PITTSBURGH (93.7 the Fan) Steelers Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada can be a man of few words and he certainly was as his offense was struggling through the three-game losing streak. We heard a lot of "we need to be better", "I need to be better", "that's on me" and short phrases to that effect
So, maybe you thought that after Canada's offense showed marked improvement in the win over Denver, he might be more effusive, more expansive and maybe even take a little credit. Not exactly.
On the improved run game and finally running more than passing – "It's just encouraging that we finally won."
His challenge to the oft-criticized offensive linemen, which Ben Roethlisberger mentioned after the game – "They played well. They deserve all the credit."
Success of his RPOs, the run/pass options – "It's not something Ben's done a lot in the past, so it's a credit to Ben, learning it and doing it."
Najee Harris – "I think he's gotten better every week."
Now, admittedly, I took a few liberties here and shortened those answers, but I really didn't take anything out of context. As you've probably noticed, Canada rarely opens up (whether it's positive or negative) yet he did expound when he was asked about replacing JuJu Smith-Schuster.
"My feelings for JuJu are so far off the charts," Canada said Thursday. "It's a huge loss to us, (more-so) non-football-wise to me. Everything he does everything he is how hard he plays. We need somebody to block he says I'll do it, need somebody to do (anything) he says I'll do it. It would be unfair to compare him to somebody else since it would sounds like a negative about somebody else."
But since his job is to coordinate an offense, Canada quickly returned to his familiar form. "As far as his catches, we'll spread those out," he said, throughout personnel sets, throughout game plans over the course of the season. We'll see how that goes."
Canada isn't about to give up any game plans but, especially with James Washington nursing a hamstring, he acknowledges he has tight ends that can help fill the void . "Two tight ends is certainly a factor that could happen," he agreed, "based on who we play, what we're trying to do and JuJu being out," pointing out Eric Ebron's experience and Pat Freiermuth's potential.
Plus, Canada actually has three tight ends that can play. "I think our tight end room has come along," he said. "Gentry obviously is improved. He's a big guy that can block. We think he can also be a threat in the passing game. You saw what he did (against Denver), getting downfield (for a 13-yard catch)."
Canada also gushed (by his standards) about first-year free agent Cody White. "I think Cody's come in and a done a good job," he said. "You look at the talent we have on the edge, the guys he was behind, you gotta give him a lot of credit for that. As Coach (Tomlin) always talks about, at some point somebody's going to knock on your door and he's shown mentally he is ready to go. We're excited to see what he can do."
White has actually routinely excelled each week on the scout team – "he catches everything," per Diontae Johnson – but he dropped the pass that was thrown his way against the Broncos. He should get a longer look with the Steelers offense this week which could translate into at least a semi-significant role Sunday night.
Maybe, as Roethlisberger said, "you can't replace JuJu." But Canada and the Steelers will have to come up with a plan.
