Not many professional football players have a plastic comic-book superhero dangling from the top of their locker. Chad Scott does, a reminder that football is a game that is supposed to be fun.
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Steelers cornerback Chad Scott - "I just want to score touchdowns. I'm not out there to just try to catch interceptions and run out of bounds." (Matt Freed, Post-Gazette) |
His inspiration is Wolverine, one of several X-Men figurines based on the comic-book character. The toy is suspended from Scott's locker with a piece of string, its arms outstretched, a No. 30 written on his back.
"Wolverine is a real animal; he's supposed to be the most tenacious as far as chasing down his prey," said Scott, the Steelers' left cornerback. "They can run for miles, but the Wolverine will always continue chasing him. That's why I like him."
Each week, Scott's prey is different. Last week, in the Steelers' 16-7 victory against the Cincinnati Bengals, it was Darnay Scott and Peter Warrick. When the Steelers (2-1) play in Kansas City (1-3) on Sunday, it will be Derrick Alexander, Marvin Minnis and Chris Thomas.
But Scott, a No. 1 pick in 1997, also sets his sights on another prey.
The football.
When he catches it, he tries to run for miles, tenaciously trying to get to the end zone and score that first National Football League touchdown.
Scott has two interceptions this season. But, despite all his running and zig-zagging and high-stepping, he has not reached the end zone.
"I want to score touchdowns," Scott said. "I'm not out there to just try to catch interceptions and run out of bounds. I'm out there having fun. I want to run and score touchdowns like I did in high school and stuff like that.
"You get that ball, you get excited. You want to do everything you can to get more yards and get closer to the end zone. That's what I want to do."
Scott has looked like the Wolverine on each of his interceptions. He returned one for 62 yards in the final minutes in Buffalo, getting all the way to the Bills' 15 before being run out of bounds. Against the Bengals, he picked off an underthrown Jon Kitna pass near the goal line and returned it 26 yards before being tackled at the Steelers 28.
"He's trying to score," said cornerback Dewayne Washington, who has seven touchdowns returns [five interceptions, two fumbles] in his eight-year NFL career. "We pick on him because we all know where he's going. His thing is, just block somebody, don't worry about where I am going. He's trying to get that first touchdown. I can't wait till he gets it."
Neither can Scott. This is his fifth NFL season, and he is starting to look like the player the Steelers envisioned when they took him with the 24th overall selection in the 1997 draft. Even a knee injury in the preseason that caused him to miss the season opener in Jacksonville doesn't appear to be hampering his performance.
In addition to the interception, Scott also had a team-high 11 tackles (eight unassisted) against the Bengals, a high number for a cornerback. But Scott and Washington said the Bengals like to block the safeties with their receivers and offensive lineman, forcing the cornerbacks to make a lot of tackles.
So there was Scott, running down the Bengals -- his prey -- like Wolverine.
"It's just one of the ways I get myself going and keep things exciting, so you don't feel like it's just business, like it's a job," said Scott, pointing to the action-figure above his locker. "I like to feel like I'm still having a good time when I play. It's a business, but I still try to have fun, always joking and playing and coming up with different things."
"Chad's not a guy to get caught up in anything else that's going on," Washington said. "He's his own person. He plays the game the way he grew up playing it -- like a little kid. He really hasn't changed any."
In some regards, though, he has.
Despite his love of comic-book superheroes, Scott is becoming more responsible on the playing field. One criticism of his style is that he sometimes played nonchalantly on the corner, taking unnecessary gambles and occasionally getting beat for a big play.
That happened several months ago in training camp when Joey Getherall, a 5-foot-7 rookie free agent, beat him deep down the sideline for a touchdown. Scott was so incensed he responded with three interceptions in the next five plays. Defensive coordinator Tim Lewis, who was not happy Scott got beat, said that's the way a No. 1 draft pick should respond.
"He's a heck of an athlete," Washington said. "He's able to do some things out there a lot of us can't do."
The Steelers signed their bookend corners to contract extensions at the start of training camp, ensuring that Washington (four years, $20 million) and Scott (five years, $25 million) will be around at least through 2004.
Even then, Scott will probably still have a super-hero figurine hanging in his locker, reminding him that the business of football is supposed to be fun.
"When you have that much talent, sometimes in practice you just have to make the day go by," safety Lee Flowers said. "Some of these guys playing 10, 12 years, things start to become monotonous if you just go out there and do the same thing every day. We just don't want to go out here and practice and go through the motions. We try to go out and have fun and keep the game fun.
"In this day and age of free agency, with so many billions of dollars, this game tends to get so political, so serious. But it's still a game, it's still entertainment."
Scott treats receivers like Wolverine's prey 
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