Film Room: Insanity Has Set in Steelers Offense
"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results” – Albert Einstein.
Einstein said it best. When you refuse to adapt your plan of attack when both the process and results are the exact same, there is no longer any reason to trust your judgment in this endeavor.
The Pittsburgh Steelers offense continues to do the same things, over and over again, while expecting a different result. It not only shows the coordinator thinks insanity is the answer, but it also starts to creep in for those breaking it down every week. At some point, it becomes routine to just expect complete offensive catastrophe from both a schematic sense, but also in player execution. This offense remains broken.
Madden Football-Esque Play Calling
When you're just now getting into football, it becomes a very popular idea to buy the Madden football video game to sink your teeth into. What starts out as you trying to sequence plays very quickly turns into spamming the most effective plays over and over with almost the exact same personnel and formations.
Matt Canada is not defeating the Madden play caller allegations at this rate. Last week, this play went for a touchdown against the Raiders' defense. This week, Canada changed the play side towards the left boundary, only for the defense, specifically former Steelers cornerback Steven Nelson, to know exactly what was coming next.
Nelson told Texans insider Deepi Sidhu, "It was just all film study, man."
"You know, watching what they do, what they were successful at. They hit the same player, same formation look like last week, they scored on the touchdown versus Vegas. And I was just ready for it. Recognizing the formation and the player who they run the post with, and it just allowed me to go out there and make a play on the ball."
Nelson knew Calvin Austin was running the post, as he should because he is the fastest player on the team. The problem is because Nelson recognized this so soon, he switches up to a bail technique to keep Austin from getting over the top of him. This creates a very difficult throwing window, and while Kenny Pickett could have potentially put this further out in front to keep Austin running full speed, the coverage was still tight.
Canada definitely was shooting for the triple crown of ineptitude with his play calling, but there's a specific play that sticks out like a sore thumb on how to not cater an offense to the quarterback's strengths.
Sure, let's roll the pocket away from the far hash and have the play side be the opposite end of the field, with a sail concept being the primary read here. It's an absolutely befuddling call for a quarterback who is not exactly known for his arm velocity. This is not a slight against Pickett, but this is the type of throw that Justin Herbert, Josh Allen, or Patrick Mahomes would be asked to make.
Not just that, while play action is a good way to get defenders to vacate their zone, it completely defeats the purpose to have such a long developing play like this because it gives the hook defender plenty of time to work back into his zone to cap the sail to Pat Freiermuth. It also takes a ridiculous amount of time for the checkdowns to get open, and are also on the opposite end of the initial progression.
To make matters worse, the sequencing of plays on crucial downs could not have been any worse this past weekend.
It is beyond baffling to come out in shotgun on 4th and 1 after being able to execute in the run game during this entire drive and having one of the best quarterback sneak guys in Pickett. To top it off, the backside dig is actually open with a clean pocket around him, but Pickett's bad pocket tendencies creep in to spin out left, and he ends up running himself into a sack.
Pickett has been sacked eleven times on the season, but a lot of these are not the offensive line's fault. According to PFF, the offensive line is only responsible for three sacks given up, with eight of them being charged to Pickett running himself into sacks. This was a problem for him coming out of college, and it only continues to get worse with this offense.
This is a crucial play because the Steelers still had a chance in the game as they were only at a ten-point deficit at this point. They keep this drive going, and it's only a one-possession game, but I guess Canada had a point when he said in the pre-game interview on CBS that the offense was "not built to come back from behind."
Let's address the elephant in the room with that quote. According to Warren Sharp, since the Steelers hired Matt Canada, they are 1-15 in games where the defense allows 22 or more points. They haven't been built to win from behind since he was hired, and the advanced analytics paint an extremely grim picture every week with his offense.
But surely targeting George Pickens, who's always open even when he is not, is the solution, right?
Pickens wanted this ball a little higher, but this is absolutely a pass he comes down with based on his reputation. Unfortunately, his reputation coming into the year hasn't carried over as PFF has him charted 0-8 on his contested catch opportunities this season.
It would be nice to see Pickens convert these opportunities, but he's also far from the main problem with this offense, which is the offensive coordinator. It's not just affecting the quarterback; it's affecting everyone on this team.
The offense is broken, plain and simple.
Change Is Needed
It has to be sickening to talk and read every week, even when the Steelers win, how this offense is broken in every sense of the word. Play design, sequencing, how players are used, and how they fail to execute in crucial spots. It's maddening, it's insanity, and it's beneath an organization with a high standard, such as the Pittsburgh Steelers.
It's frustrating seeing such a talented offense on paper look so unwatchable week after week. So next week, there will be no looking at the offense. Instead, it's time to look at other offenses outside of Pittsburgh and analyze how they best use their personnel to create conflict and how they structure their offenses.
Whether it's analyzing the Shanahan tree with the 49ers, or what Mike McDaniel is doing with Miami, college offenses such as the Washington Huskies may also provide a blueprint of how to structure an offense around its quarterback. Tampa Bay's offensive coordinator, Dave Canales, has Baker Mayfield playing his best ball in years.
It's time to look to the outside.
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