Joe Schobert acknowledged that the usual players — defensive captain Cam Heyward, de facto captain T.J. Watt — were plenty loud during Sunday’s 41-10 pounding in Cincinnati. But by the time this week rolled around, it was another member of the Steelers organization who took center stage in challenging his team to bounce back from that beating.
“Coach [Mike] Tomlin was very loud,” Schobert said with a chuckle. “We’ve got a lot of leaders on the team, but coach Tomlin pretty much took the floor for our meetings this week.”
Another defender, lineman Chris Wormley, agreed that Tomlin took ownership of things this week, but not necessarily in a way that was out of character for him.
“We got our butts whooped. I think everyone knew that. Anytime you lose by that much in that fashion, it’s nice to have someone kind of get on your butt a little bit. A guy like me, I kind of appreciate a coach who takes things seriously, and that’s what he did.”
Wormley added that Wednesday was “a good practice,” one with pads on, as Tomlin promised Tuesday. There are only so many times an NFL team can go full-contact like that in-season, and the first day after a 31-point loss, sandwiched in between the season’s first meeting against the hated Baltimore Ravens, seems like as good a time as any.
Schobert, in his first year with the Steelers and thus in his first week with them following such a blowout, was impressed by the intensity.
“It was good. A lot of fun,” Schobert said. “A lot of people flying around, pads were popping, so it was a good day of practice.”
It sounds as if Schobert has been more focused on preparing for this week than reading what past players are complaining about when it comes to the current Steelers. He insisted he doesn’t follow anything that goes on in the media, especially during a season, so he couldn’t comment on the criticism coming from the likes of Rocky Bleier, Ryan Clark and Chris Hoke.
But Wormley, who played his first three years with the Ravens, grew up a Steelers fan in Toledo. He knows what this defense used to look like, what it should look like, and what Pittsburghers have been accustomed to over the decades.
“The standard is the standard, like Mike T talks about all the time,” Wormley said. “For me as a defensive guy, that rough-and-tough defense that I grew up watching, when I came in, I knew that was the standard. Each week, me personally, I try to uphold that.”
Obviously, the Steelers haven't done that lately, with 82 points allowed over the last two weeks, their most in a two-game span since 1989. Seven of those came courtesy of a pick-six, but still, the defense has fallen on hard times in a hurry.
By all accounts, the flow of Wednesday’s practice had more energy and was a bit more fast-paced than usual, two things that were suggested Monday by safety Minkah Fitzpatrick as ways to help the Steelers improve throughout the week.
As for whether it will translate to a better showing against the Ravens, Tomlin put it best on Tuesday: “We’ll see on Sunday, won’t we?” Baltimore ranks second in the NFL in rushing yards per game (150.7) while the Steelers rank last in yards allowed per carry (4.8).
The intangibles only go so far, and the Steelers can hope that the spirit of the past lives on in them this Sunday at Heinz Field.
“The tradition speaks for itself when you walk upstairs to the meeting room and there’s six Lombardi Trophies in the trophy case right there,” Schobert said. “You walk by that every day, you walk by the team pictures of the guys that did it, and that’s who built the franchise. That’s who you’re carrying their legacy on now. There’s a certain level of respect for them, but you have to play well to uphold that tradition.”
Brian Batko: bbatko@post-gazette.com and Twitter @BrianBatko.
First Published: December 1, 2021, 8:58 p.m.
