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Thursday, August 24, 2000
When the Steelers' offense lines up for its first play against the Washington Redskins tomorrow night, in all likelihood Kordell Stewart will be at quarterback, Plaxico Burress at split end and Troy Edwards at flanker. That's quite a trio of athletes; young men who share many things in common, including this: They have been extremely well paid by the Steelers. In terms of signing bonuses, they represent an $18.5 million passing attack.
In terms of actual performance, they more resemble a 10-cent passing attack.
The Steelers have spent a literal fortune attempting to give themselves a passing game. When Stewart failed with journeymen receivers, they made Edwards their first-round draft choice in 1999. When that upgrade wasn't enough, they selected Burress with their first pick in April.
Stewart took $8.1 million for his signature when he signed an extension in the spring of 1999. A few months later, Edwards got about $4 million for signing his name, a record for a Steelers rookie. That stood until this summer when Burress agreed to a contract that will pay him $6.4 million in signing bonuses.
The results have not led to much improvement over the passing offense that was 26th (out of 31 teams) in the NFL last season. In four exhibition games, Stewart has thrown 40 times and completed 14 for 191 yards. Edwards has caught three passes for 30 yards and Burress seven for 97, but four catches and 60 yards came in the first game against the Dallas Cowboys.
Even in the inflated world of sports salaries, rarely has so much been paid for so little.
In fairness, it's early. Edwards had a good rookie season, leading the team in receptions and yardage, and Burress has shown enough to foster a belief he can become an elite receiver.
But Edwards and Burress are struggling at the moment.
"It's going to come, and it's frustrating at times," Coach Bill Cowher said. "We have had a lot of talks with both of them. I know I have. Along the way, we are going to have some rocky times, and you have to work through that."
Part of the problem is the quarterback. Stewart has not played the position well the past two seasons and has shown scant improvement this year. But he's not fully to blame. The young receivers must accept their share.
Burress is still learning. When he played spectacularly against the Cowboys, expectations soared. They've come back to earth in the past three games.
The professional game has Burress somewhat befuddled. It wasn't like this at Michigan State.
"I've got the offense down," Burress said before practice yesterday. "I know what to do at certain times. But now I've got to know what the defense is doing. That's what makes the offense so difficult. I need more reps. It's me picking up coverages and knowing what the defense is trying to get me to do and what I'm trying to avoid."
If Burress is having problems picking up the mostly vanilla coverages he has seen in exhibitions, his problems figure to increase when the regular season begins and teams open up their full defensive packages.
Edwards maintains he's totally comfortable in Kevin Gilbride's offense, which often has been characterized as too complicated.
"It's much easier this year," he said. "Things are totally different. Now I'm comfortable. I felt good coming into camp. I feel good with what I'm doing. I'm feeling good right now."
But the fact remains, as Cowher suggested, the two are having their difficulties.
It's nothing out of the ordinary. In Edwards case, he came out of a small program. The jump to the NFL was enormous, and he's still learning. As for Burress, he can't be expected to master the Steelers' offense in six weeks.
There will be more growing pains. Such a young receiving corps often will be overmatched. But the talent level of both gives hope for the future. Those millions don't figure to be wasted. But the Steelers won't get full value for their money until a quarterback steps forward who can maximize the superb talents of Edwards and Burress.
Bob Smizik can be reached at bsmizik@post-gazette.com.
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