The Steelers' decision to hire Matt Canada primarily serves as a move to support the development of Mason Rudolph. Randy Fichtner has a longstanding relationship with Ben Roethlisberger and needs to focus on returning the Steelers to when they had the NFL's best red zone offense in 2018.
But working on the development of a young inexperienced quarterback is a completely different task. That's where Canada comes into play, so let's look at just how he can help:
Rudolph's biggest problem was not the Xs and Os in front of him, but understanding the opportunities presented by Fichtner's offense. One of Roethlisberger's biggest red zone struggles before Fichtner was making the right reads on less risky check-down passes with open spaces.
Fichtner helped open up more horizontal passing options for Roethlisberger to mix with the vertical threats he was used to taking in Todd Haley's offense. They started to find that balance between vertical and horizontal passing for Roethlisberger in 2018, but that progress was cut off with his season-ending injury.
Rudolph never established a steady balance between vertical and horizontal passing as he focused plenty of his passes underneath. The most success he had in deep passing was on crossing patterns and shot plays to the left side of the field. But Rudolph's passer rating was well below the league average in every other zone past ten yards from the line of scrimmage:
Where Canada comes into play is helping Rudolph make smarter decisions and understanding the progressions in front of him. When Canada worked with Nate Peterman on the 2016 Pitt Panthers, his offense averaged 40.9 points per game and Peterman threw 27 touchdowns with only seven interceptions.
Plenty of his offense maximized horizontal passing and the stretching of the field to force defenses to play disciplined football. Rudolph did have success early in his 2019 season when he read the progressions in front of him. His touchdown pass to James Conner came on a play where the Steelers faked a run-to-shovel pass option that distracted the Bengals from covering downfield:
These opportunities came more often than Rudolph's numbers suggested. Fichtner used motion and different options during the season to give Rudolph the tools to decipher defensive coverages for weak spots.
But it's not always easy for a young player to stay focused each play and make the correct reads. That's especially the case when they're being overwhelmed with learning the offense each week and studying film on opponents for the first time while still building chemistry with his teammates.
That's where Canada comes in for Rudolph, as he could specifically focus on helping Rudolph recognize the right moments to attack different coverage schemes. Fichtner has to manage the complete offense with play calls and addressing each unit. That can cut into the time and attention a young quarterback needs each week in development.
Here's an example of a simple read that was overlooked by Rudolph thanks to a pre-snap motion. Watch Johnny Holton motion to be the left flanker outside the thirty-yard marker and how it forces the cornerback to jump outside with him.
That forced the Bengals to bump out a defensive end to cover James Washington on a seam route in the middle of a Cover 3 zone defense. That's a well drawn up opportunity for a deep shot that Rudolph should've seen but missed:
Quarterback is the most complicated position to play in professional sports because of all the different chess matches they have to understand each play. This is why plenty of teams value coaches that develop the reputation of a quarterback whisperer like Sean McVay or Zac Taylor so that they have a coach that can help a young quarterback understand those chess matches.
But Rudolph's rough 2019 doesn't mean all hope is lost for his development. He did flash plays where he understood and dissected a defense with smart reads and accurate throws. Watch how he recognized the Cover 1 man defense of the Dolphins and held the deep safety in the middle of the field.
As JuJu Smith-Schuster runs a go route from the slot up the left sideline, Rudolph stares down the middle of the field to freeze the safety. Once he's held there, Rudolph gives Smith-Schuster a jump ball that he wins for a touchdown:
Canada's job in 2020 won't be about creating more Xs and Os for the offense to use like he did for the University of Pittsburgh in 2016. It will be about Rudolph producing more with the Xs and Os Fichtner already has drawn up. The Steelers may not hope for Rudolph to have to play again next year, since that means Roethlisberger will be hurt, but they need Canada to ensure he's ready if that time comes.
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