Pittsburgh’s First 5 Games Will Answer the Matt Canada Question
Photo Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
By most accounts, teams tend to break the season into segments, either by quarters, or into halves – before the bye and after the bye. The Pittsburgh Steelers have an early bye this season – Week 6, before most folks have even carved their Halloween jack-o’-lanterns – so it’s difficult to try and divide the season up using that metric. However, the first five games create a unique opportunity, based on the schedule, to properly figure out if Matt Canada is capable of leading this offense.
If you’re a Steelers fan, Canada has been public enemy No. 1 for the last two seasons. There is nothing more frustrating for a fan than continuously watching your team run passing plays for four yards on third-and-eight. Or running for no yards on first down, only to come back with a jet sweep for two yards on second down.
For two seasons, the Black and Gold faithful have had to suffer through a lack of explosive plays, or even explosive play attempts. To say Canada’s play calling is conservative and predictable would be the understatement of the year. For the Steelers to achieve their goals this season, that has to change. In a division with three superstar quarterbacks this offense has to open up to compete.
The first five games present a mixed bag. On paper, the San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns, and Baltimore Ravens pose some real challenges, while the Las Vegas Raiders and Houson Texans look to be favorable matchups even though Pittsburgh plays them on the road.
Canada must attack these defenses in more versatile ways then ever. Eleven- and 12-personnel should be staples. Darnell Washington can be used as the in-line tight end and he can split out Pat Freiermuth. Pittsburgh can use Allen Robinson for more speed on the field. The matchups are endless if properly orchestrated.
Imagine a personnel group of Diontae Johnson, George Pickens, Robinson, Freiermuth, and Washington in an empty set. Or, better yet, replace Washington with Najee Harris to keep the defense in nickel, only to flex Harris out with an empty set. Aggression has to be a part of Canada’s play calling to have a chance of leaving those first five games with a winning record.
Some have given Canada a bit of a pass due to offensive line struggles. It’s difficult to be aggressive as a play caller when you don’t have the time to get the ball down the field. Calling nifty run plays is almost impossible when the line isn’t getting any movement at the line of scrimmage. Too many times Pittsbugh has seen the defense living in their backfield.
But the flip side to that argument is that predictability only compounded these problems. Other teams watch film too. The O-line’s limitations led to Canada’s conservative predictability, which led to defenses not having to respect any explosive threats. It becomes a vicious circle. Even a minor recalibration of the offense could have significant implications – and Canada’s recalibration probably needs to be more than minor.
The first five games will be a barometer for whether or not Canada should remain Pittsburgh’s OC after the bye week.
The first five are all winnable football games that are going to require creativity on the offense side of the ball. Clamming up and falling back to the same old stuff won’t cut it. The competition is too good. Mike Tomlin wants to control the football. All head coaches do. But taking calculated risk – and occasionally even uncalculated risk – is all part of football in 2023.
The Steelers have the weapons to execute far more daring plays. If they choose not to and the offense struggles, Matt Canada should be on the chopping block during the early bye week. There would be too much season left to salvage and too few reasons not to make a change. Canada has every reason to put his foot on the gas and get the offense moving. If he doesn’t it’s time to take the keys away.
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