Mark Madden: Steelers offense was terrible, but was it Matt Canada's fault?

The citizenry has dubbed offensive coordinator Matt Canada the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Great Satan, visiting upon Canada all the sins of an offense that averaged just 18.1 points per game.

Everything that went wrong was Canada’s fault. If it went right, it was the doing of rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett. The Steelers offense made a bit of progress in the season’s second half, but Canada has been disconnected from that.

That’s awful convenient.

The Steelers offense was terrible, certainly. But whose fault was it, really?

For me, the primary flaws were not throwing enough in the middle, not throwing enough deep, and not utilizing rookie receiver George Pickens more, especially when he was in single coverage. Throw it up and let Pickens make a play.

Were those things avoided at Canada’s direction? Or did Pickett shy away from those options? Or did coach Mike Tomlin insist on being ultra-conservative?

One thing is for certain: Nobody wanted Diontae Johnson to score a touchdown.

In the rush to damn Canada, it’s ignored that the offense would change if Tomlin said so. He’s the head coach. He has his finger in every pie. He’s a megalomaniac.

Perhaps the offense was what it was because Tomlin lives in his fears. Or maybe Pickett did. (That’s not to dismiss the inferiority of Canada’s play sequencing.)

Things need to evolve, and it’s fair to think they will. It’s also fair to be that conservative with a rookie quarterback, though perhaps the pendulum swung too far in that direction.

Pickett threw one interception in his last eight games. That’s hailed as a great victory.

Pickett certainly couldn’t keep throwing picks at his previous rate, namely eight in his first five games.

But you can’t be scared of interceptions, not at the expense of the things the offense didn’t do enough.

If you’re trying to make plays, interceptions will occasionally happen. So will chunk plays. So will touchdowns. So will points. Risk equals reward.

Pickett’s interceptions dwindled. The Steelers won more, but that’s mostly because they played weaker foes. Pickett threw just seven touchdowns on the year and never more than one in a game.

The Steelers’ outdated, too-conservative approach won’t beat good teams. We know that because it didn’t.

The Steelers had two wins against teams with winning records and got those because Cincinnati’s long snapper got hurt and because Baltimore’s starting quarterback (former MVP Lamar Jackson) didn’t play.

I believe Tomlin mangled the quarterback transition, panicking at halftime of the Week 4 home loss to the New York Jets and deviating from the plan of starting Mitch Trubisky at least until the bye week.

Pickett got experience, and there’s no denying the value of that.

But the Steelers won just one game through the bye week after Pickett’s insertion. That was when Trubisky came off the bench to beat Tampa Bay at Acrisure Stadium in Week 6 after Pickett get hurt.

If Trubisky plays the next week, do the Steelers win at Miami? It’s a fair question. The Steelers lost 16-10 with Pickett throwing three interceptions. If the Steelers beat Miami, they make the playoffs.

But if the Steelers sneak into the postseason, they likely get pounded in the wild card round like they did last year. It was probably better to play Pickett.

Canada might yet get fired. You couldn’t argue against that.

Just don’t be so sure the offense would change drastically.

The head coach must ratify that. He seems to believe the Steelers can win by going old school, by possessing the ball and playing elite defense.

But, as noted, that doesn’t work against good teams. The NFL isn’t that kind of league anymore. It’s about chunk plays and striking quick.

The Steelers had the ball 34 minutes in their Week 8 game at Philadelphia. But they lost 35-13. The Eagles scored four touchdowns before they even ran a play in the red zone.

That’s how the NFL is. The Steelers must adapt.

If they don’t, it won’t be Canada’s fault. And if he gets terminated, would his replacement be a big resume with big ideas or just another low-budget Tomlin bobo?