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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Podcast: Talking Russell Martin with Madden

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DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

Here’s the podcast of a rather lively segment — they always are — just now with Mark Madden on 105.9 the X. We fussed mostly about the Russell Martin column published here Wednesday, but we also touched on other Pirates and Steelers topics.

Friday Insider: Rev up Penguins’ cycle

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DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

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

• Hints have been scarce about what the Penguins’ new system will look like under Mike Johnston, but I was able to cull this much from the staff, based on another hint that was dropped several months ago: They’re about to get back on the cycle.

My meeting this week with Johnston and assistants Rick Tocchet and Gary Agnew confirmed that one of the reasons they — and Jim Rutherford and management — are making such a priority of mobile defensemen is that they’ll attack the opponent more by wearing them down than by simply out-rushing them up ice. All three forwards will be expected to be proficient at the cycle, center included, and a defenseman will be involved, as well.

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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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