OC Matt Canada has taken a lot of flak as the play caller for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
And rightfully so. Pittsburgh’s offense has been extremely underwhelming during Canada’s tenure as offensive coordinator as the Steelers have only scored 30-plus points in 2 of 34 regular-season games the last two seasons. The offense has looked boring at times, lacking creativity and the opportunity for splash plays in the form of downfield shots over the middle of the field as well as plays to get receivers out in space to run after the catch.
However, things have changed so far in 2023. The offense has been on fire through two preseason games, the first-team offense scoring touchdowns on all three of its offensive drives. Speaking to the media Monday, Canada was asked about the success this offense has had to start the preseason. Canada responded that the embers, burning since last season after the team’s bye week, have caught fire with a full offseason ahead of the 2023 regular season getting underway.
“I think if you look back from last year from the bye on, our buy-in was probably better in some cases than, you know, outside the building,” Canada told the media Monday on video from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Chris Adamski’s Twitter page. “When you go out to play, you play to be successful, so we’re happy with what we’ve done in a lot of cases. Try to spread the ball around a little bit and give guys touches. Using the preseason for what it’s for to experiment and do some things.”
Canada is not the only one defending the offense from a year ago. RB Najee Harris said that the offensive players believed in themselves last year and knew they were working towards being great, using the offseason and training camp to fine-tune things they did last year. QB Kenny Pickett has also talked about the progression of this offense, saying that the groundwork was laid last season, but now he and his teammates are starting to work through those growing pains and become the unit they are capable of being.
Going into 2023, the mantra was that there are no excuses for Matt Canada in 2023. The Steelers beefed up their offensive line, added weapons around Pickett, and have players like WR George Pickens, and TE Connor Heyward, also entering their second seasons in the league after getting exposed to the professional game last season. Well, Canada thus far has delivered albeit in two preseason contests. All eyes will be on Canada and the Steelers offense when they face the San Francisco 49ers and their vaunted defense to open the regular season. Still, based on what we’ve seen thus far, that should be a great matchup to watch.
