The Pittsburgh Steelers are one of the best teams in the NFL, but their coverage units have been less than average. And when the Steelers face the Jets on Sunday at the Meadowlands, they’ll encounter one of the best kickoff return units in football.

“Our confidence is definitely high. Anytime we don’t have a successful return, it’s kind of disappointing,” said David Bowens, a main wedge ingredient. “As an athlete and a special teams guy, you have to carry that approach. You have to demand success every play, especially when you’re doing well.”

Leon Washington leads the NFL in both kickoff return average (33.5) and kickoff return touchdowns (3). The Steelers are yielding 26.0 yards a kickoff return and that ranks 27th in the league. On paper, it would seem to be a perfect match for the Green & White.

“We’ve seen them on film and they still make plays and they have some key guys who make plays for them,” said Stacy Tutt. “That really doesn’t mean much. We just have to take care of our job, take care of our blocking responsibilities and let Leon run for the ball.”

Last week the Steelers nearly handed a game to the Cleveland Browns despite dominating most of the action. Their kryptonite was kick coverage as they surrendered a 100-yard TD to Josh Cribbs and a Cribbs 90-yarder that led to another score.

The spotty effort led rookie head coach Mike Tomlin to say, "One thing is for certain: We stink on kickoff coverage."

But the NFL is a game of adjustments and you can be sure the Steelers were hard at work this week devising a plan to slow down Washington. Fortunately for the Jets, they have one of the league’s top special teams coordinators in Mike Westhoff.

“He is a helluva coach,” Tutt said. “He expects a lot out of his players. He puts together a great scheme each week and wants us to study the opponent and win our one-on-one matchups, and that’s what it’s about: win one-on-one matchups and don’t make any mistakes. If everybody does their job, then there is a chance.”

Bowens, a vet in his ninth season, has been a key special teams contributor for the Jets. He knows the coverage game inside and out and explained how young players can get themselves in trouble.

“We number them 1 to 5 on each side of the kicker and each number has his specific roles,” he said. “The 1's are usually the safeties who peel back, the 2's usually are coming hot and the most important part of the coverage are the 3's.

“Sometimes you have young guys in, inexperienced guys who can’t really read, and it takes a little while to have that chemistry. You have the 4's and 5's playing off the 3's and sometimes things can get a little cloudy. It takes a lot experience to play that 3.”

And Pittsburgh hasn’t developed that quality coverage chemistry.

“You have some guys out there who don’t have a lot of experience,” said Steelers special teams captain Clint Kriewaldt. “They don’t really understand how to play it yet.”

Also, the Steelers’ punt coverage has been giving up 10.5 yards a return. They are ranked 23rd in the league and have allowed a touchdown. The Jets haven’t been able to duplicate their success in this area, though, as Washington averages just 6.6 yards a return.

“I know the Steelers have had some problems with coverage, whether it be on punt coverage or kickoff coverage," said Jets head coach Eric Mangini, "but they are going to get that fixed.”

An edge in special teams will be vital if the Jets hope to spring an upset. The Steelers have the NFL’s top-ranked defense and no offense can reasonably expect to sustain too many long drives on this unit.

“We take care of ourselves. We don’t put any extra emphasis on anything,” Bowens maintained. “What we do know is Pittsburgh has addressed that issue and they’re preparing and they’ll put the people out there they want to cover. We have to expect their best game of the year.”

“I imagine those guys will be working hard on special teams," added Washington, "and this week they’ll be ready to play."