The Pittsburgh Steelers have looked like a shell of the team we have grown to know and love in recent weeks, falling to two sub-.500 teams in back-to-back games in what was supposed to be a promising run for them down the stretch. The team has seemingly failed to show up in both contests to start the game, lacking the urgency of a team that has playoff aspirations while numerous mistakes have plagued both sides of the football.
Former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger spoke about Pittsburgh’s current issues recapping the team’s loss to the New England Patriots on an episode of his most recent podcast, stating that players must be holding each other accountable for their respective performances on the football field and that coaches must intervene if that is not taking place.
“If players aren’t holding players accountable, which is another thing that the Steeler way was, like you didn’t want to mess up because of what your teammate might say or think or do,” Roethlisberger said on Footbahlin’, which aired on the show’s YouTube channel. “Grab everybody by the facemask and say, ‘Hey, if you do this again, we’re gonna have issues.’ I don’t know if that’s still going on. Maybe it is. Maybe it isn’t. I don’t know. But as a coach, if the players aren’t holding players accountable, then you need to step up and do it, and you need to say, ‘Hey, listen. This is unacceptable.’ maybe it’s like we’ll give you one more chance, or I’m sitting you down and someone else is getting a shot.”
The Steelers teams of the past had numerous players who would hold each other accountable on the field, looking to get the best out of their teammates while addressing issues if they ever arose. Guys like Roethlisberger, Joey Porter Sr., James Harrison, Hines Ward, and Maurkice Pouncey were great leaders on the team that took pride in their play on the field and demanded the same out of their teammates, addressing fellow players if lack of execution on the football field ever started to become a trend.
All of those players have since moved on, and Pittsburgh has been suffering from the same mistakes over and over again. Whether it be the pre-snap penalties, having too many men on the field on defense, or the simple lack of execution in the basic fundamentals of the game, it has been sickening to watch for Steelers fans and the rest of the NFL who feel they are watching a JV football team rather than elite professionals.
The 2023 Steelers have elite players like OLB T.J. Watt, S Minkah Fitzpatrick, and DL Cameron Heyward, who hold themselves to a high standard and attempt to elevate those around them. However, the amount of accountability among players doesn’t seem to be what it once was. Fitzpatrick called out the rest of the team after the loss to New England, stating that guys must want to toil to reap the fruit of success, but it doesn’t seem like the message is being constantly delivered or accepted amongst players, especially on the offensive side of the football.
“You can’t keep making the same mistakes,” Roethlisberger said. Players can’t keep making the same mistakes. Whether it’s running a route wrong. Whether it’s not blocking long enough. Whether it’s not hitting a hole. Whether it’s not making the right read as a quarterback. Whatever it is. At some point, coaches are going to have to start stepping up and say it’s time to check someone else.”
Head coach Tomlin has been reluctant to make any personnel changes, stating that the team just needs to continue to work and prep better in order to have better results on the field. The reality is that regardless of what the week of prep may be like behind closed doors, the results aren’t there. Pittsburgh has failed to execute time and again in games under the lights. Tomlin has managed to make one personnel decision, opting to play Broderick Jones over Chukwuma Okorafor at right tackle. But more changes likely need to be made as this offense continues to struggle, and the defense got gashed by the Cardinals and Patriots in back-to-back weeks.
Tomlin can be a players’ coach, but he’s paid to win football games first and foremost. If he’s not instilling that team leadership and accountability with the players in the locker room, it’s time that he takes on the role of bad cop and makes the necessary changes in order to encourage a positive change. What’s currently happening in Pittsburgh isn’t working, and if the players aren’t going to hold each other accountable for change, it’s Tomlin’s job to get it done.
