SCB Steelers Quick Hitters: The ‘At a Loss’ Edition

Good Monday to you Steelers fans.

Did you have a nice summer? I sure hope you did because those memories of the Pittsburgh Steelers looking like world beaters in August are as distant as a politician is from common sense. I’m sure you recall how the Steelers’ offense crushed their three preseason opponents (who all played their second and third teams against our first) leading us all to believe a great season was coming. Yeah, well… forget it. This team is beyond lucky to be 4-3 and what was thought to be a promising home stand now looks like it could end up being a disaster. Kenny Pickett has bad ribs and those aren’t going to heal until the offseason. Minkah Fitzpatrick is likely going to miss multiple games with a hamstring injury and Diontae Johnson thinks the officials wanted them to lose (more on that later). Now comes a rookie QB who threw four TD passes in his first career start. Pickett has thrown what? Five TD passes ALL SEASON? And that rookie QB also has Derrick Henry at running back and the Steelers’ D hasn’t exactly excelled at stopping the run this year. So of course that means that the Steelers will likely win Thursday night behind a huge performance from Mitch Trubisky right? Would it really surprise you after the way this season has gone? I’m at a loss today and I’m sure many of you are too.

The Officiating

Yes, the officiating yesterday was appalling, especially near the end of the first half. No, the officiating didn’t cost the Steelers the game. Poor blocking, poor tackling, poor QB play and poor coaching cost the Steelers the game. I have some thoughts coming up later this week on the state of the officials in the NFL but for now, you need to accept they weren’t the reason the team lost yesterday.

Pickens

I’ve got two thoughts today on the Steelers’ wide receiver.

First, how in the world does Matt Canada NOT get the ball into the hands of George Pickens more often? He was targeted five times yesterday. His only reception (that counted), was a TD where he was allowed to display his athleticism. No quick hitches or screens to him. No jet sweeps or reverses to him either. It is literally criminal to not use his abilities which is yet another indictment of Matt Canada as a terrible offensive coordinator.

Second, I hope Pickens learned a valuable lesson yesterday. After slighting the Jaguars’ defense earlier in the week, we all found out just how motivating it was for them. The Jags’ went on to mention postgame that Pickens talks a lot of trash on the field for a guy who largely did nothing against them (see above). I wish I knew why the Steelers were so good at drafting wide receivers who also happen to never shut up. He has to mature. No one is suggesting he can’t have fun, but there’s a line in the NFL and he crosses it too often.

Going Deeper

The Steelers have four wins over teams with a combined record of 16-14 (LVR plays tonight) and the three teams they have lost to have a combined record of 14-9. What does that mean? Not a damn thing. The Steelers were embarrassed by the Houston Texans. Guess who lost to an 0-6 Carolina team? The Texans. Would you believe that right now the Steelers average the same amount of points per game (16) as the Bengals who just dropped 31 on the 49ers in San Francisco? In other words, we ave to go deeper to find out the root cause of the problems in Pittsburgh but as you know, it starts with what is happening on offense or should I say, not happening?

The Most Disappointing Thing

I can accept that Kenny Pickett isn’t where we hoped he would be and I can accept that the defense has some holes but there’s nothing more disappointing this season than the offensive line. During last season’s second half surge, the O-Line seemed to come together and play better. With the addition of Isaac Seumalo, it felt like the group would move forward even more. That just hasn’t been the case and it’s frustrating. The pass protection is inconsistent and the run blocking is just not there. We seem to lack the ability to just put ‘helmet on helmet’ and move people. I’m really at a loss as to why the team hasn’t turned things over to Broderick Jones either. Makes little sense to me.

Boswell

Chris Boswell had every right to be pissed off at the officials yesterday after that ridiculous “guard in the neutral zone” penalty. Bos had been perfect on all of his kicks and nailed that one only to push his next attempt wide right. He blasted several officials on his way off the field and then kept it going on Instagram last night too. Keeping a perfect streak of kicks going is huge for a kicker. I understand his frustration.