The Pittsburgh Steelers are days away from a crucial matchup against the Tennessee Titans. The black and gold are black and blue and will be without Minkah Fitzpatrick on Thursday night. The Steelers are in second place in the AFC North, but are undefeated in the division after beating the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns at home.
Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers All-Pro Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick's injured hamstring could loom large for Pittsburgh in Week 9.
The Steelers have a lot of issues that fans are furious about going into Week 9 of the NFL season. On Tuesday morning, Dejan Kovacevic of DK Pittsburgh Sports released his Daily Shot Of Steelers episode. Kovacevic decided to spend his Halloween edition focused on solutions to Pittsburgh’s issues instead of criticizing what Pittsburgh had already put on tape this season.
“How about throwing to George Pickens for more than one catch,” Kovacevic begins. “There is a grand total of exactly one player who could be considered star caliber on this offense. I’m not being mean when I say that. George has that capability. The only thing that holds George back is the amount of times that he touches the football.”
Kovacevic is right on the money. The Steelers offense is inept, and part of the issue is that Kenny Pickett’s eyes have been drawn to Diontae Johnson since he returned against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 8. Johnson was targeted 14 times against the Jacksonville Jaguars to Pickens five targets. Johnson has had 20 targets, 13 catches, 164 yards and zero touchdowns over the last two games. Pickens has 13 targets, six catches for 129 yards, and a touchdown since he reentered the lineup.
“Somebody handed the Steelers keys to a Maserati, and they decided to park it up on the eighth floor with the grease trucks while they rattle around in their Kia’s,” Kovacevic continued. “That’s what this is. This an asset being wasted to the extreme.”
The offense against Jacksonville seemed to be schemed away from Pickens. In his only back-shoulder opportunity, he nearly made an outstanding grab on the sideline late in the game. In a rare opportunity to run after the catch, Pickens scored the Steelers' lone touchdown by breaking two tackles on a pass from Mitch Trubisky.
Jared Wickerham / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers' George Pickens and Mitch Trubisky celebrate the lone touchdown in Week 8 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
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Either Pickett is not looking for him, or the plays are specifically designed to go elsewhere. Maybe Matt Canada doesn’t like the former Georgia Bulldogs on his offense. He limits Pickens and ignores Darnell Washington as a potential weapon for a struggling quarterback. He is trotting out Broderick Jones as a third tackle on running plays in an already predictable offense. No disrespect intended to the first-round draft pick, but play-action is out of the question when he is on the field.
AJ Brown is hailed as one of the most physical wide receivers in football and has been targeted 30 more times than Pickens. Canada and Pickett implemented a plan that saw Johnson get three times the opportunity as the second-year wide receiver. It is the worst use of a number one receiver this side of Davante Adams. Pickens is the only Steeler who can turn an intermediate catch into a significant gain with his feet, and Pittsburgh runs trick plays more than they target Pickens in the middle of the field.
Charles LeClaire / USA Today
Steelers' Connor Heyward comes up short against the Jaguars defense.
“One of the plays, by the way, from Sunday that I think didn’t get enough criticism is when the Steelers got down to the goal line, and they tried that inside shovel pass to Connor Heyward,” Kovacevic said. “Who are you trying to out clever? This offense was built a certain way, it doesn’t mean it was built well. You're trying to get cute down there with your number three, number four tight end?”
Canada and the Steelers offense targeted Connor Heyward six times against the Jaguars, one more than Pickens. Heyward is the smallest NFL tight end in the Super Bowl era. He is a converted fullback who was a sixth-round draft pick. Heyward is a liability as a blocker at tight end, and there should never be a game when the offense is more focused on him than Pickens. If it is a quarterback issue, why are the Steelers allowing Canada to take all the heat?
Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin and OC Matt Canada.
The simple answer is that it is play design. Mike Tomlin is just as much to blame for allowing it to get this far. The Steelers only have one full practice to make any adjustments ahead of the Thursday night football game. The only meaningful change that can happen is to hit flip on whatever version of the Madden video game Canada uses to call plays. It works on the Sony's PlayStation 5.
What do you think, Steeler Nation? Who is to blame for Pickens' drop in targets, Pickett or Canada? Please comment below or on my Twitter/X: @thebubbasq.
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