My thoughts on regular season wk 10

Kwon, torn achillies

 

An average to high Wonderlic score isn't necessary correlated with an amazing career, however, there is a correlation, with an even stronger correlation with a low score predicting that a player will not amount to much. There are exceptions, but those exceptions usually have a couple of unusual, defining strengths that can make up for their lower football IQ (which btw is not the same as a QB's actual intelligence - someone could have an IQ of 130 and still score low on the Wonderlic - it's more about real time decision making skills). Kenny exhibits no such strengths - or at least none that I've seen thus far. I'm honestly surprised that Pittsburgh didn't look into his mental rating a bit more deeply, bc I think it could def have been viewed as a potentially huge red flag.

 

Addressing the QB spot first.

I see a lot of Stroud did this or stroud did that, Dobbs this, that, and so on.
There's lot of differences here.

I don't think Matt Canada could ever design a system that utilizes the WR's like Houston does.
I don't think Matt Canada can design a system to play into his QB's strengths.

That said, We do have a performance issue at QB
- Some of it is most definitely in coaching. He is not being coached the right way.
- Some of it is play design.
- Some of it comes from stupid penalties.

The QB
I never envisioned Kenny Pickett as Joe Montana II.
But what I see is a QB that does not give the ball up.
He has a good throw, and good accuracy.
He seems to flourish when the plays are to his strength. Play Action is his strongest point.
When the run game works, he is on.
There are plenty of OC's that could make Kenny's life much easier.

In the end, I am a bit concerned about "The Standard"

Cananda has no business being here.
I would like to see the Steelers go after a quality OC and a solid QB coach.
Then I would hope they invest in the OL with the draft. (Jones has made an impact - the center needs to go next)
I could see the same WR's but I think a solid dependable TE is big.

The Defense, I'm going to toss Austin out.
I hate to pile on, but we need some new blood in the coaching.
I am fine with Tomlin as long as he understands and is on board with the direction.
I think he'd be fine with an OC that could come up with a design that puts points on the board and makes his life so much easier.

I don't think there's a lot of player overhaul.
Just execute the draft well, make some smart FA moves.
And let a good staff build a good system.


There's too many holes, big plays given up.
Our defense keeps winning games but if they hadn't given up some of those big plays it wouldn't be like that.

 

NE used that same play on probably half of Wes Welker's receptions, and I guarantee they were called for it less than 5% of the time. Same thing with a similarly built water bug they used after Welker left. I just can't remember his name. Danny Amendola?

 

I agree, there have been excuses all year from OC to line to no running game, but there is just something missing in his game. Not sure he will get it, but I'm finding it harder and harder to believe he will pull it out.

 

Back to back game winning picks. Injuries suck, so does Kenny lol. Good win

 

Unfortunately if we look at Tomlin's history in recent years, he will probably stick to Pickett way too long....The same thing he is doing right now with Canada

 

Both Terry Bradshaw and Dan Marino had lower scores than Kenny. Like SAT scores, the people are putting less and less stock in it because it's not a good predictor of someone's potential.

 

Like I said, there are certainly exceptions, but those are players that tend to have other strengths that can't be easily measured with Wonderlic alone. I still think it's a score that should be taken into at least some consideration.

 

The same thing was going on with Big Ben. No throws down the middle.

 

C.J. Stroud had an abysmal S2 Score, only 18% per this article here. He is doing just fine. Hell, Ryan Fitzpatrick had one of the highest Wonderlic Scores ever recorded and became nothing more than a journeyman backup. I do agree with the general consensus that Kenny has been lackluster (for me, thus far until I see the Green Bay Packers tape). This all said though, the entire Offense is seriously been underperforming all season sans the past two games.

 

I said this earlier about our wrs, the last 3 seasons they just get no seperation. I really dont think KFP is good enough to throw them open either. Unfortunately we have had a wr problem ever since AB left…true story

 

Yea, last week I heard on a radio show there were likely 7 QB's that could go in the first 2 rounds. We have issues at CB and C that need attention, but if someone even decent drops in the 2nd I think you go for it, like any position you need depth and competition. It may be better OC and coaching can steer him, but those throws are painful to watch.

 

Once again nice review!

 

The vast majority of successful QBs since 2000 have had Wonderlic scores that are at least above 22. Exceptions on both ends exist, but I think it's a mistake not to take into account a player's ratings when it comes to being able to think quickly on their feet. Maybe a different OC would allow Kenny to develop his own unique strengths, I don’t know - but thus far, he's not shown the athletic aptitude to cover for what is clearly at this point, a very questionable level of decision making skills - a deficit that, in theory, the Wonderlic score predicts. It's not a perfect rating by any means and shouldn't be the sole consideration is signing a player, but it should be taken into consideration along with other metrics.

 

That room is bigger than my backyard

 

The worst thing this team could do is pick up an early round QB. We still need to replace three of the starting five on the Oline for a start.

 

Granted his ribs may still be an issue, but the decisions on some of his throws have been abysmal, and I'll even grant that some of the routes and receiver seperation are issues, but damn man he is not playing NFL caliber football, not as a starter.

 

Our WRs don't get separation because our offensive scheme sucks more often than not. There is talent at WR and TE whrn Pat is healthy. There's a reason why former players, analysts, fans, etc have all criticized Canada, and nobody from the team ever backs him up.. It's because everyone knows he sucks and is in over his head.

The alarming thing with Pickett is when his receivers do get open, he tends to miss them.. Either he doesn't see them or he makes a bad throw their way. That's a problem.

 

I think the lack of separation by the other receivers and Cole's poor play are affecting Pickett. It isn't just that he doesn't feel like he can step up in the pocket. Cole also has too many low snaps and those disrupt the timing of plays.

 

He missed a few throws, but he didn't get a lot of help from his receivers or the officials today. Johnson dropped one long pass inside the 10. The OPI on Austin wiped out what should have been the clinching pass to Pickens. A corner grabs Johnson's jersey with both hands on the drive before the half and there is no call. That one kept Johnson from coming back to the ball and likely cost the Steelers a field goal.

 

One thing I liked was allowing Kenny and the Offense to at least try and win the game at the end on 3rd down with a throw, to bad pick penalty called on play.

 

KP is doing exactly what Tomlin wants him to do. Don't turn the ball over, don't take risks, make a couple of positive plays a game and wait for the other team to make a critical mistake. Jordan Love moved the Packers up and down the field but threw 2 killer interceptions on their last 2 possessions. Kenny for the 5th straight game didn't turn the ball over and he is 13-5 over his last 18 games. Yes it isn't spectacular but it is successful.

 

Injuries have ruined a good defense. The linebacking corps was really good, but now they have a huge hole inside with Holcomb and Alexander gone. They are going to have to do something creative with those outside linebackers. They just can't afford to have Golden and Herbig on the bench so often with the issues elsewhere.

I know he wasn't doing much earlier in the season, but I do wonder how much they are missing Freiermuth. Washington just isn't a threat as a receiver, which makes it tougher to attack the middle and easier for teams to take away the wide receivers.