• Seahawks
3
3 3 14
23
Date: November 2Location:
Week 10
1
2 3 4 Total
Cardinals
0
3 6 6
15
• Steelers
0
7 21 0
28
Date: November 9Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaGame start: 1:00 p.m. , and Alby Oxenreiter
Week 11
1
2 3 4 Total
Steelers
0
0 7 7
14
• 49ers
7
3 14 6
30
Date: November 17Location:
Week 12
1
2 3 4 Total
• Steelers
0
10 0 3
13
Browns
3
3 0 0
6
Date: November 23Location: EST
Game attendance: 73,658Referee: Walt ColemanTV announcers (CBS): Ian Eagle & Solomon Wilcots
The Steelers were the only team in the 2003 season to play on the road following a
Dan Rooney said that he would not pursue the matter with the NFL, noting that the second game was in Cleveland, only 112 miles (180 km) from Pittsburgh.
[7]
Week 13
1
2 3 4 Total
• Bengals
7
7 0 10
24
Steelers
0
3 7 10
20
Date: November 30Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaGame start: 1:00 p.m.
Week 14
1
2 3 4 Total
Raiders
7
0 0 0
7
• Steelers
0
17 7 3
27
Date: December 7Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaGame start: 1:00 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 53,079Game weather: 30 °F (−1 °C) (Partly Cloudy)Referee: Johnny GrierTV announcers (CBS): Gus Johnson & Brent Jones
Week 15
1
2 3 4 Total
Steelers
0
0 0 0
0
• Jets
3
3 0 0
6
Date: December 14Location: TV announcers (CBS): Gus Johnson & Brent Jones
Week 16
1
2 3 4 Total
Chargers
0
10 7 7
24
• Steelers
14
7 7 12
40
Date: December 21Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaGame start: 4:05 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 52,527Game weather: 37 °F (3 °C) (Sunny)Referee: Bill Carollo TV announcers (CBS): Don Criqui & Steve Tasker
Week 17
1
2 3 4 OT Total
Steelers
0
0 10 0 0
10
• Ravens
7
0 0 3 3
13
Date: December 28Location: EST
Game attendance: 70,001Referee: Walt AndersonTV announcers (ESPN): Mike Patrick, Joe Theismann, Paul Maguire & Suzy Kolber
Standings
Honors and awards
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(July 2010 )
References
External links
Formerly the Pittsburgh Pirates (1933–1939)
Franchise Stadiums Culture Lore Rivalries Media Division championships (24) Conference championships (8) League championships (6) Retired numbers Hall of Fame members Current league affiliations