Pittsburgh Steelers SS DeShon Elliott didn’t hold back after the team’s third-straight loss, calling out teammates for missing assignments and making mistakes during the team’s 29-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas Day. With time off and a chance to reflect, Elliott wishes he would’ve bit his tongue instead.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Elliott regretted being so critical of his teammates with the media.
“I probably shouldn’t have said anything, maybe should have kept things in-house just out of respect to the guys in the locker room and the coaches,” he said via the PPG’s Ray Fittipaldo.
He stood by the accuracy of his comments but wished they would’ve been expressed internally instead of publicly.
“If anyone knows me, I’m a very truthful person. I don’t sugarcoat anything,” he said via Fittipaldo. “In the moment, I meant what I said, but I should have phrased it different or not said anything at all. If I felt that way I should have said it behind closed doors.”
Elliott wasn’t the only Steeler to critique his unit after the loss to the Chiefs. But his words were the strongest.
“First off, guys can’t be fucking wide open,” Elliott told reporters postgame. “That’s the first. Do you job, you know? I thought we communicated. Guys just weren’t doing their fricking job. So get back to the drawing board. It’s Week 18. Shouldn’t be having these problems in Week 18. This is a Week 1, Week 2 problem.”
His comments made plenty of waves throughout the local and even national media, used as evidence of a fractured locker room and spiraling team. Many speculated over who the main culprit of the communication breakdowns were, especially after Cam Heyward’s comments about the team being “screwed” if one player doesn’t do his job. In context, Heyward’s comments were more general about “one fail, we all fail” than it was pointed at any player. Heyward didn’t sugarcoat the team’s performance either, but his comments weren’t quite as sharp as Elliott’s.
Later, he made the point that biting criticism should be kept in-house and the team held a team meeting the following day to air out their grievances. Perhaps players were reminded of the mentality of praising in public, critiquing in private.
It’s hard to blame Elliott for his comments. Though the NFL has a “cool-down” period after games, it’s brief and emotions were still running high for a Pittsburgh team experiencing a tough stretch of three games, all losses, in an 11-day span. A period that saw the team go from a comfortable division lead to falling into second place and likely finishing with a Wild Card playoff berth instead of an AFC North crown.
Elliott is an old-school player. Tough and physical, he’s been an excellent free agent addition. It’s better to have players who care than ones who don’t, and Elliott clearly sits in the former camp. For his and the Steelers’ sake, hopefully there’s a much cheerier attitude in the locker room Saturday night, players talking about a win over the Cincinnati Bengals boosting confidence heading into the playoffs.
