Steelers OC Matt Canada Still Expected To Not Allow Kenny Pickett Much Freedom In 2023

The Pittsburgh Steelers are about to enter the 2023 season and it is going to be full of people needing to prove themselves. Fans and analysts are looking to see if offensive coordinator Matt Canada can orchestrate play-calling that looks professional. They will also be looking at second-year quarterback, Kenny Pickett to see if he can execute those plays and to see how much autonomy Canada gives him. 

Pickett has had his critics since his time at the University of Pittsburgh - his hands are too small, he doesn't have the arm strength, he doesn't read the field well enough, etc. In the second half of last season, Pickett really silenced most of those doubters. He showed them he has what it takes to lead a professional football team. 

Canada also showed a great deal of growth in the second half of last season. It would be unfair to place all of the success in the laps of the offensive players and give him no credit. But the criticism of Canada is also valid. There were numerous opponents who were joking and commenting that they knew what we were going to call before we called it. 

Three separate quarterbacks, Pickett, Mitch Trubisky, and veteran Ben Roethlisberger all struggled to find any kind of success under Canada's offense. While the front office is always going to be close-lipped about personnel matters, it seems likely that this season is his last chance. He has to put up or shut up, so to speak. 

Will Steelers OC Matt Canada Allow Kenny Pickett To Call Audibles?

Former Steelers linebackers Arthur Moats and Terence Garvin spoke on Moats' podcast, The Arthur Moats Experience, about Canada and Pickett. The big question is will Canada allow Pickett to grow? Will he allow Pickett to call audibles, make decisions about play-calling, and make adjustments? 

Moats' co-host Deke feels that allowing Pickett to make some decisions would help to spread the ball out more and might get some of the other receivers involved. Conversely, they also understand that as a rookie, they can understand not handing him all the keys to the kingdom and just allowing him to run amok. They feel there was just no reason to rush Pickett when the team obviously hoped to allow him time to develop. 

"That full autonomy when you come up there to the line of scrimmage and you're like, 'I know this was a run/pass, but I'm changing the whole call," says Moats. "That's a lot. 7 [Ben Roethlisberger] didn't really have that with Canada and now Kenny is gonna have that early on. I just don't see them giving him all of that reign. It might roll out a little bit."

Garvin agrees, he thinks this is too much for a second-year quarterback. He also thinks that Canada is going to do what needs to be done to protect himself, his job, and the offense. 

"Because the hot seat is too hot. Because they'll fire you [Matt Canada] before they fire Kenny. They've already been calling for his head and he's gonna go out with Kenny out there checking it?" 

Moats and Deke agree, that anything that goes wrong is going to get blamed on Canada. He is in a bad position from the past couple of years and now he is facing a huge uphill battle. 

Deke also says that fans have to be able to place the credit and the blame where they accurately belong. If the mistake is Pickett's, then fine. If it is play-calling, then Canada. If the receiver botched it, then put the blame on them. 

Garvin said he sees Roethlisberger as more of a "gunslinger" than Pickett. He sees Pickett as a "system guy." It is unfortunate that people constantly compare the two. Both Moats and Garvin think that Pickett will need to be more monitored than Roethlisberger was in year two. 

"Sometimes Ben improvising is better than Ben being on script. Ben is a better improviser. And that's ok. While Pickett needs to stay more on script. Drew Brees was more of a script guy. Kyler Murray tries to improvise, that's the wrong script for him. They want Josh [Allen] to be more of a script guy and he just isn't."

The key is for the offensive coordinator to recognize the talent they are working with and develop a system that plays to their strengths. They all agree that Pickett matured enough last year to be let loose a bit more and they expect Canada to relax the reins on him. 

"They're gonna run the book. We've got such a stacked team, that's a great formula to win. We saw it at the end of last year. We just needed a couple more explosive plays."

What do you think will happen this year? Do you think that Pickett will be allowed to improvise by design? Tell us what's on your mind, click to comment below!

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