All eyes on offense when Steelers open 1st post-Ben training camp

Speaking less than two weeks after last season ended for the Pittsburgh Steelers, team president Art Rooney II concisely summed up the problems that plagued the offense in Matt Canada’s first season as coordinator.

“We needed to be more consistent more than anything else,” Rooney said after the Steelers finished 9-7-1 and exited the playoffs in the wild-card round with a 42-21 loss at Kansas City. “We had a lot of games where we were good for a quarter or half but not really for four quarters. … Having so many young players, different pieces coming together, including a new coordinator, there were some challenges there. We tried to make the best of it, but we didn’t meet all of our goals, for sure.”

Six months later, the Steelers will begin to see if the changes they made in the offseason will help the offense to be more productive in Canada’s sophomore year calling the plays. It all starts Tuesday when the Steelers report to Saint Vincent for training camp.

Steelers 2022 training camp preview

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From that point until the regular season begins Sept. 11 at Cincinnati, the Steelers will identify a replacement for retired quarterback Ben Roethlisberger all the while trying to shore up an offense that in 2021:

• Went five games in a row in the second half of the season without scoring a first-quarter touchdown and totaled just nine points in the opening 15 minutes over the final eight games.

• Averaged less than a touchdown — 6.7 points, to be precise — in the first half for the entire season, the worst opening-half performance in the NFL save for the 4-13 New York Giants.

• Finished No. 29 in rushing despite getting a 1,200-yard season from rookie running back Najee Harris, as the Steelers started two rookies on the offensive line. This production actually represented modest improvement from 2020, when the Steelers were last among the 32 teams in rushing yards.

• Had 41 pass plays in 17 games that extended 20-plus yards, the fifth-lowest total in the league. The team’s 9.5 average yards per catch ranked last.

Given the offense’s shortcomings in the first half of games, the Steelers needed to rely on Roethlisberger’s late-game heroics — he had seven game-winning drives — to finish 8-2 in games decided by a touchdown or less and reach the postseason.

With Roethlisberger trading in his shoulder pads for golf clubs, the Steelers will replace him with one of three candidates: free agent acquisition Mitch Trubisky, veteran backup Mason Rudolph or rookie first-round pick Kenny Pickett. It is the first long-term change at the position for the franchise in two decades.

“I like the anxiety associated with professional uncertainty,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “We’ve got to acknowledge that we’re in a different space. Hopefully, that brings the best out in all of us. I know that’s what I anticipate happening.”

Trubisky took the first-team snaps in organized team activities and minicamp, but the work done in training camp and during the three preseason games will determine Roethlisberger’s successor.

After a four-year run in Chicago, Trubisky spent last season in Buffalo as Josh Allen’s backup. He was the biggest acquisition for the Steelers on the first day of free agency, agreeing to a two-year, $14.285 million deal that included a $5.25 million signing bonus.

“We are jelling,” Trubisky said during minicamp. “The more reps we get, the better we are going to get, so just getting to know each other, know each other’s strengths and repping the plays that we like so that once we get on the same page, there is no telling where this offense can go.”

Rudolph’s advantage is that he has spent a year learning the system under Canada and was Roethlisberger’s understudy for four years. But the drafting of Pickett with the No. 20 overall selection could make Rudolph expendable, particularly if the Steelers think the rookie from Pitt can take control of the offense at some point this season.

Steelers 2022 training camp positional breakdowns

• Offense
• Defense
• Specialists

“What makes a great quarterback is his ability to take care of the football and his ability to make plays in what coach Tomlin calls those weighty situations: third down, red zone, two minute,” Canada said. “Their understanding of the offense, the ability to anticipate and be accurate and, obviously, lead our offense. It will be a collective grade on those points to see who rises to the top.”

What the candidates lack in experience and late-game heroics, they make up for in an ability to move around in the pocket, something Roethlisberger was no longer capable of doing at age 39.

“Mobility is a more significant part of the game than it’s ever been in today’s game,” Tomlin said. “Matter of fact, in 2021, I think the yards per rush in the NFL was the largest it had ever been. It wasn’t because teams are running the ball more effectively. It’s because they are utilizing the quarterback as a runner.”

A mobile quarterback, however, is only as good as the line giving him a chance to extend plays. Playing behind an overhauled offensive line in 2021, Roethlisberger was sacked 38 times, his highest total in eight seasons.

The Steelers addressed the line’s shortcomings by reshaping the interior, signing center Mason Cole and right guard James Daniels. They also invested in right tackle Chuks Okorafor. Dan Moore is penciled in at left tackle after starting as a rookie, and Kevin Dotson will try to hold off Kendrick Green — the 2021 rookie center — at left guard.

The Steelers also brought in a newcomer to coach the line, Pat Meyer, who spent the past two seasons in Carolina.

“We’re really excited about the free agency pickups we made up front in Mason and James,” Canada said. “I think those guys are going to come in and be really helpful for us. They add experience and talent, not minimizing that, but to come into that room, I think that room is going to continue to grow with two more pieces to that puzzle.

“The more weapons you have, the better.”

The same could be said at wide receiver. After losing three pass catchers in free agency, including JuJu Smith-Schuster, the Steelers drafted Georgia’s George Pickens in the second round and Memphis speedster Calvin Austin III in the fourth. They will join holdovers Diontae Johnson, who is trying to secure a contract extension, and Chase Claypool in a youthful wide receiver room.

The group will be coached by Frisman Jackson, who was hired to replace Ike Hilliard, whose contract was not renewed. Like Meyer, Jackson previously worked in Carolina.

Finding someone to take the snaps in the slot — where Smith-Schuster and Ray-Ray McCloud primarily played last year — will be one of the highlighted competitions in training camp.

“We’re casting a big net,” Tomlin said. “We feel comfortable with the candidates that we have. The reality is that you need all types, particularly in today’s game, for matchup purposes. So, we’re casting a big net. A lot of guys are acclimating themselves to that space and showing they are capable.”

Tight end Pat Freiermuth, entering his second season after contributing 60 catches for 497 yards and seven touchdowns, is another building block on offense. Then there is Harris, who totaled 10 touchdowns and had the fourth-most yards from scrimmage (1,667) in the NFL. He also led the NFL with 381 touches, the most by a rookie since LaDainian Tomlinson in 2001.

With a new quarterback under center, the Steelers might rely just as heavily on Harris as they did in 2021, even though there is a plan to reduce his number of snaps.

“There are a lot of things I want to focus on this year,” Harris said. “I am going to take the film from last year and take all the bad stuff and try to improve on it.”

The work continues when the offseason officially comes to an end Tuesday.