Cowher: Tomczak Is His Starter

Pittsburgh Steeler Coach Bill Cowher dismissed the possibility of a postseason quarterback debate, saying Mike Tomczak will make his 16th consecutive start on Sunday.

“We have two entirely different athletes back there. I want teams to have to prepare for that,” he said.

Kordell Stewart’s 80-yard touchdown run on Sunday against Carolina perhaps provided a glimpse of the future, but his passing (eight for 21, 77 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions) reminded why Tomczak still is the starter. For now.

“To change now would mean the chemistry of the offense would be almost starting from scratch,” Stewart said.

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San Diego Charger Coach Bobby Ross, who said he’d like to stay with the team, met briefly with General Manager Bobby Beathard and the two decided to wait until after the holidays to do the heavy analysis and any coaching changes.

There has been speculation that Beathard could ask Ross to dismiss defensive coordinator Dave Adolph and offensive coordinator Ralph Friedgen.

As for his own situation, Ross said, “There’s no perfect job situation. But you work those things out. I would hope that that can all be done.

“Obviously, Bobby and I need to discuss some things and we will. In the past we’ve always been able to work out things that we’ve needed to work out. We really haven’t gotten that far.”

One problem this year was lack of communication between the players and coaches.

Defensive tackle Shawn Lee said nothing was done about finger-pointing among the players that started after the Chargers, then 4-1, blew a 17-0 lead at Denver on Oct. 6 and lost, 28-17. San Diego went 4-7 the rest of the way.

“I’ve been here for five years, and I haven’t seen as much finger-pointing as I’ve seen this year. I mean, I’ve seen more left hooks and uppercuts than in the Tyson-Holyfield fight, you know?” Lee said. “You can’t win with that.”

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The Miami Dolphins signed Troy Drayton to a four-year contract worth a reported $5.2 million, bringing stability to the tight end position.

The 6-foot-3, 255-pound Drayton, acquired from the St. Louis Rams for tackle Billy Milner on Oct. 1, caught 28 passes for 331 yards this season with the Rams and Dolphins.

Fourteen tight ends have spent time with Miami since Eric Green was released on July 9.