The Pittsburgh Steelers are having a rough go of it this season, much harder than their 7-6 record belies. They have struggled to win games all season, pulling the majority of their victories out late in the contest. After quarterback Kenny Pickett went down with an injury, they have dropped two in a row to two 2-10 teams. This has raised a lot of concern about the players on this roster. Are they hungry enough? Are they focused on their own contributions to the team? One of the comments that comes up most often is that they aren't living up to the "Steelers Way." Now, one former offensive lineman, Trai Essex, is giving his opinion on exactly what the Steeler Way is and where these players are lacking.
Essex co-hosts a SteelerNation podcast called Pod Me Up with Rich "Rody" Rodawalt. On a recent episode, Rodawalt asked Essex to describe what the Steelers Way is exactly. Since Essex was a member of the team and knew the organization, Rodawalt felt that he could give an outsider and insider perspective.
"Let me preface this, it's never been called the 'Steelers Way,' it's only happening because of the 'Patriots Way' was a thing, so now we're saying the Steelers Way. It's never been called the Steelers Way, but there was a way we went about things. It seems to be different now. If I had to define it, it is a player-led locker room that holds each other accountable," explained Essex.
Rody said that in his opinion, he has to call BS on this. He said from an outsider's perspective, it seems like the Steelers have had issues in the past with players. To make his case, he named two players - Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell. Essex maintained that what happened then and what is happening now is different.
"Let me counter that by saying this. They were great players, proven great players, so they got a little bit longer leash. It came to a head too, even with Antonio Brown, who was arguably the best wide receiver in the NFL during his prime. Even still when things came to a point where he couldn't be held accountable, he got traded," defended Essex.
During the time that Brown was on the team, there were several veteran players on the offense, including quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, and they worked to keep Brown focused on the team, versus on himself.
Essex hasn't been shy about how he believes this current team just "feels different" and he isn't the only one saying this. Steelers star safety, Minkah Fitzpatrick has been very vocal about how he believes some of his teammates have gotten spoiled, and feel entitled to win.
Have The Steelers Lost Their "Way?"
Essex's comments came about because on his own podcast, Roethlisberger said that he feels that the Steeler Way has been lost. Roethlisberger said that he felt like when he joined the franchise, they intimidated their opponents. In his mind, they were immediately up by one score because they made other teams uneasy. He doesn't see that with this current team.
The current Steelers defense has mostly held opponents to low-scoring games, this is what has helped the offense stage late comebacks. During the first game against the Cleveland Browns, the practically won the game for us, scoring two defensive touchdowns. But it isn't enough. It is hard to be scary when teams know your offense can't put points on the board.
Remarkably enough, the Steelers are still in contention for a spot in the playoffs. They are in third place in the division behind the Baltimore Ravens and the Browns. They are really in control of their own destiny, they just have to win, which is something they have struggled to do.
More must-reads: