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View Full Version : Juggled Steelers O-line in good hands with Kugler



LLT
09-08-2012, 05:12 AM
September 8, 2012
by John Dudley/GoErie.com


Cursed? Steelers offensive line coach Sean Kugler wouldn't go that far.

But in two-plus seasons in Pittsburgh he has seen a string of starting linemen go down with significant injuries, most recently rookie guard David DeCastro, a first-round pick who suffered a torn knee ligament in a preseason game at Buffalo.

DeCastro's injury is devastating, considering that the Steelers expected him to step in and immediately solidify the right side of the offensive line. They even parted ways with veteran Chris Kemoeatu in March, leaving Ramon Foster as the only guard on the roster with meaningful experience at the position. (Willie Colon, the starter at left guard this season, has made all 51 of his career starts at tackle.)

But this isn't Kugler's first rodeo.

No sooner had he arrived in Pittsburgh than the Steelers lost Colon during the preseason to the first of what would become back-to-back season-ending injuries.

The patchwork quilt began to take shape from there.

Center Maurkice Pouncey, the team's 2010 first-round pick, went down at the most critical points of the past two seasons with injuries that kept him out of Super Bowl XLV and last year's AFC wild-card loss in Denver.

At one point last season, guard Trai Essex was forced to play center because Pouncey was out and backup Doug Legursky got hurt in a game against the St. Louis Rams.

It would be laughable if it weren't so frustrating for a team whose foundation rests on power running behind a rock-solid offensive line.


Read More: http://www.goerie.com/article/20120908/SPORTS0509/309089920/John-Dudley%3A-Juggled-Steelers-O-line-in-good-hands-with-Kugler

ALLD
09-08-2012, 06:26 AM
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