Three years into the Matt Canada experience as offensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the middle of the field remains a valuable area between the white lines that isn’t quite used properly.
The middle of the field was rarely used in Ben Roethlisberger’s final season, and that trend continued last season with then-rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett. That made the Steelers largely predictable and relatively easy to defend.
According to Pro Football Focus’s QB Annual, the route heat map that tracked all routes and targets from the 2022 season was rather ice cold in the middle of the field between the has marks, especially with Pickett at the helm.
Entering the 2023 season, that valuable middle of the field is Pickett’s kryptonite, at least according to PFF’s Sam Monson. In a piece highlighting the kryptonite for all 16 AFC quarterbacks, Pickett’s was easy to identify.
“Kenny Pickett impressed as a rookie, but the Steelers were extremely poor at working the middle of the field. As shown in this heat map, Pittsburgh’s offense doesn’t even run routes into the middle of the field to a large degree, leaving Pickett with little means of attacking one of the most important areas of the field,” Monson writes. “It’s simply too important an area of the field to eschew the way the team did a season ago. If Pickett is to realize his potential, it’s something he needs to find a way of changing.”
That middle of the field issue is nothing new for the Steelers under Canada.
It was underutilized in 2021 with Roethlisberger, and it continued last season not only with Pickett, but with Mitch Trubisky, too.
That’s not a quarterback problem; that’s a scheme problem.
The lack of utilizing the middle of the field in the passing game, especially in the intermediate and deep portions of the field, is something that we have been talking about here for the past couple of years. It wouldn’t be an issue if the Steelers were having more success outside of the hash marks, but it feels like there is something missing, certainly, when you look at the passing charts and see such a void when it comes to the Steelers and the offense.
Last season, as the noise regarding the middle of the field in the passing game grew louder and louder, Canada told reporters that the Steelers just needed to throw the football there more often as plays were designed to go there, but the quarterbacks weren’t pulling the trigger. Film showed that might have been the case at points throughout the 2022 season. But by and large, the Steelers avoided the middle of the field far too often in the passing game as everything was seemingly schemed up towards the sideline on short, quick throws.
Of course, looks the defense gives matters too when it comes to throwing in the middle of the field.
With single high, or middle of the field closed, it makes it harder to throw between the numbers and invites for outside shots with one-versus-one matchups on the perimeter. That’s Cover 1 or Cover 3. But, regardless of reasons, the offense will have to find ways to use the entire width of the field going forward. Pittsburgh’s offense already feels limited as it is and having a small menu of plays that might work isn’t going to be good enough for this offense to consistently put points on the board.
But now, entering the 2023 season, there are no excuses for not utilizing the middle of the field. The Steelers have plenty of weapons around Pickett, including emerging star tight end Pat Freiermuth and veteran wide receiver Allen Robinson II out of the slot. The offensive line has improved as well, which will give Pickett more time to let things develop in the middle of the field.
Pittsburgh’s scheme the last few seasons has been about being safe, avoiding mistakes and leaning on the defense. While it might be much of the same in 2023, Canada is going to have to let Pickett loose a bit, especially in the middle of the field. It’s far too valuable of an area to attack with the weapons the Steelers have, and Pickett showed last season when he was allowed to attack the middle of the field he was successful.
Let Kenny cook.
