The Pittsburgh Steelers know that they need to improve their offense if they want to make a true playoff push in 2023, and it starts with Kenny Pickett developing as a quarterback. In a post-practice interview, Pickett talked about the excitement about the offense, but it wasn't about how he's doing specifically. Instead, he talked about the offense as a whole doing great things, including offensive coordinator Matt Canada dialing up some different plays than what Pickett did in 2022. From what Pickett is saying, it sounds like 2023's offense will be a whole lot more fun to watch.
Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (Twitter: @JSKO_PHOTO)
Steelers' Kenny Pickett made some good progress in 2022 and will need to keep improving to jump up the rankings again in 2023.
Below is the full video of Pickett's post-practice interview, including his availability for preseason games, which begins on Friday, August 11th.
#Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett sees his offense taking more shots downfield, and part of that is coming by design: pic.twitter.com/nGYrssSkwi
— Corey Crisan (@cdcrisan) August 8, 2023
It started off with Pickett addressing something that many people have noticed: the Steelers are throwing deep more often than last year. While they have been going deep more, they have also been better in the red zone in short-yardage situations and being able to score more in that scenario.
"We're definitely taking more shots down the field, but I think everyone here has seen that. We're more consistent in the red zone. It's been great to see how competitive we've been in 'Seven Shots' and win a lot of the drills."
There's a lot that goes into the improved offensive play, but one thing that stands out is that this offense has been doing great against the Steelers' first-team defense (which has been consistently a top-tier defense in the NFL since 2019). The Steelers won their 'Seven Shots' drill on Tuesday by a score of 6-1. Pickett also addresses that, talks about how great they are, and uses them to give even more praise to the offense that he's leading.
Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (Twitter: @JSKO_PHOTO)
Pittsburgh Steelers safety, Minkah Fitzpatrick (#39) participates during 2022 training camp at the team's South Side facility.
"Our defense is top-notch, so when you're having a little bit of success... I hope it'll fare alright in the season. We gotta take it when we get time."
If Pickett can have sustained success against the Steelers' elite defense, then there should be a lot of hope going into 2023 that Pickett will be able to play well against other top NFL-caliber defenses. There's also the question of whether the increase in deep shots was due to Pickett breaking down the defense himself, or if it's due to Canada adding more deep shots into the playbook and practicing those plays.
-544x306.jpg "Pittsburgh Steelers Matt Canada")
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Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada benefited from a late season offensive turnaround.
"I'd say a little of both. I think it's both. Coach [Matt Canada] did a great job adding some things, and we're dialing it up in practice. The things we added are really working well out here, and I'm glad we have them in the system. We took some things out. I feel like we ironed out all the things we wanted to do, and we came out here and we're having some success with it."
As long as Canada is opening up the playbook, the Steelers' potential is already higher than it was in 2022. If Pickett is able to read the field like he said he has been, that also raises the potential. As long as everything is going well like the reports say, the Steelers offense can make plenty of noise in 2023. They don't have to be like the Kansas City Chiefs offensively, but a nice, balanced, effective offense is exactly what the Steelers need to improve this season.
What do you think about how the Steelers offense has done so far in practice, as well as what Pickett had to say about it? Let us know down in the comments.
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