The Pittsburgh Steelers seem to be going down in flames in spectacular fashion to finish out the 2023 regular season. Now at 7-7, it feels all the more frustrating because things looked so promising during the preseason, and at the end of the 2022 season. While fans and the media are pointing fingers at everyone involved in the organization from the top down, it is hard to say that just one person is to blame. The entire team, save a few exceptional players, seem to be inconsistent and defeated.
The lack of success, as well as the behavior of a few players, has only served to fuel the rumor mill. There are reports that players lack heart or that the coaching staff has lost control. Now former Steelers offensive guard, Ramon Foster is talking about the lack of respect he sees on the offense, from the perspective of someone who spent 11 years on the team, and it isn't pretty.
The offense has been under fire all season. Through the first several games, the defense played well. They even scored two defensive touchdowns during Week 2 against the Cleveland Browns. As the season progressed however, the injuries to the defense really racked up, especially at the linebacker position.
Do The Steelers Lack Respect On The Offense?
Foster now co-hosts a podcast called The Ramon Foster Show with Pittsburgh sports reporter Dejan Kovacevic which airs via DK Pittsburgh Sports. On a recent episode, Foster talked about the state of the offense and how concerning this season has been. While it is easy to blame the last three losses on the injury quarterback Kenny Pickett sustained, the backup quarterback is far from the only problem.
Foster immediately puts the spotlight on the offensive line and picks apart what he sees as a collapse - a line that is not protecting its quarterback or making holes for the running backs. Kovacevic asked him about the pass protection breakdowns we saw during the game against the Indianapolis Colts.
"It was low, it was not calculated. The communication wasn't there. The thought of finishing blocks wasn't there. It seems like they're guessing at times like, 'OK, this is enough time for pass pro?' It almost seems as if they are in a spot where you got to ask yourself what's being taught? Do you have to go after Coach Pat Meyer and say, 'Hey, what is the ongoing message throughout the room? Where are you guys at if this is the best five that you have and what's behind them? What did you do as a coach to develop them?'"
The Steelers' offensive line has struggled the past few seasons, particularly at center. The fans spent the early part of the season begging for Head Coach Mike Tomlin to start the rookie first-round draft pick, Broderick Jones. While Jones has been an improvement, he does not seem to be consistently where he needs to be. Foster doesn't think that all of the blame can be placed on Jones. He said the whole line looks like "Swiss cheese."
Foster said that you can't pin all of this on the head coach, but added he has never seen Tomlin look so dejected and frustrated. The problem, based on what he has heard and seen, is that there is a lack of respect.
"You can [blame] wide receivers. I've heard some stuff about just that room. We're talking not the players, we're talking about respect being given. You may be seeing the residual of those dudes not agreeing with their coaches - the communicating, quarterbacking, has Kenny [Pickett] gotten better," said an exasperated Foster.
We are seeing that lack of respect, and the lack of discipline or education, trickle out everywhere on the offense. Is what we are seeing the end result of the players not agreeing with what the coaches are calling? Or is it a talent issue?
The line has not been good, so it has impacted the run game substantially. In the ongoing debate over Najee Harris vs. Jaylen Warren, how do you definitively determine which back is better when you surmise that the line isn't blocking well enough for them?
It is a similar situation with the wide receivers. They have struggled this season and it is hard to tell exactly what is going wrong. Is it that the quarterback isn't able to read the field accurately and doesn't see open receivers? Or is there some other kind of divide between the receivers and the quarterback? Or is the offensive line so bad that the quarterback doesn't have enough time to throw the pass consistently?
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