It happened.
“Fi-re Can-a-da!” has finally morphed into “Ken-ny sucks!” and Steelers fans have turned their sights on the starting quarterback alongside his already embattled offensive coordinator.
It’s not without good reason. Pickett has been terrible. And the ridiculous amount of smoke blown up everyone’s arse by those who wanted to anoint Pickett as great before he’d ever had a multi-TD game has caused an elastic-like clap back by those who simply didn’t think Pickett was very good and now are being louder and more vociferous than ever with their criticisms.
We, the logical fans, not the hot take artists, tried to tell you that Pickett wasn’t worth a First Round pick. We, the logical fans, not the hot take artists, tried to tell you that Pickett was average, maybe above-average on his best days. You, the click-obsessed, social media simpletons, wanted to build a damn statue of the guy.
We, the logical fans, not the hot take artists, tried to you that Matt Canada wasn’t some offensive savant, but that he also wasn’t necessarily what was holding Pickett back.
Hope those hot takes are keeping you warm as winter starts to set in.
And now, on this Monday, I’m here to champion the cause of the logical fans, not the hot take artists.
If we’re being logical, we know Kenny Pickett isn’t the guy. At least not right now. Maybe some day he’ll regain the confidence to actually throw the football in to the middle of the field, or not panic at the first sight of a pass rusher and dump the ball off behind the line of scrimmage. Maybe that will happen in Pittsburgh someday and Pitt fans will be able to salve the psychological wounds of watching their ACC Champion QB turn into a puddle of puppy pee right before their very eyes, even if they’re not willing to admit it.
Until that day, get him out of there. Put him on the bench. Because you’re wasting a defense that’s good enough to actually win a playoff game or two. You’re wasting the final snaps of Cam Heyward’s career. You’re wasting T.J. Watt’s prime. You’re wasting arguably the best safety in the business when he’s healthy in Minkah Fitzpatrick. You’re wasting great rookie efforts from Joey Porter Jr. and Keeanu Benton.
And if Mason Rudolph and/or Mitch Trubisky both suck as badly as Pickett, you’ll know lock, stock, and smoking barrel that Matt Canada was, in fact, the crux of the problem.
You’ll also know you don’t have an NFL starting quarterback on the roster and it’s time to blow the whole damn thing up.
Which should probably be the conclusion regardless of what happens in the final seven weeks of the season.
Start with benching Pickett, though. Lean on the run game. Pray your defense makes a few plays and you beat Arizona, New England, Indianapolis, and somehow stumble into the playoffs.
Likely? No. But at the very least you’ll know you’ve done what amounts to your level best to maximize what’s left of Heyward and Watt and exhausted all the options on offense.
Then you fire Canada, find a QB -whether it’s via trade, free agency, or a move up in the draft, whatever Omar Khan has to do- and start the process all over again. And do it again and again until you find your quarterback.
Because Pickett ain’t it.