PITTSBURGH — I grew up listening to a Possum call baseball games. I know a Kitten, Quail, Dog and Tiger won a World Series with the Pirates. I watched a Goose make the Hall of Fame. I saw a Mad Dog help the Steelers to four Super Bowl wins and another Mad Dog help the Pirates to a world championship with a big assist from a Cobra. I wrote about a Moose with the Penguins.
Then, there was a Duck.
The Steelers' Duck Dynasty was brief but as memorable as any period in Pittsburgh sports.
I've never seen anything like it.
We didn't know a thing about Devlin Hodges when he signed with the Steelers as an undrafted free agent out of Samford in May 2019 with seemingly no chance of making the team. He might as well have been Gil Hodges, as far as anyone around here was concerned. But by the time Duck left town last week, everyone knew him. He went from being a sports nobody to playing Pittsburgh's most scrutinized, pressure-filled position. He wasn't just the Steelers quarterback in 2019. He nearly led the team to the playoffs.
Somebody should make a movie about Duck.
At least the Hollywood big-wigs wouldn't have far to go to find Duck. He announced on social media this week that he has signed a reserve/future contract with the Los Angeles Rams. Somebody athletic with acting experience would have to play Duck. I'm thinking maybe Tony Hawk. You know, Birdman.
Duck got his nickname because he's a world-class duck caller. You don't find many of those on NFL rosters. Of course, the Steelers had not one, but two rocket scientists — Josh Dobbs and Matthew Wright — on their roster this season. Clearly, they don't always go after your stereotypical football types.
But Duck would have just been a pleasant oddity if not only for the way his football story developed with the speed of, say — I'm thinking bird here — a golden eagle. He was cut by the Steelers before the 2019 season, brought back on the practice squad, moved to No. 3 quarterback when Dobbs was traded after the first game, to No. 2 when Ben Roethlisberger was lost for the season with an elbow injury in the second game and to No. 1 when Baltimore Ravens safety Earl Thomas knocked Mason Rudolph into the next week during the fifth game.
Forget golden eagle speed to describe Duck's ascent.
I'm talking peregrine falcon speed.
Duck nearly pulled out a win in that Ravens game. He completed 7 of 9 passes for 68 yards, his final completion going to JuJu Smith-Schuster, who fumbled at the Steelers' 45 in overtime after a 10-yard gain. Duck was better the next week in a 24-17 win in Los Angeles against the Chargers, throwing his first touchdown pass to James Conner. The legend was growing. Suddenly, Steelers fans couldn't get enough Duck memorabilia. Duck hats. Duck shirts. Duck call lanyards.
But Duck wasn't done quacking.
Sorry, I couldn't help myself.
Duck came off the bench again in his next appearance a few weeks later, relieving a struggling Rudolph and leading the Steelers to a comeback win against Cincinnati by throwing a 79-yard touchdown pass to James Washington. That led Mike Tomlin to stick with him the next week against Cleveland instead of going back to Rudolph, the presumptive heir apparent to Roethlisberger.
"I expect him to not kill us," Tomlin said of Duck.
The Steelers beat the Browns with Duck throwing for 212 yards and another touchdown to Washington. They won against the next week in Arizona with Duck completing 16 of 19 passes, including a touchdown to Diontae Johnson.
"He didn't kill us," Tomlin said, grinning.
Does Tomlin have to have a part in the Duck movie or what?
Unfortunately, the story won't have a happy ending.
Duck threw four interceptions in a home loss to Buffalo, then was benched for Rudolph in the second quarter in the next game after throwing two more interceptions in a road loss to the New York Jets. That defeat effectively ended the Steelers' playoff chances.
Duckmania was over.
Duck came back with the Steelers this season but never made it off the practice squad. That hardly seemed to matter. He already had taken his place in Pittsburgh sports lore.
"[Peace] Pittsburgh! Thankful for the opportunity and the ability to live out my dream," Duck tweeted last week. "Nothing but love! QUACK!"
Go back to my first paragraph.
Jim Woods called the Pirates games. Harvey Haddix, Bill Virdon, Bob Skinner and Don Hoak led the team to the 1960 World Series upset of the New York Yankees. Rich Gossage made it to the Hall of Fame. Dwight White was a prominent member of the Steel Curtain. Bill Madlock a key part of the Pirates' 1979 World Series team along with Dave Parker. Johan Hedberg was a Penguins goaltender.
I'll never forget those guys.
I'll never forget Duck.
