First Call: Cam Heyward disagrees with Ben Roethlisberger’s ‘Steelers Way’ take; Tyler Glasnow reportedly heading west in trade
Friday’s “First Call” features Cameron Heyward rebuffing Ben Roethlisberger’s assessment of Pittsburgh Steelers culture. An ex-Steeler is upset with the state of the team. A former Pirate is about to be part of a big trade.
And a local hoops star just set a record at Duquesne.
Dissenting opinion
Ben Roethlisberger made waves this week on his podcast when he said that maybe the “Steelers Way” tradition is “done” for good.
“I understand the further you get away from that, the harder it is unless it’s being passed down and carried the right way,” Roethlisberger said. “It just feels like that’s something that’s been lost on this team. I’ve felt that certain guys on the team aren’t in it for the team. They’re in it for themselves.”
Appearing on the NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football” on
“Ben has an opinion. He’s entitled to that, but I don’t agree. We lost these last two games. It’s been rough, but the Steelers Way is about grinding it out, and it doesn’t matter what’s going on,” Heyward said. “So there is plenty to be done about it, and tradition starts by winning games, having good defense, scoring points. So hopefully we can adjust that this week.”
Well, if anyone can prove that the Steelers Way still exists, it’s Heyward. He’s a defensive captain and a former All-Pro. He’s got the resume and the cachet on and off the field. He can do something about it.
Let’s see what he — or the team — comes up with in Indianapolis … if anything.
Fire away
Retired Steelers nose tackle Chris Hoke teed off on multiple players during his weekly appearance on 93.7 The Fan on Thursday.
A former defensive lineman, Hoke wasn’t very complimentary of current defensive lineman Larry Ogunjobi.
“When you get paid that kind of money ($28.7 million/3 years), they’re paying you to produce,” Hoke said. “He’s a big, strong, powerful guy. He’s explosive. Technique is below the line. And it’s one of those things where he doesn’t play with his hands all the time. … He’ll make a play, and then he’ll disappear for a long period of time because of his technique.”
I agree with Hoke there. Ogunjobi has a penchant for making a splash play or two in the first quarter of games, then failing to do so the rest of the game.
Hoke also expressed some doubts about wide receivers Diontae Johnson and George Pickens.
“I hope it’s not the culture,” Hoke said. “But it just seems like those two guys (have) got to turn this around. They’ve got to change that. It puts a bad light on the Pittsburgh Steelers.”
Again, agreed. I think both of those Steelers receivers have largely built their reputations more on perception than production.
Finally, Hoke called out safety Minkah Fitzpatric for not making enough impactful plays on defense.
“Throughout the season, Minkah has 64 tackles, zero interceptions, zero forced fumbles, zero fumble recoveries, two passes defensed,” Hoke said. “He was the one that tipped the ball against the Browns early in the season when Alex Highsmith took it back for a touchdown. But that was an eternity ago… ‘A’ players have got to play ‘A’ ball in games like last Thursday, in games like this Saturday against the Colts. They haven’t gotten that from Minkah this season.”
True. Splash plays have been absent from Fitzpatrick in 2023. Although I will blame some of that on injuries, and how he has been deployed closer to the line of scrimmage more frequently this year.
