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In no way am I defending Matt Canada or the offense that was on the field for the Pittsburgh Steelers during the 2021 season. Any way you spin it, it was ugly. Yeah, you could point to the personnel and say it wasn’t good but call me crazy for having the belief that a good coach adapts to the talent he has and not the other way around. I also look at his coaching history and question how good he really was as an offensive coordinator, given he has been at SEVEN different colleges since 2010, so you could say I’m not Canada’s biggest cheerleader. Even if personnel is the case, with Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement, Canada has the keys to the offense and their success (or downfall) should fall on his shoulders.
I can see how a future Hall of Fame 39-year old quarterback with a surgically repaired elbow and limited mobility could influence any offense but with his departure, we should see some changes to the offense that should be met with no resistance from the current quarterback room. Mason Rudolph even hinted at such when appearing on the The Jim Rome Show with Jim Rome where he said,
No real surprises from Rudolph’s words here as any future Hall of Fame quarterback is going to have a strong say in the offense but I think the fact he made it a point to mention that play action and pushing the ball down the field would be more of a staple is a very good sign. The numbers don’t lie either, the Steelers just haven’t been putting those concepts in their game plan for Roethlisberger.. The past two years the Steelers have been the lowest in the NFL in calling the play action pass. On top of that, Roethlisberger’s 2021 stats per NFL Next Gen Stats produced a league-low average time to throw of 2.38 seconds, 2nd worst average intended air yards of 6.7, and 3rd worst average completed air yards of 4.4 yards, where the league average of each was 2.78 seconds, 5.6 yards, and 7.9 yards. Since these missing concepts have been apparent for the current and former play callers, it is likely Roethlisberger’s comfortability is just not there
Rudolph’s comments are not the first to signal change. Head Coach Mike Tomlin has hinted towards a change in the type of quarterback they are targeting to lead their offense. That has been hinted by the repeated use of one word when describing the quarterback position both internally and of the opposition during his press conferences, mobility. Tomlin has made it loud and clear that he recognizes this trait as a weapon and a tough one to defend. Now Canada’s offense doesn’t strictly require a truly mobile quarterback but during his college days, quarterbacks averaged about 250 rushing yards a season, a stark contrast from what the Steelers previously had and a total that would place them in the middle of the NFL for quarterback rushing yards. A mobile quarterback would help add another component that would help accentuate what Canada likes to do in his offense, moving the pocket and play action pass, but the player doesn’t need to be a sprinter for that to happen.
Overall I am skeptical about Canada and his offense, just like the rest of #SteelerNation but things are changing for the Steelers and Tomlin is not someone who is going to keep someone around because of comfortability. Tomlin is going to take every step imaginable to win and if change is needed or a fire needs to be lit, he will do it. Change is on the horizon for this offense.
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I can see how a future Hall of Fame 39-year old quarterback with a surgically repaired elbow and limited mobility could influence any offense but with his departure, we should see some changes to the offense that should be met with no resistance from the current quarterback room. Mason Rudolph even hinted at such when appearing on the The Jim Rome Show with Jim Rome where he said,
No real surprises from Rudolph’s words here as any future Hall of Fame quarterback is going to have a strong say in the offense but I think the fact he made it a point to mention that play action and pushing the ball down the field would be more of a staple is a very good sign. The numbers don’t lie either, the Steelers just haven’t been putting those concepts in their game plan for Roethlisberger.. The past two years the Steelers have been the lowest in the NFL in calling the play action pass. On top of that, Roethlisberger’s 2021 stats per NFL Next Gen Stats produced a league-low average time to throw of 2.38 seconds, 2nd worst average intended air yards of 6.7, and 3rd worst average completed air yards of 4.4 yards, where the league average of each was 2.78 seconds, 5.6 yards, and 7.9 yards. Since these missing concepts have been apparent for the current and former play callers, it is likely Roethlisberger’s comfortability is just not there
Rudolph’s comments are not the first to signal change. Head Coach Mike Tomlin has hinted towards a change in the type of quarterback they are targeting to lead their offense. That has been hinted by the repeated use of one word when describing the quarterback position both internally and of the opposition during his press conferences, mobility. Tomlin has made it loud and clear that he recognizes this trait as a weapon and a tough one to defend. Now Canada’s offense doesn’t strictly require a truly mobile quarterback but during his college days, quarterbacks averaged about 250 rushing yards a season, a stark contrast from what the Steelers previously had and a total that would place them in the middle of the NFL for quarterback rushing yards. A mobile quarterback would help add another component that would help accentuate what Canada likes to do in his offense, moving the pocket and play action pass, but the player doesn’t need to be a sprinter for that to happen.
Overall I am skeptical about Canada and his offense, just like the rest of #SteelerNation but things are changing for the Steelers and Tomlin is not someone who is going to keep someone around because of comfortability. Tomlin is going to take every step imaginable to win and if change is needed or a fire needs to be lit, he will do it. Change is on the horizon for this offense.
Support SteelerNation by clicking here to read the story..