On the field this season the Pittsburgh Steelers have been an undisciplined team and it appears that one member of their 2012 rookie class is undisciplined off the field as well as fourth round draft pick Alameda Ta\’aum was arrested by the Pittsburgh police early Sunday morning and charged with several felonies.
The Washington product reportedly hit four cars while driving the wrong way down a one-way street and then tried to elude police on foot after he finally stopped. The incident almost ended up with Ta\’amu being shot and he registered a .196 blood alcohol level, according to a WPXI report.
Ta\’amu now has a court appearance scheduled for later this month, but by that time he very well might be unemployed, as the Steelers will almost assuredly waive the rookie.
Ta\’amu has been inactive for all five games so far this season as he his buried on the depth chart behind veteran Casey Hampton and Steve McLendon. Head coach Mike Tomlin and General Manager Kevin Colbert must send a message to the rest of the team and release Ta\’amu regardless of his long-term potential. If they don\’t, they will catch hell for it.
While Tomlin did not make the decision to drink and drive and attempt to elude police, this will ultimately be one more thing that people will point to as evidence that the 2012 Steelers do not have the team discipline to compete for a championship this season. This also is a distraction that needs to be dealt with quickly.
Things need to turn around quickly for the Steelers and turnaround fast and you can expect that Tomlin will be peppered with questions during his Tuesday press conference about the overall discipline of the team both on and off the field.
