Chris Mack's Eye Opener: Blame For This Loss, and This Team, Goes Back Years
Where do you start when a 30-6 loss to the Houston Texans feels even worse than a 30-6 loss to the Houston Texans?
Alphabetical order? Culpability? Individual performance (or lack thereof)? Top-down? Bottom-up?
Do we consider launching the whole lot in to the sun?
Here's a thought: Let's go chronologically.
Chronologically, the mess that is the 2023 Pittsburgh Steelers started when Mike Tomlin decided to hire Matt Canada as their Quarterbacks Coach. At the time, it was obvious Canada, in the wake of a miserable 2019 performance by Randy Fichtner's offense, was hired as an 'OC-in-waiting' of sorts.
At the time, anything sounded better than Ben Roethlisberger's caddy failing to push the ball down the field more than 4 yards at a time despite possessing a rocket-armed Big XII backup QB in Mason Rudolph. Plus, the memory of the 2016 Pitt offense, which Canada helmed, was relatively fresh in everyone's memory banks. Hiring Canada, in retrospect, can be somewhat forgiven.
A year later, after bowing to Big Ben's limitations and refusing to adjust an offense that was figured out by the rest of the league following an 11-0 start (and derailed by a Baltimore Ravens COVID outbreak that eliminated the Steelers' bye week) Tomlin relieved Fichtner of his duties and promoted Canada.
Again, a decision that, at the time, could be excused and reasoned as a last-ditch effort to squeeze something out of the remnants of Roethlisberger's right arm in 2021.
Going in to the 2022 offseason though, they knew they had to find the quarterback of the future. Or, at the very least, the guy who would be burdened with the task of attempting to replace the franchise QB.
Knowing outside options were limited and that they may or may not be drafting a quarterback, it would have made some sense to bring in a new offensive coordinator as well. Instead, we all made the excuse -and it was true, to a large extent- that there was no way to know if that was Canada's offense we'd seen in '21. Roethlisberger was mostly doing what he had to do to survive behind a terrible offensive line, most likely calling his own plays in many instances, and it was difficult to tell how much the quarterback's stubbornness, as well as his physical limitations, hampered the offense.
So Canada got another year. And then Kenny Pickett was taken. In the 1st Round. With the 20th pick.
Never mind that using that pick on a quarterback who had a QB Rating of 82.9 in the four years previous to his Heisman candidacy simply compounded the issue.
Now the Steelers had a rookie QB who would need to be developed, and they were committed to slow playing that development and doing it with the same offensive coordinator.
Until -and stop me if you've heard this one before- Diontae Johnson dropped a football. And Mitch Trubisky had a less-than-stellar half against the Jets, and Tomlin panicked.
He threw the rookie in way before he intended to or initially wanted to. Before Pickett had taken even a single snap in practice with the first team offense. And while the first month or so was a disaster, there was enough progression through the final nine games of 2022 to commit to Canada and Pickett all over again.
Because it's not fair to change coordinators in the first full offseason of a young quarterback's career now, is it?
And now the Pittsburgh Steelers, for whom 'change' may as well be one of the seven dirty words, are still stuck with an offensive coordinator who isn't good enough to make the most out of a quarterback who simply isn't what everyone wants him to be.
So here we are, in October of 2023, watching history repeat itself.
It's the same story as 2019 with Fichtner and Mason Rudolph.
And 2020 with Fichtner and Roethlisberger.
And 2021 with Canada and Roethlisberger.
And 2022 with Canada and Pickett.
If the organization had simply ripped the band-aid off at any one point and made the massive changes that need to be made all at once, perhaps they'd be in a better spot. But instead, half measures, outsized loyalty, and stubborn pride have them refusing to acknowledge the litany of mistakes that has left them a laughingstock offensively for going on five seasons now.
And on the other side of the field yesterday, you saw what the product of painful change can be: A young, bold offensive coordinator with a talented quarterback, both of whom understand their offense's identity and understand their opponents' strengths and weaknesses, picked apart a defense and totally neutralized arguably the most impactful single defensive player in the game.
Do you think Canada is capable of that?
How about Pickett?
I can tell you right now, you and I aren't the only ones who don't have any faith in that combination. Tomlin doesn't either. It's evident in the way he coaches.
And the lack of confidence he has trickles down and seeps in to the way his team plays.
He'll never admit that lack of confidence, though. Because that would be admitting a mistake.
And the last half-decade of decisions on offense has been one mistake after another, culminating in an impotent, inept offense losing 30-6 to a rookie quarterback, first year head coach, first year offensive coordinator, and practice squad offensive line.
And while the blame can be sprayed everywhere, on players and coaches and management, it ultimately comes down to an organizational philosophy of "we know best" simply not being the case anymore. It's obvious that many more people around the league know better. And refusing to admit that is what cost the Steelers more than just a game in Houston, Texas yesterday. It's costing them the final years of Cam Heyward, the peak years of T.J. Watt, and the emergent years of Minkah Fitzpatrick.
You wanna know who to blame for the Steelers failures yesterday, the past few weeks, and several years now?
Blame the Pittsburgh Steelers.
