Great teams don’t solely rely upon the instructions of their coaches. You can’t be trained into viewing your teammates as your brothers. That’s something that you work at between reps, in the locker room, off the field.
That bond is more important for some positions than others, such as the offensive line, which is why, for many years, the linemen would gather at former Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey’s house for ‘porch talk’, bonding nights coupled with additional film study, and in later years, some family time.
Now that not just Pouncey, but also Marcus Gilbert, Ramon Foster, David DeCastro, Matt Feiler, and Alejandro Villanueva are all gone, there is so much veteran experience and leadership out the door, with many new faces.