PITTSBURGH -- After seeing a sloppy, embarrassing Monday Night Football game, National Football League officials are working with the Pittsburgh Steelers to improve the condition of the turf at Heinz Field.

Players have mixed feelings when it comes to playing on natural grass or artificial turf, but one thing's for sure and that is that the field was a mess during this week's game against the Miami Dolphins.

Steelers president Art Rooney acknowledged the problem on Tuesday afternoon, saying that the field conditions were "less than satisfactory" for the Pittsburgh-Miami game.

"We will continue to work with the NFL Game Operations people this week as our grounds crew works to improve the conditions of the field in time for Sunday night's game against the Cincinnati Bengals," Rooney said in a statement.

"Obviously, when you play on what we've been playing on, I'd say field turf, but personally, I like grass," said kicker Jeff Reed.

"Kind of feel like it's what this sport was designed to play on, natural grass outside," said tight end Heath Miller.

When asked if he thought he was faster on artificial turf, Willie Parker said, "There's no question. Yeah. I'm way faster. I'd go for turf. If its up to me, I'd do turf."

New sod was laid on top of the old grass on Sunday, because the field had been badly torn up after hosting four high school games and a Pitt-South Florida college game in the span of two days.

Rain fell steadily in Pittsburgh on Monday morning and afternoon, and the field was a wet, nasty mess when the Steelers and Dolphins kicked off at night.

Unable to properly drain, the field was riddled with puddles. At one point, a punted ball landed on the field without bouncing and became lodged in the drenched turf -- and the moment was caught in a close-up shot on ESPN's national broadcast.

Neither team scored until Reed kicked a short field goal with 17 seconds to go in the fourth quarter, giving the Steelers a 3-0 victory.

"Putting new sod down with weather like this is not a good combination," said Reed.

"You can see just some of the gashes in there," said punter Daniel Sepulveda. "It's probably 8-inches deep in some spots."

"We consulted with the NFL prior to laying down new sod and our grounds crew did the best it could under the circumstances," Rooney said. "Unfortunately, we were faced with about the worst possible weather conditions and we acknowledge that it did have an impact on the playing surface."

"It was a great learning experience for me," said Tomlin. "Needless to say, it was my first time under those conditions, but it was challenging and fun at the same time. But you know, we don't complain about conditions and things of that nature. We just go out and try to win football games."

Jim Sacco, executive director of stadium management at Heinz Field, said the team is discussing options for the field. He directed all questions to Dave Lockett, the team's director of media relations.

Lockett would only say that the team continues to discuss all options. Officials with the team said they would re-evaluate the field after the season. They also said they prefer natural grass but will consider artificial turf.

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