Steelers excited, focused, wary of Chiefs’ threats
PITTSBURGH 鈥� Ross Cockrell finished with a mob of reporters and exhaled with a sense of satisfaction.
鈥淢an, I really love the atmosphere around here,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 imagine being anywhere else.鈥�
Marcus Gilbert was just plain thrilled.
鈥淭his is the most fun I鈥檝e ever had,鈥� said the big man with the low, booming voice. 鈥淚 feel we finally have a chance as a team, with the health and how we鈥檝e been playing so well and how hot we鈥檝e been. We just have to keep the foot on the pedal.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 the most excitement that I鈥檝e had,鈥� he added. 鈥淛ust to buy another week with these guys is motivation enough. I love it, man. After all this is all said and done with, what the hell are we gonna do? Sit on the couch and watch another team win a championship? That鈥檚 not what I want to be doing.鈥�
The atmosphere was raucous, yet the mood was serious. Maurkice Pouncey stepped off the sideline to snare a punt and return it behind the skilled blocking of Antonio Brown.
鈥淛ust the way Coach Tomlin likes it: straight up the field!鈥� Pouncey said afterward. 鈥淏ut, hey, man, I gotta get to a meeting.鈥�
The Steelers have that rare combination of excited focus as they prepare to play the Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional Round of the AFC Playoffs on Sunday. And they know there are two Chiefs who can cause it all to come crashing down: Tyreek Hill and Justin Houston.
With all due respect to Travis Kelce, a tight end鈥檚 not going to do anything as quickly as Hill or Houston.
The latter once crashed his helmet so hard into Ben Roethlisberger鈥檚 ribs that Roethlisberger sprained the ligament connecting the sternum to the clavicle. It sent him to the sideline and knocked him out of the next three games of the 2012 season.
That kind of activity from Houston, a 6-3, 256-pound season-wrecker, has been a bit lacking this season. With 60 sacks since coming into the league in 2011, Houston had off-season knee surgery and missed the first nine games. He returned and had three sacks against Denver in Game 11, and a sack the following week, but was sidelined for the final two games when the knee swelled.
He鈥檚 back at practice this week and was pronounced ready to go. Even though he trails team sacks leader Dee Ford, 10-4, Houston is still the greatest worry of the Steelers offense.
鈥淗e鈥檚 one of those guys who can completely change the game,鈥� said Gilbert. 鈥淗e鈥檚 one of the best pass-rushers I鈥檝e ever been up against.鈥�
Gilbert wasn鈥檛 on the job during the infamous 2012 game that caused Roethlisberger to worry about internal organs for a month. Gilbert was out and replaced by Mike Adams.
But Gilbert has gone up against Houston several times, dating back to to the famed Outdoor Cocktail Parties between Georgia and Florida before both came out in 2011. Gilbert, unlike Houston, has been playing his best ball this season. Not that he wanted to talk about it.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 for somebody else to say,鈥� Gilbert said.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know how the hell he鈥檚 not making the Pro Bowl,鈥� said Pouncey. 鈥淚 watch right tackles all the time and no one鈥檚 out there blocking like him.鈥�
But Gilbert has a challenge this week.
鈥淲e all do,鈥� Pouncey said. 鈥淲e all do, bro.鈥�
That applies to the defense and special teams when it comes to stopping Hill, the other top K.C. threat.
Merely a rookie 鈥� a fifth-round rookie at that 鈥� Hill is a 4.29 burner who lasted in the draft after being kicked off the Oklahoma State football and track teams following his guilty plea for domestic assault and battery by strangulation in an incident inolving his pregnant girlfriend.
Hill played for a year at West Alabama, wowed the scouts at pro day with his 40 time, his 6.53 3-cone time and his 40陆-inch vertical jump, but wasn鈥檛 expected to be drafted until Kansas City coach Andy Reid, who said he thoroughly vetted Hill鈥檚 character, took the 5-foot-8, 185-pounder with the 165th pick.
Hill didn鈥檛 play much early in the season. In Week 4, against the Steelers, he scored his second touchdown on a 10-yard pass to cut the Steelers鈥� lead to 36-7. Since that game Hill has been on fire.
A running back/receiver/return specialist, Hill has scored 10 more touchdowns in the last 12 games. For the season he鈥檚 averaging 11.1 per his 24 carries, 9.7 per his 61 catches, 27.4 per his 14 kickoff returns and 15.5 per his 39 punt returns. The latter number would be better had his 78-yard return for a touchdown against the Steelers not been called back because of an illegal block.
鈥淗e鈥檚 on a different level. He鈥檚 fast,鈥� said cornerback Artie Burns. 鈥淗e鈥檚 not just fast, he鈥檚 quick, he鈥檚 agile. Most fast guys can鈥檛 really control their speed while they鈥檙e running, but he does all that at the same time. That鈥檚 what makes him so great.鈥�
Can the Steelers kick away from him?
鈥淗e鈥檚 going to return balls,鈥� said kicker Chris Boswell. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just a matter of covering and tackling.鈥�
The Steelers have done a poor job of that this season. They finished 24th in punt coverage (9.6 avg.) and 29th in kickoff coverage (24.7), and last week in the playoff win allowed 29.8 yards per four kickoff returns.
The weather should help Boswell get the ball into the end zone more often this week. While rain is expected in Kansas City on Sunday, the forecasted temperature is 36 degrees. It was 17 in Pittsburgh last Sunday with a wind-chill factor of 2 degrees.
鈥淵ou could feel it,鈥� Boswell said of the frozen ball. 鈥淚t was like kicking the wall over there all game.鈥�
鈥淗e鈥檚 fast and he鈥檚 fearless,鈥� special-teamer Tyler Matakevich said of Hill. 鈥淚 watched the one he returned against San Diego. There was a guy in front of him and behind him and he just took off. He鈥檚 definitely talented and we have our hands full. But as long as all 11 guys out there do their job, we鈥檒l be fine.鈥�
And then the fun could continue.
NOTES: Roethlisberger missed practice with his sore foot, but walked around the locker room without a sign of a limp. He鈥檚 expected to practice tomorrow along with Le鈥橵eon Bell, who was also given Wednesday off. 鈥� Others missing practice were OLB Anthony Chickillo (ankle), TE Ladarius Green (concussion), DE Ricardo Mathews (ankle), RB Fitzgerald Toussaint (concussion) and ILB Vince Williams (shoulder). 鈥� Limited were SS Sean Davis (shoulder) and DE Stephon Tuitt (ankle). 鈥� Special teams captain Rob Golden returned to practice after missing the last two games with an ankle injury. 鈥� According Justin Gilbert, the Steelers will work on kick returns Thursday. If Toussaint remains sidelined, he could be replaced by Gilbert.