Roethlisberger: No speeches needed now ... or at least there shouldn't be

Mike Tomlin was disappointed and surprised his message regarding the importance of last week's meeting with the Bengals in Cincinnati fell flat as the Steelers were beaten handily, 41-10.

Ben Roethlisberger's message to his teammates this week is a more simple one. At 5-5-1, the Steelers have left themselves with little room for error with six games remaining as they head into Sunday's meeting at Heinz Field against the AFC North-leading Ravens (8-3).

"If you have to give guys a message at this point in the year and where we are, then maybe it’s time to get guys who don’t need a message," Roethlisberger said. "People need to understand what this is about."

With the Steelers, it has always been about trying to win a championship. The team has won two of them since selecting Roethlisberger in the first round of the 2004 NFL Draft and been to another. It's played in six AFC Championship games since the 2001 season.

But a failure to make the playoffs this season would mean the Steelers won't have an opportunity to win a playoff game this season. And it would mark the fifth consecutive season the Steelers have failed to do so. That would be the longest streak without a playoff win for the Steelers since the NFL merger.

Fans are restless. Former players are restless, especially after watching the team get trampled last Sunday by the Bengals, who swept the Steelers for the first time since 2009 and won three games in a row against them for the first time since beating them six consecutive times from 1988 through 1990.

Tomlin said Tuesday he understands the criticism and even harbors it himself of his team's performances the past three games, when they have allowed 41 points in back-to-back outings.

"They would know. They know the things that we value," Tomlin said. "I don't know specifically what you're talking about. But guys that have been here, guys that have been in that room, guys that understand the standards that we aspire to, they probably have a better understanding of that than anybody that's not in that room right now. I would imagine that whatever it is you’re referring to, I agree with them."

Roethlisberger has tried to instill some of that understanding of the expectations. So has defensive captain Cam Heyward, who has been with the franchise since 2011.

The problem for the Steelers, however, is that because of salary cap restrictions in recent years, after those two, the veteran with the most years on the team's roster are placekicker Chris Boswell and offensive lineman B.J. Finney, both signed as a street free agents in 2015.

With the retirements of longtime center Maurkice Pouncey and linebacker Vince Williams and the release of David DeCastro at the end of minicamp, the Steelers' ties to even their recent past are on a very thin tether. Three more important voices in that locker room were lost.

Longtime team president and owner Dan Rooney died in April of 2017. He had turned day-to-day operations of the team over to his son, Art Rooney II, in 2003. But Dan Rooney had remained a steadying force within the organization, from being the voice who guided his son on major decisions to just being around the facility to offer words of advice.

Now, only four players on the current roster ever met the man. There are probably more than a few players on the roster who don't understand that when people refer to the "Steelers way," it harkens back to Dan Rooney and how he would approach things or dictated how things were done.

That included little things, such as no music in the locker room, let alone during practice, as second-year wide receiver Chase Claypool ludicrously suggested earlier this week as a way to pull the team out of its current doldrums, which has seen it go a month without a win.

Even Roethlisberger, who long adhered to the rule to not have music in the locker room after practice, has relented in recent years. Where he used to walk across the locker room and make a show of shutting things down if a new guy began playing music, it's now allowed to go on. That's nothing groundbreaking. Teams across the league play music in their locker room.

But it hadn't been the case with the Steelers.

"It was always Mr. Rooney. Mr. Dan. It was always that way. I don’t why. It just always was. As guys started to leave the locker room that had that tradition, that history, I tried to keep it going," Roethlisberger said. "I always told guys, new guys would come in and play music, and I would shut it down. I was the grump old man who didn’t want music. I told guys like Cam Heyward and Vince Williams, the reason we don’t do it because I always wanted, if Mr. Rooney came into the locker room, you wanted to listen to him. You wanted to hear what he had to say, whether it was about Steelers, life, whatever. He was like a grandfather for all of us. 

"As new guys came in and Mr. Rooney wasn’t around, they didn’t understand that quite as much. So, we tried to pass it on. As years passed, I would tell guys, I still wait for him to walk through that door. I just want to listen to him because he was so soft-spoken, but it was so wise. That was always my thing. You didn’t want the music because he was around. The last couple of years, I kind of relented. I’ll stop being the grumpy guy. If they want to listen to music, they can listen to music."

Just not during practice. The Steelers aren't ready to take that step and likely never will be.

Some things remain sacred.

And with Roethlisberger now 39 and quite possibly playing in his final season, who steps in to take his place?

The Steelers start four rookies of offense this season and -- quarterback aside -- have one of the youngest offenses in the NFL. Heyward, meanwhile, though showing no signs of slowing down at 32, won't be around forever, either.

That's why it was important for the team to sign young star T.J. Watt to a long-term deal over the summer, and why it will be equally important to do the same with safety Minkah Fitzpatrick next year.

While Claypool was talking about playing music during practice on Monday as the way to help the team pull out of its nose dive, Fitzpatrick, a couple of hours earlier, had a more professional approach to it.

"Right now, there are certain things that need to change, how we move throughout the week," said Fitzpatrick. "Whether it be getting more reps in practice, going faster pace, through walkthroughs and stuff like that. That's my personal opinion.

"We've got to watch film, see what we have to do better. If it's something we have to change whether it's scheme-wise, in practice, how we operate throughout the week, we'll make that diagnosis today and tomorrow and move forward from there."

No mention of music. But after Claypool's comment, the Steelers were painted with a broad brush. They just don't get it.

But one misguided comment shouldn't speak for the entire team.

"I hope he was kidding because as soon as he said it, I was about to rip the speaker out,” Heyward said on his weekly hit on the WDVE Morning Show. “That is not what we need right now. It’s X’s and O’s and execution. But I think he was kidding.”

When informed it did not seem like Claypool was kidding, Heyward responded, "Well, then, he is going to be in shock because there isn’t going to be anything played in practice."

Except maybe some tackle football.

You learn during wins. But perhaps more lessons are dealt out during and after losses.

This should be a lesson to all in that locker room. They can choose or not choose to listen to the words of Roethlisberger, Heyward or even Tomlin. But, as Roethlisberger said, those who need extra motivation or don't learn the lessons, probably won't be around too long.

He knows those words only go so far. For the Steelers now, it's all about their deeds on the field.

And a winning tradition? It will only take you so far.

"You can pass on tradition all you want, but the farther away you get from something, the harder it is to do," Roethlisberger said. "I’m sure at some point I’ll be sitting at home, like I’m sure there are some guys I played with that watch us or see things in the media and probably shake their heads and say, ‘That’s not the Steelers way.’ Or, ‘That’s not the way we used to do it.’ That’s just the way things go. The ‘70s team probably looked at us (that way) probably 20 years ago. It just happens. Who knows?"

THE INJURY REPORT

Joe Haden and Robert Spillane both missed practice with their injuries while Roethlisberger got his standard Wednesday off. Pat Freiermuth was a full participant as he works to get out of concussion protocol.