PITTSBURGH - Tommy Maddox can only stand on the sideline and watch Sunday as Steelers rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger runs the offense Maddox expected to run in Miami. Throws the passes Maddox expected to throw. Leads the team Maddox expected to lead.

Maddox's injured right elbow will keep him out for about six weeks, plenty enough time for a new quarterback to prove he's ready for the NFL - or, conversely, plenty enough time to make it seem like the starter has been out forever.

For now, Maddox will encourage Roethlisberger, assist him between series, tell him what he would be doing if he were running the team. It's nearly the same scenario Maddox was in as a rookie in 1992, taking over John Elway's team in Denver.

"Obviously it was challenging, but it was also exciting," said Maddox, who played only two seasons at UCLA before being the Broncos' top draft pick in 1992. "I know Ben's excited about the opportunity and like I said, I'm going to be there to answer any questions."

Roethlisberger must hope his first trial as an NFL starter goes better than Maddox's did.

The Broncos were 7-3 and appeared headed to the playoffs when Elway hurt his right shoulder in 1992 and Maddox took over. Four games and four losses later, a span in which Maddox split playing time with Shawn Moore for two games, it was too late for Elway to rescue the Broncos' season.

Maddox didn't play miserably - he was 66-of-121 for 757 yards, five touchdowns and nine interceptions that season - but it was evident the two-QB shuffle experiment that coach Dan Reeves designed during Elway's absence didn't work. Maddox said he also felt some unspoken resentment from Elway, who wasn't happy when the Broncos drafted Maddox.

"I was that kid one time," Maddox said. "A long time ago, I got drafted in the first round to replace John Elway. That's why I understand the way this business is."

Just like Elway a dozen years ago, Maddox hasn't talked much about Roethlisberger and wasn't especially happy when his team drafted his apparent successor. But Roethlisberger said he has sensed no hostility from Maddox, who has talked extensively with the rookie since training camp opened.

Roethlisberger, the No. 11 pick in the April draft, will be the first Steelers rookie quarterback to start a September game since No. 1 draft pick Terry Bradshaw in 1970.

"Tommy's been there since day one so he's going to help me out a lot and, hopefully, he'll continue to do so. I'm sure he is because that's the kind of guy he is," Roethlisberger said.

Maddox's disappointment is more the result of losing playing time at a stage of his career when he knows he doesn't have much of it left. He went 10 years between NFL starts, from 1992 with Denver to 2002 with Pittsburgh, returning to the league only after a six-year absence that included a brief career as an insurance salesman.

That's why Maddox refuses to speculate on what the Steelers (1-1) will do should Roethlisberger play well enough that the 33-year-old Maddox may not regain a job he has spent much of his adult life pursuing.

"I was waiting for somebody to ask that. I'm not worried about that. I'm worried about this team going down to beat Miami," Maddox said. "Whatever I can do to help, that is what I'm going to do."

Maddox already has decided what he will tell Roethlisberger on game day.

"Just go play," Maddox said. "I think sometimes you get wrapped up in all the details of it and worrying about this and that. Once you get out there, just play the game the way you're been playing it. I think he'll do that and do a good job of it."