Is Steelers' Kenny Pickett And Ben Roethlisberger's Agreement On Love Of 4th Quarter Freedom A Shot At Matt Canada?

The Pittsburgh Steelers waited two decades for Ben Roethlisberger to replace Terry Bradshaw as the franchise quarterback in Pittsburgh. When he retired after the 2021 season, the Steelers did not hesitate. They drafted Kenny Pickett, hoping he would replace Roethlisberger. Pickett was the first quarterback off the board at number 20 in an extremely thin quarterback class, but it looks like the Steelers may have gotten their man.

The most recent episode of Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger was released on Sunday and it saw the two franchise quarterbacks sharing a podcast for the first time. Spencer T’eo joined the Steelers signal-callers as a co-host and the past, present and hopefully future of the men behind center for Pittsburgh held a wide-ranging discussion including the revelation that Roethlisberger was not exactly in Pickett’s corner early in the process.

Before that particular revelation, the duo did find some common ground about what they were most comfortable doing in the current Steelers offense.

“I don’t miss a thing,” Roethlisberger stated. “I take that back, in the fourth quarter, you had the ball like four or five times in the latter half of the year, those were the only times I was jealous of you. Having the ball, having a chance at the end of the game. It is not easy to do, I enjoyed that moment. I would love to be up by 40, but if I’m not going to be, I don’t want the defense on the field.”

Roethlisberger finished third all-time in fourth quarter comebacks with 41, trailing only Peyton Manning with 43 and Tom Brady with 45. Those two quarterbacks played significantly more games than the future Steelers Hall of Fame quarterback, and Roethlisberger proved in Super Bowl XLIII when he drove the Steelers for the winning score against the Arizona Cardinals that no moment was too big for him when he had the chance to win the game.

“Everything slowed down,” Roethlisberger continued. “I called a lot of my own stuff in the two minutes. Because you are out there and you don’t have time to get plays, most of the time. Even if it was a dead ball, I would like to keep going. I loved giving little signals, winking, stuff like that. Not backyarding it, but just the feel, it felt so good to me. You had a couple of them this year, what is your mentality?”

Roethlisberger seemed to be making things up like he was playing in the backyard and the perception of him as an improviser is legendary. He had an endless supply of late-game magic that was fostered by Bruce Arians early in his career and got him in trouble later with Todd Haley and Matt Canada. The former Pro Bowl quarterback seemed like he just wanted to keep the game close with an offense he did not completely believe in and win his way when the chance presented itself.

“Watching on the sideline, you just feel so helpless,” Pickett agreed. “You would much rather have the ball, you are not nervous. There is a calming presence about it. You are so locked into what you have to go out there and do. I always focus on getting that first completion. I was very in tune with the two-minute [drill] and at some point, it becomes more players, not plays. When you need that play, lean on the guy you know that is going to make it.”

Steelers Tight End Pat Freiermuth Confirms Kenny Pickett Did Not Have Freedom In Matt Canada's Offense

Steelers Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada came under heavy fire for how he treated Roethlisberger in 2021 and Pickett last season. Pat Freiermuth confirmed that Pickett was not always free to change plays at the line of scrimmage. Roethlisberger led 7 fourth quarter comebacks in his final season to get Pittsburgh into the playoffs and Pickett demonstrated his ability to summon late-game magic in crucial victories against the Las Vegas Raiders and Baltimore Ravens when the Steelers’ playoffs hopes were on life support but still alive.

Pickett echoed one of the consistent themes of Roethlisberger in the media throughout his career, the end of the game is about players, not plays. Schemes and designed plays fall away and it is interesting to note that near the end of the season when Pickett had the freedom to improvise out of necessity, Freiermuth and George Pickens in particular shined in the offense. The former Pitt Panthers QB was not forcing the ball to pre-determined areas that defenses easily dissected, which is a consistent criticism of Canada. 

What do you think, Steeler Nation? Should Pickett improvise more in his second season to improve how the offense performs? Please comment below, or on my Twitter @thebubbasq.