PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Mike Tomlin loves the cliché of when you have red paint you paint the barn red. He used it just over a week ago to describe why they were more conservative in 2022. You should expect to see a barn of a different color in 2023.
Steelers Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada got, and accepted, the blame for the offensive shortcomings in 2022. He met with reporters week after week and ate their issues as if it was solely on him.
It never was. The reason for the mostly vanilla offense was on Tomlin. Sure, there were nuances from Canada, most popular among them the motions and the polarizing jet sweeps. Some of the successful offenses in the playoffs use similar concepts.
Why don’t you throw it downfield more? Why don’t you take more chances?
“What you saw from us was what was appropriate, particularly over the second half of the year, in an effort to engineer victory,” Tomlin said a day after the season ended. “As we move forward, man, we're continually trying to get better and get better in all areas.”
Canada took the blame, while it was Tomlin who ordered the conservatism. It should not be like that in 2023.
Tomlin instituted that plan because he had an experienced, high-paid defense. A new offensive line grouping with a new offensive line coach. He had one veteran receiver, and that was a third-year player. His tight end and running back played one year in the league and Najee Harris suffered an early Lisfranc injury that impacted his first half.
Oh, and they lost a two-decade franchise quarterback. Tomlin went with Mitch Trubisky as a veteran who, if the plan went right, would do just enough to allow the defense to win them games. We know how it went. We know it got appreciatively better as the season continued under first-round pick Kenny Pickett and he credited that growth, in part, to his relationship with Canada.
“I thought he got better, just like our team got better,” Tomlin said of Canada’s performance. “We've got some work to do. But largely, I thought he got better in the ways that we got better, so it was encouraging.”
Now as much as there are questions about Canada, Steelers fans can only hope Tomlin allows him to do his job this year.
There is precedence under Tomlin for a more wide-open offense. From 2014 to 2018 the Steelers were no lower than 10th in the NFL in passing yards and twice finished second. They also led the league three times over that span in explosive passing plays, and another season they finished second.
They have their entire starting offense under contract and likely to add to that through free agency and the draft.
They watched rookies Pickett, George Pickens, Jaylen Warren and at the end, Connor Heyward grow.
It’s time for Tomlin to allow Canada to paint the barn a bright gold.