PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Steelers first-team offense is coming off a perfect preseason. Five for five with touchdown drives, but that all changes quickly on Sunday. Instead of Atlanta or Tampa Bay's back-ups or Buffalo for a couple possessions, the Steelers face arguably the best defense in the league Sunday to open the season.
"I think you know, they have great experience," Pickett said to start with the 49ers secondary. "They play with a lot of aggressiveness, intensity, 29 (Talanoa Hufanga) comes up in the run game and he'll hit you and they got great cover guys at corner, they have that safety that's been around for a while. Really, really good team top down."
Then there is the super-quick linebacker Fred Warner. The 26-year-old has started all 81 career NFL games with 634 tackles in five seasons with seven forced fumbles, four interceptions and 25 tackles for loss. His speed can be a nightmare for a quarterback to keep track of.
"You got account for all of them man," Pickett said. "They're the number one defense you know for a reason. They have elite players on all three levels. So, you've got to take that into account."
The first team didn't face any adversity in the preseason, but Pickett says they will. He said they are rational that it will happen and because of that he doesn't think anyone will bat an eye when it does. It's just about recovering from it, putting their best foot forward and continuing to work hard.
It's also about executing. Pickett didn't allude to anything magical as to how they had preseason success, especially adding the chunk plays that seemed mostly nonexistent last season. It's just about executing plays. Offensive coordinator Matt Canada has said the plays really haven't changed, it's they are confident and finding other options.
"We're definitely confident and way ahead of where we were a year ago and I think everyone's buying in and we all understand what we're trying to do," Pickett said. "We all love the gameplan. We all bought in, so that's the start and we're going to go out there and do it. I think we're definitely way ahead of where we were last year."
"Just everyone is playing a step faster. You know, when you're confident you know your assignments, you know what everything is, you're just, you hear me talk about playing fast that's what it is, until everyone 100% knows their jobs and are out there playing free. So, that's what we need to get to."
Now it's about showing this is all for real against that Niners defense. To prove to critics and fans that explosive offense wasn't just a preseason thing.
"I'm not looking to prove anything," Pickett said. "I'm looking to go out and win, find a way to win. This will be a battle for four quarters is what we're expecting. So, you know, go in there bring our best so we can just get ready for a four-quarter battle."
