Tuesday, October 07, 2003

By Ed Bouchette, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Steelers vs. Broncos, 4:15 p.m., Invesco Field at Mile High, Denver. TV: KDKA. Radio: WDVE-FM (102.5), WBGG-AM (970) and Steelers Radio Network.

The anticipated matchup on the field between former Steelers S Lee Flowers and his former teammates Sunday in Denver is off. The Broncos cut Flowers yesterday without him officially pulling on one of their uniforms for a game. The NFL suspended Flowers for the first four games of the season because he tested positive for a banned substance last year when he was still with the Steelers. Flowers was eligible to be reinstated last week but the Broncos took the maximum of one week to decide whether to put him on their 53-man roster or cut him. They opted for the latter. Flowers signed with Denver as an unrestricted free agent after his contract with the Steelers expired. The Broncos signed him knowing that he probably would be suspended for his positive test.

Steelers neurosurgeon Joe Maroon, vice chairman of the UPMC department of neurosurgery, will compete in the Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon Oct. 18 in Kona, Hawaii. The event consists of a 2.4-mile ocean swim, a 112-mile bike race through Kona's lava fields and a 26.2-mile run. It will be his fifth race of Ironman distance and his second in the famous Hawaii Triathlon. He has been the Steelers' neurosurgeon since 1981.

WR Troy Edwards was traded by the Steelers to the Rams last year, cut by the Rams this year and out of football until Jacksonville signed him two weeks ago. He has more touchdown catches (2) than Plaxico Burress (1).

RB Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala, cut by the Steelers before the season, ran 30 yards on six carries for the Jaguars Sunday.

The Steelers' losses to Tennessee (30-13) and Cleveland (33-13) represent the largest margin of defeat in consecutive home games since their 2-11-1 team in 1968 lost to the New York Giants (34-20) and Baltimore (41-7).

The Steelers are tied for last in the AFC with a turnover differential of minus-4. They have lost 11 turnovers and gained seven.

Plaxico Burress averages 16.1 yards per catch. Hines Ward averages 12.6 yards per catch. Opposing defensive backs have averaged 35.8 yards per catch on Tommy Maddox passes. Opponents have returned eight Maddox interceptions for 286 yards, which is nearly double the yardage of the Steelers' third-leading receiver, Amos Zereoue, who has 150 yards.

The Steelers converted only one of 11 third downs against Cleveland and they were 0 for 1 on fourth downs. "We weren't very good on third downs and I think when you're not good on third downs the offense stays out of sync," Tommy Maddox said. "You have to make first downs. You have to go on a longer drive and kind of get in a rhythm."

The Steelers have the No. 1 ranking in the NFL in passing and No. 9 in offense, based on yardage. But they rank tied for 20th in points per game. They rank No. 2 in the NFL in defense but just 24th in points allowed per game.

A play-action play to Jerome Bettis on third-and-1 Sunday night was expected to hold Cleveland's defense and give Tommy Maddox enough time to throw. But no sooner did Maddox fake the handoff to Bettis than he looked up and saw two Browns on top of him. "It's third-and-short," Maddox said, "and we're run-faking and hoping everybody will jump into the pile thinking we're trying to run the ball for the first down. It's supposed to be a long, kind of developing play. I'm supposed to sell the fake for a long time. When you come up out of it and the guy's in your face and all of a sudden you're a little startled." Maddox never saw CB Daylon McCutcheon as he threw the ball to his left where he thought TE Jerame Tuman was. McCutcheon easily picked it off and returned it 75 yards for a touchdown.

Tommy Maddox wasn't happy when coach Bill Cowher sent Charlie Batch into the game to replace him with 4:35 left Sunday night. "Well, that never sits very well," Maddox said." That was a hard situation. It's hard to deal with, but you deal with it and you go on." Asked if he felt he was on a shorter leash to be pulled these days, Maddox said, "I think the quarterback's always on a short leash. You have to go out there and get things done. But that's not something you worry about going into a game. If you ever go into a game worrying about that, then you're not going to go out there and play well."

The Steelers are 8-10 on Sunday nights, 5-5 under Cowher. ... The Steelers are third from the bottom in the NFL in red-zone offense, scoring a touchdown just 31.6 percent (6 of 19) of the time they have gotten inside their opponent's 20. Their red-zone defense ranks last in the NFL, permitting opponents 11 touchdowns on 14 tries (78.6 percent). ... Antwaan Randle El, who completed 7 of 8 passes as a rookie last season, has no pass attempts. ... Charlie Batch threw his first regular season passes as a Steelers player Sunday night, completing 3 of 6 for 25 yards. ... With just nine sacks in five games, the Steelers are on pace for 29 sacks. They led the AFC with 50 last season.

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