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Tuesday, October 09, 2001

Kordell Stewart dropped back Monday afternoon. He looked. He threw.

None of his receivers were around the locker room to catch his apology, which was slightly overthrown.

Just another day in the strife of the Steelers' passing game, right?

Don't misunderstand, which the starting quarterback claimed he did when a questioner tossed a passing-game query in his direction Sunday. This is no raging controversy. This is no Stewart-Trashes-Receivers piece of tabloid journalism, though he throttled Neil O'Donnell pretty convincingly in his little soliloquy after a 16-7 Steelers victory a day earlier.

Rather, the Stewart story is: Starting Quarterback Issues Challenge.

"It's just a matter of me getting the ball to my receivers, them catching it and making plays," he said Monday afternoon.

What he was saying Sunday afternoon seemed a bit more critical on the surface, a ton more provocative underneath:

"It's not just one guy having to get out there and complete a pass all day, because I'm not the one that's catching it. Sometimes, I wish I was.
"When the quarterback throws the football, we have to make plays, period. Sometimes, they are going to be perfect. Sometimes, they won't.
"We start making excuses about where balls need to be. When I was playing wide receiver and I was Slash and it was my first time ever doing it, I never complained about where a ball was. As long as the ball was coming to me, I had to go get it.
"I never made excuses about Neil O'Donnell's balls being behind me, because there were quite a few of them. ... I still caught them way out in front. In Cincinnati [in 1995], I caught it on my fingertips, made a great play, spun off a guy and wound up scoring a 71-yard touchdown."

Note to Mike Mularkey: Have anything in that playbook where the starting quarterback throws to himself? He wishes there were.

But I digress.

On Sunday, Stewart talked about throwing to a receiver who makes plays, which certainly explains his affinity for Hines Ward. He threw to him 10 times (of 22 attempts Sunday) and completed eight. He threw to him for as little as no gain in the third quarter. He threw to him for as much as a24-yard gain in the fourth quarter -- on the critical third-and-5 play that arranged the cinching field goal. He feels so much confidence in Ward, he put him on pace to smash the all-time NFL record with 128 receptions this season.

Imagine that: These Steelers on pace to smash a passing record.

But I digress.

"He goes out and makes the great catches. That's what it's all about. That's what [Charles Johnson] did all his career when we were together. ... Yancey [Thigpen] was one of those guys, when the ball was in the air, he didn't give a dang if he had three or four guys on him. He made the play."

The truth lies somewhere in those words.

Plaxico Burress, who caught three of the eight passes aimed in his direction Sunday (all in the first half), has yet to make a tough catch. Shoot, only twice in 14 previous career games did he collect more catches (three) or more yards (37) than Sunday. Lobs down the sideline and fades into the end zone have proven so difficult a task, he might as well donate three inches from his wasted 6 feet 51/2 to any one of his tiny receiver teammates.

Bobby Shaw, who caught one of the three passes intended for him, has yet to earn Stewart's attention on most any down other than third.

Troy Edwards? Please pick up a white courtesy phone.

Monday afternoon, Stewart dropped back. He threw caution toward his receivers. And kisses.

"I probably misinterpreted what he was asking," the starting quarterback said of that Sunday questioner. "After he clarified it in the end, I said, 'Oh my goodness, I probably said something out of context.'

"Not saying that my guys yesterday weren't making plays, but ... that's what the game is all about. It's all about making plays. I wasn't bashing wide receivers, because they've been doing a good job. Obviously, you're going to drop some, and sometimes you're going to throw a bad pass. That goes for myself, too -- as far as making plays.

"If it sounded [derogatory] toward my receivers, I promise you, I was never trying to say that. If it came across that way, I apologize to my guys."

Being Stewart means never having to say your sorry for paltry passing yardage. That is what the Steelers' passing game is all about. Right now, it's about performing as the occasional curveball to the league's third-most productive running game. It's about zero interceptions, although Stewart got lucky Sunday that a couple of Bungles defensive backs had as undependable hands as his receivers sometimes. It's about going 11-5, which is precisely Stewart's remarkable mark the past season and one-fifth as the quarterback of record.

Sure, he needs to more accurate. He tossed one way behind Burress on a left-seam slant pattern and another far short in the end zone for a second consecutive week (although he did manage to complete nine passes in a row at one point and 13 of his final 15 attempts). Sure, his receivers need to get open more, win more struggles with defensive backs for passes, gather yardage instead of dust.

It's a challenge, all right. Maybe, one of these weeks, they'll get together for, oh, I don't know, 200 yards passing?

In addition to The Big Picture, Chuck Finder writes a general-sports column exclusive to the http://www.post-gazette.com/ every Tuesday. He can be reached at cfinder@post-gazette.com