Questions mount over whether Kenny Pickett’s ‘the guy’ for Steelers

The expected second-year leap has turned into a major midseason let down for quarterback Kenny Pickett and Steelers.

It wasn’t supposed to happen this way.

Hope was the Pitt product would seize his sophomore season to cement his status as the Steelers’ franchise QB for the next decade-plus.

Instead, more questions are mounting over whether Pickett’s really the guy for the Steelers.

As the listless Steelers limp into tonight’s game vs. the Tennessee Titans at Acrisure Stadium, the pain could only increase for Pickett and the Steelers’ offense.

Pickett, who’s nursing bruised ribs, vows he’ll play vs. the Titans and their musclebound rookie passer, Will Levis — fresh from the latter’s four-touchdown NFL debut.

Unlike Pickett, star safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, who came up lame with a hamstring pull, is definitely out — and could be for a while.

On a short week, things aren’t getting any easier for the Steelers.

We have much more breaking down the clearly broken Steelers’ attack, plus a full preview of the test presented by the visiting Titans. It’s all in this special edition of your Steelers Update Podcast.

(Column continues below)

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How bad has it gotten in the ‘Burgh?

Picture this: A bunch of jubilant Jaguars celebrated Jacksonville’s 20-10 victory at Acrisure Stadium last Sunday by stealing the Terrible Towels of some Steelers’ fans. The jesting Jags turned around and mocked a crestfallen Steelers Nation by twirling those “tiny towels” in their faces. Ouch!

Suffice it to say, Pittsburgh is bruised, battered and embarrassed.

Oh, the pain. The Pickett pain…

Give him this at least — KP is tough:

That’s just some of the ways things are out of whack – and seemingly getting worse — for the once-promising Steelers. But above all, Pickett and his failure to launch in his second season has been the source of much of the unease.

By contrast, Levis, who famously plummeted down the draft board and drifted into the second round before being plucked by the Titans at pick 33 last spring, managed to outshine Pickett in his first NFL start.

Levis put up long balls but no picks enroute to posting a 130.5 passer rating last Sunday vs. Atlanta. Pickett cracked the 100 rating just once in his 20 games played. He’s never thrown four touchdowns in a game and tossed three TDs just once.

I won’t show all four, but you get the idea:

In fact, one touchdown per game has become the norm for punch-less Pickett and the sputtering Steelers’ offense. That’s been the story in five of their seven games this season and nine of the past 13 going back to last year.

What Pickett and the Steelers really specialize in is going three and out.

Reminder that other QBs have started their careers on the slow side:

In wake of another anemic attack, Coach Mike Tomlin did his best to convince the assembled Pittsburgh press his team’s slow, sleep-walking starts aren’t the problem.

Said Tomlin: “The early portions of the game don’t decide the outcome… Obviously, we want more fluid starts, but it didn’t determine the outcome of the game.”

Silly Steelers fans, the first half is for warming up, not scoring touchdowns.

This time Pickett didn’t get the chance to pull out another improbable win in the fourth quarter. After leaving late in the first half with the rib injury, which thankfully isn’t structural, he never returned.

In wake of the loss, a growing chorus of doubters is questioning Pickett’s viability as the Steelers’ long-term future at the most important position in sports. Leading the dissent is caustic Pittsburgh radio personality Mark Madden, who penned this as part of a scorching screed excoriating Pickett:

“Pickett’s ceiling is mid-level NFL quarterback. Probably not even that. He’s backup material. He’s Mason Rudolph. If Pickett hadn’t gone to Pitt, he’d be the most hated man in Pittsburgh. OK, maybe second behind (offensive coordinator) Matt Canada… Pickett isn’t the guy. He has played 20 games. That’s not a small sample. Pickett has had enough time,” Madden wrote as part of his full column on TribLive.com.

Madden’s raucous radio show echoed a similar tone. Some of this can be dismissed as hyperbolic sports talk. But Madden’s right about one thing: The Steelers face a thorny evaluation process for Pickett.

Complicating matters is all the smoke emanating from those “Fire Canada” chats. Steelers Nation still wants the overmatched offensive coordinator gone. But Canada could be a mere scapegoat masking Pickett, his late reads and off-target throws as the real problem in Pittsburgh.

Blame game:

Or maybe not…

Many Pickett fans – and there’s a considerable number in the 412-area code and beyond – won’t stand for any decision at the QB position until Kenny gets a chance to show his stuff under a new offensive play caller.

This will delay the Steelers’ evaluation. Worse, it could lead to the Pittsburgh brass talking themselves into a full Pickett reclamation project under a new coordinator.

This is where the Steelers stand. Not at a crossroads, but a seeming dead end.

They’re going nowhere right now. Just like their offense.

How bad has it gotten?

Did you ever think you’d hear coach Mike Tomlin, splash-play proponent that he is, poo-pooing three turnovers produced by his defense?

He did just that in wake of the jarring Jaguars loss.

The problem? The turnovers occurred at the opposite end of the field – too far for Pittsburgh’s problematic offense to do anything with them.

“We were able to get some turnovers, but they weren’t the type of turnovers that tee up the offense in terms of being on a short field,” Tomlin said. “We got some, but not the type that’s really advantageous.”

Such is the sorry state of the moribund Steelers’ offense: Turnovers aren’t even turnovers anymore.

Parting shot:

Crying over spilled milk and missed opportunities…

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John Luciew is an award-winning reporter for PennLive and a 30-year Steelers season ticket-holder. His column and podcast are presented from the obsessively over-informed perspective of an avid Steelers’ fan. Check out his latest Steelers podcast every Wednesday afternoon wherever podcasts are found.