STEELERS Brian St. Pierre makes strong bid to hang around as backup

His play in last Thursday's win over Dallas might have secured his roster spot.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Rookie Brian St. Pierre is making a case to remain as the Steelers' third quarterback.
Pittsburgh could conceivably keep only two full-time quarterbacks, starter Tommy Maddox and backup Charlie Batch, and use wide receiver Antwaan Randle-El as the third.
At least that appeared to be an option for coach Bill Cowher, until St. Pierre played his best game of the preseason last Thursday, leading the Steelers to a late score in a 15-14 victory over the Dallas Cowboys.
St. Pierre, the Steelers' fifth-round draft pick, took a 17.7 passer rating into that game but more than doubled it (40.9) by completing all six of his passes for 57 yards and leading the Steelers to a touchdown and two-point conversion pass for the win.
Learning the hard way
"The situations I'd been coming into had been kind of tough," said St. Pierre. "We've been playing catch-up. Teams knew we had to pass and they were teeing off. That's a tough way to learn as a quarterback but it was a good experience for me to learn from and get my feet wet in an NFL game."
While St. Pierre may seem a luxury behind Maddox and Batch, Cowher isn't about to take any chances given the recent injuries to New York Jets quarterback Chad Pennington and Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick.
"You've also got to get the players ready who are going to step in. These guys that are getting hurt the first and second week, it's going to happen," Cowher said. "It's part of the game. It's always been a part of the game. The quality of the game is not just with the first group."
Struggled in opener
In a shortened preseason, St. Pierre might not have had any more chances after a preseason opener during which he was sacked three times, as often as his passes were completed.
"The only way to develop those players is to allow them to understand the speed of the game, to get them acclimated to game-like situations and to put them in those situations so that when somebody goes down they can come in and blend in," Cowher said.
St. Pierre threw two interceptions in his second game against the Philadelphia Eagles but with more time against the Cowboys, the former Boston College quarterback looked good -- perhaps good enough to make the team.
"Whatever people's opinions are, that's what they are," said St. Pierre. "I'm just trying to get better every day in practice. I feel I've had a good camp and I've learned. I feel I played well and I'll just try to build from that."
Standout in college
At Boston College, St. Pierre was a two-year starter and team captain. He ranks third on the school's career-record lists with 5,837 yards, 48 touchdown passes and a completion percentage of 56.9.
"I ran a pro offense in college, so that gave me an advantage coming here," he said. "There are a lot of differences as well, but I feel pretty good about it. I feel I get better every day and that's the way I'm trying to gauge myself. That's all you can do."