LATROBE - Don't look now, but Max Starks is the new Pittsburgh Steelers' right tackle.

Starks, who played almost exclusively in goal-line situations as a rookie last season, is expected to be the only unproven Steelers starter on either side of the ball. He moves onto an offensive line that had two All-Pros and three Pro Bowl players last season, so any dropoff in play or production from the NFL's No. 1 rushing offense will be noticed quickly.

No wonder Starks would prefer not to stand out once exhibition play starts Monday night against the Eagles. He knows that if he is being talked about, it's likely because there's been a blown assignment or a sack or a running back dropped for a loss.

That's why Starks said he is encouraged 10 days into training camp by practices that seem more manageable and less confusing than during his brief times on the field last season. Finally, he's starting to feel like he belongs.

"I feel a lot better," he said. "Everything's slowing down, I'm more confident about my play and my assignments, and now it's just going out and mashing the guy in front of me. I'm feeling really good."

The trouble is, not everyone on offense does. Starting running back Duce Staley is expected to miss the exhibition season after having arthroscopic knee surgery Monday, so the Steelers will go mostly with reserves and unproven backs until the season starts. Willie Parker, Verron Haynes and rookie Noah Herron will take most of the handoffs, with Jerome Bettis getting just enough to regain his game legs.

With inexperienced backs running behind them, the offensive linemen - especially Starks - understand that the running game will be more closely watched than it is in most preseasons. The Steelers ran the ball 61 percent of the time last season, the highest percentage by an NFL team in more than 20 years, and a sudden shift in that percentage would put a much bigger burden on second-year quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to generate offense.

The Steelers considered bringing in a veteran tackle to push Starks, but couldn't find one they liked at an affordable price. Knowing he would almost certainly start, Starks altered his eating and workout habits during the offseason and came in with 5 percent less body fat than he did as a rookie from Florida, though he is still listed at 337 pounds.

"This is a very, very great opportunity for me, and I didn't want to pass it up," he said. "I have to prove I deserve to be the starter."

A year ago, the Steelers had the only offensive line in the league to remain intact from the start of the season to the end of the playoffs. But with former first-round draft pick Kendall Simmons returning after missing last season with a knee injury and Starks ready to go, the Steelers allowed 2004 right guard Keydrick Vincent (Ravens) and right tackle Oliver Ross (Cardinals) to sign elsewhere.

Doing so has left them with almost no experienced depth and, should Starks go down with an injury, his replacement would be 33-year-old Barrett Brooks, who hasn't started an NFL game since 2000, or rookie Trai Essex from Northwestern.

That's why Starks very well could be the key component of an offensive line that sent left guard Alan Faneca, left tackle Marvel Smith and center Jeff Hartings to the Pro Bowl in February.

"Right now we're trying to get that bond you need on the offensive line, get that chemistry with the other four guys," he said.

Starks is the seventh member of his family to play in the NFL, even if it's a family he barely knows. He was raised by Max Starks III, who married his mother, Elleanor, and for whom he is named, and didn't learn until age 17 that former NFL and Notre Dame star Ross Browner was his biological father.

The two have gotten to known each other gradually over the last six years. Browner, who lives in Nashville, plans to attend some Steelers games this season - though it might be difficult for a longtime Cincinnati Bengals lineman to root for the Steelers.

Notes:

Coach Bill Cowher complained about inconsistent play during the team's one practice Tuesday. ... LB Joey Porter hyperextended a knee and CB Deshea Townsend aggravated an Achilles tendon injury, but Cowher said neither was serious. ... The team will hold its sole off-campus practice Wednesday night at nearby Latrobe High School, with a repeat of the offense vs. defense goal-line drill held Saturday. The offense won convincingly, scoring twice in a three-play sequence from the 5-yard line.