Another day, another crowd of Pittsburgh Steelers fans calling for the firing of offensive coordinator Matt Canada — this time out in Utah.
You won’t hear players buying into that nonsense, primarily because there are no other options. It is what it is in Pittsburgh.
“People might not agree with his play-calling, but you ain’t got no choice,” Diontae Johnson said on “The Arthur Moats Experience with Deke.” “He’s calling plays. He’s the boss on offense. We’ve got to do what he says, and we don’t have a choice. You don’t have to like them, but you got to respect them. That’s how I go. I respect them, not like them, too.”
Johnson does his best to keep the embattled offensive coordinator’s spirits up.
“It sucks to hear because it’s not like he’s intentionally trying to f— up. I just feel like it’s my job to be that person he can talk to about stuff like that.”
“When I see the OC, it’s like, I can’t do nothing but just go over there and talk to him about certain stuff. I try to take his mind off of stuff like that, like, ‘Bro, I’m on your side at the end of the day. Don’t listen to whatever they’re saying out there. They’re gonna say what they’re gonna say, but we’re gonna make you look good’… I’m just saying little stuff like that to him to just keep his spirits up so he don’t just be down.”
The offense has shown sparks but has yet to put together 60 minutes of consistency.
As is customary, the offense sputtered out of the gate in the Los Angeles Rams game. Their first drive resulted in a three-and-out, which set the tone for the first half. It wasn’t until the third quarter they finally put up a touchdown, and things got rolling from there.
Canada has been doing this long enough that it shouldn’t take chunks of games to find a rhythm. Find what works early and stick to it. Starting with the Jacksonville Jaguars might be a good idea.
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