BlastFurnace
08-08-2010, 02:00 PM
Great Interview with Rod Woodson - Man to Man with Rod Woodson
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The Steelers legend is working behind enemy lines, but does he still have a black-and-gold heart?
BY SEAN CONBOY
It’s the miserable thick of summer in wet-hot central Kentucky, and the 45-year-old man with the graying goatee and creaky stride is giving some stick to the 25-year-old second-team All-Pro—the one with muscle striations that run through his biceps like the nearby Red River. The air horn has just sounded to signal the end of a grueling training camp workout, and exhausted defensive linemen are showering themselves with water bottles on the sidelines. Some hop on golf carts and haul-ass to the promise land of air-conditioning like Steve McQueen in a 68’ Mustang.
Yet the young cornerback stays on the field to listen to the wisdom of his team’s new “intern coach.” The trainee schools the young buck about pursuit angles, drawing geometric pattens in the air with the animated hand gestures of an Italian shopkeeper.
The kid hangs on every word, because this is no ordinary advice. This is a masterclass from Professor Rod Woodson, arguably the best defensive back to ever play the game.
So why should this scene concern Steelers fans? Because the young player being lectured is not wearing black-and-gold, but tiger stripes. It's Leon Hall of the rival Cincinnati Bengals, the defending AFC North champs who already have “the best cornerback tandem in the league,” according to Woodson.
Read more: [url]http://www.pittsburghmagazine.com/Best-of-the-Burgh-Blogs/Pulling-No-Punches/August-2010/Man-to-Man-with-Rod-Woodson/ (http://www.pittsburghmagazine.com/Be...h-Rod-Woodson/)
[/URL]
The Steelers legend is working behind enemy lines, but does he still have a black-and-gold heart?
BY SEAN CONBOY
It’s the miserable thick of summer in wet-hot central Kentucky, and the 45-year-old man with the graying goatee and creaky stride is giving some stick to the 25-year-old second-team All-Pro—the one with muscle striations that run through his biceps like the nearby Red River. The air horn has just sounded to signal the end of a grueling training camp workout, and exhausted defensive linemen are showering themselves with water bottles on the sidelines. Some hop on golf carts and haul-ass to the promise land of air-conditioning like Steve McQueen in a 68’ Mustang.
Yet the young cornerback stays on the field to listen to the wisdom of his team’s new “intern coach.” The trainee schools the young buck about pursuit angles, drawing geometric pattens in the air with the animated hand gestures of an Italian shopkeeper.
The kid hangs on every word, because this is no ordinary advice. This is a masterclass from Professor Rod Woodson, arguably the best defensive back to ever play the game.
So why should this scene concern Steelers fans? Because the young player being lectured is not wearing black-and-gold, but tiger stripes. It's Leon Hall of the rival Cincinnati Bengals, the defending AFC North champs who already have “the best cornerback tandem in the league,” according to Woodson.
Read more: [url]http://www.pittsburghmagazine.com/Best-of-the-Burgh-Blogs/Pulling-No-Punches/August-2010/Man-to-Man-with-Rod-Woodson/ (http://www.pittsburghmagazine.com/Be...h-Rod-Woodson/)