Alan Faneca's take on Steelers' biggest offensive problem, Hines Ward's Hall of Fame candidacy
When it comes to the state of the Pittsburgh Steelers offense, Hall of Fame guard Alan Faneca is echoing the sentiments of a current offensive lineman.
Center Mason Cole recently said that the Steelers’ biggest problem isn’t quarterback Mitch Trubisky. Rather, his assessment is that top-to-bottom, the unit lacks identity.
“Part of our issue is I don’t know what our identity is exactly right now,” Cole said Monday. “We need to find it as a group, whatever that is. I think it’s huge for us to try to find the identity, and we have to make it that. We have to find our identity. It’s not on the coach. It’s not on anyone else. It’s on us.”
Appearing on the NFL Network’s
“I get the excitement of the Steelers fans,” Faneca said. “The No. 1 draft pick. Hometown quarterback. They have been watching him do what he did at the University of Pittsburgh. For me, it’s more of an offensive problem than a quarterback problem right now. I think they need to find out who they are on offense more than they need to find out who is directing the offense.”
Specifically, Faneca said the Steelers are contracting the field too much on themselves. As he described it to former NFL defensive back Jason McCourty, it’s almost as if the Steelers are playing with a red-zone offensive mentality for the full 100 yards.
“They have to expand the field,” Faneca said. “When you play on that short field, (as a defender) it’s bend, don’t break. Get them in the red zone, and things get harder to do. But if you are playing that way (offensively) on the whole field, the whole length of the field, doing it every down, you aren’t doing yourself any justice. It’s making the game harder for yourself. I think that’s their biggest problem right now. They need to figure that out. Then we can start worrying about whether it’s time for Kenny Pickett or not.”
Faneca, however, seemed confident that Mike Tomlin is the coach to figure this out. While Tomlin only coached Faneca for one year with the Steelers, Faneca said he was able to pick up on some of Tomlin’s best attributes as a coach.
“He is constantly, always pushing buttons. Pushing guys. Pushing the envelope. And never settles or rests for the status quo. He is always looking for more from you, even when you are already giving your best,” Faneca said.
Before Faneca ended the interview, he was also asked to stump for Hines Ward’s Hall of Fame candidacy. Ward is on the initial list of 2023 Pro Football Hall of candidates. He’s made it as far as the semifinal round previously.
Faneca happily obliged.
"There were rules made for him. @mvp86hinesward changed the game."
Will the legendary @steelers WR join @afan66 in the @ProFootballHOF? pic.twitter.com/WS3Ef9NgGe
— Good Morning Football (@gmfb) September 21, 2022
“People tuned in to watch Hines Ward. They tuned in to watch what he was going to do, who he was going to block, and how he was going to block them. How he was going to pull it off,” Faneca said. “Rules were made for him. Receivers are not allowed to do what Hines did because of him. He changed the game. The stats he was able to put up don’t compare to a lot of other (players on) teams that were on pass-heavy offenses. But his numbers shine. They were big, and they were good for the type of offense that we were in. We were a run-first offense, and he put (the) team first. And he went out there and did what he was asked to do.”
Ward joined kicker Gary Anderson and nose tackle Casey Hampton on the list. Linebackers Chad Brown, James Farrior and James Harrison are on it too.
Ward was also Faneca’s presenter in Canton when Faneca was inducted last year.
Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via X. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.
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