Offensive coordinator Matt Canada of the Pittsburgh Steelers can’t do anything right. That includes his reaction to Steelers touchdowns.
So it’s not surprising that Canada is again under fire for what he said to the media in the middle of the bye week.
“I feel really good about where we are, where are players are,” Canada told the media on October 11, via 93.7 The Fan. “I think our players are certainly frustrated and disappointed with our production., but I don’t think there is a lack of belief in them, with each other or where they think they can go. They understand they gotta be better.
“We’re sitting where we are sitting, we would like to be better, but there’s a lot of football left, and I think there is a good vibe from the guys about getting to go out and play the rest of the season and certainly do what they expected to coming into the season.”
#Steelers OC Matt Canada on evaluating the offense during the offense-what works and what doesn’t @jhathhorn
Not that anything Canada could say will help all that much, but that response isn’t going to quiet any “Fire, Matt Canada” chants. If anything, it will embolden them.
Steelers OC Matt Canada Says He Feels ‘Really Good’ About Where Offense Is
It’s not productive for Canada to be overly critical of quarterback Kenny Pickett, the struggling offensive line or any other facet of the Steelers offense. That would be placing blame elsewhere, which isn’t good for any player or coach to do.
But the opposite isn’t necessarily good either.
From a statistical perspective, Canada feeling good about anything the Steelers offense has done this season is rather insane. The Steelers are 27th in total offense and 29th in points scored. They are also 25th in passing yards and 29th in rushing.
The analytics statistics tell the same story — the Steelers offense is struggling. Pittsburgh is 25th in net yards per pass attempt and 27th in yards per carry.
Just 25% of Pittsburgh’s offensive possessions have ended in a score. That’s 30th in the league.
The struggles for the Steelers offense aren’t new either. In 39 games with Canada as offensive coordinator, the Steelers have never reached 400 yards or scored 30 points and won.
Pittsburgh has failed to reach even 300 yards in every game but one this season. In Week 5 against the Baltimore Ravens, they had 289 yards.
So, Canada will have to forgive Steelers fans if they don’t also “feel good” about where the offense is at the moment.
Did Canada Blame Steelers Players for Offense’s Struggles?
As previously stated, Canada is in a difficult spot. “Fire, Matt Canada” chants are even breaking out at Pittsburgh Penguins games.
But following his positive assertion about the Steelers offense by revealing how much the players are frustrated sent mixed signals. Steelers Depot’s Jonathan Heitritter argued that with those comments, Canada failed to be accountable for Pittsburgh’s offensive problems.
“Canada isn’t directly calling out his players for the reason this offense has been performing so poorly to start the season, but you don’t see any ownership from him as the man running the show,” wrote Heitritter.
“Instead of sticking with what hasn’t worked for three seasons and refusing to take ownership of the state of the offense, perhaps taking a little bit of the responsibility for the lack of production and looking into schemes that work to Pickett, the offensive line, and the skill players’ strength would get this offense going in the right direction as well as better execution from the players.”
To Canada’s credit, he did talk about making adjustments to the offense during the bye week.
“We got to look at what we are doing well and what we think we can get better at,” Canada told reporters. “Can we run this? Why is it not working? Was it who we played? Was it what we did? Simplifying in some areas, adding on in some other areas.”
However, the Steelers offense may be beyond fixing if only simple adjustments are going to be made.
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Matt Canada Provides Ridiculous Take, Mixed Message on Steelers Offense