Tommy Maddox and Tee Martin showed Friday night that training camp practices might not always determine a football player's true talent.
 |  |
Tee Martin runs 18 yards for a touchdown Friday against the Falcons. (Peter Diana, Post-Gazette) | |
Maddox and Martin have not quite lit up the St. Vincent College fields through the first two weeks of camp. But they made the most of their chances in the first exhibition game in Atlanta.
Both quarterbacks predicted they would play better in games, and that happened, at least against the Falcons.
Maddox, who has looked awful at times in camp, played as if he were still in the XFL. He took over with the Steelers trailing, 13-0, and directed them on two scoring drives and 10 points, including a 3-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress.
Not only did Maddox complete 6 of 10 passes for 78 yards and a 117.9 passer rating, but he also energized the offense when he burst into the huddle.
"You should have seen him," Burress said. "I couldn't believe it. When he first came in, he said he didn't care what was going on, it was our time to play, let's just go and drive and put it in the end zone. And we did. He said just leave it out here on the field. He got everybody going."
Maddox, signed by the Steelers this summer after he was MVP of the XFL, is trying to win a roster spot. The Steelers signed him to become their No. 3 quarterback if Martin can move to No. 2. That way, they would release Kent Graham and his $1.4 million salary.
After one game, that plan is a go.
Martin completed 6 of 9 passes for 59 yards and ran for the winning touchdown from 18 yards.
Kordell Stewart and Graham did not play well. They combined to complete just 6 of 18 passes for 49 yards.
Showing progress
Burress caught three passes for 53 yards, one for a touchdown and another a 35-yarder down the sideline from Maddox.
Making long receptions was the reason the Steelers drafted Burress last year with the eighth overall pick. At 6-5 3/4 he towers over defensive backs.
"That was regular bump and run coverage and I had a fade route and Tommy delivered it," Burress said. "I didn't have to break stride. It was a fantastic throw."
Zereoue delivers
Amos Zereoue picked up where he left off the past two exhibition seasons -- he led the Steelers in rushing.
Zereoue ran seven times for 54 yards, slipping tackles and looking every bit as good as he did leading the team in rushing in the preseason each of the past two seasons.
This year, however, there has been a promise of more playing time.
Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala, who is competing with Zereoue for the backup job at halback, carried once for no yards, but he played more as the third-down back.
Secret is out
One of the tricks in Josh Miller's arsenal has leaked out, and now punters across the country might go scrambling in search of heat guns.
Miller has used one of those heat guns to help shape his shoes, much as a blacksmith would do for a horse. He heats the bottom of his left kicking shoe until it becomes pliable. He then fastens it to keep straight while it cools.
"I've been doing it for about six years, when I first came to the Steelers," Miller said. "I broke my left foot a couple of times and I had a hard time keeping it straight."
A punter needs to extend his foot straight so that it strikes the ball relatively flat. It certainly worked against the Falcons as Miller averaged 47.6 yards on seven punts.
Quick kicks
Kris Brown showed off a more powerful leg on kickoffs Friday night. He made some adjustments since last season in his approach to the kick and believes he will now get the distance on kickoffs the Steelers want from him. Brown, by the way, squeezes his size 11 feet into a size 9 kicking shoe. ... The Steelers tried a gaggle of players on deep kickoff returns against Atlanta. They included Hank Poteat, Will Blackwell, Troy Edwards, Mike Logan, Kamil Loud and Chris Taylor. ... The Steelers had off yesterday and today and will return to practice tomorrow in Latrobe.
Steelers Notebook: Maddox, Martin shine in game, not practice 
E-mail this story 
