The bottom line is this: The Steelers have to score more points.
Nothing earth-shattering or "news" there, surely. Being in the bottom 10 in yards and points cannot and will not equate to success in today's NFL, no matter how good a defense might be, just as it unfolded in 2022. There were admitted growing pains experienced throughout season, namely because Kenny Pickett wasn't named the starting quarterback until Week 5 and he had to undergo a trial by fire, but also because what the Steelers tried to do simply could not sustain along with it over the course of a 17-game season.
Eyes are on Matt Canada now, as they have been. It starts with this week's mandatory minicamp, in which everyone has reported to the South Side and the already on-ice offensive coordinator can begin to find out if he can thaw out the blocks underneath him, or if he is going to melt away and produce another messy offensive season.
“I think there’s an identity that’s coming from the organizational plan," Canada said prior to Wednesday's practice on the South Side. "It’s not like I’m coming in here and saying what it is. There’s a plan from Mr. (Art) Rooney to coach (Mike) Tomlin and so obviously when I say we’re going to run the ball it doesn’t mean we’re going to run it every play. The quarterback has to make plays. ... In this league the quarterbacks make plays to win the game, but there’s key moments, and we have great faith in Kenny and Mitch (Trubisky) and Mason (Rudolph) to do that, but ... we do have an identity, and we’re going to be a physical team, and if you do stop the run then we obviously have to take advantage of that with play-action passes, misdirection passes, passes down the field, and that’s when Kenny’s got to make those throws at those times when he’s called upon.”
As the offensive coordinator, Canada saying there's an "organizational plan" and he's not "coming in here and saying what it is" could sound alarming at a glance, but it is crystal clear the moves made by Omar Khan and his front office over the offseason help set the tone for the type of offense Canada wants to build.
Yes, much of the Steelers' success this season can, would, and should stem from Pickett. The first-round pick is being treated as a franchise quarterback and has been given four new weapons via draft and free agency around him in Broderick Jones, Isaac Seumalo, Darnell Washington, and Allen Robinson with Calvin Austin set to make his debut after missing last season with a foot injury.
There is also 1,000-yard rusher Najee Harris and proven backup Jaylen Warren to go along with returning outside weapons Diontae Johnson and George Pickens.
But, Canada still has to put those pieces around Pickett in the right positions.
The identity of the offense, as Harris said on Tuesday, wasn't discovered in 2022 until after the Week 9 bye week, which coincided with the Steelers having the ninth-best rushing attack in the NFL from that point until the end of the season. Pickett played in four and a half games by that point and was still getting a feel for the game, though the Steelers still struggled to post points. Pre-bye, the Steelers averaged 15.0 points per game and posted more than 20 points once -- the 23 scored against the Bengals in Week 1. Post-bye, the Steelers averaged 17.8 points per game and posted more than 20 points four times.
"It's so hard," Mason Cole told me. "We finished the season in a good way last year, but it's new guys, a new year, you never know what kind of identity you're going to have this year, so I think each season starts over and you're still searching for an identity, and we can say, sure we liked the identity last year, but that doesn't mean we're going to run the ball well this year, know what I mean? We've got to put the work in and do the things to have that identity, and in training camp we'll see how it goes and see what we're going to be like, but I have a lot of confidence in our group."
So, there is a base line to operate from, but more clearly has to be in the works for a successful improvement of this offense.
With an identity established and with Pickett growing into his own skin as last season went, the Steelers' offense began to flash. Two of the four consecutive wins to close out the season came with 24 and 28-point outings, two of the three highest outputs in the 2022 season.
“I think our identity was pretty clear the last nine games," Canada said. "We ran the ball really well, we were physical. You saw we drafted, who we acquired, I don’t think there’s any question what our identity’s going to be. We want to run the football, we want to be physical, we want to be a good team that throws the ball down the field, take advantage of what the defense gives us. I think our identity has been well-known and well-stated where we’re at.”
At least, it had been throughout the latter stages of the season. That cannot wait nine weeks in 2023. Not with Pickett cemented as the starter and with sustainable pieces around him to make it work.
“Kenny’s extremely intelligent," Canada said. "I think a lot of that always falls to the quarterback, right? That’s the easy way to look, and he was a rookie and there’s some things in there, but how much more is the whole offense ready to take on? We’re better up front, more experienced up front. Two years ago we started a bunch of rookies and so I think as an offense as a whole you’re going to see a lot of things because the ability and the knowledge and the experience they’ve all gained. Kenny fits into all of that.”
Canada lauded Pickett for having a "good" spring, and that his quarterback has played faster and has his timing down with his receivers.
"We have that ability," Pickett said after Wednesday's practice. "We have the guys on the outside, we have the guys in the backfield, up front. We have everything in place that, if we go execute, we'll be able to go shot-for-shot with (other teams). That's the goal. Those teams that are playing deep into February, they have that, and that's what we need to get to."
That's a clear and concise mission statement from the quarterback bundled into five sentences. It's not all in place yet, though, as a natural development and blending of the new pieces still has to reach another stage, and the expectation is to have it ironed out in training camp in a month's time and ready to be deployed by the time Week 1 rolls around in September.
"As a unit we're focusing on the details, just focusing on the little things," Warren told me. "We got away with a lot of it and sometimes we didn't. Sometimes I felt that's why we were losing. We weren't focused on the details, so I think that's going to be a huge part of our offense. We're really emphasizing that."
I followed up with Warren and asked if there is anything new being implemented:
"Not really 'new' stuff," he replied. "It's just we're staying true to what we're being coached. If we're supposed to do 'this,' we're expected to do 'that' every single play, instead of 'do it sometimes.'"
This offense, simply put, needs to do 'that' about twofold ... and then some.
“Obviously we want to improve in every area," Canada said. "We’re expecting it. We’ve got a lot of great players, excited about where we’re at. The depth we added, certainly starting up front, the depth we’ve added up front with the line, bringing Isaac, and I say depth by the age and maturity and the experience we’ve got up front. We’ve got a really, in my opinion, solid, veteran group up front which will allow us to be good at -- you do everything up front, so I think that’s important. Obviously we did some things. Ten-play drives are good, third down was good. We’ve got to score more points, got to be better in the red zone, more explosive plays. We have a lot of things to work on, but ultimately we just have to find a way to win more games and that starts up front for us, and we’re excited about where we are with that.”
