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Tuesday, October 08, 2002

Compiled by Ed Bouchette, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Steelers vs. Bengals, 1 p.m. Sunday, Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati. TV: KDKA. Radio: WBGG-AM (970), WDVE-FM (102.5) and the Steelers Radio Network.

All-Pro G Alan Faneca wasn't about to let a gouge that spurted blood from the middle of his forehead keep him from playing Sunday. So, after a little attention on the sideline, he returned to the field and tossed a block that helped Jerome Bettis score a 6-yard touchdown. Then, Faneca ran over and head-butted the Bus. Was that using his head, so to speak? "That," Faneca said yesterday, six stitches later, "was just emotion. We were behind and fighting to get back into the game and we scored a TD. It was just exciting. I wasn't even thinking about that."

Faneca was on his way to visit a doctor yesterday afternoon, but did not seem concerned about his head. "It's a gash and it's a bleeder," he said. "It was a counter-power [block]. I pulled and had a kickout. I don't know what happened, something with the helmet, I guess."

Chukki Okobi filled in at left guard for two plays when Faneca got treatment. "It was horrible when Alan came off with all that blood," Okobi said. "I didn't know what was going on. It didn't look that bad on tape, the actual hit. He hit one of the backers. He just hit somebody. It's not like somebody just did that to him."

Okobi is the backup to Faneca and C Jeff Hartings. Oliver Ross is the backup at right guard and at both tackles. Okobi also filled in for Hartings when Hartings left the opener with a sprained knee. "If they let me run some routes, I'd do that too," said Okobi, a second-year player. "Whatever, man, I'm just trying to participate."

S Lee Flowers, two weeks ago, suggested the Steelers might have gotten big-headed after reading all the good things about themselves before the season. Maybe all those fat contracts had something to do with it as well. By doling out more than $40 million in signing bonuses this year, the Steelers have the second-highest payroll in the NFL. But they rank No. 1 over the past two seasons in paying out cash over the cap. The NFL salary cap over the past two seasons is roughly $138.5 million and the Steelers topped that by nearly $24.5 million. No other team in the league has paid out that much money over the past two seasons. Denver is second at $23 million in cash over the cap. Teams can pay out more than the actual salary cap because signing bonuses are not all counted for cap reasons in the year that they are paid. They are pro-rated over the life of a player's contract. So, while the Steelers have paid out more than $70 million in signing bonuses last year and this year, much of it won't count against their cap until future years.

Alan Faneca does not believe money has any bearing on the way the Steelers have performed. "I don't think so. Every year someone's getting a new contract. It just happened in a big wave, I guess. I don't think that had anything to do with it."

QB Tommy Maddox hasn't won a game as a starting quarterback, but he had reason to believe it will happen soon after his performance Sunday. Maddox, making his first start in 10 years, completed 22 of 38 passes for 268 yards -- all personal highs -- and three touchdowns against New Orleans. He also threw a fourth-quarter interception and was sacked four times. His passer rating of 97.7 would rank sixth in the AFC if he had enough throws to qualify. "It felt good," Maddox said. "It's always good to get out there and get a game under your belt. You always wish things would have turned out a little better."

ESPN came up with a statistic that showed since Maddox previously started a game in 1992, his rookie season with the Broncos, there have been 146 different starting quarterbacks in the NFL, 2,252 games played and 5,853 touchdown passes thrown.

Lee Flowers did not want to hear any suggestions that the Steelers can take out their frustrations on 0-5 Cincinnati Sunday. "Oh, man, let me tell you something about Cincinnati -- there's one man you have to stop and that's Corey Dillon. When you look at that schedule, you try to find out what time of year you're going to play him. As far as this team is concerned, he's probably one of the best running backs in the league, he's probably one of the best people in the NFL as far as I'm concerned. We're going to have our work cut out for us, especially after they sit down and look at the film and see Deuce run for 123 yards."

The Saints' Deuce McAllister had touchdown runs of 1 and 52 yards against the Steelers. Dillon ranks fourth in the AFC with 407 yards rushing on 93 carries. The Steelers held Dillon under 100 yards both times they faced him last season (64, 91) but could not stop QB Jon Kitna in their second meeting. Kitna, operating from a spread offense and no huddle, scorched them for 411 yards passing in a 26-23 upset victory Dec. 30. After several changes in quarterbacks since then, Kitna will make his second consecutive start Sunday.

"Cincinnati supposedly is the one that started running the spread offense on us," Flowers said. "We don't know what we're going to get. Whatever we get we have to be prepared for."

LB Kendrell Bell, who hasn't played since the opener because of a sprained ankle, said he will try to practice this week.