Wind, words pick up in Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH -- The wind is swirling relatively hard at Heinz Field, which could affect the pass game for the Bengals.

The Bengals' prospects of balancing their offense are improved greatly with the activation of wide T.J. Houshmandzadeh.

An NFL Films crew helped to fuel the verbal battle during pregame stretching. Steelers linebacker Joey Porter yapped at Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson. Johnson tried to move toward mid-field but was pushed back to his normal spot by receivers coach Hue Jackson. Then Housmandzadeh picked up the slack for his buddy and yapped at Steelers defensive backs Mike Logan and Ike Taylor. Hue Jackson had to get Houshmandzadeh back to his spot, too.

The excitement is over. Teams are nearer the own goal-lines to continue pre-game drills.