Steelers Vibe Check: Well, This Stinks

Story by Yinzer Crazy Contributor Adam Lovelace. Follow him on Twitter @98_lovelace

As painful as it is today, the Pittsburgh Steelers are a 2-5 football team. While it isn’t entirely a surprise, as most teams struggle after losing their franchise quarterback, it is disappointing all the same. The most frustrating part is that the Steelers aren’t lacking in talent. If they were a talented, depleted team, it would be easier to accept, in theory, the Steelers being as bad as they are.

The problem is, that the Steelers have talent across the board.  They have elite level wide receivers, a blossoming tight end, and a good backfield. And yet, the only team that scores less than the Steelers is the Denver Broncos. While the silver lining is that the Steelers didn’t pay a $295 million extension to be the worst offense in the league, it’s a small victory.

When it comes to the Steelers, it feels like it's the same story every game. While each loss has its own specific reason, the season in totality has been defined by a lack of offensive production. The Steelers average a pitiful 15 points a game, and again, it has nothing to do with their talent. All fingers are pointed at Matt Canada, and rightfully so.

After last night I had an overreaction tweet that Steelers would be drafting another quarterback in next year’s draft. While I do think the Steelers should do their due diligence on this year's QB class, I am not ready to call Kenny Pickett a bust. In fairness to Pickett, and all the offensive players, Canada’s offense is…elementary, to put it kindly.

Quite frankly I am not sure that Canada calls more than 10 different plays a game, and his play calling decision is random and sporadic. With two 3rd and 2 plays, Canada chose four vertical routes down the field, and an inexplicable double reverse. Sometimes football is simple. Put Derrick Watt in the I-formation and hand the ball to your 240 pound running back.

Now, in the spirit of fairness. Kenny Pickett shouldn’t go without blame . He is turning the ball over, A LOT. In 4 total games played and 3 starts, Pickett has already thrown 7 interceptions. While some of them are fluke interceptions, some of them are his fault. While it is not ideal, it is still not enough for me to call him a bust, again, despite my tweet made in a moment of frustration.

Pickett is showing promise. He is showing poise in big moments and great decision making for the most part. The majority of his interceptions are the result of him being a rookie. I know he was touted as the most “pro-ready” but that doesn’t mean the expectation should have been that he would step in and perform like a seasoned veteran.

Last night the two interceptions thrown late were inexcusable, detrimental, but also explainable. A curl route got jumped, but in ACC play that corner is probably not that fast. And yes, he should have scrambled for the first, ran out of bounds, and given the Steelers four shots at the end zone. But, he’s a rookie QB trying to lead a game winning drive, and wanted to make something happen.

Each interception is a learning opportunity for Pickett. These aren’t excuses, the picks are bad and frustrating, but shouldn’t come as a surprise. The cliche is to point at Peyton Manning's rookie year, but what is more pertinent here, are the guys he is currently playing against. Mahomes and Allen both had interception issues as well as poor decision making in their first full seasons as starters.

Trevor Lawrence also threw 12 his rookie season and has already thrown 9 this year. Matthew Stafford threw 20. You can see where I am going with this right? Yes, he isn’t coming in being Patrick Mahomes the second he steps on the field but no one does. Even though most Steelers fans don’t want to hear it, the offense is actually improving.

They are better at moving the ball down the field more consistently, they just lack the ability to score once they reach the red zone, and big splash plays down the field. Both of those things are scheme issues. Canada’s offense doesn’t really create any confusion for the defense, which makes it easy to limit shots down the field, and red zone scoring.

One last thing regarding Canada’s offense. Does anyone look like they are well coached? It seems as though quarterbacks and receivers are expecting two different things. That was true when Trubisky was the starter as well. That is certainly a factor in Picketts interception issue as well. 

Collectively, Steelers fans need to take a breath, myself included. These are the trials and tribulations of riding with a rookie quarterback. It isn’t always great the first year, and we need to accept that. He will improve as the season goes on, but next year is the year to judge whether or not he is the franchise guy.

I understand the NFL is a “what have you done for me lately league?”, and that is inantley true with Steelers fans, but let's settle something right now. Despite Picketts struggles, going back to Trubisky cannot be an option. For one, we all saw the first 4 games. He’s bad. Props to him for coming in the last quarter and half against the Bucs and winning the game, but that doesn’t erase his earlier performances. 

What is more important, is that Trubisky isn’t the future of the franchise, and we have to know if Pickett. Let it ride, get him experience, and brace for the pain of one of the worst Steelers seasons in a long time. I know it's hard, but we can do it.

I'll close with some good news. The Steelers are more competitive than you think. While the losses are frustrating and disappointing, if you take out the decimation at Buffalo and the fluke defensive touchdown at the end of the Cleveland game, the Steelers lose by an average of 4 points. If they could manage one more touchdown and one more field goal a game, the Steelers could very well be 5-2. They were always going to get boat raced by Buffalo.

There should be some optimism for this team. Maybe not for this year, but for the future. The steelers have young, elite defenders, and young talent on the offensive side of the ball. However, it is very important they have an excellent offseason. They simply cannot hire another internal offensive coordinator. Go out and interview a young offensive mind and hire him. Give these young pieces a chance.