Villanueva: 'They care about me'

[Shoes]

Alejandro Villanueva knew there was something different when the Steelers signed him.

When you go to battle in the military, trusting the man next to you is of paramount importance.

When you take the field on game day, especially as part of an offensive line, trust is again a huge factor.

But despite having the ability to trust in both of those situations, Alejandro Villanuevaadmits he had some trust issues when he first came to the Steelers, issues that subsided once he got a feel for the team.

http://www.steelers.com/news/article...9-7d3902d959bc

[BlackAndGold]

Hope they get a long term deal done. He's one of my favorite players on the team.

[Shoes]

Hope they get a long term deal done. He's one of my favorite players on the team.

Agreed and I think they will. On a side note, everyone knows Munch has really turned this oline around and you can understand why when players feel like this about their coach.


Mike Munchak is the greatest coach in the NFL because he is a very good person, he has values, and you can look up to him. He is a gentleman. He is very respectful of other people. He cares about every single player. That is the fastest way to build trust, to have sincere and honest relationships with everybody. It’s really easy for me to walk around this building and say hi to everybody and get to know everybody. Once you have that trust in the organization, the organization tries to get the best out of you and that is what they are doing.”

[DesertSteel]

"Show me the money!"

[ALLD]

AV reminds me of another player.

[Moose]

Class. Nice he's in Black/Gold.

[GBMelBlount]

“If you look at it objectively, the one thing the Steelers have that other teams don’t have is stability,” said Villanueva. “You have ownership that everybody respects and admires. An ownership that is present in everybody’s lives."

Villaneuva is becoming my favorite player.

[steelerdude15]

Hope they get a long term deal done. He's one of my favorite players on the team.

I bet the Steelers will try to lock him up, but I'd look for the Steelers to get Le'Veon and Stephon done first. We could see a contract extension for Villanueva this summer or they may try to lock him up before he becomes a restricted free agent next year.

[teegre]

Villaneuva is becoming my favorite player.

^^This^^

[tube517]

http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2017/...kwYIXo.twitter


AV is all class.

[Psycho Ward 86]

I think ideally we extend Villanueva earlier than we "have to." But i think its fascinating that Jerald Hawkins never seems to be a part of these discussions. Gilbert is 29 and wont be a free agent until 2020, which is the same time Ben's contract runs out. Gilbert will be 32 by then, has been relatively healthy after being banged up early in his career. Looks like that weight loss has really helped him with his health and playing quality. Villanueva will actually turn 29 in September and has been streaky in his early starts but extraordinary to finish off 2 consecutive seasons behind the best O-line coach in the league.

The steelers seem to have a knack for knowing when to let go of players. Hawkins was part of a deep OT class and was supposed to be as early a 2nd round pick in most draft classes if not for positional depth so you know he has the potential to be great. Munchak is the best O-line coach in the league. Might not be worth it to keep both of our tackles around in the long haul even if theyre playing great.

Thoughts?

[GBMelBlount]

I think ideally we extend Villanueva earlier than we "have to." But i think its fascinating that Jerald Hawkins never seems to be a part of these discussions. Gilbert is 29 and wont be a free agent until 2020, which is the same time Ben's contract runs out. Gilbert will be 32 by then, has been relatively healthy after being banged up early in his career. Looks like that weight loss has really helped him with his health and playing quality. Villanueva will actually turn 29 in September and has been streaky in his early starts but extraordinary to finish off 2 consecutive seasons behind the best O-line coach in the league.

The steelers seem to have a knack for knowing when to let go of players. Hawkins was part of a deep OT class and was supposed to be as early a 2nd round pick in most draft classes if not for positional depth so you know he has the potential to be great. Munchak is the best O-line coach in the league.

Might not be worth it to keep both of our tackles around in the long haul even if theyre playing great.

Thoughts?

Great post and great point.

Munchak seems to continually turn good raw players into very good linemen.

This allows us to let players high price linemen go (if necessary) without it affecting our overall line play that much like it would at other positions.

We are blessed to have Munchak.

[Devilsdancefloor]

hope he is here until he wants to hang up the cleats

[teegre]

I think ideally we extend Villanueva earlier than we "have to." But i think its fascinating that Jerald Hawkins never seems to be a part of these discussions. Gilbert is 29 and wont be a free agent until 2020, which is the same time Ben's contract runs out. Gilbert will be 32 by then, has been relatively healthy after being banged up early in his career. Looks like that weight loss has really helped him with his health and playing quality. Villanueva will actually turn 29 in September and has been streaky in his early starts but extraordinary to finish off 2 consecutive seasons behind the best O-line coach in the league.

The steelers seem to have a knack for knowing when to let go of players. Hawkins was part of a deep OT class and was supposed to be as early a 2nd round pick in most draft classes if not for positional depth so you know he has the potential to be great. Munchak is the best O-line coach in the league. Might not be worth it to keep both of our tackles around in the long haul even if theyre playing great.

Thoughts?

Simply... you can never have too many good offensive linemen.

Extend AV. Allow Gilbert to play out his contract. Then, in four years, Hawkins can supplant one of them (and, in the meantime, we'll groom another OT to replace the other current starter).