The Pittsburgh Steelers moved on from offensive coordinator Matt Canada following a loss to the Cleveland Browns in Week Eleven. Former Safety of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Ryan Clark, joined Inside The NFL on CW Sports to offer his takes on the departure of Canada.
“Sometimes it is addition by subtraction,” Clark Said. “And the Pittsburgh Steelers have now subtracted what they need to subtract.”
The Steelers’ offense found very little success over Canada’s tenure, failing to reach the 400-yard mark in any single game for 58 games and counting. RB coach Eddie Faulkner and QB coach Mike Sullivan will replace his duties moving forward this season. Clark was pretty fired up on this segment, with a sense of rejuvenated hope for the rest of the season.
“We’re not just going to throw the ball to the sideline and play wish football…We’re going to run the football better with Jaylen Warren. We’re going to use the middle of the field now that Freiermuth is healthy. And at the least, we’re going to put an offense on the field that looks like an NFL offense and then T.J. Watt and the boys can go crazy on defense.”
The Steelers have been running much better over the last month with Warren leading the way. He has rushed for 318 yards and two touchdowns in the last three games. The rest of what Clark said is wishful thinking, for now at least. Kenny Pickett has yet to prove that he can consistently and effectively utilize the middle of the field. Many have speculated that avoiding the middle of the field is a product of Canada’s offense. Now that he is gone, will that change? Clark seems to think so. The tight end group as a whole has contributed very little this season, so that would be a good place to start.
Clark would like to see a team that enables its defense to win games. The Steelers’ defense has sustained a number of key injuries throughout the season, most notably wiping out their starting inside linebacker room. With Minkah Fitzpatrick working his way back, the defense should be in much better shape soon.
“So I know ya’ll want to sit around here and talk about Kansas City and Buffalo, if they get in. What about if we get in?”
