Redemption or Armageddon Awaits the Steelers in Indianapolis
They’ve earned the criticism they’ve been receiving since Arizona and New England. But when it comes from within it has to be either answered or acknowledged.
When you lose twice in five days to teams that had won just two games each all season before arriving at Acrisure Stadium, the wolves are going to appear at the door.
They have and they’re howling.
But what’s as potentially revealing for the Steelers as back-to-back losses to Arizona and New England with everything at stake is some of the howling is coming from behind the door, or from those who have a history on the other side of the door.
Free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick unloaded to ESPN.com after the Patriots game: “In order to see the fruit, you’ve gotta toil for it. I think too many people don’t want to toil for it. I think we need to have more people who want to work for it, not expect it to be handed to them.”
And former franchise quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, on his podcast, wondered aloud if “the tradition of the Pittsburgh Steelers is done.”
We’re about to find out.
The back-to-back losses to two-win Arizona and two-win New England have made the stretch run harder than it needed to be, but the Steelers nonetheless remain in possession of the AFC’s sixth seed.
Hold onto that, or finish seventh, and a spot in the playoffs awaits.
That would silence some of the howling, at least temporarily.
Still, when it’s one of your best players currently and one of your best players ever howling the loudest, there’s reason to be concerned if not alarmed not just about where this season is headed but about the franchise’s direction and the franchise’s identity.
Former cornerback Ike Taylor expressed his thoughts on what the latter used to be in his playing days (2003-14) and on what he’s been seeing from players this season during a visit this week with the DVE Morning Show.
“They’re going on the history of what it is to be a Steeler instead of wanting to be a part of the history of being a Steeler,” Taylor maintained. “It’s a big difference.”
From there, Taylor took the ball and ran with it with passion and perspective:
“You gotta be very prideful to wear that Black & Gold, very prideful. And it’s gotta hurt, it’s gotta hurt you to lose. It’s gotta hurt you to lose a game, the locker room’s supposed be quiet as hell, and guys are supposed to have their iPads off and be mad and pissed off because they can’t wait to get back to practice. You’re supposed to be talkin’ about, ‘What the heck’s goin’ on?’
“To wear that Black & Gold is an honor, especially for the owner you got. You got a cool-ass owner in the Rooneys. You have to understand what the Rooneys have done, not only for the game of football but also for minorities, like, really gave us a huge chance.
“And then the city of Pittsburgh, it’s a blue-collar, hard-working city. You can feel it in the air when we lose. Everybody’s upset, nobody wants to go to work, nobody wants to go to school because people work hard in Pittsburgh.
“It’s very humbling to me to understand not only the city of Pittsburgh but what it is to be a Steeler. To be a Steeler you’re unselfish, you’re selfless, you care about others, you work in the community, you’re prideful. You win Super Bowls, you’re on scholarship for life.
“Pittsburgh’s just different, man. You don’t just put on that Black & Gold. It’s an honor to throw that Black & Gold on, it should mean something. These young dudes gotta understand, man, what it is to put that Black & Gold on.
“They gotta want to care what it is to be a Pittsburgh Steeler. They already got a cool-ass coach (Mike Tomlin). You got a smart, cool-ass coach, all he cares about is football. That’s all that man cares about, football. Why not make that dude happy? That’s how I’d be looking at it. If you don’t want to make yourself happy, why don’t you just make him happy?
“They gotta want to care about their teammates. I’m gonna care about me, but I care more about Troy (Polamalu). I care more about Casey Hampton, Joey Porter, Ryan Clark, Bryant McFadden, Deshea Townsend, Willie Gay, Larry Foote, Aaron (Smith), ‘Diesel’ (Brett Keisel). I cared about those dudes and not letting them down more than I cared about myself, but that’s a part of being a Steeler.
“We knew if we won Super Bowls the bag (of money) was coming. But we cared about each other so much we never wanted to let each other down. And when we did, it hurt your soul. And that’s what this group gotta get back to, doing stuff not for yourself but the sake of the team and your teammates.”
How far have they fallen?
How fast?
How much of what Taylor described will be recognizable on Saturday in Indianapolis?
If they haven’t already, they’ll betray who they really are at their core against the Colts.
