I don’t know if it’s just a byproduct of sports media growing every year. Maybe it’s just the reality of their circumstances. But what seems clear to me is that the Pittsburgh Steelers are under the spotlight this season more consistently, and rarely for anything positive.
Indeed, we seem to be serenaded on a weekly basis by former players desperate to preserve the “Steeler Way”. Notable voices include some rather significant ones, like former QB Ben Roethlisberger, and S Ryan Clark, as well as DL Chris Hoke. But they’re all on the outside. Even then.
“Everybody likes to make a big deal about it, but for someone to have an opinion that doesn’t know what’s going on in here, I just laugh at that”, Steelers defensive captain Cameron Heyward said on Thursday, via the team’s website. “It’s about being with the group, understanding that the Steelers are the Steelers because they care about each other, and that it’s not just one guy that wins, it’s everybody that wins”.
While it goes much deeper than any one person, the recent focal point for these conversations has been WR George Pickens. He was accused of loafing in the last game, and then he had a very questionable defense for it. All while attacking the media in the process and accusing them of manufacturing a story. And saying that the only people criticizing him are those who’ve never played the game.
It all makes one wonder what is being said and who is saying it. After all, we had the extremely unusual blessing of a bonus Tomlin Wednesday this week, during which he specifically addressed Pickens and his recent behavior.
“We’ve had those talks, privately”, Heyward said, referring to Pickens. “It’s not for me to share them, but growth needs to take place. That’s it. It’s not just George; in general, it’s everybody. There’s a way we do things around here, and it’s as the group goes, not as one guy goes, and when we’re losing and not getting the job done, it falls on the group. It’s not one person”.
He is far from alone when it comes to striving to dismiss the outside chatter about what’s going on inside the locker room. CB Joey Porter Jr. responded to a recent remark by Cincinnati Bengals WR Tyler Boyd, a Pittsburgh-area native, saying that “his opinion really doesn’t matter”.
“I always think people that aren’t in the building that have opinions on what’s going on in here don’t really know the truth and don’t really know how this locker room is”, C Mason Cole told Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
You’re never going to fully understand what’s going on if you’re not in the locker room, that’s true enough. And those in the locker room probably shouldn’t be paying much attention to what is said about them. Whether it’s from random pundits who’ve never played or even former teammates. But there’s a reason it’s all attracted so much attention, and it’s not a positive one.
