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Back into action Stewart returns to starting lineup at QB
Hines Ward
Chaz Palla/Tribune-Review
Jerry DiPaola is the Tribune-Review high school sports editor. He can be reached via e-mail.
There are human considerations that override football, he said, and Stewart and the Steelers are currently picking their way through them.
"I'm not concerned about (Steelers coaches) telling me when I'm going to get in and when I'm going to get out," Stewart said, "because you have a guy's life on the line right now."
Happily, doctors are encouraged by the progress made by Steelers starting quarterback Tommy Maddox, who suffered brain and spinal cord concussions and lost feeling in his arms and legs during a game Sunday in Nashville, Tenn. Maddox regained feeling and movement about 45 minutes after being hit, and he is expected to recover and resume his career at some unspecified point.
Still, it left Stewart with much to ponder as he takes Maddox's job.
"When a guy is laying on the ground and everything just collapses and he doesn't move … "
He didn't finish the thought, other to say, "This game is serious."
Maddox's injury leaves the starting job to Stewart, who lost it himself two months ago. Stewart hates how it happened, but he welcomes the chance to help the team recover from its current two-game winless streak and restart his career.
"It's a big opportunity," Stewart said, "for more reasons than one, but it's just all about getting some wins and looking no further than the next game (against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday at Heinz Field) and letting everything take care of itself.
"If I try to think about more, it's going to diminish my opportunity to get anything accomplished. I don't want to do that. That's not what we need. Take care of things you can take care of, and when it's time for everything else to unfold, it's going to take care of itself."
Steelers players yesterday came out of meetings with coaches indicating that the team needs to rally around Stewart the way it rallied around Maddox, who was named the starting quarterback Oct. 2 after a 1-2 start to the season. The Steelers are currently 5-4-1 and leading the AFC North by a half-game lead over the Cleveland Browns.
"I don't think anybody lost confidence in Kordell," wide receiver Hines Ward said. "Tommy was just the guy playing well at that particular time."
"My confidence level in him has never changed," running back Jerome Bettis said. "I never put blame on him in the first place. For whatever reason, the offense didn't do well when he was in there. It wasn't his fault. When Tommy came in, he gave us a spark, and you had to go with him. Now, (Maddox's injury) gives Kordell an opportunity to come in and show it wasn't all him."
Stewart's reaction to his demotion earned him a lot of respect among his teammates.
"Kordell showed a lot of character," Ward said. "He sat back and didn't complain. He went out there and went to work and encouraged everybody on the sideline. Personally, I knew he would get another opportunity. I didn't know when, but now is his chance. Kordell has been down this road before, so there is no need to panic. He's the guy now. He's getting his opportunity again, and he's going to make the most of it."
Said wide receiver Terance Mathis: "We're going to have to find a way, and I truly think we will. A lot of guys come back better than they were before. Hopefully, this is what's going to happen with Kordell."
