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Steelers running back James Conner celebrates a touchdown against the Panthers in the first quarter Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018, at Heinz Field.
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Ron Cook: Steelers put emphasis on character while building roster

Matt Freed/Post-Gazette

Ron Cook: Steelers put emphasis on character while building roster

In one sentence Saturday, Mike Tomlin said more than he did in the weeks and months since the tumultuous end of Team Turmoil’s season:

“There’s been a cleansing, if you will.”

Tomlin responded to a post-NFL draft question from ESPN about the likelihood of the departures of Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell ending the drama surrounding the team and making the locker room a better, more conducive place for winning.

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“I think when you’re trying to compete at the level that we’re trying to compete and be world champs, that desire and that collective will is an element of it,” Tomlin said. “The things that you can’t measure. I think that guys that have a strong desire to be a part of it and put their hand in the pile is a significant element of that.”

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My translation:

Brown and Bell are wonderful players, but our team is much better off without them.

I heard the same thing from Kevin Colbert on Tuesday in our interview with him on 93.7 The Fan.

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“I guess coach was referencing that we’re moving forward with different people. … What we talked about is, sometimes when players grow into stars, which you hope they do, sometimes they lose the focus of what needs to be done from a team standpoint.”

My translation:

We don’t want players who think they are bigger than the team and care only about their contract and their brand. 

I applaud Tomlin and Colbert.

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You won’t win championships with players such as Bell and especially Brown.

The Steelers didn’t.

The intention to draft quality people as well as talented players during the weekend was evident. Tomlin used the words “character” and “commitment to the game” and “grit” when summarizing the draft class. My guess is Brown and Bell reminded them of the importance of character the way their failures with troubled college players — Mike Adams, Alameda Ta’amu and Chris Rainey — did in the 2012 draft.

“I never thought we have ever lost the character aspect and the importance of it,” Colbert said. “We’ve always talked that when we have two players that are comparable, who loves football and who’s going to be the best team guy, we would always side to that player.

“The frame of reference we used this year, particularly, was looking back on the draft that got us T.J. and JuJu and James Conner [in 2017]. None of those was the biggest, the fastest. They were good football players that loved playing the game and they played on the team aspect. We reminded ourselves, ‘Listen, if it’s close, let’s take that type of guy.’”

Colbert hinted the Steelers can learn from the mistakes they made with Brown and Bell. They made plenty. Tomlin, Colbert and even Art Rooney II allowed Brown to do just about anything he wanted because he is such a fabulous talent and was, arguably, the team’s hardest worker. They contributed to him becoming an out-of-control monster. That isn’t to say they have to treat Ben Roethlisberger the same way they do Josh Dobbs. But there has to be a few non-negotiable rules, starting with, “Show up for work on time.”

“Once we do take [the Watts, Smith-Schusters and Conners], we have to do a better job of managing them as they hopefully grow into NFL stars,” Colbert said. “I think it’s a different challenge in today’s game with the different brandings and the social medias. You know the players benefit from it, but they also are challenged by it because sometimes it gets out of whack. We have to do a better job of managing them as they grow.”

I’m thinking Brown and Bell will contribute to the Steelers long after they are gone.

They still might help the team win a Super Bowl.

Ron Cook: rcook@post-gazette.com and Twitter@RonCookPG. Ron Cook can be heard on the “Cook and Joe” show weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on 93.7 The Fan.

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First Published: May 1, 2019, 11:30 a.m.

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