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Tuesday, August 06, 2002

By Ed Bouchette, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Tommy Maddox will receive the bulk of playing time at quarterback when the Steelers play their first exhibition game Thursday night at Heinz Field against the New York Jets.

Kordell Stewart will start but play only one or two series, after which he and the rest of the first team will give way to their backups. Coach Bill Cowher said Maddox will play the rest of the first half and Charlie Batch and Tee Martin will split duties in the second half.

"We'll have an opportunity to see a lot of people, competing for this roster, play the rest of the game," Cowher said.

"We haven't really set a time-frame. As a staff, we'll see how the next couple of days unfold in regards to the health status of some of the players."

Cowher noted that playing all four quarterbacks is not "an absolute," because the game can sometimes dictate differently.

Two starters, guard Oliver Ross and inside linebacker John Fiala, might stay on the field longer than the first team because they are competing to replace departed starters.

Testing the switch

The Steelers will unveil their new dime defensive alignment against the Jets with Joey Porter and Kendrell Bell basically trading positions on passing downs.

Tim Lewis, the defensive coordinator, suggested the switch in the spring, and they've been putting it to use since. Although Bell, their starting mac inside linebacker, was NFL defensive rookie of the year in 2001, he came off the field on third downs. The Steelers wanted to keep him out there on all downs, but they did not want him to drop into coverage or to have to call the defenses required of the middle linebacker in the dime.

So, they moved Porter from his right outside linebacking job to middle linebacker in the dime defense, a move Greg Lloyd once made. Porter had been their right end in the dime defense. Now, Bell will move to right end.

"It's looked fine so far," Cowher said. "We haven't had any game situations. I think it's been good. They're getting comfortable.

"Through the course of this preseason, it's going to be an ongoing, growing process for [Porter]. It's a new role, it's new responsibilities. There are going to be some growing pains with that. I think that's understandable. It's not going to be something he's just going to get overnight. We just have to be very patient.

"The same thing with Kendrell in terms of being a down rusher and the added responsibility -- just understanding the games, the blitzes and all those things another down brings."

It was offensive

After giving his team Sunday off, Cowher was not happy with the way his offense performed during the only practice yesterday afternoon. He shouted at the offense several times. After practice, coordinator Mike Mularkey gathered his offense around him and talked to them for 10 minutes.

Injury update

WR Hines Ward, TE Jerame Tuman and WR Plaxico Burress hit the sideline with injuries yesterday, but all three expect to play Thursday night. Ward has a nagging hamstring problem, and he sat out to rest it. Tuman has a strained stomach muscle. Burress aggravated his groin injury.

Cowher ruled out just one player for Thursday night's game, undrafted rookie wide receiver Dallas Davis (hamstring). He listed safety Mike Logan (hamstring) as questionable, although "he'll do a little bit in the next couple of days, and we'll see about that."

Short snaps

With a thunderstorm moving in from the West, Cowher condensed his practice and finished up early, just before the rain came. ... Cowher said Hank Poteat, Troy Edwards and Antwaan Randle El will handle the punt and kickoff returns Thursday. ... Joe O'Donnell will get a chance to kick off Thursday night after Todd Peterson.

Ed Bouchette can be reached at ebouchette@post-gazette.com or 412-263-3878.