Calinger: Steelers D struggling because of lack of veteran leadership
By J.W. CALINGER
ISL Correspondent
Note: The writer is a Pittsburgh Steelers fan who offers perspective on categories ranging from his Steelers and Nebraska Cornhuskers to professional wrestling. In this piece, he examines why NFL teams need veteran leaders at key spots, and why the Steelers’ lack thereof is a problem. He also looks at how not having one affects rookies such as Colts quarerback Andrew Luck.
The Steelers have some huge problems on defense, as evidenced by how badly they’ve performed in our two losses. The starting defensive linemen are too old. The starting cornerbacks are too young, except for one who is decent, but not exceptional. The best pass rusher is out, and the second-best pass rusher isn’t playing at his position because you can’t simply teach your body to do the mirror image of what it’s used to doing.
Behind these superficial problems, though, there are a few under the surface, and the main one may be unofficial leadership. In any organization, it’s necessary to have, in addition to the actual leaders, a couple of people who technically have no special rank, but who are able to become mentors and leaders because they’ve been around for a while and are able to pass the benefit of their experience onto the young pups.
I know military personnel who are as thankful for such a person – let’s call him an Old Fart. I know restaurant managers who love having experienced waitresses on staff who pass on tips and tricks to the newbies, and who listen to vents from same when they are upset with the managers.
On a football team, the Old Fart is absolutely essential when there are a lot of rookies involved, which is to say always. He is the unofficial assistant to the position coach, whose job is to be a buffer between the rookies or other young players and the coach. He shows the leadership the starters cannot show because they’re too busy taking snaps, and gains the trust the coaches cannot gain because they’re on the opposite side of the dividing line between players and management.
We see an Old Fart in action, for instance, when a young cornerback finds himself burned for a touchdown, or a rookie wide receiver runs the wrong route on a critical third down. The coach gives him an earful on the sidelines – but then, the OF steps in and says, It’s OK, kid. I’ve been there, and it’ll get better. Next time, here’s what you do. We don’t see some of the other moments, but they happen – OF’s answer questions in the locker room or in the cafeteria, or let the newbies pick their brains in training camp.
The qualifications to be an OF are simple. He has to have been in the league at least six years, preferably eight or more. He has to be a backup; starters usually are loath to be mentors to those who have a good chance at taking their jobs. He has to have been good, but he cannot have been great; great players on their way down generally can’t handle watching someone else become the featured player (which is why other teams might have gone after Jerry Rice in the hopes that he’d mentor the kids, but they shouldn’t have done so.)
Most teams don’t pay nearly enough attention to having OF’s on the team, and it usually shows or, at least, makes a person nervous. On the Indianapolis Colts, QB Andrew Luck is one of three quarterbacks on the roster, only one of whom (Drew Stanton) has six years in the league. Along with Mr Luck, Indy easily should have signed a journeyman who was a eight- to ten-year veteran in order to bring him along and help him ease into the role of a starting NFL signal caller. Mr. Luck has a good chance of becoming something great anyway, of course, but the right OF could have sped up the process.
Ideally, a team should have an Old Fart at quarterback, wide receiver, running back, defensive line, and cornerback. It’s not as necessary to have one on the offensive line because there generally aren’t many backup linemen on a team. It’s not as necessary to have an OF linebacker because a person rarely sees more linebackers come into the game on any given play, the way wide receivers or nickel- and dime-backs come into and out of the game, depending on down and distance, and the way linemen shuffle into and out of the game during passing or goal-line downs.
This year, the Steelers are missing a couple of Old Farts at a few of these critical skill positions. There are some old players on the team, but few of them are legitimate OF’s. Charlie Batch made a good Old Fart quarterback when Ben Roethlisberger was a young pup, but Big Ben has come into his own, which means that Mr. Batch can be simply a backup now. DT Casey Hampton is old, but he’s a starter, as is DE Brett Keisel. Of the four cornerbacks on the Pittsburgh roster, only Ike Taylor has more than four years’ experience in the league, and he, too, is a starter.
Over on the offense, no Steelers running back has more than five years of experience, and the one with five years is starter Rashard Mendenhall. Coincidentally, the rushing offense has been anemic, to say the least. Jerome Bettis was one prominent exception to the rule about how OF’s cannot have been great; he was willing and able to help the likes of Willie Parker in the waning years of his career. More recently, Mewelde Moore was able to mentor Rashard Mendenhall and, possibly, Isaac Redman – but he’s gone, leaving the inexperienced to fend for themselves (I couldn’t help but notice that he’s on the Colts now).
The one legitimate OF on the Steelers is WR Jerricho Cotchery, a nine-year veteran in a wide receiver corps in which no one else has more than four years in the NFL. Coincidentally, the passing game is outstanding! Methinks the Steelers learned the benefits of having an OF at wide receiver after picking up Terrance Mathis a few years ago. Unfortunately, the management haven’t applied that lesson to other positions.
The Steelers desperately need to sign a couple of OF’s at other skill positions. One running back, one corner, and one defensive lineman ought to do it. Again, coach Mike Tomlin absolutely cannot tell a starter to become an OF; not every starter will have the ability or willingness to teach after having played or, especially, after having been demoted from a starting position. Mr. Tomlin has to find players who will feel thankful to have jobs and who can teach when they have to and play a couple of downs here and there when necessary.
I realize that the Steelers rarely pick up free agents who have been around the league for a while – and rightly so, they usually demand too much money. Still, the Rooneys may want to shell out a couple hundred thousand bucks to pick up some OF’s. The investment won’t pay off in touchdowns or interceptions from the players themselves, but will pay off in touches or picks from their teammates.
