The Pittsburgh Steelers rookie quarterback, Kenny Pickett has come under increasing fire during his four-game tenure as the signal caller for the back and gold. The fan base was ecstatic when Pickett strolled onto the field at halftime of the New York Jets game and delirious when he led two touchdown drives. The defense ultimately yielded a ten-point lead back to the Jets and his debut was a loss dropping the Steelers to 1-3. But it did not dampen the enthusiasm for the former Pitt Panther quarterback.
Jordan Schofield / Steeler Nation (Twitter JSKO_Photo)
Four weeks later, the Steelers are 2-6 and the only games they have won arguably were more the result of Mitch Trubisky running the offense than Pickett. Pickett has moved the ball more effectively than Trubisky, but the Steelers offense still is having trouble scoring the ball. The fans overwhelmingly blame Matt Canada and Mike Tomlin, but Pickett himself has come under fire during the bye week. The Steelers aren’t firing Canada and Pickett must find a way to perform within this offense.
“Guys need to know what they’re doing,” Pickett said after the loss to the Eagles. “We need to study more. I don’t think we study enough as a group. It’s all mental, there’s really no excuse for that.”
#Steelers Kenny Pickett on what he means that they need to study more on offense @937theFan pic.twitter.com/TulwsyBVTm
— Jeff Hathhorn (@jhathhorn) October 30, 2022
Pickett endured various degrees of castigation for speaking out about his teammates. The Steelers rookie was told he was too young to criticize his teammates, and that he should worry about his own play before criticizing teammates. Generally, rookies calling out veterans is a bad thing, but the lack of discipline is apparent and if the coaches aren’t performing, then your quarterback is the only one left who can call out the offense.
“There is a balance between voicing some things and proving with my actions,” Pickett said in an interview with The Athletic on Wednesday. “You know when you are supposed to step up. You have the feeling when things need to be said. You just don’t talk to talk; you talk because there are things that need said.”
Credit: Steelers.com
Pickett’s first regular season pass was a catchable ball that the now departed Chase Claypool bumbled into an interception, but Pickett then led touchdown drives to put the Steelers up 20-10 against the New York Jets. He threw for 327 yards the following week in a blowout loss to the Buffalo Bills, but was praised for his toughness. After getting knocked out against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Steelers last victory, he played progressively worse over the last two games.
“We had some really good meetings,” Pickett said on Wednesday. “Players and coaches aired some things out and we are on the same page now.”
Based on Canada’s thin playbook and limited route tree it is hard to believe that they weren’t on the same page already, but the offense can’t get much worse at this point. Players airing grievances doesn’t sound as effective when seemingly an endless parade of them are questioning the coaches openly. It is hyperbolic, but it might be easier to name players who aren’t voicing issues at this point with the play calling and coaching staff.
The Steelers offense may perform better against the New Orleans Saints when they return to the field next Sunday at Acrisure Stadium. T.J. Watt is likely to be on the field when they return to action, so it may be a less demanding environment for the rookie. The Steelers are not going to make a second half run winning games 13-10 so the offense must improve. It is possible with the departure of Claypool that the offense performs better, but it is doubtful that Claypool was dragging the entire offense down.
What do you think, Steeler Nation? Should we expect that an airing of grievances internally should result in points next Sunday? Please comment below or on my Twitter @thebubbasq.
