SEATTLE (AP) – Don’t shrug off the slumping Pittsburgh Steelers, warns Seattle Seahawks cornerback Willie Williams.

The 11-year veteran thinks back to his third year in the NFL, when he played for the Steelers and their fiery coach, Bill Cowher. Pittsburgh started 3-4 in 1995, but reached the Super Bowl.

“I’m sure he’s telling his guys to relax,” Williams said. “He’s telling them they can win out from here. He’s motivating those guys, telling them to just play within their system.”

It would be some story if Cowher could pull off another turnaround.

The Steelers (2-5) are off to their worst start since 1988. Their defense is performing like a sieve, and offensive players are complaining about predictable play-calling and a lack of confidence.

Should we keep going?

Quarterback Tommy Maddox, who threw 16 interceptions last season, has been picked off 11 times this year. The defense that collected 50 sacks in 2002 has 13.

The Steelers have been outscored 113-61 during their current skid. Despite Cowher’s penchant for finishing strong after a slow start, even he doesn’t sound too sure things will change anytime soon.

“Every year is a different year, and I think you have to be careful not to assume things will turn around just because they have in the past,” Cowher said. “We have talked about that since the first loss.”

On the surface, the Steelers seem like the perfect opponent to help Seattle (5-2) recover from last week. The Seahawks were sour all week over their five turnovers in a 27-24 loss at Cincinnati.

“I give myself 24 hours to grieve, but I’m still a little cranky about last week,” coach Mike Holmgren said at midweek.

The Seahawks had been winning close games, pulling out three victories in the closing minutes. Even last week, it appeared things would work out until two of Matt Hasselbeck’s throws were tipped and intercepted.

“They played well,” Seahawks safety Reggie Tongue said. “They took care of the ball better than we did. They caught us in blitzes a couple of times and they took advantage of it.”

Despite Pittsburgh’s woes, Holmgren is taking nothing for granted. He greatly respects Cowher, an old buddy who broke into the head coaching ranks with him back in 1992.

“He’s been in this situation a couple times before, when he’s shown great resiliency,” Holmgren said.

“There’s a lot of football left to be played. No one can rally the troops like he can.”

The Steelers present special challenges for opponents. Holmgren pointed to Cowher’s 3-4 defense.

“You have more blitzing combinations because they have the fourth linebacker,” he said. “You have to be very careful in your protections and know where they can get you from.”

Then there are Pittsburgh’s multiple offensive sets, sometimes featuring four or even five wideouts. And opponents have to handle one of the NFL’s top receiver tandems in Plaxico Burress and Hines Ward.

“They run the option. They run a lot of screens. They’ve played three people at quarterback in one game,” Holmgren said. “They do a lot of empty formations. They make you prepare for a lot of stuff.”

On the other hand, Burress was the one complaining about the play-calling after last weekend’s 33-21 loss to St. Louis. Ward chimed in, expressing concern about miscommunication and self-confidence on the team.

“Nobody’s happy when you’re losing,” Steelers linebacker Joey Porter said. “When you’re winning, there are little things you can get away with. When you lose, everything it magnified to the finest point.”

AP-ES-10-30-03 1756EST