Kovacevic: OK, let's see what Fichtner's got

Dec 21, 2019 • 2:33 am

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- "I don’t think anything went wrong. We were just a little bit on edge. That can spook a young quarterback."

My goodness.

That was from Randy Fichtner this week at the Rooney Complex. He'd been asked why the Steelers seemed so susceptible to the Bills' incessant blitzing the previous weekend, and his response, in essence, was twofold:

1. Huh? What problem?

2. It's the fourth-string QB's fault.

He also was asked why he'd limited James Conner, who'd been bludgeoning the defense with every rush, to eight whole carries.

"You kind of put them in certain packages and you try to get a flow to see where he's back at," Fichtner began on that count. "He worked hard to get back and, by the time he got back, he was ready to go. I don’t know that there was anything in particular that said, “OK, we are going to limit someone’s reps. ”

1. Huh? What problem?

2. Sorry, no idea why I buried Conner.

This was my favorite, when Fichtner was asked why, on that fateful fourth-and-7 at the Buffalo 25, Diontae Johnson, his only possession receiver and his best chance at a first down, wasn't even on the field. Instead, Deon Cain was in Johnson's slot, and Cain would be the primary target for what wound up Devlin 'Duck' Hodges' rally-killing pick.

You know, because he was spooked.

"Some plays that you actually have called, you've actually practiced them with certain people," he came back regarding Johnson. "You can’t just say, 'Well, given that one situation I would love to have him on the field.' Maybe that has to be in the consideration at times. But we believed in what we were going to do, so sometimes that happens."

1. Whatever. It only lost the game.

2. Deon = Diontae.

Oh, and this, too, which is well worth the watch:

I think Sean McDermott is doing a heck of a job in @BuffaloBills and it’s because he’s ready for moments-he doesn’t have to wait till Monday to see what adjustment is needed. THIS?? is really really good coaching. @OneBillsLive @TheBillsMafia @BuffRumblings #NFLGamepass pic.twitter.com/IC9LtsaLlG
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) December 17, 2019

That's NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky, a former QB in the league, praising Sean McDermott for smartly calling timeout on that same fourth-and-7 to realign the Bills' defense to maximize his blitz scheme to the Steelers' offensive formation.

Left unspoken by Orlovsky but laid bare for all to see: Fichtner kept the Steelers in precisely the same freaking formation! Seriously, every single number lines up in the same place! Even Cain!

I give up on this guy. I really do. And that might well apply even once Ben Roethlisberger returns.

But I guess if there's one positive to cull, both from his Buffalo debacle and what's to come Sunday when the Steelers face the Jets -- 1:02 p.m. kickoff at MetLife Stadium -- it's that the outlook regarding the offensive coordinator will be clearer than ever. Painfully so, I'm guessing.

So, here we go, as they say. Because the excuses are almost entirely evaporated now.

Unaware of how Conner will do?

Well, if that wasn't obvious enough from his opening carry last week, it sure is now. Alternate Conner and Jaylen Samuels, mix in Benny Snell, and apply an intelligent run-pass ratio as related to a fourth-string QB.

Worried about the Jets' run defense?

Don't be. Run right at them. Right through them. For one, although they're ranked second in the NFL in allowing 88.3 rushing yards per game, I'd safely posit that opponents don't waste energy running against them when it's so easy to beat them through the air. For another, of the nine players New York formally lists as questionable for this game, three -- linemen Quennin Williams and Steve McLendon, and blitzing safety Jamal Adams -- play prominent roles in the run defense.

Pound them. They're 5-9. They've got zero reason to dig deep intangibly this deep into December. So knock the will right out of them. The running backs are back. The offensive line isn't what it was, but it's healthy and capable.

Short of passing options for Duck?

Nope, not anymore. JuJu Smith-Schuster will play. So will all of the wide receivers, as many as Roethlisberger would've had. Better yet, in JuJu's absence, both James Washington and Johnson have taken significant strides, arguably bordering on breakouts. It'll be the best arsenal any quarterback's had all season. Assuming Fichtner puts the best people on the field.

What about the dreaded middle of the field?

Fichtner's phobia of the middle, one that bizarrely prompts him to draw up endless Ben-style sideline and out routes for the allegedly spooked fourth-string QB, is easily conquered by using one or more tight ends. Vance McDonald will play, too. Nick Vannett emerged with five catches against the Bills. And heaven help us, there might even be the odd screen pass thrown to Conner and/or Samuels, playbook willing.

What's left? What excuse am I missing?

Oh, yeah. Duck.

Look, he is what he is physically. He's not the tallest guy. He doesn't have the strongest arm. He's not the most nimble scrambler. He didn't always make the right reads or find the right man, including on that fourth-and-7, when Washington was wide, wide open in the end zone.

But one thing he sure isn't is spooked. And for his offensive coordinator to suggest as much publicly reeks of a complete lack of accountability, particularly when he knows as well as anyone on the planet the chutzpah already shown by Duck to achieve what he has in the past month and change. He's demonstrated a toughness, a resilience unlike anything we've seen from an undrafted NFL rookie QB since ... wow, ever?

Besides, upon close inspection of Fichter's resume, his previous role was quarterbacks coach. Note the plural in quarterbacks. He should be able to get the best out of a quarterback not named Roethlisberger, one would think, and he's already down one in that column with how Mason Rudolph unraveled.

Now Rudolph was spooked. Not this one.

Here's what Duck had to say this week when pressed upon how he'll rebound from Buffalo: "I'm not going to change who I am. I had a bad game, I know I had a bad game. But hey, I can get better from it. Bad games do happen, and I'm looking forward to showing that we've gotten better, and that we're going to have more fun and play football and get a win."

That's very much within his vibe. Fichtner knows that, too.

Here's Duck, out in the wild -- a Homestead movie theater, actually -- with Zach Banner by nightfall after practice: