Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker, TJ Watt recently appeared on the CBS podcast, Maggie and Perloff. While on the show, he was asked by the hosts, Maggie Gray and Andrew Perloff, about playing last season with rookie quarterback, Kenny Pickett.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers OLB TJ Watt
Steelers' Watt On The Aha Pickett Moment
The Steelers made a remarkable turnaround after the bye week and finished the season strong. While they fell just short of making it to the postseason, Watt said he was encouraged by the progress the team made. Watt was out several weeks at the beginning of the season with a pectoral injury, but said that the optimism the players began to feel as they improved created a spark:
"That gets contagious throughout the team and if you're not always playing, which was the case for me this season, it was all about bringing energy and trying to bring as much juice and spark to the team as possible."
While the Steelers did not achieve their ultimate goal of the postseason, Watt hopes that the confidence that was generated as the team began to improve, will carry over into the next season:
"It was too little, too late, but we were continuing to get better each and every week. We were starting to play complimentary football with offense, defense, special teams and we were starting to get our stride. But if anything, that shows us that it's possible that we can continue to stay on the rise."
One player that helped the team find that complimentary football that Watt refers to is Pickett. The rookie struggled during his first several games after taking over for a benched Mitch Trubisky during Week 4. However, he hit his stride and became an asset in Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh Steelers QB Kenny Pickett (8) scrambles out of the pocket in a Week 3 loss vs The New York Jets. | Karl Roser / Steelers.com
Watt was asked about Pickett's progression in the first part of that season:
"We knew as soon as he stepped in the building, he was going to be a good component for us, a good leader. It's just about getting better each and every week. He put together some awesome drives towards the end of games there, especially down the stretch. I think he's only going to get better as he gets older."
Then Watt was asked if there was a moment when he realized that he could trust Pickett at the helm:
"The moment I can really pick out is when we were in Baltimore and they were driving. We were probably not even at half field yet and Kenny was taking the offense down the field. We'd already grabbed our helmets at his defense and we were talking about what plays we're gonna run. How we're gonna rush the passer and we hadn't even gotten to the 50-yard line yet. We just knew that he was going to drive them down and score a touchdown. That's one of the moments that I look back on and say, 'Kenny is the guy' and I'm looking forward to playing with him for many years."
We all saw something special in Pickett towards the end of the season. The way he remained unflappable and confident in the pocket and how his passing improved was admirable for a young rookie. While there is of course work to still be done, even Pickett recognizes that. Still, it is comforting to hear a player as exceptional as Watt speak so confidently about him.
Do you think Pickett is "the guy?" What did you think about his improvements last season? What areas does he still need to work on? Do you think the Steelers will capitalize upon the growth during the second half of last season in 2023, or are we starting all over? Click to comment below.
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