PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Plaxico Burress has been as hard to find lately in the Pittsburgh Steelers'

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Plaxico Burress has been as hard to find lately in the Pittsburgh Steelers' offense as their running game.
That might seem difficult for a wide receiver of his size (6-foot-5, 225 pounds) and ability (1,487 yards receiving last season), yet Burress has only one catch in three of his last five games.
While teammate Hines Ward was making two touchdown receptions in barely a minute's time Sunday against Arizona, Burress made a single catch for 6 yards.
Burress also had only one catch for 6 yards against St. Louis on Oct. 26 and one reception for 19 yards against Cleveland on Oct. 5.
It's a puzzling string of performances for a receiver who had 2,333 yards receiving and 13 touchdowns combined the previous two seasons. Yet Burress has only one touchdown this season and just two in his last 16 regular season games.
"It's just trying to get into a rhythm. I really haven't been in a rhythm since the first game of the season," Burress said. "Somehow you try to get that rhythm back and get into a flow and get back to those spots where Tommy [Maddox] thinks I'm going to be at.
"Last year, it was just like breathing. We were out there hitting, hitting, hitting. Now it's been just hit, miss, hit, miss, hit, miss."
Burress' erratic production (35 catches in nine games) stands out even more because Ward's 60 receptions are the third-most in the league, trailing only Torry Holt and Randy Moss. And while Burress has only three touchdowns in his last 18 games, counting the postseason, Ward has 15.
Burress has allowed his frustration to get to him at times. After his one-catch day against Arizona, he complained he was the NFL's version of Shaq, saying he and NBA star Shaquille O'Neal are big players who never get any calls. A couple of weeks before that, Burress was unhappy with the Steelers' predictable play calling.
Burress said one solution to his slump might be to see the ball more often, especially early in games. The problem is Burress has dropped a number of passes, and Maddox seems to have more confidence in Ward in key situations.
But while Pittsburgh coach Bill Cowher was critical of Jerome Bettis' recent run of fumbles -- three in his last 43 carries -- he hasn't come down as hard on Burress for his numerous drops.
"You have to be careful you are not trying to press in those situations," Cowher said. "Those are passes that he knew he should have caught, but he didn't. There is nothing you can do about it and the last thing you want to do is let your confidence waver."
Burress said he's not about to do that, and he is happy the Steelers (3-6) play on Monday night against the 49ers (4-5). In two Monday night games last season, Burress had 11 catches for 206 yards against the Colts and Buccaneers.
"You'll see," Burress said. "I haven't lost confidence in myself. I'm here for a reason. If I couldn't play my position, couldn't do my job, I wouldn't be there.
"This is a good time to see what type of person you are. It's a good time to see what you're made of, character-wise, confidence-wise."