About Dejan Kovacevic

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Dejan Kovacevic, a lifelong Pittsburgher, is an award-winning sports columnist who has covered the Steelers, Penguins, Pirates, Pitt and, recently, his fourth Olympics in Sochi, Russia. For 2011, he was named one of the country's top four columnists by the AP Sports Editors. For 2012, he was named one of the country's top three columnists by the National Headliners. For 2013, he was named the state's top columnist by the Keystone Press Awards and top columnist in Western Pennsylvania by the Golden Quills.

Posts by Dejan Kovacevic:

Friday Insider: Pirates’ truth odder than fiction

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DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

fridayinsiderA weekly feature aimed at rounding up a whole lot of odds and ends from a whole lot of time spent around our local teams …

• The numbers and narratives that get tossed around in public about the Pirates’ finances often border on the insane, but a few of late have crossed definitively into that territory. The latest — and maybe greatest ever — is that the team took on $25 million, no $35 million or is it now $45 million in new monies since last season.

Do I have a taker for $55 million yet?

It isn’t true. It isn’t close to true, and I’m about to waste my breath here sharing why.

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Column: Fast start will rev up Steelers’ rebound

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Pittsburgh Steelers v Philadelphia Eagles

Dri Archer turns the corner on the Eagles in a preseason game two weeks ago in Philadelphia. — GETTY IMAGES

DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

But then there’s that schedule.

See, for all the other analysis that can be performed in predicting the Steelers’ 2014 season, from Ben Roethlisberger being burdened by too many new targets to the running backs being dopes to the defensive front being too young to the secondary being too old, I keep coming back to the same thought: The cumulative winning percentage of the opponents on the 2014 schedule is .469, making for an eighth-place tie for the NFL’s easiest.

The opening seven weeks alone afford an outstanding opportunity for a strong start, including both meetings with the Browns (4-12 last season), the Ravens (8-8), Buccaneers (4-12), Jaguars (4-12) and Texans (2-14), with the Panthers (12-4) providing the only winning record in the stretch.

The Steelers can’t talk about that and, predictably, won’t.

“Cleveland, man. We’re talking Cleveland,” fullback Will Johnson playfully shot back when I broached the topic Wednesday before practice. “I’ll be honest: I don’t know if I’ve even looked at the schedule. I just know we’re opening with Cleveland. Nothing else I can speak to.”

Fine, but I can and will: This schedule stinks. And especially the first half. There’s no good reason not to start out 6-2, or 5-3 at the worst.

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News with Views: Pitt’s (much) taller task

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Pitt’s James Conner saw more green than the Amazon rainforest Saturday at Heinz Field. — PETE MADIA / PITT ATHLETICS

DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

Paul Chryst barely mustered a monosyllabic hiccup in his Tuesday press conference when asked if Pitt will have difficulty avoiding overconfidence after crushing Delaware, 62-0, in its opener.

“No.”

That was it.

He wasn’t being glib, either. You could see from his expression he was actually reaching for a way to expound upon the answer, then didn’t even bother.

And why should he have?

No means no, right?

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Tuesday 12 Qs: Tomlin, Broxton, Geno, Dri, Clash

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DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

photoWelcome to Tuesday Twelve Qs, our chat that takes place each week at 1 p.m. live from the Steelers’ headquarters on the South Side.

The format is simple: Use the comments section below to submit an entry, with no more than one per person, please. Submit it anytime you want. I’ll pick from those to get the thing rolling, then monitor new entries. All topics welcome, as always.

UPDATE 1:05 p.m.: Sorry, a little late. But away we go …

TLCinDC: If the Steelers finish worse than 8-8 this season, does Mike Tomlin end up on the Rooneys’ hot seat? In that instance, what’s your best guess on how that scenario plays out?

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Column: Shamarko, Dri are Steelers’ ‘X’ men

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PHOTO-ILLUSTRATION: ALEX MESSMER  /  PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES

DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

The single most significant message the Steelers could possibly take from back-to-back 8-8 seasons is that something’s got to change.

And if the goal for 2014 isn’t just to beat mediocrity but to be markedly better, it stands to reason that something’s got to change a whole heck of a lot.

In all candor, I don’t know if this team can contend. Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, Troy Polamalu, Lawrence Timmons remain steady anchors, a sprinkling of youth and speed has been added, the offensive line is healthy — where’s that wood again? — and the AFC North looks pretty blah from top to bottom. At the same time, the preseason tackling was terrifying, the secondary was almost as scary, there’s zero depth at the most important position, there’s no sure-fire second receiver, and both running backs just proved to be dopes in every sense of the term.

Add up a bunch of good and a bunch of bad, and I’ll show you 8-8 Part III.

Someone needs to step up.

Someone needs to make a difference, maybe even be different.

Here are my choices for ‘X’ factor on both sides of the ball for 2014:

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Interview: Willie Gay, Steelers

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DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

Willie Gay, the Steelers’ eighth-year corner, saw his NFL career revitalized in 2013 after being released by the Cardinals in March. He appeared in all 16 games, started 11 and had an interception, nine passes defensed and two forced fumbles.

Something not many know: Gay has never missed an NFL game, and his 112 consecutive games are the most of any current corner in the league.

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Monday planner: Beantown bound, then Browns

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DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

A look at the week ahead on DKonPittsburghSports.com:

• Monday: This morning and afternoon, I’ll cover the Steelers’ first practice of opening week. An accompanying column will go online Tuesday morning.

• Tuesday: Tuesday Twelve Qs from Steelers HQ, minutes after Mike Tomlin’s press conference. I’ll also cover Paul Chryst’s press conference earlier in the morning. A Pitt football News/Views feature will go up later in the day.

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Column: Huntington says ‘it’s all on me’

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DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

Neal Huntington sees it. He does.

And I’d have to believe he feels it, too, when his Pirates have a day like Sunday at PNC Park. Where they’re one run, one bloop, one bleeder, one better pitch away, as they were in a 3-2 loss to the Reds. Where that loss snaps a four-game winning streak but also sets the stage for a 10-game road trip that figures to make or break the season.

Just one pitch can make the difference, like the flat sinker Jared Hughes served up for Chris Heisey’s decisive home run in the ninth inning …

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Column: Tyler, Pitt point the way

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Tyler Boyd dives for a 12-yard touchdown catch in front of Delaware’s C.J. Jones. — PETE MADIA / PITT ATHLETICS

DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

The totality of all that Pitt achieved in its 125th football opener on a sizzling Saturday at Heinz Field, the 501 yards of offense, the five times the defense allowed the chains to move, the cumulative 62-0 slaughtering of some sadly overmatched Delaware Sacrificial Chickens … the whole scene could still somehow still be summarized by the state of one finger on one player.

Yes, Tyler Boyd is OK.

Yes, in all likelihood, he’ll be ready for the ACC opener next Friday at Boston College.

The official prognosis of the Clairton Kid’s dislocated finger on his left hand, the result of ramming a tackler’s helmet on a punt return late in the first half, came from Paul Chryst with a vague, “We’ll find out.” And Boyd himself wasn’t available for comment because of the injury.

But Boyd’s teammates, to a man, sounded optimistic bordering on certain.

“He’ll be fine,” quarterback Chad Voytik was saying. “I talked to him for a little while.”

“I can’t speak for him,” left tackle Jaryd Jones-Smith said, “but he was in really good spirits.”

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Saturday site stuff: Login change coming

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PHOTO-ILLUSTRATION: ALEX MESSMER

DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

A weekly look at what’s new and what’s coming on our site …

• We’ve heard you, and we’re acting on it: The login system will change.

We’ll be switching at some point, probably in the next week or so, to a more conventional username/password login. This will make entering the site simpler and, maybe more important, keep you logged in longer. The latter has been a problem more on mobile than anything, but it’s a problem that needed to be addressed. When the change comes, we won’t blindside anyone.

There will be plenty of advance warning, as well as highly specific instructions on the new system.

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