Tuesday, September 09, 2003

By Ed Bouchette, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Tommy Maddox could not talk yesterday. Something about a trip to the dentist. Surely, it could not be to fill any cavities because he has no holes in his game.

	Steelers center Jeff Hartings provides plenty of time for Tommy Maddox to find an open receiver against the Ravens in the season opener Sunday. (Peter Diana, Post-Gazette) Click photo for larger image. Steelers Report: 9/9/03

It may be a little early in the season, but take a look who leads the NFL at quarterback. Maddox has a 134.3 passer rating after a nearly flawless performance Sunday in the Steelers' 34-15 win against Baltimore. He completed 21 of 29 passes for 260 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He made the short throws, the intermediary ones and the deep ones.

No Steelers quarterback had finished a season leading the league in passer rating. The best passer rating for a Steelers quarterback is 86.2 set by ... Maddox last season. Surely, though, he cannot keep up the pace he set Sunday.

"Yes, he can," Hines Ward said in protest.

Maybe, Ward indicated, you haven't seen anything yet. Maybe 2002 wasn't a fluke season for Maddox, 32, who earned comeback player of the year. Maybe defensive coordinators did not discover weaknesses when they studied tape of his first full season as a starter in the NFL.

"When things are going good, people want to say maybe last year was a fluke year," Ward said. "Tommy did tremendous things last year, and he's going to continue doing a tremendous job this year. We're only going to get better."

Maddox's 8.97 yards per passing attempt in the opener is second in the NFL only to Mark Brunell's 10.07 yards per pass. Jacksonville's Brunell is second in the league behind Maddox with a 133.3 passer rating.

Former Jaguars offensive lineman Todd Fordham, the Steelers' starting right tackle, has blocked in front of Brunell and Maddox and says they are similar in at least one regard.

"They're both competitors," Fordham said. "When you go out there you know that sucker's going to give you everything he's got. He's going to fight, he's going to claw and whatever it takes he's going to do what it takes to get the job done."

Jerome Bettis thought it was a good sign that Maddox performed so well in the first game of the season.

"He looked really sharp, really sharp, especially for Game 1. I don't think there was any drop-off from last year. He's doing the same thing he was doing last year. Last year, he looked great. To come out of the blocks the way we did was really impressive."

A byproduct of playing a full season with his receivers is the rapport he has developed with them. It was noticeable on several occasions when Maddox cut loose with a pass before his receiver turned to look for the ball. One of those came on an out-pattern run by Ward against cornerback Chris McAlister.

"He threw it before I had my head turned around and McAlister couldn't even break on it because the timing was down. That's how much we're starting to gain trust in one another. If we continue doing that, the sky's the limit for us as far as our passing game," Ward said.

Maddox hit some deep passes, most notably a 47-yarder to Plaxico Burress, a 28-yard touchdown to Ward and a 20-yard scoring pass to Jay Riemersma. Other times, he took the shorter route rather than force a deep throw, something coordinator Mike Mularkey has been preaching to him since last season. The Steelers want to cut down on their conference-high 36 turnovers last season, including the 16 interceptions thrown by Maddox, who had 20 touchdown passes.

He got off to a good start Sunday by throwing three touchdowns and no interceptions.

"He's not going to force it," Ward promised. "That's something Tommy's worked on this off-season. He's not going to change his style, but sometimes a punt's good. Don't give up the interception. There's nothing wrong with a punt, especially when you have a guy like Josh Miller."

Ward said it doesn't get any better than what happened Sunday in their victory against Baltimore, even if he says it can get better on offense.

"The big thing about it, we were all having fun out there. It was just like we scripted it.

"Sometimes, we didn't hit adversity in that game and that's something we have to learn how to handle. Going into Kansas City this week, we go into hostile territory. If we don't shoot ourselves in the foot and control the clock like we did and keep their offense off the field, we have another opportunity to win this ballgame."

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