Former Steelers LB Addresses Pittsburgh Letting The Offensive Cat Out Of The Bag During The 2023 Preseason

The Pittsburgh Steelers might have gone undefeated in the 2022 offseason, but for some reason, the undefeated 2023 preseason just feels different. The Steelers are headed into the regular season on a high note after beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Buffalo Bills and the Atlanta Falcons. Fans feel optimistic after seeing the offense and the defense coming together, but did the Steelers tip their hand, did they show too much during the preseason?

The team as a whole won during the preseason, that much is clear, the Steelers outscored their opponents 78 to 32. This was a remarkable improvement over 2022 when they scratched and clawed for every victory. There were also numerous players who proved their worth during the preseason. For example, quarterback Kenny Pickett, who was a rookie in 2022. Pickett definitely showed growth throughout the season, but he also showed that there was still work to be done. This offseason, we saw evidence of that work and this preseason showed that it paid off. 

He silenced many of his doubters this preseason with a flawless passer rating of 158.3. He was under center for five drives during those three preseason games, all five drives ended with touchdowns. While it is still only the preseason, this shows that Pickett is ready to make a jump in performance during his sophomore season in the NFL. 

The offense the Steelers ran during the 2023 preseason helped to reassure fans of Pickett's ability to lead the charge. But did it say enough about offensive coordinator Matt Canada? The fact that Pickett seems to be making steps forward seems to say good things. The preseason play calling might be somewhat elementary but even at a reduced level it looked better than expected. Now a former Steelers linebacker is addressing if he feels the Steelers have tipped their hand to their opponents.

Steelers' Arthur Moats Thinks Pittsburgh Already Showed Their Hand

Former Steelers linebacker Arthur Moats now co-hosts a podcast called The Arthur Moats Experience with his friend Deke. On a recent episode, Moats was asked about Pittsburgh and the preseason, specifically if they tipped their hand to their upcoming opponents by playing so well offensively. 

"I don't think we did. I think we controlled what we could control. We needed to know a lot about this offense, they're so young. We needed to know could they take that next step forward and how soon or how big of a step could it be?"

He said he was surprised a bit by how well Pickett played. Moats saw it as a confirmation for those who believed in Pickett and his abilities to lead. He also said that not just a win, but this kind of dominant playing helped to restore the faith. There are so many fans who do not buy into Canada's ability to create a "varsity" offensive plan and this helped to silence some of those doubters. 

"I do think regardless of personal biases or opinions, based on what we saw from this group in three games in stadium, I do feel like this offense can score with a lot of teams. We don't dictate who they play in the preseason, all you can do is do what you're supposed to do, which is control your energy."

Moats said this offense has a new and improved mentality. He said he saw it at training camp at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, PA and he caught a whiff of it during the exhibition games. However, he feels that the team was definitely holding back during the preseason. 

"This offense has the mentality of, 'We're going to be aggressive, we need to be aggressive. We're going to be physical in the trenches, we're going to run this football.' Those are all things that carry over into the regular season."

He added that during his visits to Latrobe, he saw more physicality and unique play-calling from the offense than he did during the preseason games. For that reason, he said he isn't worried about them giving away any secrets. 

"I don't think we showed too much because I still haven't seen any of what I was seeing in practice at Latrobe - shifts, motions, change of strength motions, lining the formation like this, then do a complete disperse and regroup of a whole another set, all pre-snap."

Despite winning the preseason matchups, Moats calls the offense that was used sluggish in comparison to what was being shown at camp. He also says there is a lot more that will be added schematically and fans should not assume this is all it will be, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

"This was a stagnant, just my guy is better than your guy, my arm is better than your defense, my running back better than your linebacker, offense. That is what they were playing in these games."

Fans should expect the new offensive play-calling to ultimately make it easier to throw the ball and help create some mismatches between themselves and the opponent. Moats added that it will also lead to an improved running game because of how much movement will occur prior to the snap.  

While fans may have been excited to see some zing from this team as a whole during the preseason, Moats maintains that it was still "super vanilla." They ran simple plays, they rarely blitzed, and they were not trying to put a lot out there. Even on special teams, Moats noted that there was no bounce return, just Calvin Austin III catching the ball and running.

What do you think about the offense the Steelers ran during the preseason? Did they show too much to their upcoming opponents? Click to comment below. 

#SteelerNation