The NFL is cracking down on unsportsmanlike acts following several pregame fights during the first six weeks of the regular season. In an effort to fix the issue, the league issued a memo to each team regarding unsportsmanlike acts while threatening to impose stiff punishments moving forward.
The Steelers surely got the memo, but wideouts George Pickens and Diontae Johnson were still penalized twice for taunting during the second half of this past Sunday's win over the Rams. And while he wasn't penalized, Najee Harris was basically told to cool his jets after he got into a verbal encounter with a Rams defender on the game's first possession.
"I wasn't really saying (hurtful) stuff," Harris said of the exchange, via The Athletic. "It wasn't like that. Me and the linebacker, we exchanged a couple words, but it was more competitive stuff. ... We're just competing, as competitors. The game is tight, you want to make plays. You might have a little chit chat. We've just got to find a balance where it's too much and when to stop. That's just stuff we can fix easily."
Harris doesn't feel that his or his teammates' actions crossed the line as far as being unsportsmanlike.
"Receivers and DB's, that's just normal," Harris continued while alluding to Johnson and Pickens' taunting penalties. "They're going to do that every play. Sometimes, I think they can be a little too soft as in the refs. It's football. People are gonna talk shit."
Harris is right, but the fact remains that the league has made it a priority to address anything that could be considered over the top. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin took responsibility for the penalties by saying he could have done a better job adjusting to the tenor of the officials.
That said, Tomlin doesn't consider it a major problem to have. The Steelers' longtime coach said he'd rather say "whoa" than "sic 'em" when discussing the penalties earlier this week.
The penalties didn't cost the Steelers this past Sunday, but rest assured that officials will continue to keep an eye on player conduct over the next several weeks.
