Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger Critical Of Matt Canada's Use Of George Pickens; Passing Game Non-Existent

The Pittsburgh Steelers rallied from behind to beat their divisional rivals, the Baltimore Ravens during Week 5. While the offense looked sluggish and disjointed during the first half, the defense was able to keep them in the game. After halftime, the offense did not launch a flawless comeback, but they were able to score enough to win while the defense stood pat, keeping the Ravens out of the game. For their part, the Ravens made mistake after mistake which served to help the Steelers take the lead. Now former Steelers quarterback and future Hall of Famer, Ben Roethlisberger is confused about some of the choices the offense is making. 

Roethlisberger was under center for the Steelers for 18 seasons and now hosts a podcast called Footbahlin With Ben Roethlisberger with his friend Spencer Te'o. On a recent episode, the two broke down the game and Roethlisberger expressed that he was pleased to see the offense looking better than it did during Week 4 against the Houston Texans. The two felt that young wide receiver George Pickens was making plays and making things happen all game. 

"It feels like he's the offense right now," said Roethlisberger.

He feels that Pickens is being expected to do it all. While he had six receptions for 130 yards and one touchdown, he can't do everything. Of course, Pickens has seen his workload increase since veteran receiver Diontae Johnson was injured in Week 1. Roethlisberger said he is most concerned about the way in which Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada is using Pickens, rather than the amount of targets he is getting. 

"The Steelers are going to have to be careful. He had a big one [catch] in route that was a great pass by Kenny [Pickett] and maybe there was something else going on there, but all of his completions are like a back shoulder fade."

Roethlisberger mentions that the broadcast announcers talked about the Steelers' frequent usage of a back shoulder fade with Pickens. He said it is a very difficult pass to continue to complete with accuracy and maintain a solid success rate.   

Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger Questions OC Matt Canada

Roethlisberger said they need to not rely on that particular pass for a couple of reasons. For one, he said Pickens is getting really close to pushing off and a savvy defense will be able to exploit this. He doesn't see Pickens' slight push-off as a blatant foul, but does think that a corner could easily play it the right way and draw a penalty. 

"To me, the passing game feels very non-existent."

It just makes the offense far more difficult to manage according to Roethlisberger. He said that Canada is using that play in a different way than he has ever seen it used and he can't understand why it is becoming a staple on the offense. This is especially confusing when you have a receiver who is as talented as Pickens, can catch contested balls, and has strong sideline awareness. 

Canada has been the most despised man in Pittsburgh for a couple of seasons now and the venom only increased after the embarrassing loss to the Texans. Roethlisberger feels like he actually called a much better game against the Ravens. But again returns to the use of the back shoulder fade and how he doesn't understand what they are trying to accomplish by using it so frequently. 

He knows there are those who will push back on his comment about the non-existent passing game since Pickens picked up 130 yards, but when it all comes off that back shoulder fade pass, it isn't sustainable. He said that when he was quarterback, that wasn't how that pass was ever used. He said he sees the fade being used differently over the top, he would tell the receiver to expect the ball over the top and then they could react to the throw.

"You rarely ever use it when a receiver runs a go route. It's not planned, it's almost like, 'Hey man, we got nothing.' It's like an ad lib type thing, the quarterback sees the DB running, you've got a big guy, you're throwing it back shoulder, that's what it is."

He said because it is meant to be an improvisational type of play, used almost in an emergency, it is hard to have it be the play you're relying on each pass. Roethlisberger said he is confounded about how they use it and doesn't understand why Canada isn't calling something different.  

"I want to see more. Where's the concept passes? Where's the choice route with an in behind it, with your out-breaking bench route or semi-routes. Where's a skinny post? A two-beater on a side and a single-beater on the other side, and you're trying to work high-low. Where's a curl route? I haven't seen a 12-yard curl route which is a staple in the NFL."

Where indeed. Te'o asked Roethlisberger in a joking fashion if the Steelers realize they can steal ideas from other teams. He said they certainly should be, he sees the majority of the other teams running these more creative offenses and while Canada improved during the Ravens game, the offense is a long way from fixed.

What did you think about Canada's offensive play-calling against the Ravens? Click to comment below. 

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