PITTSBURGH - After spending endless hours watching the hurricane devastation in New Orleans on TV and worrying about his numerous relatives there, Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor finally turned off the haunting images from his hometown.

The misery, the casualties, the wrecked homes and the ruined lives in the city he knows so well, the city he loves and always wanted to live in, were too much to take. But one moment will remain with him always, no matter how long he lives or where he makes his residence.

"I was watching CNN and a guy said he had to let his wife go to hold onto his two kids," Taylor said. "After that, I couldn't watch any more."

Taylor is among the pocketful of NFL players directly affected by Hurricane Katrina, which struck just as many were winding down the preseason, looking forward to the regular season or were sweating out the final roster cutdowns.

Right then, a pivotal moment in their athletic lives almost became an afterthought as they waited nervously, sometimes for days, to hear from relatives, business associates, and, in Taylor's case, next-door neighbors and friends.

Taylor is one of the lucky ones: His home on New Orleans' West Side suffered relatively minor damage, though possessions were lost. The aunt and uncle who raised him, and with whom he lives in the new, two-story home during the offseason, were able to leave the city before the hurricane struck.

He will be forever thankful they did. Hurricane warnings are so frequent there, he said, many people caught up with trying to earn a daily living grew to the point where they paid little heed to them.

"Everybody evacuated like two days before. My aunt and uncle had that gut feeling so everybody just left," Taylor said. "They saved their lives."

His mother and two sisters stayed in Raleigh, N.C. About 40 other relatives who live in New Orleans also got out, but all lost their homes.

"Their places are gone," Taylor said. "They have to start all over."

Still, the former Louisiana-Lafayette player is relieved because he knows others in New Orleans who weren't so fortunate. His family devised a plan to leave just in time, with most seeking shelter in nearby Baton Rouge.

"My uncles and aunts, they're pretty close-knit," said Taylor, who begins the season as the Steelers' top backup cornerback. "Everybody's working together, nobody panicked. Everybody just stuck to a plan and they all had the same game plan. To be honest with you, they made it easier for me because every time I kept calling, they were like, 'We're straight, don't worry about us.'

"But I don't like talking about it."

Steelers All-Pro guard Alan Faneca, a former star at LSU, also had some anxious moments. His home in Thibodaux, La., also sustained damage, though it is repairable, and his father made it out of the region safely.

The Steelers players responded to the tragedy by holding an autograph party at Heinz Field on Tuesday, normally the players' day off. Each player was asked to choose a one-hour period to attend the fund-raiser - which raised a total of $113,000 - but Faneca stayed for the entire four-hour session.

Wide receiver Hines Ward, who signed a $25 million-plus contract extension the day before, was so moved when introduced to a group of teenagers who raised $10,000 for the relief efforts in a matter of days, he also pledged money. Ward said, "But I don't like talking about it - I don't like to bring attention to myself in that way."

Ben Roethlisberger didn't know anyone in the hurricane-damaged region, but will donate $50 for every passing yard and $250 for any touchdown pass in Sunday's opener against Tennessee to the American Red Cross' relief effort.