The offensive line year after year is one position where it takes the most time to develop chemistry and jell overall in the game of football.
No matter what level you’re at, for an offensive line to be a good one, it has to work in sync, communicate well and really just work well with each other, left to right and right to left.
The Pittsburgh Steelers found that out the hard way early on in the 2022 season. After bringing in veterans Mason Cole and James Daniels to try and shore up the offensive line, along with new position coach Pat Meyer, things got off to a rather rough start last summer in training camp. Those struggles carried over into the season largely up until the bye week.
After that though, Pittsburgh was a different animal up front due to the chemistry and cohesion.
Now, entering the 2023 season, that chemistry and cohesion continues to build, even with new faces in guards Isaac Seumalo and Nate Herbig and rookie left tackle Broderick Jones. But for veteran center Mason Cole, the group understands what it takes to be a good line.
“I think this group is really starting to enjoy the process,” Cole said in a post-practice interview on Steelers Training Camp live with hosts Mike Prisuta and Craig Wolfley on Steelers.com. “We’re really starting to enjoy the grind a bit, the extra work. We understand what it takes to be a good line now.”
While the Steelers still have a bit of a ways to go on the field in becoming a truly good offensive line, they are on the right track.
The group showed that after the bye last season, helping the Steelers offense find balance in the second half of the season churning out the No. 7 rushing attack in football in the second half of the season while protecting then-rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett at a relatively high level.
Now, after adding Seumalo and Jones as the big moves in the offseason and shoring up depth with Herbig, the offensive line looks like it’s poised to become a strength for the Steelers in 2023 and beyond.
Leaning into that process, understanding the work needed to become a good group and really buying into what Meyer is preaching and veterans like Cole, Daniels and Seumalo are pushing is key. That process includes the extra treatment before and after practice to maintain health, getting work in with weights and stretching to maintain overall strength and flexibility, film work, extra practice on the field working on hand and footwork, and also just being around fellow linemen and forming a bond off the field, strengthening the bond on the field in the process.
The talent is there for Pittsburgh. Going through the process again and really leaning into what’s working is huge for the big uglies up front, as they are affectionately known. Now it’s about fulfilling that talent where it matters most: on the field.
