That, was funny.
steve
Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android
On Tue, Jun 29, 2021 at 7:06, Shahab Hasan<dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote: Yeah, thanks for the breaking news, Joe... err... Streetr. :-)
Shahab
On Tuesday, June 29, 2021, 3:10:24 AM EDT, Streetr <stlrmn1@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Holy smokes, I've been busy as heck and just read about this tonight and
Wexell got a phone interview with Dave:
DAVID DECASTRO, former All-Pro guard, Pittsburgh Steelers
Q: What can you tell me, Dave? What happened?
DD: I had some painful ankle issues. I'll need it cleaned up for a third time
in my career. I had trouble with it last year and was hoping it would get
better. I was holding out hope it would get better, but it never really
recovered. Got an MRI on it and I need to get it cleaned out again. The body
doesn't want to cooperate sometimes.
READ MORELate Kick: Predicting college football's most dangerousteams in 2021Q:
Are you going to retire?DD: I'm not sure. I'm going to talk to the doctor, see
how the surgery goes and take it from there. I'm not entirely sure. I just want
to take it one step at a time.
Q: The need for a third operation came up just recently?
DD: Yeah, just recently. I gave it some time. I didn't start working out on it
until the month before. I let it rest, but I got the MRI at minicamp and was
waiting on the doctor's opinion on what to do at minicamp. He came back and
said I needed surgery.
Q: It's a shock to Steelers fans who were looking at you as the rallying point
of leadership for a line that's so young. Is it a shock to the Steelers? Is it
a shock to you?
DD: No, not really, man. It's a business and they're in good hands. They've got
a good coach. I like (Adrian) Klemm. I like this assistant, Chris Morgan, too.
They've got some good young guys, too, to build off of. I like what (Matt)
Canada's doing as well. I was looking forward to it. I really was. Thought it
was a good group. They'll be just fine. They're in good hands. It's the nature
of the business, man. Things end quick.
Q: Yeah. Wow. Isn't cohesion, though, one of the most important elements of
offensive line play? Or is that media hyperbole?
DD: No, it is. It definitely is. You guys are right about that one. But like I
said, it's hard in this business to have cohesion. There's a lot of turnover.
We were lucky with what we had, the many years we did. But they'll be fine.
They'll get it right. They'll have a good training camp. It's a good group.
They have some experience.
Q: What in particular do you like about the new coaches and the young offensive
linemen?
DD: I like both coaches. Klemm, obviously, played in the league. He knows what
he's doing, a no-nonsense kind of guy. He'll get the guys right, on paper and
mentally. I like Chris Morgan a lot, just getting to talk to him briefly from
the experience I had. He knows his stuff. He's been in this league a long time
and coaching football a long time. As far as the guys go, I hope (Zach) Banner
gets that knee right. Obviously he has a tremendous amount of physical talent.
Chuks (Okorafor), I'm looking forward to watching him, looking forward to
watching all these guys - (Kevin) Dotson, all these young guys I've played with
and watched. I think they'll do well. It's going to be weird watching from a
distance but they'll do well.
Q: What about leadership? People in the national media who didn't know never
appreciated the linemen who were the real leaders of the Steelers. It wasn't
chaos. But now that you're all gone, what about that leadership?
DD: Ah, they'll be good. The locker room's good. You guys want to exaggerate
things, like the locker room. With social media, things get blown out of
proportion. But the Steelers do it the right way. They really do. They're a
great organization. They know how to handle their players. They let the players
have some responsibility. Other teams seem to overhold peoples' hands and
whatnot, but (Mike) Tomlin always says he doesn't like too many rules. He
treats you like an adult and expects you to perform like one, so I think those
guys get it. There are enough leaders in there. I think they'll be fine.
Q: So, what would you consider the high points of your career here?
DD: I think those offensive years when we were really rolling, when we were
tops in the league. That was a lot of fun. Probably my best memories. We were
on a nice roll there.
Q: You had some big days with Le'Veon. Watching you pull was fun.
DD: (Laughs)
Q: Did all of that mobility play a part in your ankle?
DD: Who knows, man. I think it happened early on when I first got hurt my
rookie year. That's what the doctors said at least. You know how injuries go.
They kind of snowball and you never catch up. Tough when you get older, too.
We'll see how the surgery goes.
Q: If you do play again, do you have a preference? Are you still a West Coast
guy?
DD: I don't know what I am anymore. I've got to figure it out. It's kind of
weird having all these choices. But I don't know. We're going to hang out here
for some time. I need to get this ankle right and see if I want to play. That's
the other question. I can't tell you how the ankle's going to feel. I mean,
three times on an ankle, and ankles don't really heal that well, not like
knees. It just doesn't seem like there's enough blood flow or whatnot down
there. We've got to figure it out. I've got a lot of decisions to make. I've
got three kids to keep me busy and sane.
Q: You do have a home around Pittsburgh?
DD: I do. We live here year around.
Q: All right, Dave. We'll all miss you.
DD: Yeah, it was fun Jim.
Q: You'll be back for ceremonies. And when you make the 100-year team,
hopefully I'll still be around.
24COMMENTS
DD: It'll be good, man. We'll have a beer. Take care.
