Steelers’ Defense Gets Curtain Call : Tonight’s game: Pittsburgh ranks No. 1 in the NFL against the pass. For the Rams, Gary could become the key.

Statistics lie, but worried offensive coordinators seldom do.

Ask Ram offensive coordinator Ernie Zampese about the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense his squad will face tonight, and the respect in his voice comes through as clear as his point.

Unless you’re talking about luck as the residue of design, talent and ill-tempered defensive backs, the Steelers have a defense that has fought for its No. 1 ranking against the pass.

“They’re the best pass defense in the league,” Zampese said. “You watch them play, and they should be (No. 1). Stats are misleading as hell, but you watch them play and I believe it.

“They held (49er quarterback Joe) Montana to 157 yards (last week).”

So when Zampese studies San Francisco’s 27-7 victory over Pittsburgh (3-4) last week, he knows that the Steeler defense, which intercepted two Montana passes, wasn’t at fault. The Steeler offense (ranked 27th) has had its problems. But not the defense.

The Pittsburgh led by cornerback Rod Woodson, has 11 interceptions--tied for second-most in the league--and given up an average of only 159.1 yards through the air and a total of four passing touchdowns.

The Rams and quarterback Jim Everett come into tonight’s nationally televised game with the fourth-rated pass offense in the league, having fattened its statistics against an Atlanta Falcon defense that is Swiss cheese against the pass.

If playing Atlanta was “fast-break football,” as Ram Coach John Robinson called it, then Pittsburgh is a stalling four corners. For comparison, the Rams have given up 14 touchdown passes and scored 14 touchdowns through the air. The Steelers have given up four and scored seven.

So if the Rams (2-4) want to continue their drive toward a wild-card berth, they will have to do it with patience, grace and power on offense--not with the big plays that produced 44 points against Atlanta. The longest pass Montana threw against Pittsburgh was 19 yards.

“I’m not trying to make a big deal out of this, but these guys are good,” Zampese said of the Steelers. “They are good.

“It’s hard to get points on them, it’s hard to get many points on these guys. We have to be patient and just sort of hope we can keep moving the ball, and then when we do get a chance to score, we’ve got to get sevens and not threes.

“I don’t know how many opportunities we will have to get seven points against these guys.”

The key is patience. Not forcing things. Avoiding the interception. Long, sustained drives. Accept the fact that receivers Flipper Anderson and Henry Ellard will not be open for long passes very often.

Tailback Cleveland Gary suddenly becomes the Rams’ offensive focal point, which is something Robinson has been waiting for all year.

“They’re a type of team that wants to eliminate the big play,” Everett said. “They want you to earn that 12-play drive that goes 80 yards and if you earn the touchdown, then so be it. They really want you to hunt and peck and self-destruct.

“They’re a team that forces you to be patient and wait for your opportunity. I couldn’t think of a team offhand that has their young, good secondary and just a solid upfront group.”

What the Steelers do is let their talented secondary roam the seams in what they call a matchup zone, then collapse quickly to the ball. They apply enough to pressure to force quarterbacks into pushing the ball where the Steelers want it to go. Then Woodson and Co. take over.

“They’re very physical people back there, and they all run well, all of them,” Zampese said. “You see guys running with the ball, and then they’re tackled. You don’t see tackles missed. They remind me a little of Denver, when Denver was outstanding defensively. They don’t miss tackles. Somebody always tackles the guy.”

Said Pittsburgh quarterback Bubby Brister: “In training camp we were having problems moving the ball against our defense. And now I know why. They’re a pretty good defense.”

The Steelers didn’t score an offensive touchdown in the first four games of the season, and the quarterback was complaining long and loud about new offensive coordinator Joe Walton’s complicated system.

Walton finally simplified things, and Brister is happier and more comfortable now.

But the Steelers are still gaining only 246.6 yards a game, second-to-last in the league, and the offense still struggles to put points on the board.

Lately, the Steelers have gone to massive rookie tight end Eric Green.

“You try to get the ball to your best people,” Steeler Coach Chuck Noll said. “I think everybody does that. And for a long stretch here, our best people were our wideouts, and we went almost exclusively to our wideouts.

“I’m talking about when we had (Lynn) Swann and (John) Stallworth and Frank Lewis and that type of thing. We’d get the ball to the people that could make the big play.

“And then, we started getting it to the backs a little bit more because we had people who could catch it. Now, we’ve got people at tight end who can catch the ball, so it’s a natural progression.”

Ram Notes

Pittsburgh hasn’t won on Monday night since 1985, losing five in a row. “Hopefully, we can show the nation on Monday night that we’ve got everything squared away,” quarterback Bubby Brister said. “Yeah, we’re looking forward to it. This week we’ve got a chance to show the people in the world that we do have a good team and we’re better on offense.”

This game will mark Ram offensive tackle Jackie Slater’s 200th appearance in an NFL game. . . . Quarterback Jim Everett’s next touchdown pass will be his 100th in the NFL.