"Hope he was kidding" - Steelers' Cam Heyward not a big fan of Chase Claypool's new idea
The Pittsburgh Steelers have been in the news lately for comments made by Chase Claypool. The ascending wide receiver made comments Monday suggesting the Steelers should play music at practice.
Playing music during practice is growing more popular in the NFL. But the Steelers aren't a team that partakes in it.
If the Steelers weren't 5-5-1, Chase Claypool's comments wouldn't have drawn much attention. But because the Steelers are performing so poorly, Claypool's suggestion is ill-timed.
Veteran defender Cam Heyward had a strong opinion, disagreeing with Claypool's comments.
Cam Heyward responded today on the DVE Morning Show to Chase Claypool’s play-music-at-practice suggestion: “I hope he was kidding because as soon as he said it I was literally about to rip the speaker out. That is not what we need right now. It’s X’s & O’s and it’s execution.”
Chase Claypool's music suggestion doesn't go over well with Cam Heyward
Heyward has been playing at a first-team All-Pro level this season. Despite this, the defensive line has been downgraded compared to last season.
The Steelers have suffered from both a talent deficiency, as well as poor execution. Heyward echoed the latter part of that in his quote, saying,
"I hope he was kidding because as soon as he said it I was literally about to rip the speaker out. That is not what we need right now. It's X's and O's and it's execution."
Heyward is right to shoot down Chase Claypool's idea in this instance. The Steelers' offense has struggled mightily to score points this season.
Their 20.4 points per game rank 22nd in the league and are six points fewer than their 2020 average.
Ben Roethlisberger's age has caught up to him, and he's simply not able to do much that the defense doesn't allow him. At age 39, he has one of the most inexperienced and young offensive lines in his career protecting him.
The Steelers' defense is not playing to the standard
The defense has had more pressure placed on them as a result of the Steelers' ineptitude on offense. The problem is that the defense isn't capable of winning games like they were last season.
Asked what could be done to help improve Steelers’ practice, Chase Claypool suggested playing music.
Claypool: “We have music in the warm ups and that, so it's fun. People are dancing, having fun. So I think maybe music would make practice more more fun and little more uptempo.”
Last season, the Steelers could rely on their defense for the third-most takeaways per game in the NFL. T.J. Watt, Minkah Fitzpatrick, and the supporting cast caused 1.6 turnovers per game compared to 0.9 this season.
The secondary has been a weakness for the Steelers, as their failure to address their lack of cornerback depth in the offseason has come back to bite them.
The Steelers' poor play has caused former Steelers legends to come out to critique their squad out of frustration.
A list of former #Steelers - @Realrclark25, @RockyBleier, @hokiebro76 - have openly talked this week about their disappointment in the current state of their club. Mike Tomlin is neither defensive, nor does he clap back: "They would know. They know the things we value."
Until the Steelers' execution improves, they're going to keep losing ground in the hotly contested AFC North. Chase Claypool won't get his wish for music at practice until the team starts winning games again.
Time is running out for them to get it together as there are just six games left on their schedule.