Maddox Enjoys Start of Stewart's Dreams
Mon Sep 8, 7:41 PM ET
By ALAN ROBINSON, AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH - If Kordell Stewart (news) could have started seasons like this, he might still be the Pittsburgh Steelers (news)' quarterback instead of Tommy Maddox.
Maddox, on the bench at this time a year ago, got the Steelers off to an unaccustomed fast start Sunday with arguably their best opening-day performance by a quarterback in Bill Cowher's 12 seasons as coach.
Maddox not only passed well — he was 21-of-29 for 260 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions — but his teammates said the attitude he brought and the confidence he created were greatly responsible for the 34-15 victory over Baltimore.
Despite settling for field goals on their first two drives and never establishing an effective running game, the Steelers moved the ball on nearly every possession in building a 27-0 lead. Amos Zereoue (news) was their top rusher with 56 yards, but at one point had four consecutive carries for zero or minus yards.
And, if only for a week, the quarterback previously cast off by four NFL teams silenced any talk that he was a one-year wonder. He was just as good at the start of this season as he was at the end of last season, when he averaged 266 yards passing in his last six games and twice threw for more than 360 yards.
"We know what Tommy Maddox can do," running back Jerome Bettis (news) said Monday. "People want to say maybe last year was a fluke year. Tommy did tremendous things last year and he's going to continue doing tremendous things this year. We are only going to get better."
For the Steelers, just being 1-0 is an accomplishment. They hadn't won an opener since 1999 and had lost five of their previous seven openers.
It's no coincidence that the Steelers' tendency to get off to slow starts mirrored that of their former starting quarterback. The only time Stewart passed for more than 200 yards in any of his five season-opening starts was last year, when he played dismally in a 30-14 loss at New England and most of his 242 yards came well after the game was decided. His three interceptions were a much more telling statistic.
In 1997, his first career start at quarterback was a flop as he passed for only 104 yards in a 37-7 loss to Dallas. He was equally ineffective in a 21-3 loss at Jacksonville in 2001, throwing two interceptions.
Stewart's erratic early-season play contributed to a succession of poor starts by the Steelers — 0-2 last year, 2-3 in 1999 and 1-2 in 1997. The Steelers also were 0-3 in 2000 until Stewart replaced Kent Graham (news) as the starter.
A year ago, it was almost the opposite scenario. The Steelers were in danger of starting 0-3 until Maddox replaced Stewart in the fourth quarter of a game they were losing 13-6 to Cleveland and went on to lead them to a 16-13 overtime victory. Stewart never got his job back, though he started two games when Maddox was hurt later in the season.
Wide receiver Hines Ward (news) said one play from Sunday's game illustrates how comfortable and confident Maddox has become now that he's settled in as the starter.
"He threw an out route to me — and he threw it before I turned my head around," Ward said. "(Cornerback) Chris McAlister (news) couldn't even break on it because the timing was down. That's how much we are starting to gain trust in one another."
