Rookie quarterbacks take time to develop.
It's been so long since anyone in Pittsburgh has had to worry about developing a new quarterback. Ben Roethlisberger's 18-year career in Pittsburgh not only will earn him a place in Canton, but also made it so easy for so many to take the quarterback position for granted.
The growing pains of a young quarterback were very evident on Sunday. Kenny Pickett has a lot of potential, and he possesses tools that make it possible for him to be the next franchise quarterback in Pittsburgh.
At the same time, those tools all need development. And, it won't happen overnight.
"Yeah, there’s some (throws) down the field I definitely wish I had back. Some ones early on," Pickett said during Wednesday's media availability at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. "I hit more towards the second half, the back half of the game. But that’s just kind of how it goes. We’re going to take it a week at a time. The most important is that we got the win, but there’s definitely things to build off of and things to learn from."
The good news is Pickett has an insatiable desire to become great. He studies the game. His confidence is growing in practice. Most important, he wants to win. And, despite the Steelers having a 3-6 record, he's just one upset win over the Bengals away from being at .500 as a starting quarterback.
No doubt, the 4-to-1 interception to touchdown ratio is alarming. But, he's completing 66.7 percent of his passes while making a concerted effort to attack all areas of the field. That, along with the missed throws and questionable decisions to leave the pocket, was evident this past Sunday.
Simply, the bottom line for Pickett is to make tangible improvements throughout the season. He knows that.
"It’s going to continue to get better," Pickett said. "I’m nowhere near where I want to be or where I need to be. It’s a day at a time. There’s things that we liked that I’ve done that I can continue to improve on, and there’s things that I need to get a lot better at. It’s really known what those are, find that out and then go attack on that."
One thing Pickett must learn rather quickly is striking a balance between letting the play develop and finding the open receiver while also sensing the pressure around him. At Pitt, Pickett's athleticism would allow him to escape the pocket on a whim and still be able to make plays.
Pickett's learning quickly that it doesn't work that way in the NFL. He's been sacked six times in each of the past two games. Yes, some of those are on the offensive line. But, several have come from trying to escape when NFL pass rushers are too fast and too athletic to allow it to happen, or simply holding onto the ball for too long.
At the same time, the Steelers have been also making a concerted effort in stretching the field. The dink-and-dunk offense allowed defenses to stack the box, which gave them an opportunity to cover short throws and defend the run effectively in one fell swoop. This completed stunted any potential for growth among all facets of the offense. Giving receivers time to get down the field requires time to hold onto the ball, which also requires good pass protection from the offensive line.
For Pickett, it's understanding the balance of getting through his progressions quickly, when to check down, when to scramble and when to tuck it and run. We saw evidence of the good and the bad on Sunday.
"That’s just time and situation and knowing when to get the ball out, knowing when we want to take a shot," Pickett said. "That goes with just working more with Coach [Matt] Canada and knowing his calls. I think each week it’s definitely gotten better. Having that bye week to address what we need to address and continue to build on certain things, I think we’ll only see improvements if we keep having the same attitude that we had today in practice."
The team understands that Pickett is learning on the job. It comes with the territory of playing with a rookie quarterback. Everything is faster and more complex at the NFL level. The good news is, that aforementioned insatiable desire has earned the respect of his teammates. They can also see that the future can be bright with Pickett, but it will require a team effort as well.
"You see it at practice. He practices how he plays. His preparation throughout the week is showing up on film," Diontae Johnson said Wednesday. "We've just gotta continue to be there for him, be around him and continue to make him look good, whether it's a good throw or a bad throw. Just continue to stay on him, but not in a bad way but a positive way. If he gets down on himself, just pick him up."
The last thing anyone should do is hold Pickett to the standard of what Roethlisberger did as a rookie. They are two completely different circumstances in two completely different eras of the game.
The best way Pickett can grow this season is through winning as many games as possible. Pretty stats will always win over a portion of the fan base, but winning games is the ultimate goal of any football team. And, as one can attest from being in the locker room Wednesday, winning makes everyone feel a lot better about themselves.
The schedule plays out well for the Steelers, which gives Pickett a great opportunity to take what he's learned through the trial early on and apply it to winning football games down the stretch.
"Winning cures all," Pickett said. "That’s really all we’re focused on, and I thought we had a really good day of practice. Got to continue to prepare that way with a great team coming in."
MORE FROM THE SOUTH SIDE
• Sunday's game will obviously be the first time the Steelers have faced an opponent for the second time. And last time Pittsburgh played Cincinnati, they registered five takeaways and seven sacks en route to an overtime victory in which every bit of that production was needed. In addition, the Bengals had Ja'Marr Chase, who is the most dangerous weapon at Joe Burrow's disposal. This time around, he won't be available due to a hip injury.
But, the Steelers' secondary has gone through a lot since the season opener. They've dealt with a plethora of injuries. Ahkello Witherspoon has been scarce due to multiple hamstring injuries, and now Minkah Fitzpatrick -- the star of the Week 1 win in Cincinnati -- is trying to come back and play an NFL game just eight days after having his appendix removed.
Even so, the secondary is confident in where they are now, despite everything they've been through this season.
"Our mindset never changed," Levi Wallace told me. "Whoever's in there, we expect them to make plays. That won't change this week. This is a must-win for us, like every week is. We've just gotta go out there and compete like how we have been. When opportunities present themselves, make plays on the ball."
• Okay, I know I'm repeating myself here. But, Fitzpatrick is trying to come back and play an NFL game just eight days after having his appendix removed.
I know I said in my 10 thoughts from Tuesday that football players are built different. I now retract that to say Minkah is built different.
Burrow knows all too well about having an appendix removed as he had his rupture this past July and spent several days in the hospital because of it. When asked about Fitzpatrick's recovery and potential of playing Sunday, Burrow smiled and said, "Maybe just wait another week."
Fitzpatrick terrorized the Bengals in Week 1, highlighted by a pick six on Burrow's first pass of the game and a blocked PAT that forced the game into overtime.
• Further on the injury front, Fitzpatrick, Ahkello Witherspoon (hamstring), Marcus Allen (illness), Devin Bush (knee), Kevin Dotson (hip), Trent Scott (back) and Larry Ogunjobi (knee) did not participate in Wednesday's practice. Najee Harris (knee) and T.J. Watt (pectoral) were full participants.
Allen, Bush and Scott all popped up on the injury report without any prior knowledge, so their participation will be something to watch this week. We expected Dotson to be limited at the early stages of the week, so Friday will be the big day for him. Things continue to look bleak for Witherspoon as he deals with his second hamstring injury of the season. Finally, Ogunjobi is clearly playing through a knee injury that is being managed through rest during the week.
• The Steelers did welcome DeMarvin Leal back to practice Wednesday, starting his 21-day clock to be activated from injured reserve. Leal is coming off knee surgery that had a prognosis of about 4-to-6 weeks before he could return.
Base off precedent with the previous IR injuries (Watt, Calvin Austin, Damontae Kazee), it's a safe bet that Leal -- presuming he will return this season -- might not be activated until near the end of his 21-day window.
• If Minkah isn't able to go Sunday -- and, let's be frank here, is probably the smartest play -- the Steelers seem to be in a good place with Kazee filling in.
While Kazee's talent certainly helps in the back end of the Steelers' defense, his presence on the field and in the locker room really seems to have given the secondary an extra jolt.
"Kazee's always been a guy with high energy. Sometimes too much," Wallace told me. "You just love when a guy's out there playing with so much passion."
• Johnson drew a lot of criticism from Steelers fans on a catch that would have converted a first down, but wound up going backwards in an attempt to gain yards after the catch.
"Just trying to make a play," Johnson said regarding the play. "You expect a defender to come a certain way sometimes and they don't. Stuff happens. It’s not like I try to do that on purpose. I know what I can do. I just gotta make sure I'm going in the right direction next time, that's all."
• In some former Steelers news, Martavis Bryant was selected fifth overall by the Vegas Vipers in the XFL Draft.
Bryant hasn't played in the NFL since the 2018 season, in which he caught 19 passes for 266 yards in eight total games with the Raiders. He was suspended indefinitely for violating the terms of his April 2017 conditional reinstatement under the NFL's Policy and Program for Substances of Abuse.
The 30-year-old receiver played for the Steelers from 2014 through 2017, but was suspended four games for marijuana in 2015 and was suspended for the entire 2016 season for missing multiple drug tests.
According to multiple reports, the XFL will not include marijuana among its drug testing protocols.
• Alex Highsmith won AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors for his performance in Sunday's win over the Saints. I've got a separate piece on that.
• Last, but certainly not least, the Steelers will be wearing their Color Rush uniforms for Sunday's game against the Bengals. In turn, Cincinnati will be wearing their all-white alternates. For the superstitious crowd, Pittsburgh has a 7-1 record when they wear their Color Rush uniforms.
