3 Questions with... Max Starks

[ricardisimo]

He's no future HoFer, but I always liked the guy. Very smart, very well-spoken, and taking his ups and downs in stride.

3 questions with…
October 5th, 2011

Offensive tackle Max Starks, who re-signed with the Steelers Wednesday morning:

Q: You’ve been released, benched, started for two Super Bowl-winning teams and are now back. Can you talk about your time with the Steelers?
A: “It’s the circle of life. I’ve definitely run the full gamut of NFL experience. Not as exciting as I thought I was going to be. As with life I’ve gotten to see every aspect of it, and it’s a learning tool. When I got released I took it as another learning opportunity. I wasn’t bitter. I didn’t sit in the corner and cry woe is me or be bitter when I was walking around the city. I just went out to Arizona and started doing the same training regimen I normally would do and it felt good.”

Q: What have you seen from watching the Steelers’ first four games when it comes to the offense line?
A: “Communication is probably one of the things, getting that continuity. As with anything else, you usually build that over the OTA time and then going into came so you have a little bit of a foundation to build and move forward. And the change in the training camp schedule didn’t allow for that, to have all of those padded practices to go through those tough days and push through as a group. I think that kind of threw things off kilter with the bonding experience. With anything the offensive line has to be on the same page. I always preach it and any run block, pass protect, sustained drives, keep the defense fresh — those all stem from the offensive line so it’s a big thing that we have the chemistry within that group.”

Q: Did you see any pictures of Ben wearing your jersey one day at training camp?
A: “I kind of had blurry vision (laughing). It was very touching, to use a soft word in the locker room full of men. You kind of felt proud to know that your work was appreciated. We’ve been here together since Day One, and it was cool to see a friend do that.”

[stb_steeler]

The guys a total tree trunk on the line......

[tburhans]

Hes a true team player and I know hes our best option at LT and hes a close friend of bens so I know he will make an effort to keep him upright. And not watch guys unload on ben. Glad to have him back

[kirklandrules]

Originally Posted by ricardisimo

Q: What have you seen from watching the Steelers’ first four games when it comes to the offense line?
A: “Communication is probably one of the things, getting that continuity.”

Totally agree. I've said it before: talent really isn't the problem with this o-line. They seem to have communication gaps which are filled by Suggs, Freeney and (insert additional defender names here).

I'm not a huge Jon Scott fan, but he isn't as bad as he's looked. Gilbert has done a pretty good job as a rookie, with a few of his sacks really being Ben's fault ... Gilbert would take his man wide and Ben would run from the pocket right into the defender. I was hoping the first 3 games would shake out some of these problems, but they persist, most likely because of the constant changes on the line (due to injuries).