It’s no secret that the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense struggled in Week One. It’s also no secret that plenty of blame has been passed around in the last few days. When your offense doesn’t pick up a single first down until after the two-minute warning, that tends to happen.
While many will blame QB Kenny Pickett or other players for a poor start to the season, NFL analyst Brian Baldinger isn’t letting offensive coordinator Matt Canada off the hook. He talked about the potential for a change within the Steelers’ coaching staff on The Cook and Joe Show with hosts Ron Cook and Joe Starkey, via 93.7 The Fan.
“The is a team that’s supposed to be an improved roster and it should be a better offense.” Baldinger said. “They didn’t show any signs of it on Sunday. [Canada is] under the microscope. And if things don’t improve Monday night against Cleveland you got to put him on the hot seat, you just do. Somebody’s got to be a fall guy when things aren’t working. And they weren’t working Week One.”
A coordinator change just two weeks into the season would be quite a significant move from the Steelers, but it’s certainly not outside the realm of possibility. As Baldinger pointed out, this team, and specifically this offense, was slated to be much improved from last season. As frustrated with Canada as a lot of fans were last season, between the quarterback switch and other offensive question marks, he did have some excuses for the unit’s poor performance in 2022.
A lot of those excuses are gone. Wide receiver George Pickens has established himself at a bare minimum as a starting-caliber wideout, the Steelers added a veteran in Allen Robinson II, and the offensive line, at least on paper, even made some big improvements. Not to mention the leap many people predicted a significant leap from Pickett in his first full season as a starter.
That leap didn’t come in Week One. And if what we saw on Sunday continues, fans will demand answers sooner rather than later, and it’ll be tough to pin that blame anywhere but on Matt Canada. Pickett still hasn’t started a full season’s worth of games, and he will have a key weapon missing in WR Diontae Johnson.
If Canada’s job security is at stake on Monday Night as much as Baldinger thinks, Canada will have his work cut out for him. The Cleveland Browns just shut down the Cincinnati Bengals and Joe Burrow. Without Johnson, Pickett could face the same uphill battle when going up against the Browns’ defense.
