PITTSBURGH STEELERS

A HOUSE DIVIDED – A SEASON’S END

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ season has come and gone, and without much detail needed, the team, the fans and the coaches are nothing more than disappointed.

The beginning of the season showed so much promise, especially after coming off of a 13-3 campaign in the previous year. Management, players, fans and even prognosticators, were all onboard with the Steelers reaching the ultimate game, the Super Bowl.

With young draft talent and seasoned veterans ready to provide a good mix of players to pursue that goal; ultimately, it would come down to the most intangible of reasons that teams succeed or fail. Chemistry! It is often said, “United we stand, divided we fall.” This axiom proved to be prophetic regarding how the Steelers organization down to the fans functioned without regards to any type of unity.

It was bad enough that the outside media pundits pounced on the team like a bunch of hungry lions; but to have management/coaches turn on players and players turn on players, and fans turn on coaches/players, well, the results were predictable. You can call it fate or karma or both, but when so much negativity swirls around a team and organization, the ascension to the top becomes a steep hill to climb.

Strap Up and crew were especially salty with the former players taking weekly shots at the team without any semblance of allegiance to the organization. We know that they have a job to do, but some things fall under the category of, “What happened in Vegas stays in Vegas!”

OUTSIDE FORCES

The landscape in sports today have dynamics that differ from years past because social media has become an option. It is a players platform and very public accessible, which opens the player up to scrutiny and criticism. Self-promotions, off field business ventures and “social contacts” are the means for communicating a players “brand” to attract the most attention.

Well, the attention that those players received were more than predictable. Include the multi-media outlets that employ ex-players that are deemed “expert analyst,” now you have the makings of 24-7, 365 days of millions of opinions. Depending on which analysts you believe or local sportscasters that influences your opinion, many viewpoints are in-line with their analysis.

But the daily visceral heaped upon this team throughout the season cannot be overstated. Sometimes people forget, coaches and players are human with families that absorb all of that negativity.

First, it was the Le’Veon Bell saga between him and management that divided the media’s opinion. Some took sides with Le’Veon while others sided with management in the first open display of divisions that would help shape the average fans position on the matter. Then it was the coaching being attacked by former players and coaches specifically towards Mike Tomlin. Terry Bradshaw, Tony Dungy and others were taking their shots at the head coach as a matter of commentary or in some cases, just for spite.

The slow start to the season exacerbated things exponentially until the team hit their stride with a winning streak, then the howling from the wolves calmed down. The Bell saga loomed over the first part of the season until it became evident that he would not be returning to the team at all this year.

INSIDE FORCES

Being a professional athlete you are taught to shutout the outside noise and stay focus on the task at hand. But when that noise is coming from inside your own locker room, you can say goodbye to any form of chemistry or unity within the team structure.

Division # 1. It started with the offensive line dragging the team’s star running back and talking openly about his contract. This is the same offensive line that received expensive gifts from said running back over the years as a token of his respect for them.

Division # 2 Offensive Captain Big Ben throwing teammates under the bus and not always accepting responsibilities for his actions. Most critiques are done in private or during film study, but not on a weekly radio show that would garner mass media attention. Antonio Brown of whom is one of the most hardest working and gifted players in the league, received Big Bens scorn which did not sit well with him. As a veteran receiver, he didn’t need to be called out in public just like Big Ben would not of liked AB to call him out for his bad passes. But AB Diva attitude was a little much to bear even though he had earned his way to that status coming from a sixth round draft position.

Division # 3 We know as fans of the team we are permitted to voice our displeasures about anything and all things Steelers related. However, the talk shows, the comment sections under Steeler sites and even some of the writers on those sites were just as bad if not worse as the national sports pundits. The aura around the team was cloudy and when you have so much internal dissension, you can count on expectations not being realized.

CONCLUSIONS

I believe some things were blown out of proportion while others could have been construed as miscommunication. James Harrison and Ryan Clarks comments were particularly stinging considering how the Steelers stood behind them when they were “problems” in the locker room and with the team in general. But the players speaking to the media about situations that in the past warranted “no comments” were the straws that broke the camel’s back.

Every sound bite was a major story and each comment became headline news. There is enough blame to go around for everyone and a season with so much promise went up in a smoke of confusion. Too many missteps across the board on all levels that caused the season to crash and burn.

Management totally mishandled the Le’Veon Bell deal in spite of what some in the media tried to state otherwise. Even though James Connors filled in admirably, he wore down as the year progressed. With Bell in the fold, the backfield would of been one of the best in the league and the running game could of carried the team through the playoffs. Plus the cohesion of the offense would of been better and the passing game would of been more explosive.

Coaching strategies were also fragmented and saw a total offensive imbalanced that often left the team open for miscues and turnovers. Breaking passing records without wins to show for it has never been the Steelers way of playing football. The defense had issues with the offense not doing their job and the offense felt the same way about the defense.

So this season ended on a worse note then last years Jacksonville fiasco without even a chance to see how far they could have gone in the playoffs. Self-evaluations, climate culture, and infusion of more talent will be the off seasons primary agendas that need to be addressed.