LATROBE, Pa. -- Alejandro Villanueva took the verbal samurai straight to the abdomen after his struggles in 10 snaps of football in the preseason opener against Detroit. He called his play "very sloppy," said he was overthinking things and looked quite miserable addressing the game. He lost on three of those snaps, Villanueva said, including a sack allowed and an illegal hands penalty.
This is the favorite to start at left tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
But Villanueva has natural gifts -- agile feet and accordion-like reach at 6-foot-9 -- that can make him a very good starter. That's partly why the Steelers see the player's rigid self-evaluation as a positive.
The Villanueva project is just that. The wide-receiver-turned-defensive-linemen-turned-left-tackle never played a full season along the offensive line. He was mostly a tryout guy throughout the NFL before the Steelers saw something more.
At a position that requires the right mixture of violence and technique, Villanueva says he's struggling to find the sweet spot entering Thursday's game with the Philadelphia Eagles.
"Football is a very simple sport. I just try to make things more complicated," said Villanueva, 27, a former Army ranger who started 10 games last year for the injured now-Jacksonville Jaguar Kelvin Beachum. "Most players just go out there and play. I think I overthink things too much. Where is my help coming from? Where can I not get beat? Sometimes that gets me in trouble more than hand placement and footwork."
Offensive line coach Mike Munchak isn't as rough on Villanueva as the player himself. Hand placement is probably Villanueva's biggest hurdle because of his height. At times in camp, Villanueva would get his arm wrapped around a pass-rusher's neck. But Munchak said Villaneuva can get away with that at times because the defender is ripping inside to force that action.
The Steelers don't want Villanueva to play with alligator arms, but generally he's been pretty good with hand placement, said Munchak, who's more worried about him ignoring bad plays and realizing the game humbles everyone.
"The kid's still learning the game in a lot of ways," Munchak said. "He still has a lot to see, a lot to do, and he knows that. That's why it's so much fun to watch him. He's got a great mentality for the game. That's why he's got a chance to be really good at it."
The Steelers signed veteran Ryan Harris in the offseason, and the team feels comfortable with him as a starter or reserve. Munchak likes his smarts and ability to escape bad situations. But make no mistake, the stage is set for Villanueva to take ownership of the job.
A better outing Thursday would help. But the Steelers are far from panicking and feel Villanueva will rise to the challenge.
"It's different when you're the guy," Munchak said. "There's a little more on the table. Before, he was in the background just sort of competing."
With parents of Spanish descent, Villanueva said he's played more soccer in his life than football.
He's learned one truism about the game that will help him take the thinking out of it.
"Once you actually put (pads) on, things are different," Villanueva said. "It's not corrected until I go out there and do it again."
