Maurkice Pouncey: Filling the shoes of former Steelers greats

Maurkice Pouncey has very large shoes to fill, considering where the Steelers have come from in the last fifty years. Starting in the mid-sixties Steelers at the Center position have been somewhat storied considering the names that have played in that spot. Maurkice is in the same mold as some of the great names that have come before him.
Going back in time and starting with Ray Manfield who was the lynch pin in the Steelers first two Super Bowls, IX and X. Ray took over as starting center in 1966 and remained at the position until 1976 upon his retirement. Ray played defensive end his first two years with the Steelers and then moved to center. He played in 182 games for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Ray mentored incoming center Mike Webster into the Steelers way of playing the position.
Next in line was Mike Webster, who was one of the most intimidating centers to ever play the game. Despite the freezing winters of Pittsburgh, he was always bare armed and never once covered up in sleeves. Mike showed off those big guns by pushing around opposing defenders as if they were rag dolls. The combination of Mike Webster and Terry Bradshaw became synonymous with great play during their years as a tandem. Mike Webster was one of the best to play at his position, maybe the best ever. During the years that he played Webster was one of the strongest men in the NFL. Mike was a 9 time Pro-Bowl selection, 9 time All Pro selection, 4 time Super Bowl champion (IX, X, XIII, XIV) and so many more accolades. Mike played in 245 games and started 217 of them. He played for the Steelers longer than any player in franchise history with 15 years and Hines Ward would be next in line at 14 seasons. Mike Webster was inducted to into the Pro Football Hall of Fame with the class of 1997. The Steelers do not retire numbers, but will not issue it again. Mike Webster mentored incoming center Dermontti Dawson as he was mentored by Ray Mansfield.
dermontti dawsons nap Maurkice Pouncey: Filling the shoes of former Steelers greatsDermontti Dawson learned how to be a “Steeler” center from the best to ever play the position. Dawson was a 7 time Pro Bowl selection, 6 time All-Pro selection and he appeared in Super Bowl XXX. Coach Bill Cowher had this to say of his center.
“To me he was the best athlete to ever play that position. He was very powerful and explosive, just a rare combination of quickness, explosion, and he was a very dependable player. This guy hardly ever missed a game. He redefined the position.”
Dawson’s teammates called him “Dirt” for his ability to beat opposing defenders into the ground. Dawson played 11 seasons before missing his first game due to a hamstring injury that ended his 170 consecutive game streak. The injury lingered into 2000 and he was let go at the end of the season. Dawson chose to retire as a Steeler opposed to playing for another team. He finished his career with 184 games played for the Steelers. Dawson was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame with the class of 2o12. Once again another great center whose number is no longer issued by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Enter the next great Steelers center in the form of Jeff Hartings.
Jeff was what the Steeler lineman have always been, a blue collar worker who packs a lunch and works hard. He was big and strong at 6ft. 3in. and 301lbs, a great size and weight for a prototype center. Selected to the Pro Bowl and named All Pro 2 times, with his biggest achivement coming as Super Bowl XL champion 2005. Hartings played 163 games for the Steelers and starting 160 of those games. Jeff retired from the Steelers after the 2006 season due to chronic knee issues.
The Steelers then went three years without having a great center that they were accustomed to having. The Steelers have a way of always picking the right player for the right position. That is why they draft so well, and they waited paitentially over three years. In the 2010 NFL Draft, they used their first round pick on potentially the next great Pittsburgh Steelers Center, Florida Center Maurkice Pouncey.
The Blue collar center is once again back in Pittsburgh. He has his lunch packed and is here to stay. At 6ft. 4 and 1/2in. and 304lbs Mr. Pouncey brings it to opposing defenders. With three Pro Bowls and named three time All Pro, Pouncey is already considered one of the best in the game. He was part of a team that went to the Super Bowl against the Green Bay Packers but was not able to play in his first career Super Bowl due to an ankle injury.
Filling the shoes of former Steelers greatsHe has a legacy to live up to with the greats that have come before him. Maurkice is pushing himself just like the great ones before him did to become a standout Center. Maurkice has become a vocal leader on the team and shows all the signs of being the one of the best they have drafted. When you see him step up to the line to snap the ball you see Ray Manfield and Mike Webster, looking down from above on the heavenly gridiron. You see flashes of Dermontti Dawson and Jeff Hartings.
He is defining the position for the future of the game we all love. Maurkice is a great center and is holding up the Steeler tradition of having only the best snapping the ball. Pouncey is the center of yesterday, today and simply the future all wrapped in one. The Steeler legacy of having the best center in the game is once again solidified for 15+ years.

Mike Samuels is an NFL writer at the Penalty Flag Blog. He can be reached at msamuels@thepenaltyflagblog.com on twitter @steeler_mike and at http://www.facebook.com/TheSportsDude.