If tomorrow night holds true to form, quarterback Tommy Maddox will take the field, toss the ball around a half-dozen times, hand it off a few more and take a seat.

	Peter Diana, Post-Gazette Tommy Maddox, scrambling away from an Oakland Raider last season, hasn't had to run too much this preseason. Click photo for larger image. More Steelers News: Steelers Notebook: Fifth-round pick cut; five other players released 2004 Pro and College Football Preview

Rarely have quarterbacks performed so well doing so little. Maddox has 18 pass attempts in three exhibitions in which he played a little more than three quarters total. That's seven series, three touchdowns, one field goal, a 68-yard drive that ended when Duce Staley fumbled through the end zone, and two punts.

Take a bow, Mr. Maddox and Co. tomorrow night and then take a seat. Your summer work is done here, report back for some real labor Sept. 12.

"When he's played, he's played very well," coach Bill Cowher said yesterday. "I think he's been very sharp. I think he's engineered some drives, and his decision making has been good, his accuracy's been good. I think he's where he needs to be. I'm very pleased with him."

So pleased that he will play Maddox and the No. 1 offense barely one quarter of the 6:30 p.m. game tomorrow night against Carolina at Heinz Field. The defense, which could use more work, might get more than that.

It's a much different situation from a year ago when Cowher broke from his tradition of having his starters make cameo appearances in the final exhibition game and played them a full half against Carolina.

"As it relates to last year, we're a little farther along on the offensive side than we are the defensive," Cowher said.

Kordell Stewart threw only 24 passes in the 2002 preseason, after his only Pro Bowl season, a modern record of sorts in the summer. Maddox can achieve more through less tomorrow night.

Maddox completed 12 of his 18 passes for 185 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions. He has been sacked once and owns a 119.0 passer rating. He has had his best training camp since his arrival fresh out of the XFL in 2001. Maybe it's the new contract he received in July, maybe it's the push from a first-round draft choice behind him, maybe it's the 6-10 record from last season or maybe it's all of that plus better play around him.

"I think it's been all of our best camp," Maddox said. "It started in the offseason, and everybody's been working hard and our practices have been sharp and crisp and guys are focused on what we need to do to get back where we want to go.

"Its been fun to go out there and play like that. I think last year our timing wasn't there coming out of camp for a bunch of different reasons. This year, guys are working hard and our timing's there, and we're another year under our belts playing together, so it's been a good camp for everybody."

That would include rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and second-year man Brian St. Pierre. Although Roethlisberger appears to have hit the wall all rookies smack midway through training camp as the overload of information catches up to them, he has been everything advertised. He's also been the No. 2 quarterback the past two weeks, another reason Maddox played less. With Charlie Batch injured, Cowher wanted his two young backups to play often.

"When you look at the next quarterback in line," Cowher said, "we can't give him enough playing time at this point."

Despite the presence of the first quarterback drafted in the first round by the Steelers in the past 24 years, this remains Tommy Maddox's offense.

"He's really focused this year," receiver Hines Ward said. "Through everything that has happened, he didn't let it be a distraction to him. He's playing with a chip on his shoulder, I think. He's just going out and saying, 'Look, I know you drafted a first-round quarterback, but the job is mine this year, I'm going to go out and do all I have to do.'

"I'm really expecting a big year out of Tommy. If we can stay healthy up front and continue to run the ball, we're a deadly offense. We're going to give a lot of defenses problems."

Their runners averaged 4.5 yards on 121 carries in the preseason vs. 67 passes. Last regular season, they ran 446 times and threw 532 passes. They're obviously on a different mission this time.

"You look at our drives, they've been a good mixture," Maddox said. "We've run the ball well, we've controlled the line of scrimmage and that keeps your attempts down as well."

It's the formula they want to maintain all season.