Kovacevic: Pouncey feels 'blessed' by budding second chance

Nov 24, 2017 • 12:00 am

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It was the winter of 2011 in the north of Texas, and an ice storm pretty much paralyzed the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. If I wasn't there myself, shivering in the only windbreaker I'd brought, skidding my rental car all over the expressways, snickering at how all the businesses slammed their doors at the first sight of a snowflake, I'd never have believed it.

But it was as real as frozen rain. And all the hype of run-up week to Super Bowl XLV, which would pit the Steelers and Packers, was hit with a wicked chill.

"Oh, man, the cold, too. It was crazy cold," Maurkice Pouncey was sharing with me at the Rooney Sports Complex. "I remember all that. Like yesterday."

The topic arose not because the Steelers and Packers are meeting again Sunday night at Heinz Field but, rather, because a big part of the big man still feels left out in that cold from seven years ago.

I'm sure you remember. Day after day, Mike Tomlin would meet with us media types and go through the ruse that maybe, just maybe, his gifted rookie center would be able to snap the ball to Ben Roethlisberger. Even though he'd suffered football's dreaded high ankle sprain just a few days earlier in winning the AFC championship. Even though he was still on crutches. Even though Pouncey's own meek denials gave it all away.

"I'm not ruling it out if Coach isn't ruling it out," he'd say one of those days. "I'm wearing a regular tennis shoe and only wearing the boot at night for safety. That's progress."

No, it wasn't. We knew it. He knew it. And by kickoff, when the Steelers would fall one Santonio Holmes-level drive shy, when Green Bay held on, 31-25, when Doug Legursky started and Pouncey stood on the sideline in sweats, he knew something else: He might not get another chance.

Flash-forward back to today. These Steelers are 8-2. This Pouncey is healthy and hungrier than maybe anyone on the roster.

So ... you know.

"It's awesome. It truly is," he continued when our conversation turned to the present. Or the potential near-term future, if you will. "It's a blessing, man. This team we have. The camaraderie we have. The way we're all willing to do whatever's necessary. ... I've been on a lot of teams, but this is special. This is fun. Let's see how it turns out."

And how often does he flash back, even if just for full context or further motivation?

"Oh, bro, all the time. Some of the older guys, Brett Keisel and other guys who aren't here anymore, they used to joke around and blame me. And I'd be, like, 'Hey, you guys were the ones out there.' Nah, they were cool. But trust me, I think about it all the time. It's my goal, getting back to that game, getting another chance."

Someone else lets him know, too.

"Coach Tomlin tells me all the time, I've done it at every level," Pouncey said in referencing his NCAA and SEC championships at Florida, as well as winning 45 games in a row, a state championship and USA Today crown at Lakeland High School. "He's always talking about all the winning I've done and ..."

For just a moment, the smile's gone. That's a rarity with this individual.

"It'd make me kind of crazy to never have another chance. But we'll see. We'll see how it turns out."

• JuJu Smith-Schuster's hamstring injury should keep him out Sunday night, and I'll emphasize should because there's no need to be testing hamstring injuries at this stage of the season.

There is, however, a real need to start testing Eli Rogers.

I've got no doubt Roethlisberger will maintain his usual targets -- Antonio Brown and, to a far lesser extent, Martavis Bryant -- but one of the least predictable parts of the ongoing season is that Rogers is sitting at eight catches through 10 games. That makes no sense. Not anymore and certainly not in a longer-term context.

The Steelers have everything to gain down the stretch by deepening the pool of active -- truly active and involved -- wide receivers, partly because the playoffs will demand different looks, partly because injuries happen. JuJu and Martavis aren't nearly enough of a known supporting cast to get cozy with what's there. And heaven help this group if AB is even slowed by injury.

• For all the Patriots fear/worship that's stricken our city, why isn't there nearly as much fuss over the fact that the Ravens are currently in the AFC playoff picture as the No. 6 seed and would come to Pittsburgh with a wild-card victory?

If you think those guys being 5-5 has any impact on what would happen if they had to meet three times this season, that's simply not paying attention. John Harbaugh's had many more big victories over the Steelers, often with a ravaged roster, than anything Bill Belichick's achieved in the same context.

• Sidney Crosby's career shooting percentage is 14.5. Last season, it was 17.3, the best of his life. Currently, it's 8.0. When that water finds its level, the Penguins will be fine.

That's not pinning all their problems on him. That would be insane. It's not even pinning most of their problems on him. But it is restating the patently obvious that everything about this franchise starts with the world's best player. And when he doesn't start well, neither will the team.

• Better shooting generally begins with more shooting. Last season, he averaged 3.4 shots per game. Currently, it's 3.26. That's obviously no huge disparity, but it's less. And more is needed, because more shots equals more of a chance a few start squeezing through, and that boosts confidence and all else.

If you can recall any period in Crosby's career in which he was feeling awesome at the same time the Penguins struggled, feel free to share.

• The NHL reached its quarter-point this week with scoring at a 12-year high: Games are seeing an average of 6.1 goals, an increase of 12.4 percent over last season and the highest since 2005-06.

I'd offer a compliment here for Gary Bettman, except that the league has as much chance of calling power plays at the current pace as Phoenix has of planning a Cup parade. Let's check back in April. No, heck, let's make it the end of December.

• Regardless, the league's scoring rise and the Penguins' simultaneous drop makes for yet another water-finds-its-level element to all that we're witnessing. These guys aren't going to continue ranking 31st in five-on-five shooting.

• I'm not there with Daniel Sprong yet. That might change soon, but the priority for now should be that Sprong comes up at the best time for him, not based on the team's regular season needs. And from all I've been told by the front office, if he were to come up as is, they'd risk basically freezing him in time with some of his current shortcomings, meaning mostly anywhere outside the attacking zone.

Sure, it's little stuff that the team could overcome. But the Penguins as a whole benefit if he arrives by addressing those first. It's not just about backchecking. It's about puck decisions, particularly in the defensive and neutral zones. It's about reading situations correctly even on the attack, maintaining rink awareness at all times.

I'll repeat: How those affect the team right now is insignificant compared to habits formed by the player in the longer term. Or even later in this same season.

• I'm a big believer in analysis-by-bobblehead when it comes to predicting the Pirates' roster for the next season, so here, then, is the team's just-announced promotional schedule: There will be a vintage bobblehead May 19, one of Sean Rodriguez June 23, Andy Van Slyke Aug. 4, Felipe Rivero Sept. 8. There will also be an Andrew McCutchen figurine -- bobble-free, apparently -- July 6.

From that, I can safely deduce the following: Daniel Hudson, statistically the second-worst reliever in Major League Baseball, will still have the club on the hook for $5.5 million, and those responsible just might be rewarded with a whole new round of extensions.

No, really, I'll just reiterate here that Cutch won't be moved over the offseason. That's what I've heard for months, and I don't expect it to change. Way, way too many reasons to go the one-more-year route, as apparently is the plan. Ignore any Gerrit Cole noise, too.

Have a safe holiday weekend!

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MORNING JAVA

On this Thanksgiving weekend, my wife Dali and I express gratitude from our family to yours, as well as updating the site's plans for the holiday season: