The Pittsburgh Steelers have had one of the better defenses in football over the last few years, and the work they put in defensively is helping the offense out in practice. QB Kenny Pickett told reporters before the team’s first padded practice today that the way Pittsburgh disguises coverages defensively is helping him better read defenses.
“I think our defense is one of the best in the league in terms of their disguises and the amount of looks that they throw at you,” Pickett said via the team’s YouTube channel. “I’m working hard every day and deciphering what they’re doing so I’m only going to get better at it.”
Pittsburgh likes to throw different looks at teams, and that includes their own. With a young quarterback in Pickett who’s still getting used to reading defenses and learning everything that being an NFL quarterback entails, it certainly helps to have a team that loves to disguise and rotate coverages as much as Pittsburgh.
If he sees something in practice and then makes a mistake, he can adjust and react so he’s not making a mistake in a game. Conversely, if he figures something out and how to beat a certain coverage, he can keep it stored in his back pocket and break it out if he sees the same or similar coverage in a game.
Pittsburgh’s secondary core is laden with veterans like Minkah Fitzpatrick, Damontae Kazee, Patrick Peterson and Levi Wallace. That’s a group of guys who are smart football players and don’t want to give their quarterback an edge, even in practice.
They’re going to work to make his life difficult, and they’re good football players on top of their IQ. As a result, Pickett is going up against some of the best players at their position who want to make a play against him. Learning how to counter and make plays against them in practice is going to make Pickett a better and more mature quarterback when the games really count on Sundays.
Pickett puts in the work too, so learning on the field and then going out and watching the tape and putting the necessary work into being the best quarterback he can be is going to help him develop and take a step forward in his second season. If he can show growth from his rookie season, the Steelers should be in a good spot to improve from their 9-8 record and push for a playoff appearance, and hopefully a playoff victory.
