Dec 3, 2002 By Associated Press 4 min read

PITTSBURGH (AP) – Jeff Reed spent most of the fall going 0-for-7. But when he went 6-for-6 Sunday, he put the Pittsburgh Steelers into an enviable position going into the final month of the regular season. Reed was so unknown to some teammates only last week that – not knowing his name – they voted him a game ball by marking their ballots for “the kicker” or “No. 3.”

That’s why coach Bill Cowher pulled him up before the team and formally introduced him after he made three of four attempts in a 29-21 victory over Cincinnati on Nov. 24.

Some NFL team owners might be asking their general managers why they didn’t know his name, either. The former University of North Carolina kicker went through seven unsuccessful NFL tryouts before winning a four-way competition in Pittsburgh on Nov. 19, two days after Todd Peterson missed two short-range attempts in a 31-23 loss at Tennessee.

Now, only two games into his NFL career, Reed is 9-for-10, including all six attempts as the Steelers won 25-23 Sunday at Jacksonville – yes, one of the teams that worked him out. The others were the Saints, Giants, Lions, Buccaneers and Seahawks (twice), none of which offered him a job.

“It’s nice to have a very dependable kicker,” said Cowher, who pushed Peterson out after he missed a league-high 9-of-21 attempts.

Now that the changing-kickers experiment is working so well, the Steelers (7-4-1) just might change quarterbacks, too.

With Tommy Maddox expected to be healthy for Sunday’s home game against expansion Houston, he will likely make his first start since being temporarily paralyzed by a hit at Tennessee.

Kordell Stewart led the Steelers to successive victories during Maddox’s absence, including only their second in eight attempts in Jacksonville, yet Cowher declined to name him the starter.

Cowher may reveal the decision Tuesday at his weekly news conference – or, perhaps, he will refuse to say, just as he did last week. It wasn’t evident that Stewart would start until he took nearly all the snaps in practice Wednesday and Thursday.

Despite playing well in his first two starts since September, Stewart knows he may be headed back to the bench, saying, “He (Maddox) is the starter of this football team and left because of an injury. It was my job to fill his shoes and do the best I can to help him win.”

Stewart was 38-of-52 for 438 yards, one touchdown and one interception and carried 22 times for 124 yards and a touchdown in his two starts.

But, in nearly identical playing time this season, Maddox has produced more than twice as many touchdowns as Stewart has. Maddox’s ability to quickly locate the open receiver and move the offense down the field in a hurry would seem be an advantage in the postseason, when Stewart’s patient, ball-control style has proven to be as much a liability as an asset.

No matter who the quarterback is, the Steelers are positioned better for the postseason than they could have imagined when they were 1-3. With the help of Carolina’s upset victory Sunday in Cleveland, the Steelers lead the Browns (6-6) and Ravens (6-6) by 1½ games each in the AFC South.

The Steelers also have a favorable schedule, with Houston (3-9), Carolina (4-8) and Baltimore at home and only Tampa Bay (9-3) on the road.

Even if they are upset once at home and lose at Tampa Bay, the Steelers still would take the division if Baltimore and Cleveland each lose once.

“We are in control of our own destiny, and there aren’t many teams that can sit there in December and say that,” Cowher said.