Dec 11, 2002 4 min read

PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher held class Tuesday on the subject of what separates good NFL quarterbacks from mediocre ones and, just as significantly, those who play from those who sit. He can only hope Tommy Maddox was sitting at home on his day off, listening intently and taking notes.

Cowher won’t bench Maddox despite one of the most peculiar days ever by an NFL quarterback during the Steelers’ baffling 24-6 loss Sunday to Houston. Maddox effectively drove the offense to a 422-yard day, only to hand the Texans’ defense three touchdowns with two interceptions and a fumble.

“It’s hard to explain a game like that … in my 23 years in the league as a player and a coach, I’ve never experienced a game like that,” Cowher said.

Still, Cowher made it clear Maddox won’t stay on the field Sunday against Carolina (5-8) if he keeps turning the ball over. The Steelers (7-5-1) have eight turnovers in Maddox’s last two starts, and are 0-2-1 in his last three starts.

“How do you explain Tommy running and the ball falls out of his hands … the ball falling out of Antwaan Randle El’s hands?” Cowher said. “It’s not a lack of effort, but you can’t do it. I’m not going to tolerate a continuing of that and they understand that.”

Perhaps that’s why Maddox will start Sunday, but hasn’t been assured he will finish. Kordell Stewart won his two most recent starts while replacing an injured Maddox.

“It will be monitored, and we’ll go from there,” Cowher said.

Cowher seems concerned one of the most bizarre losses in team history might adversely affect the Steelers’ confidence and state of mind going into their final three games. They lead Cleveland (7-6) by a half game and Baltimore (6-7) by 11/2 games in an AFC North race they figured to have wrapped up by now.

“Oh, there’s no doubt,” said Cowher, who didn’t watch the game tape with his players Monday. “This was a game that can affect your mindset. That’s why I didn’t want to look at it, and we didn’t look at it. It would just make you madder and madder, as it did me.

“We’ve got to get it out of our minds.”

Getting rid of the turnovers might be more difficult. Maddox may have become too willing to gamble during his recent run of big-yardage games and, Cowher said, might be pressing to get big yardage when he should accept an incompletion or a short gain.

“You feel like you can get the ball in there, but there’s a fine line and you have to be smart and know whom you’re playing against,” Cowher said in a reference to Texans cornerback Aaron Glenn, who scored twice off Maddox-thrown interceptions.

Those were the kind of mistakes that a quarterback can get away with in the high-scoring Arena League, where Maddox rebuilt his game a couple of years ago, but not in the NFL.

“You don’t want to take away from a guy’s decisiveness or a guy’s confidence, but at the same time you’ve got to be smart,” Cowher said. “That’s what separates the good ones from guys who keep making the same mistakes over and over.

“The other day, where the ball falls out of his hands? Just put the ball away and recognize on (third-and-15) you’re going to punt. It’s not a problem. … You’re going to have interceptions, but you can’t continue to make bad decisions that put your team in situations they can’t overcome.

“The more he plays, the more experience he gathers and, hopefully, he’ll learn from it.”

Meanwhile, left tackle Wayne Gandy is wearing a protection boot on his injured calf and is listed as questionable, as are wide receiver Hines Ward (hamstring) and linebacker James Farrior (sternum).

The Steelers are suddenly thin at tight end with Mark Bruener (knee) and John Allred (concussion) injured.

They signed former Tampa Bay tight end Marco Battaglia and also released center Jeff Smith.