It’s been an endless debate on sports talk shows this offseason whether the Pittsburgh Steelers can make the playoffs in 2023. On ESPN’s Get Up this morning, the subject came up again, with analyst Heather Dinich offering hope that the Steelers will make the postseason due to improvements by offensive coordinator Matt Canada. Dinich said she feels that Canada was limited in what he can do last season, and that will change in 2023.
“I think Matt Canada is going to have more options. He was limited in what he could do because of some of the personnel things he had going on, especially with the offensive line. So I’m expecting bigger things,” Dinich said.
The Canada issue is a discussion that came up on today’s edition of The Terrible Podcast. Posting the South Park “Blame Canada” meme on Twitter became a ritual almost as much as waving a Terrible Towel around for Steelers fans last season, with the offensive coordinator dealing with a second straight year where fans thought things could’ve been better.
In 2021, the offensive line was a legitimate excuse, but the line was improved last year. Where Canada may have been limited in personnel, as Dinich believes, is honestly at the wide receiver position. Chase Claypool wasn’t much of a contributor when he was with the team, George Pickens had a limited route tree and Diontae Johnson was often blanketed in coverage. After Claypool was shipped away, the Steelers’ slot receiver options consisted of Steven Sims Jr. and Gunner Olszewski. While Canada could’ve been better, he really did have limited options in the passing game.
I’ll fully admit that I would’ve been more than fine if a coaching change was made at the coordinator position this offseason. But keeping Canada around to continue building the offense with QB Kenny Pickett was a fine move, and one that could really end up paying dividends. It’s allowed Pickett to take more ownership of the offense, and the preseason returns were certainly promising.
It’s also Canada’s last chance in 2023. If the offense struggles, he’s gone. It’s the world’s worst-kept secret. So, there’s a little extra sense of urgency on his part to make sure that the necessary adjustments and improvements to the offense and the playbook are made. As it stands right now, I’m not very concerned about Canada entering the 2023 season, and I think the offense is going to take strides.
That could change within one half of football on Sunday. If the offense looks like it did in the first half of last season on Sunday, with a rudimentary scheme that fails to accomplish much, then I’m going to get worried about Canada all over again. But for at least the next five days, I’m going to live in a world free of Canada-induced stress.
