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Wednesday, September 05, 2001

Compiled by Ed Bouchette

Steelers vs. Jaguars, 1p.m. Sunday, Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville, Fla. TV: KDKA. Radio: WDVE-FM (102.5), WBGG-AM (970) and the Steelers Radio Network

It wasn't so much what Tee Martin didn't do but what Tommy Maddox did that caused Coach Bill Cowher to elevate him behind Kordell Stewart on the quarterback depth chart. And there's one thing Maddox does better than anyone else on the team. "He sees the field so very well, probably better than any of the other quarterbacks that we have," Cowher said.

Without knowing it, Cowher confirmed a report on ESPN.com several weeks ago that caused a small brouhaha in training camp when it quoted unnamed Steelers defensive backs as saying Maddox saw the field better than Stewart. Of course, that doesn't make him a better quarterback than Stewart or more effective, just that he sees the field better.

Cowher spent a lot of time talking about Maddox at his news conference yesterday. "He has a very quick release. If you don't have great arm strength, then you have to be able to anticipate things."

A player with Maddox's style -- making quick decisions -- could not have performed in Kevin Gilbride's offense that required a quarterback to sit in the pocket longer. "I think if we would have had Tommy Maddox a year ago in the system we had -- where a lot of it was reads, waiting for receivers to come out of a break and then put it on him -- he would not have functioned very well in that."

Cowher wasn't commenting on the fact that Jacksonville Coach Tom Coughlin pulled his Agent 007 routine again when he claimed S Ainsley Battles off waivers. Battles spent last season on the Steelers' roster but was waived over the weekend. It's another example of Coughlin signing a former Steeler to his roster just before the Jaguars play them. It has incensed the Steelers for years, but no one has publicly complained.

Coughlin did it with QB Jim Miller in 1997 and picked his brains for two weeks before the Jaguars played the Steelers. He cut Miller the day after their game. He did it in 1998 with TE Troy Sadowski and has signed practice squad players off the Steelers as well. Obviously, Coughlin believes it helps.

At his news conference yesterday, he recalled stories about other NFL teams doing it, laughed and said, "That's old NFL stuff." He turned serious and said, "We saw [Battles] on film. We liked him. Now that we have him here, we'll ask him some questions."

The last time these two teams met, Fred Taylor gouged the Steelers for 234 yards rushing and four touchdowns in a 34-24 Jacksonville victory Nov. 19 at Three Rivers Stadium. "We showed up for about a quarter and a half and then we let him cut back and get outside quite a bit," Cowher said. "The film came back yesterday and today, and I could not even watch the fourth quarter anymore. It is something that we are aware of. He is a great cutback runner. He has great vision, and we lost some shoulder responsibilities at times and that led to about six or seven big runs against us."

The big change the Steelers have made since that game in their defense is they have replaced Levon Kirkland at inside linebacker with rookie Kendrell Bell.

Cowher said Kendrick Clancy will start at nose tackle and share time with rookie Casey Hampton, which means the Steelers streak of not starting two rookies on defense in the opener will reach 30 years. ... Cowher listed CB Chad Scott (knee) and FB Dan Kreider (calf) as questionable. FB Jon Witman (back) is probable, although he practiced Monday. "He is healthy," Cowher said. "He is fine." ... The Steelers' top two quarterbacks are Louisiana natives, following a 31-year tradition for the team. Stewart is from Marrero, near New Orleans. Maddox was born in Shreveport, also the birthplace of Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw. Other Steelers quarterbacks who were born in Louisiana included Bubby Brister and David Woodley.