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Saturday, August 12, 2000 By Gerry Dulac, Post-Gazette Sports Writer
That was no accident Thursday night when Chad Scott took off his helmet to celebrate his interception in the end zone against the Carolina Panthers. Such displays of emotion are not permissible in the NFL, which is why the officials penalized the fourth-year cornerback for his unnecessary celebration.
Scott, though, was able to talk the officials out of the penalty. He successfully argued that Panthers wide receiver Jim Turner had wrenched his helmet sideways while trying to make the reception. Or, at the very least, break up the interception.
Scott might have been able to persuade the officials, but he couldn't convince his coach, Bill Cowher, who was waiting for him when he got to the sideline.
"He told me to just keep my helmet on," Scott said.
Understand, it's all part of the new Chad Scott.
Not only is Scott, the former No. 1 pick from Maryland, looking like the player the Steelers expected when they drafted him 24th overall in 1997, but he also is trying to revert back to the player he was in college, a player who loved football and competed in the sport because it was fun, not because it was a business.
That taking-off-the-helmet stuff?
That's all part of it.
"I'm just trying to have fun again -- take it back to college where it was me out there having a good time playing football, doing what I love to do and not looking at it as a job," Scott said. "When I first came to the league, it was kind of confusing how different it was than college. It took me a while to adjust to it. Now I'm back to just having fun and being cocky, like I always was."
To be sure, nobody is going to confuse Scott's cockiness with Deion Sanders'. But he has been parading around St. Vincent College, the team's summer training site, with a little bounce in his step and a boyish edge on the practice field. And for good reason, too.
For the first time since his rookie year, Scott is healthy again, his knee fully recovered from the torn anterior cruciate ligament that caused him to miss the 1998 season. It has allowed him to stop worrying about his knee and concentrate more on what he likes to do -- playing left cornerback in the Steelers' defense.
The change has been remarkable. Everyone from Cowher to his teammates has noticed the difference in Scott and the plays he has been making. It was evident again in Thursday night's 13-0 victory against the Panthers that raised the Steelers' preseason record to 3-0.
Scott had five tackles, two passes defensed and an interception in two quarters. Afterward, safety Lee Flowers, who sat out the game with a groin injury, said he can't believe the difference in Scott, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound cornerback.
"It's night and day," Flowers said. "He has the confidence back in his game. Now you can see why they drafted him on the first round a few years ago. He's a hell of a cornerback.
"Hey, if you're going to make interceptions like he did [against Carolina], that's what we need. He's having fun with the game. Over the years, he's had bad luck with knee injuries. Now he's not worrying about that anymore. He's like a little kid, man, having fun."
Scott hasn't had this much fun since his rookie season when he started nine games, developed rapidly toward the end of the season and led the team with eight tackles and three passes defensed in the playoff loss at New England. But, during the off-season, Scott sustained a torn ACL in his left knee during a workout session at Three Rivers Stadium and had surgery.
He sat out the '98 season, returned last year as the starter at left cornerback, then sustained a sprained right knee in a November game against Cleveland and missed three games. Scott came back sooner than expected and started the final three games of the regular season but was not the same.
He was unsure of his defensive assignments and was responsible for several long pass plays because of blown coverages.
"I felt 100 percent when I came back last year. I felt good, but just not playing for a whole season is tough because you're struggling to get back out there," Scott said. "I felt I was getting into that toward the middle of the season and I wound up getting hurt again. It was tough getting back in the flow of things."
That doesn't seem to be a problem now. Cowher singled Scott out last week as a player who is light years ahead of where he was a year ago. Scott is one of the biggest cornerbacks in the NFL, and he uses his size to take on blockers and running backs near the line of scrimmage.
But he also has been omnipresent in pass coverage, breaking on the ball and defensing passes like he did three years ago. He also has been more boisterous, more demonstrative.
Last week, after picking off a Kent Graham pass in practice, he started racing the other way with his arms outstretched at his side. After yet another practice interception, he turned toward the crowd on the hillside and bowed.
Then came the doffing of the helmet against Carolina.
"I'm having fun out there, talking to the guys a little bit, making plays in practice, and I want to carry it over to the game," Scott said. "I'm just letting the real me come out."
Exactly what the Steelers had been hoping.
NOTES -- The players had yesterday off and do not have to report back to training camp until this morning. ... The Steelers will practice in the afternoon today and tomorrow then resume two-a-days Monday. The team will break camp Thursday before flying to Mexico City for next Saturday night's game against the Indianapolis Colts.
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