The Pittsburgh Steelers were completely dominated 30-6 by the Houston Texans and rookie quarterback CJ Stroud on Sunday afternoon in Houston. Steelers Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada has come under heavy fire from multiple former players for his simplistic and predictable play-calling that have been staples of his tenure as the leader of the offense. Former Steelers safety turned popular media personality, Ryan Clark, is not a fan of Canada and added his voice to those calling for his job.
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Former Steelers safety Ryan Clark was not happy with Pittsburgh's performance against the Houston Texans in Week 4 of 2023.
Clark was on Get Up on ESPN on Monday morning and broke down some of his feelings about Canada and his disappointment with the team after the shellacking they took from the Texans. The LSU alum, who was not a fan of Canada when he was running the offense for the Tigers in 2017, said it's time for the organization to move on.
"Stop bumping your head up against the Matthew Canada wall," he said. "Send him back wherever you want to send him. Send him back to Pitt. Heck, I’d even take him back at LSU," Clark said. "It is sickening what you saw yesterday from the Pittsburgh Steelers, and I expect wholesale changes."
Head Coach Mike Tomlin said during his postgame press conference that there would be changes coming. He didn't specify what they would be other than to say "We'll put together a plan in preparation this week." The team will be forced into a change at quarterback after Kenny Pickett went down with a knee injury on a fourth and one try late in the third quarter with Pittsburgh trailing 16-6. Pittsburgh received some good news Monday morning as it looks like Pickett won't be sidelined for the whole year, but will have to play with backup Mitch Trubisky for the time being.
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Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett (8) is helped off the field after an injury during the second half of a game against the Houston Texans, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2023, in Houston.
The team argued that bringing back Canada was necessary for the development of Pickett when the decision was made back in March to retain the coach for 2023. So far in 2023, Pickett has not looked good with some saying he looks like he has regressed.
NFL analyst Warren Sharp pointed out in the game against Houston that 63% of Pickett's throws on first down were thrown behind the line of scrimmage, resulting in the highest rate across the league. His average of 0.5 air yards on those passes was the worst.
The statistics for Canada's tenure as the play-caller in Pittsburgh are awful. Since taking over as offensive coordinator in 2021, the only two top 10 ranks for the Pittsburgh offense have been in least giveaways. They ranked 10th in 2021 and 4th in 2022 per Pro Football Reference.
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Steelers Offensive Coordinator, Matt Canada walks on the field at Acrisure Stadium prior to a 2022 preseason practice in Pittsburgh, PA.
To top it all off, in 2022, the team posted just 12 passing touchdowns split between Pickett, Trubisky, and the traded receiver Chase Claypool. The mark was the worst in the league and the lowest for Pittsburgh in 23 years.
The Steelers offense turned a corner last season after the Week 9 bye. The team leaned into running the football and Pickett managed games to help the team finish 7-2 down the stretch. After a largely dominant showing in the preseason, Pittsburgh's offense was thought to be taking a step forward, but has struggled in every game except their Week 3 win over the Las Vegas Raiders.
Steelers Defense Doesn't Escape Criticism From Clark After Poor Showing
A lot of the pressure is deservedly on Canada after his unit looked out of sorts and only put up 53 yards in the first half, but Pittsburgh's highly compensated defense also took a shot from Clark after their pathetic effort on Sunday. TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith got all kinds of praise for their dominant showing carrying the team to a win over the Cleveland Browns. They were nowhere to be seen against Houston.
%202023%20Camp%20Final%20with%20Logos/2L9A5529-544x306.jpg "Steelers Mike Tomlin")
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Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin has lots on his plate as both the defense and the offense looked out of sorts against the Houston Texans in Week 4 in 2023.
Pittsburgh has played well against rookie quarterbacks since Tomlin took over. He has a 23-4 regular season record against first-year signal-callers and before Sunday hadn't lost to one since a 35-30 defeat to the Dallas Cowboys in 2016 led by Dak Prescott.
"It is absolutely a new low," Clark said. "When a defense that has any pride, when a defense that believes in itself goes against a rookie, you go win."
The Steelers have plenty of issues to fix and with the speed of the NFL schedule, it will have to start next week against the Baltimore Ravens if they want to stay alive. Tomlin has alluded to change coming, now Steelers fans need to see something tangible.
What did you think of Clark's comments? Should Pittsburgh be moving on from Canada as soon as possible? Comment below!
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