Following a demoralizing blowout loss, Pittsburgh’s first-year coach blames coaching details rather than a lack of roster depth as a struggling offensive line prepares for a brutal divisional test.
There was plenty of concern during the offseason that the Pittsburgh Steelers might have made a pointless decision to bring back Aaron Rodgers and go all-in for a Super Bowl with its veteran core.
After all, the Steelers, who won the AFC North in part due to the injuries to Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, didn't look like a Super Bowl contender when they were whooped at home by the Houston Texans in the Divisional Round.
First-year head coach Mike McCarthy certainly offered a fresh perspective for the Steelers, but the veteran leader is already looking to reassess his program after a mediocre showing in a Week 1 win over the Atlanta Falcons and a 20-3 blowout loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday.
The obvious analysis here would be that the Steelers have a talent problem to compete with the better teams in the AFC and the league.
During his news conference on Monday, McCarthy explained why that isn't a concern and why coaching can help the team improve.
“We don’t have a talent issue," McCarthy said, via SteelersDepot. "If I felt we weren’t able to do things based on our talent level, we’d be playing differently. We’ve had some first-year bumps, which is the responsibility of the coaching staff.
"Our job’s the details, and to teach and demand and make sure they’re ready to go. And just because you cover a certain play against a certain defense 10 times during the course of the week, that’s not where your job ends. It’s really where it starts. It’s the in-game adjustments, it’s the energy, it’s the confidence.”
The offensive line is where the obvious talent gap lies. Through the first two games, Pittsburgh has rushed for just 149 yards and no touchdowns.
McCarthy told reporters he thinks part of the offensive line's problem is they had no continuity in training camp while they tried out different combinations.
That may be so, but that can't be an excuse by Week 3 as many teams in the league are dealing with injury issues up front.
Oh, by the way, the Steelers' Week 3 opponent, the Bengals, held the Houston Texans to just 60 yards on the ground on 18 carries on Sunday. Lead back David Montgomery had 10 of those yards on 6 attempts. C.J. Stroud was the leading rusher with 29 yards.
The Steelers could be in for a rude wake-up on just how much talent they lack when the offensive line goes against Dexter Lawrence in Week 3.
