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Monday, October 30, 2000

BALTIMORE -- The stunning turnaround of the Steelers -- hard to imagine five weeks ago and still difficult to believe today -- stretches credulity.

By all indications, when they lost their first three games, the Steelers were headed for not just another losing season but also another embarrassing season. There was reason to believe their coach might not last the 16-game schedule. The team was filled with players who just didn't seem to have the talent to succeed in the National Football League. It was widely believed the Steelers might not win five games.

Now they're a team that has won five games in five weeks, including a most unstylish, but nevertheless most official, 9-6 win against the Baltimore Ravens yesterday.

Hard to believe!

Here's what's harder to believe.

Kordell Stewart is the starting quarterback of a team that might be headed for the playoffs. Kordell Stewart is the starting quarterback of a team that -- if Tennessee loses to Washington tonight -- will be playing for first place in the AFC Central Sunday.

The Steelers have gone from a team that was expected to contest Cincinnati and Cleveland for last place in the AFC Central to one that is challenging a team that played in the Super Bowl last year for first place. Stewart is part of that resurrections.

How many times have we -- the media and the fans -- dismissed him? But he keeps coming back.

This time it's in a new role. He's no longer the daring slash, no longer the superb quarterback-in-the-making upon whom the team must depend. On a team where the defense is the primary reason for the five-game winning streak, Stewart is the low-key quarterback who does just enough.

What the Steelers need from their quarterback is competent, mistake-free play. That's what Stewart is giving them.

His numbers, as is almost always the case, were not glamorous. He threw 18 times -- barely a half for some quarterbacks -- and completed nine for 133 yards. That won't get a quarterback to the Pro Bowl. In some places it won't keep the quarterback in the starting lineup.

But for the Steelers, it was enough, and Stewart will be the quarterback again Sunday when they play the Titans in Nashville.

"I had fun today," said Stewart, who did not throw an interception and who has thrown only one all season. "I enjoyed myself. We're doing what we need to do to win games."

He wasn't just talking. After two hugely disappointing seasons, Stewart can smile again.

Tight end Mark Bruener said: "I think Kordell is doing great. His confidence is back to where it used to be. He's back there believing in himself. He's playing with a smile on his face."

Wide receiver Hines Ward, who scored the only touchdown of the game, thinks time on the bench helped Stewart.

"Sitting on the sidelines, watching, looking at it from a different viewpoint, has made a difference," Ward said. "He has his opportunity now and he's taking full advantage of it. He knows he has to continue to get better. He knows he can't be complacent."

The Steelers knew they wouldn't need many points against the offensively bankrupt Ravens. One touchdown and a couple of field goals figured to do it. They got that touchdown on the second possession of the second half. It was not a thing of beauty, at least not from the quarterback.

He sort of just put it up there. Fortunately for the Steelers, Ward -- and not cornerback Duane Starks -- came down with the ball and ran it into the end zone.

"It was him trusting me being there," Ward said. "I had [Starks] beat. He threw a good ball but the wind kind of caught it. I just went up and jumped a little higher and come down with the ball."

It was all the Steelers needed, along with a Kris Brown field goal, against a team that can barely remembered when it put the ball in the end zone.

A buoyant Bill Cowher, looking and talking like a man who has redeemed himself, was quick to point out the obvious:

"We have a long way to go if we want to be a top-notch football team."

Nor should anyone take from these five wins that Stewart is the quarterback of the future -- or even for the rest of the season.

But he seems to have found his confidence. He might never again be Slash or anything like that. But for now, he's the quarterback of the Steelers and just happy with that.

Bob Smizik can be reached at bsmizik@post-gazette.com.