Will “Less Talk, More Work” Resonate With the Steelers in 2013?

“Less Talk, More Work”

With Pittsburgh in the middle of their OTAs, I certainly can’t blame Mike Tomlin for trying to stress the importance of the aforementioned phrase to his players. In fact, those four words could be just the fuel to motivate a team coming off of a season of underachievement like the Steelers are at the moment.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ll be the first to admit that there were some bright spots from last season, especially the play of Heath Miller, Max Starks, Maurkice Pouncey and Lawrence Timmons But the negatives completely outweighed the positives from last fall when the team endured a roller-coaster season of sorts.

On offense, the line was decimated by a number of devastating injuries, Mike Wallace let his utter indifference to success and toxic attitude get the best of him and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s complained about Todd Haley’s play-calling on what seemed like a weekly basis.

Mike Tomlin will enter his seventh season this fall. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Not to be outdone, Pittsburgh’s defense was the quintessential definition of “Paper Champions” as they dominated the stats sheet but not their competition in 2012. The unit allowed numerous 4th quarter leads to evaporate, they could not rush the passer with any consistency (T-15th sacks), nor could they force an adequate amount of turnovers (20) to help their offense.

Pittsburgh’s 2012 woes were not relegated to offense and defense though. The Steelers’ special teams units left much to be desired as poor coverage and moronic penalties cost them some important regular season games as well.

The Steelers’ issues did not stop once the 2012 regular season finished though.

During this past offseason some members of the team alluded the amount of turmoil which existed in the locker room last season. Other members criticized the play of underachieving veterans, while some just ran their mouths and hammed it up for the camera like the media-whores that they truly are.

While some of the “dirty laundry” was aired, there is still some reason for hope for the Steelers to rebound this fall.

As Craig alluded to, I think that many on the team are downright angry at the way that their 2012 season fell to pieces right before their eyes. Veteran linebacker Larry Foote is certainly pissed at the way last year ended, and the young offensive linemen appear ready to step up and improve as well,

I for one can completely understand the increased motivation for many of Pittsburgh’s players. As much as the team struggled to consistently play well last season, they were nevertheless their “own worst enemies” for much of the year. And while the franchise has lost an large amount of important players over the last couple of offseason periods, there is still enough talent on the roster for the team to play at a competitive level again in 2013.

As I alluded to before, the idea of “less talk, more work” would be a tremendous motto/rallying cry for the Steelers this fall. Of course, “less talk, more work” is simply a phrase with zero meaning behind it unless Pittsburgh’s players actually believe in it and put forth their best efforts to do exactly that this fall. Heck, “less talk, more work” could be just another empty yet hilarious “Tomlinism” like “Unleash Hell in December” was back in 2009 if the team fails to buy in to it and revert back to their 2011 and 2012 ways.

Whatever transpires though, I hope that the Steelers can adopt the aforementioned philosophy this fall as they try to erase last year’s “lost season” and continue the long process of rebuilding.