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Monday, August 04, 2003

By Gerry Dulac, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

For a guy who is accustomed to telling people what to do, Mike Mularkey likes to do things himself. He likes to wash his car and cut his grass, mainly as a form of relaxation and mental therapy.

Mularkey probably had more time to perform those chores in the off-season because he didn't have to spend so much time worrying about his offense.

For the first time since Mularkey became offensive coordinator, and probably for the first time since 1995, the Steelers head into a season with an offense that presents few concerns. They have the most productive receiving tandem in the NFL, a quarterback who was on his way to setting or challenging a number of team records until he was injured and a running game that remains among the best in the league, despite a decline from the days when it ranked No. 1 in the NFL.

"We have an arsenal we think we can play with right now," Mularkey said. "I don't think we have to add anything new. I think we're pretty good."

And when was the last time the Steelers could say that before the start of a season?

To be sure, the Steelers have some questions that will need to be answered before they open the 2003 season against the Baltimore Ravens Sept. 7 at Heinz Field. The most important is whether Oliver Ross will adapt to the move to right tackle or if he will be replaced by Todd Fordham, a free-agent pickup from Jacksonville. And there also is an issue of whether Jerome Bettis or Amos Zereoue will be the starting halfback, although that will have less impact on the offense because both players will receive plenty of playing time in the regular season.

But, after a season in which they ranked fifth in total offense and first in time of possession, the Steelers will begin the season with more concerns about their once-proud defense than their upstart offense.

"I think you have an offense that is about as confident as I have seen them," Coach Bill Cowher said. "I think they feel very good about themselves. And I think you have a lot of weapons and a lot of options."

Mularkey is forever tinkering with the offense, trying to find ways to outwit the opposing defense. Nonetheless, he does not have to spend this training camp, which begins its second week today, working on the myriad of wrinkles he added to the offense his first two years as coordinator.

In 2001, after replacing Kevin Gilbride as offensive coordinator, Mularkey had to retool the offense, simplifying the routes and putting less pressure on the quarterback and wide receivers to make the same reads. The system was based on timing, which required lots of repetition.

Last year, the Steelers experimented with Hines Ward as the slot receiver on third down -- a move that angered Ward, the team's leading receiver -- and kept devising ways to get Antwaan Randle El, their second-round draft pick, involved in the offense. And there was some skepticism among those in the coaching staff whether Kordell Stewart was indeed the right quarterback for Mularkey's precise offense.

This year, there is almost none of that. Tommy Maddox orchestrates the passing game that ranked seventh in the NFL -- the Steelers were 21st in 2001 -- and the top three receivers are Ward, Plaxico Burress and Randle El, who combined for 237 catches, 3,143 yards and 21 touchdowns.

The most-recent time the Steelers went into a regular season feeling so good about their offense was 1995, when Neil O'Donnell was the quarterback and the receivers were Yancey Thigpen, Charles Johnson, Ernie Mills and Andre Hastings. That's also the same year the Steelers' passing game (8th) finished ahead of the running game (12th) in the NFL rankings.

Last year, the Steelers finished seventh in passing and ninth in rushing, only the second time since 1980 their passing game has outranked the running game.

"Guys have been in the system a couple years," Mularkey said. "You fine-tune some things when you get to training camp. We spend months -- not hours, but months -- studying ourselves [in the off-season]. This is where you fine-tune those little things. This is where you may change up a few things that deal with tendencies. It changes every year.

"Still, they've been in the system for a while, so I'm pretty comfortable with it."

The Steelers' biggest problem appears to be making sure the offense doesn't become predictable. With Mularkey, though, that is about as likely as Ozzy Osbourne singing country ballads.

Mularkey is the NFL's mad scientist, always devising different formations and running plays that keep defensive coordinators on Prozac. His mentor was Sam Wyche, a former Cincinnati Bengals coach who was never afraid to try anything. Once, after seeing a diagram of a Bengals play in a Pittsburgh newspaper, Wyche changed his game plan and told quarterback Boomer Esiason to call the play to start the game. Esiason did, and it went for a touchdown.

Mularkey is cut from the same madcap mold, or it would appear.

Predictability is not among his qualities.

"We have some things that we are going to do a little bit differently," Cowher said. "But I think the staff has done a good job of looking at some things in the off-season and we are going to continue to do that so we do not become complacent or predictable."

NOTES -- The players and coaches were off yesterday and did not report back to St. Vincent College in Latrobe until 7 p.m. They will resume two-a-day practices today, with the 3 p.m. session open to the public.