Kovacevic: Real difference in Steelers' offense is excellence of execution

It's about execution.

Or so I've been told by -- no stretching the truth here -- every single member of the Steelers' offense. All summer long. From the South Side to Latrobe to Tampa and back, these guys have sworn that the greatest year-over-year growth they can experience will come not through Matt Canada's playbook, not through Kenny Pickett's arm, not through any running back's legs, nor any wide receiver's arms, but, rather, through the broader prism of simply performing better.

Meaning all of them. And meaning like this:

That's a 62-yard run for Jaylen Warren, one of two touchdowns for the first-team offense within a 27-15 preseason burial of the Bills on this Saturday night at Acrisure Stadium. 

And my goodness, it's a beauty. Nearly two-thirds of the field. Without being touched. Against a perennial AFC power. And with pretty much everyone pictured putting forth an A-grade effort in applying the script.

It's almost as much of a beauty as Warren's response when I reminded him afterward about echoing all that execution stuff, asking to what extent that scene could serve as an example:

“Oh, yeah. 100 percent," he'd reply. "That was the epitome of it. That’s clinic tape right there. You put that play up to show what happens when everybody does their job and executes. Sometimes people -- I’m not talking about us, in particular -- don’t want to do things, and it doesn’t go as planned. That shows you do your job. That’s what happens.”

Boring, huh?

Well, not the result, judging from the electric reaction of the 64,046 citizens on hand, and, far more important, in judging from the enthused reaction of the participants themselves. I interviewed every one of them that I could locate in the locker room and, in doing so, learned that not one of them -- including Warren -- had yet seen the play on video. In turn, I hoped to capitalize on their rawest memories rather than any after-the-fact influences.

That began with James Daniels bringing up, without my ever referencing it, Calvin Austin III being put in motion left-to-right:

Count the number of Bills who lean toward Austin's direction. Then look at how hard he ran to sell it. Then look at Gunner Olszewski following through on his block over there to sell it further.

"It starts with a well designed play, and that's part of it," Daniels told me. "If Cal's not going all-out, it's not the same. Not everyone does. He did."

Also over there to the right, Chuks Okorafor falls on top of Tim Settle, and Pat Freiermuth locks up Micah Hyde. Combined with the misdirection, more than half of the Buffalo defense is now on the wrong vertical side of the field.

That's planning, for which some infinitesimal slice of my football soul wants to credit Canada, albeit cautiously. But it's also execution, all of it aced.

The real challenge, of course, would be to the left, and that'd see the other four linemen ... oh, just watch:

Dan Moore, still the starting left tackle for a reason, bullies Buffalo's A.J. Espenesa into a perfect 45-degree angle to the left. This is the key block.

"I've got to get him to that side," Moore would tell me before adding with a small smile. "That one felt good."

Isaac Seumalo, right next to Moore, initially seeks to help Moore with at least a chip but, seeing that Moore doesn't need that help, proceeds upfield to knock Tyrel Dodson backward by a yard and a half. The most riveting example of big-boy football in the scenario.

"You know what?" Seumalo would say to me with a shrug when I sought elaboration. "This is just how things are supposed to go. Players are always supposed to respect the process, believe in the playbook, and execute what we're supposed to do."

Mason Cole steers Poona Ford away from the pocket, then collapses on him, Chuks-style. As long as he cuts to the correct side of Ford -- he did -- the latter's got no angle, no chance.

"I'll be honest," Cole would say. "The three-plus weeks we're in Latrobe, we're facing the stiffest competition. By comparison, the games almost feel like they slow down."

Daniels gets tasked athletically, more than anyone, by having to pull across to his left and rub out Matt Milano, which he achieves but only after a furious push from the latter.

"If I don't make that block, Jaylen's got a 3-yard run," was how Daniels worded it, and he's not bragging, just being blunt.

Same goes for the plan. It's blown to bits, and everyone, including maybe me, continues thinking Canada's an idiot.

What changed that?

Execution.

On to the next stage ...

"I looked up and saw Jaylen go through us, and I thought he'd have a really nice 25-yard run," Moore recalled.

"All I saw was Jaylen hitting the hole, and I wasn't sure what happened next," Daniels recalled.

"I saw it," Okorafor would chime in our way from the next stall. "I saw Diontae."

Yep:

Now, Diontae Johnson -- the one individual I couldn't interview because he understandably took his daughter outside to watch postgame fireworks over the Point -- doesn't exactly go all Vance McDonald on the Bills' Dane Jackson. But Johnson's got to "believe in the playbook," to borrow Seumalo's phrase, enough to sustain a full sprint downfield in the event that Warren's sprung. And all he's got to do once there is throw Jackson off the scent.

Finally, Warren flat-out scorches Jordan Poyer in a footrace, which isn't an awesome look for a starting NFL safety but definitely had more to do with Warren, anyway.

Loved it. All of it.

And I've loved the ascension, both verbal and in action, that's led up to it.

There've now been three total possessions for the first-team offense, and they've brought three touchdowns. That includes the second one on this night, a deftly tossed 25-yard strike from Pickett to Freiermuth:

Pay attention to the linemen on this one, too. Cole's victim required a chalk outline.

That's a ton of pocket time for quarterback, on top of "perfect ball placement in protecting me from taking a big hit" per Freiermuth, on top of a smart read.

In Pickett's own words, "Coverage took me there. The coverage changes every primary target and where you start with your eyes. This was Cover-2. I wanted 'Tae singled up. They ended up putting the safety over top, and that told me it was Cover-2. And I had Pat and a linebacker down the middle, so that was a good matchup that we'd talked about leading up to this game."

"He's grown so much," Freiermuth would say of Pickett.

No question. And he'll be credited for that, along with most of everything else, I'm guessing. That's how it goes at his position, doubly so when one's 9 of 11 for 113 yards with a 149.1 QB rating through these two games.

But take it right from Pickett that the praise is more appropriately spread out.

"It's good to see all the hard work coming into the games," he'd say when asked about the stirring efficiency to date. "Obviously, it's preseason, but we've put in a lot of time together. You want to come out here and put points up, and that's what we're doing. We're going to continue to push for perfection."

They'll have ample footage.

ABIGAIL DEAN / STEELERS

Kenny Pickett looks for room to throw in the first quarter Saturday night at Acrisure Stadium.

THE ESSENTIALS

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THE PARTICIPATION

• Steelers who didn't play: DE Larry Ogunjobi (foot), G Nate Herbig (shoulder), FS Tre Norwood (calf), LB Nick Kwaitkowski (shoulder), K B.T. Potter, P Braden Mann, WR Hakeem Butler, RB Darius Hagans, CB Nevelle Clarke, LB Quincy Roche, LS Rex Sunahara, TE Rodney Williams

THE MULTIMEDIA

THE SCHEDULE

The next two practices will be Monday and Tuesday on the South Side, both with media access. And Thursday, the preseason finale will be against the Falcons, 7:30 p.m., in Atlanta. Mike Tomlin said after this game that starters will play. I'll make that flight.

THE CONTENT

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