TheDailyBlitz.com

The Pittsburgh Steelers focus their off-season practices more on teaching and mentorship than on evaluation, according to Scott Brown of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

What is expected from the Steelers' players is that they help mentor rookies and younger players, even though they are competing with those same players for their jobs, their livelihood and their playing time.

"That's what's special about us," said cornerback Deshea Townsend. "When we say we are a team, we really are a team."

"If you get everybody to come together, then you'll be strong during the season because you might need a play or two from that guy," cornerback William Gay said. "So, if you hold information back and a guy gets out there and messes up, the blame is on you because you could have helped him instead of being selfish."

It seems as if every team would (or should) be this way, but that is clearly not the case.

Steelers tackle Willie Colon says that he has even heard of players on some teams giving teammates wrong information on purpose.

"I had a couple of buddies that made the NFL and they were like 'Man, guys don't talk to you, and they actually tell you something wrong, and it kind of makes you look bad,' " Colon said. "I was like, 'Is this guy really telling me the truth?' and extra paranoid about my playbook because I didn't know if someone was telling me the truth. But here, it's not like that."

Talent matters. It matters a lot. But the teams that are consistently successful have support systems like this in place as well as the personnel that are willing to put the interests of the team above their own.