The Pittsburgh Steelers need to make some changes, and Mike Tomlin knows it -- or at least he claims to. Tomlin's loyalty is why assistants love coaching under him. It's his calling card. However, it's also what has doomed Steelers teams in the past.
Tomlin's team scored just six points against the Houston Texans on Sunday. The offensive line struggled. The passing game struggled. The running game struggled. Kenny Pickett is injured. Everything that could go wrong, did.
"Hell yeah we have to make some changes man...we're not going to do the same things and hope for a different outcome. What those changes are we'll put together a plan," Tomlin said after the game.
I'll believe it when I see it.
This is not just a flash in the pan. No, Pittsburgh's offense has been downright putrid since the day Matt Canada took over. Yet, Tomlin continues to provide him with opportunities to prove the fanbase wrong. The only issue is that he continues to prove them right.
Steelers radical changes: Don't rush Kenny Pickett back
Kenny Pickett is going to miss some time with a knee injury, and it might be productive for him to sit back and evaluate his performance. Pickett is a young quarterback who was always bound to make some mistakes. This season, however, he has taken a pretty major step back.
Pickett improved dramatically late last season and into the summer months. The Steelers offense was rolling this preseason, but when they faced actual competition in the regular season, all of that production disappeared. Kenny looks downright lost on the field, and he's far too quick to leave the pocket. His footwork is all over the place, and he doesn't trust his offensive line. It doesn't help that Diontae Johnson is injured at the moment, but that's no excuse for how Pickett has played.
The former Pitt QB is bound to miss at least a few weeks of action. In his steed, Mitchell Trubisky will play. Perhaps the offense will look better with him, perhaps not. But playing an injured Pickett will almost certainly set this team back even further, especially against tough competition like the Baltimore Ravens.
Steelers radical changes: Start Broderick Jones please
Dan Moore Jr. suffered a knee injury of his own on Sunday, so the Steelers likely have no choice but to play Broderick Jones, their first-round pick out of Georgia. Pittsburgh deemed Moore Jr. the better option out of training camp, but so far he has been one of the worst left tackles in the NFL, routinely forcing Kenny Pickett out of the pocket thanks to pressure on his blind side.
Jones may be better. He may not be. At the very least, though, Jones will receive some much-needed reps. Forcing a tackle to learn on the fly isn't always a wise choice, but Pittsburgh doesn't have many more options considering how poorly this offense is playing right now. On Sunday, Jones was responsible for one broken play, which he was incredibly frustrated about postgame.
"A busted play," Jones said. "I'm mad because I have so much love for Kenny. When you see someone go down, words can't even explain it."
That busted play was more on Pickett, though, as he escaped the comfort of the pocket far too soon. Jones was excited to receive some regular reps, and now will be counted upon to start against, of all teams, the Baltimore Ravens.
Good luck, kid.
Steelers radical changes: Fire Matt Canada
The Steelers rank near last in every major offensive category this season. That's not a new development, though, as it's been Canada's M.O. since he was hired. Canada's lack of creativity and overall predictive nature has received the attention of most NFL pundits. It's infuriating to watch for any Steelers fan for a reason.
Beyond the obvious jet sweeps and funny talking points the Pittsburgh fanbase likes to point to, Canada has failed to get anything going in the passing game, or even the run game this season. The offensive line creates little push, and more than half of their drives result in three-and-outs. They average nearly half the amount of yards per game as the Miami Dolphins. It's bad out here, folks.
Firing Canada midseason may not be what Tomlin wants to do. He's one to honor the contracts of his assistants, and remain loyal to a fault. Pittsburgh's offense can't get much worse, but there's no way they're going to be able to fully judge the likes of Pickett and Jones while playing in this flawed scheme.
If anything, it will set them back for years to come, and force the organization to miss out on a game-changing talent at a position of need.
