Former Rams Bring McVay Mindset to Pittsburgh

In a recent piece by ESPN's Brooke Pryor, she detailed how the Steelers' new receiver core is grimy, adopting those McVay attitudes with former Rams' Robert Woods and Ben Skowronek leading by example.

"From top to bottom everybody is kind of grimy," stated Woods. "You see guys who are wanting to fight for each other and play for each other and guys are finishing down the field blocking," he said. "We're going to be physical in our room. We're going to be grimy. We're going to be fighting to the end of the whistle. Playing with -- and without -- the football, I think, is the biggest thing in our room."

McVay's entire run scheme is predicated on his receivers operating as lead blockers, something that allowed Ben Skowronek to receive more playing time than initially expected.

"That's kind of what I do out there," Skowronek said. "And for the offense, whether it's digging out support, whatever Art asked me to do, just try to do it to the best of my ability, and kind of set the tone for physicality and stuff like that. The offensive line is physical, running backs, tight ends. So why not be physical at receiver, too?"

"I had to step in and do a lot of stuff in the run game, but it's really, be physical, or they're going to find someone else who can be physical," Skowronek said. "I enjoy kind of being the enforcer out there for the receiver room."

Woods and Skowronek are redefining a receiver room that brought in D.K. Metcalf and traded away George Pickens during the offseason. This is a part of wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni's message: RDA -- routes, discipline, attitude. A message that is resonating throughout the position group, with Calvin Austin buying into it the most.

"It's an attitude that you're delivering every single day, where you come out here and you approach the game, approach every down, really," Woods said. "It's just your attitude and your drive and you want to. You see all our guys practice the RDA, and just put it on tape, whether it's the finish route, discipline technique, everything's critical."

The Steelers are a franchise built on physicality and they look to the men who won Super Bowl LVI in the west to bring forth a new era of smash mouth football in the Steel City.