The Steelers will ask Tommy Maddox to have a little more patience in more ways than one this year.
Club officials already have told their starting quarterback they will not upgrade his $650,000 salary this season and to wait at least until 2004 to get a raise.
Now, they want him to become more diligent when he drops back into the pocket. The Steelers led the AFC with 36 turnovers and tied for the conference lead by throwing 22 interceptions last season. Offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey wants to plug the leaks.
"I don't fault him for some of those things because he just has that much confidence, which you really want in a quarterback," Mularkey said yesterday as the Steelers reported to training camp at St. Vincent College in Latrobe. "You want the guy to be able to feel like he can stick it in the hole. I really would like to focus, if we can, if there's an indecision in his mind whether he can or can't, he can't. Just drop it down to the back or tight end."
Maddox set a club record with a 62.1 percent completion rate last season, and he threw for 20 touchdowns. Mularkey would like to see him cut down on his 16 interceptions. Maddox also would like to throw fewer interceptions, but not at the expense of making plays.
"You force it and it works, everybody loves it," Maddox said. "I don't want to take the aggressiveness out of throwing the football. You just learn from every situation. If you start worrying about that too much, all of a sudden you're not throwing it downfield at all.
"There's a happy medium, and that just comes from taking reps and getting more comfortable with it and knowing when you need to try to stick it in there and when you don't."
Hines Ward, who set the team record with 112 receptions last season, laughed when told the Steelers want the man nicknamed "Tommy Gun" to become more conservative in his approach to the passing game.
"It's kind of hard to tell Tommy that," Ward said. "Tommy's one of those guys who has that edge on him. If he thinks he can get the ball in there, he's going to try to get it in there.
"At the same time, last year we were pretty good offensively ... and we led the league in turnovers. If we don't turn the ball over and shoot ourselves in the foot, the sky's the limit offensively. It's kind of hard to stop us if we don't turn the ball over."
The prime example came in their 24-6 loss at home to expansion Houston. The Steelers held the Texans to 47 yards in total offense and just three pass completions. But Houston returned two Maddox interceptions and the quarterback's fumble for three touchdowns to pull the upset.
The Steelers, maligned for slipping to No. 20 in defending the pass, nevertheless led the AFC by producing 36 turnovers, many offset by the 36 turnovers committed by their offense.
"All those problems, I know Tommy knows about it," Ward said. "He's the first one to say I made a bad mistake if he turns the ball over. If he threw a pick, he says that's on me, I'll get it back for us.
"But to tell a guy not to do something ... it's kind of hard to tell Tommy to play a certain way if that's what he's accustomed to doing."
Ward and 6-foot-5 1/2 Plaxico Burress also like to believe that when the ball is in the air, there should be only two results -- a reception or a knockdown. Many times, they want Maddox to put the ball up for grabs because they are confident they will be the ones to catch it.
Mularkey does not want to take that away from him, but he doesn't want his quarterback to force as many passes. Maddox understands the power of dumping the ball off to a tight end or a back if the deeper pass is not there.
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Steelers offensive tackle Mathias Nkwenti unloads his television and heads for his dorm room at St. Vincent College. | |
"The way the tight ends are playing and with the running backs we have, you can put a lot of pressure on defenses," Maddox said. "They can't just go out there and double Hines and Plax because there are other guys who can hurt them."
Maddox displayed more patience yesterday when it came to the subject of his pocketbook. He signed a five-year contract a year ago when he was a backup that pays him less than his backup, Charlie Batch, who will earn $1 million this year and $1 million next year.
Maddox made his bid for more money in the spring, then talked about it publicly on the second-to-last day of minicamp. He said he will not discuss the situation again this year and reiterated it when asked about his contract a second time.
"What part of 'I will not talk about my contract' didn't you understand? Maddox asked. "I'm here to play football. It's been a long journey for me, I'm excited about the opportunities I have to play and be part of this organization.
"To come as far as I've come and to be here, to start worrying about other things right now would be foolish. I'm excited about being here and I'm excited about camp starting."
Said Ward, "I think his play is going to take care of his contract."
NOTES -- No. 1 draft pick Troy Polamalu remained the only unsigned player as negotiations continued last night between the Steelers and agent Marvin Demoff. "You know how it is with No. 1 picks," said Kevin Colbert, football operations director. "The first day of camp, he's not here. There's no reason to talk about it. Negotiations are ongoing. Who knows where he is? We'll deal with the people who are here." ... Upon reporting to camp, several Steelers declared themselves the team to beat in the AFC even if oddsmakers don't rank them No. 1 the way they did last season. "We know we're the team to beat and we know we can win," Burress said. "We've just got to go out and play like it every Sunday." ... Coach Bill Cowher will put his team through its annual running test, a series of 14 40-yard dashes, today. They will hold their first practice at 1 p.m. tomorrow.
Ed Bouchette can be reached at ebouchette@post-gazette.com or 412-263-3878.
Steelers want Maddox to be more patient 
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