The Pittsburgh Steelers have been the subject of a lot of criticism so far in the 2023 NFL season, especially their offense. Most of the blame for their lackluster offense has been placed on Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada with some blame even being thrown at second-year quarterback, Kenny Pickett. Ahead of the Steelers Week 7 showdown with the Los Angeles Rams, former NFL tight end Delanie Walker trashed and disrespected the young quarterback on his gambling show with Barstool Sports.
Steelers' Pickett Trashed By Delanie Walker
Walker played in the NFL from 2006 through 2019 and was a Pro Bowler three times in the 2010s. He played for the San Francisco 49ers, but is more well known for his time spent with the Tennessee Titans from 2013 until he retired. Walker only ever had one season with more than 1,000 receiving yards and was never considered to be one of the league's best tight ends, however he was a fan favorite in Tennessee and was known throughout his career for his reliability.
Walker is now a co-host on the Barstool Sports show, Slips And Picks along with Will Compton and Taylor Lewan, who both are former NFL players as well. Each week, they discuss the upcoming NFL games, the lines on each of the games, and their favorite picks for that week. During this episode of their show, all three of them selected the Rams to beat the Steelers by more than three points.
In addition to not thinking the Steelers had a chance to win the game, they also had some disrespectful comments about Pickett, the offense, and the team as a whole. When asked about his pick for the game, Walker had this to say.
"Yeah, I concur, I am going to go with the Rams as well. Cooper Kupp is finally back. And then you look on the other side and you got Kenny Pickett looking like trash. So yeah, I'm going with the Rams. Steelers can't get it done."
Pickett didn't end up having the most glorious stat line, but he was efficient and didn't turn the ball over. His completion percentage was over 65 percent and he threw for 230 yards while running in one touchdown on a quarterback sneak. His ball security and ability to fit the ball into tight windows late in the game was a huge reason the Steelers were able to close the game out and get the victory.
Walker wasn't the only one on the show that had some disrespectful things to say about the Steelers, as Compton and Lewan both chose Los Angeles to win as well. The only player on the Steelers that anyone on the show had anything good to say about was TJ Watt, who definitely made his presence felt in the game as he picked off Matthew Stafford. Compton talked about how Watt is the only reason the Steelers ever have a chance to win games.
"I understand that the Steelers got a dub when they last played the Ravens, which was a big win. But TJ Watt is the only player who shows up on defense, I like the Rams."
Typically most people are quick to say the Steelers offense is the reason they have had a rough couple of weeks so far in 2023, however Compton sees the defense being one of the team's bigger issues. The Steelers defense currently ranks 30th in the NFL in yards given up, yet are sixth in the amount of turnovers they have forced. The defense has been consistently bad, but the unit makes enough splash plays to make up for it.
Despite the Steelers defense underperforming on the year, they were able to do a good job against the Rams in Week 7 as they forced Stafford to complete less than 50 percent of his passes, while Pickett took care of the football for Pittsburgh. The Steelers now sit at 4-2 on the year and are in second place in the AFC North, and even with all the doubters, they keep finding ways to win games.
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