Mike Jones winds up. Here's the pitch ... Hank Poteat swings his arms and misses.
The wad of tape bounces off the right knee of Brent Alexander, who is somewhere between an unsuspecting backstop and an unprepared catcher, talking to a reporter while this Steelers Locker Room World Series takes place directly in front of him. Jones smiles and says his breaking pitch should've thunked Alexander in the forehead. Alexander wears an incredulous look and says of Jones, 32: "And that's the second-oldest guy on the team?"
No respect? More like: No end to Alexander's flak.
At 31, he is the Steelers' fourth-oldest player and second-oldest starter, six months behind defensive end Kimo von Oelhoffen. He is a prepared catcher of grief. Just yesterday, anyone from a practice squad player to head trainer John Norwig was giving it to the team's starting free safety. Then came Jones' Randy Johnson impersonation.
Alexander might station himself at the rear of the league's top-rated defense, but he stands front and center among Steelers targets.
"Jealousy," he said, by way of explanation. "Or age discrimination. You're definitely going to get a lot of grief here. Every mistake you make is due to some type of olditis. You forget something, and it's like, 'You have a physical lately? Blood sugar a little low?'
"They can't faze me."
Therein lies the clue to Alexander. Seven-and-a-half years into his NFL career, on his third team, he seems to have found a team, a defense, a starter's role where he can thrive in the face of any offense, be it on the field or in the locker room. He enters the game tomorrow at the Cleveland Browns (4-3) ranked fourth on the team in tackles and with interceptions in back-to-back games. His coaches consider him the stabilizing force and calming element on a twentysomething defense that has risen to the top of the league charts.
Not bad for a veteran who was discarded by Carolina in spring 2000 because he counted $1 million against its cap. Funny, but with the new three-year, $3.3 million extension he signed in August, the one carrying a $850,000 bonus, he counts for precisely $1 million against the Steelers' payroll.
Looks like a pretty shrewd move by Alexander and the Steelers, getting together May 31, 2000, doesn't it?
"When you make those decisions, the biggest thing was getting a job," said Alexander, a father of three who, with wife Mari, is building a home in Arizona. "You want to win, of course. But the important thing is a job.
"You can be in a good situation for yourself, but if your team's not winning ..."
Alexander never experienced a winning season with Arizona or Carolina, which were a combined 35-61 in six season. He has had more success with the Steelers.
"Things are working well. And we're working well together back there," he said.
Alexander's path to the Steelers might seem circuitous. He turned down a few football scholarship offers to attend Tennessee State on a prestigious presidential academic scholarship. Because he had to get a recommendation from somebody on the staff, he agreed to play football for Coach Joe Gilliam Sr. in exchange for such a letter. Turned out, Alexander had a stellar, three-year starting career that had the late Joe Gilliam Jr. looking for him at Three Rivers Stadium's closing festivities last December: "Where's Brent Alexander? He's my dad's favorite. My dad thinks Brent Alexander is the smartest player he's ever coached."
Arizona signed him as an undrafted free agent and tried him at three positions. Carolina put him at free safety, then strong safety ("which kind of threw me off"), then on the street. That's where the Steelers found him.
Early last season, he became entrenched as the starting free safety and the secondary's quarterback. Forget Travis Davis. Forget Scott Shields. Alexander became the steady safety the Steelers had been seeking since Darren Perry's departure.
Already this season, Alexander forced the Travis Henry fumble that cornerback Dewayne Washington returned 63 yards for a touchdown against Buffalo. He snagged a one-handed interception in Tennessee territory in the second quarter, the turnover transforming into a drive that turned out to be the winning touchdown. He added an interception Sunday against Baltimore.
"I've played a little bit of everything through my whole career, but I think this is the best fit so far," Alexander said. "Dealing with these guys is a lot of fun. When you're dealing with guys around you who understand the game, it makes things a lot easier."
So long as the game they understand is football, not tape-wad baseball.
Steelers' veteran safety proving a golden oldie 
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