Steelers Safety Makes Shocking Statement About Team’s Practice Habits

INDIANAPOLIS — Pittsburgh Steelers strong safety DeShon Elliott said the team’s practice habits were attributed to the slow performance on the season. Sunday’s 27-24 loss To the Indianapolis Colts.

“We need to work harder in practice,” Elliott said. “I felt like we could get better. If we want to play good defense, it starts with practice.”

To be clear, Elliott did not imply that the Steelers were underestimating the Colts. Attention to detail needs to be significantly improved.

This isn’t the first time a Steelers player has questioned the team’s practice habits. TJ Watt echoed what Elliot said in his conversation with Rich Eisen Last year, ironically, this was after the Steelers’ 30-13 loss to the Colts.

“He used that word, said it was crazy that some people didn’t want to implement it. Or I want to practice in a way that everyone should practice,” Eisen recalled. “He (Watt) said last week that everyone was doing it. And then you saw the result. Now you can sit there and say Tomlin needs to change his ways. TJ Watt also said that the younger generation takes criticism personally. He didn’t call it a problem, I just inferred that it was. And you see guys like George Pickens on the field turning down contact on a running play.”

The Steelers took notice of the 17-point loss to the Colts. But Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin isn’t too worried about the slow start.

“I thought (the Colts) really nailed it, especially early in the game,” Tomlin said after the game. “But the beginning of the games doesn’t actually define the games. “This is just the beginning.”

In general, Tomlin thinks this is a sloppy performance from his team. He said that coaching training was not enough.

“The real, concrete reasons why we lost this game are our responsibility,” Tomlin said. “We were sloppy in many ways. You can’t win football matches on their home ground, against motivated groups who in some cases play the way we do today.

“I appreciate his fight, but he and we were a little sloppy at times. Asked about Justin Fields’ performance, Tomlin added, “Too sloppy to secure the victory.”

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Alan Saunders contributed reporting from Pittsburgh.