DeCastro, Adams will have hands full

By Alan Robinson

Doesn’t matter where a player is drafted, how much money he earns, how many All-American teams he made or how many college games he dominated. There’s nothing easy about being an NFL rookie offensive lineman.

“There’s no comfort level, none at all,” said Alan Faneca, the most accomplished offensive guard to play for the Steelers and a player who well remembers what a challenge his rookie season was in 1998. “You’ve been thrown a playbook that’s two or three times bigger than it was in college. You’re going out on the field thinking, not playing.”

You’re lost.

Even the best players struggle with terminology, the playbook’s complexity, the significantly upgraded competition, Faneca said. The same lineman who spent a couple of seasons roughing up college undergraduates becomes overwhelmed going up against defensive linemen with 10 years of experience and a commensurately deep bag of tricks.

Faneca, a nine-time Pro Bowl lineman who retired last year, knows exactly what the Steelers’ top two draft picks, David DeCastro and Mike Adams, will be going through when training camp starts Wednesday in Latrobe.

DeCastro, from Stanford, is being called the best guard to come into the league since … yes, Faneca. Adams, a mountainous pass blocker who often obliterated pass rushers at Ohio State, will get the chance to start at left tackle.

READ MORE: http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/2221076-85/decastro-adams-linemen-offensive-rookie-steelers-faneca-college-lineman-season?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+tribunereviewsteelers+%28Steelers+Stories%29

Maybe having Faneca as an assistant line coach wouldn't hurt the learning curve!

But even still, I think these two will be able to manage quite well moving forward especially with the likes of our front 7 giving them the lessons in training camp.

I really like Decastro. This kid is smart and serious. Expectations are so high for him, that I'm worried about all of the pressure he is going to be under his rookie year. Can't help it -- it's the maternal instinct kicking in.

Gingerchip wrote:

I really like Decastro. This kid is smart and serious. Expectations are so high for him, that I'm worried about all of the pressure he is going to be under his rookie year. Can't help it -- it's the maternal instinct kicking in.

Was Pouncey under the same pressure? So maybe Maurkice can help DeCastro handle it.

stlrtruck wrote:

Gingerchip wrote:

I really like Decastro. This kid is smart and serious. Expectations are so high for him, that I'm worried about all of the pressure he is going to be under his rookie year. Can't help it -- it's the maternal instinct kicking in.

Was Pouncey under the same pressure? So maybe Maurkice can help DeCastro handle it.

I'd think Pouncey would be able to mentor DeCastro and Adams a bit on dealing with the big league pressure cooker that is the NFL. He handled it above and beyond what was expected as he took over the starting center spot well before anyone predicted he would. His experience in this area should be invaluable to 2 guys like DeCastro and Adams who are having expectations heaped on them early to start and produce for a line that has been much maligned. I hope and expect he can prepare them to handle that pressure.