With the decision to move on from offensive coordinator Matt Canada, the Pittsburgh Steelers are putting the focus on second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett to get things turned around offensively.
Under Canada, Pittsburgh’s offense was consistently stuck in the mud, unable to generate much of anything consistently, leading to one of the league’s worst offenses in each of the three seasons Canada was at the helm of it.
Now though, the play-caller excuse has been removed from the equation. Though the scheme will remain much of the same in the final six weeks of the season, Pickett is going to need to show he is progressing, rather than regressing.
For former NFL defensive end and “Green Light Podcast” host Chris Long, that means taking more chances with the football in the passing game, rather than playing so conservatively.
“Kenny’s mindset, and I’m not explaining away some of some of his play, because right now it looks like it’s 50/50, whether he’s gonna be the guy next year. But you gotta give him an opportunity to prove he’s not just what we’ve seen so far. And if you can’t do it, then move on,” Long said regarding Pickett following the removal of Canada, according to video via the show’s YouTube page. “But the point is like how you’ve been playing it is not gonna get you any closer to making that decision.”
How Pickett is playing right now won’t make that decision any easier — one way or the other.
He’s regressed hard over the last month, failing to pass for more than 200 yards in a game all four times. He’s coming off of a 106-yard performance against the Cleveland Browns in Week 11, which followed up a 126-yard performance against the Green Bay Packers when they were down their top three defensive backs.
Too often, Pickett is risk-averse with the football. Granted, some of that is due to the way head coach Mike Tomlin wants the offense to play, especially with the Steelers having a great defense. For the most part, that style has worked as the Steelers are 6-4 on the season and 13-6 in their last 20 games.
But everything has been a slog offensively, handcuffing Pickett’s development. Now, he’s hesitant to cut the football loose and is simply not seeing open concepts across the middle of the field.
That mindset, at least for Long, has to change with the removal of Canada. Pickett has to let the ball rip, not be afraid to make mistakes, and search for plays.
“You have to find out what you have in Kenny Pickett, because I think they’re going to the playoffs. I think they’re gonna win nine games this year, slide into the playoffs, give somebody hell for a week, maybe two. But a lot of it depends on what this new scheme looks like or what the alterations look like. And for me, an example would be Kenny Pickett and just his seeing his hesitation to make mistakes, right?” Long said. “The result is he doesn’t make mistakes. That’s a great thing for them, but I think there are chances you can take, and I think he has to start taking ’em.”
Pittsburgh has largely kept a lid on the passing game, taking care of the football, rarely pushing the ball down the field and barely throwing the football between the hash marks. That has to change with Canada out the door. Even if the scheme won’t change all that much, there has to be more intention in the passing game, keeping defenses honest and probing areas of the field the Steelers haven’t utilized much yet.
Hopefully that allows Pickett to be a bit more aggressive in his decision-making, too. Some throws are there, Pickett is just passing on them. With his back against the wall now, he’s gotta let it rip.
