This time, nose tackle Hampton passes run test

Saturday's workout was indoors thanks to rain.
LATROBE, Pa. (AP) -- Casey Hampton was a DNF last year when the Pittsburgh Steelers opened training camp with coach Bill Cowher's mandatory running test. In golfing terms, he did not finish, or even come close.
So when the Pro Bowl defensive lineman not only completed the 14 40-yard sprints Saturday but led his group of defensive linemen, his teammates yelled, pumped him on the back and acted as if he had just returned a fumble for a touchdown.
If Cowher was looking for a sign, any sign, that these Steelers arrived at training camp in the mood to do something about their 6-10 record of last season, maybe this was it.
Even if Hampton himself said running wind sprints in a college gymnasium has nothing to do with how well a team can play football.
"It was a good start. I was very impressed with a number of guys," Cowher said. "I think the way he finished was very inspiring to a lot of people."
No doubt it helped Hampton that daylong rain forced the tests to be moved from a hot grass field to St. Vincent College's climate-controlled gym. There were no spectators, except for a few reporters and country music star Hank Williams Jr., a Steelers fan who stopped by for a few hours en route to a Saturday night concert in Indianapolis.
Still, Hampton seemed determined to make up for his dismal showing last year, which resulted in Cowher ordering him to drop a considerable amount of weight by the end of camp. Hampton did so and went on to be chosen for the Pro Bowl.
No problems
"The test is no real problem for me. I can play football," Hampton said. "I had to just show everybody it was no big thing, that if I really wanted to run it, I'd go out there and run it."
The 325-pound Hampton appears to be in much better shape than at this time a year ago even if he doesn't know if that will help once the season starts.
"This kind of test doesn't tell you if you're in football shape or not. You've got to play football to get in football shape," Hampton said. "I tell Cowher and my [position] coach that all the time, a lot of guys come out here and do all this and they go out on the field and are tired."
The only players sitting out the running test were center Jeff Hartings and linebacker Joey Porter, who has a sore groin but isn't expected to be sidelined long. Hartings has skipped the tests for several years because of his chronically sore knees.
Rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was also missing as Steelers negotiator Omar Khan and agent Leigh Steinberg again worked on a contract for the No. 11 draft pick. A deal could come as early as today.
It was a bad day all around for Porter, who learned that Cowher won't let him drive the personalized golf cart a local car dealership loaned him for camp. Cowher previously banned the motorized scooters that some players rode to and from their dorm rooms and the cafeteria but apparently didn't specify that he also meant larger modes of transportation, too.
"Joey saw an opening for a motorized golf cart, so we had a talk about that," Cowher said, smiling. "There will be no players driving it. I think Joey is in the process of getting a ball boy to drive him around."
Then, shaking his head and smiling, Cowher said, "There's always something."
Reported on time
Cowher liked the fact that wide receivers Plaxico Burress and Hines Ward put aside contract issues and reported on time.
Burress, unsigned past this season, was the only player to skip the spring minicamp and the voluntary practices.
Ward, a three-time Pro Bowl receiver, briefly considered holding out after the team renegotiated quarterback Tommy Maddox's contract but didn't offer him a new deal.
Burress will learn today if Cowher will punish him for missing the offseason workouts by temporarily moving him off the first-team offense.
"If I'm not [starting], hey, I'll work myself back up," Burress said. "I've been starting in this offense for three years, I don't see why I wouldn't start in my fifth year."
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