Former Steelers Linebacker Arthur Moats Has Controversial Take Over The Pittsburgh Wide Receivers

It's no secret the Pittsburgh Steelers offense has looked absolutely horrible aside from maybe three drives through the first four weeks of the 2023 NFL season. There are a lot of factors that go into this. The two most obvious reasons would be the atrocious play-calling from Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada and horrific play from the offensive line. Kenny Pickett hasn't looked great either, but a lot of his troubles can be attributed to the first two factors, as well as the lack of separation we have seen from the Steelers receivers. 

Former Steelers Defender Calls Current Receivers "Lazy"

The Steelers are currently without their best route runner in Diontae Johnson, who will hopefully make a return after the bye week in Week 6. In the meantime, the team's top wide receivers include George Pickens, Allen Robinson, and Calvin Austin III. All three of these players had extremely quiet days against the Houston Texans in Week 4. Former Steelers linebacker Arthur Moats expressed his thoughts on the group and said they were running "lazy" routes on the most recent episode of his podcast The Arthur Moats Experience With Deke. 

"There were multiple plays I looked at our wide receivers, and the routes they ran? There was nothing about it to make you feel threatened. I was like is this a lazy route? I don't know what you're trying to do here. But that's not the first time this has been brought up either."

Moats would go on to explain that Pickens being big and athletic isn't enough for him to get the ball, he needs to focus on route running. He expressed the same thing about Austin III and his speed, it's not enough to just be fast. Both these receivers need to understand Pickett doesn't have much time to throw, so gaining separation is key so he can see them open early in his progressions and get the ball out quickly.

Moats definitely placed a lot of the blame on Canada as well, but also expressed that favoritism towards certain players might be why we aren't seeing as much criticism being thrown in the wide receivers direction. He went on to discuss how some lazy routes even led to a pass break up and incompletions. 

"We kind of just brush it to the side because we like certain players and stuff like that. But it's like I'm looking at some of these routes, I'm looking at a slant or an in [route] or whatever they are trying to run, someone gets a pass break up and it's just a lazy route."

Pickett has been getting a lot of blame for his incompletions and errant throws, when in reality, some of these balls that hit the ground could be the result of lazy route running and the receivers not being in the correct spot. No player on the Steelers, especially on the offense, has any right to do anything lazy on a football field after the start to the season we have seen in 2023. This team could easily be 1-3 or 0-4, but have gotten lucky in some aspects that have gotten them the win. Moats went on to speak about how the offense isn't being detailed enough. 

"Yes, we got Canada who certainly has some stuff going on, same with Kenny, same with the offensive line. But I look at the receivers and we are just not being detailed across the board." 

Pickens has had some splash plays this season, including a 71-yard touchdown reception in Week 2. Same with Austin III when he had the big touchdown against the Las Vegas Raiders. However, arguably the best receiver on the team this season has been Robinson, who has been a reliable target for Pickett. This can be attributed to his experience in the NFL, and his understanding of how important it is to get open and gain separation to help out your quarterback. 

Robinson needs to be a veteran presence that is leaned on for the Steelers younger receivers. With the bad offensive start to the season, he needs to be the voice of reason to motivate Pickens and Austin III to run effective routes to help improve the offense. Hopefully, the tape from the embarrassing 30-6 Week 4 loss to the Texans will be eye-opening for the receivers, and there will be more emphasis on them running meaningful routes, helping the offense. 

What do you think about Moats' comments on the receivers? Let us know in the comments below!

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