Assessing Offensive Blame In Pittsburgh
Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
One of the distinctions that makes the NFL truly unique is its moment-focused gameplay. Each game is made up of a battle within a battle within a battle. Each play represents a perfect competition all to itself, with each team having their goal and the play having a definitive beginning and end. All of these individual battles make up the larger battle of a drive. Those drives make up quarters and the quarters make up games. It’s truly beautiful in its Russian nesting doll structure.
But much like a Jenga stack buckling under one small weakness, having a singular blocker out of position anywhere along the journey can bring the whole thing crashing down. A blown play can disrupt a drive, which can derail a quarter, which can cost a team a game. That’s why NFL coaches spend so much of their energy trying to limit mistakes. Mistakes can ripple.
When errors are made in the NFL, fans are quick to react. If your favorite team throws an interception, it’s easy to freak out and scream at your embattled quarterback for his obvious error. But the truth is, blame in the NFL is a complex concept. Most of us do not possess the high-level football understanding or ability to process the intricacies of individual responsibilities in a way that can properly sort through mistakes. Sure, every once in a while it’s as simple as a quarterback making a bad throw. But often the O-line and their protection, the receivers routes, the additional blockers performance, and even the play callers play can ultimately be at fault.
It’s that barrier of understanding, combined with the aforementioned microcosmic nature of the game, that makes properly assigning blame when things go poorly so difficult.
Through four games, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense has been atrocious. Mistakes have compounded upon mistakes and performances have spiraled. Matt Canada’s name has been on the tip of every angry Steeler fan’s tongue. Canada’s Wikipedia biography states that he is “somehow still the offensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers” and details him as the “worst offensive coordinator of all time.” Since Canada was promoted to Offensive Coordinator from Quarterbacks Coach in 2021, the Steelers are 21st in first downs, 25th in total yards, 27th in total points, and last in touchdowns. To say his tenure as head honcho of the offense has been disappointing would be a lot nicer than most Steelers fans would phrase it.
But is it that simple? Is it just a bad coordinator that’s derailing multiple other entities and destroying the team’s ability to play offense? Or, with the scope of the offensive failure to this point, is it reasonable to look at the many factors that go into the failures and examine what’s plaguing the offense on a deeper level?
To a substantial degree, an an offensive coordinator’s fate lies in the hands of the quarterback, and the Steelers’ quarterback has been bad. Kenny Pickett is only completing passes at a 60.6% clip (sixth-worst in the NFL), and has as many interceptions (four) as he does touchdowns. His accuracy has been requisite of a benching were he not young and a high draft pick, and he truly seems to not trust himself. He’s not taking easy shots and he is missing simple throws. Additionally, he is not pushing the ball downfield whatsoever, averaging only 5.5 yards per pass attempt (fifth-worst in the NFL). Granted, he’s not playing behind an offensive line unit that’s given him much of a chance.
Sigh. #Steelers QB Kenny Pickett just reading one side of the field and then bails from a clean pocket. Never even made his way back across the field in his progression to Calvin Austin III on the backside dig.
Just can't be bailing from pockets like this. Can't do it. pic.twitter.com/3RiEyy8zhM
— Josh Carney (@ByJoshCarney) October 2, 2023
absolutely no reason for Kenny Pickett to run into the teeth of this pressure when there's so much more room to his left
especially when there's not a single receiver on the right side of the field pic.twitter.com/FNPusuIJNi
— Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) October 2, 2023
The pass blocking has earned an abysmal, league-worst PFF pass-blocking grade of 31. They also boast the fifth-worst PFF run blocking grade of 51.8. Left Tackle Dan Moore Jr. has allowed the second-most QB hurries, the most QB hits, as well as the most total QB pressures among tackles in the NFL this season. That cake is iced with his 19.9 PFF pass blocking grade. Other than left guard Isaac Seumalo, who has only allowed a single QB hit, and five total QB pressures through four games the line has been a full-blown disaster.
My goodness, Dan Moore Jr. is in a tier of his own…and not in a good way. (via @PFF_Moo) #Steelers pic.twitter.com/XnBeGXgUoQ
— Tommy Jaggi (@TommyJaggi) September 26, 2023
The running game must be mentioned as well. Pittsburgh has posted the sixth least amount of rushing yards, the fifth-least amount of rushing first downs, and they have zero rushing touchdowns so far this season. The lack of the run threat has carried over into the passing game, rendering Canada’s scheme highly predictable. Perhaps Canada’s unwillingness to completely commit to downhill running has created a snowball effect for both the line and the backs that eventually engulfs Pickett’s chance to excel. But perhaps the lack of simple execution is limiting Canada’s ability to be creative and attack the other team.
The complete lack of an offensive attack from the Steelers has put them in a sticky situation, especially with Pickett going down with an injury against Houston. While they await the news on how long Pickett could miss with his bone bruise, Yinzers all around the country also await the Adam Schefter tweet that Canada has been relieved of his duties.
But the pie chart of blame certainly isn’t 100% Canada, and although it’s understandable (as well as comforting) to blame a man who is absolutely a problem, an entire side of a football team’s issues are rarely ever one person’s fault.
The fragility of an NFL play and its ability to be derailed by a singular person’s execution was well-documented in press conferences by Aaron Rodgers last season as he consistently tried to point out why the Packers’ once-potent offense was struggling. No one is trying to give Matt Canada a pass here, but as Steeler Nation roots for his dismissal and hopes that it will kick-start their offense, we need to be realistic about how blame works in the NFL. And we need to be realistic about what this team will really need to do to get moving the right direction.
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