Former Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger caught a lot of flak a week ago for coming out on his podcast after Pittsburgh lost to the New England Patriots at home and questioning if his former team had lost the Steeler Way. Roethlisberger mentioned that he heard some of the leaders in the locker room stating some players are in it just for themselves rather than the team, going against the culture that Pittsburgh had established as one of the league’s best franchises.
Several have jumped on Roethlisberger’s statement, especially after the team’s third consecutive loss to the Indianapolis Colts last Saturday, questioning how a franchise with as much pride and tradition as the Steelers have gotten to this point. Dan Orlovsky of ESPN appeared on First Take and gave his thoughts on the deterioration happening in Pittsburgh.
“When did this become okay in Pittsburgh?” Orlovsky said on First Take. “The Pittsburgh that I grew up watching and played against would’ve never said this or allowed this.
“[Damien] Woody and I played on bad teams. We dealt with a lot of this stuff where it was me, me, me, not we. In Pittsburgh with Ben Roethlisberger and Hines Ward and Heath Miller, those guys were never a part of something like this.”
The Pittsburgh Steelers I grew up watching had the guys Orlovsky mentioned, examples of what the culture is supposed to be like in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh’s defense was the toughest in football with OLB James Harrison and S Troy Polamalu flying around making plays and punishing opposing ball carriers every time they touched the ball. The offense played physical too with Roethlisberger playing through numerous injuries while Ward and Miller took great pride in blocking as skill-position players while still starring as pass catchers when they got their opportunities.
That hasn’t been the case this season as the Steelers have dealt with several issues when it comes to the team’s culture. The one grabbing all the headlines right now is WR George Pickens’ lack of effort as a blocker against the Colts and his comments to the media earlier this week. However, more instances stick out from this season, including WR Diontae Johnson not blocking anyone in the Bengals game a few weeks back. He sulked after missing a touchdown catch the play before, failing to do anything when RB Jaylen Warren fumbled the football, allowing the Bengals to recover. Another cultural problem that sticks out is RT Chukwuma Okorafor reportedly getting benched for comments made during the Jacksonville Jaguars game, venting his frustration over the coaches’ play calls.
You never used to hear about players taking plays off or getting benched for talking back to the coaching staff a but here we are. Both OLB T.J. Watt and S Minkah Fitzpatrick have called out this team for the overall lack of desire to practice, players expecting to just show up and play well on Sundays rather than put in the work necessary to be great. That’s a pretty damning sentiment that is shared between two of the leaders on this team as both have relentlessly worked to get level they are at today. Other teams are starting to see the deterioration of the culture in Pittsburgh as well with Bengals WR Tyler Boyd citing Pittsburgh’s issues as a lack of camaraderie amongst the players.
Orlovsky is right in saying this Steelers team isn’t the same as past ones. That 2008 defense was one of the most cohesive units this franchise has ever seen, playing together in dominant fashion to lead this team to a Super Bowl title. Guys played through injuries for each other, did the dirty work for others to get the glory, and held each other accountable if someone wasn’t meeting the bar.
The fact of the matter is that this Steelers team doesn’t have that same culture or leadership the great Steelers teams of the past had. Sure, they have superstar players like Watt, Fitzpatrick, and Cameron Heyward, but they don’t have that sense of accountability those teams had, especially at the quarterback position with QB Kenny Pickett needing to take the reins despite being a second-year pro.
This ship appears to be sinking and fast. The Steelers may not be able to keep it afloat in 2023, but they must diligently work this offseason to get this team back to that culture of excellence this franchise embodied for decades if they truly wish to compete for a Super Bowl in the near future.
