Throughout the offseason on into training camp and the preseason, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett was a hot commodity when it came to buying the hype of a second-year signal caller taking a leap.
He put in the work throughout the offseason aiming to make those improvements to his game and then put all that work to good use in training camp and the preseason, looking like a different quarterback overall, leading to more and more excitement surrounding him.
Then, in Week One against a tough San Francisco 49ers team, Pickett turned in a real dud. He completed 31-of-46 passes for 232 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Those numbers don’t look all that bad overall, but he missed a ton of throws — especially early — in the loss that played a role in the game getting out of hand quickly.
Pickett’s performance was head-scratching. For personal QB coach Tony Racioppi, who appeared on the 93.7 The Fan Morning Show Thursday, it was rather frustrating watching Pickett miss throws he’s made thousands and thousands of times and was especially frustrating that he put up that performance after all the work put in throughout the offseason.
“It’s hard to know. I was expecting what you guys were expecting. It’s almost like preseason raises expectations of him and them so high, and then you go out there and not play well, especially early on when the game was a game still, it’s frustrating. You know how hard he works and how hard he prepares, so it’s frustrating,” Racioppi told co-hosts Adam Crowley and Dorin Dickerson, according to audio via 93.7 The Fan. “It’s real easy to panic. …The whole key now is owning that, not playing well, figure out why and get ready for Monday. The NFL’s tough. There’s going to be moments you don’t play well, you’re off, or you just miss things you normally hit. Some of those throws he missed in the first half, he’s thrown those balls seven million times.”
Expectations were undoubtedly high surrounding the second-year quarterback heading into the Week One matchup against San Francisco. Pickett put together a perfect preseason — literally — and looked extremely confident and comfortable in the Steelers’ scheme entering Year Two. Then, it all came crashing down against the 49ers.
Pickett missed a number of throws that he made a ton throughout his rookie season. He was just off, as Racioppi stated. Pickett was under heavy pressure against the 49ers, but when he had a clean pocket he was a mess. It was rather puzzling.
Those struggles with accuracy weren’t a footwork issue for Pickett either, according to Racioppi.
“I don’t think so. It looked like he was pretty clean,” Racioppi said, according to audio via 93.7 The Fan. “Sometimes you respect the opponent so much, you rush things. That’s the top defense in the league, and he knows that. I think it was a game of not playing well early, two-minute drive was fantastic, and then in the second half you were down multiple scores and you’re throwing every down trying to come back…He’ll rebound. That’s who he is.”
After the loss, Pickett talked about the Steelers just not executing offensively. A few days removed when speaking to the media Wednesday, he continued to harp on execution and stated that he just flat-out didn’t execute. Throws were there, he just didn’t do his job. Sometimes that happens in the NFL.
Guys can be off their game just enough to lead to disastrous outings like the one Pickett had.
But, like Racioppi stated — as has head coach Mike Tomlin this week — Pickett is going to bounce back. Tomlin talked about football justice with Pickett and said that he’s confident the young signal caller will be just fine and prove that, simply based on the amount of time and overall preparation he puts into the game. His desire and commitment are never questioned, and at some point football justice will prevail.
Hopefully that football justice shows up on Monday night against the Cleveland Browns in Week Two. The Steelers are going to need it with their quarterback.
