Pittsburgh offense
Pittsburgh offense
If training camp practices have served as any indication, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ preseason opener against the Green Bay Packers could be a slop fest. Even more than usual. First-time exhibition outings aren’t known for their crispness. So far, the Steelers haven’t shown enough of that in a more controlled and predictable practice environment.
False starts. Botched exchanges and bobbled handoffs. Miscommunication on routes. All on display the first two weeks in Latrobe. An issue we’ve consistently noted throughout our daily reports and a problem Mike McCarthy, who is generally positive about everything and everyone during daily meetings with the media, couldn’t help but acknowledge to reporters Tuesday.
“I don’t like where we are as far as the number of missed assignments we’ve had,” he said via a team-issued transcript. “They’re a little higher than normal.”
While McCarthy attempted to soften the critique by saying the number of mistakes wasn’t totally “out of bounds,” he later doubled down by admitting he’s more worried about Pittsburgh’s “pre-snap penalties” than the storyline of facing his former team again.
The issues aren’t exclusive to any one player or unit. Starters to backups have made mistakes. Troy Fautanu and Germie Bernard have false-started multiple times. For all his playmaking, Roman Wilson and Aaron Rodgers still haven’t felt completely on the same page. Will Howard has had too many issues with exchanges and handoffs. Jaylen Warren is fumbling too often.
I don’t want to cast doom and gloom on the season. These issues can be corrected over time. It’s what camp and the preseason are for, and McCarthy admitted he’s putting a lot on the team’s plate during his first summer with the team. Still, they’re impossible to ignore. With Will Howard and Drew Allar likely to play a ton, it’ll be critical for the offense to stay on-schedule. Evaluating these guys will be tough if the offense is constantly backed up because of penalties, dropping passes, or fumbling the football away.
Teams and players can surprise. Everyone becomes a little different when they’re inside a stadium. Some answer the call and button up. Others can let nerves get the best of them. Who rises to meet the moment and who falters will be on my list to watch tomorrow night. Hopefully, there’s enough solid foundational football to prevent the main takeaway from the game being “that was an ugly night.”