Steelers notes: George Pickens hopeful for more open offense under Eddie Faulkner
Share this post:
George Pickens said he was not aware of Tuesday’s dismissal of Matt Canada until he showed up for work Wednesday. As for new offensive coordinator Eddie Faulkner and the energy he brings to the Pittsburgh Steelers offense, Pickens probably won’t be asked explicitly to provide his input.
He indicated Friday he will follow the directives of Faulkner regardless, but Pickens said his preference would be for the Steelers to be a little more open and willing to attack downfield.
“I would hope so,” said Pickens, the second-year wide receiver. “All I can do personally is keep working, but I would hope so, personally, yeah.”
The Steelers rank 28th in the NFL in yards per pass attempt and yards per completion. Quarterback Kenny Pickett has the sixth-lowest intended air yards and completed air yards (per Next Gen Stats) of any starting quarterback in the league.
Watt, Highsmith iron men
T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith rank among the best duo of edge defenders in the NFL. Recently, they have been on the field together more than they ever have.
Watt has played 208 of the Steelers’ 217 defensive snaps the past three games. Highsmith has played 192. During games against the Green Bay Packers and Cleveland Browns the past two weeks, Watt played 97% of the snaps in each. That tied a career-high over Watt’s seven NFL seasons each time.
“It seems like every single week is a tight game, and every drive is so crucial and so important that it’s very tough to take myself off the field when you don’t know when the game-changing pay is going to happen,” Watt said.
Highsmith has been at 85% or more of the defensive plays each of the past four weeks.
Traditionally, particularly in the case of Watt, the Steelers outside linebackers have been prone to taking off plays or series in an effort to be as fresh as possible for the biggest plays late in games.
“These past few games I felt like toward the end of the game we have done a good job of still feeling good (and rested),” Highsmith said.
Hey, Steelers Nation, get the latest news about the Pittsburgh Steelers here.