Steelers' Alejandro Villanueva looks to build off experience from last season
By Chris B. Mueller Times NFL Correspondent 5 hrs ago 0
Alejandro Villanueva
Phelan M. Ebenhack/The Associated Press file
Steelers tackle Alejandro Villanueva (78) is one to look for at next week's Steelers OTAs. Villanueva is competing with Ryan Harris for the starting left tackle spot this season.
PITTSBURGH -- At this time last year, it's safe to say Alejandro Villanueva never would have thought he'd be in his current situation.
"At this time of last year, he obviously wasn’t thinking he was going to be the starting tackle for us," offensive line coach Mike Munchak said.
When Kelvin Beachum went down with a torn ACL in Week 6 against the Arizona Cardinals, Villanueva was forced into action. The former defensive end turned left tackle was in his first season at a new position, but in the snap of a Kelvin Beachum knee ligament he was handed the task of protecting Ben Roethlisberger's blind side.
There was a steep learning curve, but as the season went on, Villanueva took each mistake and misstep as an opportunity for growth.
"If you’ve watched him here, he’s already so much better during these OTAs than he was when the season ended as far as understanding what we’re doing," Munchak said. "He had a chance to go back and watch himself on tape and see what he did well and what he needs to improve on."
Three weeks into spring practice, Villanueva appears to be an entirely new player. One that, with his size -- 6-foot-9, 320 pounds -- has the potential to be a solid starter for years to come.
"You always have to hope for the best and always have to strive for high goals," Villanueva said. "Obviously, every player on this team's goal is to be a starter and contributor. I wanted to contribute in some way. But contributing is not enough once you get to (the starting) level, now your goal is to be a dominant player."
According to Pro Football Focus, Villanueva ranked as the 11th-worst offensive tackle. That grading scale primarily is measured by pass-blocking efficiency and QB pressures (Villanueva allowed 39 pressures on 459 total snaps).
It was all part of learning through experience for Villanueva, rather than learning through the practice setting or game film as a backup.
"Each game with the things that he saw, different fronts and twists and looks from the defense, it was a different thing that he had to learn from," offensive coordinator Todd Haley said. "The positive thing with Al is that each time he saw one of those things for the first time, he may not have got it the first time, but he grew from it and handled it when it came at him again."
Villanueva has had the luxury of a full off-season to prepare as a tackle after experiencing firsthand the difficulties of starting at the NFL level. He put on 100 pounds last year to effectively transition to offensive tackle, and he looks to be in even better shape now during OTAs.
"I think I have to improve on everything overall," he said. "Just situational football and consistency. There’s just a lot of things of the game that I need to improve on. The off-season is about building strength and conditioning and trying to get more comfortable with the plays that we have in place."
By Chris B. Mueller Times NFL Correspondent 5 hrs ago 0
Alejandro Villanueva
Phelan M. Ebenhack/The Associated Press file
Steelers tackle Alejandro Villanueva (78) is one to look for at next week's Steelers OTAs. Villanueva is competing with Ryan Harris for the starting left tackle spot this season.
PITTSBURGH -- At this time last year, it's safe to say Alejandro Villanueva never would have thought he'd be in his current situation.
"At this time of last year, he obviously wasn’t thinking he was going to be the starting tackle for us," offensive line coach Mike Munchak said.
When Kelvin Beachum went down with a torn ACL in Week 6 against the Arizona Cardinals, Villanueva was forced into action. The former defensive end turned left tackle was in his first season at a new position, but in the snap of a Kelvin Beachum knee ligament he was handed the task of protecting Ben Roethlisberger's blind side.
There was a steep learning curve, but as the season went on, Villanueva took each mistake and misstep as an opportunity for growth.
"If you’ve watched him here, he’s already so much better during these OTAs than he was when the season ended as far as understanding what we’re doing," Munchak said. "He had a chance to go back and watch himself on tape and see what he did well and what he needs to improve on."
Three weeks into spring practice, Villanueva appears to be an entirely new player. One that, with his size -- 6-foot-9, 320 pounds -- has the potential to be a solid starter for years to come.
"You always have to hope for the best and always have to strive for high goals," Villanueva said. "Obviously, every player on this team's goal is to be a starter and contributor. I wanted to contribute in some way. But contributing is not enough once you get to (the starting) level, now your goal is to be a dominant player."
According to Pro Football Focus, Villanueva ranked as the 11th-worst offensive tackle. That grading scale primarily is measured by pass-blocking efficiency and QB pressures (Villanueva allowed 39 pressures on 459 total snaps).
It was all part of learning through experience for Villanueva, rather than learning through the practice setting or game film as a backup.
"Each game with the things that he saw, different fronts and twists and looks from the defense, it was a different thing that he had to learn from," offensive coordinator Todd Haley said. "The positive thing with Al is that each time he saw one of those things for the first time, he may not have got it the first time, but he grew from it and handled it when it came at him again."
Villanueva has had the luxury of a full off-season to prepare as a tackle after experiencing firsthand the difficulties of starting at the NFL level. He put on 100 pounds last year to effectively transition to offensive tackle, and he looks to be in even better shape now during OTAs.
"I think I have to improve on everything overall," he said. "Just situational football and consistency. There’s just a lot of things of the game that I need to improve on. The off-season is about building strength and conditioning and trying to get more comfortable with the plays that we have in place."
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