Chase Claypool had quite an interesting night on Thursday in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 36-28 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
Claypool, who has been making news for his request to add music to practice, a request that was roundly mocked by his teammates and head coach, has really worn many people down for his perceived immaturity. He certainly didn’t help matters early on during Thursday’s game when he shoved a Vikings defender in the face mask to earn a personal foul and then fumbled the ball on another play (though that was overturned). He caught a lot of heat on social media about his dreadful start.
But that was nothing compared to the end of the game. After Claypool ended up actually settling in and making some big plays for the Steelers, he found himself with a chance to help the team come back and win late. Catching a ball on 4th-and-1 in the middle of the field with less than 40 seconds left, Claypool was seemingly oblivious to the fact that Pittsburgh had no timeouts left and he decided to celebrate the catch rather than hustle to give the Steelers more time. Ben Roethlisberger and the offense did what they could but they came up short, losing the game.
Chase Claypool made some big grabs tonight, but the situational awareness here is so bad. Pittsburgh had no timeouts left. Claypool makes the catch, decides to celebrate, an offensive lineman tries to get the ball but it rolls away. Clock ticks, ticks…pic.twitter.com/w3IBaQacjV
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 10, 2021
Afterward, Roethlisberger was asked about talking to Claypool given that he’s an NFL veteran who could impart some wisdom to the second-year player. Perhaps after a career in which he’s had to deal with people like Antonio Brown, Big Ben made it clear that he has no interest in getting involved.
Roethlisberger on Claypool: "It’s not really my job. To me, that goes up to Coach Tomlin. That’s what he needs to do. That’s his job as the head coach. As the QB, it’s my job to help manage what we do on the field .. Dealing w/ player issues … that’s the coach’s job, not mine. pic.twitter.com/BFbjlrbp8V
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) December 10, 2021
“It’s not really my job,” Roethlisberger said, via ESPN’s Brooke Pryor. “To me, that goes up to Coach Tomlin. That’s what he needs to do. That’s his job as the head coach. As the quarterback, it’s my job to help manage what we do on the field. Dealing with player issues… that’s the coach’s job, not mine.”
That kinda sums up the 2021 Pittsburgh Steelers pretty well. The 6-6-1 squad is failing to meet expectations but there doesn’t seem to be a lot of “oomph” surrounding the players. Other than when he had to deny his interest in college football jobs, Mike Tomlin doesn’t seem to be able to harness much excitement out of the team and it’s likely going to mean a middling season. And it sure seems like Roethlisberger is ready to get out of there before things get worse.
