Pouncey deserves Hall call
‘ I can’t put it into words what he means to us, I really can’t’
NFL training camps open next week. That means it’s time for lists. Best this. Worst that. All 32 quarterbacks ranked. Coaches most likely to get fired.
You get the idea.
Two lists caught my attention. One is from Pro Football Focus, the other from Sporting News. Each ranks the Hall of Fame chances of every current player.
There was an incredible difference of
opinion about Maurkice Pouncey, which I will get to in a second.
Both lists have Ben Roethlisberger as a Hall of Fame lock. He is one of 28 such players on the Sporting News list, which includes Antonio Brown (“He doesn’t need to play a down for the Raiders to get the Canton call”), Larry Fitzgerald (“The Larry legend continues to grow in the desert”), and Aaron Donald (“We
could have been cute and said 99 percent, but we can’t do that to the ultimate one-percenter of disruptive interior linemen”).
“Big Ben hasn’t always stood tall off the field and there has been some tumult on the field, but he’s also a [ seventime] Pro Bowler with two rings and a ton of clutch numbers,” Sporting News writes.
“His success has been fueled by his ability to make the tough throws,” Pro Football Focus says. “Only Drew Brees has more big- time throws — accurate passes deep downfield or into tight windows — than Big Ben since 2006. Roethlisberger’s induction will be a well- deserved one.”
Both lists give David DeCastro a lot of love. Sporting News says he has an 80 percent chance of making the Hall. Pro Football Focus writes he is on pace, although acknowledging it is tough for a guard to make it. See Alan Faneca.
“Since his first full season in 2013, DeCastro leads all guards in total snaps while finishing fourth at the position in PFF grade,” Pro Football Focus says. “Anchoring what was our choice for the best offensive line in the NFL last season, DeCastro needs only continue his dominant play through the rest of his career.”
Now, the disparity involving Pouncey.
Sporting News gives Pouncey a 90 percent chance of joining “the late Mike Webster and Dermontti Dawson as Steelers centers in the Hall.” But Pro Football Focus doesn’t even consider Pouncey to be on pace for Canton.
I don’t get it. I’m with Sporting News on this one.
I consider Pouncey to be the Steelers’ best offensive lineman.
I believe his quarterback and teammates feel the same way.
“He’s the glue that holds everyone together,” Roethlisberger has said. “His mental football is unparalleled to anyone else. He gets everything done. It’s unbelievable …
“I wouldn’t want to play with anyone else. He is, for me, my comfort blanket. The man in the middle. He is the best in the business.”
“I can’t put it into words what he means to us, I really can’t,” DeCastro has said. “He’s a one- of- a- kind player. He brings everybody up. His energy, the intensity he brings. … He’s the leader, no question, of this group. You don’t want to let him down. You just want to follow him and be like him.”
And, finally, from former Steelers tackle Marcus Gilbert:
“He’s the commander of the huddle. The way he plays, he demands it out of us, as well. We come out and ball for him. We know how much he loves the game. He’s the extra quarterback. He makes all of the points. Everything goes through him. He does it all. He’s a special, special player.”
Pouncey has made the Pro Bowl in seven of his nine NFL seasons, the exceptions coming in 2013 and 2015 when he was injured. He made firstteam All- Pro twice and secondteam three times, including last season.
“As long as he’s around, I’ll be around,” Roethlisberger has said. “I couldn’t do anything without him.”
Pouncey and Roethlisberger have often joked they will retire together. When it finally happens, they will leave the Steelers knowing they will spend eternity together in the Hall of Fame.