The Pittsburgh Steelers are sitting at 10-3, and vibes are high within the locker room. While the Steelers were a playoff team at 10-7 last season, OT Broderick Jones said things are different this season.
“I honestly feel better, just with the way that the team is. Last year, I feel like we had a good team, everybody just wasn’t as connected, just in the locker room, outside the facility. I feel like we do a better job this year of that, just having that bond, everybody having that bond, everybody just sitting and talking and chopping it up,” Jones said via Steelers Live on Twitter.
One example that Jones gave was the team’s Thursday night dinners, which used to just be the offensive linemen.
“When Russ [Wilson] got here, every Thursday we have an offensive dinner. It used to just be an o-line dinner for us, but since Russ been here it is basically like everybody with the offense. We got receivers there, we got running backs there, we got tight ends there. So it’s just little things like that I feel like helped us this year and stood out to me this year from last year.”
Cam Heyward and Broderick Jones spoke to the media on Thursday, Dec. 12 ahead of the Steelers game against the Eagles. @PondLehocky pic.twitter.com/TVRIlJWXR5
— Steelers Live (@SteelersLive) December 12, 2024
Jones said that Wilson came up with the idea to include the entire offense for Thursday dinners and not just the offensive line. Including more than just the offensive line at those dinners has been going on as far back to OTAs, as the quarterbacks took the offensive linemen out to dinner in May.
Wilson has been in the league a long time and knows the little things are important. He’s been the consummate professional and a great leader by all accounts since he’s arrived in Pittsburgh, and building camaraderie and team chemistry is incredibly important to building a good football team. A team that enjoys the company and likes each other off the field will want to win and fight for each other on the field.
While Jones didn’t say there wasn’t chemistry or things were bad last year, they’re different this year and in a good way. Bringing the whole unit together and having guys get to know one another as people and not just football players helps build a winning team. The NFL season is a grind, and everyone goes through it together. Having teammates you can lean on just to hang out and rely on is important, and those Thursday night dinners are not only good for hanging out but also building chemistry so guys can be their best on the field every week.
Credit to Wilson for recognizing the opportunity to get the whole offense involved and the group for buying into the idea. The most talented team in the world can fail due to a lack of chemistry, and while this Steelers team has plenty of talent, as its record shows, their unity and camaraderie off the field has helped the players be even better on it.
