St. Pierre: Maybe we’ll be back this year

FOXBOROUGH – Brian St. Pierre, the former St. John’s Prep and Boston College football star, is now a fifth-year pro in the NFL.After his team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, lost to the New England Patriots, 34-13, at Gillette Stadium on Sunday night, St. Pierre shared his postgame thoughts.”They just put a lot of pressure on you as an offense to score,” St. Pierre said.The Steelers (9-4) did well in that department in the first half, trailing just 17-13 at intermission in their attempt to derail the Patriot Express. However, the Patriots shut out the Steelers in the second half and preserved their hopes of a perfect season. Their record now stands at 13-0.”Hopefully, we’re going to make the playoffs,” said St. Pierre, who was an Item All-Star back in 1997 when he led one of the best-ever St. John’s Prep teams to a Division 1 title. “Maybe we’ll be back here.”That would add another twist to what has become an eventful rivalry. This year’s installment of an NFL-style soap opera began when Steelers rookie safety Anthony Smith guaranteed that his team would win. In the subsequent episode, “As Gillette Stadium Turns” – or is it “Games of Our Lives”? – continued with the Patriots doing what they have done the previous 12 outings this season: Win.St. Pierre discussed his role as the Steelers prepared to face New England and its two-time Super Bowl MVP quarterback, Tom Brady. Asked whether he played Brady in practice sessions, St. Pierre said, “We don’t really do it like that. I don’t go out there saying, ‘I’m Tom Brady this week.'”Nevertheless, St. Pierre and his fellow backup, veteran Charlie Batch, played a role as the Steelers girded for the game.”We provide looks for the defense,” said St. Pierre, who added that because Batch has “been around so long,” he is “definitely a resource.”St. Pierre’s coach, Mike Tomlin, addressed the preparation issue in his postgame press conference. How did his team ready itself for Brady?”Like we always do,” Tomlin said. “We put our defensive plans together, a lot of which we didn’t do tonight.”Brady had kinder words for the Pittsburgh defense.”I think they did a good job,” said the quarterback, who surpassed 4,000 yards passing this season, the second time he has done so and the fourth timeX in Patriots history. “They’re a good defense.”On Sunday, though, they were not good enough. Now the teams must return to their regularly scheduled programming. The Patriots have three more tests in their quest for a 16-0 regular season, while the Steelers shift their focus to another big game, one with the Jacksonville Jaguars.”We’re doing well,” St. Pierre said. “We’re right in the thick of the playoff hunt.”Yet as his team moves forward despite Sunday’s speed bump, St. Pierre paused to look into the rear-view mirror of his past as an Eagle at Danvers and an Eagle on Chestnut Hill.”The Prep kind of struggled,” he said. “BC had a great year. I wish they could have finished it off.”