OT: The Pittsburgher Thread: They Blamed Canada

[BackToTheBrierePatch]

Pickett has plenty of flaws but I have zero confidence this coaching staff can coach him up and work on him correcting things

 

[ChaosAgent]

Pickett has plenty of flaws but I have zero confidence this coaching staff can coach him up and work on him correcting things

There's very little reason to believe that Sullivan or Faulkner is here next year.

I don't think AR3 fires Tomlin, but I think he's going to mandate a qualified offensive staff is built. And potentially build it outside of Tomlin and limit his influence on that side of the football.

 

[Jaded-Fan]

Serious question.

Unless the Steelers' philosophy, and by that I mean Tomlin's offensive scheme, changes, does it matter if they draft a generational quarterback?

Do you need a first overall pick or Mahomes to hand the ball off, a jet sweep or throw a quick out or slant?

 

[TNT87]

Hence why it feels so hopeless with him around (Tomlin Purgatory).

JT posting that article about Dan Rooney coming through the ranks and being next in line is honestly the only ray of light I can see right now TBTH.

Going to be so dope when Tomlin goes 3-1 down the stretch and they get blown out in the wildcard round.

Maybe he can continue the impressive streak of consecutive games giving up at least 40 points in the playoffs.

 

[Peat]

Serious question.

Unless the Steelers' philosophy, and by that I mean Tomlin's offensive scheme, changes, does it matter if they draft a generational quarterback?

Do you need a first overall pick or Mahomes to hand the ball off, a jet sweep or throw a quick out or slant?

I think Tomlin's history shows his philosophy with a generational QB is different anyway. Different guy, different philosophy.

But I don't think he's going to create one with his current philosophy.

 

[JTG]

I think Tomlin's history shows his philosophy with a generational QB is different anyway. Different guy, different philosophy.

But I don't think he's going to create one with his current philosophy.

Tomlin needs to be cool with giving up the reigns and it's just never going to happen enough. Some coaches foster greatness and have this broad coaching tree and that's how they let their coordinators coordinate. Other's don't and they never develop any sort of minds for the game. Butler said the quiet part - Tomlin called plays for years.

 

[DanielPlainview]

Mt will probably pass the 6 tds that Kp threw this season in half the starts

KP has put up much better numbers without Canada. It’s not going to be fixed overnight.

 

[bigdaddyk88]

KP has put up much better numbers without Canada. It’s not going to be fixed overnight.

He hasn’t thrown a td since canada was fired he looked real good against Arizona

 

[Peat]

Tomlin needs to be cool with giving up the reigns and it's just never going to happen enough. Some coaches foster greatness and have this broad coaching tree and that's how they let their coordinators coordinate. Other's don't and they never develop any sort of minds for the game. Butler said the quiet part - Tomlin called plays for years.

Well yeah.

And we're pretty sure he won't, so...

 

[DanielPlainview]

He hasn’t thrown a td since canada was fired he looked real good against Arizona

He was 7/10 for 70 yards after one quarter, so yeah he did look pretty good.

 

[TimmyD]

KP has put up much better numbers without Canada. It’s not going to be fixed overnight.

He threw for 278 and 0 td’s against Cincy and had 70 yards and 0 td’s before getting hurt against Arizona…I didn’t realize 0 touchdown passes was a good thing

 

[DanielPlainview]

He threw for 278 and 0 td’s against Cincy and had 70 yards and 0 td’s before getting hurt against Arizona…I didn’t realize 0 touchdown passes was a good thing

What do you expect to happen? After one week go 400 and 4? They’re still running Canada’s shitty plays and shitty scheme.

 

[bigdaddyk88]

He was 7/10 for 70 yards after one quarter, so yeah he did look pretty good.

He got hurt in the 2nd 5 minutes left. The olay he got hurt should have been a walk in td to Austin

 

[DanielPlainview]

He got hurt in the 2nd 5 minutes left. The olay he got hurt should have been a walk in td to Austin

No it shouldn’t have been. And they only had one other possession that quarter.

 

[Peat]

Touchdowns are only one number. Pretty much every other throwing number from that game and a half was fine to hunky-dory. They were also pretty junk defences so nobody should be breaking out the champagne but the argument that he was better post-Canada is pretty spot on.

 

[TimmyD]

What do you expect to happen? After one week go 400 and 4? They’re still running Canada’s shitty plays and shitty scheme.

I expect people not to applaud a guy for throwing 0 touchdowns…. The offense put up over 400 yards against Cincy… and had 16 points to show for it. Any other team puts up that yardage and they are scoring into the 30’s most likely… Matt Canada was definitely a problem, there is no denying that… but the QB is also a problem

 

[DanielPlainview]

The QB is a problem insofar as he's been in a bad situation that has stunted his development. I don't care about how many TDs he throws, I care about whether or not the offense can move the ball. Things are a lot more complicated than simplistically looking at stats and making claims when you see something you don't like.

 

[Peat]

Since I'm bored and people made me curious...

The Steelers reached scoring positions on 5 of their 9 meaningful drives (i.e. not including kneel downs). Good.

That produced 1 TD, 3 FGs, and a fumble.

The TD is good. The fumble came after Pickett throw a TD pass that, while it could have been better, would have been a TD if any one of three people did their job properly.

Two of those FG drives, they reached FG range and ran right into stacked boxes before giving Pickett one go at third and long because they wanted to preserve their FG attempt more than score a TD. The team has stacked the odds against him and he's probably on orders to be ultra cautious there.

The 3rd FG came because Pickett had shots at 2nd & 10 and 3rd & 10 and couldn't convert. That one is probably on him without finding a replay.

But in general, Pickett not having a TD throw vs the Bengals is a lot more to do with team conservatism than his own performance. Pickett's thrown a lot of non-connecting passes in the team's red zone struggles, but that wasn't one of those days.

 

[bigdaddyk88]

No it shouldn’t have been. And they only had one other possession that quarter.

They had 5 1st half possessions and the bulk of his yards came on the first drive GP had 60 of KP 70 yards

 

[TimmyD]

If Mitch Trubisky would throw 0 touchdowns against Indy on Saturday people would be on here talking about how much he sucks and how he should just straight up be cut… but touchdowns don’t matter for poor little Kenny because he’s not in the perfect situation

 

[Buddy Bizarre]

Yeah I've watched videos. And

a) We don't know they're accurate reflections of how the Steelers drew up plays and communicated them to the QBs - probably accurate enough but not always.

b) We don't know just how many guys the Steelers QBs are missing compared to other guys. Everyone misses some. How many? As a percentage? I wouldn't be surprised if Pickett was high, but we don't know how high, how bad, or not bad at all.

c) The most important one, I'll just quote Jaded again -

"when 95% of your throws are within five yards of the line of scrimmage and you are not allowed to throw to the middle of the field, not only do you not get the reps on mid-range and long throws needed to develop and to maintain sharpness"

Guys who are not sharp, not in rhythm, are going to miss stuff.

Ergo, of course the Steelers QBs miss stuff. The question is whether other QBs would miss it in their shoes too. I believe yes. I believe that the Steelers scheme is so foolishly conceived and called that it's going to prey on any QB that plays in it. Nothing about what we see from the Steelers leads me to doubt that's possible, and the alternative involves me believing that all the people who think Pickett, Trubisky and Rudolph can play in this league - which goes wide beyond the Steelers - are wrong, which seems unlikely.

If it was just Pickett, then maybe I'd feel different. If Pickett went out and Trubisky looked like a perfectly cromulent QB, I'd feel very different. If it was just Pickett and Trubisky and not Rothliesberger and Rudolph before them...

... but it's not these cases. There is a deep stench, and the fact other teams can get more out of guys nobody was calling as more talented before hand tells me where it's coming from.

What if I told you that it can be true that this scheme sucks as do KP/Mitch?

Ben was in the same offense. The difference is that he was so damn good that he was able to transcend a terrible scheme/philosophy. Add in the fact that he had worse players around him and it's a miracle he dragged this team to the playoffs

Even statue Ben was another tier above Mitch and KP. And it cannot be ignored that Ben didn't throw to the middle which leads me to believe that the concepts being called are like the 3rd or 4th reads. Ben was occasionally able to get to that progression. KP and Mitch can't process that quickly.

 

[Buddy Bizarre]

No it shouldn’t have been. And they only had one other possession that quarter.

Yes it should have been. Austin was there for a walkin TD if KP could understand a damn pre snap read

 

[MrBrightside]

If Mitch Trubisky would throw 0 touchdowns against Indy on Saturday people would be on here talking about how much he sucks and how he should just straight up be cut… but touchdowns don’t matter for poor little Kenny because he’s not in the perfect situation

It's only Trubisky's second year in the offense and the OC sucks and the WR can't get open and the OL doesn't block anyone. We can't possibly judge Trubisky for another 2-4 full seasons and even then only if we add Kyle Shanahan and Justin Jefferson and spend 4 more #1's on OL. Check back in 2027.

 

[Buddy Bizarre]

Former Steelers thriving highlights serious coaching problem in Pittsburgh

Several former Steelers are having career years after leaving Pittsburgh
By Jarrett Bailey on December 11, 2023 2:00 pm

Coaching has been a point of criticism in Pittsburgh for quite sometime now. More so this season, though, with the lack of ability to move the ball, score points, and prevent big plays defensively.

The offense is easy to point at and criticize. The offensive line continues to struggle with inconsistencies, and their incompetent center, Mason Cole, has been a huge liability all season. Dan Moore has also looked incredibly replaceable throughout the season, and the team obviously found him to be just that, which is why they drafted Broderick Jones.

This becomes even more infuriating when you see the season that Kevin Dotson is having with the Los Angeles Rams. The Steelers traded their former fourth-round pick to Los Angeles in late-August, as well as their 2024 fifth and sixth-round picks, in exchange for the Rams’ fourth and fifth-round picks.

Since then, Dotson has gone from someone who was going to be a backup guard for Pittsburgh to one of the best guards in the NFL this season. He’s PFF’s fourth-highest grading run blocker on the season, which has helped the likes of Kyren Williams rack up the seventh-most rushing yards in the league. Dotson also ranks above current Steelers guard Isaac Seumalo in pass blocking.

Dotson is far from the only former Steeler to be shining this season. Hell, he isn’t the only former Steeler currently with the Rams having a bounce-back season. Cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon was one of the worst cornerbacks in football last season. This year, he’s tied for sixth in passes broken up and has three interceptions.

Staying out west, Robert Spillane is a defensive captain with the Las Vegas Raiders and is second amongst linebackers with three interceptions. Plus, he’s been one of the best run defenders in the NFL this season.

All of these guys who were either middling rotational pieces, or players who were fading into obscurity, are now have renaissance seasons away from Pittsburgh. Is it any coincidence that as soon as Levi Wallace becomes the predominant No. 2, the same spot Witherspoon held last season, he all of a sudden looks awful? At the end of the day, this mainly falls on coaching at all levels of the staff. And more so, it falls on Mike Tomlin for keeping the worst coaching staff in football employed for this long.

 

[JTG]

Mitch looked worse than Kenny.