If Kordell Stewart has his way, Slash will be smashed.
The versatile Stewart, who took ran the football, passed it or caught it 36 times for the Pittsburgh Steelers last season and made 30 first downs, wants to be the Steelers' new starting quarterback.The contest among Stewart, Mike Tomczak and Jim Miller for Neil O'Donnell's old job began Monday at Steelers minicamp. Miller is the apparent frontrunner.
Coach Bill Cowher gave Stewart the nickname Slash, as in quarterback-slash-wide receiver-slash-running back-slash-punter, after discovering the former Colorado quarterback's unusual ability to switch positions, thus disarming NFL defenses.
Now that he has the Steelers' attention, he can demonstrate how well he can perform at his preferred position.
"My dimension at quarterback is more threatening than any other position," Stewart said. "Yeah, we have seen Kordell Stewart go out there and catch the ball and run for 70 yards. We've seen Kordell throw the ball for 10 yards and get a first down. We've seen him fake a few guys and score a touchdown.
"But they haven't had the opportunity to see me play quarterback. They haven't seen me throw the ball 60 yards downfield to Yancey Thigpen. They haven't had the chance to see me scramble in the pocket and throw it upfield."