The 2016 Pittsburgh Steelers are a team in a total tailspin with no exit in sight. While the onus for reversing the Steelers slide resides firmly in Mike Tomlin’s shoulders the answer ultimately must come from within the Steelers lockeroom.
- That means that Steelers team captains Ben Roethlisberger, William Gay, Cameron Heyward and Robert Golden must call a players-only meeting.
Ben Roethlisberger’s soul searching was evident in his post-game interview and it is clear the rest of the locker room should follow his example. A closed door meeting, with a no-hold barred, heart-to-heart discussion of what must change is in order.
It is time for the Steelers 2016 captains to take matters into their own hands by calling a players only meeting. Photo Credit: Steelers.com
Players Close Doors, Ranks in 1995
The 1995 Steelers hit in a similar spot at a slightly earlier spot during their AFC Championship season. After starting 2-0, the 1995 Steelers went on to lose 4 of 5 and managed to discover creative ways to lose games with each defeat. Mind you, this was the successor to the 1994 Steelers team the fell 3 yards short of going to the Super Bowl.
- Yet here was the AFC ‘s team of destiny, holding on to a 3-4 record.
No one of course knows that was said at the meeting. One change to come out of it was that pagers and cellphones were banned during all team activities. If memory serves, Greg Lloyd was quoted as say he’d smash the next cellphone he saw during a meeting.
- Regardless, the results spoke for themselves.
The 1995 Steelers went on to win 8 out of their 9 remaining games, and rode that wave all the way to Super Bowl XXX. It is true that Bill Cowher shook up the roster from head to toe, making numerous lineup changes, including shifting Carnell Lake from safety to cornerback.
Players Only Doesn’t Always Pan Out
Players only meetings offer no magic solutions. In 1998, as the Steelers were in the middle of their late season melt down that saw them lose 5 straight, Steelers capitals called a player’s only meeting. Jim Sweeney reportedly stood up for beleaguered signal caller Kordell Stewart. Kordell, who was entering the “My buddy’s the cop” phase of his career in Pittsburgh needed all the support he could get.
- In the end, it was to no avail.
With notable exceptions of player like Jerome Bettis, Dermontti Dawson and Levon Kirkland and a few others, the 1998 Steelers quit on Bill Cowher down the stretch. Lee Flowers said as much at the time.
More recently, during the 2013 Steelers 0-4 start, the Steelers held a players only meeting where it was decided there would be no pool or ping pong played until the team started to win again. The Steelers skid continued….
…The bottom line is that a players only meeting won’t provide Pittsburgh with a panacea for what ails it, but a players only meeting would be a step in the right direction.
