SC: The Steelers certainly have a rep around the league for being a hard-hitting defense.

Many considered that to be the missing piece to go with a hard-hitting defense and Randall Cunningham's wizardry.

And the Patriots could not do enough against the Broncos' roaming and hard-hitting defense, managing to score only in the second quarter.

But Poland's hard-hitting defense played tough in its zone.

Gregg Williams, Tennessee's defensive coordinator, was asked how difficult it is for an offense to play the week following a game against Tampa Bay's hard-hitting defense.

Meriweather's teammates showed trappings of that old Miami bluster with a hard-hitting defense, a maturing quarterback and an emerging big-play threat at receiver.

Both play hard-hitting defense and cautious, ball-control offense.

They can be especially troublesome for the Giants because they have a balanced and explosive offense and a solid, hard-hitting defense.

The game, before a crowd of about 2,500 at Midwood Field in Brooklyn, featured two evenly matched teams with big-play offenses and hard-hitting defenses.

The hard-hitting defense of Baltimore is geared toward stopping big backs.