The Steelers have watched a lot of second-year players emerge this season, some based strictly on performance, others because of injuries.

They get another chance tomorrow when cornerback William Gay, a fifth-round pick in 2007, makes his first NFL start against the San Diego Chargers , replacing injured Deshea Townsend.

"I'm not concerned, [I'm] excited," coach Mike Tomlin said. "We've had a bunch of second-year players who had opportunities to step up. It's just his turn. We put a lot of pressure on our second-year players to step up and be contributors. We're excited for him."

The Steelers will have to go with something of a patchwork secondary against the Chargers and quarterback Philip Rivers, who leads the NFL with 21 touchdown passes and is second in passer rating (106.2). In addition to Gay, cornerback Anthony Madison probably will begin the game as the nickel back, even though the Steelers signed veteran cornerback Fernando Bryant this week because of injuries to Townsend and Bryant McFadden (broken forearm).

"He is a veteran player; that's one of the things that attracted him to us," Tomlin said. "We didn't bring him in to be a special-teams standout. This guy is a veteran who has started over 100 games. We brought him in to help us on defense."

One of the toughest

Justin Hartwig thinks Browns nose tackle Shaun Rogers is the toughest player he has ever had to block. But coming in a close second might be Chargers nose tackle Jamal Williams, a player who dominated the Steelers' offensive line the most recent time the two teams met in the regular season.

Hartwig was not with the Steelers in 2006 when they lost to the Chargers in San Diego, 23-13. But he faced Williams once before when Hartwig was with the Carolina Panthers, and he knows the 348-pound Williams is capable of manhandling centers and disrupting running games, just like Rogers.

"They're both very similar; they're right up there with the best in the league," Hartwig said. "It's hard to differentiate. Jamal comes off the ball really hard. If you get leaning one way, he'll come back and club you. He's clubbing guys to the ground. When he gets a full head of steam, he's running right through guys. I've seen it on film."

Hartwig is in his first season with the Steelers, a player who was signed because the coaches wanted a center who can handle the big nose tackles in the AFC. Offensive coordinator Bruce Arians said Hartwig has been the team's most consistent offensive lineman.

"He's been playing outstanding," Arians said.

Still, the Steelers won't expect Hartwig to handle Williams by himself.

"Very few people block him one-on-one," Tomlin said of Williams. "We won't ask Justin to do that."

Enough already

Wide receiver Hines Ward is tired of hearing complaints about the third-and-2 play from the Steelers 16 in which Ben Roethlisberger's pass for Santonio Holmes was intercepted, leading to a Colts' touchdown near the end of the first half.

To illustrate his point that there is no pleasing everyone, Ward even went back to a play in the AFC playoff loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars when Roethlisberger, on third-and-6 from his 26, ran to his left for a 1-yard gain with 2:56 remaining. The Steelers were leading 29-28.

"You guys said it was too conservative," Ward said. "Now you put the ball in Ben's hands [against the Colts] and everybody is in an uproar."

It was Ward's way of defending Arians and the play-calling.

"We're 6-3, I don't see what the problem is," Ward said. "We're first in our division. We could easily be 8-1. He calls the plays; we have to execute. It's not his fault. Everybody is in an uproar about it.

"We're 6-3, fellas. Let's worry if something catastrophic happens and we're not in first place."

Taking the blame

Guard Chris Kemoeatu admitted he was at fault on the back-to-back goal line plays in the fourth quarter in which running back Mewelde Moore failed to score against the Colts. On each play, Moore was tackled by Colts defensive tackle Eric Foster, who weighs 264 pounds, nearly 70 pounds lighter than Kemoeatu.

"I was trying to get up more on the [linebacker] the first time we did the goal-line play," Kemoeatu said. "I should have come down on him, but [Foster] crawled, so it was pretty hard to block that. I should have stayed [on him]. I think that was my mistake. We've got to fix that. I know what to do to fix it now."

The Steelers ran the same play on each attempt, which were the same plays in which Moore twice scored on 1-yard runs earlier in the game. The Colts were even in the same defense.

"It's 33 Blast, a common play we run," Kemoeatu said. "They were in the same defense. It was my bad on that play.

"That's one of the things that defines our offensive linemen, as far as being physical and trying to mash and pound the ball. We've got to get down there and try to be more physical."