Category: 2023 Steelers season

Pat Freiermuth vs Najee Harris: Who is more valuable to the Steelers offense?

The disparity in value between positions in the NFL is troubling.

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There’s a strange paradigm shift happening in the NFL right now. The headlines are all about the top running backs in the league being devalued despite elite production. This got me thinking about the Pittsburgh Steelers and running back Najee Harris.

Then we see tight ends continue to get what could be considered overpaid for the impact they have on an offense on a consistent basis. For the Steelers, the top tight end is Pat Freiermuth.

But which one is more valuable to the offense? The odds of the Steelers re-signing Freiermuth are much higher than Harris just based on trends within the league. Last season, Harris touched the football 314 times last season. Freiermuth touched the football 63 times. Both are tremendous players who are among the best at their respective positions. But if the money is the same, which guy do you keep long-term?

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Cast your vote and let us know who you think is more valuable to the Steelers offense this season.

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Cam Heyward and Kenny Pickett joke about rumors of conservative Steelers offense

Will Matt Canada open things up for the Steelers and Kenny Pickett in 2023?

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Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett went on Cam Heyward’s “Not Just Football” podcast this week and right out of the gate, Heyward has a little fun with the rumors circulating about what the Steelers offense is going to look like in 2023.

Heyward immediately asks Pickett what he thinks about the idea that the Steelers offense isn’t going to be more explosive in 2023. “Word on the street is, Matt Canada isn’t going to open the playbook,” Heyward said sarcastically.

The truth is, only the players know exactly what Canada has planned. And Canada I suppose. Once training camp gets going, everyone will get a better look at what the first full year of Pickett at quarterback will look like. Canada has gone on the record saying the team plans to play physical and run the football.

Perhaps this doesn’t mean the Steelers will just be a ground-and-pound offense and Pickett will be able to cut loose and throw it. The AFC is absolutely loaded with quarterback talent and explosive passing games. Will Canada have something in his plans to go toe-to-toe with guys like Joe Burrow and Patrick Mahomes?

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Steelers announce full slate of theme games for 2023

The Steelers have multiple theme games on the 2023 schedule.

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On Wednesday, the Pittsburgh Steelers announced the full slate of theme games on the schedule for the 2023 season. Here is how those theme games will break down.

Preseason Week 2 – The Pittsburgh Steelers take on the Buffalo Bills and it is Family Day.

Week 5 – Crucial Catch on Week 5 when the Steelers take on the Buffalo Bills.

Week 8 – Pittsburgh takes on the Jacksonville Jaguars and this will also be the weekend of the Ring of Honor ceremony.

Week 9 – The team will host the Salute to Service event when they take on the Tennessee Titans.

Week 10 – Pittsburgh takes on the Green Bay Packers and will welcome back many Steelers legends for Alumni Weekend.

Week 13 – Pittsburgh will take on the Arizona Cardinals and it is My Cleats, My Cause weekend.

Week 16 – Thank You to the fans during the team’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

In addition, the Steelers will have the first home game for the opening weekend since 2014.

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Steelers QB Kenny Pickett No. 11 in NFL in deep-ball accuracy

Kenny Pickett steadily improved as a deep passer last season.

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One of the biggest criticisms of the Pittsburgh Steelers offense in recent years has been the inability or perhaps unwillingness to push the football down the field. Much of the blame fell on offensive coordinator Matt Canada.

Looking at the numbers, we have hope that if Canada is willing to open up the offense, quarterback Kenny Pickett can get it done. Last season, Pickett completed 39 percent of his passes of 20 yards or more. This is 11th- best in the NFL.

To put Pickett’s number in perspective, here are a few other notable quarterbacks from the list:

Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens – 26 percent

Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams – 25 percent

Aaron Rodgers, New York Jets – 29 percent

Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills – 38 percent

Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers – 37 percent

Pickett has the weapons to have a great deep passing game. Wide receiver George Pickens and tight end Pat Freiermuth are both credible deep threats and Pickens in particular is all but unstoppable when the football is in the air.

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Steelers balance the books with salary cap distribution

Omar Khan has worked had to get the salary cap in order and build a winning roster.

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In 2022, the Pittsburgh Steelers salary cap was all out of whack. The team had poured two-thirds of their cap into the defense and had far underspent on the offensive side of the football. This felt somewhat counter-intuitive but when you give huge contracts to stars like outside linebacker T.J. Watt and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, some of that should be expected.

But in 2023, general manager Omar Khan has balanced things out and the team sailing smoothly heading into training camp.

Pittsburgh currently has just over $118 million on the books for defense and $105 million spent on offense. This number could change as the Steelers still have just over $13 million in cap space and are working on a contract extension for edge rusher Alex Highsmith.

General manager Omar Khan has taken full control of this team and has the roster in place to make the Steelers AFC contenders sooner rather than later.

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Steelers have no plans to open up the offense for Kenny Pickett

Matt Canada says he’s only doing what he’s been told.

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Last season, the Pittsburgh Steelers offense ranked No. 23 in yards and No. 26 in points. This was due to myriad factors, not the least of which was a rookie quarterback as well as a hamstrung offensive coordinator.

But 2023 is going to be different, right? Quarterback Kenny Pickett is in his second year, and the team can build off his late-season momentum and development, right? This, along with all those talented skill players, means we are going to see a much more wide-open offense … right?

Not so fast. According to The Athletic, offensive coordinator Matt Canada isn’t planning to open things up at all, and that is because he’s just doing what he is told.

Pittsburgh choosing to bring Canada back was a surprising move, to say the least. Maybe Canada was kept because head coach Mike Tomlin knew he could dictate what Canada does without question and the same might not have been said for a new offensive coordinator.

Either way, the Steelers are staring down the season with the plan of being physical and running the football first. On paper, none of these are bad things. In fact, for many fans, this will feel like beautiful nostalgia. However, in today’s NFL, an offense that can’t push the ball down the field will struggle to beat the top teams. Are the Steelers setting themselves up for failure by keeping Canada and planning for a conservative offense?

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1 thing for the Steelers to prepare for against every team in the AFC North this season

Each of the teams in the AFC North presents a unique challenge for the Steelers.

Six of the Pittsburgh Steelers 17 games will be against the other three teams in the AFC North. The Cincinnati Bengals, Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns will be the toughest games Pittsburgh faces on their schedule. Here is one thing to prepare for with each of the teams in the AFC North.

Pro Football Focus projects win totals for all 32 NFL teams

PFF has the Steelers topping nine wins in 2023.

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The Pittsburgh Steelers have never had a sub-.500 season with head coach Mike Tomlin. For many fans, this is enough to preserve Tomlin’s legacy and others view the lack of playoff success as a failure.

Pro Football Focus put out projected win totals in comparison to the DraftKings projections. PFF ran through 273 games to get their projection for every team and for the Pittsburgh Steelers, they came up with a projection of 9.19 wins. This was the eighth-best in the NFL and one of only nine teams projected to finish over .500.

Meanwhile the DraftKings total for the Steelers is 8.5 which is much more middle of the road among the rest of the NFL.

Pittsburgh rallied after the bye week in 2022 and ended up winning nine games with a rookie quarterback and almost sneaking into the playoffs. With the improvements this team has made, there’s no reason to believe this unit won’t improve on last season’s performance.

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