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[B]LT Is Beachum's Position To Lose[/B]
By Jim Wexell
SteelCityInsider.net
Posted Dec 12, 2013
[IMG]http://media.scout.com/Media/Image/125/1252233.jpg[/IMG]
[B]Even after Mike Adams' clean performance against Miami, Kelvin Beachum is the Steelers' left tackle moving forward.[/B]
PITTSBURGH -- Kelvin Beachum returned to his position at left tackle with the Steelers this week after missing his first game of the season Sunday with a knee injury.
The fact that left tackle remains Beachum's position was apparent again Thursday: He's focused, technically sound, and reliable.
What he doesn't have is Mike Adams' size, ability to come off the ball and brutalize opposing linemen in the run game, or of course Adams' sack-free performance against the Dolphins.
So how will the Steelers move forward at this critical position?
With an efficient-but-small tackle or the vexing giant?
"I think that's why we're playing the games," said offensive coordinator Todd Haley. "And I think that's a big reason why Beach, when the early change was made and he ended up over there, was left him there and we didn't mess with him, even though he might've been a good option at center when we had issues there, or a good option at other spots, guard when we had a couple issues there.
"But we wanted to leave him there and let him get settled in and see how good he could be. Now, unfortunately he got hurt, but he's been practicing some so we'll see here as the week goes on."
According to Pro Football Focus, these are the pass-protection stats of each:
* Beachum, 661 snaps, 6 sacks, 5 QB hits, 19 QB hurries.
* Adams, 457 snaps, 4 sacks, 8 QB hits, 24 QB hurries.
So the job is Beachum's to lose.
"He earned the right to be in there right now because he played at a pretty high level for us while he was in there against good competition," Haley said. "I think he's earned every right, as much as anyone else has, to be in there playing."
[B]BAD MOOD BEN[/B]
Ben Roethlisberger didn't find humor in some of the reporting after Sunday's game that painted him as having been upset with Haley. So when Roethlisberger met the media on Sunday, Roethlisberger was a bit terse, even with some of his "boys."
Q: Is it easy to keep the guys motivated?
BR: "Um, yeah. I mean, I'm motivated to win. I'm assuming you would have to ask everyone else in here what their motivation is. (Pause) I'm sure that'll get taken out of context, too. Um, I'm motivated to play as hard as I can. I'm sure everyone else is."
Q: Ben, are you (ticked) off at the media?
BR: "Not at all."
[B]INJURY REPORT[/B]
The flu bug is sweeping through the Cincinnati locker room. MLB Vontaze Burfict, RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis, and OLB James Harrison all missed Thursday's practice because of illness. They joined cornerback Terence Newman (knee) on the sidelines.
Missing practice for the Steelers were DE Brett Keisel (foot), NT Steve McLendon (ankle) and SS Troy Polamalu (shoulder), who each missed their second practice of the week. WR Emmanuel Sanders (foot) was limited Thursday.
[B]QUOTABLE[/B]
Haley on the progress being made by the Steelers' offense:
"What's important to me and what gives me hope for this group as we go forward is that we've made progress as the year's gone on, and that hadn't been without obstacles and injuries and lineup changes, significant lineup changes. So we've been able to overcome a bunch of that and continued to make progress in most areas. It hadn't translated to wins, which is what this is all about, obviously, but I think there's been enough increase in production in most areas to feel good about what the guys are doing. The sack number's gone down, the turnover number's gone significantly down. I think in the second half of the season we've turned it over twice. We've got to keep going in that direction.
"The run game has continued to look improved, although we haven't been able to get into a game where we hand it off 25-30 times. Last game if we get a couple things done, don't run into the penalty situation, it might be one of those games where you get a couple scores up and you're able to pound the defense at home in bad weather.
"I just think that a lot of it is these guys continuing to work, getting growth from guys like Beach, getting Heath Miller back closer to himself, getting a Matt Spaeth back, a lot of different factors have played into it. But one thing stayed the same: These guys continued to work and get better, and I think it's showing, week in and week out, as we go forward."
[URL]http://pit.scout.com/2/1356310.html[/URL]
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[B]Kovacevic: The Steelers' above-the-line rescue[/B]
By Dejan Kovacevic
Published: Saturday, Dec. 14, 2013
[IMG]http://triblive.com/csp/mediapool/sites/dt.common.streams.StreamServer.cls?STREAMOID=s3VkrK53IWCHFKE182qWAs$daE2N3K4ZzOUsqbU5sYv7ZEvJkbRObDNfkNUgN3sLWCsjLu883Ygn4B49Lvm9bPe2QeMKQdVeZmXF$9l$4uCZ8QDXhaHEp3rvzXRJFdy0KqPHLoMevcTLo3h8xh70Y6N_U_CryOsw6FTOdKL_jpQ-&CONTENTTYPE=image/jpeg[/IMG]
[B]Steelers offensive linemen Ramon Foster and Mike Adams block for quarterback Ben Roethlisberger against the Dolphins Sunday, Dec. 8 2013 at Heinz Field.[/B]
If the offensive line forms the foundation of any NFL franchise, then it's nothing less than a seismological miracle the Steelers haven't been splattered across the stratosphere, right?
I mean, it isn't enough to say the line has used nine players to man the five positions.
Or that there have been 16 distinct combinations.
Or that the zone-blocking scheme in which they'd invested countless hours at Latrobe had to be scrapped by September.
Or that Maurkice Pouncey, their only Pro Bowl player, was finished after eight snaps.
Or that Fernando Velasco, signed off his couch to replace Pouncey at center, had all of three practices to pick up the playbook.
Or that Mike Adams looked so intimidated against the Vikings in London that he might as well have been ushering Jared Allen back to his quarterback.
Or that Levi Brown, the veteran acquired from the Cardinals to replace Adams at left tackle, was finished after his first warmup.
Or that Rashad Butler, one of several spare parts accumulated along the way, left the Steelers the day after signing for what the team called “personal reasons.”
Or that Velasco would be finished before long, as well.
Or that Cody Wallace, the third center for a team that once boasted three men at the position over three decades, would be fined half of his $37,000 game pay for two ugly infractions in his debut.
No, just about the only complete way to assess all the damage done by this line is to add up … um, the four sacks and eight quarterback hits they've allowed in the past four games?
Wait, is that real?
“The guys have gotten the job done,” Jack Bicknell Jr., the first-year offensive line coach, was telling me with a broad smile the other day on the South Side. “Give the players the credit. They're the ones who have gone out there and met the challenge.”
There's been an awful lot to dislike about these 5-8 Steelers, especially of late, and there might be more following this Sunday night meeting with — say it with me — the first-place Bengals. But it's only fair, maybe even fairer in that context, to spotlight maybe the season's most remarkable facet: That Bicknell and no more than two mainstay players, guards Ramon Foster and David DeCastro, have kept the team from completely capsizing.
I'll take it further: Bicknell deserves the highest grade of anyone on Mike Tomlin's staff in 2013.
The intricacies of blocking in today's NFL are only magnified by the challenge of adjusting weekly to the defense being faced. For the Steelers to have had any semblance of consistency there, given the moving parts, is a testament to the man.
“Coach Bick is our glue,” tackle Marcus Gilbert was saying. “He's a great teacher, a great motivator, never let us get down or worry about what was happening out of our control. He's always cool, always positive.”
Could be the pedigree. Bicknell is as much of a football lifer as it gets. His father Jack Sr., was head coach at Boston College and for 14 years with Barcelona of the old NFL Europe. His brother, Bob, coaches the Eagles' wide receivers. His own playing career including snapping the ball for Doug Flutie's iconic Hail Mary at BC, and he went on to eight years as head coach at Louisiana Tech and another four as an NFL assistant before coming to Pittsburgh.
“I learned a long time ago that nothing comes easily in football,” Bicknell said. “Same goes for this season. Have we been hit by a lot of different things? Sure. But in football, you keep going.”
As for the athletes: DeCastro is maturing toward a Pro Bowl level at right guard and looks like a fine first-round pick. Foster has been Foster, plus he's taken on the unusual role of a guard calling line signals with Pouncey and Velasco lost. Velasco was solid enough that management should consider bringing him back. Kelvin Beachum fared well in playing nearly every line position — plus tight end! — and became beloved in the locker room for solidifying left tackle. Adams and Gilbert remain projects, but it would be hard to say either isn't improving.
Of the beleaguered Adams, Bicknell said, “Mike's worked hard. Left tackle's a tough position to play in the NFL. I've watched him really carefully after his tougher games, and he's kept his chin up. That means a lot to me.”
When the Steelers won their last Super Bowl, they used only two line combinations the whole way. It's no coincidence. Chemistry on the line is critical, more than with any unit in football.
It still can happen with this group. All five projected starters will be back for 2014, and all will be younger than Foster, only 27 himself. And maybe, if they keep Bicknell's attitude, they could at least benefit from 2013 as a test passed.
“I think what we've done this year, how we've grown, will help. I believe that,” Foster said. “The way it's worked in here, because of everything that's happened, we've learned we have to stay thick. We could have fallen apart in here, and it didn't happen.”
No, they didn't. Unlike pretty much everything above that foundation.
[URL]http://triblive.com/sports/dejankovacevic/dejancolumns/5226114-74/steelers-bicknell-foster#ixzz2naT1misC[/URL]