Steering wide of this Smith opinion

Anthony Smith cited Wes Welker (83) but seems to have forgotten about Donté Stallworth (behind Welker). (FILE/Barry Chin/Globe Staff)

FOXBOROUGH - Lost in Steelers safety Anthony Smith's bold guarantee of victory today was his claim that the Patriots don't have the best wide receivers in the league.

"They've got [Wes] Welker and [Randy ] Moss, but they're not like Cincinnati," said Smith last week.

While Bengals wide receivers Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh are prolific - Houshmandzadeh leads the NFL with 88 receptions and has 11 touchdowns; Johnson is fourth in receptions (77) and fourth in yards at 1,127, 2 behind Moss - Cincinnati doesn't have a third receiver anywhere near the caliber of Donté Stallworth, who has 40 catches for 631 yards and three touchdowns.

Factor in that Moss's 17 touchdowns equal the total Johnson and Houshmandzadeh have combined for this season, and Jabar Gaffney's recent production, and it seems like another dubious statement by Smith.

"Obviously, that's what he thinks, so it's a challenge for us to go out there and make sure that we're competing and try and just do what we do out there," said Welker, who ranks third in the NFL with 84 receptions, totaling 896 yards and seven touchdowns.

"I think everybody is good in their own right, but I don't think anybody has the right to say these receivers are better than the others because you're talking about, I mean, both corps of receivers are high-quality," said Patriots cornerback Ellis Hobbs.

"To sit here and try to judge one or the other, we're in two totally different schemes. I don't want to get into that.

"He has his opinion. This is America. You can say whatever you want. Whether it gets you in trouble or not, I don't know. That's his opinion. I'm not going to get into all that because I would not have a job."

Safe at home

Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski is glad that today's game is at Gillette Stadium and not Heinz Field, which has been a quagmire in recent weeks.

"It looks gross," said Gostkowski of the Pittsburgh surface. "I'm glad that we have it here this weekend instead of there because when they played the Dolphins, it looked bad."

Pittsburgh scored a 3-0 victory over the Dolphins in rainy conditions Nov. 26.

Gostkowski also lauded Steelers kicker Jeff Reed, who is 19 of 21 on field goals this season.

"I think their guy does a great job and he has great numbers and doing that on a field like that is tremendous," said Gostkowski.

An NFL Players Association poll of playing fields from last season named Heinz Field the second-worst grass surface in the league - behind Gillette Stadium. The poll was conducted before Gillette's sod was replaced with a synthetic surface during the season.

Better adjusted

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger drew praise from the Pittsburgh coaching staff for the job he did calling protections and changing plays at the line of scrimmage last week in a 24-10 win over the Bengals. It was the first time all year Roethlisberger has not been sacked. The Steelers have surrendered 35 sacks this season, tied for seventh most in the league. Steelers running back Willie Parker said Roethlisberger has been given more responsibility this year. "He makes a lot of adjustments at the line. When we get to the line, he checks the play off," said Parker. "He's made more calls reading the defense on what they're bringing out. If it's a blitz or something, he just has the perfect play against their defense. He's grown up a lot over this past year."

December's darlings

If you're looking for another reason the Patriots could go 16-0, just look at the calendar. Since Bill Belichick became coach in 2000, the Patriots have gone 24-6 in December. Since 2003, they're 16-2. Both losses have come on the road against Miami (2004 and 2006) . . . The Steelers' top-rated pass defense (154 yards per game) has allowed only one pass play of 40 yards or more this season. The Patriots' top-ranked pass offense (304 yards per game) has 10 pass plays of 40 yards or more this season . . . If the Patriots win today, it will mark Belichick's 100th victory with the team. Including playoffs, Belichick is 99-39 as Patriots coach . . . The Patriots can clinch a first-round playoff bye with a victory today and then home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with an Indianapolis loss tonight.