Tomlin, Steelers to 'exercise appropriate patience' with Trubisky, offense

Fans at Acrisure Stadium may have been chanting for Kenny Pickett in the third quarter of Sunday's 17-14 loss to the Patriots. But, it looks like the cries from Steelers Nation fell upon deaf ears.

"I didn't hear that," Mike Tomlin said in his press conference Monday. "But, I've got a lot going on."

Those chants were in direct response to the stagnant Steelers offense that has produced only two touchdowns in the first 24 drives of the season. Fans had seen enough of the dink-and-dunk offense last season, and so far the 2022 version refuses to make any attempt at stretching the field. 

In turn, Mitch Trubisky and Matt Canada aren't the most popular guys in Pittsburgh right now. And though Tomlin wasn't necessarily in the best of moods Monday afternoon at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, he also isn't about to make any knee-jerk reactions either.

"I'm not happy with much when we just lost a game. But I'm also experienced enough to see the big picture that we are still very much in development," Tomlin said. "I'm going to exercise appropriate patience and continue to teach and ask the guys to continue to learn in an effort to continue to push this train down the tracks and get better."

Through two games, Trubisky's only thrown for 362 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He's also completed only 59.2% of his passes and has a 76.1 quarterback rating. What may be even more telling is his 5.1 yards per attempt. Anyone who remembers their disdain for the offensive performance a season ago, Ben Roethlisberger averaged 6.2 YPA and the team averaged 6.0 YPA -- good enough to tie for second-worst in the NFL.

However, Tomlin isn't about to make Trubisky the scapegoat for the underwhelming performance on offense.

"We haven't scored enough points here the last couple of weeks," Tomlin said. "That's a collective, not just the quarterback position. Not just the players. It's responsible for all of us for ringing up the scoreboard."

To emphatically quell any intrigue in a potential shakeup to jumpstart the offense, when asked about making any significant changes, Tomlin simply stated, "I don't know if significant change is what's required."

In addition to Tomlin praising Trubisky's intangibles, leadership and communication, Mason Cole gave a ringing endorsement of his starting quarterback -- regardless of what the fans may chant during games.

"There's not any doubt with Mitch," Cole said. "We know the kind of player Mitch is. Mitch is a winner. He's won in this league. He's won for this offense already. There's no doubt in Mitch. The fans can cheer all they want. It is what it is. They're going to do what they're going to do. But, everyone in this locker room, everyone in this organization, believes in Mitch."

Even if you're frustrated with the offense, there isn't a single player on that side of the ball that hasn't expressed some level of frustration through the first two weeks as well. In talking with Cole on Monday, it was clear Sunday's loss still left a bitter taste in his mouth. There were also visible signs of frustration on the field Sunday, and according to some reports, in the huddle as well. 

"That's a good battle to fight usually. We've got playmakers, young playmakers, guys with a lot of talent, guys who want to be the reasons why we're successful. I think that's just the general attitude that we as competitors on a competitive football team in a competitive organization have. We're not going to make a problem out of guys wanting to be the reason why we're successful."

Nobody wants to hear this, but Tomlin's point on this being an offense in development is valid. Even if Pickett were in there instead of Trubisky, there are still several other things that have to be ironed out before this offense can truly live up to its potential. The offensive line has been better than expected thus far, but those guys are still not satisfied with their performance through two games. Pass protection has been good, but the running game is still not where it needs to be, according to Cole.

And regarding the offense's biggest problem -- stretching the field -- Trubisky had no issue saying they needed to "call concepts to get receivers there." 

These are just a few of the symptoms of an offense in flux.

"We have to have an identity. That's part of our issue is right now is that I don't know what our identity is exactly," Cole explained. "We need to find it as a group, whatever that is. I think it's huge for us to try and find an identity. And we have to make it there. We have to find our identity. It's not on the coaches, it's not on anyone else, it's on us to fight as a group to establish an identity."

Until this offense has an established an identity -- one that strikes fear into the heart of its opponent -- they will continue to struggle. But, Tomlin's unwavering confidence in allowing his offense to develop is paramount for his team. How much longer can he go with Trubisky settling for check down after check down? Will he implore Canada to loosen the reins on this offense and start taking more shots down the field?

Make no mistake, if he allows more time for the offense to develop and it doesn't bear fruit, the "KEN-NY! KEN-NY!" chants will only get louder and happen more often.

"We don't seek comfort. We don't try to quell the noise. To be quite honest, we don't care about the noise," Tomlin said. "We're just working on the things that are within our control."

MORE FROM THE SOUTH SIDE

• The Steelers nearly have a clean bill of health regarding their active roster. Devin Bush (foot) is the only player on the Steelers' first injury report of the week, and would have been a limited participant if the team practiced Monday. With the Thursday night game in Cleveland coming up, Tuesday will be the only day the Steelers practice this week.

• The last time the Steelers and Browns played on a Thursday night in Cleveland, Larry Ogunjobi was on the other side as a member of the Browns. Yes, that was the game where Myles Garrett hit Mason Rudolph in the head with his own helmet. When it was brought up to Ogunjobi, he just laughed it off and said, "I don't expect anything like that to happen. I'm just excited for the next opportunity, the next challenge."