James Harrison calls out Steelers for abandoning the ‘standard’

The expectations the Steelers have for themselves isn’t what it used to be.

Back in James Harrison‘s day, the Pittsburgh Steelers played a different brand of football. Hard-nosed and smashmouth were two descriptives that went hand-in-hand with Steeler football.

The team is now in a transition period, only they’ve lost their way and, with it, their purpose — or the standard, as it’s often referred to.

“The expectations has become we don’t want to have a losing season,” Harrison said on the Feb. 7 episode of “The Pat McAfee Show. “I’m not throwing flak at anybody, but the Pittsburgh Steelers standard is to win Lombardis. When you go into that building, there’s six of them sitting there. And, right now, we’re not even winning a playoff game.”

“I think we need to get back to the standard of Pittsburgh Steeler legacy, the lore. And that’s just not what it is.”

The Steelers are in the process of retooling their staff ahead of the 2024 NFL draft. Though they’re far from being in the Super Bowl conversation, it appears Mike Tomlin is making moves in an attempt to get them back on the right path.

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Former Steelers LB James Harrison on being a ‘defensive driver’

Former Steelers linebacker James Harrison teamed up with USAA on a Safe Driving Campaign to help promote the importance of using safe driving practices when hitting the roads.

The kids are back in school, employees are returning to the workplace, the holiday season is almost here. As our busy lives get even busier, so do the roads.

Former Steelers linebacker James Harrison teamed up with USAA on a Safe Driving Campaign to help promote the importance of using safe driving practices when out on the roads. His first order of business was sharing with his 1.4 million Instagram followers some key tips to being a safe driver:

  • Buckle your seat belt
  • Adjust your mirrors
  • Mount your phone & use voice-activated features

Harrison says it’s important to also be on the defense when you’re behind the wheel — which, of course, comes naturally to the former linebacker.

“My style is obvious — I’m a defensive driver,” Harrison said. “I have to be aware of what’s going on around me so I can anticipate what other drivers might do so that I can adjust to things they may do in order to keep me safe and keep them safe.

There are a lot of distracted ‘Debbies’ and ‘Dans’ driving out there, putting on their makeup or on their phone at the same time they’re putting on the blinker or driving down the highway at 50, 60 miles an hour.”

Help deter the urge to be a Debbie or a Dan by mounting your phone and using voice-activated, hands-free features, which Harrison said is one of the key things drivers can do to practice safe driving.

“The first thing you need to do when you get in the car is latch the seat belt,” Harrison explained. “Adjust your mirrors, get your phone into something hands-free. It’s about safe driving.”

Harrison recently had a little fun with someone he noticed was not-so-safe-driving.

“I saw somebody taking selfies while driving before. When they got to the light to stop, I rolled my window down, put my phone up, looked dead at them and started doing the kissy-face selfies. They stopped doing it after that.”

While you’re on the road, no matter where you’re headed, listen to James Harrison: Pay close attention to the roads and engage in safe driving.

For more practical safe driving tips, visit USAA.com.

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