Chase Claypool’s comment proves Steelers of old are truly gone

Chase Claypool wants more music at practice. Unfortunately, that alone won’t fix the Pittsburgh Steelers’ problems.

The Steelers are coming off a 31-point thrashing at the hands of the Cincinnati Bengals — a team they and longtime quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had grown accustomed to beating quite handily. Yet, these aren’t the Steelers of old, and in many ways they’ve been lapped by their previously-inept competition.

In that disastrous loss to the Bengals, Claypool let his frustration get the best of him, as he grabbed a Cincinnati defender by the facemask and received a personal foul penalty. It was borderline fine-worthy.

Now, this isn’t Vontaze Burfict-esque, but it remains a serious offense. Rather than letting his play do the talking, Claypool instead made a mockery of himself, and the Steelers.

Steelers of old are gone, and Mike Tomlin knows it

Tomlin essentially gave up on his team in the first half of Sunday’s game, as the Bengals were up by three touchdowns and the Steelers coach opted to punt on fourth-and-1 from near midfield. It was embarrassing, but appropriate given how his team was losing in the trenches.

When asked about Claypool’s so-called solution to the Steelers’ problems, Tomlin didn’t have much time for it.

“Claypool plays wide out and I’ll let him do that. I’ll formulate the practice approach and I think that division of labor is appropriate,” Tomlin said.

In his college days, perhaps a player of Claypool’s caliber had more say. But as just one player on a 53-man roster, he doesn’t get to make that sort of decision.

In the recent past, the Steelers have had several diva wide receivers, including Antonio Brown and to some extent JuJu Smith-Schuster and Claypool. Gone are the days of old. The toughness the Steelers used to exude just by showing up to the stadium has long dispersed.

No one is afraid of this team.