The Pittsburgh Steelers face unseen circumstances heading into Week 8. Sitting at 2-5, head coach Mike Tomlin is staring at his first potential below-.500 season at the helm in Pittsburgh. The offense has had a lot to do with that, as their 2021 struggles have carried over into this year. If you've been paying attention, offensive coordinator Matt Canada has been receiving quite a lot of criticism.
Credit: Jordan Schofield/SteelerNation (JSKO_PHOTO Twitter)
Fans have called for his job, which is quite unlikely to happen in the middle of the season. The topic of the week has been the offense's inability to generate big plays, particularly in the passing game. Third-year wide receiver Chase Claypool brought it up in his postgame interview on Sunday evening, saying the team should implement more go routes into their gameplan.
Diontae Johnson followed up his teammate's comments with more of the same: a desire to throw the ball deep more. Johnson believes that will indeed happen more this weekend against the Philadelphia Eagles. On Thursday, Canada was asked by the media about this recent hot topic of debate. The second-year offensive coordinator thinks his players need to execute a bit more, as Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review provided a video of the OC's response:
"We've got to make them [splash plays] when we get the chance to make them. Opportunity for those plays come throughout a game for everybody. We just gotta execute at the right times. We're certainly hunting for those and trying to find those. We're not scoring enough points, [but] we're not running from it."
Steelers OC Matt Canada: "This gonna be a tremendous offense. We got great talent. We gotta get balls down the field too. We gotta block a little better. We gotta get our run game. Our run game efficiency is coming, but it's not enough, right?"
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) October 27, 2022
Credit: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Canada identified some mental lapses and poor execution for the team's inability to generate splash plays in the first seven weeks of the season. Many would blame Canada for the lack of big plays, but he's right in the fact that it goes beyond just him. He referenced a few plays against the Miami Dolphins last weekend in which the team failed to capitalize.
"The way you guys all are so fond of me, I don’t read anything," Canada said.
Matt Canada was just asked if it’s hard for him to see and hear the criticism.
— Josh Rowntree (@JRown32) October 27, 2022
“The way you guys all are so fond of me, I don’t read anything. That’d be very unhealthy.”
More of his answer ⬇️ #Steelers @937theFan pic.twitter.com/4PgIs5cIIo
The most notable play was the first interception that Kenny Pickett threw. It was a deep ball to Claypool, who fell to the ground toward the end of his route. While many thought it could have been called a defensive pass interference, including the NBC broadcast for Sunday Night Football, it's those kind of plays that they need to deliver on.
As for why the Steelers didn't really make an effort to throw it deep as the game progressed, Canada pointed to the Dolphins' defense. Specifically, their cornerbacks were playing off the Steelers receivers, so it didn't give them much of a chance for any deep balls. With a core that involves Claypool, George Pickens, and Johnson, fans hope Pickett can start generating more big plays.
Credit: Jordan Schofield/SteelerNation (JSKO_PHOTO Twitter)
What are your thoughts on Canada's comments? Did he not take enough credit for his poor play-calling? What do the Steelers need to do in order to get more big plays? Who should be most at fault for the struggles on offense? Share your thoughts in the comment section below, as well as on our social media sites!
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