Pittsburgh Steelers fans have been begging for a change on the offensive side of the ball for the entirety of the 2023 NFL season. Some have wanted to see more of Jaylen Warren and less of Najee Harris, while some have been calling for Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada to be fired. Prior to the Steelers Week 9 match up against the Tennessee Titans, change was made. Canada would be calling plays from the sideline for the first time in his NFL coaching career.
%202023%20Camp%20Final%20with%20Logos/2L9A7730-544x306.jpg "Steelers Matt Canada")
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Steelers Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada roams the field in Latrobe, PA as Pittsburgh prepares to practice during 2023 training camp.
Steelers' Canada Doesn't Believe Being On The Sideline Makes A Difference?
Not the change most fans expected, but Canada came down from the booth for the Steelers game against the Titans on Thursday Night Football to call plays from the sideline. This is something that will continue in Week 10 against the Green Bay Packers. The Steelers offense against the Titans didn't light up the scoreboard, but they did win the game by a score of 20-16. The Steelers won the coin toss and decided to receive the ball to begin the game, which began the team's first opening touchdown drive in the 2023 season.
Of course, fans everywhere were attributing this immediate success to Canada being moved from the booth to the sideline. The offense wound up slowing down after the first drive, but it was clear that was due to execution rather than the plays being called. Second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett missed some wide open throws, and the run game became stagnant. Canada was asked about the difference being on the sideline made, and refused to say it made a large difference.
"There's pluses and minuses to all of it, right? Upstairs, you see things. On the field, you've got more face to face. We made a decision to find a way to play better and obviously the results - it worked out Thursday night, so it was great. We played well. The end results are what it is. I don't know how much that had to do with it [being on the sideline]. But we're happy with the result, and we'll continue to do it."
With Canada calling a much better game in Week 9 than he has all season, some conspiracy theories have been started. Some fans speculated that offensive assistant Glenn Thomas began calling the plays, which was confirmed to be not true. Canada is still calling the offense, whether the fans like it or not.
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Steelers Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada remains on the hot seat despite the win over the Baltimore Ravens in Week 5.
The Steelers offense seemed a lot more efficient in Week 9, especially in the run game as the contest wore on. Harris ran for 69 yards and a touchdown, and Warren ran for 88 yards. The passing game was not terrific, as Pickett completed 19 out of his 30 passes for just 160 yards. He missed some throws early in the game which killed some of the Steelers drives. Despite the lack of execution from Pickett, the offense did a much better job of staying on schedule and staying in front of the chains, while moving the ball downfield consistently.
Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (Twitter / X: @JSKO_PHOTO)
Pittsburgh Steelers receiver, Diontae Johnson (#18) knows that in order to avoid future fines, he will need to avoid speaking on the officiating, but the question is how much he cares.
One of the bigger stories from this game was Diontae Johnson scoring his first touchdown since 2021, which was his first touchdown since Ben Roethlisberger's retirement. This touchdown wound up being the game-winner, as the Steelers defense was able to shut down the Titans offense for the remainder of the game. Johnson had a big game, recording the touchdown along with seven receptions for 90 yards. The opposite was true for second-year wide receiver George Pickens, who only had two receptions for -1 yards.
Pickens had a touchdown in his hands, but was unable to get his second foot down in bounds, even though he had plenty of room. This play by Pickens has been heavily criticized in the media. Pickens seemed frustrated the rest of the game as he didn't celebrate with Johnson for his first touchdown in two years, and later in the week, he deleted all Steelers pictures from his Instagram and posted a message on his story saying "Free Me."
With the issues with Pickens, and getting the offense to continue to be efficient, there is a lot of work ahead for Canada and the rest of the offense. Week 9 was a step in the right direction, now Canada will try to do the same thing in Week 10 against the Packers.
What do you think of Canada's remarks? Let us know in the comments below!
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