PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Nastiness. It wouldn’t be a trait you would want in all jobs, for instance customer relations or corporate communications. However, it’s coveted in the Steelers newest employee.
They believe they got that attitude in bunches from third round pick, Illinois guard/center Kendrick Green.
“I think people like to say they can teach it, but I think it is inherently in you,” said Steelers offensive line coach Adrian Klemm. “Like some people just naturally have that—as a coach you can be demanding of it, but in critical moments of a game when man measures man, whoever you truly are is going to come out. If you have that dog in you, that wolf in you, you are going to continue to do that in critical moments of the game.”
“I love it when I find a guy that I don’t have to bring that out of. He’s just naturally like that, he carries himself that way, he plays with that nastiness at that position.”
It sounds like Steelers coaches believe an unheralded third round pick from a bottom tier program in the Big 10 could change the mindset of an offensive line that struggled last year.
“We love the way that he plays in terms of what we have been talking about and in terms of changing our demeanor,” Klemm said. “Just the type of attitude that we want to carry onto the field, he embodies all of that. He has great leadership qualities.”
“He was an alpha in that program, and he is just a tremendous player. He can
do it all. The pulls, physical in the run game, pass protect, all those different things. I’m just really ecstatic to coach him going forward.”
But he hasn’t done it for long. Green has only started 3 games at center, playing all of the rest at guard. He’s also not as big as some of the other centers in the draft at 6’2”.
“He’s just explosive,” Klemm said of dealing with his smaller stature. “This guy’s a puncher. He can roll his hips. He can bend. He gets under defenders. He gets in
defenders quick. Anything that someone may think is a disadvantage for him, I don’t see it being that way. I think his explosiveness and all those different attributes that he has are different.”
There is also the knock against Green that while a good run blocker, the converted defensive lineman has issues with pass protection.
“You know it’s funny, and I want to say it in the most respectful way,” Klemm said. “Some people watch highlight films. I’ve watched two full seasons of him play, and just in watching his play, the times he’s had issues in terms of pass protection, it is him being a little bit too aggressive, but like I said, those
are things that can be corrected.”
“That because of his background of being a defensive player first, he just wants to put hands on people and I like that. It’s just one of the things you have to
teach him to sit down in stance.”
What you don’t have to teach Green are those intangibles that he brings.
“He just sets the tone, especially at that position,” Klemm said of Green at Illinois. “It’s the belly of the beast. He comes out and he’s playing with that type of demeanor, that carries throughout the group. If we play collectively like that, it is contagious on the team.”
“It starts with that guy, and that’s been the case here whether it’s[Maurkice] Pouncey, Dermontti Dawson, Mike Webster, whatever the case. I’m not comparing him to those guys, but just in terms of that’s the leader of your group. And you would like him to be the leader of your side of the ball.”
“There is a standard here long before I came here with the expectation of our offensive line. He needs to not only maintain that but elevate that. He is coming in and competing with some other guys who are trying to do the same thing. Hopefully, iron sharpens iron, and everybody gets better from it.”