The Pittsburgh Steelers have won six of their first nine games in 2023. The six victories have all been one-score games. The offense has managed to do just enough to put Pittsburgh in a position to win. The three losses have all been by 10 points or more and the emerging pattern is that Pittsburgh has little chance of winning the game if the other offense gets off to a slow start and the defense lets up points early.
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Steelers Kwon Alexander makes a tackle against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1 of the 2023 season.
Steelers' Kenny Pickett Torched As Scared To Throw Over Middle
Another pattern is emerging regarding the Pittsburgh offense and Kenny Pickett. The Steelers, according to a recent statistic released by Chris Mueller on The PM Team w/Poni & Mueller, have only had three passes in nine games completed in the middle of the field for more than 10 yards. The route trees of George Pickens have been popular fodder for social media during 2023. Pickett’s completion pattern is starting to supplant the second-year wide receiver.
On Wednesday, JJ Watt joined The Pat McAfee Show, and the subject of Pickett’s curious pass completion pattern was one of the topics that Watt addressed. The former three-time AP Defensive Player Of The Year was asked about every throw being outside the numbers in 23 attempts, including 13 throws that could be described as check-downs, against the Green Bay Packers in Week 10. Not to mention, one that the Packers would assert was a lateral.
“It’s not pretty. They’re not putting up massive numbers,” Watt began. “They’re not throwing the ball over the middle at all. They’re literally not putting the ball over the middle in the field, which is wild. But they’re keeping everything safe.”
The Steelers have been risk-averse, to put it kindly. Many have blamed Matt Canada’s scheme. In fairness, the most significant completion that wasn’t for Pickett in Week 10 was a throw to Pickens that momentarily sealed the game for Pittsburgh with a huge first down in the middle of the field. An offensive pass interference call on Calvin Austin III wiped the huge gain, and lone target between the hashes, off of Pickett's completion chart.
Pat McAfee Show YouTube
Steelers Kenny Pickett's pass attempt chart shows an alarming pattern.
Watt continued to talk about how crazy Pickett's chart looked after the Green Bay win. He insinuated that the Steelers may just have no trust in their offense, or quarterback.
"How crazy is that? Look at that," Watt marveled. "There is not one single throw between the hashes. Everything is short of 10 yards and outside the numbers. That tells me one of two things. Either we're not scheming up the right plays to get these types of passes, or you don't trust to be able to do that. It's one of those two things, and we don't know which, obviously."
Before Mike Tomlin and Canada made the radical change to bring the offensive coordinator to the sideline, most fans had a firm grip on where fault should be assigned. Steeler Nation did not doubt that Canada's predictable offense was to blame. However, after two better showings on offense, "Sideline Canada," as coined by Andrew Fillipponi, has started getting the benefit of the doubt. The blame has squarely shifted to Pickett.
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Steelers Kenny Pickett's performance against the Green Bay Packers raised more questions about his long-term potential.
It is hard to decipher at this point who exactly is to blame. The quarterback chooses where to throw the ball regardless of play design. Pickett's biggest play of the season, a 72-yard touchdown pass to Austin III against the Las Vegas Raiders, was a route in the middle of the field. Tomlin may have drilled it into his offensive coordinator and quarterback in the preseason that the mission is not to turn the ball over, hence, the few risky throws throughout the season.
"Kenny Pickett hasn't turned the ball over one time in five games," Watt concluded. "They're winning games. So you can't say too much. They are 6-3 how mad can you be? They're finding a way to win in the fourth quarter."
The 2023 Steelers have earned the dubious distinction of "Tomlining" their way through the season. A verb coined by ESPN's Mike Greenberg to denote a terrible team finding a way to do just enough late in games to win. It is meant as a compliment to Tomlin, but it isn't. It's an indictment of how the team is coached.
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Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett throws a pass during Week 1 in 2023 against the San Francisco 49ers.
Pickett began his career with a long heave to Chase Claypool that he fumbled into an interception. Mueller's conclusion that Pickett is afraid to throw over the middle is dubious. Canada's use of Pickens is allowing the perception to exist that nobody runs over the middle of the football field. That is not true either.
The most likely explanation is that Pickett and Canada follow strict orders to avoid taking chances in the middle of the field. The roses will be thrown at Tomlin's feet for letting his second-year quarterback's career become collateral damage. It will be wrapped up in a neat "Tomlining" package, and blaming Canada and Pickett when it doesn't work will be the cute bow on top.
What do you think, Steeler Nation? Does the blame lie with Pickett, Canada, or Tomlin for the refusal to use the middle of the field? Please comment below or on my Twitter/X: @thebubbasq.
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