For reasons that are beyond my imagination, all that anybody in the NFL seems to be able to talk about right now is the Pittsburgh Steelers’ decision to fire offensive coordinator Matt Canada. It’s only been a prevailing subject throughout the entire season, or really, the entire year, beginning with their decision to retain him in the first place.
But with the decision by the organization to cut ties 10 games into the final season on his current contract, it is time to move on. Head coach Mike Tomlin named running backs coach Eddie Faulkner the interim offensive coordinator, with quarterback coach Mike Sullivan taking on the bulk of the play-calling responsibilities.
And wouldn’t you know, everybody has an opinion about what those plays should look like, and perhaps especially what they shouldn’t. After all, we’ve seen enough teams comment on how predictable the Steelers’ offense is, so it’s not as though we don’t have a good sense of what it’s all looked like. Or what it hasn’t, such as one that features passes over the middle of the field, a subject amusingly brought to Cameron Heyward’s attention.
“Everybody wants to coach from the couch, man”, he said on his Not Just Football podcast yesterday in response. “I love our fans, but if it was that easy, everybody’d be doing it. There’s growth that needs to take place. Let’s not run from it. Whether it’s the side of the field, the middle of the field, let’s just win the damn game”.
To be clear, when he talks about something everybody would be doing, he was talking about being an offensive coordinator, not simply throwing passes over the middle of the field. And even to that point, there are reasons why the Steelers don’t throw over the middle as frequently as some other teams do—though they may not entirely be good reasons.
One issue has nothing to do with Canada, and that’s the fact that QB Kenny Pickett just seems to be most comfortable throwing outside the numbers. That’s where the reads are cleanest. You find a one-on-one matchup and you let the ball go. Let your guy make a play on a go ball or a back shoulder. Often enough, that’s also where the defense allows the ball to go.
“If we had won that game this past week, what are we talking about?”, Heyward pondered. “You find a way to win, you get to 7-3? It stings, but it doesn’t sting as bad as when you win. These past couple games we’ve been winning the same way, and, hey, the Pittsburgh Steelers were finding a way. I’m not getting off that train”.
I will note that it’s interesting even Heyward concedes to some degree they haven’t been winning in ideal ways. He has talked about the beauty in the ugliness of their wins, but the fact is they don’t make it easy on themselves.
RB Najee Harris questioned the sustainability of their record with the way they’ve been winning. Even head coach Mike Tomlin did as well yesterday, talking about a desire to win more fluidly. Nobody wants to have to win games in the final minutes, after all. It might be more exciting, but it’s a hell of a lot harder to do on a regular basis.
