Time Machine: Dermontti Dawson, March 30, 2022

Time Machine: Dermontti Dawson, March 30, 2022

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
M h welcome to everyone and Steeler's nation. I'm stand
Saverean and it's our great pleasure to welcome in Steeler

(00:21):
great icon of call of famer Dermanti Dawson, Dermanti welcome.
Great to see you, Stan, Thank you glad to be
back in Pittsburgh. Absolutely. When you broke into the NFL,
when you were drafted in the second round of Kentucky,
you played one year with and sometimes alongside, Mike Webstern. Yes,
and I'm wondering as you moved to center full time,

(00:44):
was Webb be able to sort of help you out
and give you some tips to play the position at
the NFL level. No, Mike wasn't able to give me
any tips to, uh, you know, help me out with
center position. But you know, just just kind of watching
Mike and practice in the way you kind of prepared, uh,
in the weight room, in the film room. And then
I would ask Mike. I said, Mike, you know, why

(01:04):
do you want write down every word that the coach
is saying? Because Mike was in his fifteenth year, my
rookie year. So but he said he wanted to make
sure he had it ingrained in his brain so that
he could so he didn't have to think about it.
So just looking at Mike as as an example and
watching the way he prepared, I tried to do the
same thing when they name me a starting center my

(01:26):
second year, and it paid off. It paid off. So
many of the young offensive lineman, uh Tone Chilkin rest
in peace credit hopefully they just followed him around like
it was like a quail with a little quailed children
behind because of the example that Mike set. Well, I mean,

(01:47):
you know what better. I mean, you got to learn
from the best, so you know, and Mike was one
of the best ever to play the game, and you know,
why not try to emulate him the things he did
and you know, as far as preparation and you know, training, um.
And I think it benefited a lot of alignment that

(02:08):
kind of followed Mike. Now people EMU let you following
your lead, and you created sort of a different vibe
for the center position, not only with the Steelers, with
the nfl um because of how quick you were, how
fast you were, uh, they had you pulling on a
lot of plays. Do you feel like in your own
way that you were a trend setter and the way

(02:30):
the position is played and it is still being played today.
Uh somewhat, yeah, because I mean it wasn't done on
a regular basis and it wasn't incorporating too many offices. Um.
You know. So I think when we started doing that
in UM we started preparing for a regular season game
every Monday, UM in training camp. And I can't remember

(02:51):
if it was Philly or something, whatever team it was,
but I told coaching those guys, I say, we're having
a problem getting to the second level. So coach I said, look,
I was a pulling guard. I said, we can try.
You know, I can snap the ball, pull, make a
false call to the guard, a live call or a
false call, and he would take my responsibility or I

(03:13):
would block the down guy. And we started to fool
around with it in practice, and then next thing, you know,
Ron Earhart said, uh, he said, I think this is
gonna be good, you know. So him and coach Kawer
allowed me to, um, you know, kind of interceed and
just kind of add that to the offense. And I
think now everybody's trying to do it, or everybody is
they are doing it. You mentioned coach Kawer. Um, I

(03:36):
can't imagine a greater thrill as an NFL player than
being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. But
I'm wondering you're feeling and watching your coach Bill Kauer
get inducted. What was your feeling? Your thoughts was? That
was a curry? It was great. I mean, you know,
that's the ultimate uh gift or award for us. Uh,

(03:57):
you know, being inducted to the Pro Football Hall of
Fame and being coached by two Hall of Fame coaches.
I don't think a whole lot of guys have had
that happened before. But it was great to see coach
Coward go, you know, go into the Hall of Fame.
And you know the thing about coach Kawer, You know
Coach Coward, he was such so enthusiastic when he came
here ninety two as a coach. You know, he would

(04:18):
be in the drills with us. He was high fiving guys,
chest bumping guys. Uh, just so enthusiastic all the time
and up tempo. And I think guys kind of you know,
fit on that. And and then also you know, coach
Coward was one of these guys who, um, he allowed

(04:38):
you to kind of intercede in with the offense or
or the defense, and you know it wasn't completely trying
to think of the word that way in the highway.
Yeah yeah, so we had a say in the offense
or defense if we didn't think that that it was
gonna work. You know, those guys listened to us as players,

(04:59):
so we've like we had a voice. You alluded to
this briefly, but I'm wondering if you've spent obviously you have,
I've spent a lot of time thinking about that. You
played for two Hall of Fame coaches. I would imagine
as a player they couldn't have been more different in
terms of their personality. Yeah. Yeah, Well, you know, coach
Know was you know, had been coaching for many years

(05:22):
and so he was on his way out and towards retirement.
And then coach Kawer hadn't been too far departed from
playing and coaching, so you know, he was more enthusiastic.
And then uh, Chuck Nole would just let the assistant coaches, um,
you know, do their thing and make all the adjustments
for us. But you know, like I said, Coach Kawer
was right in the mix with us every five minutes

(05:44):
in the huddle, high five and guys, chess, bumping guys
and uh, just very involved so to the day to
day with the day to day UH practice and corrections
as well. You played in many memorable games. UM, A
couple will come to mind that there are certainly more.
Um the eight nine playoff game at Houston, UM, No

(06:07):
one gave you a chance. Uh. You needed like a
miracle Sunday to get into the playoffs. Gary Anderson wins
it with the field goal over time in Houston. What
are your recollections of that game? That was a great feeling,
and we had to fly back here and I think
we played Denver the next week weekend, and then I
got hurt, I think in a second quarter or something,

(06:28):
and I had to go back into the locker room.
But uh, you know, it was a great feeling just
to advance to the uh second round of the playoffs.
Not such a great memory against San Diego. It remains
one of the most devastating losses, certainly at home, in
Steelers history. UM. Do you recall your feelings after that

(06:52):
was over, especially having had a thirteen to three lead. Yeah,
you know, I mean it's just things. I just it's
kind of hard to at your finger on it, you know, Um,
it was code all that time before that game and
then with what seventy something degrees and then almost made
it but it was about but it was like about
something degrees and so it almost made it like a

(07:13):
home game for San Diego as well, So we didn't
have the weather for an advantage. But yeah, you know
that was that was just a tough loss and you know,
not too much you can do about it. The thing is,
I mean, you gotta play up to your capabilities. I
don't get I don't care who you're playing and what
type of weather you're planning in. You know you have
to execute. And we didn't do it. Well. You made

(07:35):
up for it the following year, winning the game against Indianapolis.
Jim Harbaughs, Hail Mary, Just what was your view of
that play, because that's a game winning touchdown right there?
I was saying not again, not again, And luckily, you
know when I sell the rep say no. So of
course you know you're elated and uh, you know, jumping

(07:57):
around and just happy to make it to the Super
Bowl and playing in the Super Bowl again. Not the
outcome you wanted. Um, is that one of the highlights
your career having played in the super Bowl. It is
because you have guys who have played in the league
for you know, ten, twelve, thirteen years, never get a
chance of playing the playoff game. We played in multiple

(08:17):
playoff games and playing in the big show in Super Bowl,
that is the ultimate, you know for a professional player.
I mean to win, it is the ultimate, but you know,
just to just to make it there and uh experience.
Everything in the Super Bowl is about, um, you know,
it's it's a it's an honor and uh, that's what

(08:38):
I think a lot of guys or you know, most
guys want to do. This doesn't happen that often in
professional sports. Maybe a bit more in pro football, but
with free agency and salary caps and so on and
so forth, not many players get to play their entire
career with one organization. We in Pittsburgh, Western Pennsylvania, Uh,

(09:00):
all across the nation's Steelers nations believes that there's something
special about the Steelers. The way the Rooney family from
generation from the chief to Dan now to Art the
second um that there's something different about the Steelers. In
your interaction with other players and your experience as a Steeler,
do you believe that that's true. There's something special about

(09:20):
the Steeler organization. I do. I do. I think, you know,
because the leadership of this organization, you know, those guys
treat you like family. And of course you're gonna have
bad stories from guys as well, you know that feel
like they are slighted. But overall, it's a great franchise
to play play for, and they have a historic ownership group, uh,
you know, with the Rooney family. And you know, for me,

(09:43):
I did not want to go somewhere else and try
to prove myself when I was already proven here and
in Pittsburgh, and I wanted to stay with one team.
And um, I just thought it was an honor for
me to stay here and play in Pittsburgh since those
guys were originally drafted me. So um yeah, I wanted.

(10:04):
I wanted to be a one team player and you
were at a one city player. Lastly, Dramanti, I'm sure
every fan base roots for its team, but again, maybe
this is provincial, but it sure seems like the Steeler
fans are almost a part of the team. And I
wonder if you got that sense as a player. It's

(10:26):
like Howard Cosell once said, when you come to Pittsburgh,
you not only have to play the Steelers, you have
to play the whole thing. And I wonder if if
you felt that as a player. Oh I did. I did,
and you know, and I still fill it to this day,
no matter where you go, if people find out that
you played with the Steelers nationwide, I've met Steeler fans
everywhere and it's a great feeling, and I always go

(10:48):
out of my way just to make sure I say hello,
because you know, we need that fan support.