Matt Canada: Steelers going to 'stick with what we're doing' on offense

Three games into his tenure as Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator, Matt Canada has managed to set a bar lower than his predecessor did in his third year of calling plays.

Through a 1-2 start, the Steelers have scored 50 points, with seven coming as a product of a special teams touchdown. The offense is averaging 14.3 points heading into the Steelers’ game Sunday at Green Bay.

Contrast that to the offensive productivity in the final six games of 2020 that ensured Randy Fichtner would not have his contract renewed for a fourth season. The offense averaged 18.5 points down the stretch as the Steelers limped into the playoffs before being jettisoned in the wild-card round by Cleveland.

It wasn’t the start anyone, let alone Canada, envisioned when he was promoted from quarterbacks coach to replace Fichtner. But, like coach Mike Tomlin and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said earlier in the week, Canada believes in his offensive philosophy and is willing to give it more time before drawing any hard conclusions about its potential.

“We’re gonna stick with what we’re doing,” Canada said Thursday. “That’s not the sexy answer, but we believe we are on the right track.”

The offense has produced four touchdowns through three games. Behind an offensive line that features two rookies and one first-year starter, the Steelers are last in the NFL in rushing for the second year in a row. Roethlisberger has been sacked eight times after being brought down 13 times last season.

Canada, though, said it’s too early to give up on the offense that he began installing shortly after his promotion in January.

“We have to have some cohesion up front. We’re working to get that,” he said, addressing the offensive line’s struggles. “It’s not an excuse, and we have to produce right now. We’re not running away from it or hiding from it. We have to continue to do what we’re doing and continue to put guys in position to make plays, which, until we win, we’re not doing well enough.

“That falls on me. We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel. It’s fundamental football. We have to do better, and I have to do better.”

Canada’s offense features plenty of pre-snap motion designed to confuse defenses. So far, it’s the offense that has looked lost. In the 24-10 loss to Cincinnati, every offensive lineman was penalized at least once, Roethlisberger threw two interceptions that led to Bengals touchdowns, and at least eight other passes were dropped.

It might be an unpopular approach, but Canada is willing to give his offense more time to find its rhythm.

“We don’t come in and make wholesale changes and have guys learn completely new things,” Canada said. “We’re not making change just for the sake of making change. … If it was one thing, obviously, you’d make that change. That would be an easy fix. It’s not, which is a culmination of us figuring out why it is not working.”

The offense could welcome back wide receiver Diontae Johnson after a one-game absence because of a knee injury. The only other addition could be at right tackle because of Chuks Okorafor’s concussion. The Steelers could start veteran swing tackle Joe Haeg or promote Zach Banner, the anticipated starter entering training camp, from injured reserve.

That is the only help on the horizon as the Steelers try to score enough points to snap a two-game losing streak.

“We believe we’ve got the players to do it,” Canada said. “If we go out and execute our plan, and everyone does what they are supposed to do, starting with me. … Once we do that and see that executed, I suppose at that point if none of it worked, then we might have something to talk about.

“Right now, we don’t feel like we’ve put our best foot forward. We know we haven’t.”