The Pittsburgh Steelers offense has not been good this season, and most of the blame for the Steelers lack of offensive success has been placed on the foot of offensive coordinator Matt Canada. However, former Steelers defensive lineman Chris Hoke joined The Cook & Joe Show and said that the Steelers’ offensive woes in last Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles were more so on Kenny Pickett and the rest of the team than Matt Canada.
“Listen, you go back and watch that film and everybody can say what they want, but guys are open, Kenny’s not seeing them. I mean in this game, Kenny missed throws” Hoke said.
Hoke went on to reference some specific throws he missed, including missing a wide open Pat Freiermuth on third and ten.
Another play that Hoke said Pickett missed was when he threw a back shoulder pass to George Pickens when he had the cornerback beat. Pickett could have thrown the ball out in front of Pickens which likely would have led to a touchdown but instead threw it back shoulder which resulted in an incompletion.
These are plays you want your rookie quarterback to make, and for all the hate Matt Canada gets, and some of it is definitely warranted, there are plays for this Steelers team to make. Pickett will improve over time, and right now he needs to learn to see the field better. It is possible that Pickett is seeing his guys open at times, but does not truly trust his eyes.
Adjusting from college football to the NFL is hard, and it is not the norm for players to make the jump quickly and smoothly. For every Ben Roethlisberger and Dak Prescott, there are twice as many Eli Manning’s and Josh Allen’s. Heck, even Joe Burrow didn’t even light the NFL on fire in his first season.
Chris Hoke also talked about how this offseason is vital for Pickett and that the team needs to give him good coaching so he can take the leap.
“What I think they [the Steelers] need to do in the offseason is bring in, and I’ve said this before, just a big time offensive coordinator or a position coach. A guy that has a proven record of developing quarterbacks. That’s what Kenny Pickett needs if they want him to take the next step.”
While it seems like Chris Hoke does not believe that Matt Canada is the guy to lead this Steelers offense in years to come, he clearly does not think that Canada deserves all the blame. The tape shows this, and if the Steelers are going to improve, they will certainly need improvement from their signal caller.
