Steelers’ Maddox finally earns another shot as starting QB
PITTSBURGH – In terms of pure passing, Tommy Maddox is the Tommy Gun. His preseason passer rating of 128.1 was built largely during a start against the Detroit Lions in which he completed 9 of 13 passes for 150 yards and two touchdowns.
In the NFL game that catapulted Maddox to the starting position with the Pittsburgh Steelers, he completed 11 of 13 passes for 122 yards and the game-tying touchdown pass before leading the team to an overtime win over the Cleveland Browns.
Of course, the secondaries of the Lions and the injury-depleted Browns aren’t to be confused with that NFL playoff teams, but they’re not to be confused with the New Jersey Red Dogs of the Arena League, either. That’s where Maddox started a comeback that has made him the toast of the Steelers Nation – at least until his first incompletion Sunday in New Orleans.
“It’s been an interesting ride, considering the last few years and how I got to this point,” Maddox said. “But those last years were a lot of fun for me, being able to go through the Arena League, the XFL and play, and then have the opportunity to come and be a part of this organization and this team last year was a great deal.”
Maddox, of course, was a first-round draft pick after finishing up his sophomore season at UCLA. He was the 25th pick of the 1992 draft by the Denver Broncos, who didn’t mind the fact that Maddox was so young. After all, they had a guy by the name of John Elway playing quarterback.
But because of an injury to Elway, Maddox did play right away, and as might be expected from someone who should’ve been playing against Washington State as a college junior, Maddox played poorly. He threw only one pass the next year and was traded to the St. Louis Rams for a fourth-round pick in 1994. Maddox threw only 19 passes that season and was released by the Rams at the end of the 1995 camp.
Dan Reeves, the coach who drafted Maddox, brought him to the New York Giants, where both coach and pupil struggled. Both ended up in Atlanta the following year, but Maddox was released, seemingly ending his NFL career. He sold insurance for three years before getting a call from the Red Dogs of the AFL. He threw for 64 touchdowns that year and then went to the XFL, where he became MVP and led his team to the championship. He then faxed every NFL team and only the Steelers responded. Today, he’s a long, long way from the insurance business.
“The funny thing is, it never really got too far away,” he said. “I never really lost confidence in myself that I could go out and play. Circumstances just kind of dictated where I was at. It was frustrating. I was working and away from the game for a couple years. Still feeling like you can play is frustrating. If I had had opportunities to play and it didn’t work out, I think it would’ve been easy for me to let it go. But I knew I still had the talent to play and was just waiting for the opportunity.”
Maddox described the difference in selling insurance and playing in the NFL by scanning the locker room and saying, “These guys don’t know how good they’ve got it. I tell you, it was a long day.”
In a self-assessment, Maddox believes he’s grown as a quarterback, even though he hasn’t started an NFL game since 1992.
“I think a lot of it is you’re older and more mature,” he said. “I don’t know what it is about this position, but you see it a lot of times. When you look around the league there are a lot of guys in their early to mid 30s that start playing their best football. I think the longer you stay around this game at this position, the more knowledge you pick up, the more comfortable you feel and the more confidence you have in yourself. That’s probably the biggest thing. I’m real comfortable with where I’m at.”
As opposed to feeling uncomfortable during three different stops with Reeves, the coach who obviously was enamored of Maddox’s release, intelligence and leadership skills.
“I have a lot of good things to say about Dan Reeves, but his offense and I don’t suit each other,” Maddox said. “We tried a number of times but it’s just not the type of offense that I’m accustomed to playing in. All of the sudden you come and Coach (Mike) Mularkey’s offense is something that suits me. I think every quarterback has to be in an offense that they can go out there and play well in.”
Maddox said the main difference is that Mularkey’s offense with the Steelers relies more on timing.
“Dan Reeves’ offense is more drop-back and let-it-all-develop,” he said.
“This is very on-rhythm throwing. The reads are there, you read it, you get rid of the ball, you get it in the guy’s hands and you let him run with it. That’s the system that I played with in college and got real comfortable with. It’s kind of the quarterback I am. I don’t like to sit back there and wait for things to happen. I like to have a good idea when I get the ball in my hands of where I’m going to go and get the ball in their hands and let them run with it.”
The Arena League sharpened Maddox’s quick release and reading skills. Time has helped make his arm stronger.
“The one thing I noticed about Tommy,” said receiver Terance Mathis, “is when I first came here and he worked me out, he’s much stronger. He throws the ball a lot harder than he did when he was younger.”
Maddox shrugs his shoulders at the notion, much like the experts who don’t believe someone who hasn’t started in 10 years can effectively quarterback a team to an NFL championship.
Apparently, it doesn’t matter that Maddox has completed 17 of 21 regular-season passes and 21 of 29 preseason passes this calendar year.
“I have a lot of confidence in myself,” Maddox said. “The one thing I can do in this life is throw a football.”