Have you ever walked past that girl whose beauty just takes your breath away? You start to get a little nervous and are worried about what you should say her, hoping you don’t sound like an idiot. In the same breath, do you have that girl who is a friend with whom you have a good relationship, but it’s a lot more laid back without the romantic attraction?
That’s how former Browns general manager Michael Lombardi looks at the Pittsburgh Steelers and their offense heading into the 2023 season. Now a media analyst, Lombardi has been high on Pittsburgh during the preseason, calling them a more legit sleeper team than the Detroit Lions, who upset the Kansas City Chiefs last night. However, while Lombardi is high on Pittsburgh’s outlook for the season and likes various players on their roster, he doesn’t see their offense comparing to the upper-echelon offenses in the league.
“Look, they’re good,” Lombardi said about the Steelers’ offense via video from Pat McAfee’s Twitter page. “I mean, the problem with Pittsburgh’s offense is it’s not flashy. It’s not sexy.”
While recency bias may have fans think that Lombardi is wrong for his statement given what Pittsburgh’s offense was able to do during the preseason, he has a point as a whole. The scheme doesn’t produce the same flash as San Francisco, Kansas City, or Philadelphia as OC Matt Canada runs his offense in a similar vein to what he used to do back in college. Alex Kozora of Steelers Depot has pointed out the blandness that Canada’s offense has had in the past regarding basic route concepts without much opportunity to create yards after the catch. However, we have seen Canada adjust this season around what QB Kenny Pickett is comfortable with, scheming up concepts that can allow his quarterback and receiving options to excel.
Pittsburgh’s offense may not be as flashy as other teams, but it doesn’t need to be as long as it’s effective and efficient. Key points of emphasis for this unit this offseason were to improve in the splash-play department as well as creating after the catch, two things we have seen thus far in preseason play. Should this carry into the regular season, the Steelers will be just fine offensively, taking enough of a step forward for them to have a well-rounded team capable of competing with the top teams in the conference.
