Pocket presence part of Pickett’s problems
Perhaps we all put the cart before the horse with Kenny Pickett.
It’s understandable. After all, he was a first-round draft pick. He played locally at Pitt. And there is a hope that he’ll be the long-term replacement for Ben Roethlisberger.
It could all still happen. After all, Pickett has made only 16 career starts. There are plenty of instances of quarterbacks taking time to develop.
But Pickett is struggling right now with his consistency, most notably with knowing when to get out of the pocket and when to hang in there.
Witness the play on which he was injured in last Sunday’s 30-6 loss to the Houston Texans.
Had Pickett stayed in the pocket on the fourth-and-1 play, then he would have seen Connor Heyward breaking wide open in front of him for an easy completion. Instead, Pickett tried to roll to his left – a habit opponents have clearly picked up on – and into the waiting arms of defensive end Jonathan Greenard.
Pickett is feeling pressure at times that isn’t there. And he’s been indecisive, as well. It’s a young quarterback issue.
Blame play design or play calls all you want. But if the quarterback isn’t seeing things, for whatever reason, it doesn’t matter.
The play called for Heyward to be the primary receiver. And he was open, just as he was supposed to be. But Pickett didn’t wait for it to happen.
- Many were upset the Steelers tried to pas the ball in that situation on fourth-and-1 at the 33-yard line down 16-6 in the third quarter.
“There’s a lot of variables at play,” Tomlin said. “The bottom line is it wasn’t a good call because it wasn’t productive. But to be completely transparent, we lost a lot of short-yardage personality because of Dan Moore and Pat Freiermuth (being injured earlier in the game). We lost all our big packages. Broderick Jones was already on the field. And so, we probably had to get out of our intended box, if you will, in that circumstance because of lack of player availability.”
That might not satisfy fans who are understandably upset when the Steelers struggle offensively, but it’s reality.
Had the Steelers only been missing Moore or Freiermuth, they could have used Jones as an extra blocker in that situation. With both being out, they were lacking in options for a big package.
One play after Freiermuth was injured, they had a third-and-2 situation. And they tried to run for a first down, but Jaylen Warren was dropped for a 2-yard loss.
Now, they could have ran a quarterback sneak or something of that sort – though the yard to gain was more than a yard – but the bottom line was that the coaching staff decided on a play it felt would work.
It would have – had Pickett stayed in the pocket.
Those are the kind of things running back Najee Harris was referring to this week when he said blame the players for poor execution instead of the coaches.
- The game Sunday against Baltimore will mark the 34th time Tomlin and the Ravens’ John Harbaugh have coached against each other. Only Curly Lambeau with the Green Bay Packers and George Halas with the Chicago Bears, who faced off 49 times, have coached against each other more in NFL history.
That might make the Ravens the perfect opponent for the Steelers this week. After being beaten physically by the Texans, there’s nothing like a game against a familiar opponent who is known for physicality to snap a team back to reality.
This week’s games
Ravens (minus 4) at Steelers: The Ravens aren’t playing great, but the Steelers are playing so unevenly, who knows what team is going to show up. One thing for certain is that after being called out by Tomlin for not being physical enough, the Steelers should not lose this game because of that aspect. But it’s hard to pick them with the way they’re playing and the people they’re missing. Take the Ravens, 23-16.
Bengals (minus 3) at Cardinals: Should the Bengals really be favored over anyone? The Cardinals have been plucky and this is back-to-back road games for Cincinnati. At 1-3, the Bengals really have their backs against the wall. After this game, they host the Seahawks, have their bye and then play the 49ers and Bills. If they don’t win this one, things could spiral out of control. Take the Bengals, 20-16.
Saints (plus 1½) at Patriots: Derek Carr played last week against the Bucs, but probably shouldn’t have. Mac Jones played last week for the Patriots and got pulled from the game because of poor play. New England will be without several defensive starters, including linebacker Matthew Judon. That makes the difference. Take the Saints, 18-13.
Jaguars (plus 5½) vs. Bills: Buffalo is listed as the home team but the game is in London. Jacksonville played in London last week and stayed, allowing the Jaguars to acclimate to the time change and travel. The Bills also just won an emotional game over the Dolphins last week. Take the Jaguars to cover in a 27-24 loss.
Cowboys (plus 3½) at 49ers: These two met in the NFC playoffs last season with the 49ers coming away with a 19-12 win. The Cowboys are a little beaten up right now. And Christian McCaffery is on a roll. Take the 49ers, 24-17.
Last Week: 2-3 ATS; 2-3 straight up
Overall: 10-9-1 ATS; 13-7 straight up