Steelers' Kenny Pickett Draws Comparisons To Ben Roethlisberger Before Getting Torched As "Scared To Throw Over The Middle"

The Pittsburgh Steelers have drafted three quarterbacks in the first round since they picked Terry Bradshaw with the first overall pick in 1970. The Steelers' three previous first-round quarterbacks have all achieved a measure of success as the quarterback in Pittsburgh. It is hard to qualify any of the first three as a miss, but NFL commentators and social media are too eager and ready to render a verdict on the fourth.

Kenny Pickett is becoming one of the most maligned players in the Steelers' recent history. Virtually all of the goodwill from being a Pitt Panther alumnus is gone after a 21-game tenure as the starting quarterback. The Steelers are now 13-8 in those 21 starts and are 12-5 over the last 17. Pickett’s passing numbers are not inspiring, but they are oddly effective.

The Pickett defenders are out in full force on social media. It has become increasingly necessary to post stats comparing Pickett to Ben Roethlisberger, the franchise record holder in nearly every passing category. A famous saying is that there are three types of lies. Lies, darn lies, and statistics. Josh Rowntree, who reports on the Steelers for 93.7 The Fan, posted a doozy.

Roethlisberger was forced into action as a rookie. He oozed natural physical talent, and the perception early in his career was that he could do more than what Bill Cowher asked. The Steelers often passed early in games, built sizable leads, and put the ball in the deep freeze for large portions of the game with Jerome Bettis and Willie Parker. Defenses learned quickly that daring the Steelers' 2004 Rookie Of The Year to win a game with his arm was not only likely to backfire, but also made Pittsburgh more explosive. 

The opposite is true for Pickett. First, the Steelers' running game, except the last two games, has been largely ineffective in the Matt Canada era. However, an even distribution of labor and the insertion of Broderick Jones into the lineup smashed loaded boxes against the Tennessee Titans and Green Bay Packers. Second, NFL defenses are confident in Pickett's inefficiency in throwing the ball all over the field. A 2023 NFL quarterback can not be effective when he only looks at the sideline and checks the ball down. 

In fairness to Pickett, Roethlisberger had 34 touchdowns in 32 games. The current Steelers quarterback could get hot and find 10 to 14 touchdowns in the last eight games of the 2023 season. If he averaged two touchdowns per game in the second half, he could finish with 16-20 touchdowns and, based on his current protection of the ball, six to eight interceptions. That would be a vast improvement and a reason for optimism. It will not change the fact that he isn't Roethlisberger.  

Steelers Can Win A Super Bowl If Kenny Pickett Develops Into Kirk Cousins Clone

All the Roethlisberger versus Pickett stats came crashing down on the Monday edition of The PM Team w/Poni & Mueller. Chris Mueller continued his recent bashing of Pickett's ability as a quarterback. Andrew Fillipponi, who still supports the Steelers' quarterback, has backed off his unconditional support of Pickett becoming a top-10 NFL quarterback. Instead, morphing into hoping that he becomes a clutch, Kirk Cousins clone was grasping for a rebuttal after Mueller's latest attack. 

"He has all year, I think I did the math right on this. He has thrown three complete passes over 10 yards between the hash marks," Mueller stated. "Once every three games, he hits a pass between the hash marks of at least 10 yards. I don't think it's all Canada. I think Kenny's afraid to throw it there."

The passing chart for the Pittsburgh quarterback does not contradict the observation. It has been largely blamed on Canada's play design, but is Pickett so risk-averse that he has been taught to avoid the middle of the field? Is it because Mike Tomlin has asked him not to lose games and instructed Canada to drill safe routes and check-downs into his young quarterback's head? Say what you will about the future Hall of Fame quarterback who preceded him, but afraid is not in the top 100 descriptions of Roethlisberger. 

It isn't a giant leap to think a defensive coach influences the offense to protect the defense with complimentary football. Tomlin could very well be influencing the offense to be conservative because he does not have faith in Pickett or, worse, does not want another version of Roethlisberger, who just made it up as he went along. Both assumptions are very telling if either is true about how far behind the 2023 NFL Tomlin is as a talent evaluator and a strategist. 

On Monday, Fillipponi posted his doubts about Pickett's performance against the Green Bay Packers on social media. The bombastic radio host risked forfeiting his status as the president of the Pickett fan club with his most recent observation.  

Despite some revisionist history, the Steelers, during the first two years of Roethlisberger's career, only won one game in spite of him, Super Bowl XL. Pittsburgh is winning one-score games with Pickett by design. Tomlin is drawing national praise for winning ugly games. It seems like a point of pride when his team is called one of the worst in football, and they win.

First, he had a noun in "Tomlinisms," and now he has a verb. "Tomlining" is code for winning a game you shouldn't win, coined by ESPN's Mike Greenberg. If he has turned Pickett into a quarterback who is so afraid to turn the ball over that he won't throw over the middle, his hand-picked signal-caller will get a few words of his own. If "former," "bust," and "released" are descriptors in Pickett's future, then Pittsburgh should examine what words are in the future of the coaching staff. 

What do you think, Steeler Nation? Do you still have faith in Pickett? Are the comparisons to Roethlisberger absurd? Please comment below or on my Twitter/X: @thebubbasq. 

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