Oh Canada! What's next?

For the past decade or so the blame of the Steelers follies has been placed on the offensive coordinator. Ever since Bruce Arians left, it was shouts for Todd Haley's head, then Randy Fichtner for a short stint, and now the loathed Matt Canada. 

With the "rebuilt" offense, and the coveted Kenny Pickett now leading the way, fans are understandably upset. Don't get me wrong, I am no Matt Canada fan myself, but I do question why the Steelers have only three playoff wins since 2010. With hardly a season and a half under his belt, is Canada the problem, or is there something else that is keeping the black and gold from reaching full potential?

After the Steelers were eliminated from the playoffs last year I wrote about how disgusted I was that everyone was still talking about Mike Tomlin keeping his winning record. Sure, it's an accomplishment, but in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter in the slightest. I argued before Tomlin inherited the super bowl he won, and with the Triple B high powered offense that would soon be assembled, it should have been the first of many. Not only did that not happen, but the Steelers only amassed five total playoff wins since the aforementioned super bowl.



There are rumors floating around that Canada won't be here after the bye week, and if that is true then who takes his place? QB Coach Mike Sullivan is probably the most likely candidate, but I have heard Byron Leftwich could be in the conversation as well. Either one would be an upgrade from Canada right? Right?!?!?

Well, my first question to you would be, do you think Kenny Pickett is the answer? I personally have seen flashes of what I think could be the Steelers franchise QB for the next decade plus. Pickett has the confidence, he can extend plays when needed, and when he hooks up with George Pickens or Calvin Austin you can see greatness. So is it the play calling? I'm not sure, I mean there is definite questions about implementation of the run game. Why is Jalen Warren not the first and second down back running up the middle and Najee Harris lining up on the outside being the pass catching back in which he thrives? Why is Pickens not targeted more? Why are we not running gadget plays with Austins speed, why has Pat Freiermuth not been more involved, and why do we have an absolute monster in Darnell Washington not being utilized?

Going into this season the Steelers were praised for fortifying the offensive line, jumping from a ranking of 30th to 14th to start the season. Now if you look at rankings, they are falling to around 22nd in the league and have shown regression when it comes to protecting Kenny in the pocket. If the Steelers can't give Pickett enough time for plays to develop, would a new offensive coordinator even be helpful? I certainly think it would help, but will it be enough to fix this inconsistent at best offense? 

In their last three games, the Steelers are ranked 29th when it comes to time of possession averaging only 27 minutes during a 60 minute game. With so many first half three and outs it can be hard to stomach at times.

I personally came into this season with high hopes. I loved the look of the offense, and while the Steelers looked great in preseason, albeit playing second string defenses, it looked as though they had things figured out. Now we are sitting 2-2 and Pickett could miss some games following his knee injury. This weeks game against Baltimore should be telling, especially if Mitch Trubisky gets the start. Canada is definitely on the hot seat, and after Tomlin addressed the media saying he wanted fans to be "fat and sassy and spoiled", I think it's time to put up or shut up. 

This week will be the perfect time to stop holding back, enough with the conservative run game. It's time for Austin to be involved in some wild cat offensive calls. With Freiermuth expected to be out two to three weeks lets see Washington get some red zone targets and bully the defense. If the Steelers expect to have a winning season and be playoff hopefuls, it's time to shake things up and play to the strengths of this offense - instead of forcing what isn't working.