Steelers QB's indicate a new offensive direction at OTAs
Even the most diehard Pittsburgh Steelers fans would have trouble admitting they are fond of offensive coordinator Matt Canada. Often criticized for his rudimentary scheme both by the media and even his own players, Canada has yet to adapt to the NFL world. But following some quotes from the Steelers quarterback unit, it appears fans […]
Even the most diehard Pittsburgh Steelers fans would have trouble admitting they are fond of offensive coordinator Matt Canada.
Often criticized for his rudimentary scheme both by the media and even his own players, Canada has yet to adapt to the NFL world.
But following some quotes from the Steelers quarterback unit, it appears fans may finally get what they want:
When interviewing with Joe Rutter of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, recently re-signed quarterbacks Mason Rudolph and Mitch Trubisky along with second-year starter Kenny Pickett sang the praises of a new offense early on in OTA's:
“There are plenty of new concepts, I can tell you that, that I’ve had to learn,” Rudolph said. “It’s not the same mode of operation. I’m not going to get too in-depth about it, but there is new stuff. Anytime you have a rookie quarterback or a young offense … we’ve bolstered the offensive line, and you can expect everyone to take a leap together. I’m not going to say we’re revolutionizing our offense and everything is changing, but there are some new things that can make us a lot better.”
I know that's probably music to the ears of Steelers Nation, as we can take a look at the stats (23rd or worse in yards, points, and yards per play) but you need look no further than the on-field product.
With a meddling run game, a passing game devoid of explosive completions, and an inability to generate momentum-swinging drives, the offense was either a tough watch or outright bad in 2022.
And yes, I'm aware that it's only OTA's and this is what former Super Bowl winning executive Michael Lombardi terms "light-years" season, because everyone is light years ahead of where they were last year, but I believe that Canada will make the requisite changes to his offense. Why?
Because he has to.
“It’s going to continue to evolve,” Trubisky said when asked about the change in offensive identity. “We’re adding things, we’re tweaking things. We’re keeping a lot of things from last year, but also adding some new things that we think are going to help. It’s growing."
"It takes those reps. It takes that studying. Everybody getting on the same page and everybody buying in, added Trubisky. "It helps when you’re staying in the same system to allow yourself to take more steps from last year. We’re ahead of the curve from last year, and we have to stay on that pace."
“I went back and watched our first OTA last year. It’s a different team, honestly, not just player-wise but in terms of plays and how much we have (installed) already,” Kenny Pickett said. “Credit to the coaching staff for being here working hard and guys showing up when they don’t have to be and being here and knowing what they have to do. To be able to put six installs in, or five installs … where we were only really at one or two at this time last year.”
So we can rest assured that everyone is at the very least on the same page when it comes to this offense in 2023. That was lacking in 2022, with Matt Canada and tight end Pat Freiermuth disagreeing on something as simple as hot routes in the Steelers system.
But how much change has really occurred on offense?
We will soon find out.
Featured image via: © Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
