A 4 man rush

[gary2]

Only 1 guy blocked



Not knowing how or where the other 3 Winning defenders are going to end up, I would have looked to get out too.

5 guys blocking 4 should not allow this deep of penetration

The line of scrimmage was the 32.

2 Rushers are at the 42 and 1 at the 40 before the sack.

 

[Jakey_John]

Had our guy actually blocked the guy who sacked him he would have run for the first down. This is clearly the OLs fault.

It’s ok. He’s hurt anyway. Trubisky can go 13-0 so it’s fine.

 

[gary2]

Had our guy actually blocked the guy who sacked him he would have run for the first down. This is clearly the OLs fault.

It’s ok. He’s hurt anyway. Trubisky can go 13-0 so it’s fine.

Jones was engaged. Kenny went outside the block, maybe a better chance going inside

Still, 5 blocking 4 should be better. A lot better. Particularly on 4th and 1?

 

[PittMan2003]

This is definitely still a problem for Kenny. Happy feet. But not unexpected given his line is so bad.

 

[Burgh15]

Had our guy actually blocked the guy who sacked him he would have run for the first down. This is clearly the OLs fault.

It’s ok. He’s hurt anyway. Trubisky can go 13-0 so it’s fine.

He was. As soon as Pickett bailed that put Jones in a real bad spot. Instead, if he steps up he hits a wide open Heyward for a first down. This sack is on Pickett.

 

[h2p_5150]

That is good pass protection. If Pickett stands in the pocket like a QB is supposed to he has 3 seconds to release the ball- that's a long time in the NFL. That play being a sack is on the QB.

 

[gary2]

'I Hated The Playcall:' Ben Roethlisberger Breaks Down Steelers Failed 4th And One

Ben Roethlisberger was just as surprised as the rest of Steelers’ Nation. Facing a fourth and one late in the third quarter in a critical moment of the game, Pittsburgh in Houston Texans’ territory down 16-6, the Steelers opted against running the ball. Instead, they came out in shotgun, a...

steelersdepot.com

 

[DruidTM]

The problem is going shotgun on 4th and 1 to begin with

Go under center and QB keeper

Canada sucks

 

[gary2]

Only 1 guy blocked

View embedded media

Not knowing how or where the other 3 Winning defenders are going to end up, I would have looked to get out too.

5 guys blocking 4 should not allow this deep of penetration

The line of scrimmage was the 32.

2 Rushers are at the 42 and 1 at the 40 before the sack.

Make that 6 blocking 4. Harris in the backfield.

 

[pittbb80]

When there is a jail break on most downs it’s hard to remain calm in the pocket Yes KP hasn’t played well but I’m not sure these a qb in the league who would be playing well with that OL lack of talent at the Wr spot and a moron for OC

 

[FireballZ]

That is good pass protection. If Pickett stands in the pocket like a QB is supposed to he has 3 seconds to release the ball- that's a long time in the NFL. That play being a sack is on the QB.

Did Kenny make whoopie to your mama?

 

[Zeldas Open Roof]

only pitt fans wearing kenny pickett jerseys would blame anyone other than #8 on this. he missed HEyward and rolled into a sack (and an injury).


it's ok to be critical of KP, you wont lose your pitt fan card, i promise..

 

[Zeldas Open Roof]

 

[steelcurtain55.]

Pass pro is pretty solid on this one. It's hard to tell what the routes were or his progressions to know why the ball isn't out yet.

 

[h2p_5150]

Pass pro is pretty solid on this one. It's hard to tell what the routes were or his progressions to know why the ball isn't out yet.

It's not a good play call- the top read was blanketed. The biggest issue is the spin. You can't spin in the pocket on 4th and one unless you are Lamar Jackson or Mike Vick.

 

[h2p_5150]

Did Kenny make whoopie to your mama?

Weird comment. Do you think that clip is an example of good NFL QB play? Do you ever see Brady, Brees or Manning doing spin moves in the pocket?

 

[Zeldas Open Roof]

kenny needs 4 weeks off so the timing on the injury is a blessing in disguise. just curious if Mitch plays well, you have to keep him in. i doubt it will happen though, mitch isnt any better than Kenny..

 

[steelcurtain55.]

It's not a good play call- the top read was blanketed. The biggest issue is the spin. You can't spin in the pocket on 4th and one unless you are Lamar Jackson or Mike Vick.

Why isn't a good play call based on that footage?

You can only see the top WR and it's pretty safe to say he's not the primary read.

In terms of spins, Kenny sacks himself here because he's seeing ghosts, something that many scouts said he suffered from in college. But, i've seen Big Ben, Steve Young, John Elway, Brett Favre - all hit spin moves in their scramble drills.

 

[Zeldas Open Roof]

Why isn't a good play call based on that footage?

You can only see the top WR and it's pretty safe to say he's not the primary read.

In terms of spins, Kenny sacks himself here because he's seeing ghosts, something that many scouts said he suffered from in college. But, i've seen Big Ben, Steve Young, John Elway, Brett Favre - all hit spin moves in their scramble drills.

it was a bad call for sure but heyward was the only option and he was open briefly and kenny was staring right at him. no clue why he didnt throw it.

people saying najee was open in flat but he had his back to QB and a LB zeroing in on him. This is a play where you have to throw it when you see an opening. Again, bad call for sure but mind boggling why he didnt throw it.

 

[The Ole Six-Fiver]

Kenny is, for good or bad, not a masochist.

In his first three years playing at Pitt we ask complained about his happy feet. But that was largely due to being spooked by our terrible offensive lines. Strangely he doesn’t seem eager to be pummeled constantly and it impacts his instincts.

Amazingly (not really, sarcasm) once 2021 occurred, and the OL was fairly solid, he stood in longer and found open guys he’s not finding now.

Some here will counter either (1) he should just be willing to stand there and take his constant destruction, I never liked him, when Drew Alar coming out, is Christian Hackensack still available, Kenny’s a coward (this is brilliant take of the D-bag Muller clown in the Fan), or more reasonable (2) there are places within the carnage around him (it’s not even fair to call them pockets; they aren’t that sizable or last long). Nevertheless he should be able to find those random occasional spots where the DL ISN’T running totally uninhibited at him. The wankoff dateless nerds and dweebs who sit endlessly in front of replay video screens and rewind plays constantly and advance them nanosecond by nanosecond will indeed find those occasions and gawk in the voice of Screech, “look, Kenny sucks, I should have his hot wife, not him! Where’s the Kleenex?”. Good for you Eugene. Here’s another 16G for your Ubuntu laptop.

Seriously, the best QBs DO have until innate ability to consistently find those scant openings, move nearly instinctively to them, all while scanning and going through progressions and making perfect throws. That all seems impossible, BUT obviously there are some rare humans who are blessed to do this. I’m not sure KP is one of those. I’m not sure it can really ever be taught.

Unfortunately for Steelers and their fans, neither of the backups can do it either.

 

[steelcurtain55.]

it was a bad call for sure but heyward was the only option and he was open briefly and kenny was staring right at him. no clue why he didnt throw it.

people saying najee was open in flat but he had his back to QB and a LB zeroing in on him. This is a play where you have to throw it when you see an opening. Again, bad call for sure but mind boggling why he didnt throw it.

From that video, how can you see who is open to the right side of the formation. The video doesn't show it. It's obvious that is where his eyes are. So I'm not sure how anyone can say its a bad call when you can't see the play from the video.

 

[Zeldas Open Roof]

From that video, how can you see who is open to the right side of the formation. The video doesn't show it. It's obvious that is where his eyes are. So I'm not sure how anyone can say its a bad call when you can't see the play from the video.

there are a million videos out there showing it.


Go to 14:18 point, you see Heyward running a "Snag" route, which frankly i dont know what the hell that means, looks like a curl or just him running into defender and turning around, regardless, it's there, right in front of pickett, and he just does a ballerina twist for no good reason and runs into the sack..

 

[gary2]

there are a million videos out there showing it.


Go to 14:18 point, you see Heyward running a "Snag" route, which frankly i dont know what the hell that means, looks like a curl or just him running into defender and turning around, regardless, it's there, right in front of pickett, and he just does a ballerina twist for no good reason and runs into the sack..

View embedded media

How long does that take to develop?

People are also dismissing the inside pressure because the defender was ultimately discarded.

Was he discarded whille he was a factor in the play or only after Pickett started to move out of the pocket?

 

[Zeldas Open Roof]

How long does that take to develop?

People are also dismissing the inside pressure because the defender was ultimately discarded.

Was he discarded whille he was a factor in the play or only after Pickett started to move out of the pocket?

well it was 4th and 1 so you cant take your good ol time. he ran 6 yards and turned around. how ever long it takes conner heyward to run 6 yards and turn around..

the pocket was there, make the throw.. dont run into the one person who can sack you..

 

[pittmeister]

well it was 4th and 1 so you cant take your good ol time. he ran 6 yards and turned around. how ever long it takes conner heyward to run 6 yards and turn around..

the pocket was there, make the throw.. dont run into the one person who can sack you..

All true. But when you have no confidence in your OL and they play like crap. This is what happens. It becomes chaos because their is no foundation. This past draft is the best one they’ve had in years. Need more of them.

 

[Zeldas Open Roof]

All true. But when you have no confidence in your OL and they play like crap. This is what happens. It becomes chaos because their is no foundation. This past draft is the best one they’ve had in years. Need more of them.

surprisingly enough, i've been most dissapointed with mason cole at center. that was the one position i thought we would be ok at on the OL.

Moore is out so Broderick is starting on sunday. Mason Rudolph better keep his helmet close by, we could see him sooner than later.

 

[The Ole Six-Fiver]

How long does that take to develop?

People are also dismissing the inside pressure because the defender was ultimately discarded.

Was he discarded whille he was a factor in the play or only after Pickett started to move out of the pocket?

It’s no point, some here want to show they aren’t Pitt nut slurpers so bad that they are engaged to jump on “Pickett is to blame for everything” bandwagon.

Meanwhile it’s a total and absolute breakdown of the entire offensive system, from HC, OC, OL, QB, RB, WR, TE… not necessarily in that exact order, but…Pretty much in that exact order.

On the play everyone blames Pickett on, he has a role in the failure of the play. Maybe most of the blame, actually. He is certainly not blameless.

But it started with the OC calling it and the HC not overruling it (since it was an absurd call). Then, receivers running routes likely too far and too long, given how short the distance needed, and in full knowledge of how awful pass protection has been.

Still, Pickett has had happy feet and he rolled the worst possible direction. In a vacuum, he’s mostly to blame as mentioned. In context, after getting creamed nearly every pass play for four straight weeks, there’s more understanding why

 

[PittMan2003]

there are a million videos out there showing it.


Go to 14:18 point, you see Heyward running a "Snag" route, which frankly i dont know what the hell that means, looks like a curl or just him running into defender and turning around, regardless, it's there, right in front of pickett, and he just does a ballerina twist for no good reason and runs into the sack..

View embedded media

That’s a good view. Yeah his pocket presence was the problem. Hadn’t seen that angle.

 

[steelcurtain55.]

there are a million videos out there showing it.


Go to 14:18 point, you see Heyward running a "Snag" route, which frankly i dont know what the hell that means, looks like a curl or just him running into defender and turning around, regardless, it's there, right in front of pickett, and he just does a ballerina twist for no good reason and runs into the sack..

View embedded media

appreciate the video.

I agree everything that you said about Pickett's scrambling for no reason in the manner he did.

However, I don't think snag is a bad call vs cover 2. Snag can be used to beat cover 2. It's poor execution by Pickens. He knows he wants that corner and the safety over the top has inside leverage on him but plays outside leverage post-snap. Pickens just runs vertical and pushes to the corner. He could have given Kenny a much better option had he:

1. Worked his vertical stem inside so the safety protects against the post prior to planting outside.

2. Taken his corner route to an out route.



IMO - there is a reason Pickens is covered a lot in games is due to a lack of game IQ and poor route running. IMO - this is an example of this.

It has also been said that Kenny struggles to get the offense into certain protections and in game adjustments. This might be an example of this as well.

 

[Gunga_Galunga]

It was a bad call on 4th and 1. Too many late developing routes down the field when you only need one yard.

Heyward wasn't really open. The only one open is Austin eventually, but Kenny bailed before seeing him.

Kenny had this problem a lot in 2019 and 2020, even though his protection wasn't horrible. I remember complaining about it when people complained about the OL. He ran himself into a lot of sacks. He fixed that in 2021 and started stepping up in the pocket more.

Assume it's a comfort thing, and he's clearly not comfortable in this offense.

 

[gary2]

It was a bad call on 4th and 1. Too many late developing routes down the field when you only need one yard.

Heyward wasn't really open. The only one open is Austin eventually, but Kenny bailed before seeing him.

Kenny had this problem a lot in 2019 and 2020, even though his protection wasn't horrible. I remember complaining about it when people complained about the OL. He ran himself into a lot of sacks. He fixed that in 2021 and started stepping up in the pocket more.

Assume it's a comfort thing, and he's clearly not comfortable in this offense.

Agree. Heyward delayed, then ran straight into the guy covering him before breaking to the middle. Took way too long.

Austin was the best bet. It would have helped had he cleared the underneath defender sooner or Harris cleared the underneath defender sooner for him.

The route tress should be designed to get receivers open quicker. These routes clearly did not.

The inside pressure was real. Stepping "up" probably results in a sack.

Kenny did sack himself with the spin. Jones was blocking out and Kenny ran straight into that.

In hindsight, his best decision would have been to hold his ground in the pocket (maybe take a step or two straight back to buy a fraction)

 

[The Ole Six-Fiver]

It was a bad call on 4th and 1. Too many late developing routes down the field when you only need one yard.

Heyward wasn't really open. The only one open is Austin eventually, but Kenny bailed before seeing him.

Kenny had this problem a lot in 2019 and 2020, even though his protection wasn't horrible. I remember complaining about it when people complained about the OL. He ran himself into a lot of sacks. He fixed that in 2021 and started stepping up in the pocket more.

Assume it's a comfort thing, and he's clearly not comfortable in this offense.

Yes. A lot of us were saying it for years. 2021 was really the anomaly in his career. The most fortuitous anomaly experienced perhaps by any human this side of Taylor Swift ever.

He has shown he can play solidly, even excellent … but needs a QB Whisperer coach tutoring him on the same system for three years; no less than the best WR in the nation; an outstanding TB; an underrated second WR; a serviceable TE; and most importantly, a good OL to get there.

They lifted him; not so much the opposite. Think of the td to Addison in the UVA game. That had PICK written on it. Addison being what he was bailed him out and turned it into a spectacular play. Does garbage Diontae do that? Think of Johnson’s F up that caused the Kenny INT in game one this season. Pickens not getting his feet down in the end zone two weeks back. Etc etc

The only assistant coach noteworthy on the Steelers staff is the doofus who gnaws an entire case of bubble gum during the game. Nobody is lifting Kenny on this team.

Kenny just isn’t that kind of miracle worker. He’s no Allen, Rodgers, etc.

If it’s Joe Schmuck from Iowa state playing QB I really wouldn’t care. Just another Steelers screw up, getting more common by the year. But he’s a Pitt guy so it makes it worse. All of this is the imperfect storm many predicted was very possible if not probable. This OL and inconsistent receivers and backs and most importantly, crappy staff finished off no less than a HOF QB and then ate up two other decent QBs after it. How could skittish Kenny thrive?

 

[steelcurtain55.]

The route tress should be designed to get receivers open quicker. These routes clearly did not.

Here's the deal. They saw cover 3 earlier in the game vs. this set. Snag as I said is both a cover 2 and cover 3 beater. So the play caller called SNAG knowing they could really high/low the corner on the concept and the route to the flat would've popped open immediately.

However, they're in a hard cover 2 which would've isolated Pickens on the safety. Pickens has a safety over the top of him. He has to know he's either in cover 2 or quarters (think Narduzzi). If you're running smash aka corner route, and you have a safety over you at depth, you have to adjust your stem. You have to threaten either with the post and then plant to the pylon or you break your route off @ 8-10 and drive to the sideline. He never once helps Kenny in this situation. But, if you're George "the greatest receiver in the NFL" you have to do a better job at route running and coverage recognition. The play caller is probably thinking, what safety in the NFL playing with a 10-12 yard cushion can really matchup with Pickens in one on one situation.

With all that being said - an NFL QB probably has to be able to get his team in and out of plays. If you're seeing cover 2, it's hard to get the ball out "quick." That's the beauty of cover 2. You immediately get all 5 underneath zones covered. The way you beat cover 2 is to find the voids down the field - the soft spots - down the middle of the field - 15 yards. Down the sidelines.

Cover 2 has several weaknesses -

4 verts - takes time
SMASH concepts - takes time
Run the ball - hits fast. We're the Steelers running it well that day? I don't know.

But quick game (3 step under center and 1 step in the gun) is usually not good.

Personally - I would've run the ball or checked into a run. However, Pickens screws the pooch on this one.

 

[Zeldas Open Roof]

Agree. Heyward delayed, then ran straight into the guy covering him before breaking to the middle. Took way too long.

Austin was the best bet. It would have helped had he cleared the underneath defender sooner or Harris cleared the underneath defender sooner for him.

The route tress should be designed to get receivers open quicker. These routes clearly did not.

The inside pressure was real. Stepping "up" probably results in a sack.

Kenny did sack himself with the spin. Jones was blocking out and Kenny ran straight into that.

In hindsight, his best decision would have been to hold his ground in the pocket (maybe take a step or two straight back to buy a fraction)

i've watched this play breakdown so many times and man i keep coming back to the idea that IF pickett trusts his pocket for 1 more second, literally one more second, he had Heyward open, He has Austin open on a deeper cross and he has Najee possibly in the left flat (although the DE could have been in the line of sight)..

i know i keep harping on it but KP just has to trust the pocket when it's there. easier said than done while i sit on my fat ass drinking beer screaming at the tv, preaching to him i know i know. but still, that's the job..