PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – It was day one of a new reality for the Steelers offense. Quarterback Kenny Pickett said it went smooth with Eddie Faulkner running the meetings and Mike Sullivan calling plays at practice Wednesday; a day after the firing of offensive coordinator Matt Canada.
Pickett said you really don’t have time to talk about it or dwell on it. The focus is to move on to Cincinnati and get ready for a big division game. It’s a time for them to come together.
“It’s a challenge to everybody,” Pickett said Wednesday. “You have to take it personal. It’s a guy you worked with since I got drafted here. You want to play great. You don’t want to see anyone get let go like that. We have to answer the bell. Find out what we need to do to play better and take care of business.”
There seems to be a comfort for Pickett to have the quarterbacks coach call the plays. In the last four offensive coordinator firings by AFC North teams, the QB coach took over the play-calling.
He’s got a lot of hours with a guy who has called plays before in the NFL.
“Spent a ton of time with Coach Sully since I got drafted here,” Canada said. “I’m with him pretty much every day. I’m with him more than I am my family members truthfully. It’s nice to have that kind of relationship with a coach.”
At this point of the season, don’t expect wholesale changes. Pickett said they will run the system that has been implemented since the offseason. What will change are the tweaks that Sullivan and interim offensive coordinator Eddie Faulkner put on it. Not as much by adding plays, but narrowing them down and when they might be called. He didn't offer any suggestions publicly as to what he wanted to see differently.
“You just want consistency," Pickett said. "That’s what I’m pushing to be better at, just more consistent. If we are more consistent we will be a much better offense and put points on the board.”
Pickett said some of the things they need to fix don’t deal with talent. It’s the effort-related plays. The attention to detail of lining up correctly, knowing your checks, being on the same page. Everyone needs to be a pro and do their jobs. If that happens, these errors can be fixed quickly.
“We all got to improve,” Pickett said. “I got to play a lot better. We got to play a lot better as an offense, put more points on the board. Our defense is doing a great job, we have to handle our business.”
“I’m a perfectionist. I’ve always been that way. Always hardest on myself and how I need to play. There is a balance to that. I want to go out there and have fun and play. Do what I’ve done my whole life. That’s what I want to get back to and enjoy the people I’m doing it with.”
He said he talked with Diontae Johnson and they worked out their issues from Sunday’s game. Johnson said they have the connection together. They’ve had conversations and Pickett said Diontae has a great attitude and he just wants to win.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to come together,” Pickett said. “A road test, division game against a great opponent. It’s a great opportunity for us to stick together and find a way to get a good road win.”