Kovacevic: Kenny's hurt, Canada's still employed, the defense can't tackle ... and they'll change absolutely nothing

HOUSTON -- "Hell yeah, we gotta make some changes, man. That was an ugly product we put out there. We're not gonna do the same things and hope for a different outcome."

That was Mike Tomlin, minutes after the Steelers were trounced by the Texans, 30-6, on this Sunday at NRG Stadium. And I swear, from my perspective a few feet away, it sure sounded as if the man meant every syllable.

He didn't, though. It won't happen. He won't change a thing. No one will. Not one. That's just not how they roll, even in the most trying times. Oh, they'll flip a name or two on the depth chart. Or elevate a warm body from the practice squad. Or redraw this X or that O. But they'll alter nothing of consequence, and anyone doubting that can take it right from the head coach with his very next sentence that followed what's above: "What those changes are, man, we'll put together a plan in preparation this week."

Yep. Note the plural entity spearheading that planning process. With no reference to any culpability for the planners or the plans.

Not even when I asked about the offense:

"You know, I just thought that we didn't operate efficiently enough," he'd reply. "Penalties and so forth. Negativity. It took us too long to get the run game going. And that's kind of a synopsis."

Efficiency. Penalties. Starting slowly. Nothing about the planners. Nothing about the plans.

Look, my friends, let's be real: It's bad. And it's bad across the board. And when it's bad -- this bad -- across the board, the trouble tends to be at the top far more than at the bottom, all right?

The injury situation's bad. No one could dispute that. Kenny Pickett (knee), Pat Freiermuth (hamstring), Dan Moore (knee) and DeMarvin Leal (concussion) all went down here, all without returning. They'll now join Cam Heyward (groin), Diontae Johnson (hamstring), James Daniels (groin), Anthony McFarland (knee) and other mainstays already carrying parentheses, and it'll be all the buzz over the coming few days.

It should be the part of the buzz. It shouldn't be all of it. And it sure shouldn't be used as any semblance of an excuse, not for what's already happened in this terribly unsettled 2-2 start, not for what's still to come.

This. Is. Bad.

And it's bad on a whole other level because, if I'm being blunt, I haven't seen this franchise blow this much legit talent, or get off to this much of a bungling beginning since they went 0-4 in London in 2013. Only in this storylilne, there's no Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, Troy Polamalu or James Harrison on hand for the bailout. Those guys had run into a bad stretch. This one's ... just got a bad stench.

This offense is bad.

Fourth-to-last in yards per game at 263.0, or roughly half of what the Dolphins do. Fourth-to-last in rushing yards per game at 78.8. Eighth-to-last in passing yards at 184.3. Fifth-to-last in scoring at 15.5 points per game. Just an endless toxic stream of three-and-outs leading to a league-high 24 punts.

The quarterback's been bad.

Before getting his knee hurt by abandoning a pocket that didn't need to be abandoned ...

... Pickett regressed here, after a mildly encouraging showing in Las Vegas, to the bad decisions, the bad vision, the bad aim that'd marked his first two games. In this one, he was 15 of 23 for 114 yards, nothing close to a touchdown and this early pick:

He's been so bad -- and I don't enjoy saying this -- that I could be convinced in the moment that Mitch Trubisky will represent a short-term upgrade for however long he'll be called upon. I'm not about to bury Pickett, but I'm not the buyer in his long-term future that I was even a month ago, and that's a deflating, discouraging letdown after all the bona fide strides he'd made over the second half of 2022, then this past summer.

The passing game, in total, is bad.

It's hardly confined to Pickett. Though the pocket held firm on the play that saw him hurt, it most often doesn't, as seen on the pick. This line concedes as much pressure as any in the league. And the wide receivers and tight ends ... wow, I've got no idea how to evaluate them considering all else.

"We have a lot of work to do," Jaylen Warren would say.

The running game's bad.

It's wonderful that Najee Harris found some inner fire to pop off a couple beauties early in the second half, but that was nowhere beforehand. Warren's been OK, but OK won't sell a stubborn coach on sitting a first-round pick. And the line's been even worse in this facet than when passing, regularly blown off the ball and conceding as much defensive contact with the running back in the backfield as any group in the league.

I asked Mason Cole, who's gone backward -- in all senses of the term -- as much as any of them, what's happened:

“Yeah, I think there’s time where we’re running the ball really well, and then one bad or negative run will scare us away from it and we’re behind the chains and we’re trying to catch up, and you get in bad situations," he'd reply. "We just have to be more consistent across the board. We’re just not good enough consistently. It’s killing us right now.”

Wait ... scare who, exactly?    

All of which leads, of course, to Matt Canada, author of this script of passing targets on this day:

NFL

I know, I know ... I'm sick of writing about him, too. And everyone's sick of reading about him. It's no longer even an opinion that he should be fired. It's freshman-year logic.

The man's a literal joke, a living punchline:

It doesn't take a professional analyst or a former player to see it. This is from a self-described "fan since 1975" on social media, and it hits harder than anything:

Right. The play on which Pickett was hurt. Broderick Jones did well in fending off Jonathan Greenard, but Pickett's pointless spin-and-roll put him squarely in Greenard's crosshairs. And again, that's all on the quarterback.

But what in hell's the reasoning for passing at all on fourth-and-1 when Harris had finally revved up, and he's standing in the same backfield ... while the offense spreads into a pass formation?

And this after a timeout?

Tomlin was asked about this choice, and he elected to answer only by explaining the reasoning for the timeout -- that the refs' spotting of the ball surprised the coaches -- rather than the reasoning to pass. There wasn't a chance at a follow-up, but he's sure to field one or two Tuesday back home.

Regardless, he's not wearing that headset as a decoration. He hears all these calls, and he's obviously got instant veto rights.

It's almost beyond belief what's happened to this offense, doubly so after we've all witnessed incontrovertible evidence of the talent at hand. The talent's not off the hook, but I'll bet there are 31 other NFL coaching staffs getting more from the talent they've got.

Fire this coordinator already. End this embarrassment. It won't be a cure-all, and I'm not pretending otherwise, but it'd make more of an impact than any other hell-yeah-we-gotta-make-some-changes-man move that's available. 

The defense isn't as bad as the offense, but it's been the most disappointing.

Can't stop the run, no matter who's running. Can't stop the pass, no matter who's throwing or catching. Couldn't even generate a respectable pass rush in this one, this despite the opponent missing four offensive line starters and two backups.

Might that all be related?

It's possible, as Chris Halicke explains in a separate column from this scene.

But it's equally possible, I'd add, that the common denominator's the same: They're not being run well. And if I'd put forth an Exhibit A, it'd be how the Texans smartly stormed right down the field on their opening possession by way of mini-screens right up the middle. Because if the Steelers were going to bring the figurative house down on C.J. Stroud, the rookie quarterback behind all those practice-squad linemen, it'd stand to reason that there'd by a tidy patch of grass available just beyond all that commotion:

Sorry, but that's just plain old pretty. It's almost as if schematics can make a seismic difference.

I asked T.J. Watt, a striking non-factor here in the setting that saw brother J.J. added to the Texans' Ring of Honor at halftime, if Houston had done anything to throw the Steelers off Stroud's scent:

“I don’t know," he'd reply. "I think every single week you're going to see different types of things. I don't want to take any credit away from him. I think he played a great game, was getting the ball out quick, getting the ball in his playmakers' hands, was able to extend some plays, and they were able to run the ball, too, which controlled the time of possession and the tempo of the whole game.”

Disappointing?

“No doubt.”

No doubt. Just as there's no doubt it'll all be essentially the same by next Sunday when the Ravens come to Acrisure Stadium.

Just as there was no doubt in London, almost a decade ago to the day, when I asked Tomlin at his tenure's then-low if changes need to happen, if jobs need to be lost, and he answered, “More than anything, we'll focus on getting better. That's what's going to change the outcome of these football games. Those that don't ain't gonna be a part of us. I have great patience. As long as I see belief and effort and continued improvement. If I don't ... they ain't gonna be a part of it. Whoever it may be. It's just that simple.”

It wasn't that simple. And there weren't any changes, aside from some spare-part cornerback being signed soon after flying home.

There won't be any now, either. Tomlin values loyalty above all else from coaches and, as a result, he gives that back. He's shown that on both ends for years, even when a coach has been so ineffective that he'll internally, quietly have his duties reduced or removed. He'll wait until season's end, until a contract's been honored, to reshuffle.

It's Art Rooney II who needs to effect the next change. Because this team, at this pivotal point with this pool of players, needs to get a fresh grasp of priorities.

GETTY

The Texans' Steven Nelson leaps high above Calvin Austin for an interception in the first quarter Sunday in Houston.

THE ESSENTIALS

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THE IN-GAME INJURIES

• Steelers: QB Kenny Pickett (knee, did not return), TE Pat Freiermuth (hamstring, did not return), LT Dan Moore (knee, did not return), DE DeMarvin Leal (concussion, did not return)

• Texans: None

Full report on our Steelers Feed.

THE INACTIVES

• Steelers: P Pressley Harvin (hamstring), WR Gunner Olszewski (concussion), RG James Daniels (groin), DT Breiden Fehoko, QB Mason Rudolph (emergency). On Injured Reserve: DE Cam Heyward (groin), WR Diontae Johnson (hamstring), RB Anthony McFarland (knee) 

• Texans: LT Laremy Tunsil (knee), LT Josh Jones (hand), C Michael Deiter (chest), LB Denzel Perryman (hand/wrist), CB Tavierre Thomas (hand), RB Dare Ogunbuwale, QB Case Keenum (emergency)

THE MULTIMEDIA

THE SCHEDULE

Next up are the Ravens back home. So ... yeah.

THE CONTENT

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