Offense's progress born out of patience, steadfast belief in one another

There's no denying the Steelers' offense has played better over the past four games, and it's one of the key reasons for winning three of those matchups.

While some might wonder if there's been some sort of divine intervention or that Matt Canada changed some of his schemes, it all boils down to one thing: Execution.

"We’re playing better. We're executing better. We're having less missed assignments," Canada explained Thursday at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. "I think there's more accountability amongst the players with each other. But there's no dramatic change. That’s not what everybody probably wants, but we've continued to get better. We're nowhere near where we want to be yet."

Therein lies the proof that Canada is more than aware of how unpopular he is amongst fans. He knows fans would love to hear that there was a dramatic change in the offense. It even paved the way for Canada to joke about how a dramatic change might make for a better story.

"I know it would be. It’d be great. It would fit things better," Canada laughed. "But no, all kidding aside, it’s hard. It's hard to build, it's hard to be young, it's hard to make mistakes, it's hard to make mistakes at critical times, and it's the National Football League. So, we're making less mistakes, we're making more plays. There’s still too many plays out there. We're still leaving points on the board that we can't leave out there. But I think we're getting better."

That's been the theme of the 2022 Steelers' offense. It's been all about building and improving. 

That wasn't easy to see when this offense was falling flat on its face throughout the first seven games when the team averaged 15.3 points per game, the offense produced only 298.6 yards per game and the running game 87.9 yards per game on the ground.

But, there is one thing Canada said in the first quote above that rang a bell, and really brought everything full circle: "I think there's more accountability amongst the players with each other."

It reminded me of this quote from Najee Harris from one of my Kickoff pieces earlier in the season, when he was yet again stressing the need for accountability and the team to come together:

"The attitude is how men talk to each other. You can take it bad, or you can take it good. It's only coming from a good place. We don't mean it any bad way," Harris said. "We're just trying to win games, come together as a team and turn stuff around. Hearing stuff that you might not want to hear is probably what we need. We need accountability on this team from the players. We need to execute more. We need to do better rather than blame other people. That starts with us."

That was said in the wake of Chase Claypool's controversial comments on the lack of chunk plays on offense. It was also said two days before the loss to Philadelphia. 

Since that time, the offense has averaged 21.2 points per game, 341.2 total yards per game and, most notable, 157.8 rushing yards per game. That mark in the rushing game is the same exact number the Ravens have posted over the course of the season, and they rank third in the NFL in rushing.

And, since that time, the Steelers are 3-2 and still -- however unlikely -- find themselves in the hunt for a spot in the playoffs.

No, that one quote didn't suddenly inspire the offense to play significantly better. But, it does represent and reinforce what Canada said Thursday, and what Chukwuma Okorafor told me when I asked him a similar question about the progression of the offense.

"Everything takes time. I think we're close to what we can be," Okorafor told me. "But, our confidence level has stayed the same. There's really no noticeable difference among us by any means."

For better or worse, this offense was going to see things through. Of course, as any offense does, it's had to evolve over the course of the season. Certainly, running the football much more effectively has played a significant role in that. But, this offense -- the coaching staff and players alike -- has continued to grow together and believe what they were doing would eventually prevail.

"That’s what was frustrating early on, and probably will be again," Canada said. "I think when there's plays there, opportunities there and we don't make them, for whatever reason, whether we weren't clear on what it was or we didn't execute it, that’s frustrating for everybody. That’s where I say offense is 11 men doing their job. If one guy doesn't, it looks really, really bad. I think fortunately the last couple of weeks we've looked better, but we're still, like I said, it's never perfect. We're still striving to be better."

The goal to be better is far from over. Spearheaded by Mike Tomlin, the theme on the South Side this week has focused on the importance of December football. And, with the Ravens coming to town, with how much they'll test Kenny Pickett's 128-pass streak without an interception and the improved running game, it'll provide a true test for just how much progress this offense has made.

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• With all of Thursday's talk of how the offense has improved in recent weeks, I challenged Canada to give into some self-criticism by asking what he's learned about himself as an offensive coordinator this season. It's clear he doesn't like talking about himself, but I at least respect him for trying and not shutting the question down.

"I don’t know if I’ve learned much about myself. I think it's showing that you have to continue to push and push and keep doing what you believe is right," Canada said. "I think our guys have done that. We’re nowhere near being done, we got five left, we’ve got a huge one this week. We're not a finished product in any way, shape, or form. But I do think you're starting to see our players more importantly, which is really all that matters, are starting to see why we're doing it, how this fits, what their roles are. There’s not a real magic formula to it. Sometimes you wish there was. I’m not going to say me, but I think we as a staff have stayed the course, we know why we're doing what we're doing, we know why we're running the plays we're running, we know who we're trying to get the ball to. It doesn't always show up and nobody outside of the building maybe understands why, but you just have to keep doing what you believe is right."

• The Steelers haven't sacked the quarterback much this season. They even struggled to bring down a guy like Matt Ryan, who is very ... immobile.

While Lamar Jackson won't be suiting up for the Ravens on Sunday, Tyler Huntley provides a similar skill set. That begs the question, how do the Steelers deal with sacking a mobile quarterback while the defense has struggled to put any quarterback on the ground this year?

"I think you have to pick and choose your spots," Teryl Austin said Thursday. "I think a lot of times when you're blitzing, the idea is maybe not to sack him, but to keep them in the pocket so you cut down on running lanes and the ways he can get out and really hurt your defense. Because a lot of times you see with the mobile quarterbacks, when they get outside the pocket, that's when they're at their most dangerous. So, there's usually a strategic element involved in the blitz and why you'd want to, but it all depends on the guy."

• Few will admit it, but there is some added excitement and energy on the South Side this week with the Ravens coming to town. Some on the outside might try to play down the rivalry with so many key figures now retired. However, Austin's been on both sides of the rivalry. To him, it still means just as much as long as the two main figureheads are in place.

"Let me see…John [Harbaugh]'s there and Mike's there; it's not changing," Austin laughed. "The cities are still there; it's not changing. It is a great rivalry. It's tough. Being involved in it, it is. The games, they're hard hitting. I think both teams have a lot of respect for each other because it's very similar. I don't think because the guys are younger it’s going to change the rivalry, I think the rivalry is what it is. That’s what it'll have. That's how it's going to be this week."

• The Steelers' rush defense has been much better this season, but it was tested quite a bit by the Falcons last week. However, Atlanta's decision to only commit to the run game in the second half came as quite a pleasant surprise.

However, Austin and the defense knows the Ravens will be much smarter about how often they'll test the Steelers' defensive front. They aren't expecting the Ravens to outthink themselves.

"They're going to line up and run the ball and they're going to say, 'Okay, we're going to find out if you can stop us,'" Austin said. "I think that they're going to run the ball, they're going to do what they do. I thought we were good for a half, we have to play better, we have to make sure that we have a 60-minute commitment to that run game. We’ve been pretty good most of the year, but we’ve got to really continue to improve that. Especially this week, it's going to be paramount because they're going to get in there and they’ve got big men, and they’ve got big men up front, and they’ve got big men that are lead blockers and everything else. So, we’ve got to be able to play the run game for 60 and we're not going to talk them out of that."

• Cam Heyward addressed the media Thursday morning and finally had the chance to speak about his nomination as the Steelers' representative for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.

"It's a great honor. One that I don't take lightly," Heyward said. "There's a responsibility in the community. I know they recognize 31 other guys who are all capable of winning. To be among those guys is something special."

• Heyward was spotted by last Sunday's television broadcast going over to George Pickens and provide some words of encouragement after the rookie's outburst of frustration over lack of targets. Heyward didn't want to get into what words were exchanged between him and Pickens. He said, "Honestly, it was just being there for a teammate."

• Heyward also thought cameras didn't spot him when his brother, Connor Heyward caught his first career touchdown pass. Turns out there was at least one camera that captured the emotion Cam felt in the moment:

Man, if that doesn't have you reaching for tissues...

• On the injury front, Najee Harris (oblique), Malik Reed (back) and Chukwuma Okorafor (shoulder) all returned to practice after missing Wednesday's session. Reed was a full participant while Harris and Okorafor were limited. 

However, T.J. Watt (ribs) and Diontae Johnson (hip) went from being limited Wednesday to no participation Thursday. In addition, Larry Ogunjobi (toe) hasn’t practiced yet this week. Their participation Friday will be watched closely.

• In some good news, Chris Boswell (groin) officially returned to practice Thursday. That starts his 21-day clock to return from injured reserve. Boswell did kick on the practice fields, so it remains to be seen just how much more kicking he'll need to do before he's activated and cleared to play. However, the belief on the South Side is Boswell will be available to kick this Sunday.