The Pittsburgh Steelers head into their Week 6 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a 1-4 record and sit at the bottom of the AFC North (and AFC as a whole) standings. There have been a ton of people who have been critical of what has gone on within the organization this season and former Super Bowl winning safety, Ryan Clark has been at the top of that list. After the embarrassing 38-3 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, he did not shy away once again on Monday morning when he ripped into the team's effort and put the blame on head coach, Mike Tomlin.
ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 09: Head coach Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers looks on against the Buffalo Bills during the first quarter at Highmark Stadium on October 09, 2022 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images)
Clark doesn't believe that the guys in the locker room don't want to succeed, but only thinks one player competed from the first to final whistle on Sunday.
"I am in no way saying that those men didn’t want to win. What I’m saying is from the outside looking in, only one strained the entire day and it was the quarterback."
The former safety even said that Kenny Pickett, in his opinion, would be the only guy welcome in the 2008 locker room.
"The only one on this team that I’d take in 2008 to go down an alley with me, is the young kid that’s playing quarterback. He’s the only one who wanted something yesterday."
ESPN NFL Nation reporter, Brooke Pryor, asked Tomlin about Clark's comments and to the surprise of no one, the head coach had no clue what she was originally alluding to when asking him what his thoughts were on former players calling out the 2022 squad.
"I have no idea what you are referring to," Tomlin said.
Former Steelers free safety, Ryan Clark drops back into pass coverage during the Cardinals 21 to 13 win over the Steelers at the new Cardinals stadium in Glendale, AZ on August 12, 2006. (Photo by Mike Moore/Getty Images)
Pryor had to then explain to Tomlin that Clark went on television after the tough loss and called out the Steelers for their efforts on Sunday afternoon. After a short pause and sigh, Tomlin was very blunt:
"Ryan is paid for commentary. So, I understand that and I think our guys understand that. I mean he's on ESPN every single day and so it's his job to talk about what transpired. We realize how poorly we played on Sunday."
He continued speaking on the question, but his former player's comments do not have an effect on him. He is on to preparing for Tampa.
"We don't dispute anything that somebody says from a commentary perspective or or dig too much into it and things of that nature. Man, we got so much to work on in terms of what's going on in here and preparation for our next opportunity. [Clark's comments] are irrelevant."
Tomlin may have avoided saying anything negative directed at Clark, but wide receiver Diontae Johnson did not do the same thing on Monday afternoon when he was asked about what was said on ESPN.
Steelers wide receiver, Diontae Johnson (#18) looks on at 2022 training camp at St. Vincent College. | Jordan Schofield Steeler Nation / (JSKO_PHOTO Twitter)
"I don’t worry about R.C. He played here. He knows how the Steelers play. If you wanna come play, he can come help us win if he’s got so much to say. But other than that, I am going to be keep playing football and worry about me and my team.”
Regardless, Tomlin essentially said in a roundabout way that the team deserves the criticism from Clark and others as they have not performed anywhere close to the expectations this season and on Sunday especially.
What do you make of Tomlin's response to Clark's comments? Let us know in the comments below!
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