In the aftermath of the Steelers' 45-42 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars that ended their playoff run abruptly, Pro Bowl guard David DeCastro went off to me and another reporter regarding the lack of, well, leadership and being buttoned up in the locker room, calling some of the distractions that happened during the season, "embarrassing."
I asked him as he was describing some of the things he was angry about happening -- talking about a rematch with the Patriots before playing the Jaguars and other issues -- if he felt a need as one of the team's leaders in the locker room to say something about it.
"No, that's not really my role," DeCastro told me. "That's not really my role. I'm not much of a talker. I try to lead by example. It's one of those things, it should be obvious, to me."
Friday, one of the players who is a vocal leader in the locker room, told ESPN the team does need more of that kind of leadership in 2018. And, defensive captain Cameron Heyward said it has to come from the players, laying down the gauntlet.
"I just challenge all of us to not let that stuff happen again," Heyward said while at the Pro Bowl in Orlando. "Who's to say we have to have all that stuff going on? We can be a better team because of it, grow from it, but that stuff is not going to get us anywhere. ... We've just got to make smarter decisions. Guys got to grow. I thought it got way too much media publicity with it. We've got to close ranks and get back to work."
Mike Tomlin said early in the season he didn't mind some of the early distractions faced by his team, from Le'Veon Bell's holdout, to Antonio Brown's tirade on a Gatorade cooler in Baltimore, to Martavis Bryant's trade demands, to the incident in Chicago when the players voted to stay in the tunnel during the national anthem rather than join league-wide protests over statements made by President Donald Trump.
They continued late into the season, including Bell openly talking about his contract status for 2018 in the week leading up to the playoff game.
The distractions seemed to keep coming for the Steelers in 2017. Heyward said the team needs to avoid those situations moving forward.
"Just a lot of stuff, AB kicking a Gatorade bottle or stuff like that," Heyward said. "I've gotten mad in certain situations, but because it's Antonio Brown, it gets blown out of proportion. We've just got to -- that stuff is going to happen, I understand -- but we've just got to focus in on what we do. ... Let's not give more food to the outside noise. Get back to business."
To that respect, Heyward credited Tomlin for what he called an "ingenious" move by openly talking about the Patriots himself weeks before the two teams met Dec. 17, a game the Steelers lost, 27-24, to cede control of the top spot in the AFC playoffs to New England.
"It took the pressure off us and put it on him," Heyward said.
Nine Steelers are participating in Sunday's Pro Bowl, including Heyward for the first time. Also joining him is Ben Roethlisberger, the team's offensive captain. They are joined by Bell, Brown, DeCastro, Maurkice Pouncey, Alejandro Villanueva, Roosevelt Nix and Chris Boswell.
Inside linebacker Ryan Shazier also was chosen but is injured.