Jesse James On Steelers’ Drama: ‘We Are The Kardashians’

[hawaiiansteel]

Jesse James On Steelers’ Drama: ‘We Are The Kardashians’

By Matthew Marczi
Posted on January 2, 2019

If there is one thing that a team that generates a lot of drama cannot afford to do, it’s to lose too many games. The past two years have shown us that with the Pittsburgh Steelers. While there were even more frequent non-football events that they had to deal with in 2017, they still went 13-3 and received a first-round bye.

This past season was another matter, posting only a record of 9-6-1, which came half a game shy of being good enough to receive a postseason berth, either as a wildcard or as a division winner. The fact that they have been losing has only magnified the off-field storylines.

That’s something that veteran tight end Jesse James talked about back on Monday, expressing some frustration with the amount of headlines the team was generating that had nothing to do with winning important games.

“Ah man, we are — Kardashians”, he told Jacob Klinger. “We have, I mean, we’re something. It’s Le’Veon Bell issues, you have more stuff popping up weekly, Jeremy Fowler’s reporting stuff about Le’Veon every other week. There’s just people calling people out”.

When a comment like that comes from James, who grew up as a diehard Steelers fan and considers it a blessing to be able to play for the organization, you know that it’s pretty serious.

“We lost a lot of games we should’ve won. I think there’s changes that’ll be made at some point this offseason. There’s things we got to account for and look at in a hard way”, the tight end said. “And we make adjustments to what we’ve been doing, because had a lot of distractions outside of the locker room this year that we need to handle better going forward”.

Klinger notes that he declined to point specifically to what those other distractions might have been, and I’m sure some of them we might not even have been made aware of or at least have been given the full context, but we know enough to understand where he’s coming from.

The Steelers are certainly not the only team with drama of this sort—and let’s be honest, it’s not a new thing either, there will always be some type of drama on any football team—but many are questioning whether this team can succeed with the amount of distractions that they provide for themselves.

Do I think they only won nine games this year because reports of things happening in the locker room leaked out? No, I don’t. I think they earned their record with their play on the field—and perhaps a bit of assistance from the officials. But they certainly don’t do themselves any favors by giving themselves additional, non-football things to worry about.


https://steelersdepot.com/2019/01/jesse-james-on-steelers-drama-we-are-the-kardashians/

[RuthlessBurgher]

Cam Heyward: We want AB here, but you don’t let your brothers down

Posted by Josh Alper on January 3, 2019, 7:21 AM EST

There’s been some reports about the response of unnamed Steelers players to wide receiver Antonio Brown‘s absence from practice and inactive status in Week 17, but defensive end Cam Heyward was willing to put his name on his thoughts when discussing Brown on Wednesday.

Heyward made an appearance on WDVE and the Brown saga was a major topic of conversation. Heyward said he didn’t know the extent of what was going on with Brown until just before the Steelers faced the Bengals last Sunday and he said that the wideout has “a lot of mending” to do with teammates as a result of how things played out last week.

“We all want AB here, but to be a part of this team you can’t do that,” Heyward said. “You don’t let your brothers down. It hurt more knowing that there were multiple people in that locker room giving everything they’ve got. … I think everybody wants AB on the team, but we’ve got to be on the same page. From the top to the bottom we all have to be accountable for it. I’m sure [General Manager] Kevin [Colbert], Coach [Mike] Tomlin will be talking to him. Going forward that’s unacceptable. We all sign up for this game and we all sign up to be part of this team.”

Heyward said he feels “unfortunate situations” have chipped away at the Steelers too often in recent seasons and that the team “can’t crack” in 2019. That requires putting things back together after a messy end to 2018.

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2019/01/03/cam-heyward-we-want-ab-here-but-you-dont-let-your-brothers-down/

[RuthlessBurgher]

JuJu Smith-Schuster: Steelers have to stop being divas, Kardashians

10:05 AM ET

Jeremy Fowler
ESPN Staff Writer

"Keeping Up With the Steelers" is the best reality show going in the NFL.

Pro Bowl wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster compared his team to the Kardashians during a Super Bowl week appearance on ESPN's First Take on Thursday.

"I think everyone has to stop being divas. I think we need to stop being the Kardashians and just play ball," said Smith-Schuster, who led the team in receptions (111) and yards (1,426).

Asked which Steelers players are divas, Smith-Schuster laughed subtly and didn't discuss names, focusing on himself.

"Being in that locker room, I've learned a lot," he added. "I know that I would never want to be a problem to any franchise."

The 2018 season saw Le'Veon Bell hold out for the entire year and Antonio Brown frustrate the organization by skipping the Saturday walk-through during Week 17. Brown, who's now on the trading block, also got heated in a midweek team setting.

After a Week 12 loss in Denver, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger made headlines when he said on his weekly radio show that Brown didn't run the proper route on a goal-line interception, that he wished he threw to Smith-Schuster on all four downs of the goal-line sequence, and that rookie receiver James Washington didn't trust his hands on a dropped pass earlier in the game. The Steelers finished the year 9-6-1 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2013.

Smith-Schuster isn't the first Steelers player to compare his locker room to the hit reality show.

"Ah man, we are -- Kardashians," tight end Jesse James told PennLive.com on Dec. 31. "We have, I mean, we're something. It's Le'Veon Bell issues, you have more stuff popping up weekly, Jeremy Fowler's reporting stuff about Le'Veon every other week. There's just people calling people out. We were in the front of the ticker on ESPN too much for just reasons that weren't related to football and not for us playing great ball. It was more distractions."

Despite the drama, the Steelers were in a position for a fifth straight double-digit-win season but couldn't close out games, ranking among the league's worst in turnover margin (minus-11) and kicking (seven missed field goals). They lost their last four games by a combined 16 points.

It's no secret that Steelers leaders would like a football-focused, drama-free environment in 2019.

"We've just gotta grow, put the pettiness behind us," defensive end and captain Cam Heyward said last week at the Pro Bowl.

In his appearance, Smith-Schuster also praised James Conner, who made the Pro Bowl in replacement of Bell. Smith-Schuster wouldn't mind keeping all his playmakers together, Bell included.

Smith-Schuster won the team Most Valuable Player and credited Brown with his help drawing double-teams. The two are believed to have a good relationship despite Brown's issues with the team.

"For me, personally, let's keep the guys, focus on the main goal and win the Super Bowl," Smith-Schuster said.

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/25893413/juju-smith-schuster-steelers-got-stop-being-divas-kardashians

[Ernie]

James and JuJu comparing us to the Kardashians...

[Steel Maniac]

James and JuJu comparing us to the Kardashians...

Lack of leadership. Plain and simple.

[Sugar]

Lack of leadership. Plain and simple.

As someone who is a leader in his area and studies leadership, I can tell you that it is neither plain nor simple. I get it if you don't like the way the current leadership chooses to operate, but there are a lot of things in play.

[Ernie]

As someone who is a leader in his area and studies leadership, I can tell you that it is neither plain nor simple. I get it if you don't like the way the current leadership chooses to operate, but there are a lot of things in play.

As one who has a MA+45 in a leadership field myself (Ed Leadership) as well as many years of experience in the field.. I will agree with your thoughts.. at the same time, we certainly should not discredit what many are saying about Mike Tomlin's role as the HC... just because there are many moving parts so to speak.

[NorthCoast]

Refreshing, no off season drama this year...

... but AFCN leaders do have some;


https://twitter.com/pauldehnerjr/status/1644363425890312193?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5 Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1644363425890312193%7Ctwgr% 5E298f9c9045a5ebf6f1a91551dc1529405404a19f%7Ctwcon %5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.yardbarker.com%2F nfl%2Farticles%2Fbengals_joe_mixon_recharged_for_a ggravated_menacing_misdemeanor_from_road_rage_inci dent%2Fs1_13132_38671979

[WindyCitySteel]

"Alexa, show me the exact moment the Steelers should have moved on from Mike Tomlin."

[WindyCitySteel]

Refreshing, no off season drama this year...

... but AFCN leaders do have some;


https://twitter.com/pauldehnerjr/status/1644363425890312193?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5 Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1644363425890312193%7Ctwgr% 5E298f9c9045a5ebf6f1a91551dc1529405404a19f%7Ctwcon %5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.yardbarker.com%2F nfl%2Farticles%2Fbengals_joe_mixon_recharged_for_a ggravated_menacing_misdemeanor_from_road_rage_inci dent%2Fs1_13132_38671979

He sounds like a real piece of work. In the end, though, RBs are pretty easily replaced.

[Captain Lemming]

Refreshing, no off season drama this year...

... but AFCN leaders do have some;


https://twitter.com/pauldehnerjr/status/1644363425890312193?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5 Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1644363425890312193%7Ctwgr% 5E298f9c9045a5ebf6f1a91551dc1529405404a19f%7Ctwcon %5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.yardbarker.com%2F nfl%2Farticles%2Fbengals_joe_mixon_recharged_for_a ggravated_menacing_misdemeanor_from_road_rage_inci dent%2Fs1_13132_38671979

THIS was my period of being closest to flipping on Tomlin. I said at that time, if this appearance of loss of control continued he needed to go. It goes to his reputed core competency- Leadership.

Subsequently, Brown showed he was legit crazy regardless the coach and Ben stopped calling out teammates in the media so I feel much better now.

[Captain Lemming]

Kool find from that Twitter link:

Never thought I'd like Bengal orange but this jersey with a Steeler cap would be a NICE combo for a Bengals game:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FtH8uWYWYAIj9wF?format=jpg&name=900x900

[Joel Buchsbaum]

Cam Heyward: We want AB here, but you don’t let your brothers down

Posted by Josh Alper on January 3, 2019, 7:21 AM EST

There’s been some reports about the response of unnamed Steelers players to wide receiver Antonio Brown‘s absence from practice and inactive status in Week 17, but defensive end Cam Heyward was willing to put his name on his thoughts when discussing Brown on Wednesday.

Heyward made an appearance on WDVE and the Brown saga was a major topic of conversation. Heyward said he didn’t know the extent of what was going on with Brown until just before the Steelers faced the Bengals last Sunday and he said that the wideout has “a lot of mending” to do with teammates as a result of how things played out last week.

“We all want AB here, but to be a part of this team you can’t do that,” Heyward said. “You don’t let your brothers down. It hurt more knowing that there were multiple people in that locker room giving everything they’ve got. … I think everybody wants AB on the team, but we’ve got to be on the same page. From the top to the bottom we all have to be accountable for it. I’m sure [General Manager] Kevin [Colbert], Coach [Mike] Tomlin will be talking to him. Going forward that’s unacceptable. We all sign up for this game and we all sign up to be part of this team.”

Heyward said he feels “unfortunate situations” have chipped away at the Steelers too often in recent seasons and that the team “can’t crack” in 2019. That requires putting things back together after a messy end to 2018.

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2019/01/03/cam-heyward-we-want-ab-here-but-you-dont-let-your-brothers-down/

That was a post from jan 2019. Its April 2023. Tomlin still steers the ship. If he could have made Ab and Bell …ah forget about it.

[Oviedo]

Why do we care about Jesse James???????

[feltdizz]

Why do we care about Jesse James???????

it was a weird thread to bump but I guess it's the same topic. lol

[whisper]

it was a weird thread to bump but I guess it's the same topic. lol

I have faith in you: You can "waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa" about old or new threads, you can do both!

[Captain Lemming]

I have faith in you: You can "waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa" about old or new threads, you can do both!

You do know he was just replying to a question about why we are talking Jesse James in 2023 right?

Clearly OV missed that it was a bump of an old thread. Dizz explained it.

[feltdizz]

You do know he was just replying to a question about why we are talking Jesse James in 2023 right?

Clearly OV missed that it was a bump of an old thread. Dizz explained it.

Dude been in his feels since I said his Rodgers to 49ers title was a bit misleading.

Somehow that broke him and now he can’t a stop whining about my so-called whining which is rich given his constant whining about everything Pittsburgh