The Pittsburgh Steelers are one of the most storied franchises in the National Football League, a team that’s been steeped in tradition since their heyday in the 1970s. The tradition and identity of Steelers Football has been a staple of the team, but after back-to-back losses to 2-10 teams and some locker room dysfunction, former players are speaking out about what they’re not seeing in this year’s team. Ryan Clark talked about it today, and now former QB Ben Roethlisberger said he doesn’t see the “Steeler Way” in this year’s group.
“I said, and one of the leaders at the time kind of got on me for saying that I felt some guys on the team aren’t in it for the team, they’re in it for themselves. Well, now some of the guys on the team are saying the same thing. So maybe I wasn’t too far when I said that. I know that I’m retired, I’m not in the locker room, I get it. It just feels like that. It just feels like something that’s been lost on this team a little bit. It just feels like the Steeler Way is just not,” Roethlisberger said on the most recent episode of his Footbahlin’ podcast.
He added that the defense has some really good leaders, but there’s nobody on offense to really lead the group.
“Just because they’re a veteran football player doesn’t mean they’re a Steeler. Like they know what it means to be a Pittsburgh Steeler,” he said, while adding that in his last season in Pittsburgh, he didn’t feel the “Steeler tradition” passed down to the team’s younger offensive players.
First, it’s interesting to hear that a current player called Roethlisberger out on his comments. While Roethlisberger didn’t say who the player was, the safe bet is that it was somebody on the defensive side of the football, because Roethlisberger did say the defense has leaders and said it was a leader who called him out. After Pittsburgh’s Week 14 loss to the New England Patriots, S Minkah Fitzpatrick called out his teammates and said they just expect to win without putting the work in. That’s a major indictment on the team and the coaching staff, and it goes along with what Roethlisberger is saying.
Offensively, you need a leader. Roethlisberger said it’s important to have in offensive meetings for a guy to be able to stand up and call the group out for what they’re not doing right. And it just doesn’t seem like they have that guy on the offensive side of the ball. There’s been so many struggles, and more than ever, this team is in dire need of somebody to step up. Especially after firing Matt Canada and putting Eddie Faulkner in charge of the offense, there needs to be a defined leader in the group to take charge and take control of a group that’s become a sinking ship.
The Steeler Way and attitude of guys who know what it’s like to don the Black and Gold and play for the guys that came before them and take charge isn’t completely gone. T.J. Watt, Cameron Heyward, Fitzpatrick, and Alex Highsmith are just a few of the names on this team who embody it. But there isn’t a name on offense who really stands out as someone who’s continually taken a leadership role. That’s something that has to change, and fast. Hopefully, it will ahead of the team’s Week 15 matchup with the Indianapolis Colts. It’s time for this unit to take some responsibility and accountability and play the way they should in a must-win game.
If not, things aren’t going to get easier for the Steelers. Losing to back-to-back two-win teams is about as low as it gets, and if no one is stepping up now, it’s fair to question if it will ever happen. Some of it starts with coaching and getting on guys if they aren’t playing for the team, and I hope that’s happening. With how the team came out flat against New England, it’s clear that there needs to be an attitude adjustment to light a fire under this team. If it doesn’t happen against the Colts, the Steelers can pretty much kiss their playoff hopes goodbye.
Watch the full Footbahlin’ podcast below:
