When the final whistle sounded on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 30-6 loss to the Houston Texans in Week Four, head coach Mike Tomlin was adamant that changes were coming. However, the changes made during the following week failed to inspire much goodwill toward Tomlin among the Steelers faithful.
When former NFL QB and analyst Phil Simms was asked about the offensive struggles Friday on Simms And The Mad Dog on SiriusXM Radio, he said that more changes could be coming soon.
“It sounds like something’s going to happen if it doesn’t go well this weekend against the Baltimore Ravens,” Simms said. “I watch them, and you know what? I come to the conclusion, and it’s easy for me. The offensive line is not very good, and I’m being kind. And the skill group, it’s just okay. To me, there’s nothing special about it.
“When you watch ’em, I’ll take last weekend’s game against the Houston Texans. Did they separate from the defenders? Did they get wide open? Could they block? I mean, the answer to everything is no. Kenny Pickett? He’s not playing well, but I don’t see just tons of opportunities to make plays.”
While Simms doesn’t spell out what changes could be coming, the reality is that it’s easier to make bigger changes during the bye week. A team essentially has two weeks of practice to focus on the next opponent, so there is more time to make more fundamental changes. Is it as easy as doing so in the offseason? Absolutely not.
To most people, that’s where the problem lies. The Steelers could have removed offensive coordinator Matt Canada after the 2022 season. However, the team believed (like a number of people did) that the offense was on the right track with Kenny Pickett getting more comfortable over the final stretch of the season.
That was further heightened by Pickett leading the first-team offense to five touchdowns in five drives during the 2023 preseason. Then came the season opener and everything came crashing down.
Tomlin preached that the team needed to be more physical in practice. Could that help? Maybe the offensive line could block better against Baltimore after a more physical week of practices. Will that fix all the issues? Absolutely not.
Unfortunately for the Steelers and the team’s fans, making seismic shifts on the offense is tough to do mid-season. Attempting to learn a new offense in the span of two weeks versus an entire offseason with OTAs, mandatory minicamp, and the entirety of training camp is a whole different ball game.
Yet if a team is going to make some sort of shake-up mid-season as Simms seems to suggest will happen if the offensive woes continue against Baltimore, the most logical time is heading into the bye week. Only time can tell if changes will happen, but the calls for change will not get quieter if the team fails in a big rivalry matchup on Sunday.
