Help Me Bye Week, You’re My Only Hope
Last season, the bye week was exactly what the Steelers needed. They’d just been thumped by Philly and had lost three of Kenny Pickett’s first four NFL starts by a combined score of 89-26. At 2-6 it felt like things were spiraling out of control.
They then came back to go 7-2 after the bye, due in no small part to figuring out the running game, Pickett making fewer mistakes, and… oh yeah, T.J. Watt got healthy.
This season, the bye comes earlier. But in a sense, just in time again.
Week 7 will see the Steelers head to L.A. to take on the Rams, and with Diontae Johnson coming back.
I’m not here to compare Johnson to Watt. There aren’t enough edibles on Sunset Blvd. to help me hallucinate my way to that being a viable comparison.
I’m also not here to argue that suddenly Matt Canada and Kenny Pickett are going to turn things around and start looking like Kyle Shanahan and Brock Purdy.
But there are signs for optimism. Cautious optimism at best, but optimism, nonetheless.
Let’s start by going back to the Pickett-to-George Pickens touchdown pass that won the Ravens game and dominated the first half of this week’s Steelers news cycle due to Canada’s weird, less-than-enthusiastic reaction to it.
Both parties involved in making the call (Canada) and making the adjustments at the line (Pickett) have now confirmed that there was a play call that was to be adjusted if Baltimore showed Cover Zero (man coverage with no deep safety help over the top), the proper adjustments were made, and it led to a game-winning TD pass.
This is evidence of *both* Canada and Pickett doing something right *at the same. damn. time!*
It can happen. And we just saw it! That means there’s a chance it can happen again.
If Canada and Pickett can both continue to work in harmony at making the right calls, reading defenses, and making the proper adjustments, there’s a chance this offense starts to get a few things right. Perhaps just enough to win a few games.
Look, they’re only 3-2, but they most likely only need to go 7-5 the rest of the way to make the playoffs. And the Titans, Patriots, Cardinals, and Colts all sit on the horizon, with only one of those on the road and two of them at home on Thursday nights. Sprinkle in a win against the Rams or Packers (look, I’m not even asking for both!), a split in their remaining four divisional games (in which they’re already 2-0), and you get to 7 wins.
It may not be probable based on this dumpster fire of an offense. I sure as hell wouldn’t bet on it. But if you’re looking for hope, it’s there, both in that game-winning Pickett-to-Pickens TD pass, in the schedule that lays ahead, and in the fact that they did last year after the bye as well.
Scheduling Drama
Penn State’s Homecoming is this weekend, and they’re hosting hated riva---- sorry… they’re hosting Big Ten oppon---- wait, my bad… they’re hosting … UMass?
Like, Jon Calipari, Marcus Camby, Bruiser Flint, University of Massachusetts, 5-time A-10 hoops champs, I couldn’t even tell you what conference they play in for football, UMass???
Yep.
And it’s ok. Because in this day and age, if you want to have a shot at a CFP appearance, and you play in a conference that schedules nine league games, you’re not left much choice.
Unfortunately, as Franklin points out there, it’s not likely to change anytime soon, despite the growth to a 12-team playoff. Coaches are simply too risk-averse and conference schedules are going to get that much tougher, at least in the SEC and Big Ten, that creating risk in the non-conference part of the schedule just doesn’t make sense if you’re not looking to create artificial stadium-fillers.
In their defense, programs like Pitt have scheduled multiple Power Five opponents in the same season (even if by accident in some cases, such as scheduling Cincinnati for this season when the Bearcats were still a Group of Five team) and as fans, we love it.
Who wants to go watch anyone, even our favorite team(s), beat up on UMass and Wofford and Delaware?
However, if you want your team to have a legitimate chance at a CFP berth, they’re going to have to avoid 2-loss seasons as often as possible. When you look at Penn State, for example, they may not have Ohio State and Michigan together in the same season over the next five years, but. 2024’s road schedule includes visits to Wisconsin and USC as well as Ohio State, Washington, and UCLA at Beaver Stadium. In ’25, they’ll have Iowa, Ohio State, and UCLA on the road, not to mention a visit from Oregon.
That’s just the next two years.
Heck, if you’re not a Penn State fan, look at Alabama as another example.
In 2024 they host Georgia and have to visit Tennessee, LSU, and Oklahoma. And they only play 8 conference games. So when you see Western Kentucky and South Florida and just one Power Five opponent (Wisconsin) on their non-con slate, it’s hard to blame them.
When your conference schedule is a murderer’s row, you can get away with paying a couple of Group of Five or FCS creampuffs every year.
What’s Mrs. Veilleux Think?
In advance of his first start as Pitt’s quarterback, Christian Veilleux admitted yesterday he doesn’t want to pronounce his last name the same way his dad, Martin Veilleux, suggested on twitter the other day, in a since deleted post referencing Mario Lemieux that read “Some have asked so: Lemieux -> Veilleux. The way you say the end of the first name is the same way you say the end of the second name. Ignore media guide. More importantly, cheer them on! #H2P #WeNotMe” — Martin Veilleux (@veilleuxmartin)
Christian says it’s “vay-air,” not “vay-oo”
So here’s the tiebreaker: What does Mama Veilleux think?