Tomlin must use Pickett’s strengths now that change has been made
Coach Mike Tomlin said he went to Kenny Pickett at halftime of a 24-20 loss by the Steelers to the New York Jets last week to provide a spark.
He stuck with him because, well, he really had to.
It’s not that Mitch Trubisky was bad last week. If Diontae Johnson’s big toe doesn’t come down out of bounds in the back of the end zone in the first half of that game, there’s a good chance Trubisky is still the Steelers’ starting quarterback.
But it didn’t. And Trubisky isn’t.
Pickett played fine after entering the game in the third quarter. But he was far from perfect. And to expect him to be so is, well, a bit much to ask.
What he needs to be, now that he’s been named the starter, is a distributor.
The Steelers have talent at the offensive skills positions. But while Trubisky was capable of making big-time throws such as the one he threaded to Johnson in the back of the end zone between two defenders, he was missing too many of the layups.
Pickett showed he’s more capable of completing the easy ones. And he’s more willing to give the playmakers an opportunity to win one-on-one matchups than Trubisky had been. Trubisky had been overly cautious in those situations, not wanting to turn the ball over.
That tactic would be fine if the Steelers’ defense was playing up to its capabilities. But without reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year T.J. Watt, it has not been doing so.
So, Tomlin is now more willing to go with Pickett’s upside – and potential rookie mistakes – rather than playing it safe with Trubisky.
With upcoming games coming up against the Bills, Bucs, Dolphins and Eagles, it’s not an ideal time to be breaking in a rookie quarterback.
But with the Steelers at 1-3, there’s no better time than the present. The offensive line is playing well, meaning protection shouldn’t be a major issue. And what does Tomlin have to lose at this point other than another game?
The Steelers remain winless when Watt doesn’t play, falling to 0-7 with their loss last week. Outside of Alex Highsmith, who has 5 ½
- sacks to lead all AFC players, they’re unable to generate any kind of pass rush without Watt.
Watt, out with a pectoral injury suffered in a Week 1 win over the Bengals, is eligible to come off the Reserve/Injured List after the Buffalo game. He might not be ready to play next week against the Buccaneers, but it shouldn’t be much longer than that.
- The Steelers are throwing the ball to their running backs only 11.9 percent of the time, which is 30th in the league. This after a season in which Najee Harris caught 74 passes and was third on the team in pass targets.
Harris has 10 catches on 11 targets, putting him on pace for 42 receptions. And he wasn’t targeted at all against the Jets.
One of the ways to help a young quarterback is to create some easy throws. That could mean more passes to the running backs and tight end Pat Freiermuth, though Freiermuth has been a consistent target.
This week’s games
Steelers (plus 14 ½) at Bills: The Steelers haven’t been a 14-point underdog since the 1970 AFL/NFL merger, the only team that could say that. The Bills are good, but are they good enough to completely blow the Steelers out? Injuries have wreaked havoc on the Bills the past two weeks, and they have a bevy of players banged up for this one. Tomlin also is 11-2 against the spread and 7-6 straight up as at least a 3 ½-point underdog in games in which he doesn’t have Ben Roethlisberger at quarterback. The Steelers need to ugly this game up as much as possible to have a chance to keep it close. The Bills also might get caught looking ahead to next week’s showdown with the Chiefs. Take the Steelers to cover in a 27-17 loss.
Chargers (minus 2) at Browns: The Chargers want to throw the ball and are dead last in the NFL in rushing offense. The Browns want to run it and then run it again. Both defenses are banged up. But I’ll take Los Angeles quarterback Justin Herbert over Cleveland’s Jacoby Brissett any day. Take the Chargers, 26-21.
Bengals (plus 3) at Ravens: The Bengals might have the NFL’s best passing weapons. And the Ravens are struggling to defend the pass – allowing an NFL-worst 315 yards per game – and don’t rush the passer all that well to take advantage of Cincinnati’s shoddy offensive line and Joe Burrow’s propensity to hold onto the ball. But Lamar Jackson gives the Ravens a chance. Take the Bengals, 27-24.
Lions (plus 3½) at Patriots: This line just doesn’t make much sense. Detroit has scored the most points in the league, while the Lions also have allowed the most points in the league. But there’s a good chance rookie Bailey Zappe will be at quarterback for the Patriots. Take the Lions, 31-24.
Raiders (plus 7) at Chiefs: Andy Reid has dominated the AFC West for so long that it’s hard to remember when he hasn’t done so. The Chiefs should do so again against a poor Las Vegas defense. Take the Chiefs, 30-20
Last Week: 2-2-1 ATS, 3-2 Straight up.
Overall: 9-10-1 ATS; 11-9 Straight up.