The Steelers are now in Latrobe at Saint Vincent College for the 2023 installment of training camp. They are coming off of a 9-8 season during which they broke in their new quarterback, Kenny Pickett, finishing the year strong by winning seven of their last nine but coming up short of the postseason.
They’ve done a great deal to address what they identified as their shortcomings during the offseason, which included addressing the offensive and defensive lines as well as the secondary and the inside linebacker room, which is nearly entirely different from last year.
From the first day of training camp to the last, there are going to be plenty of questions that need answered, including several battles for starting roles. Which veterans might be vulnerable to release? Who are the sleepers who will emerge in camp and make a run at a roster spot? We’ll try to frame the conversation in relevant ways as long as you stick with us throughout the season, as we have for many years.
Question: Do the Steelers finally have an explosive offense?
The first-team offense has been on the field for 17 plays so far through the first two preseason games. They have three explosive-play touchdowns in that span, averaging one explosive play per drive, and per 5.67 plays. It’s not bad.
The Steelers had 44 explosive plays passing and 8 rushing during the 2022 season for a combined 52 explosive plays. They ran 1109 plays across 177 drives that season. That’s one explosive play per 21.33 plays, or per 3.41 drives. Granted, not all plays or drives would have allowed for an explosive play, but the difference is profound.
Now, is Pittsburgh going to hit on an explosive play every drive during the 2023 season? Of course not. Not even the Kansas City Chiefs do. Nobody had even 100 explosive plays last year. But there’s a strong correlation between drives with explosive plays and drives that end in points, so the more, the merrier.
The question that we will have to face come September is how much of what we witnessed during the preseason can be extrapolated into the regular season. These are plays made against vanilla defenses, yet they were quality plays that were well-schemed and well-executed. On the two touchdown passes, QB Kenny Pickett showed great touch downfield throwing his receiver open.
It would be reasonable to expect that the Steelers will have more success on explosive plays than last season simply due to the natural growth of a young offense from one year to the next. But can they make it a large part of their identity?
They have targets capable of delivering big plays in WRs George Pickens and Calvin Austin III, for example. They seem to be increasingly looking toward the intermediate middle of the field. And the run-blocking improvements, with an emphasis on wide receiver contributions, should help more runs break into the third level.
