The Steelers are now back at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, facing down a long regular season that looks a lot more promising given how things have gone leading up to it. Finishing just above .500 last year, they anticipate being able to compete with any team in the league this season with second-year QB Kenny Pickett leading the way.
They’ve done a great deal to address what they identified as their shortcomings during the offseason, which included addressing the offensive and defensive lines as well as the secondary and the inside linebacker room, which is nearly entirely different from last year. The results have been positive so far.
Even well into the regular season and beyond, there are going to be plenty of questions that need answered. When will the core rookies get to play, or even start? Is the depth sufficient where they upgraded? Can they stand toe-to-toe with the Bengals and the other top teams in the league? We’ll try to frame the conversation in relevant ways as long as you stick with us throughout the season, as we have for many years.
Question: What was Kenny Pickett supposed to learn watching from the sideline?
Steelers fans are always good for adopting a controversy when one presents itself. Far from unique within the world of fandom, certainly, but we do have a distinct tendency in this regard. The latest surrounds QB Kenny Pickett and a one-word response to a question in comments to the media yesterday.
Asked if having the opportunity to sit on the sidelines for the past few weeks has allowed him to see anything different, to learn anything, or to take any lessons away from the experience, all he had to say was, “No, no”.
My sense is that he wasn’t particularly invested in the question, nor fond of its implications, and didn’t put much stock in giving a compelling and thoughtful answer. Earlier in the interview he talked about the opportunity of getting mental reps, so I really don’t think he actually meant that he learned absolutely nothing at all.
But let’s just get to it. What was he supposed to learn as a sidelined starter watching Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph these past three games? And what was he supposed to tell the gathered media that he learned from watching his backups play? Serious answers only, please.
His answer didn’t do himself any favors, surely, and he was subject to any number of jokes at his expense, whether well-intentioned or mean-spirited. He could have simply said something like “You’re always learning every day in this game”, or something to that effect.
But what does a starter learn while sidelined that he wouldn’t have learned otherwise? It’s not as though he doesn’t see the footage of himself playing when he’s in the lineup every time he comes off the field. It’s not as though he doesn’t know the plays and the routes and the throws we’ve seen. He’s been with Trubisky and Rudolph for two years, anyway.
