PITTSBURGH (AP) – Steelers offensive line coach Mike Munchak has been in the NFL for 34 consecutive seasons as a player and a coach. In the previous 33 years he was never part of a team that lost its starting center and starting left tackle for the season with injuries.
That’s what Munchak has faced in his second season with the Steelers. All-Pro center Maurkice Pouncey was lost to a leg injury in a preseason game in August, and Kelvin Beachum tore his ACL in Week 6.
“I’ve been on teams with injuries, but never like this,” Munchak said. “Those are usually your two best guys, your left tackle and your center. It’s hard. But this team has done a great job this year, losing numerous players and other guys step up and make plays.”
The players who had to step up for Munchak had little experience. Veteran center Cody Wallace had started six games in the NFL before this season, and first-year player Alejandro Villanueva, the new left tackle, had started none.
Now they’re holding their own in the thick of a playoff race.
“It’s a team sport,” right guard David DeCastro said. “You have to step up when other guys fall down. Those are tough guys to replace. You can’t really replace them. You just try to pick it up and try to do the best they can. But there hasn’t been much drop-off. Cody has come in and done a great job, and Al’s been pretty good, too.”
The Steelers had no intentions of playing Villanueva much less starting him this season. He wasn’t even a lock to make the 53-man roster out of training camp until Mike Adams injured his back in July and was shelved for the season.
Villanueva, the former Army Ranger who spent four years away from the game before landing on the practice squad last season, made the team as the backup tackle and stepped in as the starter after Beachum went down.
“Obviously, we never expected to have him starting this year,” Munchak said. “But that just shows you he’s prepared. The guys have confidence in him and he has confidence in himself. Al doesn’t want to let anyone down. He wants to be the best he can be. That’s how he’s wired. That’s his DNA. You want to have players like that.
“He’s had his moments. He found out during the last four games you can have a great game and one play can change that perception real fast. That’s how you grow in this league as an offensive lineman. He’ll get better and better.”
Munchak has made some minor adjustments to help Villanueva and Wallace. In pass protection, tight ends can help Villanueva, and the running backs can do the same before running their routes. In the run game, fullback Rosie Nix has taken on a bigger role, serving as an extra blocker in an era where many teams no longer use fullbacks.
The adjustments have been working. Despite the injuries to Pouncey and Beachum, not to mention All-Pro running back Le’Veon Bell, the Steelers are seventh in the league in rushing. They’ve allowed 23 sacks, but only seven in the past four games since Villanueva became a starter.
“We’re just being smart,” Munchak said. “As coaches, it’s our job to try to help to put these guys in position to be successful and not ask them to do too much. Don’t ask them to do things they’re not good at and do more of what we are good at. We’ve made some adjustments to help them.
“It’s a group effort when you start losing players. But it happens to everyone in the league. We’ve been able to weather the storm to some degree. We all feel we should have won more games than we have. We have to play better and be more consistent, and it all starts up front.”
