When you win, the quarterback gets too much credit. When you lose, the quarterback gets too much blame.
It’s true that Kenny Pickett isn’t playing well. The guy we saw down the stretch in 2022 and the guy we saw in the preseason is nowhere to be found. While he bears much of the blame for his poor play, he isn’t alone. From the offensive line to the receivers, tight ends and running backs, there are few that can look in the mirror on this day and truly say “I’m playing well.”
There are connections here much in the same way that a chain is only as strong as its’ weakest link. When Mason Cole is getting driven back into Pickett’s lap, it eliminates the chance for the QB to step up or step into throws. When Dan Moore or Chuks Okorafor is getting beat wide, there is even less room for Pickett to move meaning that he often resorts to going backwards. If Najee Harris gets stuffed at the line, his explosiveness just isn’t there to make more of it.
But there’s also the elephant in the room which is Matt Canada. When asked about the booing and the “fire Matt Canada” chants from last night Mike Tomlin said he appreciated and understood the passion of the fans. If you aren’t sure what to read into that it’s this; “Canada ain’t going nowhere.” But as much as I think he should be going somewhere, it won’t matter. The route concepts will still stink and the jet sweep or end arounds aren’t going anywhere either. This is what you call insanity. Take away George Pickens last night and can you imagine the conversations we’d be having?
Let’s get back to Pickett. Does Mike Tomlin realize that by keeping Canada around he’s probably stunted the growth of their 2022 first round pick? Do any of you honestly believe as of today that Pickett would get his fifth-year option? There’s not a chance in hell but it won’t be all on Pickett because when Canada is gone after the season – he will be because he’s no longer under contract – Pickett will have had two years to completely forget. He’s going to have learn a brand new offense and that takes time and he’ll really have just one year essentially to prove he’s the guy going forward.
What worries me most about Pickett is that he’s lost the swagger he had in college. He looks frustrated and lost and it’s leading to poor decisions like the one along the sideline last night. It should have been an easy ‘throw away’ but he tried to slip it into Najee Harris and it was nearly intercepted. That was incredibly out of character for him and to me, it was a sign that he’s desperate to make plays.
In other words, don’t put all of Pickett’s struggles on Canada. Tomlin has seemingly kept the reins pulled tight on Pickett and it’s curbing his growth and ability to get better. The QB is always the point of focus for any offense whether it’s doing well or doing poorly but this is bigger than Pickett. No one else is helping and heck, his tight ends may as well not even be on the field with two catches total in two weeks. Aren’t tight ends supposed to be a QB’s best friend?
We knew when Kenny Pickett was drafted that he would have a relatively low ceiling. He doesn’t possess the biggest arm and he isn’t the fastest QB by any stretch yet he seemed to have those desirable intangibles that teams love. He’s not good enough to overcome the poor play of himself, the poor play of his teammates and especially the poor coaching he seems to be receiving. In other words, he deserves some blame, but by no means does he deserve all of it.
