After the Pittsburgh Penguins looked rough against the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday afternoon, the Steelers offense looked invigorated against the New York Jets on Sunday night.
So let’s begin with the good before we get to the bad as we dive into this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast with Mark Madden of 105.9 The X and TribLive.
We start with the Steelers’ change at quarterback from Justin Fields to Russell Wilson and the immediate dividends that were paid to the passing game. The Steelers put up 264 yards through the air in Wilson’s first start as a Steeler. The club was averaging 167.5 with Fields under center.
“That is what a real NFL offense looks like,” Madden said. “That is what a real NFL quarterback looks like. It’s been so long since we’ve seen either of those that maybe we forgot what it looks like, but it looks like that.”
Madden says Wilson’s biggest attribute is what he can do to maximize George Pickens.
“The single biggest thing that the Steelers gain by Russ being at quarterback is George Pickens isn’t wasted. With Justin Fields, George Pickens was always going to be wasted,” Madden said. “He was going to get frustrated too often. Chances are we were headed for a big blowup. Look at the difference Pickens made (Sunday). He doesn’t do that with Justin Fields at quarterback. No way.”
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It wasn’t just Pickens. Some of the other pass catchers were able to be woven into the air attack with Fields at the controls. Tight ends Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington had four catches. Van Jefferson had a touchdown, and Calvin Austin had a 36-yard reception.
“That’s what a real quarterback does. He spreads it around. He gets everybody involved. I’m not saying that keeping people like Washington happy is important, but everybody involved gets everybody involved,” Madden added.
As for the Penguins, yesterday’s result in Canada was a different story. They fell 6-3 in Winnipeg. Madden’s message on that front is to avoid over-complicating the analysis.
“They’re not very good,” Madden said. “The problem is something that I have said for years now. They don’t see themselves as they really are. They think they’re this fast team that can attack, attack, attack. In reality, they’re a slow team that needs structure more than ever before.”
Madden is frustrated with one player in particular.
“The guy who’s making me the most nuts is Erik Karlsson,” Madden said. “He is so bad it defies description. He’s so bad you forget that he was ever any good.”
Also, in the podcast, we praise the contributions the Steelers got from Beanie Bishop, the run game and the special teams. We also talk about next week’s game versus the New York Giants and Deshaun Watson’s injury in Cleveland.
