Pittsburgh Steelers right guard David DeCastro is about to partake in his third training camp since being selected in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft out of Stanford and newcomer Mike Munchak will be his third different offensive line coach. Wednesday, DeCastro talked about what it’s like having the Hall of Famer as his position coach in an interview on 93.7 The Fan.
“I’ve had a lot of great offensive line coaches. Coach Munchak, I think his resume speaks for itself, in terms of what he’s done as a player and as a coach,” said DeCastro. “He makes the game very simple. It’s hard to explain unless you’re actually in the meeting room and on the field with him, but everything’s very simple. He’s very detailed and when he speaks, you listen.
“I’m not saying that I didn’t listen to other line coaches, but when you’ve done what he’s done, you definitely treat him with the utmost respect. And everything you take, you’re like, ok, yes, yes, ok. So we’re really excited to have him and work with him, and I think he’s going to be very, very helpful to our O-line if we can all stay healthy, that’s the key.”
Another key to the offense being successful in 2014 could be the usage of more no-huddle and they worked quite a bit on that phase of their attack during the OTA and mini camp practices. DeCastro was asked to give his thoughts on how that part of the offense is coming along.
“The no-huddle’s great, I really like it,” DeCastro said. “It really slows down the D linemen and puts pressure on (defenses), and I think if we can find a way to keep using it to our advantage, I think it’s great.”
The offensive line will also get starting center Maurkice Pouncey back this year as he’s now fully recovered from the serious knee injury that he suffered in the 2013 opener against the Tennessee Titans when DeCastro accidentally clipped him from behind during a failed cut block attempt. According to DeCastro, Pouncey hasn’t missed a beat with his line calls despite missing so much playing time and has showed no signs of rust during the offseason practices.
“No, Pouncey’s extremely smart football player,” said DeCastro. “We all kind of help each other, because we’ve switched around the calls a little bit, so there’s some things that used to be called this that are now called this and they mean a little different. We’re all on the same page and Pouncey doesn’t need any help.”
The Steelers will report to St. Vincent College a week from Friday for the start of training camp and DeCastro can’t wait.
“I think everyone’s just ready to get going,” said DeCastro “I think talk’s really cheap, but everyone understands that. They can kind of see it and feel it, but everyone’s just ready to get going. Get to Latrobe, get this season started, get it underway, so that we can prove it on the field.”
