Pittsburgh Steelers star Cameron Heyward isn’t afraid to challenge his veteran teammates when he sees a defensive unit that isn’t playing up to his standards.
“Anything I would say to you, I would say to them first,” Heyward said Thursday, via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review . “I just think we all have to get better. I challenge everyone, and I challenge myself first of all. That’s how I was brought up. You can’t look at anyone else. You have to look at yourself. The way to get this bad taste out of our mouths is to play better football.”
The comments came after Heyward openly criticized his team’s play after last week’s loss to Green Bay, noting he didn’t believe they handled adversity well. The 15-year vet isn’t worried about how fans or the media take his comments. And after all these years, he certainly doesn’t mind being the target of criticism.
“I’m not worried about it,” Heyward said. “I’m worried about the guys in the room. I’m worried about attacking it, trying to get better. If I paid attention to all that, I’d have too much on the table. The goal is to win. I don’t care how it’s done. I take a lot of pride in what I do. Hopefully everyone else does, too.”
Heyward is one of the few Steelers defensive backs who lives up to his reputation. He had a season-high seven tackles in Sunday’s loss. Pro Football Focus ranks him as their No. 1 inside linebacker through eight weeks.
However, the situation around him is getting worse.