Kurt Warner follows the old football adage. It’s about the Jimmys and the Joes, not the X’s and the O’s. Meaning, players win games, not plays. The best scheme means nothing if the players can’t execute. And many coaches have looked pretty good because of the talent out on the field.
During a segment on Sunday’s NFL Gameday, Kurt Warner and Steve Mariucci discussed the Pittsburgh Steelers’ historic decision to fire OC Matt Canada midseason, a franchise first for a coordinator change. While Warner understood the move and acknowledged Canada’s struggles as Steelers’ coordinator, he illustrated multiple examples from last Sunday’s loss to the Cleveland Browns of QB Kenny Pickett not being on the same page as his receivers.
“They need to make some changes scheme wise…but as we saw with Buffalo, it comes down to players more than it comes down to plays,” Warner said on the NFL Network.
He ran through a list of plays we’ve covered throughout the week. Pickett throwing deep on the final possession while WR Diontae Johnson broke his route off, leading to a hopeless incompletion. Missing Johnson for a would-be touchdown late in the game, taking a sack instead. Plays that were there and missed or ones that didn’t have a chance because of communications breakdowns. No matter who the OC is, those things have to be fixed for the Steelers’ offense to have a chance.
“These players have to play better. Starting with Kenny Pickett,” Warner said. “He has to see the field like he was during the preseason. Hasn’t done that during the regular season.”
He’ll have an opportunity to bounce back under similar circumstances as last week, albeit with an interim coordinator staff putting together the plan and calling the plays. Pittsburgh is again on the road against an AFC North foe in what’s expected to be a low-scoring affair, the Cincinnati Bengals starting backup QB Jake Browning after losing Joe Burrow for the year. All the tension in the Steelers’ locker room has hopefully been subdued. But if the changes aren’t felt soon, if Pickett and this offense can’t get in gear, then the focus will shift away from Canada being the problem to Pickett being the root of Pittsburgh’s issues.
