The Aaron Rodgers roller coaster is a ride that many within the Pittsburgh Steelers organization wish they could get off at this point. Veteran DT Cameron Heyward made it clear that he wasn’t thrilled with the waiting game. While the Black and Gold faithful heralded his comments as heroic, that wouldn’t include die-hard Steelers fan and ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith.
Smith clearly took exception to Heyward’s comments—calling them “incomplete”—and defended Rodgers:
“Are you saying that because you’re a Pittsburgh Steeler? Or are you saying that because Aaron Rodgers isn’t what he used to be? That he’s not the guy who resembled the four-time league MVP? That he’s not the guy who won a Super Bowl championship?”
Smith then launched into a rant about how the Steelers have lost their identity and direction under HC Mike Tomlin, criticizing Heyward’s confidence in the so-called ‘standard.’ It wouldn’t end there, however, as Smith shifted his stance, challenging Heyward to take a different approach to recruiting Rodgers if he truly believed he could improve the roster:
“I might need you to recruit a little bit better than that if you believe in the quarterback.”
Is Smith—and the rest of the ESPN analysts—correct in their assessment that the Pittsburgh Steelers are no longer the storied franchise they once were?
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