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Steelers' McLendon hopes he's moved into regular role
Posted: Sunday, October 16, 2011
By Chuck Curti [email="ccurti@timesonline.com"]ccurti@timesonline.com[/email]
Jaguars running back Deji Karim is tackled by Steelers Troy Polamalu and Steve McLendon (90) during the third quarter Sunday.
PITTSBURGH -- During his two-year odyssey with the Steelers, nose tackle Steve McLendon has done his share of moving around -- as in moving from the practice squad, to the active roster, to the unemployment line and back around again.
But with injuries taking their toll on the Steelers' defensive line, McLendon has been seeing more playing time. At the start of Sunday's game with Jacksonville, McLendon was serving as starter Chris Hoke's backup; Hoke was already in for the injured Casey Hampton.
By late in the first half, McLendon was getting all the minutes at nose tackle. Hoke went down with a stinger -- not believed to be serious -- and sat out the rest of the game. It was a rare chance for McLendon to get significant minutes, and though he recorded just a single assist, McLendon did what a nose tackle is supposed to do: clog the middle.
At times, McLendon occupied two and three Jacksonville linemen.
"He did a good job," said Hoke. "He's young, but he's doing a good job. I was impressed and really proud of him. He played good football."
McLendon, meanwhile, wasn't nearly as satisfied as his mentor seemed to be.
"I just have to get better," he said. "It was a start for me because it was the most minutes I've had, but I've got to get better. I'm sure I didn't do everything right, but I feel like I did play fast and did play hard. I just have to get the 'smart' part of the game down and once I get it down, I'll be better."
McLendon's frustration with some of his admitted miscues must have been apparent to Hoke. Early in the fourth quarter, Hoke went over to McLendon on the bench to offer some words of encouragement.
As a career backup, Hoke knows the feeling of battling for more minutes and agonizing over every little flaw.
"That's normal. I felt the same way last week." said Hoke. "You know there's always little things."
For McLendon, just being a part of the Steelers is a big thing. He grew up in Ozark, Ala., a town of about 15,000, and attended little Troy University, a college with an enrollment of about 8,000. Troy has produced NFL stars Demarcus Ware and Osi Umenyiora.
McLendon has not yet reached their level of achievement, but he believes he's slowly moving in the right direction. He said he has been helped tremendously by playing with the likes of Hoke, Hampton and Brett Keisel.
"He's a great guy," McLendon said about Hoke. "He's always had my best interests and he's always there when I need him.
"It's great feedback. Sometimes you don't get that from your coach, but these guys will come over and pat you on the butt and tell you to keep playing hard. I'm glad that we have guys like that on this team."
McLendon can't contain his smile when talking about the opportunity to play for the Steelers. They were his favorite team growing up -- naturally because of the defense.
When he started naming players he enjoyed watching, many of them are the same ones he lines up next to every Sunday.
He confessed, however, that his favorite defensive player of all is Hall-of-Famer Reggie White.
McLendon might never be a member of the Canton fraternity like White, but it appears that he has at least come far enough to be a valuable -- and perhaps permanent -- member of the Steelers defense.
"It's one of the most amazing feelings to come here and play with some great, great guys," he said. "It's like a family. You and your brother may get into a fight, but at the end of the day, if anybody else wants to fight, you know your brother has your back."
[url="http://www.timesonline.com/sports/local_sports/steelers-mclendon-hopes-he-s-moved-into-regular-role/article_7943abd5-6e85-5ea0-b0f8-1c9b29088122.html"]http://www.timesonline.com/sports/local ... 88122.html[/url]
Posted: Sunday, October 16, 2011
By Chuck Curti [email="ccurti@timesonline.com"]ccurti@timesonline.com[/email]
Jaguars running back Deji Karim is tackled by Steelers Troy Polamalu and Steve McLendon (90) during the third quarter Sunday.
PITTSBURGH -- During his two-year odyssey with the Steelers, nose tackle Steve McLendon has done his share of moving around -- as in moving from the practice squad, to the active roster, to the unemployment line and back around again.
But with injuries taking their toll on the Steelers' defensive line, McLendon has been seeing more playing time. At the start of Sunday's game with Jacksonville, McLendon was serving as starter Chris Hoke's backup; Hoke was already in for the injured Casey Hampton.
By late in the first half, McLendon was getting all the minutes at nose tackle. Hoke went down with a stinger -- not believed to be serious -- and sat out the rest of the game. It was a rare chance for McLendon to get significant minutes, and though he recorded just a single assist, McLendon did what a nose tackle is supposed to do: clog the middle.
At times, McLendon occupied two and three Jacksonville linemen.
"He did a good job," said Hoke. "He's young, but he's doing a good job. I was impressed and really proud of him. He played good football."
McLendon, meanwhile, wasn't nearly as satisfied as his mentor seemed to be.
"I just have to get better," he said. "It was a start for me because it was the most minutes I've had, but I've got to get better. I'm sure I didn't do everything right, but I feel like I did play fast and did play hard. I just have to get the 'smart' part of the game down and once I get it down, I'll be better."
McLendon's frustration with some of his admitted miscues must have been apparent to Hoke. Early in the fourth quarter, Hoke went over to McLendon on the bench to offer some words of encouragement.
As a career backup, Hoke knows the feeling of battling for more minutes and agonizing over every little flaw.
"That's normal. I felt the same way last week." said Hoke. "You know there's always little things."
For McLendon, just being a part of the Steelers is a big thing. He grew up in Ozark, Ala., a town of about 15,000, and attended little Troy University, a college with an enrollment of about 8,000. Troy has produced NFL stars Demarcus Ware and Osi Umenyiora.
McLendon has not yet reached their level of achievement, but he believes he's slowly moving in the right direction. He said he has been helped tremendously by playing with the likes of Hoke, Hampton and Brett Keisel.
"He's a great guy," McLendon said about Hoke. "He's always had my best interests and he's always there when I need him.
"It's great feedback. Sometimes you don't get that from your coach, but these guys will come over and pat you on the butt and tell you to keep playing hard. I'm glad that we have guys like that on this team."
McLendon can't contain his smile when talking about the opportunity to play for the Steelers. They were his favorite team growing up -- naturally because of the defense.
When he started naming players he enjoyed watching, many of them are the same ones he lines up next to every Sunday.
He confessed, however, that his favorite defensive player of all is Hall-of-Famer Reggie White.
McLendon might never be a member of the Canton fraternity like White, but it appears that he has at least come far enough to be a valuable -- and perhaps permanent -- member of the Steelers defense.
"It's one of the most amazing feelings to come here and play with some great, great guys," he said. "It's like a family. You and your brother may get into a fight, but at the end of the day, if anybody else wants to fight, you know your brother has your back."
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