If the new-look Steelers offensive line blocks as well as Zach Banner talks, they’ll go from worst to first in the running game and Ben Roethlisberger will have time to enjoy a three-course meal each time he drops back in the pocket.
On Wednesday, Banner’s linemate Kevin Dotson proudly wore a T-shirt reading, “If you ain’t a Steelers fan you ain’t [expletive]” under his practice jersey. On Thursday, Banner provided a whole lot more slogans that would look good on some Steelers gear.
“Necessary violence” is how Banner referred to the mindset being instilled by new head offensive line coach Adrian Klemm.
“Thug mentality” is how he further described said mindset.
“When I look at my guys going out through the tunnel, or going anywhere, I look at them like, ‘Let’s F’ing go,’” Banner added later.
Of course, colorful language like that comes with Banner’s personality. He went from being a backup reclamation project reticent to speak publicly at all two years ago, to a new mouthpiece for the line and, he hopes, the full-time starter at right tackle.
But the 6-foot-8, 335-pound Banner, who effectively missed the entire 2020 season after a torn ACL in Week 1, isn’t content to just be heard and not seen this year at OTAs. Even as he continues rehabbing from that injury, he was on the field Thursday for the final team workout of the week, taking a rep here and a rep there just because he can hardly keep himself away from it — optional practices be damned.
“I’m an in-the-building guy,” Banner said, noting that he’s on track to be ready for full participation in time for training camp. “Getting here early in the morning, I’m one of the first guys here. It’s not to pat myself on the back, it’s just who I am.”
As a handful of veterans for the Steelers and across the league continue training on their own rather than at team facilities, Banner never had that approach on his mind. He’s been living in Pittsburgh most of the offseason, trying to strengthen his surgically repaired right knee along with fellow member of the ACL club, inside linebacker Devin Bush.
There isn't any trepidation in Banner’s voice when he discusses whether he can bounce back after having a starting job won and then ripped away from him almost immediately by the cruel nature of the sport. And that’s for good reason, given the way athletes today — even hulking offensive linemen as big as Banner — routinely return from ACL tears.
“Nowadays, they're not the offensive linemen of the ’60s and ’70s. They are much more athletic and they’re moving and they’re pulling,” said Dr. Derek Ochiai, a sports medicine surgeon who specializes in hip and knee repairs. “I certainly don't want to discard an offensive lineman, because they do a lot. That being said, the stress on an ACL from a non-contact point of view is going to be much higher in a defensive back or wide receiver — especially defensive back, because they don't know which way they're cutting.”
That might be more of a concern for a coverage linebacker like Bush — who also was back on the field Thursday — but according to Banner, his “mini twin” is on schedule, as well, after going down in Week 5. With their injuries in the rear-view mirror, both can focus on helping the Steelers improve in 2021, and for Banner’s unit that means replacing, retooling and in some ways reviving the offensive line.
Gone are Maurkice Pouncey and Al Villanueva, plus head position coach Shaun Sarrett. Stepping in are rookie center Kendrick Green (if he wins the job), new left tackle Chukwuma Okorafor and Klemm, who previously served as Sarrett’s assistant coach.
“You’ll never be able to fill a gap that 53 left,” Banner said of Pouncey. “No one will. … But at the same time, it’s not like creating a new environment, it’s taking all the great things from [him] being here.
“Come on, man. A lot of people want to say a lot of bad things about us right now, and that’s OK. But at the same time, a couple years ago, we were known as the best offensive line in the league.”
Banner mentioned that he’s well aware of those “bad things” being projected for the Steelers line because he’s in-tune with fans and critics on social media, but that they’re the last thing on his mind when he starts his day. The group’s lack of experience — only right guard David DeCastro has more than one full season as a starter here — is “concerning for you guys who write the article,” but not the team, Banner deadpanned.
He’s confident in what Klemm is bringing to the table as a coach, in draft picks Green and Dan Moore Jr., and in Okorafor, one of his closest friends in the organization and the likely bookend on the other side of him. Given all that bravado, it will be a long wait to see if these guys can actually go out and do it when the time comes — or, as coach Mike Tomlin puts it, when the rent comes due.
“It’s a culture that was recruited and put together by ‘Coach T’ this offseason, and it really shows,” Banner said. “In saying that ‘thug mentality,’ the last thing I want people to think is we’re walking around Pittsburgh beating people up or doing dumb stuff. But at the same time, what else would you want as an offensive line unit? That’s my question. You’ve got to come off the ball and kill people, and that’s the type of mentality we need to have.”
