One area where Pittsburgh Steelers QB Kenny Pickett, and the entire Steelers offense in general, needs to work on is the red zone. Last season, the Steelers scored a touchdown on only 52 percent of their trips to the red zone, good for 22nd best in the NFL. That has to improve, and during training camp Pittsburgh has emphasized the red zone with seven shots every day and more specific red zone drills. Slowly but surely the offense has been improving inside the 20-yard line, and today Pickett spoke on how the game is slowing down for him.
“I’d just say recognition pre-snap, understanding my answers and what I have available to me, being able to signal certain things and change stuff at the line. Just doing a lot more than I did last year,” Pickett said in an interview posted to the Post-Gazette Sports YouTube page. “I feel really comfortable with the system and I’m getting towards that ownership aspect which I’ve been pushing for.”
With the red zone being such a condensed area, reads have to be faster, and understanding what the defense is showing pre-snap can help Pickett go through his reads quicker and move just a tick faster. In such a small space, this can be the difference between a touchdown and an incompletion, six points or three points.
While Pickett was able to make some checks last year, given the limited amount amount of first team reps he saw last summer and just being a rookie quarterback, he wasn’t the most comfortable with it.
Now, Pickett, with a full season and an offseason under his belt, is in more control of the offense, which should help him understand things more. He should be able to read coverages better and if teams are disguising coverages, he should be able to pick up on that quicker than last year.
Although the offense is expected to create more explosive play this season, Pickett and Co. won’t be the Kansas City Chiefs in that regard. To get wins, the Steelers are going to have to get six points when they get inside the red zone more than 52 percent of the time. Just based on how they play they need to convert in those situations.
Pickett will play a big part in that because he is the quarterback. Yes, the rest of the team has to show up as well, but being the quarterback bears a lot of responsibility. As Pickett said, he is more comfortable in the system and understanding how to attack certain coverages, which will go a long way. Knowing how to attack a defense before the play begins is important, but it is even more crucial in the red zone.
With preseason getting underway for the Steelers on Friday night when they take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, we will likely get our first look at Year Two Pickett. Of course, preseason isn’t the regular season, but it will be interesting to see if he is operating a tick quicker this year than last year. If so, it could be a sign he is ready to take a big step this season.
