Is Kenny Pickett's Lack Of Trusting Steelers Offensive Line Causing Him To Have "Happy Feet" In The Pocket?

The Pittsburgh Steelers selected quarterback Kenny Pickett in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft in hopes that he could become the successor to Ben Roethlisberger. Pickett has now played in 17 games with 16 starts and has a 9-7 record. He has displayed moments of looking like a future star, but on Sunday against the Houston Texans, he just looked lost. A week after throwing for 235 yards and a pair of touchdowns against the Las Vegas Raiders, Pickett had 113 passing yards and an interception before he departed the game with a knee injury. 

Cristopher Carter and Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette dug into Pickett's play in the contest before he was knocked out. The reviews weren't good. Fittipaldo didn't mince words and wasn't afraid to rip into the play of the young quarterback. 

"I thought it was an awful game from Pickett, to be honest," he said. "He had happy feet in the pocket again. At the very hint of pressure or sometimes no pressure at all, he wants to bail and go make a play."  

Fittipaldo gave Pickett credit for making it work successfully during the team's second drive ending with a field goal to open the third quarter. Pickett rushed out of a collapsing pocket to his left and threw across his body to hit Najee Harris who leapt into the air to catch the ball. Harris jumped up quickly and picked up a few extra yards for a 32-yard catch and a first down. 

He cautioned though that for most plays, the design is to have the quarterback make a read and a throw from the pocket. All the movement can create problems, like the injury Pickett suffered while trying to scramble on a fourth-and-one play at the end of the third quarter. 

Fittipaldo tried to offer some reasoning as to why Pickett is so quick to jump out of the pocket this season. He said he doesn't think Pickett is trusting his offensive line or his receivers and it's leading to him wanting to escape the pocket early. 

Matt Canada's Scheme Not Helping Steelers And Pickett

Fittipaldo said that the proceedings on Sunday afternoon were not entirely on the 25-year-old's shoulders. The receivers weren't perfect, but Fittipaldo said that even with Diontae Johnson out, it shouldn't be stifling the offense this much. He recognized that the Texans were doing things to take away George Pickens, but the Steelers' other pass-catchers were just not a factor. 

Fittipaldo pointed out that Harris led the team in receiving with his one reception. Second on the team was running back Jaylen Warren with six receptions for 26 yards. He said he understands it's not a perfect group with last year's leader in receptions on the shelf, but looking at the team they just got manhandled by, he said it's tough to not point some fingers at the offensive coordinator.     

The Texans receiving core is being led by 24-year-old Nico Collins (a third-round pick by the team in 2021), rookie receiver Tank Dell, and veteran Robert Woods. Not exactly a star-studded group that helped Houston score 30 points. Not to mention that they have a rookie quarterback in CJ Stroud and a first-year play-caller in Bobby Slowik. 

"When you look at the Texans' design and the way they scheme people open and then you look at Pittsburgh for three years under Matt Canada, it's night and day," he said. "It shouldn't be that way." 

The players in the locker room have said it comes down to execution and not play-calling. Fittipaldo agreed that it's certainly not all on the coaching, but at some point, there has to be real change for this to be a better football team.

Do you think Pickett had a bad game against the Texans? Does it change your view of him going forward? Comment below!

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