Column: Top 10 takeaways of Steelers’ preseason

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DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

At 7:33 p.m. Thursday, a helmetless Ben Roethlisberger strode casually to Heinz Field’s 50-yard line decal for the coin toss between the Steelers and Panthers. And as he did, Carolina countered by sending out all five of its captains, side by side, presumably to outweigh Ben in the karma category, possibly because … well, what the hey, it’s the fourth week of the NFL preseason and someone might as well pretend that something from what’s about to happen will actually matter.

Ben, to his considerable credit, escaped the pile by correctly calling heads.

That’s as good as it got, I swear.

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Column: What’s so ‘special’ about Jarvis Jones?

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DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

Jarvis Jones is a special talent, but don’t take my word for it. And for heaven’s sake, don’t trust what your eyes tell you.

No, just re-roll the tape from the evening of April 25, 2013, when the Steelers made Jones the 17th overall pick in the NFL draft, and Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin spoke jointly at a press conference about how Jones was one of the 6-8 “special players in the draft.” And they were just clearing their throats.

From Colbert …

“He’s a great player.”

“He plays the run, he chases the ball, and most important he gets after the passer.”

“It’s really just a great honor to have this kid joining our team.”

From Tomlin …

“It really was a fun and easy evaluation.”

“He plays the game with a certain disposition, with a certain demeanor we value. If he’s making a tackle or fronting a block, he’s doing it in a manner we appreciate. He’ll fit in with our group.”

“We’re just very thankful and very excited to have Jarvis.”

All that was missing was angels playing harps.

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Column: Martin wants to stay … and must

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DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

Russell Martin wants to stay.

Not going to lie here: I was not sure about that. Not all the way. Not until more than an hour after the Pirates’ 3-1 throttling of the Cardinals on Wednesday at PNC Park, after Martin had ample time to scrub off six consecutive days of catching big-league ball, a grind unlike any in sports.

Not until Martin told me this: “I love it here. You can see that. Everyone can see that.”

And this: “I’ll listen. Of course I’ll listen. You’d have to be an idiot not to listen.”

He was referring, of course, to a possible contract extension, an issue that looms so large for the Pirates this fall that it’s seen by many — outside and, yes, inside the organization — as nothing less than a wholesale litmus test for Bob Nutting and the front office.

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Column: So, this is how it’s going to be, then?

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DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

So, this is how it’s going to be, then?

The 2014 edition of the Pittsburgh Baseball Club isn’t going to back into anything because it, unlike its predecessor, won’t have that choice. It won’t have any 17-games-over-.500 starting point for the pennant race. It won’t have anyone in the rear view mirror, only what’s right there in the windshield.

It’ll have to be the hard way.

It’ll have to be every foot-cracking, rib-smacking injury withstood, every bad bounce shrugged off, every blown lead overcome, every lousy loss showered away.

And all those wonderfully uplifting wins, too.

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Interview: Mike Johnston, Penguins

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DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

Mike Johnston, the Penguins’ new coach, visited the Steelers’ HQ today for several hours, along with his top assistants, Rick Tocchet and Gary Agnew. They participated in different meetings, including one with the offense that was game-planning for the preseason game Thursday vs. Carolina. They also were taken for tours around the facility by Mike Tomlin, mega-hockey fan Kevin Colbert and Art Rooney II.

This is my interview with Johnston once they were done.

A few other related items/thoughts from my time with the staff …

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Tuesday 12 Qs: Le’Veon, Neal, Wing, Kirk, Niko

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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 comment section below to submit an entry, no more than one per person. Submit it anytime you want. I’ll pick from those to get the thing rolling, then monitor new entries as we move along.

All topics welcome, as always.

UPDATE 1 p.m.: OK, away we go …

Josh: Very interested to see how the Steelers handle Le’Veon Bell and LeGarrette Blount, considering Santonio Holmes in the past. Do you think they will act on the matter before the NFL does? The NFL process is very drawn out.

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Column: Not the game you watched

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DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

What a smooth, systematic and satisfying W that was Monday night at PNC Park, huh? 

Oh, not the game you watched?

Well, bear with me here, because at the fork in the stadium’s tunnel where one goes left for the home clubhouse, right for the visitors, I chose the latter for the first time in a long time in search of a wholly different perspective for what at least feels like a rather tired tale.

You know, the one that ends Cardinals 3, Pirates 2.

“You’ll take any kind of win,” Mike Matheny was saying in the visiting manager’s office, looking like he might just bust out a cigar. “But that’s a good one.”

And so it was, from the opposite perspective.

Oh, we all know what it is from the home perspective by now.

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News with Views: Panthers going green

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DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

News with Views, on the Pitt football team …

• Pitt will play five freshmen, Paul Chryst announced today at his first formal press conference of the season leading up to the opener Saturday vs. Delaware. One is running back Chris James, a four-star guy who has had a four-star camp, and the rest, not surprisingly, are on defense with cornerback Avonte Maddox, linebacker Quintin Wirginis, end Rori Blair and safety Pat Amara.

Those who recall Chryst playing a dozen freshmen last season might think this is a sign of the Panthers’ maturity, but that’s far from the case: Their 81 underclassmen on the camp roster — 53 freshmen, 28 sophomores — marks the highest such total of any FBS team in the nation.

“You just kind of see where guys come in, how they develop,” Chryst said. “We feel good with the guys that I listed as going.”

• At the same time, Chryst challenged his seniors — only seven starters in that class — to lead the way: “That’s a group that’s small in numbers again, but they have to help show younger guys how to prepare. Even just the value of practice reps that you give them. The seniors, you put on them that they have to have the best season of their career. And guys have to follow them.”

At the forefront will be freshly named captains, right tackle T.J. Clemmings on offense and free safety Ray Vinopal, both of whom joined Chryst at today’s media availability …

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Monday planner: Cards, Carolina, colleges

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DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

A look at the week ahead on DKonPittsburghSports.com:

• Monday: At noon, I’ll cover Paul Chryst’s final press conference before Pitt’s opener, then stop over at Steelers HQ for the 12:30 p.m. player availability, then by nightfall make it to PNC Park for the first game of the pivotal Pirates-Cardinals series. There will be a column on the latter.

• Tuesday: Tuesday Twelve Qs from Steelers HQ, minutes after Mike Tomlin’s press conference.

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News with Views: Hardest shot at Highmark?

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DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

News with Views, on the Riverhounds …

• There’s no radar gun at Highmark Stadium, but there also was no disputing Sunday among longtime observers that no one had ever struck a soccer ball successfully with as much force as Rob Vincent’s explosive goal in the Riverhounds’ 3-1 victory over FC Dallas Reserves.

Here, watch for yourself …

I know, right?

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