As the Pittsburgh Steelers prepare to come out of their bye week with a matchup against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 7, many people are wondering what the offense will look like. Despite their 3-2 record, they were anemic on that side of the ball through five weeks.
There is a lot of work to be done on offense, as that group isn’t doing much to help the Steelers win games. In their Week 2 fourth-quarter comeback against the Cleveland Browns, the offense gained negative yardage in the quarter.
Offensive coordinator Matt Canada has come under fire, and rightfully so. At least some of the blame needs to be on him for his poor game plan and preparation. Execution on the field is up to the players, but they need to be put in a position to succeed.
Running back Najee Harris revealed that he and center Mason Cole remained in Pittsburgh for the bye week, figuring out ways to help the team get on track. Harris said that their suggestions are being implemented into the game plan against the Rams.
It will be interesting to see what adjustments are made. If there are going to be any, the bye week is the perfect time to add them in. What kind of adjustments could we see? In the opinion of former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, he believes playing with more speed would help.
“I’d like to see the Steelers go into a game with the mentality and the approach of, if we get a first down, the first time we get a first down we’re going right to the line and doing no huddle and hurry up offense,” Roethlisberger said during a recent episode of the “Footbahlin With Ben Roethlisberger” podcast. “Change up the tempo. Go with it. Pick up the pace. Do something to catch them off guard.”
Slow starts have become a staple of the Steelers’ offense, as they struggle to get going early in games. The same can be said when they come out of the locker room at halftime, as their opening drive of the third quarter is usually just as lackluster.
Finding easier throws for Kenny Pickett would certainly open things up as well. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Pickett has an aggressive percentage of 25.8 percent, tops in the NFL as he is constantly throwing into tight windows. (H/T Heavy) To alleviate that, Roethlisberger suggested an adjustment in play calling.
“That used to be one of our staples. Catch, throw, get it to the outside when there’s not the big guys in the middle. Throw some wide receiver screens to get the ball moving. Maybe an alley screen. Something coming in. But get the ball out of Kenny’s hands quick.”
Something has to change if the Steelers are going to get on track offensively. Canada needs to tweak his approach and the players do need to perform at a higher level in some regard. If that occurs, Pittsburgh is going to be a team no one wants to face with their excellent defense in place as well.
