Kenny Pickett will take the field as the starting quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football against the Indianapolis Colts for his first start inside a dome. Pickett has had mixed results over his first six starts as a professional. Fans are not 100 percent sold on the rookie as the future of the black and gold, but on The PM Team w/Poni & Mueller, on Monday a Hall of Fame quarterback that faced the Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII gave rave reviews to the former Pitt Panther.
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“I really like what I am seeing from Kenny Pickett,” Kurt Warner said. “He was thrown into a tough situation with the defenses he had to play week in and week out. I think he gets better and better every week. You are seeing the playmaking ability and that is why I had him as the best quarterback coming out last year. He just has a feel and understanding for the game.”
The rookie signal-caller has shown a definitive ability to move the team when he is on the field. Since the bye week, he has cut out turnovers completely and has hooked up with Pat Freiermuth and George Pickens down the field for chunk plays. Kurt Warner, who is calling the game for Westwood One radio on Monday is a fan of Pickett and his development during a trying 2022 season.
“I think there are times when I look at the wide receivers, there are some discipline things,” Warner continued. “It is hard to anticipate what some of those guys are going to do. They seem to freelance on similar routes, and you have to learn through some of that. He is seeing things you want quarterbacks to see. He is seeing it at a young stage in his career and that is what excites me.”
Warner played with the greatest show-on-turf offense for the St. Louis Rams which may have been the most dominant offense of the last 50 years. When Warner took over for an injured Trent Green, he conducted two seasons of offensive masterpieces with Hall of Fame caliber weapons at receiver and running back. He was considered a savant inside the pocket and led multiple teams to Super Bowls.
“I’m not a guy who worries so much about interceptions. If you’re confident in what you’re seeing, you go back and rip the ball,” Warner said. “Sometimes as a young guy those lead to mistakes. I don’t see a guy who is getting tentative playing the game, I see him getting more and more aggressive. I don’t care about arm talent, to me it’s do you have enough arm? Can you make the different kinds of throws? I think Kenny has enough arm to do what he needs to do. Never once have I watched a tape and said he doesn’t have enough.”
MIAMI GARDENS, FL - OCTOBER 23: Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett (8) makes a throw on the run during the game between the Pittsburg Steelers and the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, October 23, 2022, at Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, FL (Photo by Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Pickett has had a mixed bag on interceptions and with the exception of the final pass in the Miami Dolphins game, they were misreads and bobbled balls not poorly thrown passes. The Steelers' offense features more go routes than any team in the NFL and those passes are high-risk, high-reward plays that are a throwback to a different NFL. Rookie quarterbacks can often struggle with balls that must be delivered on schedule and six games is not long enough to build great communication on those routes, but it is improving.
“I think it’s just his feel for the game,” Warner replied to Andrew Fillipponi on what Pickett’s best trait was. “Some guys just have a feel for the game and understand when they have to move a little bit to make throws. He understands the game. It is hard to describe what that is but you know it when you see it watching quarterbacks.”
Photo Credit: Jordan Schofield / Steeler Nation (Twitter: JSKO_Photo)
The Steelers organization is not used to losing and a large group of the fan base was not cognizant of the 6-10 Bill Cowher team that landed Ben Roethlisberger after a less-than-stellar season in 2003. Pickett is making normal strides for a rookie, and he is developing connections that could be special for a decade with the sublime Pickens and the budding Pro Bowler Freiermuth. Diontae Johnson may be the best route runner on the team, but Pickett doesn’t have the same chemistry with him, but that doesn’t mean it won’t develop.
Pittsburgh fans and the organization should be ecstatic with Warner’s assessment of their rookie signal caller. It may not pay dividends in 2022 but if they are competitive for the next decade behind the rookie's Moxy. This season will be long forgotten.
What do you think Steeler Nation? Are you happy to hear Warner’s assessment and does it give you hope for the future? Comment below or on my Twitter @thebubbasq.
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