PITTSBURGH: Fifteen minutes. That’s how lengthy the Pittsburgh Steelers spent in a group assembly speaking about former offensive coordinator Matt Canada’s abrupt firing.
No time to do a full post-mortem on what went unsuitable and the way Canada’s two-plus 12 months tenure ended with a considerably out-of-the-blue assertion from coach Mike Tomlin on Tuesday morning.
Not when there’s nonetheless a season to salvage. Not when the Steelers (6-4) consider there may be nonetheless a lot at stake.
By Wednesday afternoon, Pittsburgh’s new and considerably unorthodox paradigm was in place, although it might take a bit — a really small bit — of time to get a really feel for the way it’s going to work with working backs coach Eddie Faulkner promoted to interim offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan calling the performs on Sunday in Cincinnati (5-5).
“We’re kind of going through it right now, figuring it out,” quarterback Kenny Pickett mentioned, who made it some extent to name the primary day of the Faulker-Sullivan collaboration “smooth.”
Faulker actually regarded comfy throughout warmups, nodding his head as hip-hop music blared by means of the audio system in Pittsburgh’s indoor observe facility whereas Sullivan checked in on a number of place teams.
Still, the absence of Canada and his ever-current vast-brimmed hat was noticeable. And, for the quarterback Canada spent the previous 18 months mentoring, lamentable.
“You hate to see it,” Pickett mentioned. “You don’t want to see one of your coaches lose their job.”
While Canada had grow to be some extent of derision among the many fan base and a frequent goal on social media because the Steelers struggled to generate factors and yards with any sense of regularity, the gamers know on some base degree a good portion of the blame for Pittsburgh’s points transferring the ball and Canada’s dismissal falls on them.
“We’ve all got to be better,” mentioned Pickett. “I called (Canada) and wished him well. We had a good conversation. But you’ve got to bounce back quickly and be ready to go.”
While there are new voices placing collectively the sport plan, there won’t be a large overhaul in scheme, terminology or taking part in time for an offense that ranks twenty eighth in factors and yards and has been outgained each single week.
All of that must come within the offseason, when a everlasting seek for Canada’s alternative will start.
For now, the Steelers perceive it’ll take all of them to repair what’s grow to be so clearly damaged.
“It’s not going to be one specific individual or one specific thing that’s going to change,” vast receiver Allen Robinson mentioned. “It’s going to take us all as a collective to do that.”
While Canada’s ouster was the primary in-season head coach or coordinator transfer by the Steelers in additional than 80 years, Robinson has a little bit historical past with turbulence. He was in his third 12 months in Jacksonville in 2016 when the Jaguars fired Greg Olsen and changed him with Nathanial Hackett in late October. Things didn’t precisely enhance. Jacksonville went 1-8 to complete the 12 months, scoring greater than 22 factors simply as soon as.
Robinson believes a change can present a spark, however is aware of from expertise that it “doesn’t just happen.”
“It’s about going out there for myself and being able to put myself and the group in the best possible situation by doing what is asked of me,” Robinson mentioned.
Something that’s been a problem of late. Pickett and vast receiver Diontae Johnson had bother determining what the opposite was doing in final Sunday’s 13-10 loss to Cleveland, with Pickett throwing the ball to locations Johnson both was or wasn’t imagined to be, relying in your viewpoint.
Both Pickett and Johnson mentioned they’ve ironed issues out. Maybe, however with the cloud of negativity that hovered through the latter levels of Canada’s tenure now gone, the main target over the subsequent two months can be centered on Pickett’s improvement.
The 2022 first-spherical decide who Tomlin anticipated to “kill it” this season as a substitute has simply six landing passes in 10 video games and threw for all of 106 yards towards the Browns. Those numbers aren’t sustainable for a group that has a protection ok to play into late January, and Pickett is aware of it.
“You just want consistency,” Pickett mentioned. “That’s what I’m working to be better at, just more consistent. I think if we’re more consistent we’ll be a much better offense.”
Tomlin stays steadfast in his perception in Pickett, pointing to Pickett’s work ethic as proof that finally, issues will click on.
“There’s such a thing as football justice, man those guys usually get what they’re looking for,” Tomlin mentioned. “And so, that’s why I remain consistently optimistic about the trajectory of his growth and development.”
That trajectory must cease trying like a flat line and begin curling upward. Too typically underneath Canada, it resembled a wayward that inventory buyers couldn’t appear to determine. And Pittsburgh’s offense typically sputtered in consequence.
Canada’s removing gives the Steelers a possibility for a welcome recent begin. The consideration has shifted from who is looking the performs to who’s — or who just isn’t — making them. And the gamers making an attempt to choose up the items comprehend it.
“I think everyone’s putting everything into this thing,” Pickett mentioned. “You know, we’ve just got to go out there and do it.”
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(This story has not been edited by News18 employees and is revealed from a syndicated information company feed – Associated Press)
