Kovacevic: Austin, McFarland can finally become that 'very dynamic duo'

Every other drill, every other snap, all summer long and sliding into the season opener, the Steelers' offense seemed to be recreating itself.

Calvin Austin sprinting one way, Anthony McFarland the other. The field stretched to the east, then to the west. Each of the defensive seams pried so far apart that almost anything seemed possible. Even schemes up the middle for Jaylen Warren and Najee Harris, given all the fresh daylight.

And then ... poof!

Ant-Mac, as he's affectionally called in this circle, went down with a knee injury Sept. 10 against the 49ers, and it's taken nearly two full months to put himself into the expected position of returning today against the Packers, 1:02 p.m. at Acrisure Stadium. And with that, pretty much the whole plot wasn't available to an offense that so very desperately needed -- and still needs -- a seismic improvement in all areas.

"People forget," Austin was telling me late this week on the South Side. "This was supposed to be a thing."

Not on the inside they didn't.

“Oh yeah, 100 percent," Warren would tell me. "Ant-Mac's a big part of this offense. We use him in so many ways. Having him back is huge.”

“Very dynamic duo," was how Moore would describe Austin and McFarland. "I mean, when we talk about the way our backs are, you've got Jaylen and Najee, who are really downhill backs. You got Ant-Mac, the switch-up with tempo, just his speed and his ability to get around the edge. Not only that, but his remarkable ability and vision, and the kick return game."

Moore's eyes widened then.

"Man, when Mac was healthy, dude, like he was popping those things. The same thing with Cal, hitting deep balls with him. Him being a smaller guy, you would think he’s not a deep threat, but that speed is something. I think it shows in a football game. We can't wait."

OK ... listen, I'll tap the pause button here a moment. Because I can envision the reaction: McFarland's a fourth-round pick from 2020 who's achieved next to nothing in the NFL: 42 total carries for 146 yards, 11 catches for 87 yards, no touchdowns of any kind ... a borderline afterthought entering this calendar year. And then, upon his first real public sighting this season, he's out again.

Precedent's scant for any optimism. I won't dispute that.

But I saw this summer stuff. I saw the intention with which it was being implemented.

I saw the execution, too:

Remember that?

Preseason in Tampa, Fla. To my eye, from the press box in that same corner of Raymond James Stadium, even with the two big blocks that popped that 14-yard touchdown for McFarland, that looked unstoppable. Meaning on his trajectory and velocity alone.

"Oh, I had help," McFarland would respond when I broached that with him. "But yeah, it feels good anytime I have a chance to just turn it on like that."

That was his hallmark at the University of Maryland. He was the big-play back, the one who'd embrace every blade of grass upon breaking free.

Too late to recreate?

“I mean, I just wanna be wherever the offense puts me," he'd reply when I brought that up. "It’s not even just on offense. It’s about special teams, just being viable in all aspects of the game. So, that’s what I’m looking to do, man. Help the team win in any aspect I can.”

But how much difference could he and Austin together, per the plan, make?

“It could make a difference a lot, man. I feel like as a group, as a team, we all complement each other in different ways. Like I said, man, just trying to be a guy that can be viable in anywhere they put me.”

Tough to take missing all this time when it seemed this'd finally be the year?

“Oh, yeah. For sure. That’s life sometimes. At the end of the day, bro, it’s all about how you respond to adversity.”

Yeah. Same for Austin. 

Another fourth-round pick, class of 2022, he missed his entire rookie year, of course. Foot injury. Took months to fully heal.

He caught all six targets in the opener against San Francisco and, coupled with the summer, it felt like he'd soon blossom into a big deal. Or at least a medium meal. But he's stuck at a Happy Meal-sized 14 catches for 162 yards, he's combined for just two over the past four games, and really, his season highlight remains this jackpot in Las Vegas way back on Sept. 24:

'STREAKING IS CALVIN!' one can hear the play-by-play dude boom!

And that'd be heard, or something similar, three other times after that when the same play was attempted. All of which whiffed.

"I know, I know," Austin would tell me. "It's been there. Like this."

He'd move his forefinger against his thumb, maybe a millimeter apart.

"We'll hit it again. It's there."

He sounded confident he and McFarland can hit that summer stride again, too.

“It would be extremely big, I think, for the whole team," Austin would say. "Ant-Mac, he's one of those guys who, anytime he’s on the field, when he’s got the ball in his hands, he’s a threat. Just having him back in the kick-return game is great. On offense, he just gives us another dynamic to keep the defense on their toes. Having him back is gonna just create — anytime you get more speed on the field, it’s positive."

For Warren and Harris, as well?

"All the way. That’s what we want to do. We want to make those big plays, of course, with the ball in our hands. But after we hit that, we think that can continue to push the running game, to open up more holes for Jaylen and Najee. Ant-Mac can even go down there himself. Just even out there can cause a defense to maybe not think as much about somebody else. Like, ‘OK, let’s see what they may do.’ It can just open up a lot.”

It also might not. I'm not making any predictions, much less any that'd foresee this particular offense stunning us.

In the same breath, though, I'll say that, if this'd been in play all along, Kenny Pickett, Matt Canada and everyone else involved might've had their collective 2023 story told in much smaller-font headlines.

No harm in trying, right?