Steelers OC Matt Canada Clear With Message "We Did All The Things We Did Last Year"

Pittsburgh Steelers Offensive Coordinator, Matt Canada has been the subject of a lot of scrutiny for the second offseason in a row. Canada took over as the team's offensive play-caller before the 2021 season, and is entering his third year in the position. Over the past two seasons, Pittsburgh's offense has been abysmal, but some have optimism for the unit after watching the teams first preseason game of the 2023 season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers where the Steelers played their starting offense for one drive and scored a touchdown quite easily. 

The starting offense that was on display Friday showed a night and day difference from what we saw during the 2022 season. Granted, it was a preseason game against a lot of Tampa Bay's defensive backups, but seeing the offense execute was a reassuring sight. Canada discussed Friday night's game on Sunday morning during a media scrum and what has changed since 2022. 

"We did all the things we did last year in that game, but it looked, with our ones... it was clean, good, sharp, our execution was better. That's the same thing we've been talking about for a long time. I'm really excited about where we are at and where we are headed. I think we can be really good. We are going to keep quietly moving forward and doing one thing at a time, consistently getting better."

In Canada's defense, he hasn't had much to work with during his time in Pittsburgh as the offensive coordinator. During his first season in 2021, Ben Roethlisberger was in his final year and couldn't play anywhere near the level he used to. The offensive line was bad, and the team still found a way to the playoffs. 

For the 2022 season, Canada had a rookie quarterback in Kenny Pickett, who didn't even start the season. There was a lot of inconsistencies at the quarterback position for the Steelers in 2022 with Mitchell Trubisky beginning the year as the starter before being replaced by Pickett, and then Pickett had to miss some time due to concussion protocol. 

Despite the excuses that are made for Canada's shortcomings so far as the Steelers offensive coordinator, he likely knows that the offense needs to take a serious step up this season in order for him to keep his job. The most total yards the Steelers have had in Canada's tenure is 391 in a game against the Denver Broncos from the 2021 season, making them the only team in the AFC to not eclipse 400 total yards in a game over the last two seasons. 

With the growing experience and execution from the young offense, we should be able to expect more efficiency and offensive production during the 2023 season. As Canada said, they are running the same offense but just executing better, which hopefully will lead to more yards, scores and victories in 2023. 

Steelers Players That Caught Canada's Eye On Friday Night

Although it was just a preseason game, there were some players that Canada mentioned he loved to see taking advantage of their opportunity to play. He expressed his appreciation for both Calvin Austin III and Anthony McFarland Jr., especially Austin III, as it was his first real game action in the NFL after he was hurt early in training camp during the 2022 preseason festivities. 

"I thought Calvin had a good night. Most of you are here everyday and you see Calvin. We know what his skill-set is, but it's very, very crucial to get Calvin on the field in game situations because he didn't have that [in 2022]. We need Calvin to play like a second-year player who didn't have a first year. That's a challenging situation he has to answer the bell for. We are happy with the way he did that." 

Canada touched on the fact that Austin III was out for all of the 2022 season after suffering a foot injury during training camp. He didn't even have the opportunity to play in a preseason game in 2022. When he got his opportunity to finally play on a NFL field during the team's first preseason game of 2023, he took full advantage. He showed his speed on a couple of end-arounds where he averaged 11.5 yards a carry, and he easily ran past a cornerback on a 67-yard touchdown from Mason Rudolph. Hopefully, Steelers fans will be seeing more of that during the regular season. 

McFarland Jr. has been with the Steelers since he was selected by the organization in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He has some playing experience during the NFL's regular season, but not a ton as he only has 42 rushing attempts for 146 yards in his career. He started the 2021 season on injured reserve, and then spent the 2022 season on the Steelers practice squad. He has just been patiently waiting his chance to play meaningful snaps. 

"Ant has had some situations, whether it's injury, guys in front or all of those things. He's done a good job getting better-filling out, doing some things. You have seen him in practice, we felt like he had earned the right to see what he could do in those situations. We were pleased with where he was in game one of the preseason and making some plays and runs. We'll continue to watch him grow, we are happy where he is at this moment." 

McFarland Jr. definitely took advantage of his opportunity. He carried the ball three times against the Buccaneers and scored a touchdown by using his speed to get around the edge then ran towards the pylon. He has had a really successful 2023 training camp so far and he paired that with a strong performance in the first preseason game. It is looking like the third running back spot on the 53-man roster is his to lose. 

What do you think of Canada's comments on the offense, Austin III, and McFarland Steeler Nation? Let us know in the comments below!

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