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Tuesday, October 29, 2002

By Ed Bouchette, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

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

It might have been good for the soul for the Steelers who joined the fray in the second-quarter fight with the Ravens in Baltimore Sunday, but bad for their pocketbooks. The NFL likely will dish out several fines to players involved in the fight, in which WR Plaxico Burress and Ravens CB James Trapp were ejected. Steelers WR Hines Ward and S Lee Flowers, along with Ravens CB Chris McAlister also were involved. "Don't fight," reads the manual issued to each player on NFL league policies, "and if a fight breaks out involving other players, stay away." The manual also warns that players who attempt to break up fights will not be exonerated. "Peacekeeping won't be accepted as an excuse for entering the fight area, nor will coming to the defense or assistance of your fighting teammates." Trapp was ejected after he stomped on Burress and yanked the helmet off his head. Burress was ejected after he tried to break things up between Ward and several Ravens, including McAlister. Flowers jumped into the fray from the sideline and said, "We're not going to back down from a fight." The NFL usually announces fines on Thursdays.

The Steelers claimed they did not know that Ravens QB Chris Redman was added to the injury list Saturday until they read it in the Baltimore Sun Sunday morning. Redman experienced a stiff back and pain in his leg Saturday. The condition prompted Baltimore Coach Brian Billick to replace him with Jeff Blake. The NFL requires teams to notify the league and the opponent of a change in a player's status for the game. The Ravens did notify the league Saturday and said they had left a message with the Steelers as well. A Steelers spokesman said they never got the message. LB Jason Gildon said the defense made some quick adjustments when coaches learned that they would face Blake, a more mobile and elusive quarterback who prefers to throw the long ball more than Redman. "We had to approach him differently," Gildon said. "Just by playing him in the past, we know he's more mobile, moves around in the pocket and can go downfield and make plays. We had to approach how we blitzed him and stuff like that differently. We wanted to stay with our game plan but, at the same time, we backed off some of the blitzes we had planned for the game just to try to contain him as much as possible. I think we did well keeping him in the pocket and forcing mistakes." The Steelers had just one sack, but they intercepted three of Blake's passes and recovered two fumbles.

QB Tommy Maddox continues to rise up the charts of the NFL's passer ratings. His rating for the season improved to 94.4, seventh in the NFL after his second consecutive game in which he had more than a 100 rating. Maddox has completed 66.7 percent of his passes. ... Wide receiver Hines Ward ranks ninth in the NFL with 46 receptions. ... LB James Farrior leads the team with 50 tackles, one more than LB Joey Porter and three more than CB Chad Scott. Porter and Scott are tied for the lead with 39 solo tackles. ... Porter needs two more interceptions to tie Jack Lambert's team record of six for linebackers, set in 1979. CB Mel Blount has the team record with 11 in 1975. Porter had only one career interception before this season.