Steelers notebook
Maddox says alternating quarterbacks doesn’t work PITTSBURGH – Steve Spurrier doesn’t have a problem with it, but Bear Bryant once said that if you have two quarterbacks, you have none.
Considering the contrasting styles of each, would the Steelers be better off alternating Kordell Stewart and Tommy Maddox at quarterback?
Coach Bill Cowher said he’d do it, but he was joking with reporters. Stewart didn’t answer the question. Maddox, though, has a staunch opinion.
“It just doesn’t work,” Maddox said. “If it worked, every team in the NFL would do it. I don’t know why. I can’t explain it. But the quarterback position is one where the guys need to know who the quarterback is. They need to get confidence playing with that guy. You see guys differently and they see you differently. Receivers have to get used to the quarterback they’re playing with. If you’re rotating all the time, it’s hard to get in a rhythm offensively.
“Like I said, there are 32 teams out there. They’re not all dumb. If it worked, everybody would be doing it. And if you look back over the years, teams that have tried to do it – I just don’t think it’s a good thing.
“If Kordell’s the guy this week then I’ll be over there helping out as much as I can. It’s a big game for us as a team and that’s the most important thing.”
THEY’RE THANKFUL: The three headliners at the Steelers’ Wednesday practice were asked for what they were most thankful this holiday season.
Said Cowher: “Being here with you guys. I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Isn’t it great to see all these people coming out here to get the great answers I gave today?”
Said Stewart: “Talking to you. It’s the truth. We become so spoiled with things to the point where we don’t give thanks every day just for the opportunity to wear your little WPXI sweater.”
Said Maddox: “Everybody always comes to you at Thanksgiving with their what-are-you-thankful-for question. I had a coach for the Bengals come up to me last week and say, ‘You know, we don’t realize what we’ve got. We’re always worried about the things we want and the things we want to achieve and the things we already have are pretty good.’ So, you know, I’m very thankful for a lot of things, but very thankful for my family and the time I get to spend with them.”
Maddox had a shorter answer for the next reporter. “Since the injury, I’ve probably had Thanksgiving every day,” he said.
WHERE HAVE YOU GONE, AMOS?: After carrying a career-high 37 times only two weeks prior, Amos Zereoue was thrown to the curb last Sunday upon the return of Jerome Bettis from a three-week injury absence. Zereoue didn’t carry the ball against the Cincinnati Bengals and left the locker room without speaking to reporters.
“I wouldn’t say I was upset,” Zereoue said Wednesday. “I just wasn’t happy with the way things went.”
Cowher said at his Tuesday press conference that “it was more happenstance than anything.” However, Cowher didn’t explain those circumstances to Zereoue.
“No, but it’s over. That was last week. We’ve got Jacksonville coming up,” Zereoue said. “I guess it was just circumstances. If you don’t get a lot of opportunities on third down, if you score on first and second down, I don’t get to play. That’s what we’re dealing with.”
QUOTABLE: Jacksonville coach Tom Coughlin on how difficult it is to prepare for two quarterbacks: “Kordell played so well the other day in that particular scheme that it does bring the fact that you have two situations that have to be completely covered. I don’t know that it makes the meetings any longer and your script is only so long in practice. Your emphasis may have to slide a little bit one way or another.”