Anleitungen » Mike Munchak revels in projects such as Chukwuma Okorafor.

The Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line coach loves few things more than taking raw talent Gary Jennings Jr. Jersey , particularly talent with an unconventional background, and turning into something far more substantial.The list of Munchak’s protégés includes starting left tackle Alejandro Villanueva, a former Army officer who did three tours in Afghanistan before starting his NFL career. Ditto Matt Feiler, who went undrafted after a career at Division II Bloomsburg, but has forged a path from practice squad flyer to dependable reserve.Now it may be Okorafor’s turn. The rookie third-round pick practiced at right tackle with the starters on Wednesday with Marcus Gilbert still dealing with a knee injury and Feiler — who has made five straight starts in Gilbert’s place — dealing with a pectoral issue.It’s uncertain whether Feiler will be ready to play on Sunday when the Steelers (7-2-1) visit Denver (4-6), leaving Okorafor as the next best option to line up across from Broncos star linebacker Von Miller.All the 21-year old Okorafor — who was born in Nigeria and spent a portion of his childhood there before moving to the United States at age 12 — may have to do is find a way to keep a six-time Pro Bowler who already has 10 sacks this season from disrupting Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.No pressure or anything.“He’s know what he’s doing,” Okorafor said on Wednesday. “Got to just keep on watching film and keep playing.”Roethlisberger, for his part, doesn’t expect Okorafor or Feiler or whoever might be at right tackle to be able to handle Miller by himself.“Nobody can really block Von Miller to tell you the truth, so we’ll have to put a couple guys over there,” Roethlisberger said.“We are not going to be crazy and make one guy do it. We’ll have to put a couple guys over there because he and (Bradley) Chubb are pretty special.”Maybe, but the Steelers like what they’ve seen from Okorafor, whom they took with the 92nd overall pick in the draft after a solid career at Central Michigan. The 6-foot-6, 320-pounder is big but athletic and carved out a role as a blocking tight end in running situations. There’s never any doubt when Okorafor is in the game. Because he wears No. 76, he’s required to check in with the referees when he reports. That won’t happen if he simply lines up next to right tackle David DeCastro.He’s more than happy to enjoy his anonymity and do his job, one that is far different than what he envisioned when the phone rang in April with the Steelers on the other end. Munchak, a Hall of Fame offensive lineman in his own right, likes to turn his players into students of the game. Okorafor is doing his best to be a sponge.“No offense to my coach back in college, but like it’s kind of a whole new level of looking at plays, looking at your technique and every single play http://www.seahawksfootballauthentics.com/phil-haynes-jersey-authentic ,” Okorafor said.Okorafor hardly considers himself the same player he was six months ago, a tribute to Munchak’s approach. Quick to use his sense of humor to get a player’s attention, Munchak has taken a bit of a more professorial approach with Okorafor. It’s working. Okorafor watches film and admits he’s stunned at how far he’s come in six months, all of it a tribute to Munchak.“Coach Munch knows what he’s doing, he knows how to train guys,” Okorafor said. “Every guy plays differently and takes coaching a different way. You can’t force the same type of coaching on every single guy and think it’s going to work.”It’s one of the reasons the Steelers have ripped off six straight wins, five of them with Feiler making the first starts of his NFL career in place of Gilbert. Pittsburgh kept humming along anyway. The expectations won’t change if Okorafor jogs into the huddle with the starters in Denver.“He’s got all the tools, he’s just young,” DeCastro said. “I remember being a rookie and the game was fast. There was a lot going on and there’s things I didn’t know back then that I learned and experienced and made my life easier. Just got to come in there and play fast when he has to, take care and pick him up when we can.”NOTES: DE Stephon Tuitt (elbow) did not practice. … LB Anthony Chickillo (ankle) was a full participant. … Roethlisberger, CB Joe Haden and C Maurkice Pouncey were given the day off. GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — The Green Bay Packers were missing star quarterback Aaron Rodgers when they closed last season with a road loss to the Detroit Lions.When the Packers return to Detroit on Sunday, Rodgers could be without his top three receivers.Davante Adams injured a calf on Wednesday and did not practice on Thursday.Randall Cobb injured a hamstring last week, didn’t play on Sunday against Buffalo and hasn’t practiced this week.Geronimo Allison suffered a concussion last week and hasn’t practiced this week, either.“We got a little thin at practice,” coach Mike McCarthy said on Thursday morning.That’s one way to put it.Of the Packers’ 103 completed passes for 1,185 yards and seven touchdowns, 64 catches, 768 yards and six touchdowns have been made by Adams, Allison and Cobb.The receivers who potentially could be in the lineup on Sunday have a combined two catches for 41 yards and zero touchdowns.The next men up are rookies: fifth-round draft pick Marquez Valdes-Scantling Ugo Amadi Jersey , fourth-round pick J’Mon Moore and sixth-round pick Equanimeous St. Brown.“At some point in the season, your young players are going to play, and our receiver position is potentially in that situation,” McCarthy said.Valdes-Scantling played 20 snaps in the first three games and 54 on Sunday against Buffalo, when Cobb was inactive. He has the two receptions. Moore didn’t play on offense in the first three games before playing 11 snaps after Allison went down against Buffalo. St. Brown hasn’t played on offense.“They’re getting better,” Rodgers said. “You guys don’t see the practices, but J’Mon’s been making a lot plays in practice and improving and same with Eq. (Valdes-Scantling’s) been ahead of those guys for a while and getting more opportunities, as you saw last week with Cobby being out and him being first up.“But I told those guys before Week 1, ‘You’re all going to get an opportunity at some point. When you step in, there’s an expectation you’re going to make the plays.’ So, we’ve got to keep improving in practice.”There’s time for one or more of the starters to get healthy. With their pedigrees, McCarthy would feel comfortable playing any of the three without any practice time.Still, there appears to be at least a decent chance that Green Bay will go into a key NFC North game without any of its top three receivers.“I think we’ve still got some progress to make before I think both sides would be comfortable,” Cobb said. “It’s a long season and we’re on Game 5, but at the same time, it’s a short season, and we’re on Game 5.“So, it’s trying to balance both of those. If something was to happen and I re-injure the same hamstring, it’s going to put me out for double the time. So, it’s trying to be smart on both sides of it http://www.clevelandbrownsteamonline.com/sione-takitaki-jersey , which I struggle with because I play through emotion.”Of the three rookies, Moore entered training camp as the front-runner to be the team’s No. 4 receiver.However, as Moore dropped passes throughout the summer, Valdes-Scantling’s consistency allowed him to jump to the top of the list.“I always prepare like I’m going to be the No. 1 receiver,” Valdes-Scantling said.“You just never know. This game is a contact sport where injuries are 100 percent bound to happen, so you just never know when someone will go down, and you’ve got to prepare to play every position and every play.”Given the outlook at receiver, Rodgers might have to direct the passing game elsewhere. Tight end Jimmy Graham is fourth on the team with 16 receptions and running back Ty Montgomery, who started his career as a receiver, is fifth with 11.Notes: For the second consecutive week, Rodgers practiced on Thursday. He had limited participation last week but full this week … To bolster the receiver group, Green Bay signed DeAngelo Yancey to the practice squad. A fifth-round pick last year, he spent all of his rookie season on the practice squad. … CB Kevin King, who injured a groin in Week 2 vs. Minnesota and has missed the past two games, had full participation for the second consecutive day, but S Kentrell Brice was added to the report and was limited by an ankle injury.