In the midst of a three-game losing streak that has all but officially sunk the 2023 season, plenty of discussion surrounds the culture of the Pittsburgh Steelers, or at least the perceived culture in the locker room for the historic franchise.
Those conversations are reaching a crescendo due to the actions of one George Pickens, and then the comments he made in a session with the media on Tuesday. He’s getting away with it, remaining on the field despite embarrassing not only himself, but his head coach, too, while creating some frustrations for teammates as well.
It’s certainly an interesting conversation as many former players — and even former Steelers — are wondering if the Steeler Way is gone because of this team and the new era of players. But for team captain Cameron Heyward, it’s a funny conversation, one that people on the outside know nothing about what’s going on internally.
Speaking with reporters Thursday afternoon after being cleared from concussion protocol to play Saturday against the Cincinnati Bengals, Heyward stated that the group has to have those hard conversations and hard times at some point in the road, as that’s the only way to truly grow.
“…I know these last three games have not gone the way we want, and it’s been hard. But it’s about your practice habits. It’s about dedicating your life to this game,” Heyward said regarding the perceived culture issues in Pittsburgh, according to video via 93.7 The Fan. “You can’t run away from it. You take care of everybody in this group, but you gotta have those hard times and those hard conversations to make the group grow.”
The last three games for the Steelers certainly have not gone well. Pittsburgh has dropped all three in rather embarrassing fashion, including two games in a five-day span to the then-two-win Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots.
Then, last week the Steelers allowed 30 unanswered points in a loss to the Indianapolis Colts, all but torpedoing their chances at the playoffs. Though there is still a path to the playoffs for Pittsburgh, especially with a win Saturday against the Bengals, it’s a long, hard, unlikely road.
That’s why it’s so important to get everyone in line in the locker room and have everyone putting their hand into the pile to try and improve and win games. A lot of talk has come from the outside, but right now things seem relatively fine in the locker room. The players keep saying that nobody knows what things are like on the inside and that everyone understands each other.
But the effort and the comments from certain players seem to state otherwise. Heyward knows actions speak louder than words. The tough conversations have seemingly been had. It’s a real opportunity for the Steelers to grow through the adversity they’re facing right now.
Let’s see if they can take advantage of that opportunity.
