The Steelers will have to wait at least another game to see how their revamped secondary performs.

Coach Bill Cowher said three of the four starters -- cornerbacks Chad Scott and Deshea Townsend and free safety Chris Hope -- will not play in the preseason opener tomorrow night at Ford Field in Detroit because of injuries.

	Pete Diana, Post-Gazette
	Second-year safety Troy Polamalu will be the only secondary starter who will see action against the Lions tomorrow.

The good news: That will mean a longer look for the team's young but highly regarded backup corners of Ike Taylor and No. 2 draft pick Ricardo Colclough.

"The young corners are going to have a chance to play a lot this game," Cowher said. "We saw where we ended up with Chad and Deshea at the end of last season and we'll get a chance to see these young corners play and it will be good for us to do that."

Scott has an abdominal strain that has caused him to miss practice the past two days, but Cowher said he expects Scott to return to practice Monday. Townsend (groin) was injured in Wednesday night's practice in Greensburg and might not return until the middle of next week. Hope, a No. 3 pick in 2002, has not participated in contact drills since his big hit on Jerome Bettis nine days ago. But Cowher said Hope should return to practice next week.

Cowher said he wasn't sure if both Taylor and Colclough will start against the Lions. He might opt to start veteran Willie Williams, signed in the offseason, because of his experience. But Taylor and Colclough will get most of the playing time.

"We've thrown a lot at them," Cowher said. "The most important thing is, we want to be able to see these guys play football. We don't want to get to the point where they're out there thinking too much."

Close counts
The only secondary starter to play against the Lions will be strong safety Troy Polamalu, last year's No. 1 pick who enters his first season as a starter.

Polamalu was the team's nickel and dime back in 2003 and the Steelers believe he will be even more effective as a starter because he'll play closer to the line of scrimmage, like he did at USC.

"You're closer to the line of scrimmage, you can play more aggressive," said secondary coach Darren Perry. "In the Baltimore game last year, he wanted to jump in on the play from the deep position and they went right over his head."

He said it
Taylor, last year's No. 4 pick, on getting a chance to start against the Lions: "You only get a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity so many times."

Sidelined
Cowher said six other players will not play against the Lions:

LB Clark Haggans (broken hand), NT Kendrick Clancy (calf), tight end Jerame Tuman (elbow/physically unable to peform list), rookie NT/DE Eric Taylor (hamstring), DE David Upchurch (ankle) and CB Shane Walton (back strain).

Rookie OLB Nathaniel Adibi (back), the team's No. 5 pick, is questionable.

No caretaker
Cowher bristled slightly when asked if outside linebacker Alonzo Jackson is more than just a "caretaker" until Haggans returns from injury.

"I never looked at it as that, the term you used," Cowher said. "That's not a real compliment. He's played well, and he's been physical. [Wednesday] night might have been his best practice. He can do a lot of good things."

Jackson, who was not in uniform for 14 games his rookie season, will start for Haggans at left outside linebacker. Haggans is scheduled to have the pins removed from his broken hand Tuesday and said he hopes to play in the Steelers' home preseason opener Aug. 21 against Houston.

"He's getting invaluable playing time right now," Cowher said of Jackson, a No. 2 pick in 2003. "I'm looking forward to seeing him play in this game so he can have the opportunity to take it from the practice field to the game. That's the one thing he's missed."

Soggy fields
An all-day rain left the St. Vincent College practice fields soggy and forced the Steelers to move practice inside to the campus gym.

Because of the weather, the Steelers will hold a light practice this morning at their South Side training facility before flying to Detroit.