The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback situation has got everyone talking, with good reason. After falling to 1-2 with a 29-17 loss to the Cleveland Browns on Thursday Night Football, the Steelers have only two passing touchdowns and 548 yards on the season.
LeSean “Shady” McCoy, a Harrisburg, PA native, former University of Pittsburgh star, two-time Super Bowl winner, and co-host of Speak on Fox Sports, joined other pro football legends like OJ Simpson and Rod Woodson in the chorus of callouts for the Steelers to replace Mitch Trubisky with Kenny Pickett, the Steelers first-round draft pick from Shady’s alma mater.
Steelers head coach, Mike Tomlin has indicated via Brooke Pryor of ESPN that there will be no changes at quarterback in the near future.
Full quote: “I'm not in that mindset. I’m interested in reviewing this tape and looking at the totality of it and figuring out how we collectively get better. So answer that question definitively: No.” https://t.co/I5ke6ZjV6v
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) September 23, 2022
The results so far have got everyone wondering when Pickett will get the job, not if. The former Philadelphia Eagles, Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back joined The Herd with Colin Cowherd on Friday and laid out his case for his fellow Pitt alum.
McCoy calls for fellow Pitt alum Kenny Pickett to start on The Herd Friday morning. Source: YouTube.
“It’s time to put Kenny Pickett out there. I know I went to Pitt and I’m a little biased, but it’s time. If you’re playing conservative like a rookie, why not play the rookie with a better arm and is more athletic in my opinion.”
McCoy, like Woodson, in his endorsement of Pickett questioned how good Trubisky can be after not showing much with the Chicago Bears.
“I think it’s just the quarterback,” McCoy told Cowherd when he asked about the problems the Steelers have on offense specifically in relation to the quarterback not throwing the football deep down the field. “These are all just check downs. He’s nervous and scared to make a mistake. You can’t win games like that.”
Steelers and Trubisky
“Everybody was so excited when Trubisky got to Pittsburgh and I’m like, 'Wait am I missing something? Is this the same guy that in Chicago was regular, so what’s the difference?'”
In Trubisky’s four-year tenure as a starter with the Bears, his highest yards per attempt was 7.4 in 2018, good for 19th in the league. Last year at Pitt, Pickett hit 8.7.
When Trubisky was brought in, there was lots of hype that because of how athletic he is, he’d be a much better fit to run Matt Canada’s offensive scheme. The conventional thinking was Steelers' fading legend, Ben Roethlisberger didn’t mesh with the system because of his lack of mobility. With Trubisky so far, it’s been more of the same.
With the Steelers' hopes of a successful season seemingly crushed, an offensive coordinator that has got Snoop Dogg, the fan base, and even players who want to see him lose his job, why not turn to the guy that McCoy said has a better arm and is more athletic? The Steelers need to find out what they have in their first-round pick.
The Steelers needle is pointing closer to the first overall pick from the 2022 NFL Draft than to the Super Bowl right now with the issues on the defensive side of the ball with TJ Watt still sidelined and the offense struggling the way it has.
The Steelers probably won’t fire Canada in-season without an easy replacement that isn’t already on the staff and a part of the last couple of years where the Steelers offense has been a bottom feeder in many key statistical categories.
What do you think, Steeler Nation? Is it time for the Steelers to listen to Shady and the other legends, and see what they have in the former Pitt standout? If you have young playmakers like Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, and George Pickens, and a young quarterback in Pickett, why not try to get some chemistry going between them? As always, leave your comments down below or on our social media feeds.
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