At this point in the season, the Steelers’ young lineman are virtually seasoned rookies. Obviously Dan Moore and Kendrick Green are the two rookies on the starting offensive line.
Green, in particular, has gone through several growing pains in his first NFL season. Not only has his blocking been spotty, but his snapping has been oddly subpar. Things hit its breaking point in Week 14 against the Vikings. Green made several high, inaccurate snaps to Roethlisberger.
It was the bottom point of all of his ups-and-downs this season. Then, Green seemed to clean things up in the Week 15 win against the Titans.
“I just kind of switched some things up,” Green said Wednesday via the Steelers’ site. “I didn’t wear a glove on my snapping hand this week [against the Titans] and it seemed to help, so I think we’re gonna stay with that.
It remains to be seen if the absence of the glove played that large of a factor for the first 14 weeks, but clearly a step in the right direction. Cleaning up the snapping issues is the first step in an overall improvement from Green.
As a result of his poor performances, Green received flak from fans and even coaches within the confines of the locker room. The noise was extra loud after that Week 14 game, but Green spoke about what it meant for Roethlisberger coming up to him after the Titans game.
“It’s definitely something that’s good to hear, but also not looking for it either. Like Coach Tomlin said, [we’re] looking for no pats on the backs. In the Minnesota game, there’s still no excuse. I’ve had quite a few bad snaps this year and there’s no excuse for it.”
Green’s certainly deserved some of the criticism that’s came his way this year, but he seems to respond to adversity well. It’s also refreshing to hear him fully owning up to his mistakes and not making excuses.
He’ll face a similar challenge to the Minnesota game this weekend. Kansas City has a similarly loud crowd and Green’s performance, particularly snapping and pre-snap, will be exemplified.
