By Dustin Dow
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Steelers quarterback Tommy Maddox. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher has flip-flopped starting quarterbacks a few times during Kordell Stewart's eight-year career in Pittsburgh.

So it came as no surprise that, two weeks ago, Cowher replaced Stewart with Tommy Maddox mid-game against Cleveland. After Maddox led the 1-3 Steelers to a 16-13 comeback win, Cowher left Maddox in the starting lineup, where he remains for Sunday's game against the Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium (1 p.m.). The only thing out of the ordinary is Maddox's Kurt Warner-esque story, going from being out of football to starting for an NFL team.

Ten years ago, after foregoing his final two years at UCLA for the NFL, Maddox made four starts for Denver, filling in for an injured John Elway. He hadn't started again until last week's 32-29 loss against New Orleans in which Maddox completed 22 of 38 passes for 268 and three touchdowns, all career highs. Between starts, he was a backup for the Rams, Giants and Falcons; sold insurance; played in the Arena Football League; and was named MVP of the now-defunct XFL.

MADDOX

Tommy Maddox between starts • 1992: Selected in the first round of the NFL Draft (25th overall) by the Denver Broncos as a 20-year-old rookie who left UCLA after his sophomore season. Started four games because of injuries to John Elway. • 1994: Traded to the St. Louis Rams, for whom he played behind Chris Chandler and Chris Miller. • 1995: Signed with the New York Giants as a free agent after being released by the Rams. Played backup to Dave Brown. • 1996: Was released by the Giants in training camp and did not play. • 1997: Signed with the Atlanta Falcons but was released in training camp and did not play. • 1997-2000: Owned insurance agencies in the Dallas area. • 2000: Started for the New Jersey Red Dogs of the Arena Football League. • 2001: Started for the L.A. Xtreme of the XFL and led the team to a league title, winning the MVP award. Signed with the Steelers in June and earned the backup job. • 2002: Was named starting quarterback after leading the Steelers to an overtime win in Week 4 against the Cleveland Browns. Started his first NFL game since Dec. 12, 1992, at New Orleans.

"I thought that first start (in 1992) was the first of many to come," Maddox said. "We never know what's going to happen or what path we may take. For whatever reason, I had to take the path I took, but I'm excited to have the opportunity to play again."

So are the Steelers, who noticed Maddox after he sent every NFL team a letter following the 2001 XFL season. Director of football operations Kevin Colbert brought in Maddox for a workout, and the Steelers liked him enough to make him their No. 4 quarterback.

"(Maddox) picked up things really fast," Cowher said. "He actually went from the fourth quarterback to the backup when we signed him that year. We were fortunate that Kevin (Colbert) followed up on the letter and (Maddox) got into camp. I guess you could say the rest is history."

Not so fast. All Maddox has done is go 0-1 as a starter this season. When he entered the game against the Browns, the Steelers trailed 13-6 in the fourth quarter. Essentially, anything Maddox did would have looked better than what Stewart had done to that point, Cowher said.

"I heard people say it's easy to come in as a backup," Maddox said. "I don't know where they get that. You don't take any reps during the week, and they expect you to come in and win the game and play like you've been playing all along. There's not a lot easy about the NFL."

But even after Maddox brought the team back against Cleveland, naming him the starter was no small decision given Stewart's previous season, when he made the Pro Bowl while leading Pittsburgh to the AFC Championship Game and a 13-3 regular-season record.

"When you start off like we did this season (0-2), sometimes you have to make those moves," Cowher said. "It was a situation where (Maddox) came in and gave us a lift in the Cleveland game. Then it was a situation that we had to sit down and make those tough decisions. Whether it was knee-jerk or not, sometimes you have to make those decisions when you're trying to get your team jump-started."

It certainly got the offense going. The Steelers' 364 total yards and 29 points last week were both season highs. Maddox said he is now in a comfort zone of sorts with the Pittsburgh offensive scheme.

"For whatever reason, 30- to 35-year-old quarterbacks seem to kind of find their niche and find the teams that they like to play for," Maddox said. "It's really just getting into the system that kind of fits what you like to do, and getting an opportunity to play."

Fortunately for the Steelers and the slow-starting Bengals (0-5), neither team is too far behind first-place Baltimore, which is atop the AFC North at 2-2.

"I think when you're 1-3 and only one game out of first, it's a motivation factor," Maddox said. "Thank goodness nobody jumped out to a 4-0, 5-0 start. I don't know if you put a must-win on (Sunday's game). But it sure is a big week for us."

E-mail ddow@enquirer.com

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