The Kenny Pickett Thread

[Edman]

Canada the genius has his own thread. Why not the other side of the equation? As we know, KP has been bad in his first two games. Missing throws left and right. He's throwing the ball, but his timing is way off.

Last Week against the Niners he was way behind on his throws. Then last night Pickett seemed to overcorrect and just pulled the trigger much too early without looking or progressing. He played much better than Week 1, but still lots more work to do. Poor O-Line play and Asinine playcalling isn't helping him, but he needs to up his game more. Herculean efforts by the Defense week after week isn't sustainable.

On a positive side. Pickett and Pickens connected for a few big gains last night. George Pickens is our bread and butter and the one KP trusts the most. Ever since last year, KP looks much better and confident throwing to Pickens. The dude is that guy. Sadly, I don't trust this coaching staff to dial up something to get these two connected consistently.

[Mojouw]

Take out his last year where he ran around and threw to Addison and look at the stats. Very similar.

https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb...pickett-1.html
https://www.pro-football-reference.c...P/PickKe00.htm

He's a gritty guy with off-the charts leadership intangibles. But he is a system QB trapped in a catastrophic system. It is a recipe for failure and frustration.

[steelcityboyz]

I'm not going to freak out and panic with Kenny just yet. Yes he's playing pretty bad right now, but I think he and the coaches need a full season to see what he's capable of. After the season if he still looks bad, address it in the draft. I don't think anybody thought KP was going to come in here and take the Steelers to the super bowl in his first season, i mean look how bad Bradshaw played in his first few seasons.

[oneforthetoe]

Not giving up on Kenny yet but there is something wrong at the moment. He has always missed his share of easy passes, but he seems confused, which goes against what is seen as his strength. Is it Canada? Did Kenny get overconfident with his late season and preseason success? Whatever the issue it better get worked out. One thing for sure is we need to get a run game going - and not wait until the 4th quarter.

One sliver of hope to me is that is that I don't think Kenny is the type of player who will fall into a shell for the season. We get a run game going, use play action to Pickens and maybe we can get slightly above average offense for the season. couple that with a great D and we could still be a force to reckon with.

[DuckHodges]

I have higher expectations of him in his 2nd year. The 2nd year is often telling about where the player will go the rest of his career, and honestly I'm not impressed right now.

[El Kabong]

I think it's too soon to try to definitively say anything about Kenny. I'm holding out hope that they will get the offense sorted and by October look like an actual bona fide NFL offense.

[86WARD]

How do we know what we are really getting in Pickett if the offense is so bad?

[Steeler-in-west]

Last years KP was good, he looked like a future franchise QB. This year, best I can think of he’s not prepared and the o line doesn’t look good. Cole looks like he’s being overpowered and Moore doesn’t look good either. But overall lack of preparedness of KP in particular, I can think of one or two people to point the finger at for that.

[Penglose]

How do we know what we are really getting in Pickett if the offense is so bad?

Is that a serious question? See last three games. Offense is loaded with talent. We know what we had with Pickett. Not necessarily what he can be, but what we had for sure.

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No one gives a shit if someone disagrees with them. What gets you put on ignore is being a jackwagon every darn time.

No wonder Wisconsin is going to shit.

[DesertSteel]

That near interception throw near the sideline... Who makes that kind of throw?! It's inexplicable.

[Craic]

That near interception throw near the sideline... Who makes that kind of throw?! It's inexplicable.

I wouldn't say its inexplicable, not by a long shot. We just don't like the explanation. Here's how I see it.

1. Offensive line sucks right now, Pickett can sit in the pocket and throw the ball.
2. Pickett feels like he needs to make things happen.
3. Add together one and two, and he moves outside the pocket and makes a horrible pass downfield trying to force something to happen. I don't think he was throwing that ball away, or, if he was, it was a split second and half-hearted decision, which is why you saw it go where it did.

I wasn't sold on the kid last year until the end of the year. I was excited for him to come back. But now, I'm back to where I was the middle of last year. It's too early to make any long-lasting decisions and more importantly, his O-line needs more time to come together and give him more options (i.e. more time and the possibility of a run game).

At this point, vintage Ben R. would be mediocre behind this line. In fact . . . he was. Just think about 2008. That defense carried us to the SB. The offense sucked because the O line sucked.

[Mojouw]

I wouldn't say its inexplicable, not by a long shot. We just don't like the explanation. Here's how I see it.

1. Offensive line sucks right now, Pickett can sit in the pocket and throw the ball.
2. Pickett feels like he needs to make things happen.
3. Add together one and two, and he moves outside the pocket and makes a horrible pass downfield trying to force something to happen. I don't think he was throwing that ball away, or, if he was, it was a split second and half-hearted decision, which is why you saw it go where it did.

I wasn't sold on the kid last year until the end of the year. I was excited for him to come back. But now, I'm back to where I was the middle of last year. It's too early to make any long-lasting decisions and more importantly, his O-line needs more time to come together and give him more options (i.e. more time and the possibility of a run game).

At this point, vintage Ben R. would be mediocre behind this line. In fact . . . he was. Just think about 2008. That defense carried us to the SB. The offense sucked because the O line sucked.

There is one other factor at work.

Last year, it took a handful of weeks for KP to adjust to the NFL. Than over the second half of the season, he adjusted, the offense came together, and we all thought we saw the next 10 year+ starting QB. BUT...and I totally forgot this because I got excited....the NFL didn't have enough tape to adjust to KP. Now they do. Now teams can gameplan for KP and his tendencies. They can take away things and force KP into situations he doesn't want to be in. Can KP counter-adjust? Right now, it looks like he can not. If he is as football smart as they claim....he will.

And it needs mentioned that the offensive system isn't doing him any favors by being totally predictable and doing nothing to make his life easier. Watch the LBs next Steelers game. They are moving instantly to where the ball is going. That is basically impossible to do in the NFL unless you are just totally sure of what a team is doing pre-snap.

I am trying to remain positive (it is now mid-week and I got all my angst out last few days) and talk myself into KP (again). But I do have concerns that the ONLY college season where he looked like an NFL QB prospect seems to be his last college season and the one where he decided that running around and flinging YOLO passes to Addison was a good idea. What if that isn't KP and the "real" KP is the guy who spent all those other years completing 60% (or less) of his passes for like a dozen TDs and 9 picks against not exactly a murder's row of mid-major and below opponents?

At the end of last season and this off-season I was convinced that KP was going to be another example of missed scouting by the publicly available draft "experts". And they miss a great deal. But they also get a great deal correct. What if "they" were right about KP? As an analogous example....there were detractors about Bryce Young. And from the little I have seen....they may be correct. His game does not translate well to the NFL.

Anyway....I think that "wait and see"....as your post is advising....is the only realistic response. I went from not worrying about KP's ultimate ceiling to being back to worried about it.

[Steeler-in-west]

There is one other factor at work.

Last year, it took a handful of weeks for KP to adjust to the NFL. Than over the second half of the season, he adjusted, the offense came together, and we all thought we saw the next 10 year+ starting QB. BUT...and I totally forgot this because I got excited....the NFL didn't have enough tape to adjust to KP. Now they do. Now teams can gameplan for KP and his tendencies. They can take away things and force KP into situations he doesn't want to be in. Can KP counter-adjust? Right now, it looks like he can not. If he is as football smart as they claim....he will.

And it needs mentioned that the offensive system isn't doing him any favors by being totally predictable and doing nothing to make his life easier. Watch the LBs next Steelers game. They are moving instantly to where the ball is going. That is basically impossible to do in the NFL unless you are just totally sure of what a team is doing pre-snap.

I am trying to remain positive (it is now mid-week and I got all my angst out last few days) and talk myself into KP (again). But I do have concerns that the ONLY college season where he looked like an NFL QB prospect seems to be his last college season and the one where he decided that running around and flinging YOLO passes to Addison was a good idea. What if that isn't KP and the "real" KP is the guy who spent all those other years completing 60% (or less) of his passes for like a dozen TDs and 9 picks against not exactly a murder's row of mid-major and below opponents?

At the end of last season and this off-season I was convinced that KP was going to be another example of missed scouting by the publicly available draft "experts". And they miss a great deal. But they also get a great deal correct. What if "they" were right about KP? As an analogous example....there were detractors about Bryce Young. And from the little I have seen....they may be correct. His game does not translate well to the NFL.

Anyway....I think that "wait and see"....as your post is advising....is the only realistic response. I went from not worrying about KP's ultimate ceiling to being back to worried about it.

you stole my line about the tape, or you beat me to it. This is where a good offensive coordinator comes in and makes adjustments to help KP counter what the defenses are doing. More design roll outs quick dump offs to Warren and Najee, something to get KP into rhythm. Right now KP is off and second guessing - so he’s missing stuff he would’ve seen last year.

[pczach]

I wouldn't say its inexplicable, not by a long shot. We just don't like the explanation. Here's how I see it.

1. Offensive line sucks right now, Pickett can sit in the pocket and throw the ball.
2. Pickett feels like he needs to make things happen.
3. Add together one and two, and he moves outside the pocket and makes a horrible pass downfield trying to force something to happen. I don't think he was throwing that ball away, or, if he was, it was a split second and half-hearted decision, which is why you saw it go where it did.

I wasn't sold on the kid last year until the end of the year. I was excited for him to come back. But now, I'm back to where I was the middle of last year. It's too early to make any long-lasting decisions and more importantly, his O-line needs more time to come together and give him more options (i.e. more time and the possibility of a run game).

At this point, vintage Ben R. would be mediocre behind this line. In fact . . . he was. Just think about 2008. That defense carried us to the SB. The offense sucked because the O line sucked.

Everyone agrees Patrick Mahomes is a great quarrterback. Now go back and watch him in the super bowl a couple years ago where his offensive line couldn't block anybody. He didn't look like Patrick Mahomes anymore.

This stuff matters. The offensive line needs to come together as a unit and clean up their act. It isn't pretty right now.

Pickett still needs to do better when he has players open, but the pressure is affecting his footwork, which affects his abililty to throw the ball acurately. He is also pressing, trying to make plays, which leads to bad decisions and interceptions.

Everything will calm down and get better when the OL begins to play at a reasonable level. They are nowhere near that yet IMO.

Also, when Pickett last DJ, he lost his best route runner. He knew where DJ was going to be on every play, and when he was going to get there. The OL already has him off schedule. Not having that glue guy that provides stability and a player that has his game on the clock is hurting him right now.

And just to add one thing here. The tight ends are not being used again. This wreaks of the Matt Canada offense with whatever impact Tomlin has on limiting things. It ain't working.

This is not even close to being all Kenny Pickett. It looks like Canada is only giving him half the field to play with. That can work here and there somtimes, but when you can't even look off the safeties, everyone is following the eyes of the QB and flying to the spot. This is quarterback coaching and football 101 here that they are failing. They should be embarrassed.

[steelcityboyz]

Everyone agrees Patrick Mahomes is a great quarrterback. Now go back and watch him in the super bowl a couple years ago where his offensive line couldn't block anybody. He didn't look like Patrick Mahomes anymore.

This stuff matters. The offensive line needs to come together as a unit and clean up their act. It isn't pretty right now.

Pickett still needs to do better when he has players open, but the pressure is affecting his footwork, which affects his abililty to throw the ball acurately. He is also pressing, trying to make plays, which leads to bad decisions and interceptions.

Everything will calm down and get better when the OL begins to play at a reasonable level. They are nowhere near that yet IMO.

Also, when Pickett last DJ, he lost his best route runner. He knew where DJ was going to be on every play, and when he was going to get there. The OL already has him off schedule. Not having that glue guy that provides stability and a player that has his game on the clock is hurting him right now.

And just to add one thing here. The tight ends are not being used again. This wreaks of the Matt Canada offense with whatever impact Tomlin has on limiting things. It ain't working.

This is not even close to being all Kenny Pickett. It looks like Canada is only giving him half the field to play with. That can work here and there somtimes, but when you can't even look off the safeties, everyone is following the eyes of the QB and flying to the spot. This is quarterback coaching and football 101 here that they are failing. They should be embarrassed.

I totally agree with it not even being close to being all Kenny Pickett, as one poster here would LOVE it to be. That said, good post!

[DesertSteel]

I wouldn't say its inexplicable, not by a long shot. We just don't like the explanation. Here's how I see it.

1. Offensive line sucks right now, Pickett can sit in the pocket and throw the ball.
2. Pickett feels like he needs to make things happen.
3. Add together one and two, and he moves outside the pocket and makes a horrible pass downfield trying to force something to happen. I don't think he was throwing that ball away, or, if he was, it was a split second and half-hearted decision, which is why you saw it go where it did.

I wasn't sold on the kid last year until the end of the year. I was excited for him to come back. But now, I'm back to where I was the middle of last year. It's too early to make any long-lasting decisions and more importantly, his O-line needs more time to come together and give him more options (i.e. more time and the possibility of a run game).

At this point, vintage Ben R. would be mediocre behind this line. In fact . . . he was. Just think about 2008. That defense carried us to the SB. The offense sucked because the O line sucked.

Downfield? Are you talking about the same play? It was on the sideline and it was an easy throw away and he threw it right at the defender who wasn’t far away.

[Dwinsgames]

That near interception throw near the sideline... Who makes that kind of throw?! It's inexplicable.

1 million percent agree

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It is tough to find a Rodgers to follow Favre, or a Young to follow Montana. Back to back HoFers is rare. Maybe don’t hope for the moon with KP when all we really need is be better than Trubisky/Rudolph.

but is he ? sure doesn't look like it thus far

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Pickett's QBR is 18.8, last in the NFL.

....

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as I have said before ...I was NOT in favor of drafting him to begin with ....

but since he is now here and he is what we got I most certainly want him to turn out to be awesome ... I WANT TO EAT CROW on this one but its looking less and less like I will have to ...

[RunNGun]

1 million percent agree

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but is he ? sure doesn't look like it thus far

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....

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as I have said before ...I was NOT in favor of drafting him to begin with ....

but since he is now here and he is what we got I most certainly want him to turn out to be awesome ... I WANT TO EAT CROW on this one but its looking less and less like I will have to ...

Some guy said that Sam Howell might have been a better option. Idk who he was but maybe he was right? I'll give KP some more time, but as of right now that guy is looking right.

[dislocatedday]

Some guy said that Sam Howell might have been a better option. Idk who he was but maybe he was right? I'll give KP some more time, but as of right now that guy is looking right.

That was Dwinsgames. He has been the most vocal about Howell, but I did also have Howell as the guy I wanted the Steelers to draft last year. Howell lost most of his supporting cast his last year in college, and so his stat numbers were not as good and this affected his"draft stock". I really liked Howell coming out though.

Howell has Eric Beienemy now though as his OC.......whereas Pickett is saddled with Matt Canada. I'm not ready to give up on Pickett, but he really does need to turn it around and start making better passes when he does throw it.

[steel striker]

Some guy said that Sam Howell might have been a better option. Idk who he was but maybe he was right? I'll give KP some more time, but as of right now that guy is looking right.

Not to mention it does not hurt when your OC is Eric Bieniemy!

[DesertSteel]

Pickett's QBR is 18.8, last in the NFL.

[ETL]

I just watched the game on DVR. I personally think Pickett played as best as he could.

Our OL played like shit. Maybe it was because Cleveland has a really good defensive front but I challenge any QB to try to play well behind a shitty OL like that. Every single OL player had snaps where they looked embarrassing.

unless the OL shapes up, Kenny will continue to look bad. And even worse he will get injured.

I think Kenny played decent. I’m glad at least he didn’t give up two TDs like Watson did. And I promise you there is more whining by Steelers fans over how Pickett is than Browns fans complaining about Watson not protecting the ball.

[DuckHodges]

I just watched the game on DVR. I personally think Pickett played as best as he could.

Our OL played like shit. Maybe it was because Cleveland has a really good defensive front but I challenge any QB to try to play well behind a shitty OL like that. Every single OL player had snaps where they looked embarrassing.

unless the OL shapes up, Kenny will continue to look bad. And even worse he will get injured.

I think Kenny played decent. I’m glad at least he didn’t give up two TDs like Watson did. And I promise you there is more whining by Steelers fans over how Pickett is than Browns fans complaining about Watson not protecting the ball.

as steelers fans we have higher expectations. the browns fanbase is probably punch drunk and is used to sucking

[stillers4me]

As Steeler fans, we are used to Ben making chicken salad out of chicken shit.

1. Kenny is not Ben.
2. Kenny is playing scared because he doesn't trust his O-line nor does he have faith in the plays that are being called. He is totally justified in #2.
3. Kenny is trying to make chicken salad but is being set up for failure because ...see #1.

I'm not judging him until #2 is fixed and he can become his own man.

[Born2Steel]

It is tough to find a Rodgers to follow Favre, or a Young to follow Montana. Back to back HoFers is rare. Maybe don’t hope for the moon with KP when all we really need is be better than Trubisky/Rudolph.

[86WARD]

Are teams adjusting to Kenny or are they just familiar with the same offense that has been trotted out there week after week for four seasons?

Why would a team bother scheming for Kenny when they already know the offense? There’s no point…

[Mojouw]

Are teams adjusting to Kenny or are they just familiar with the same offense that has been trotted out there week after week for four seasons?

Why would a team bother scheming for Kenny when they already know the offense? There’s no point…

Either way....it is the same end result.

I know you hate the scheme and the OC. I do as well. But....but....there are multiple plays a game (both completed and incomplete) where even Canada's garbage calls get guys open. Last season KP hit those for doubles, triples, and home runs almost every time. This season he is just missing them. So as much as I agree that Canada is making this all far harder than it should be....KP is solely to blame for a portion of this crap-sandwich as well.

[86WARD]

Either way....it is the same end result.

I know you hate the scheme and the OC. I do as well. But....but....there are multiple plays a game (both completed and incomplete) where even Canada's garbage calls get guys open. Last season KP hit those for doubles, triples, and home runs almost every time. This season he is just missing them. So as much as I agree that Canada is making this all far harder than it should be....KP is solely to blame for a portion of this crap-sandwich as well.

I believe the same and like any QB, Pickett misses reads. I just wonder how many of those “open guys” are even part of the actual “reads/play” at those times. Is he missing those reads or being instructed to not play that read? Remember, the same issue was there with Trubisky and Ben.


Questions can be asked and everyone can debate a k and forth either way but the end result is always the same…there’s a lot of shit fucked up with this offensive unit and the easiest fix is to start with the OC and work down from there. Easier to replace one than eleven with salary cap implications.

[Devil's D]

I see a lot of contortion to minimize Pickett’s responsibility. The entire offense looks bad, and Pickett in particular looks as bad as anyone else on the team (besides maybe Gunner). Just like the poor play of other units impact his performance, his poor performance has impacted the other units….including the plays the Steeler’s bum of an OC can call. Most importantly, I’m pretty sure Pickett is the one actually throwing the ball during these HUGE misses. Not Canada or anyone on the O-Line. Pickett’s poor play has been a BIG part of the inept offence for the past two game. This is not even close to being everyone but Kenny Pickett….it is everyone AND Kenny Pickett.

I was excited about how he ended last year, and even about his performance in preseason. Hopefully this is just a bad run, and he gets back to that level of play. However, it seems that a lot of young QBs follow the same pattern. That is, struggle early, have a couple break-out games, and after teams get enough tape……abruptly drift into obscurity.

[Born2Steel]

Lol!! We coulda had Baker Mayfield too!