Kovacevic: No one more pivotal than Vinnie

By Dejan Kovacevic

Jan 3, 2018 • 12:00 am

6.6K

Pivotal doesn't always mean important.

The Steelers' most important player, in any context, at all times, is Ben Roethlisberger. But their most pivotal player in the 2017 regular season that just ended was, beyond any doubt in my mind, Vince Williams.

And here's betting that holds true through all that looms beyond.

"We're goin', man," he was telling me over the weekend at Heinz Field. And I'm certain he was referring to Minneapolis, site of Super Bowl LII. "We're going for the whole ride. We have to. We've got no choice."

They'd have had no chance if not for No. 98.

Pivotal, as defined by Merriam-Webster, means "of crucial importance in relation to the development or success of something else." And its root, of course, is the verb pivot. Which involves a turn or a swing, one way or another.

Well, no swing entering the 2017 season could have been more dramatic than the one at inside linebacker. Once Lawrence Timmons left for the Dolphins, Mike Tomlin and Keith Butler needed to replace their steadiest, sturdiest performer with precisely the same. And it's not like they hadn't prioritized it that way themselves, having made a hard pursuit of Dont'a Hightower before he fled back to Foxborough. They saw a hole, they tried to address it and, when they couldn't, they were left with the career backup they'd been comfortable leaving on the sideline for most of 2016 while Timmons logged every snap.

A sixth-round pick who, for someone so intelligent and imaginative, probably should have known better than to believe he'd be that guy.

"I knew what I had to do," Williams would continue in our conversation. "I had to have faith in my ability, my teammates, my coaches and everyone. And they had to have faith in me."

Belatedly or not, they did. And it was rewarded:

The eighth sack -- which Williams insists passionately was two shy of his preseason goal -- came on this play Sunday:

It says a lot about his season, that sequence. Not because such a big part of his pivotal role was to boost this defense to the franchise's sack record of 56. Certainly not because it came against the Browns. But rather, because of how it was executed.

"He's got to make that play," Cam Heyward would explain across the room. "When we call that, he's the one who lines up with the running back. And we've got a rule around here about linebackers not getting blocked by running backs. He's got no choice, man."

Sounds funny, but it's the truth. It begins back in the earliest stages of camp at Saint Vincent with the backs-on-backers drill, an exercise mostly in machismo but also in separating those -- on either side of the equation -- who can't handle it.

No one embraces that challenge in Latrobe quite like Williams, who's at once the team's most vocal and violent presence on the field. So overwhelming poor Duke Johnson up there after rifling through that gap ...

"That's the standard here in Pittsburgh," Williams said. "Linebackers have got to beat running backs. So it's just my job. I have to get it done."

• I've purposely avoided mentioning the impact on Williams' season of losing Ryan Shazier, his best friend and the defense's signal-caller. That's taken care of this morning in Christopher Carter's Midweek Reader on how the Steelers must overcome it. But I'll briefly add that, by all accounts, Williams has done quite well with the signals, too. So I'll repeat: Imagine if he hadn't been all this.

• It really is about time Alan Faneca reaches Canton. He'll have fresh competition within his position from first-timer Steve Hutchinson, an elite NFL guard with the Seahawks, Vikings and Titans:

Congratulations to the 15 modern-era finalists! The official #PFHOF18 class will be selected on the eve of the Super Bowl. pic.twitter.com/Y71OuL16Tu
— Pro Football HOF (@ProFootballHOF) January 3, 2018

But the way the Hall's selection process tends to go, that could be in his favor. There's a line in football, usually formed by position, and you wait your turn. Well, Hutchinson was extremely highly regarded, but it won't be easy for him to leapfrog Faneca. Similarly, it won't be easy for voters to ignore a six-time All-Pro and a member of the NFL's All-Decade Team for the 2000s.

He'll get there.

• Hines Ward won't. By the time his candidacy is taken seriously -- and missing the semifinals on his first two tries isn't a great start -- the position of wide receiver will have to continue to change to the point where all that he achieved will be seen as less and less significant.

And yeah, Ward had to be seen -- a lot -- to be appreciated.

• Wait, the Bengals did what?

No, really. That's got to be a gag.

Well, assuming it isn't, then know this: That's how loser franchises stay loser franchises. They cling to their people almost unconditionally, primarily because of a comfort level, a sense of trust, rather than prioritizing their results. Whatever sentiment could be attached to rallying past the Ravens on Sunday -- the Bengals hadn't exactly been battling for Lewis beforehand -- or to the idea that, gee whiz, the guy really deserves a shot at winning one playoff game this century ... man, it's just not worth it.

• The AFC North is like an epic serial. The scripts never change and, for the most part, the only characters that change are in Cleveland.

• I'll save the hockey thoughts for a bit later in the week. It gets a little stale sounding one way about the Penguins for a couple days, then another for the next couple days. Let's see an actual string of ... hey, anything.

WHAT'S BREWING

• Our staff's 2017 Year In Review project is now complete with this morning's Photos of the Year from Matt Sunday and Long Hong. If you missed the first two installments, here are our Top 25 Moments and Top Quotes.

• From our people on the road: Chris Bradford's got coverage of the Penguins' rather thorough victory in Philly, and Chris Mueller's got Pitt's expected loss down in Louisville ... but don't miss what Kevin Stallings had to say to a heckler.

• As for our other staffer on the road but soon flying back to State College ...

Spent the day looking at rocks and it... rocked (I’ll show myself out now). pic.twitter.com/cxdah0Iy8G
— Audrey Snyder (@audsnyder4) January 3, 2018

• Do you follow us on social media? If not, we're available on pretty much every platform, including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter. We'll make it worth your while, as we've got some initiatives planned on those fronts.

• Small point of order to share in advance: Our site, meaning Dale Lolley, will cover Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis regardless of whether the Steelers make it. And by that I mean the whole week, not just kickoff. It's America's premier sporting event, and we feel like our readers will welcome the firsthand coverage. If the Steelers go, of course, a bunch of us will be there.

VIDEO

It's our first new Morning Java since Christmas, and you'll see that Carter and I were surprised while filming -- no, stunned -- upon seeing the Bengals' announcement: