Article

Steelers End Of Season Player Exit Meetings – C/G Cody Wallace

By Matthew Marczi

Posted on February 22, 2014 at 8:00 am

End-of-season player exit meetings are not something that we are often privy to as outsiders of the football world. Generally, we only get a glimpse into that world when a player is asked by a reporter how the meeting went, if the player is willing to discuss it.

Still, it’s not generally a hard concept to grasp, and we have a pretty good feel by now of how Mike Tomlin and his staff likes to operate, and we see all the game film, so it’s not an overly difficult project to simulate. If we were to administer the end-of-season player exit meetings, it might go something like this.

Player: Cody Wallace

Position: Center/Guard

Experience: 6 Years

Despite having been drafted in the fourth round in 2008, journeyman interior offensive lineman Cody Wallace had only played about 15 snaps in the first five seasons of his NFL career. That workload changed substantially in 2013 in his first year with the Pittsburgh Steelers, during which he made the first four starts of his career.

Wallace actually saw his first action of the season in Oakland during the eighth week of the season in a game involving a litany of offensive line injuries.

If memory serves, at one point Wallace was asked to switch from left guard—replacing Guy Whimper, who had replaced Ramon Foster—to right guard in order to replace David DeCastro. Kelvin Beachum moved from left tackle to left guard and Mike Adams moved from tight end to left tackle.

Not surprisingly, that combination led to Ben Roethlisberger getting sacked five times on the afternoon. Don’t blame it on Wallace, however, who did well in pass protection, but was beat at times in the running game.

When Fernando Velasco tore his Achilles against the Baltimore Ravens, the team had to turn to Wallace to man the center position, a player with no starting experience and who hadn’t even been with the team in training camp. And there was still a quarter of a season left to play.

But after some growing pains, which included being penalized five times during his first two starts, twice for improperly shifting the ball, Wallace settled down admirably. His performance in the final two weeks of the season in particular was impressive given the circumstance of being the team’s fourth option at center.

Of particular note, and actually quite a surprise, is the demeanor with which Wallace carried himself on the field. He played with a level of aggression and nastiness that might seem ill-fitting for a player of such little experience.

But then you have to remember that while Wallace hasn’t had much in-game regular season experience, he has been in the league for six years now, and is a 29-year-old man. He’s been around the block. He didn’t need to prove to himself that he belongs, and he made sure others learned the same thing.

If little else, Wallace used the 2013 season to prove that he can be an asset to a team in need of interior offensive line depth. He can come in at three positions if there’s an in-game injury, or he can be called upon to start for a stretch if need be. He certainly raised both his profile and his value this past December, and I would imagine that the Steelers would like to retain him, and Velasco as well, if possible.

Steelers Depot

Recommended for you