After the Steelers got blown out in embarrassing fashion to the Houston Texans last weekend, many went straight to the coaching staff. They criticized head coach Mike Tomlin for not having his team prepared for a game they were favored to win as well as OC Matt Canada for his questionable play calling, specifically on a fourth-and-one play that resulted in a turnover on downs and QB Kenny Picket getting injured.
Multiple players have defended the coaching staff in the days following the game, including RB Najee Harris, who mentioned that it’s on the players to execute on the field. WR Calvin Austin III reiterated that to the media on Thursday prior to practice. He said that each player needs to look within himself and hold themselves accountable to play better individually and collectively as a unit.
“I think we took that approach of forget all the other talking about this and that,” Austin said to the media on Thursday on video from Mike DeFabo’s Twitter page. “Let’s just focus on ourselves. Each person focuses on themselves and just play as hard as a team that we’re lining up against. We have the guys. We have the talent, so we know we can get the job done.”
While all the fault can’t fall on the players due to Pittsburgh seemingly getting outcoached in nearly every game this season, there is a lot of truth in what Austin said. Tomlin put it bluntly that Houston played harder than Pittsburgh last Sunday, displaying more physicality than his own team. That’s a damning statement coming from a head coach, but Tomlin doesn’t control his players’ effort and physicality on a down-to-down basis. Sure, he can influence it with a sound culture, but the players must bring that out of themselves instead of having someone else pull it out of them.
Individual performances must improve across the board for this team to be successful going forward. Pickett must be more consistent as a passer, making better decisions and successfully moving this offense down the field. The offensive line must do a better job keeping him clean while creating holes in the running game while the defense needs to clamp down on the opponents’ rushing attack, allowing 130-plus rushing yards in three of the Steelers’ first four games of the season.
Each player on this team needs to take that look in the mirror and be honest with themselves and their own performance, expecting more out of themselves and desiring to play harder than their competition does. That’s what Pittsburgh Steelers football is, at least, that’s what it used to be. Austin is right though. This roster has the players to be successful. The Steelers have the talent to make it happen. Now it’s just a matter executing on the field, both individually and collectively, to go from the train wreck we’ve seen to start the season to being a functioning football team.
