I hate it when Vince Williams talks down to me.
I also don't hate it.
"Come on, DK, what'd I tell you?"
I'd been working my way around the victorious visiting locker room in Baltimore, and I'd been seeking out Joe Haden. Couldn't find him anywhere, presumably because he was somewhere else being excellent. But as I passed through the row where all the Steelers' linebackers were stripping off their pads and tape, there was Vinnie not letting me slip by unscathed.
"Do you remember?" he'd keep going. "Do you remember what I was telling you about this defense?"
OK, time to take the bait. I stopped at his stall.
I remembered, of course. It was Vinnie's stance that the Steelers' defense would get better as soon as they got smarter. This was right around the time that I and the Nation as a whole was ripping them for getting embarrassed by Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, back before that became an NFL-wide trend.
Heck if he wasn't right, too. Look at the point totals over these past four Ws:
It's easy to dig deeper, statistically and otherwise, but we've all witnessed it. And we've witnessed it within the context of Artie Burns being mostly to blame for the big scores they were still giving up, which now don't seem to matter since he's out of the mix.
But then, that was part of Vinnie's point. He believed in the Steelers' defensive depth, and he believed Mike Tomlin and Keith Butler would eventually squeeze the most out of everyone involved. Which is precisely what's been happening.
"Look around at what you're seeing," Vinnie kept on. "L.J. Fort's involved. He's right in there with us making big plays. Morgan Burnett's back, and he's right up at the line. What about Cam Sutton?"
What about him?
"You see Cam playing dime linebacker?"
I did.
"Did you know he never played that position in his life?"
I did not.
"This is what I'm talking about. We had what we needed. But when you start the season, man, the offense has all the advantages. Because we go out there not knowing what they're going to do. Or what we need to do to get better. But now ... now it's different. Everything's on tape. No more secrets. No more surprises. We're just lining up, putting our people into their position of strengths, and playing football. You know what I'm saying?"
I do. He's right. I'm OK with that.
• Alejandro Villanueva is fast becoming the Steelers' most under-appreciated player, which seems nuts given his prominent back story combined with his emergence as an exceptional NFL left tackle this season. In particular, he's just taken on two tough assignments the past couple weeks -- the Browns' Myles Garrett and the Ravens' Terrell Suggs -- and swallowed them both whole.
Befitting his personality, though, he won't take so much as a sliver of credit, deflecting it all instead to Mike Munchak, the beloved offensive line coach:
• Does Tomlin ever outcoach anyone?
Asking for various friends in the AFC North.
• Reason No. 30,000,000 to not care whether or not Le'Veon Bell is in town: According to NFL Research data released yesterday, when opposing defenses had eight or more men in the box against Bell last season, he averaged 3 yards per carry and broke loose for 10-plus yards 7.8 percent of the time. When opposing defenses have done that this season to Conner, he's averaged 4.7 yards per carry and broke loose for 10-plus yards 15.2 percent of the time.
Translated: When other teams wanted to take away Bell, they did. They haven't been able to do it yet to Conner.
He's a better player.
• Is there any behavior in the NFL more annoying than the annual collective angst upon realizing that -- gasp! -- the Cowboys aren't any good again?
News flash to a stunned Troy Aikman, a sweaty Michael Irvin and all the rest who act as if it's some crime against humanity: This franchise has made the playoffs three times in the past 10 years. It's won a grand total of two playoff games in the past 20 years. And there isn't a soul on this planet outside the Metroplex who thought for a split-second the current edition would be any better than the 3-5 that's showing right now.
Here's Irvin at his journalistic finest this past weekend, by the way:
? @stephenasmith and @michaelirvin88 are GOING AT IT ? pic.twitter.com/pQ8HEpZF88
— First Take (@FirstTake) November 5, 2018
The talent flat-out isn't there in Dallas. The star itself stopped meaning something a long, long time ago. And 'America's Team' never meant anything in the first place.
• Now that Zach Aston-Reese and Garrett Wilson are coming up for the Penguins, and Derek Grant's down in Wilkes-Barre -- all three moves having been specifically sought in the column after that debacle against the Devils -- I guess I'm not in much position to complain, right?
Well, maybe just a little.
See, if Mike Sullivan's going to challenge Aston-Reese to reclaim his 'swagger' in the AHL and the kid does precisely that by popping six goals in a month, then he's earned the right to keep on strutting that swagger. And he can't do that if he's held to a bit part. Play him. Get him on the top three lines. Keep him active.
A wholly unsolicited suggestion: Try him on the new third line to the left of Riley Sheahan and Phil Kessel. Sheahan and Kessel won't go to the net. Aston-Reese does.
• And yeah, the same goes for Wilson. He's a 27-year-old journeyman and not nearly as important to the organization as Aston-Reese, to put it mildly. But he, like Aston-Reese, had six goals in the AHL, and chances are excellent he'll be replacing someone who hasn't done nearly enough to date. So if all that comes of this is a callup-for-show, not much of a message gets sent.
Know who I'd sit?
Daniel Sprong. Low man on the pole. Zero goals. Terrible possession rating. Most important, he isn't likely to help the Penguins win this one game tonight in Washington. And on this day, that's all that's relevant.
• Mega-credit to our Taylor Haase, by the way, for the names dropped in the aforementioned column. I went straight to her after the game Monday to ask who'd be the best fits for an immediate promotion. Her replies within seconds: Aston-Reese and Wilson.
Read her stuff. It's the real deal.
• This stinks on ice ...
In October of 2018, seven Ottawa Senators disappeared into the back of an Uber in Phoenix while preparing for a game against the Arizona Coyotes.
A week later, their footage was found. pic.twitter.com/2eJlwTvq6W
— Yahoo Sports Canada (@YahooCASports) November 6, 2018
None among us exists without saying stuff we'd regret if it were heard by everyone. The Senators have become a complete clown show, and this becoming a continent-wide news story obviously won't help, but they're not anywhere near as much to blame as the dirtbag Uber driver who shared the security video from his car. It was a sick, cowardly act.
Crosby nailed it after practice yesterday in Cranberry: “It doesn’t matter if you’re a hockey player or just someone looking to jump in a car and get a lift, it’s too bad to see that. People try to do the responsible thing, especially if they’ve been drinking and things like that. Try to be responsible and jump in a car just to be taken advantage of like that is just wrong. Any one of us has been in that position before. Unfortunately, that happened.”
• Our John Perrotto spent extensive, exclusive time with Neal Huntington yesterday in Carlsbad, Calif., and among the many worthwhile takeaways from the GM's first interview since season's end was that the Pirates clearly like Bryan Reynolds as a future outfielder.
They probably should, too. Part of the Andrew McCutchen deal, he slashed .302/.381/.438 with seven home runs in 88 games for Class AA Altoona, this despite having surgery on a broken hamate bone in April. For anyone who doesn't know, that's a common procedure for hitters, and it doesn't do long-term damage but it does sap power for months. So Reynolds slugging as he did under the circumstances is actually encouraging.
Also, he's 23, so it's reasonable to expect an arrival in Pittsburgh at some point in 2019.
Give credit where it's due: If they can't draft/develop their own picks, the next best thing is to get good prospects from other systems. Maybe this kid will be one.
• No issue at all here, by the way, with Huntington backing off John's fair question about extending Corey Dickerson. He's been a terrific find, but he'll be 30 next summer. No thanks.
• On that note, since I already cited one column that got it right, I'll now cite one that got it very, very wrong.
This was actually in the March 9 Friday Insider, down in the Pirates section, and this was the entry in full:
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An American League scout told me this past weekend that Dickerson, a subpar defensive outfielder, has “no chance” at surviving PNC Park’s mega-challenging left field. Dickerson lacks both the glove and the athleticism needed, the scout said. He predicted that Dickerson could need to switch with Gregory Polanco, except that Polanco’s become so much more comfortable in front of the Clemente Wall. — DK in Sarasota, Fla.
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Well, shame on us. And congrats to Dickerson on his deserved Gold Glove.
My scout had seen plenty of Dickerson during his time with the Rays. My scout spoke from a wealth of experience and expertise. I'll trust him now and forever.
But the broader lesson here, as Huntington himself acknowledged in the talk with John, is that people who want to get better will get better. Dickerson worked his tail off through the spring and all season long. All the kudos to him, to Clint Hurdle, to Kimera Bartee and to the great Omar Moreno for their extensive work with him.
It can feel great to be wrong sometimes.
