The vibes are not high in the Steel City surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers, that much is certain.
Coming off losses in a span of four days to the lowly Arizona Cardinals and the woeful New England Patriots — both at home — things look rather bleak on the field.
Off the field, in the locker room among the players, things look even worse.
Star safety Minkah Fitzpatrick put players on blast after the loss to the Patriots, calling out their work ethic, preparation and — in some instances — their character when it comes to being a professional football player and a member of the Black and Gold.
Those comments came after Najee Harris gave a non-answer answer regarding a team-first mentality among teammates after the loss to the Cleveland Browns, and then the likes of Diontae Johnson and Jaylen Warren stating that the team might have taken the Cardinals too lightly.
Now, former Steelers safety and ESPN analyst Ryan Clark is speaking out about the culture within the Steelers’ franchise. Appearing on The Pat McAfee Show Monday, Clark stated that players in the Steelers’ locker room cares about the Steeler way currently, outside of Fitzpatrick, Cameron Heyward and T.J. Watt.
“Nobody, zero people care about the Steeler way. Zero people,” Clark said to McAfee, according to video via McAfee’s Twitter page.
After some pushback from McAfee, Clark recalibrated his wording.
“So when I say zero, I don’t necessarily mean it literally. You heard Minkah Fitzpatrick say that there are people in that locker room that think just wearing those colors entitles you to wins. And it doesn’t, you can’t will wins in the league,” Clark added. “And when a guy comes out after only two losses that says like people need to approach it different, they need to work different. That’s because he’s seen things around that locker room, around that practice field, in those meeting rooms that doesn’t lead him to believe everybody’s putting their hand in the pile the same way.”
Fitzpatrick’s comments were certainly eye-opening. Granted, when things are going poorly in professional sports, temperatures can rise, people can speak without thinking, let their emotions get the best of them, and more. Fitzpatrick isn’t that type of player though, so when he speaks as candidly as he did and rips his team a new one, eyebrows raise, ears perk up.
For Clark, Fitzpatrick’s comments show up on tape, too. Clark went back to Johnson’s effort on Warren’s fumble against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 12, walking off the line of scrimmage after a failed touchdown that should have been challenged. He did not jump on the loose ball and then never even giving chase when a Bengals defender scooped up the fumble and ran down the field.
Johnson, to his credit, owned the lack of effort to teammates, coaches and the media the next week, but for Clark it was telling to see no real punishment for the receiver, at least from a playing-time perspective.
“And so when you look at messaging, Coach T[omlin] doesn’t need to change who he is, but the messaging has to change,” Clark said, something he touched on last Friday on ESPN’s Get Up! after the loss to the Patriots. “And I said this last week and I meant it wholeheartedly: If Diontae Johnson does what he’s been doing, because this isn’t the first time he’s had these issues, I’m not throwing the football to him on 4th and 2. You aren’t getting the opportunity to save my team. You aren’t getting the opportunity to be the hero because you haven’t earned it.”
“And when you have the T.J. Watts who show up every day, the Cam Heyward that show up every day, the Minkah Fitzpatricks that show up every day, like they are the tone setters and setting the tone, those are the people that should be put front and center,” Clark added. “Those are the guys that should be rewarded. And I’ll be honest, I would’ve liked to see Diontae Johnson [sit] the week after the Cincinnati game. I think that would’ve been something to show this team that they will not tolerate people playing and working below the standard.”
Clark nails it. Though Tomlin remains a good coach and has the respect of key leaders in the locker room, things have gotten a bit too loose for talented players like Johnson and even fellow wide receiver George Pickens. Too often there are outbursts of emotions on the sideline from his two receivers, and nothing is really done about it.
Yes, the offense is a disaster, and the Steelers really need those two talents out there to try and help score points and get things figured out. But allowing them to continue to have these issues and getting away with it shows them that they are treated differently. Tomlin always likes to say “treated fairly but not equally” when it comes to players.
Maybe he ought to scrap that with his two receivers, make an example of them and get the locker room back in order.
Right now, things feel rather bleak for the Steelers on and off the field. The one area that is easiest to control from a messaging and operating standpoint is in the locker room, behind closed doors.
Tomlin has to change his messaging, much like Clark stated. That starts with how he treats talented players who are becoming issues because of their attitudes.
